Sincerity of the Great Tang

Title: The Sincerity of the Great Tang

Lin Shen nodded generously: "Yes, it's me. How should I address you?"

"You can call me Erlang." Li Shimin didn't reveal his own name, just vaguely gave a title.

Lin Shen nodded: "Erlang? This is a name for home use."

Li Shimin smiled and replied, "Yesterday, I heard from the children at home that you have a way to solve the locust plague. Is that true or false?"

"Of course, it's true," Lin Shen said decisively.

Li Shimin squinted, glanced back at the densely packed customers, and said softly, "It's noisy here. Why don't we go somewhere else and have a proper talk?"

Lin Shen nodded, "I had the same idea."

The two agreed and left the supermarket, finding a nearby teahouse.

The teahouse was empty.

Those who usually come to drink tea had already left.

Even the tea expert and the shopkeeper were nowhere to be seen, only a group of soldiers in armor serving them tea.

Lin Shen couldn't help but laugh, "Erlang, you have quite the grand gesture."

Li Shimin shook his head slightly, "It's a matter of great importance, so it's better this way."

He was somewhat impatient about how to solve the locust plague, so he directly asked, "Do you have any way to solve the locust plague?"

Lin Shen tapped the table lightly and changed the subject, "Do you know why locusts swarm and cause disasters?"

Li Shimin sighed, "Those insects eat whatever they see, even stripping tree bark clean. They leave nothing behind to eat..."

The most painful thing in the world.

Is nothing but starving to death.

Under starvation, humans will break through the bottom line of morality and ethics, resorting to burning, killing, looting, and even the horrific act of cannibalism.

A locust plague would lead to such scenes.

Lin Shen wasn't as discouraged as Li Shimin. He asked, "Did Changle show you the self-heating rice yesterday?"

Li Shimin nodded.

Lin Shen waved his hand, squinted, and said softly, "I can provide as much of that self-heating rice as you need."

"That kind of food is not only easy to handle, but also has a long shelf life."

"How long?" Li Shimin blurted out.

Lin Shen replied softly, "At least half a year."

Half a year!

Li Shimin widened his eyes.

The shelf life of regular grains is about the same...

Lin Shen continued, "And this kind of thing, I can provide as much as you need, even for everyone in the world."

"Do you know how many people there are in the Great Tang?" Li Shimin furrowed his brows.

Lin Shen shook his head.

He had never cared about such things in the Great Tang.

He vaguely remembered that there seemed to be a million people in Chang'an City.

But in the entire Great Tang, it wouldn't exceed four or five thousand.

Li Shimin was about to rebuke...

Lin Shen smiled and said, "I don't need to know how many people there are in the Great Tang. Even if it's a million? Or even tens of millions?"

"I can afford it."

Li Shimin couldn't help but gasp in shock as he looked at Lin Shen with an expression of intense surprise in his eyes, "Are you serious?"

This is not a small number.

The locust plague might disappear in three or four months, but the eaten food wouldn't grow back.

The land of the Great Tang would be barren for at least a year.

Even if it's just for Chang'an.

It would take over a billion boxes of self-heating rice for a year.

Li Shimin furrowed his brows.

In his memory, he had never heard of anyone hoarding food on such a large scale...

Lin Shen nodded earnestly.

Li Shimin asked, "Where did you get so much grain from?"

"Or rather, who exactly are you?"

Even as an emperor, Li Shimin knew that the entire national treasury of the Great Tang couldn't produce this much grain at once.

Even if he was given another ten years.

Li Shimin couldn't guarantee that he could do such a thing.

Lin Shen didn't answer him, just said softly, "Before I answer your question, shouldn't you show some sincerity, Erlang?"

"Or should I say, Your Majesty?"

When Li Shimin mentioned Changle as his family's child.

He recognized Li Shimin's identity.

Although Princess Changle and Princess Chengyang had never actively mentioned their identities to him.

But Lin Shen wasn't stupid.

He had Chen San inquire, and he knew that Qiu Ba, who guarded these two little girls, was from the Qian Niu Wei.

The troops around the emperor.

Besides the direct royal family, who else could enjoy such treatment?

So Li Shimin's identity was naturally self-evident.

Li Shimin raised his eyebrows, "You recognized Us?"

Lin Shen nodded.

Li Shimin squinted, with a hint of oppression in his tone, "Since you recognized Us, why do you have such an attitude?"

Lin Shen shrugged, "What else?"

This attitude made Li Shimin feel uncomfortable inexplicably.

He was the supreme ruler.

The master of the world.

Even Wei Zheng, who dared to scold him, was respectful in front of him.

But Lin Shen insisted on appearing so equal.

He didn't seem to care much about his identity as the emperor...

Li Shimin said, "Everything in this world belongs to Us. If We order you to produce self-heating rice to save the world, what then?"

"If that's the case, I can't do it," Lin Shen didn't fear Li Shimin at all, confronting him with his deep gaze.

Li Shimin frowned, "Aren't you afraid that We'll take you down by force now?"

Lin Shen said indifferently, "You can try."

Li Shimin sighed and said softly, "We've been investigating you for a long time. We even went to Xinghua once, thinking you might have some connection with the Lin family of Xinghua..."

"But We found nothing, except knowing that you have a supermarket named Ruyi Supermarket. We know nothing about you."

"You appeared out of nowhere, like a treasure unseen in the Great Tang before. We don't know whether you are a blessing or a curse to the Great Tang, to Us."

Lin Shen took a sip of tea and said softly, "If you are willing to live in peace, it would naturally be a blessing."

"But if you want to put on an emperor's airs, resorting to the old rhetoric of 'if the sovereign orders a minister to die, the minister has no choice but to die,' then the result may not be so good..."

Li Shimin's pupils contracted slightly.

This statement undoubtedly challenged his dignity as a monarch.

But Li Shimin was the emperor for the ages, and his scope far exceeded that of ordinary emperors.

He didn't get angry but patiently listened to Lin Shen's next words.

Lin Shen continued, "As for my identity... My lineage traces back to the Mohist and agrarian schools that fled from the Central Plains during the Warring States period."

"Surviving on a resource-rich island overseas, thousands of years have passed, and my lineage now only has me left. I don't want to live a solitary life until the end of my days, so I came to the Great Tang from overseas."

"The skills I possess are even greater than what you imagine."

"Don't even think about investigating me. You are destined to find nothing."

Lin Shen couldn't directly say that he was a time traveler, and Li Shimin wouldn't understand that concept.

So he just used the skin of an ancient person.

There are almost no descendants of the Mohist and agrarian schools now. Even if Li Shimin wanted to investigate, he wouldn't find anything useful.