Wang Gui’s Counsel to Li Tai

Before leaving the distillery, Li Zhi specifically instructed the proprietor to prepare some medicinal wine using rare herbs. The birthday of Empress Zhangsun was approaching, and Li Zhi intended to present these wines as a celebratory gift. In this era, it was quite fashionable for women to consume wine; even among ordinary families, it was common to have a drink during major festivals.

After leaving the distillery, Li Zhi headed to the Directorate for Palace Buildings. Yan Lide and his colleagues had already made significant progress in refining the steam engine. Li Zhi now planned to design several machine tools, attempting to use the steam engine to power them for metal processing. His long-term goal was to achieve large-scale extraction and utilization of petroleum as soon as possible. This would require a great deal of heavy machinery, and without appropriate tools to process the parts, such equipment would be nearly impossible to manufacture.

Initially, he had hoped to invent generators and electric motors, but given the Tang Dynasty’s existing metallurgical technology and manufacturing capabilities, producing these was extremely difficult. Furthermore, Li Zhi lacked deep knowledge of electrical engineering. Therefore, relying on electricity as a primary power source was not realistic in the short term.

Upon arriving at the Directorate, Li Zhi was immediately taken by Yan Lide to the steam engine. By now, it operated with almost no steam leakage. Seeing this, Li Zhi said happily to Yan Lide, "To achieve this level of performance means the steam engine is now fully perfected."

Yan Lide replied, "We have gathered a wealth of experience, and I believe the next steam engine will be completed much faster."

"That is good," Li Zhi said. "I happen to have some new ideas that will require the extensive use of steam engines."

"Please, master, give your instructions," Yan Lide answered respectfully.

Li Zhi nodded and led Yan Lide to his office, where he began drawing blueprints for machine tools in front of him. He intended to build lathes, drilling machines, grinding machines, and punching presses. These tools would allow Yan Lide and his team to rapidly produce standardized parts, which would, in turn, make the manufacturing of identical equipment much more efficient. As time passed, one by one, the blueprints already etched in Li Zhi’s mind were brought to paper. Yan Lide, who was assisting him, was already entranced by the ingenious designs on the diagrams.

Many people at the Directorate were now studying the books written by Li Zhi, and their theoretical knowledge had improved significantly. However, turning theory into practice required Li Zhi to continuously assign them tasks. For now, Li Zhi still needed to draw the blueprints for them to follow, but he planned that in the near future, he would only provide the requirements and leave it to them to design the machinery to solve the problems. Books were, after all, static; only by getting hands-on could that knowledge come to life. Li Zhi knew he was not omnipotent; for many future technologies, he could only provide the direction. Breakthroughs would only be achieved through the collective research of many.

By the time Li Zhi left the Directorate, it was completely dark. Chai Long and Duan Shizi were waiting outside with over a dozen guards from the Prince's mansion. After thanking them for their hard work, Li Zhi strolled back toward the mansion. Along the way, he pondered how to encourage more people to embrace the new technical fields he had pioneered. It was impossible to attract the sons of wealthy families, as their goal was to pass the imperial examinations and become government officials—a path Li Zhi’s specialized fields could not yet satisfy. It was also difficult to convince families of modest means, as there were no examples of students who had elevated their social status through this knowledge. Consequently, they saw no benefit in wasting the labor of a family member. It was a long process, but fortunately, he was making progress. The thousands of children in the settlement were the first generation of talent he was cultivating—the very foundation of his industrial development.

The students arriving in Chang'an for the examinations this year were much more subdued. This was largely due to the literary competition held the previous year, which had made the outsiders acutely aware of the vast gap between them and the scholars of the capital. Not only had Li Zhi swept the top prizes in every category, but many students from the Imperial Academy were also significantly more capable than the visitors. Thus, even though some had clamored to organize another competition this year, there were few takers, and the idea failed to gain momentum.

Li Tai had originally wanted to give it another try, but he was stopped by his tutor, Wang Gui. "Your Highness is a prince enjoying the finest education," Wang Gui told him. "Even if you were to win the competition, it would not prove how remarkable you are."

Li Tai countered, "Even so, I have spent less time studying than those scholars."

"With such superior conditions, should you not feel ashamed to compare yourself with other students?" Wang Gui asked. "If you must make such comparisons, what of the Prince of Jin?"

This question struck Li Tai like a dagger to the heart. His greatest shame was being soundly bested by Li Zhi in the literature he took such pride in. It was because he had gained nothing from last year’s competition that he wanted to compete again to prove himself.

"I intend to use this opportunity to wash away my past shame," Li Tai said, frowning.

Wang Gui sighed. "Why must Your Highness concern yourself with such empty fame? Why not spend more time assisting the Emperor in handling state affairs?" There was a note of disappointment in his sigh. Both Li Tai and Li Zhi had the opportunity to participate in governance. Yet, Li Zhi had not only taken on a real position but had single-handedly solved the plight of the refugees upon taking office. Furthermore, Li Zhi had used those very refugees to repair the streets of Chang'an and had established vast industries outside the city. In contrast, Li Tai had yet to achieve anything of substance in politics and was still obsessively pursuing vanity.

Li Tai felt deflated by Wang Gui’s words. His strength lay in poetry and prose, not in politics. Feeling the pressure, he asked, "Tutor, as a prince, is it not the true path to learn statecraft and share the burden of the Emperor? What use is the splendor of poetry and prose?"

After hearing this, Li Tai had no choice but to abandon his plans for the competition and instead humbly began to consult Wang Gui on political matters.