Communication Issues

"Is the Li Shimin you're talking about the same Li Shimin we know?"

Hearing that it came directly from Young Master Qin, Wang Er and the others immediately sat up straight. "The Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin?"

"Yes."

Xia Fei nodded seriously. "Young Master Qin said on the phone that it is Li Shimin from the Great Tang, along with Empress Zhangsun, Princess Changle, and Little Sizi, Li Mingda."

"No way, what kind of situation have we stumbled into here?"

Everyone clicked their tongues in astonishment. Although they all knew that Qin Ning's abilities were beyond comprehension and he was almost omnipotent.

But for Emperor Taizong Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun to actually be here, wasn't that just a bit too absurd?

"Let's not overthink it. Whether it's them or not, won't we know once we go over and take a look?" Zhou Ping'an said. He quickly stood up and took the lead in walking out of the villa.

Seeing this, the others quickly followed suit.

Soon, they arrived at Qin Ning's place. When they saw Li Shimin sitting upright on the sofa in the living room, wearing a dragon robe, everyone froze once again.

Not to mention, his aura really did give off that kind of vibe.

And he was even wearing a dragon robe. Could it really be Li Shimin?

"Hello, hello."

Xia Fei was the first to walk over, extending his hand toward Li Shimin. "My name is Xia Fei, I live right across the street. Are you really Li Shimin?"

"Hello, I am Li Shimin."

Li Shimin also reached out and shook his hand. He now knew that this was a way people of later generations greeted each other.

"Young Master Qin, how did you bring them here?" Wang Er couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer and asked Qin Ning, who was also sitting on the sofa.

"It's a long story. We can talk about it over dinner later,"

Qin Ning smiled, then continued, "Have Zhong Mingyuan and Liu Silin returned from the capital yet?"

"I remember when we spoke at noon, they said they were getting ready to come back. I'll give them a call and ask."

Xia Fei took out his mobile phone and dialed their number directly.

Watching him hold a glowing 'brick' and muttering to himself, Li Shimin, Empress Zhangsun, and the others were somewhat bewildered.

It wasn't until Xia Fei hung up the phone that Li Shimin couldn't help but ask, "Young Master, were you talking to someone just now?"

"Yes."

Xia Fei paused for a moment before realizing what was going on. He smiled and said, "Oh, this is a mobile phone. It's high technology from our era. You've never seen it before, so it's normal to be surprised."

"Hand chicken? But it doesn't look like a chicken at all." Empress Zhangsun looked puzzled.

"Not the chicken as in poultry, but the machine as in machinery. A mobile phone." Xia Fei explained again.

Li Lizhi also couldn't help her confusion. "Young Master, why can your mobile phone talk to other people?"

"Well... it would be a bit complicated to really explain. You can just understand it as a clairaudient device. It allows you to talk directly to people who are very far away, and it's in real-time."

"To think that later generations have such divine artifacts!" Li Shimin and the others were shocked.

Empress Zhangsun couldn't help but ask again, "May I ask, Young Master, how far is this 'very far' you speak of?"

Xia Fei felt a bit of a headache, seemingly unsure of how to explain it in a way they would understand. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Um... under the right conditions, theoretically, it can reach anywhere across the globe. You might not understand it if I put it that way. Anyway, even people tens of thousands of miles away can talk directly."

Empress Zhangsun looked at Li Shimin. "Erlang, if this item could be used in the Great Tang..."

Before she could finish, Li Shimin nodded, naturally understanding her meaning. "If the Great Tang also had this item, wouldn't it be possible to quickly relay messages between important border towns and various prefectures?"

"This thing won't work in the Great Tang."

Zhou Ping'an shook his head and laughed. "Mobile phones require signal support, which means base stations. The Great Tang doesn't have base stations, so if you took this thing there, it would basically be no different from a brick."

Hearing this, a look of disappointment immediately appeared on Li Shimin's face. He sighed and said, "That is truly a great pity."

"If there are no base stations, then just build them."

Cai Cheng smiled. "With Young Master Qin's abilities, if he really wanted to help, he'd just need to pull some strings with the higher-ups. Building base stations in the Great Tang wouldn't be difficult at all, right?"

Hearing this, Li Shimin's face lit up with joy.

"You're thinking too simply."

Xia Fei shook his head. "The territory of the Great Tang is not small. Adding up all the large and small prefectures and important border towns, there are probably four or five hundred of them, right? To have a stable signal, you'd need to build at least one base station in each prefecture. This is no small amount of engineering work. Even if we are known as infrastructure maniacs, it's not something that can be completed in a short amount of time. Moreover, the manpower and resources consumed in the process are far from as simple as you imagine."

These words instantly extinguished the hope in Li Shimin's heart.

"It's fine, we can take our time with the base stations, there's no need to rush. If mobile phones can't be used, we can just use walkie-talkies for now," Qin Ning smiled.

Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun exchanged a glance and hurriedly asked, "Walkie-talkies? What is this item?"

"Traditional walkie-talkies indeed do not require base stations. They can communicate directly through radio waves. This thing could actually be used directly in the Great Tang."

Zhou Ping'an rubbed his chin and continued, "However, the communication distance wouldn't be as ideal."

"I wonder, within what range can this walkie-talkie communicate?" Li Lizhi asked.

"Let me think. I played around with these in college, but it's been a while since I've touched one..."

Zhou Ping'an frowned slightly. A moment later, he said, "There are many types of walkie-talkies, handheld and vehicle-mounted. I remember that for current handheld walkie-talkies, in open areas, the maximum range should be about fifty kilometers. Um... which is about one hundred li in your Great Tang."

"One hundred li!"

Hearing this, Li Shimin was instantly ecstatic.

For him, being able to communicate in real-time within a hundred li was absolutely astonishing.

If used in the military, when the great army marched out, passing messages back and forth would be unbelievably convenient.

"I wonder if these walkie-talkies are easy to purchase? What is the price? If possible, we would like to ask the Young Master to help us procure some first," Empress Zhangsun looked at Qin Ning.

Qin Ning did not speak, but instead glanced at Xia Fei.

Xia Fei responded, hurriedly smiling and saying, "Don't even mention the price. If Empress Zhangsun wants them, I'll pay out of my own pocket and gift them to you. A few hundred or a thousand units is no problem at all. However, for that many walkie-talkies... it might take me a day or two to get them all here."

A few hundred or a thousand units!

A day or two!

Hearing this, Li Shimin's face practically broke into a massive grin.

Li Lizhi said, "It's a pity that the communication range of this walkie-talkie is still a bit lacking. Otherwise, if there were a battle at the borders, the news could definitely be transmitted back to Chang'an City immediately. However, if we really have this many walkie-talkies, the speed of transmitting messages in the future will naturally be much faster than ordinary horses, which is also very good."