Li Tai was quickly drawn to the iron lump in front of him. He could understand the power of boiling water, but he couldn't figure out how this power was transmitted and applied to the iron arm, and how the iron arm could drive a wheel-like object to rotate.

"Li Jue, this thing of yours is quite interesting!"

"If we replace this wheel with a waterwheel, wouldn't it be able to pump water day and night without stopping!"

As the intellectual backbone of the Li family, Li Tai's logical thinking and meticulousness are second to none, and he quickly figured out the purpose of this thing.

Li Jue was very surprised to hear Li Tai's words. He never expected that his first confidant in the Tang Dynasty would be his own fourth uncle!

"Fourth Uncle, that's impressive! You actually thought of a waterwheel!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai glared at Li Jue with displeasure.

Do you think I'm some kind of clueless idiot?

"In my spare time, I would wander around the fields and see people using those waterwheels!"

"I've seen things powered by human labor, animal power, and even things driven by the force of water's own flow, without human or animal power!"

Li Jue nodded seriously upon hearing this.

"Fourth Uncle is wise!"

"This thing can indeed power the waterwheel, but using it only to power the waterwheel would be a waste of its potential!"

As Li Jue spoke, he wrapped a silk thread around the wheel, and then a magical scene unfolded. As the wheel turned, sections of hemp thread were pulled out from the tangled hemp and wound around the wheel.

Li Tai was so surprised by what he saw that his mouth dropped open.

"You think this thing can actually spin yarn?"

"certainly!"

"Give me a few more days to think about it. This machine can not only spin yarn, but also weave cloth, grind rice and flour, and even lead a million-strong army across the grasslands!"

Of course, Li Jue's last sentence was pure boasting.

If he could build a mile-long railway track during his lifetime and show the people of the Tang Dynasty what a steam locomotive was, that would be enough for him to be remembered in history.

As for building railways to the Turkic Khaganate and the grasslands, that would take at least several decades, or even hundreds of years, of accumulation to achieve.

Even though it was a rudimentary version of the steam engine, it still deeply impressed Li Tai.

"You brat, no wonder you're not in a hurry at all. Are you planning to spin yarn yourself and then make clothes for the people of Chang'an County?"

"Making clothes?"

"Why should I make clothes for the people of Chang'an?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai looked at Li Jue with a puzzled expression, and then at Li Xiang.

"Didn't you tell him?"

Li Xiang shook his head upon hearing this.

"Not yet..."

Seeing this, Li Tai quickly explained.

"Silly child, you don't know yet, do you? Your Ninth Uncle has taken someone's advice and started doing this on a big scale!"

"He's not only renovating houses for the people of Wannian County, but also giving them new clothes for free!"

"Moreover, the prices of grain and salt there are cheaper than in your Chang'an County, which has already attracted many people to go there to buy rice and salt!"

Upon hearing Li Tai's words, Li Jue simply responded with a faint "Oh."

"Let him spend his money if he has it, I don't have any!"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Aren't you afraid?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid that if he achieves success, your grandfather will like him more and approve of him even more!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue confidently shook his head.

“If it were just a village or a town, this would be fine. But Wannian County, even if it doesn’t have a million people, has at least five or six hundred thousand. If he does this, how will those people who do business survive?”

"oh?"

Li Tai keenly sensed something was amiss in Li Jue's words; the kid must have other plans in mind.

How do you know?

"Fourth Uncle, the economy, society, and politics are an integrated whole; a change in one part affects the whole."

“If Uncle Jiu distributes clothes to the people for free, it will make it impossible for clothing sellers to make money. If he forcibly suppresses the prices in Wannian County, it will bankrupt small merchants and even force them to close down.”

"Just you wait, it probably won't be long before the entire Wannian County becomes a desolate wasteland!"

When Li Tai heard Li Jue say this, he was completely skeptical. In his view, the imperial court distributing clothes to the people and selling grain at low prices was a great thing, so how could it allow the economy of Wannian County to decline?

However, whether the economy is booming or not doesn't matter much to him; he should study this lump of iron first.

While Li Tai and Li Jue were researching the steam spinning machine, Su Dingfang searched all over Chang'an and finally found Li Jue's door.

"Eldest grandson, how come you still have time to play? Aren't you hurry up and think of a way to deal with Wannian County?"

"Old Su, you've come at the right time. Find me a few hundred blacksmiths..."

"blacksmith?"

Before Su Dingfang could react, Li Jue interrupted and spoke up.

"Leave the blacksmith to me, I guarantee I'll get it done!"

"you?"

"Don't look at me like that, you brat!"

"Have you forgotten what your fourth aunt's father did?"

Who is your father-in-law?

"My father-in-law is Yan Lide, the Grand Master of Works and Minister of Works of our Great Tang Dynasty!"

"All the artisans of the Tang Dynasty are under the management of my father-in-law!"

"Hmph!"

Upon hearing Li Tai's words, Li Jue quickly put on a smiling face.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Fourth Uncle!"

Li Tai snorted coldly upon hearing this.

"Are you planning to mass-produce this thing?"

"certainly!"

"Don't forget to give me a copy when you get back; I'll take it home and have a good time for a few days!"

"no problem!"

While Li Jue and Li Tai were preparing to mass-produce spinning machines, Li Shimin was inspecting the changes in Wannian County, accompanied by Changsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang, and others.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!