Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

“Stop the nonsense and talk!” Li Yuanzhao's eyebrows shot up.

Mo Xiaohu reluctantly said, “Besides the usual guns and cannons, there are also landmines and hand grenades.”

“What are those?”

“Simply put, a landmine is placed on the ground and explodes when stepped on. A hand grenade is thrown and explodes, killing five or six people at a time is no problem.”

“That powerful! Why didn't Lao Fang take them out earlier?” Li Yuanzhao was overjoyed.

“There are still some problems with these landmines; the trigger success rate isn't very high. As for the hand grenades... you have to use a fire starter to light the fuse before throwing them. Our master said they weren't perfect enough and needed more research.”

“Damn it! That dog Lao Fang! He actually didn't tell this prince about such awesome things... Wait a minute!” Li Yuanzhao suddenly had a flash of inspiration, leaned close to Mo Xiaohu's face, and squinted his eyes as he asked, “Hiding it so deeply, you guys must have made cannons and firearms a long time ago, right? When did you make them? Confess honestly!”

Mo Xiaohu's face turned pale, he tightly closed his lips, and took two steps back.

“If you don't talk, you won't have a good time. I'll have Lao Fang send you to me to be a playmate for my son.” Li Yuanzhao said with ill intentions.

Facing Li Yuanzhao's pressing advance, Mo Xiaohu, sweating profusely, said, “Five or six years... seven or eight years?... I can't remember...”

“Damn it!!!” Li Yuanzhao roared, excitedly saying, “Lao Fang is really useless! If I were him, I would rebel!”

Mo Xiaohu: “......”

Rebel against what? Seriously, you don't know the cost of living until you're in charge of a household. Those few cannons from earlier years were all made by tightening our belts. The raw materials were all bought from other places. Isn't it better to live a good life?

“Lao Fang is really damn bold, ten heads wouldn't be enough for him to lose.” Li Yuanzhao pinched his chin, glanced at Mo Xiaohu again, pointed at him, and said, “You kid, you're not tight-lipped! It's fine to tell this prince, but if you dare go out and blab to others, I'll make you a playmate!”

“Won't blab, definitely won't blab!”

Mo Xiaohu shook his head violently, silently shedding tears in his heart.

If I didn't know what kind of relationship you have with our master, I wouldn't say anything even if you beat me to death!

Li Yuanzhao said regretfully, “Since the internal testing didn't pass, then how many hand grenades and landmines are there? Just take as many as there are, report the numbers.”

“There aren't many landmines, a little over twenty. Hand grenades....” Mo Xiaohu suddenly fell silent.

“How many hand grenades are there?” Li Yuanzhao asked eagerly.

“Five hundred boxes, twenty grenades per box.”

“......” Li Yuanzhao was dumbfounded on the spot.

Five hundred boxes, ten thousand grenades! One grenade can kill five or six people, can five hundred boxes kill fifty or sixty thousand people?

“Didn't you say the internal testing didn't pass? Tell me the truth, don't get a single word wrong!” Li Yuanzhao asked in surprise.

Mo Xiaohu's face was wooden. In order to avoid becoming a playmate, he had already thrown caution to the wind: “The internal pricing test didn't pass. Our master said that although they were flawed... not perfect enough, the Ministry of War would still accept them. Moreover, the county is poor and needs to make more military equipment to sell for money, striving to shake off the label of 'poverty-stricken county' within fifty years.”

The county is poor... a poverty-stricken county? Is that how he sees Peach Blossom County?

The corners of Li Yuanzhao's mouth twitched.

That really is Lao Fang's style.

But with five hundred boxes of hand grenades plus three thousand elite Embroidered Uniform Guards, wouldn't I be able to run rampant in the grasslands?

Thinking of this, Li Yuanzhao's breathing began to quicken. He stepped forward and grabbed Mo Xiaohu's collar, excitedly saying, “Is there more? Is there more? You must have hidden other treasures, right? Even flawed products are fine!”

“There is a flawed product... iron shoes filled with gunpowder, triggered by a pull cord when kicking someone, the soles can explode. The power isn't great, but it would be useful if you add some poison.”

“Tch! What a piece of junk, it sounds useless. Who could even move wearing iron shoes?” Li Yuanzhao asked suspiciously, “Is there anything else?”

Mo Xiaohu was on the verge of tears: “That's it! That's really it... The firearms institute is still developing new firearms, but none of them are practical.”

“If Your Highness really wants to find something, go find Wang Meng. I heard that guy has plague in his hands... it might be useful.”

“Huh!?” Li Yuanzhao's expression turned strange, “What did you say, plague?”

“Ah... A small village near the capital suffered from the plague a few years ago. Wang Meng found out and collected some pus from the patients to do research. He came back and said that stuff could spread the plague... That stuff is great for war! Armies are densely packed with people, and one person infects ten, ten infect a hundred, isn't it much more useful than firearms?”

“Ugh....” Li Yuanzhao showed a disgusted expression: “Wang Meng is too perverted!”

“Our master said the same thing. Our master ordered those few jars of pus to be destroyed, but I guess that guy Wang Meng must have hidden them! He's bolder than a donkey's balls, he's not a normal person.”

“Forget it, that thing is against the harmony of nature. What if things go wrong? Besides, it's been almost two years since it was released, can it still be used?” Li Yuanzhao curled his lips.

I have to stay away from that guy Wang Meng in the future. No, I have to find Lao Fang and have him educate him properly. Isn't he a scientific madman?

Mo Xiaohu said aggrievedly, “Your Highness, I've already revealed everything I should have, there's nothing left. If you really see our master, please don't say I told you. Just say you saw it in Peach Blossom County. Our master didn't hide anything from you, you can wander around Peach Blossom County anyway, and they've all gradually moved to East Suburb University.”

Li Yuanzhao waved his hand impatiently: “Alright, alright, no one is more tight-lipped than me! You've done a good job, this prince will give you a great merit!”

“Listen to my arrangements for what follows. In a moment, this prince will write a letter of allegiance, just saying that I am willing to lead the attack on the Jin Kingdom. You take this prince's handwritten order and privately contact the Embroidered Uniform Guards one by one to sign and stamp it, and hand it over to me by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Tomorrow, this prince will take the petition to find my imperial father. At that time, I will show off my martial arts, and he will have to agree even if he doesn't want to!”

......

The next day, at the entrance of the Imperial Study.

Li Yuanzhao took the petition and kept taking deep breaths.

Yesterday, his imperial father was busy discussing war affairs all morning. He didn't expect that even his meals were arranged in the Imperial Study.

He's probably reviewing documents while eating, so this is probably the only time he'll have some alone time.

When I go in later, I'll greet him first, act more respectful, then sell myself short, and finally hand over the petition to express my wish and it should be done.

No, that's not right! This is wartime! I should act arrogant, right? When I go in, I'll slam the petition on the table, and then demand to go to the battlefield with full momentum.

If he starts to consider it, then I'll explain it with emotion and reason. My imperial father was already on the battlefield at my age, there's no reason not to let me go! If that still doesn't work, I'll say I admire my imperial father when he was young... Hiss, what did Lao Fang say?

....

Li Yuanzhao prepared his draft, mustered his courage, and knocked on the door of the Imperial Study.

Entering the room, the Jing Emperor was indeed eating and reading memorials.

When he entered, the Jing Emperor only glanced sideways and said in a flat tone, “What is it?”

Li Yuanzhao's face collapsed, revealing a flattering smile: “Imperial Father, this son has come to pay his respects.”

“Okay, go back.”

“.....” Li Yuanzhao hesitated for a moment, carefully handed over the petition, and said in a low voice: “This son...”

“There's no need to say anymore, if I let you supervise the country, you just honestly supervise the country. One more word and you'll be confined to the Eastern Palace!”

“? ? ?”