If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

Zhou Wu's petition to establish a navy has been submitted for several days, but there has been no news yet. However, there has been news about Deng Yuanliang's purchase of saltpeter.

"Sir, the saltpeter has been purchased."

Deng Yuanliang was very lucky. He found a trading company in the Moon Man Kingdom. For some reason, they had stockpiled a large amount of saltpeter, which had been stored for several years. They happened to meet Deng Yuanliang, and both parties happily reached an agreement.

"How much did you buy?"

"This time, the fleet brought back nothing but saltpeter."

"Great! Someone, go and invite Master Niu and the others over."

Zhou Wu needs to use saltpeter to make ice, which is a long-term need for Niujia Town, so naturally the more the better.

"Yes, my lord."

While waiting for Master Niu and the others, Zhou Wu also ordered someone to bring several buckets of clean water.

Before long, the key personnel from Niujia Town arrived one after another.

"Brother, you said you wanted to make ice? When did you learn magic?"

The voices could be heard before Niu and his companion even entered.

"Shut up, keep your voice down, are you afraid others won't know?"

Master Niu's cane struck Niu Er on the head from behind, scolding him to shut up immediately for making such a fuss about such a secret.

Lin Niangzi also appeared shortly after, and the key figures of Niujia Town were all present.

However, when the three people who came in later did enter, they did see Deng Yuanliang staring blankly at a bucket.

"Old Deng, what's wrong with you?"

Niu Er stepped forward and patted Deng Yuanliang, but the other party did not react at all, still staring intently at the bucket in front of him. Niu Er looked over curiously, wondering what it was that made Deng Yuanliang so absorbed.

"This, this, this is ice?"

When Niu Er realized that the bucket contained ice, his voice trembled slightly.

"What? Let me see."

In this weather, there's no way ice could possibly appear. The fact that this bucket of ice is in front of everyone can only mean one thing: it's Zhou Wu's masterpiece.

"Did you do this?"

Everyone saw the bucket of ice placed in front of them, but Old Niu still asked Zhou Wu in disbelief.

"Okay, let me give you a performance."

Zhou Wu pointed to several buckets next to him, which were full of water. Then, Zhou Wu did something strange and threw the saltpeter in. White smoke began to rise from the buckets.

"Celestial magic? Big brother, you really know celestial magic?"

“This is incredible.”

Everyone was shocked to learn that Zhou Wu had such a skill, having spent so much time with him.

The group stared blankly until the white smoke gradually diminished and faded, and then a miraculous scene unfolded: the water in the bucket had indeed turned into ice.

"Is this truly divine magic?"

"Big brother, you have to teach me this."

While everyone was shocked by Niu Ye and Niu Er, Deng Yuanliang wore a thoughtful expression.

"Sir, was it saltpeter that you put in?"

"Yes, it's actually very simple. Just put saltpeter in the water."

"This is truly amazing. So this is what they call magic. It's so simple."

Madam Lin was initially startled, but when Zhou Wu threw things in, she realized that this was not some kind of magic at all.

"Everyone must keep this secret well, so that our Niujia Town can gain some advantages."

"Hmm~"

Now everyone treats Niujia Town as their own home, so naturally they wouldn't do anything detrimental to Niujia Town.

"Uncle Niu, the ice-making business is now in your hands."

"Don't worry, the only way to get the secret to making ice from me is by killing me."

Because everyone else had their own more important work, Zhou Wu handed the matter over to Uncle Niu, who also liked to do things for the town.

When Niu Ye heard that Zhou Wu had entrusted him with such an important task, he was naturally overjoyed. He had always been afraid that Zhou Wu would think he was too old and stop assigning him work, but now it was clear that Zhou Wu had not given up on him.

Just as everyone was still focused on solving the ice problem, a messenger announced that an imperial envoy from the capital had arrived.

"what's the situation?"

Niujia Town is located in a remote area, and generally speaking, the high-ranking officials in the capital would not pay attention to it, which is why everyone has questions about it.

"Because it's a naval matter, there's a result."

Only Zhou Wu knew that this was probably aimed at him.

"navy?"

The word "navy" was very familiar to Lin Niangzi, because Zhou Wu had mentioned it to her more than once. If the navy were established, Lin Niangzi and her group of brothers would have a formal identity. So at this moment, Lin Niangzi was also a little uneasy and nervous.

"Zhou Wu, commander of the Qingyang Army, receives the imperial decree."

The eunuch who came to deliver the imperial edict this time was not Changqing. Zhou Wu guessed that Changqing's rank was now high enough that he no longer needed to do these errands.

"The minister accepts the order."

"By order of His Majesty the Great Dragon Emperor, the commander of the Qingyang Army is appointed as the commander of the Great Dragon Empire's navy, with an additional 3,000 troops. Armor and weapons shall be procured with the approval of the Ministry of War. So be it."

"Your subject accepts the decree and expresses his gratitude."

The imperial edict was simple: Li Tiancheng had agreed to establish a navy, but only with a force of three thousand men, which disappointed Zhou Wu a little, though it was better than nothing.

Hearing this, Lin Niangzi was overjoyed. Finally, she and her brothers had a proper identity.

After treating the angel well and giving him some money as usual, Zhou Wu respectfully saw him off. It wasn't that Zhou Wu was afraid of these people or that they were troublesome little devils; it was just that, in Zhou Wu's view, these people often had it tough, and they might be able to play a big role at a crucial moment. He didn't need the money either; Chang Qing was a perfect example.

After seeing the outsiders off, Zhou Wu immediately appointed Lin Niangzi as the deputy commander of the Great Dragon Empire's navy, in charge of all matters related to the formation of the navy.

. . . . . .

Among the people brought by Madam Lin, some joined the navy on a voluntary basis, leaving some vacancies. However, Zhou Wu preferred quality over quantity and did not rush to recruit soldiers.

"Sir, should our navy procure the Bull Demon King or the Azure Dragon?"

The most important thing for the navy is, of course, the ships; personnel organization is a piece of cake for Lin Niangzi.

"In my opinion, if we're going to use something, we should use the best, but do you think those bigwigs in the Ministry of War will actually pay for it?"

"I reckon even the Bull Demon King and his ilk wouldn't be willing to buy it."

Although Madam Lin had never met the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of War, she had no good impression of these officials in the capital.

"You're absolutely right. In their eyes, the navy is nothing; the army is the real focus."

"What should I do?"

Without boats, daily training cannot be carried out, which is giving Lin Niangzi a bit of a headache.

"You can use our own ships for daily training first. All the Qinglong-class ships that have been built will be allocated to you, and you can also give some to the Bull Demon King. I will try my best to get some from the Ministry of War."

Although he knew that the Ministry of War would not allocate much funding to the Navy, Zhou Wu still decided to pay a personal visit when he returned to the capital.