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

Capital.

As soon as Li Junren arrived in the capital, he rushed to the palace.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience."

Li Tiancheng was reviewing memorials when he heard that the Crown Prince was requesting an audience. He assumed the Crown Prince wanted to report on the results of the recent tour, as he was getting tired from reviewing the memorials.

"Let him in."

"promise."

Li Tiancheng took a sip of tea. Because of the various spices added, its complex flavor was immediately apparent on his face, and his previous fatigue vanished.

Looking up, she saw her son striding in with a joyful expression.

"Meet my father."

"My son, you've worked hard. You've just returned. Take a rest and you can report back on the results of your inspection tomorrow."

Li Tiancheng was quite satisfied that the Crown Prince was able to report to him immediately upon his return.

"Congratulations, Father! Congratulations, Father!"

"My son, what brings you this joy?"

"Father, during this inspection tour, I obtained a strategy to deal with the Dazi Kingdom, and I also obtained a divine artifact that can enhance our army's combat power."

“My son, tell me slowly.”

Crown Prince Li Junren then truthfully relayed Zhou Wu's trade strategy to his father, the Emperor. Upon hearing this, Li Tiancheng immediately grasped the key point and praised the strategy highly.

"A brilliant plan, a brilliant plan! To kill without leaving a trace and slowly choke the throat of the Dazi Kingdom, it is truly a brilliant plan. Although it takes too much time, the trade during this period will bring many benefits to the Great Dragon. Who offered this plan?"

"Zhou Wu, commander of the Qingyang Army."

"It's him?"

The image of Zhou Wu's youth immediately flashed into Li Tiancheng's mind again.

"I thought he was just an unreliable military general, but I didn't expect him to have such strategic skills. He is truly a brilliant strategist."

Zhou Wu's main impression on Li Tiancheng was his cooking skills and food. He wasn't present during the last rescue of the Crown Prince, so he didn't know the specifics of the situation. However, he didn't expect Zhou Wu to be able to offer such a plan, which made Li Tiancheng look at him with new respect.

"I didn't expect this either."

"I will summon the civil officials to discuss this matter immediately."

"Father, there is another divine artifact."

Seeing that his father was about to leave, Li Junren quickly called out to him.

"Oh, right, what kind of magical artifact is it? Quickly take it out and let your father see it."

Li Tiancheng slapped his forehead, realizing how forgetful he really was.

"Come on, bring it up."

When the repeating crossbow entered the palace, it was confiscated by the guards. This was the rule of the palace, and no one was exempt except the emperor.

The guard handed the repeating crossbow to the eunuch, who then passed it on to Li Tiancheng.

"crossbow?"

In this era, crossbows were generally used by assassins for their high accuracy, but they were rarely used on the battlefield because their range was shorter than that of bows.

Li Tiancheng looked at the divine weapon in front of him. Wasn't this just a crossbow? No matter how powerful it was, so what? Would it increase the success rate of assassinating the emperor of the empire?

"Indeed, Father, this is a crossbow."

"Isn't this just a regular crossbow? I don't see anything different about it."

"I wonder if Father Emperor would allow me to demonstrate it?"

"It doesn't matter."

With Li Tiancheng's permission, Li Junren picked up his crossbow and, under the watchful eyes of the guards, went outside the hall. He looked around for a target and unfortunately chose an old tree a hundred meters away.

"Father, please take good care of yourself."

Li Junren raised his hand, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The arrow flew out in one smooth motion. Up until now, Li Tiancheng hadn't noticed anything different about the crossbow. However, he was soon stunned by the sight before him.

Li Junren kept pulling the trigger, and arrows kept shooting out of the crossbow. In less than a breath, Li Junren had already fired ten arrows before stopping.

"Father, this is a repeating crossbow. It can fire ten arrows in succession. It is also easy to use and does not require a lot of training time."

As an emperor on horseback, Li Tiancheng immediately recognized the advantages of the repeating crossbow. Besides enhancing combat effectiveness, it was practically the nemesis of cavalry.

"What a divine artifact! How did my son obtain such a divine artifact?"

“Father, it was presented by Zhou Wu.”

It's Zhou Wu again. If it was a coincidence once, then it can only prove that Zhou Wu is a person with real skills.

"Come here and deliver the decree!"

"Father, I have another matter to report."

Upon hearing that his father was about to bestow rewards, the Crown Prince quickly interrupted, because there was something else he was unsure whether he should say or not.

“My son, is there anything else? Please speak freely.”

He knew his own son best, and seeing Li Junren's hesitant expression, he knew that Li Junren was having an internal struggle again.

"When I was in Qingyang County, I discovered that Niujia Village was growing two new types of grain."

"Oh, the dragon doesn't have any new food?"

"Yes."

"That's great. More food means more hope and opportunity."

Li Tiancheng thought it was just ordinary new grain, so although he was happy, he didn't show any special reaction.

“Father, those two new grains were obtained from foreign lands by Zhou Wu through intermediaries. Zhou Wu himself said that one of them yields ten shi per mu and the other yields twenty shi per mu.”

"what!"

As expected, Li Junren's father's reaction was exactly what he had anticipated.

"Reporting to Father Emperor, one yields ten shi per mu, and the other yields twenty shi per mu."

"Did Zhou Wu really say that himself?"

"Yes, but I cannot be sure whether this is true or false, so I was a little undecided just now."

Hearing Li Junren's words, Li Tiancheng calmed down. However, after a short while, he judged that it was unlikely that Zhou Wu was lying, because he had no reason to lie, and the lie would be exposed after the autumn harvest a few months later.

"It's unlikely that Zhou Wu is lying. Even if we take half the amount he said, it would still be a huge sum."

Ten shi (a unit of dry measure) halved is five shi, and twenty shi halved is ten shi. What does ten shi mean? In the Great Dragon Empire, there is no grain that can produce ten shi per mu (a unit of land area), and even five shi is extremely rare.

"Guards, convey the imperial decree to promote Zhou Wu to the rank of Guoyi Duwei (a sixth-rank official), grant him the title of Xiaoqiwei, reward him with 100 gold pieces, and allow him to continue commanding the Qingyang Army."

"My son, what's the name of Zhou Wu's village?"

"Niujia Village."

"Oh, let's designate Niujia Village as a Zhouwu household. As for the grain, if we wait until after the autumn harvest to confirm that there is no falsehood, I will grant him a title, which would not be a loss."

Even Li Junren felt that the reward was a bit too much, but since the other party had saved his life, Li Junren had no objections.

. . . . .

Niujia Village.

"So be it..."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhou Wu accepted the imperial edict, and Niu Er, who was standing next to him, was even happier than if he himself had been promoted, seeing that Zhou Wu had been promoted again.

"Eunuch Chang, since you've come all this way, why don't you stay a few more days and relax? Although Niujia Village isn't a bustling place, it's peaceful and quiet."

This was the second time they had interacted, and the initial awkwardness between Zhou Wu and Eunuch Chang had lessened, making their conversation more like a casual chat between friends.

"No, there are many rules in the palace, I dare not delay. Congratulations, you have gained the Emperor's favor in just a few months, and I heard that the Crown Prince also values ​​you highly."