Chapter 14: I Absolutely Adore It!

Chapter 14: I Absolutely Love It!

No man can resist a machine gun; if there is one, it would be the one who prefers even heavier firepower, like a cannon.

As an emperor, Li Shimin obviously wants it all.

But he doesn’t want everything. For instance, he scoffs at the story in this movie.

“The Ryan family’s entire household was loyal and heroic, which deserves praise, but to risk an entire elite squad for just one man…” Li Shimin, watching the rescue squad walking down the road, clearly disapproved of this ‘seven brothers rescuing grandpa’ mentality. “Besides, their children are just children, but do you think Captain Miller’s squad just popped out of the rocks?”

“This story is just for your enjoyment. In history, there was a set of five brothers serving on a cruiser named Juno. Unfortunately, the cruiser was torpedoed and sunk, and none of the brothers survived. Because of this tragedy, the country enacted a law stating that if only one brother remains alive from a group of brothers who went to war, he can unconditionally retire from the battlefield and return home. This is the famous ‘Sole Survivor Policy,’” Li Qing patiently explained this obscure knowledge to Li Shimin.

“That law is not wrong—if one has already sacrificed for the country, no need to risk the lineage,” Li Shimin nodded in approval.

“As for the historical prototype of Ryan, there are actually two: the first is Frederick Niland, who was quickly found and sent home without much trouble.” Li Qing gave a disdainful smile. “The other is a man named Waters. To rescue him, a team of 307 was dispatched, and the entire force was wiped out—guess who he was, brother?”

“Probably not an ordinary person. Could he be a general’s son?” Li Shimin guessed.

“Close enough. He was the son-in-law of a four-star general,” Li Qing chuckled. “Would the West make such a grand fuss to rescue an ordinary man? Don’t be naive…”

Li Shimin suddenly understood.

“Now that makes sense,” Li Shimin spat out, feeling a bit embarrassed for having doubted the morality of the story earlier, only to find out it involved a general’s son-in-law.

After Li Qing debunked the Western perspective of this film, Li Shimin lost interest in the plot and focused instead on observing the weapons and equipment.

At the movie’s climax, Li Shimin’s eyes sparkled as he gazed at the tank on the bridge, which rendered Captain Miller helpless. “Brother! What is this thing? It’s unstoppable even by firearms! I absolutely love it!”

“That’s a tank. You can think of it as an iron war chariot that fires shells. It’s known as the king of land warfare.”

“As expected of the king of land warfare—it seems it has no match…”

Before Li Shimin could finish, the tank exploded with a thunderous blast.

“This…?” Stunned, he watched a plane fly overhead, speechless for a long moment.

Li Qing chuckled silently, sensing Li Shimin’s potential for jinxing things, and tried to explain in terms he could understand: “That’s an airplane, a machine that flies through the sky. It can drop bombs on the ground or fight other planes.”

“Airplane! Tank!” Li Shimin’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “I want them all!”

“Do you now?” Li Qing asked cheerfully.

Without hesitation, Li Shimin nodded, “Brother, as long as you can provide them, I’ll agree to anything!”

“Heh, no,” Li Qing’s simple reply made Li Shimin’s face fall.

He had wanted to outfit Li Shimin with a fully mechanized division and simply steamroll the world, but the system clearly wouldn’t allow him to cheat—he could buy blueprints, but not finished products.

Li Shimin looked at Li Qing in exasperation. “Don’t tell me… you really can’t provide the actual things?”

“Giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him to fish. Although I can’t directly give you the finished products, I can teach you how to make them,” Li Qing offered again, painting a hopeful picture.

“Brother, are you serious?” Li Shimin’s eyes shone with hope.

“Well, theoretically, if the Tang Dynasty follows the path I suggest and develops for a few hundred years, it might be possible.”

As soon as Li Qing said this, the light in Li Shimin’s eyes dimmed.

A few hundred years? Whether he could live another few decades was already uncertain.

“But if Brother fully supports scientific development, I believe the Tang Dynasty will soon have the ability to manufacture these weapons.”

Li Qing deliberately said this to raise Li Shimin’s blood pressure.

Sure enough, the system chimed in.

*Emotion points +100

See? The benefits have arrived.

Watching movies with Brother can’t be for nothing; at least some emotional points must be gained…

Whether the Tang Dynasty can enjoy modern life with internet access depends on Brother and his whole family. The only question is whether Brother’s sons can contribute emotion points; if so, they definitely need to be involved.

Hmm… It would be great if Empress Zhangsun were here to see Li Chengqian and his brothers—her blood pressure would skyrocket.

Li Shimin was completely unaware that he was exactly the big cash cow for his good brother to reap benefits from. His mood now felt like a roller coaster, soaring and plummeting.

“Brother, this dizziness of mine can’t withstand such extremes…” Li Shimin held his head.

“Don’t worry, Brother, I’ve got everything under control,” Li Qing reassured him. “Changing national policies will definitely provoke strong opposition from vested interests. The question is whether Brother can withstand the backlash from these interest groups.”

“Hmph. What I want to do, who can stop me?” Li Shimin snorted coldly. “I usually treat people leniently, and these rats think the cat is a vegetarian?”

“Brother, you’re amazing,” Li Qing gave him a thumbs-up.

“Are there any other movies?” After finishing this film, Li Shimin felt somewhat unsatisfied. “Are there any movies about weapons that the Tang Dynasty could develop quickly with its current technology?”

“Weapons that can be developed quickly?” Li Qing thought for a moment. The fastest weapons to develop and deploy would be flintlock muskets and smoothbore cannons—technologically simple, just requiring advances in casting techniques.

He found an old film in the system. “Then watch ‘Waterloo.’ It’s also about a brilliant emperor commanding his troops. Brother should find some common ground with him.”

“You captured two kings in one war, and he defeated three emperors in one. But your achievements have a bit more weight,” Li Qing added.

“Oh? Such a remarkable man?” Li Shimin’s interest was piqued. Heroes always respect each other, especially a hero among heroes like himself.

(End of chapter)