Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

It had been a long time since Xiao Letian had returned home. The closer he got to his house, the more uneasy he felt.

Finally arriving at his doorstep, Xiao Letian tightened his grip on the money bag in his hand. He had barely spent any of the money his father had given him; in fact, there was even more in it now.

That was because Mo Xiaohu had advanced him some of his wages.

After composing himself for a moment, Xiao Letian pushed open the door and entered.

His elderly father was sitting inside, eating his meal: a bowl of sweet potato and a bowl of pickled vegetables.

He was still wearing the same old, tattered Confucian robe he wore every day, though it was now so dirty and torn that it barely resembled one.

Xiao Kang looked up and saw his son returning home, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Then, he lowered his head again and continued eating in silence.

Xiao Letian felt his throat tighten and said softly, "Father, I'm back."

"There's food in the pot. Go eat."

Xiao Letian nodded and sat directly across from Xiao Kang, pushing the money bag in front of him.

"Father, I don't need to spend this much money. I'm working at the school now, and they're paying me wages."

"......"

Xiao Kang's chopsticks suddenly stopped in mid-air. He looked up at Xiao Letian, his eyes filled with disappointment, his lips trembling incessantly.

The next second, he angrily knocked the money bag to the ground and roared, "A craftsman! Do you like being a craftsman that much?! I don't have such a useless son like you!"

Xiao Letian panicked and quickly explained, "Father! It's not just any craftsman... at least, not an ordinary one! The things the school is building are extraordinary... they say it's a great undertaking that will benefit the country and its people in the future! But it's confidential, so I can't tell you."

"Heh, I don't want to hear it..." Xiao Kang gave a bleak smile and turned back into the house.

Xiao Letian sat woodenly on the chair, his chest feeling as if it were weighed down by a huge rock, making it hard to breathe.

.....

Early the next morning, Xiao Letian packed his bags and set off again for Taoyuan County.

The moment he arrived at the Ordnance Workshop, Mo Xiaohu noticed that something was wrong with him.

After so much time interacting with Xiao Letian, Mo Xiaohu had a general understanding of his family situation.

So, he comforted him, "What's wrong? Did you argue with your father?"

Xiao Letian nodded.

Mo Xiaohu said, "Hey, those are just small things! It won't be long before we achieve results, and everyone will look at you in a new light!"

"Cheer up! The Embroidered Uniform Guard is coming later, don't let the Ordnance Workshop lose face!"

"What does the Embroidered Uniform Guard have to do with us?" Xiao Letian asked.

Mo Xiaohu sighed, "I heard they've set up some kind of audit team... specifically to monitor us, afraid we're misusing funds."

"Hey, a letter came from above saying that major projects will be funded by the Royal Academy of Sciences from now on. The money we spend is the people's hard-earned money, and not a single penny is allowed to be wasted."

"You didn't catch the good old days! Back when Taoyuan County was doing it on its own, that was something else... but it's useless to tell you all this."

"Pay attention, and that Young Master Li is no ordinary person. When he comes, try to go along with him."

Xiao Letian remained silent.

Two more days passed.

The new hot air balloon was ready!

Everyone in the Ordnance Workshop gathered again to inspect the results, and Li Yuanzhao appeared as scheduled.

After countless discussions and four major revisions, everyone had high expectations.

When Mo Xiaohu said the word "Ignite."

The hot air balloon began to gradually inflate as usual, then slowly rose in the expectant gazes of the crowd.

"It's flying! It's flying!!" Someone shouted.

In the time it took to speak, the hot air balloon had already floated to the height of a person!

However, the rope tied below was already taut, making it difficult to go higher.

Mo Xiaohu decisively said, "Release the rope!"

Someone went to untie the rope, and while the hot air balloon was ascending, quickly tied it again.

The rope was fully twenty meters long, and at this moment, the height of the hot air balloon had reached more than ten meters!

"It's a success! Holy crap! It's a success! Holy crap!"

The crowd below cheered wildly, even to the point of frenzy! A miracle! Today, they had witnessed a miracle!

Li Yuanzhao was incomparably shocked, muttering, "My heavens... Old Fang really didn't lie to me, it really flew up."

Immediately afterwards, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

Flying... burning down the stockades, wouldn't that become a reality!!

The more he thought about it, the more reliable it seemed. Li Yuanzhao excitedly licked his lips, and a hint of greed appeared in his eyes as he stared at the hot air balloon.

After a while, the kerosene in the hot air balloon burned out, and it began to descend slowly along the rope, finally landing heavily on the ground.

Mo Xiaohu walked forward, his face flushed with excitement, "Great! It only took four times to succeed, what luck! Did everyone write it down?"

"It's written down." Xiao Letian was also trembling with excitement, but then another problem arose: "Ascending to the sky is certainly ascending to the sky, but how should we control it? We can't just let it fly around randomly."

Mo Xiaohu calmly said, "Yes, I'm afraid only someone who goes up there will know."

Only someone who goes up there will know?

An uncontrollable idea涌出 from Xiao Letian's mind, and once it涌出, it was difficult to take back.

While the others were still clapping and celebrating, Xiao Letian was already struggling with entanglement.

However, it didn't last long before he stared at Mo Xiaohu with fiery eyes and said, "Teacher, please fill it with more kerosene and ascend again!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I want to go up and take a look. I'm responsible for recording, and I have to go up there to record clearly."

"No! It's not stable yet, it's too dangerous, you can't go." Mo Xiaohu rejected him outright.

Xiao Letian persuaded, "Teacher! It's okay, didn't it go up and down just now quite well? As long as it's tied with a rope, it'll be fine."

"Please, Teacher! The opportunity is rare! This has already been a successful case, so let's strike while the iron is hot and speed up the progress!"

"That's right! Strike while the iron is hot, let's go up and take a look!" Li Yuanzhao strode over, his face full of excitement.

He patted Xiao Letian hard: "Your name is Xiao Letian? You've got guts! This... I'll go up with you! Mo Xiaohu, add kerosene."

Cold sweat slowly flowed down Mo Xiaohu's forehead.

His eyes filled with terror.

The Crown Prince! He's the Crown Prince! If he falls from the sky and gets injured, even the eggs in my house will be scrambled!

Thinking of the terrible consequences, Mo Xiaohu shook his head like a rattle drum.

Li Yuanzhao glared: "What! Is there a problem?"

"Yes! It's too dangerous! No one is allowed to go, I have to report to the master." Mo Xiaohu hardened his heart and said firmly.

"Heh heh, I'm as close as one person with your master, stop talking nonsense, add kerosene, or don't blame me for being impolite!" Li Yuanzhao said sinisterly.

The scenery in the sky, he was also very馋的很.

More importantly, whether or not he could control the hot air balloon would affect the future form of warfare.

Such a major event that could change the course of history, if I, Li Yuanzhao, don't participate, then I would die with regret!

Mo Xiaohu stubbornly shook his head and refused.

Seeing that he couldn't reason with him, Li Yuanzhao shouted loudly: "Everyone turn your backs to me! Otherwise, get out of the Ordnance Workshop!"

Not good!

Mo Xiaohu's heart jumped, he quickly persuaded: "Your Highness, no..."

"Shut up! Today's events are all my doing, and have nothing to do with you, turn around!"

Mo Xiaohu swallowed his saliva, his head buzzing, and he turned around woodenly.

In just a moment, Li Yuanzhao scurried over, grabbed a few kerosene cans and ran towards the hot air balloon basket.

Entering the basket, looking at Xiao Letian, who hadn't reacted yet, he shouted: "What are you still stunned for, follow me up the balloon!"

......