We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

The convoy continued on.

After Li Che and Li Lin reached a brotherly pact, their relationship became much closer.

A relationship maintained solely by blood ties is not strong enough; only common interests can lock the alliance.

On the way from Yan to the imperial capital, Li Lin had been telling Li Che about the current situation in the court.

After all, Yan area is within Shanhaiguan, and Li Lin is much more informed than Li Che.

Through communication with Li Lin, Li Che discovered that his previous thoughts were too naive.

I originally thought that if the prince succeeded to the throne, the worst that could happen to me would be to establish a separate regime outside the Great Wall and compete with him.

But after learning about the military situation in Daqing, Li Che couldn't help but feel scared.

Daqing is more terrifying than all the opponents he has faced before combined!

For example, Khitan, Goryeo, and Mohe, their countries were already considered big countries in East Asia, with millions of citizens.

But Daqing’s standing military force alone has millions of people!

The number of people is over 100 million!

This was after Emperor Qing took over the world and disbanded the army several times.

When the country was first founded, Daqing had even more troops!

The prince has succeeded to the throne. Based on the current Feng Kingdom, if I really rebel, my chances of winning are probably less than 10%.

Apart from the troops defending the border, the Fengtian Army could not even muster 100,000 regular troops. The gap in military strength between the two was too great.

Unless there is another breakthrough in firearms manufacturing technology, every soldier can be equipped with a flintlock rifle.

Li Che secretly kept this matter in mind. The development of science and technology is the top priority. After returning to Fengguo, he must hurry to develop the machine tool!

Just as he was daydreaming, Li Lin came to Li Che with a pipe, leaned over to the fire in front of him and was about to light it.

Seeing that Li Lin's eyebrows were about to be burnt, Li Che quickly pulled him back and took out a lighter from his clothes.

With a 'swishing' sound, flames leaped out.

Li Lin said, "Hey!" "This thing is pretty good, more convenient than a fire stick!"

Li Che said indifferently: "This thing doesn't have much technical content. If Fourth Brother likes it, I will give you a hundred or eighty of them."

Li Lin was surprised and asked, "How could this thing that can create fire out of thin air be so cheap?"

Li Che smiled and said nothing.

It’s just a lighter, what’s so difficult about it?

Not-so-old knowledge: The lighter was invented three hundred years earlier than matches.

Electronic ignition is indeed difficult to use, but you can use a grinding wheel to ignite it.

It is difficult to liquefy coal gas, but kerosene is more convenient.

It's nothing more than a grinding wheel, a flint, a piece of cotton wool, a metal shell, a few thin wires wrapped together as a fuse, and finally some kerosene.

With Fengguo's current industrial base, it is no problem to produce hundreds of them a day.

The Feng State caravan had already started selling these kerosene lighters, but their sales were not as good as those of glass lighters.

"It's not difficult. Once I teach the production method to Fourth Brother, Yan Fan will be able to make it himself." Li Che replied.

Li Lin looked conflicted, but then he shook his head: "Forget it, I'm not good at business and construction, and I'm not going to reveal the formula to you again."

Li Che smiled, but didn't force it.

Li Lin beside him took a puff of his pipe and exhaled the smoke intoxicatedly.

Li Che frowned and said, "This tobacco is not a good thing. It's bad for your health. Fourth brother should smoke less."

Li Lin was skeptical: "Is this true? The palace's medical officer never mentioned this."

Li Che suddenly realized that this tobacco must have just been introduced to the Central Plains, and no one knew the harmful effects of this thing.

But...when did tobacco arrive in Asia? It seems to be a product of America, right?

Li Che's face was shocked.

Tobacco, and corn before, I have seen several American products in Daqing, this is by no means a coincidence.

This shows that in this era, people had already set foot on the precious land of America and brought back a large number of seeds!

In the past, there were three necessary conditions for Columbus to land on the American continent:

First of all, shipbuilding technology, sturdy ships capable of long-distance voyages across the ocean, and sailing technology reached its peak.

Next are gunpowder weapons, muskets and even ship-mounted cannons, which provide safety protection for long voyages.

Finally, there are compasses and maps. Navigation technology has been perfected and can provide guidance for long-distance voyages across the sea.

All three conditions are indispensable. Even so, he went through untold hardships before he could barely reach America. I guess it's the same in this world.

This means that there is a civilization in this world that has already met these three conditions, and its technology tree has climbed to a level similar to that of Fengguo, or even surpassed Fengguo.

Who is it? Spain, Portugal, or the Windmill Country? Or perhaps the British Empire, France?

It turns out that we cannot underestimate the heroes of the world.

"Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother." Li Lin's shouting woke Li Che from his thoughts, "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing." Li Che shook his head.

He was not going to tell anyone about his conjecture. One reason was that ancient people did not understand the significance of the Age of Exploration, and the other was that he had no substantial evidence.

The only solution now is to continue climbing the technology tree, relying on Fengguo's national strength and knowledge from later generations to compete in technology with that unknown opponent.

I stand on the shoulders of sages from hundreds of years ago. Even if I strike back later, I may not be weaker than that mysterious opponent. The outcome is still unknown.

"Fourth brother, you should smoke less tobacco. Although it can be refreshing, it is not good for your health and will cause endless troubles."

"Got it." Li Lin listened to the advice and knocked the pipe in his hand against the sole of his shoe. "At this rate, we should be able to reach the imperial capital by tomorrow."

Li Che nodded: "There are still three days until the end of the year. I finally caught up after rushing as fast as I could."

"Where will Lao Liu live when he returns to Beijing? The Tenth Prince's Residence?"

Li Che coughed lightly and said awkwardly: "The Tenth Prince's Mansion, I'm afraid it can't be lived in anymore..."

"Oh? Why?" Li Lin asked curiously.

"Well..."

. . . . . .

Daqing, the imperial capital, the residence of the Ten Kings.

The princes had already arrived in the imperial capital one after another. Emperor Qing had not seen his sons for many years, so he kept them in the palace and held banquets every day to enjoy family happiness.

Like other parents, he would miss his son if he hadn't seen him for a long time, but when he really met him, he would start to get annoyed with him again after a few days.

So Emperor Qing sent his sons to the Ten Kings' Residence, and he finally had some peace and quiet.

At this time, seven or eight vassal kings, led by Li Cheng, King of Qin, and Li Yuan, King of Jin, stood in the courtyard of the Ten Kings' Mansion, staring at the bare house in amazement.

The King of Qin looked at the terrified eunuch beside him and kicked him. "Fuck your mother, where did you bring this worthless bastard to me? Is this still the Tenth Prince's residence?"

The King of Qin had practiced martial arts for many years and had extraordinary strength, but he had no power to restrain himself.

The kick knocked the eunuch to the ground, face down.

The eunuch's face was covered in blood, but he dared not cry out in pain. He could only struggle to get up and said, "Your Highness, please calm down! Your Highness, please calm down!"

"Calm down?!" King Qin's face was gloomy. "I'm asking you, where are the golden nanmu wood, golden bricks and green tiles in this house?"

"You bunch of eunuchs, are you so bold that you even dare to sell things from the princes' houses? Do you think we can't return to the imperial capital?"

"It's unfair, Your Highness the Prince of Qin!" the eunuch cried out in injustice. "Even if we were given eight hundred guts, we wouldn't dare sell off the items in the Tenth Prince's Mansion!"

"Then tell me, where did all these things go!" The King of Qin's eyes were full of tyranny.

The Prince of Qin had the hottest temper among all the princes. Before he was enfeoffed, he often beat and scolded palace maids and eunuchs, and countless of them were beaten to death or disabled.

The young eunuch knew the reputation of the Prince of Qin, so he dared not hide it: "It was His Royal Highness the Prince of Feng! It was His Royal Highness the Prince of Feng who sold it!"

The King of Qin paused as he raised his hand, the corner of his mouth slightly raised: "Offer to the King?"

"Yes, yes, yes! When the king was enfeoffed, in order to raise military funds, the Ten Kings' Houses were completely emptied and all the valuables were sold off."

"Everyone in the capital knows about this. That batch of goods is still circulating in the market. I dare not lie."

When the princes heard this, they were immediately furious.

"You're such a good guy, Lao Liu! It's fine if he just sold his property, but why did he sell mine too?"

"My night-shining pearl! My gold inlaid with jade! My dragon and phoenix wine pot!"

"Sixth Brother is so outrageous! Forget about everything else, but why did you sell my bed too? Where will I live?!"

"You're doing pretty good. He even sold me my underwear just because it had some gold threads on it!"