Chapter 191: Two “Opportunities”

Upon meeting Li Xian, the old imperial physician spoke in a calm tone: “Young Master Li, His Majesty is concerned about your injuries and has specially sent this old minister to inquire after you and also to check on your condition.”

As the saying goes, one should not strike those with a smile on their face. Li Xian could only pretend to be weak and laugh foolishly a few times, “Then, I must trouble you.”

The old physician, indeed somewhat skilled, examined him for a long time before finally speaking with a hint of sarcasm: “Young Master Li, your injuries are indeed severe, and it seems they cannot be healed. However, this ailment… I fear it is not physical but a mental one. This old man is powerless to address such a heart ailment.”

Li Xian knew that the old physician was starting to suspect something. “Sigh… I was about to make a breakthrough when I was interrupted, causing me to go astray and fall into a mental block. Isn’t that a mental ailment?”

“Going astray… mental ailment… Well, I hope Young Master Li recovers soon. Unfortunately, I am unable to help. I must take my leave.”

“Song Xing, see off the old minister.”

After the old physician left, Xu Ren immediately suggested, “Young Master, it is time to return to Anyang. With this assassination attempt, we can temporarily escape the chaotic environment of the Great Xia Kingdom and focus on developing in peace.”

After the assassination attempt, Li Xian had also changed. He was eager to return to Anyang and start developing his career. With oil now available and computer technology showing early promise, everything seemed to be in place. He felt it was time to seize the moment and develop as much as possible before the Great Xia Kingdom could no longer maintain stability.

However, Li Xian was still “severely injured,” so they had to hurry and send an aircraft from Anyang to pick him up. Since they were going to do it, they had to do it properly. This entire process took two days before Li Xian finally returned to Anyang.

During these two days, Li Xian made good use of the time, consuming a few spirit stones to push his cultivation to the Gold Core stage.

The first thing he did upon returning to Anyang was to bring Xiao Yuquan to the research department, introduce him to everyone, and announce the establishment of the Computer Research Department. He selected a few people from various departments with solid foundations to assist Xiao Yuquan, and together they would support this research endeavor that was destined for greatness in the future.

Of course, at this moment, Xiao Yuquan and the others did not fully understand what the research on computers entailed. Many years later, all those involved in this research would look back and be grateful for the choice they made and proud of the various challenges they overcame during the process.

In reality, the difficulties encountered during the research process were unimaginable to others. They had to independently study the corresponding logical relationships, develop entirely new theories, modify formations, and even rethink the world itself…

It was not smooth from the start, and as the process advanced, they encountered unimaginable obstacles.

On the tenth day of the research, Li Xian began to frown. The original formation was more of a “mechanical computer” model, including the formations. However, when trying to further reduce the formations and even make them energy-supplying, they encountered many difficulties.

The first model they worked on was the “Heavenly Sphere” model, slightly modified from the original design, with various formations added in combination.

The first difficulty they faced was creating a “machine language.” On Earth, binary code was used, but here, Li Xian wanted to try a new method. To be precise, Li Xian’s knowledge of electronics was still shallow, and it would be better to let the experts from the Immortal Domain research a computer that fits the conditions of the Immortal Domain.

The first challenge for converting a mechanical computer into a modern computer was the machine language.

Next, there was the issue of power supply. During the research on formations, they discovered that the original spiritual energy would be converted by the formation into various types, such as the Five Elements Spiritual Energy, Four Symbols Spiritual Energy, Yin-Yang Spiritual Energy, and Three Talents Spiritual Energy, among other chaotic types. These conversions made the future of the computer full of endless possibilities but also deepened the difficulties in the current research.

The threshold to get started was too high, it seemed harder than reaching the heavens.

Li Xian also proposed a question, “What if we start with the Yin-Yang Two Instruments formation and only study binary for now?” However, the difficulty still arose, which was the issue of formation derivation. As the saying goes, “one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three,” and once the formation was activated, it started to become uncontrollable.

A lot of spirit stones had been used, along with substantial amounts of fine gold, secret silver, and top-tier jade stones, all of which were being wasted.

Until one day, while looking at the sun and moon in the sky, Li Xian suddenly had an idea. “The sky is like a vast dome covering the four corners of the world. Let’s design the Heavenly Sphere to have two sections, one inside and one outside. These two will interact with each other, creating interference between them.”

Additionally, other functions could be added to the outer section by increasing stars—essentially adding extra modules to achieve the desired result.

This idea made Xiao Yuquan overjoyed, as he finally succeeded in developing the first mature, self-operating core of a computer. The computer is quite unique, featuring both mechanical and array structures.

But it seems that the surprises kept coming; on the evening of the day the computer’s preliminary research was completed, news came from the oilfield— the internal combustion engine had also been successfully developed! Even the first internal combustion engine vehicle had successfully completed its trial run!

After some time of accumulation, the Brilliant Stars Group finally began to erupt, with various research results continuously emerging.

The computer and the internal combustion engine— one is the brain of technology, and the other is one of its hearts— having both means that industrialization can enter “replication mode.”

What makes industry terrifying is that its “replication mode” inherently carries a competitive advantage!

With the internal combustion engine’s success, Li Xian was the first to issue an order for the engine factory to be independently established. Huang Bingchu, who had performed exceptionally during the research process, became the head of the factory. The first plan— the train plan— was then announced.

The internal combustion engine, still in its early stages, was quite bulky, weighing a ton, with less than three horsepower and high fuel consumption. Such an engine was temporarily insufficient to be placed on a locomotive— experimental locomotives didn’t count as real locomotives.

Only railways could carry such heavy locomotives. Fortunately, the railway plan had already been implemented. Li Xian’s previous plan, starting from Anyang, aimed to connect the north and south of what is now Anyang County with a dual-track railway, 40% of which had already been constructed. The railway extended from the Qingyun Mountain Valley, passed through Anyang, and turned toward Ding Mountain City; it was now expanding southward.

But there was still one problem: the production capacity of the Brilliant Stars Group. The group’s production capacity had already begun to strain, and with continuous breakthroughs in technology, production was increasingly failing to keep up.

It must be understood that within the Brilliant Stars Group, the requirements were quite strict, with confidentiality being the most basic expectation. There were many other detailed requirements as well. With so many demands, it became difficult to recruit workers. Most cultivators had a carefree temperament and couldn’t stand being restricted, which left the group’s pool of excellent personnel constantly in short supply.

So, what should be done? This problem was now placed before Li Xian, Fang Shijing, and the other senior leaders of the group. Clearly, the group had reached a point where reform was inevitable!

Group reform is like a rebirth. In the development of a group, various issues will always emerge and accumulate, especially problems related to production capacity, the market, and so on. At this point, the group must make a decision— to divest non-core businesses!

This is the simplest and most effective method.

So, which part of the business should be divested?

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter