Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Shen Lang, tell me honestly, do you possess such a so-called weapon?"

"This humble servant would never have such a weapon; I was just speaking offhand. Your Majesty is overthinking it."

Shen Lang would certainly not admit that during his year in Jinling, he had spent his spare time slacking off and had actually made a hand-cranked Gatling gun by hand.

This was something he created by combining the knowledge he had acquired from the military industry system with the enormous effort he had put into finding various suitable materials based on the objective environment of this world.

It's not very powerful; a single burst is enough to make a group of Acquired Realm beings, one after another, equal.

As for those at the next higher level of mastery, annihilating them completely might be a bit difficult, since one unit is too few and requires dense firepower coverage.

It would be such a shame if this little girl took a fancy to such a good Gatling gun and took it.

Of course, I'd consider paying you.

Jiang Mengxuan could tell at a glance that Shen Lang was intentionally hiding something, but she didn't point it out immediately. Instead, she continued to ask, "The kind of weapon you just mentioned, is it a so-called technological product?"

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Shen Lang replied. “If Your Majesty truly intends to reform the military, the change should begin with the ordinary soldiers.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mengxuan said seriously, "Shen Lang, you'd better think this through. Once the military reform begins, it could affect the fate of our Chu Kingdom."

Shen Lang calmly replied, "Your Majesty, I have been on the battlefield and experienced the horrors of war."

Ordinary infantrymen are nothing more than cannon fodder that can be used at any time; their purpose is...

It was simply to reduce the pressure on the main battlefield when warriors and cavalry clashed.

Many soldiers still don't have a decent piece of armor, and even their common weapons like spears and swords are defective.

Once the two armies clash, they will be the first to be eliminated, and the decisive battle will be fought with a small number of elite troops such as warriors and cavalry.

We simply can't afford to keep up with the losses. From a purely profit-driven perspective, every death is a loss, and it's extremely difficult to replenish them in the future. We can't withstand continued attrition.

Jiang Mengxuan: "So, according to you, martial artists can be eliminated from the battlefield?"

"No, elite warriors are suitable for surprise attacks or as vanguard soldiers to boost morale, but they are not suitable for large-scale battles, and we really can't afford to consume them."

It takes at least five to ten years to train a martial artist, but once on the battlefield, they may perish in an instant.

After all, no one can guarantee that the martial artists sent by the enemy camp are more skilled than themselves. Relying on such uncertainties is simply not enough to create an overwhelming situation.

As for cavalry, their role on the battlefield was to ensure their efficient mobility in order to harass and break through enemy lines.

Only the infantry, which is least emphasized by various countries, is the true main force dominating the battlefield and the core force participating in large-scale military operations.

Therefore, I believe that if an army wants to become strong, it must start by changing the most ordinary infantry soldiers.

This is also the conclusion Shen Lang reached about the different military developments of infantry and cavalry based on his experience before his time travel, combined with his understanding of history from ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad.

A cavalry civilization does not refer to the number of warhorses your army possesses, but rather to elite troops with high training intensity and requiring extensive resources and time.

While such troops are indeed formidable in combat, they are extremely rare. Once losses begin, each one lost is one less available, making it difficult to replenish them sustainably, thus limiting their war potential.

Moreover, in order to support this elite force, rulers would not hesitate to suppress the development of infantry civilization.

However, with the passage of time and technological advancements, the combat power of cavalry civilizations will inevitably gradually decline.

It could even hinder social progress.

For example, the Celestial Empire under the rule of the Ma Yao sealed away the terrifying war potential of hundreds of millions of people who could be mobilized as infantry, in order to extract their surplus value to supply the Manchu and Mongol Eight Banners army.

But what was the result? As the period of the "Horse Demon" entered its later stages, leaving aside abstract figures like Kang Mazi and Lüma Yong, let's start from Gai Zhanglong. The Manchu and Mongol Eight Banners cavalry delivered a unique answer.

The four campaigns against Burma resulted in heavy losses, and the advance into Annam was completely reversed.

As for Fukang'an and Zhaohui, who were praised to the skies by Ma Yao's fans, they had fought a raid and a counterinsurgency war against villagers in Nepal and the Northwest Frontier who had not received systematic training. These were not even considered fourth- or fifth-rate armies in Inner Asia at the time, and then they began to boast about it.

Remember, this was only after Gai Zhanglong restored the fighting strength of the Eight Banners cavalry.

Then, the funny part happened.

In the 19th century, Nepal, which had been defeated by the boastful Fukang'an, turned the tables on the Mahatma dynasty and forced it to sign the extremely absurd "Treaty of Tibet and Nepal," which meant that the Mahatma lost its sovereign control over the southwestern border region of Tibet. This treaty was not completely abolished until the founding of the People's Republic of China and the liberation of Tibet.

If this doesn't count, then the following one more clearly demonstrates the horse demon's incompetence.

The Khanate of Kokand, which was brutally humiliated by Tsarist Russia in West Asia, had at best a third-rate military capability, yet it turned around and utterly defeated the Eight Banners of the Ma tribe in the northwestern frontier.

If I can't beat Tsarist Russia, can't I beat you, you bastard?

Then they forced the Ma Yao to sign the "Khokhan Agreement," which recognized that the Kokhan people could permanently have special privileges over the northwestern frontier and be above the Ma Yao. The Ma Yao backed down and didn't dare to utter a word.

If Zuo Zongtang hadn't later borrowed money from the West to unblock a small portion of his infantry (the Xiang Army) and send them to Xinjiang to carry coffins, this land would have been abandoned by Ma Chao long ago.

If this still doesn't explain the problem, then the Battle of Baliqiao was the beginning of the destruction of the horse demon.

In fact, it was not the firearms of the Anglo-French allied forces that defeated tens of thousands of Manchu and Mongol cavalry, but a poorly equipped Indian Sikh cavalry.

Because the Manchu and Mongol cavalry dared not get close enough to the British and French allied forces to fire in a concentrated burst, but instead fired in a circular pattern from a distance of forty or fifty meters.

Most of the shots were fired from muskets...

As a result, the Anglo-French allied forces could not defeat them, and the Manchu and Mongol cavalry could not defeat the allied forces either. In the end, the allied forces sent Indian cavalry to charge, and they were completely routed.

This is the elite cavalry that the Ma Yao (a military strategist) cultivated by sacrificing hundreds of millions of manpower and resources and infantry civilization. The Manchu and Mongol Eight Banners were later wiped out by the Nian Army cavalry with bamboo poles and pitchforks.

Looking at the history of the world, both in China and abroad, not to mention the Western powers, even just considering the Inner Asia region, the Majad Dynasty's military record was inferior to that of Burma, Annam, Nepal, Kokand, and the Russian colonization groups during the reign of Emperor Kangxi.

The Dzungars, who have been infinitely elevated by their fans, were in fact just a bunch of utterly worthless bandits. Yet, these same bandits fought so fiercely during the Yongzheng era that the Manchu and Mongol Eight Banners were forced to wear mourning clothes.

Infantry civilization, on the other hand, refers to the ability to produce a large number of soldiers and deploy them to the battlefield through the cheapest training methods. In a broad sense, as long as a country has a sufficient population and stable mobilization capabilities, its military strength will be inexhaustible.

However, this requires the central government to have sufficient centralized power and to develop a comprehensive system tailored to the national conditions in order to mobilize the people.

As for which one is more combat-ready?

The history mentioned above has already provided the answer.

Once infantry civilizations achieved technological advancements and perfected their systems, they completely overwhelmed cavalry civilizations. Starting in the 18th century, cavalry civilizations gradually faded from the historical stage.

Only the cavalry civilization dominated by the Ma Yao Empire reversed the course of history, dragging the Celestial Empire, which already had a tradition of elite infantry, completely into the abyss.

Ultimately, the Meiji government, which started far behind the Western powers but rose to prominence later, integrating Chinese learning as its core and Western learning as its foundation, was utterly defeated.

The so-called "Maoist" fans claim that the "Maoist" ideology is responsible for the loss of sovereignty, national humiliation, and technological backwardness of the country, all of which are attributed to Han Chinese culture. However, they were slapped in the face by their so-called "father," Japan...

The Ma Yao dynasty was the worst dynasty in ancient China, without a doubt!

The so-called territorial contribution theory is pure nonsense. It's nothing more than the idealism of Ma Yao's fans, detached from world history, used to numb those who are ignorant of materialist dialectics.

In terms of performance compared horizontally, his physical father, the Ming Dynasty, far surpassed Ma Yao by more than ten times.

Jiang Mengxuan carefully considered Shen Lang's words, and after a little analysis, she found that what he said was indeed reasonable.

The military forces of most countries are basically developed and trained in terms of both the quantity and quality of their warriors.

In order to produce enough elite warriors, all countries have spent enormous financial and material resources to develop and improve spirit-gathering arrays.

Taking the State of Chu as an example, the annual investment in the Spirit Gathering Array exceeded two million taels of gold, equivalent to 24 million taels of silver, accounting for one-fifth of the State of Chu's fiscal revenue.

The massive investment is like a bottomless pit; if you slack off, other countries will catch up, which can be considered an arms race in another sense.

However, based on the analysis of past battles, Jiang Mengxuan discovered that even with the daily improvements and modifications to the Spirit Gathering Array, its military benefits and enhancements remained extremely limited.

If what Shen Lang said is true, relying on technology to improve the combat effectiveness of the entire army might be a good attempt.

However, abandoning the traditional spirit-gathering array and instead pursuing a completely new field of military technology is tantamount to a high-stakes gamble. If they lose, the Great Chu will be in grave danger, and may even face national extinction.

Thinking of this, Jiang Mengxuan asked again, "Shen Lang, tell me, can the technology you speak of really replace the Spirit Gathering Array?"

"That depends on His Majesty's resolve," Shen Lang replied calmly. "In short, there are only two choices at the moment."

We must either continue operating the Spirit Gathering Array, or shift all resources towards military technology. Based on the current national strength of the Great Chu, this humble servant can deduce the answer.

Only one of these two options can be chosen; pursuing both simultaneously will only lead to the complete ruin of the Great Chu.

"Let me think about it carefully."

This matter is of utmost importance, and Jiang Mengxuan dares not make a hasty decision; she must proceed with extreme caution.

But all of this was part of Shen Lang's plan.

"Your Majesty, technology is not only used for military purposes; it can also improve people's livelihoods and even produce various high-quality goods for export, thereby increasing the national treasury's revenue."

In conclusion, I believe that the Spirit Gathering Array only benefits a very small group of people, while the benefits of technology extend far beyond the Great Chu.

Jiang Mengxuan immediately asked, "You always talk about how advanced technology is, so can you prove to me the wonders of technology?"

Shen Lang calmly replied, "This humble servant humbly requests Your Majesty to write a few words on a piece of paper and then hand it to me."

Jiang Mengxuan was puzzled, but she still followed his instructions and wrote a poem on the imperial desk.

After finishing writing, he handed it directly to Shen Lang: "How do you plan to prove it?"

Looking at the delicate and graceful handwriting on the paper, Shen Lang couldn't help but admire, "Indeed, the handwriting of a beautiful woman is also so beautiful."

Little did they know, this was just one of the dozen or so fonts that Jiang Mengxuan knew. Normally, her handwriting was vigorous and powerful, like a swimming dragon.

"May I ask Your Majesty, how long would it take to copy 100,000 copies of this poem?"

"One hundred thousand copies?" Jiang Mengxuan was taken aback. "Even if all the scholars in the Hanlin Academy copied them together, it would probably take ten days."

The next second, Shen Lang folded and tore the paper in his hand into pieces.

"How dare you! What are you doing?"

Seeing her handwriting being ruined by Shen Lang like this, Jiang Mengxuan couldn't help but frown.

She wondered if she had been too polite to him, since he dared to tear up the calligraphy she had written.

But soon, Shen Lang carefully arranged the torn characters in order and placed them in front of Jiang Mengxuan's desk.

"What does this mean?"

Shen Lang smiled: "Your Majesty, please look carefully. If I were to print all these characters onto a template and apply the corresponding prepared ink..."

Then, place the paper on top and press it flat. Wouldn't that create the exact same content, without even changing His Majesty's handwriting?

After a moment's thought, Jiang Mengxuan suddenly stood up, her emotions instantly becoming agitated.

"Yes, why didn't I think of this method?"

The existence of spiritual energy beyond comprehension in this world has resulted in extremely backward native technology. Even though the iron smelting process has indeed surpassed previous understanding due to the existence of martial artists, this fact cannot be changed.

After all, spiritual energy is usually omnipotent. It can ensure the growth of crops, create various communication jade tablets, even recording stones, and also create storage rings filled with large amounts of goods.

However, these manufacturing processes are only mastered by a small number of high-level cultivators and martial artists, and the prices are extremely high, making them unaffordable for ordinary people.

But after Shen Lang's reminder, Jiang Mengxuan instantly understood its ingenious use.

Moreover, they astutely discovered that these torn characters could be reassembled and reused repeatedly.

If books could be printed like this, wouldn't everyone in the world have access to education? Wouldn't that break the monopoly of talent by aristocratic families?

"This is what you call technology?"

"Indeed, this is movable type printing; technology in every aspect originates from the details of daily life."

Once its principles are understood, it can be developed into an extremely powerful product.

So Your Majesty, now you should believe it, right? Technology benefits the country and its people; if you want the nation to be strong, you must first strengthen its people.

"If you want your country to be strong, you must first make your people strong..."

Jiang Mengxuan carefully considered Shen Lang's words and suddenly realized that they made a lot of sense.

However, it's not reasonable to expect her to give up her research on the Spirit Gathering Array based solely on these facts.

Enforcing the law will only provoke an unprecedented backlash from traditionalists, especially the military.

what can we do about it?

The question was posed to Shen Lang again: "What you said, I've thought about it carefully, and it does make some sense, but based on that alone..."

"I still cannot convince the court to support technological change, Shen Lang. Can you present something else that can completely convince me, such as the Gatling gun or Maxim gun you just mentioned?"

Shen Lang immediately broke out in a sweat.

Good grief, you woman, you've really got your eye on my darling?

No, absolutely not. That person is like a dear friend or family member to me; how could I let you covet them?

"If you have it, I will reward you with a thousand taels of gold!"

Shen Lang, who was about to refuse, suddenly had his eyes light up when he heard this.

Fearing she might change her mind, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, money is not important. The key is that I like Gatling guns. I just happened to have built one, and I will deliver it to Your Majesty tomorrow..."

I'm so sorry, my dearest family and friends. She has given me so much. You should understand, right?

As a result, Jiang Mengxuan's interest was completely piqued: "I want to see it now, Shen Lang, take me to your home."

"what?"

Shen Lang was taken aback.

"But Your Majesty, it is already late..."

Jiang Mengxuan's attitude was very firm: "I must see it with my own eyes to be at ease. Don't try to make excuses!"