Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

In the Western Regions, Qin Ming spent several days persuading the leaders of various countries.

And let them build along the simplest straight track.

This can save a lot of unnecessary distance.

"Thank you for your hospitality these past few days. I'm leaving now."

At noon that day, Qin Ming took Chang Baishan and the King of Loulan to say goodbye.

In addition to the King of Loulan, several other kings who remained here also came to see him off.

Before leaving, the King of Loulan whispered:

"Recently, we've discovered that the Daqian army's movements are somewhat strange. They seem to be converging towards the west of the lake. Please be careful."

"Calculating the time, they are indeed coming soon, but don't worry, this battle will not start."

Qin Ming waved his hand lightly.

The King of Loulan did not understand this sentence.

But by this time Qin Ming had already left.

After spending a few days returning to Lingnan, Qin Ming did not stop and took a train directly to the coast of Jiangnan.

Over time, their train track construction has become more and more sophisticated.

In less than a day, Qin Ming arrived at the military camp here.

"Your Highness, long time no see!"

Cao Chuan stood in front of the military camp gate with a smile to greet Qin Ming. He had received news that Qin Ming would come today.

"How's the research on bulletproof vests going?"

Qin Ming looked at him curiously. His previous plan was to equip the entire army with bulletproof vests.

This would allow them to fully equip themselves with firearms, abandoning their heavy and inconvenient spears and swords, and attacking with only ammunition and firearms.

"Speaking of this... come with me and take a look."

Cao Chuan felt helpless when he received this task, as it was difficult to make bulletproof vests with materials of this era.

But he also thought of a solution that was just for them.

"Look."

After bringing Qin Ming to the barracks, he pointed to the soldiers in light armor and introduced them to Qin Ming:

"We have half of the bulletproof vest made. Combined with light armor, the defensive effect is very good. This combination can also block firearms damage."

As he spoke, he put on a helmet and then light armor.

Qin Ming noticed that inside these light armors were their semi-finished bulletproof vests.

When these two things are combined, the protective effect is improved without being too heavy to affect movement.

It’s indeed a good idea.

"Yes, that's the upper limit of the technology. Has it been rolled out to the entire army?"

"Liu Chuang is in Huxi, a day or two away from me. I thought I'd send it to him after I finish it."

"Send them first, and then ask them to minimize cold weapon combat."

Qin Ming spoke slowly, and his expression made Cao Chuan immediately alert.

"Is there something wrong with Daqian?"

"Almost. They have begun to increase their garrison in the Changhe area."

Liu Yueli and the people from the Luo Sect had already started searching on Daqian's territory.

The information they found out was even more than that found in the Western Regions.

Qin Ming naturally knew Emperor Qian's thoughts a long time ago.

"Are we going to start another war? There's still a group of soldiers at the Nanman Pass. I'll leave them here to Chenpi. How about transferring the rest to Huxi first?"

Cao Chuan quickly prepared to make arrangements.

Qin Ming waved his hand and said:

"Don't worry, this war may or may not happen, and even if it does, it won't last long."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because our technology has far surpassed Daqian, coupled with bulletproof vests and rapid-fire muskets, we can quickly sweep away the enemy forces, and the casualty rate will be extremely low."

Qin Ming has seen through Daqian's strength.

The current strength of Daqian is similar to when Qin Ming first promoted the use of fire guns throughout the army.

But later Qin Ming studied bulletproof vests, as well as weapons such as automatic rifles and shotguns.

Compared with the technologically stagnant Daqian Dynasty, they have huge advantages.

"This time, their purpose isn't to retake Huxi and Jiangnan, but to steal some of our technology back through war."

After Qin Ming told Cao Chuan what Emperor Qian was really thinking, Cao Chuan's eyes widened and he became a little panicked.

"Your Highness, our technology cannot be leaked!"

Firearms are one of their trump cards, especially their leading position in firearms technology, which allows Qin Ming to rest assured for the time being.

But once the enemy keeps stealing your weapons during a war, they will be able to use the same weapons next time.

"Just steal it, we can continue our research."

"Continue your research? Do you have any new ideas?"

Cao Chuan raised his eyebrows and suddenly became interested.

"Yes, it's a very powerful firearm. It can accurately hit the enemy from a distance of hundreds... or even thousands of feet."

What Qin Ming is planning to make recently is a large-caliber sniper rifle.

This is achievable with their current technology.

However, it is somewhat difficult to achieve good results, or even reach a range of thousands of feet.

But it doesn't matter. They can try it slowly. At the beginning, the sniper rifle only needs to achieve an effective distance of one or two hundred feet, and they will be considered victorious.

"Doesn't that mean we can kill all the enemy generals by standing on the city wall?!"

Cao Chuan, as a general who has led troops for many years, quickly figured out the crux of the problem.

"Yes, I will try it in this war."

Qin Ming said with a smile.

"When the time comes, please get me one of those firearms. I want to try it, too."

When Cao Chuan heard about such a weapon, he immediately became excited and could hardly contain himself.

"That's all for later. The workshop has already started researching, but it will take a while to complete. Put aside what you're doing for now, grab your gear, and let's go to the Japanese island."

Ever since Qin Ming arranged for Prince Duan to go to Wo Island, he has never been there in person.

He believed that with the means of Prince Duan and the help of Wu Shizhong, the factory could be completed quickly.

However, I didn’t expect that there were so many “rats” on the Japanese island.

Due to the complex terrain, the Japanese pirates were extremely difficult to find after hiding in the mountains and forests.

"I know, I'll go there now."

That evening, several large ships arrived at the port.

Qin Ming and Cao Chuan brought thousands of soldiers and boarded the ship.

These people are enough to deal with the Japanese pirates.

"Your Highness, who is this...?"

After Qin Ming got on the boat, Cao Chuan suddenly discovered that there was a young man with an unremarkable appearance and a calm face standing next to Qin Ming.

This suddenly made him feel a little strange.

Although Cao Chuan has followed Qin Ming for several years, he has never seen such a person.

Qin Ming smiled and introduced Cao Chuan:

"Let me introduce myself. This is one of the guardians of my Luo Sect. His name is Chen Xiaming."

"Luo Jiao!?"

Cao Chuan was suddenly stunned.

"But Your Highness, aren't we going to defeat the Japanese pirates? Why did you bring along the Luo Sect's people, and they're even Dharma Protector-level people!"