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

Shen Lang shook his head: "That's hard to say. With the military strength of our Great Chu, defeating Wu Zhao Kingdom shouldn't be a problem."

However, destroying such a large country cannot be accomplished overnight.

There is no chance unless there is internal strife within its borders, but based on the intelligence gathered so far, although there have been civil uprisings in Wu Zhao,

However, neither its scale nor its intensity ever reached the county level, and it was easily suppressed by local officials and soldiers.

So Xuan'er should give up the idea of ​​destroying Wu Zhao. Besides, if Wu Zhao is destroyed, how will the country with 600 million people be settled?

What I mean is, if we really want to wage war against Wu Zhao, then forcing Wu Zhao to cede a few suitable pieces of land—a stepping stone for long-distance trade with the Western Continent—would be enough.

Jiang Mengxuan sighed, "It's really a pity. I was hoping to wipe out the Wu Zhao Kingdom in one fell swoop."

Shen Lang smiled faintly: "Let's wait for Ban Dingyuan and the others to bring us the latest news. I wonder how their trade with Wu Zhao Kingdom is going."

Jiang Mengxuan: "Yes, if the Wu Zhao Kingdom is willing to engage in long-distance trade with our Great Chu and allow exchanges with countries further west,"

That would be the best outcome, after all, our Great Chu doesn't want to resort to force to solve problems unless absolutely necessary.

"Hopefully, at least for now, the Great Chu is enjoying a rare period of peace and tranquility, and the demand for trade with the Western Continent is not very high. We should take advantage of this time to properly consolidate our current sphere of influence."

"Ah."

Jiang Mengxuan responded softly and nestled obediently in Shen Lang's arms.

……

Wu Zhao Kingdom, Shengjing City, Forbidden City.

A group of guards escorted two officials dressed in prison garb into the Qianqing Hall.

The moment the palace doors opened, a dashing middle-aged man in his early forties, dressed in a dragon robe and looking radiant, was engrossed in playing with a "white jade lion," seemingly oblivious to the commotion outside.

The middle-aged man was named Li Hong, who single-handedly created the "Wu Zhao Prosperity, the Universe and the World" Emperor Wu Zhao.

Li Hong is 67 years old this year, but he practices health preservation methods in his spare time and looks only about 40 years old, with very good spirits.

"Your Majesty, your subjects Zhang Wei'an and Hu Nanyi have arrived."

The head guard forced the two ministers behind him to kneel on the ground and respectfully asked Li Hong for instructions.

Upon hearing this, Li Hong finally snapped out of his daze and glanced at Zhang Weian and Hu Nanyi. He immediately frowned and said, "What are you doing? I told you to invite my two ministers here, not to treat them like this. Make them get up."

"Yes."

The guards immediately stood up and helped Zhang and Hu up from the ground.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The two bowed their heads and thanked him respectfully, then stood in the center of the hall without saying another word.

Li Hong seemed to be in a very good mood today. He first waved to Zhang Wei'an and said, "Minister Zhang, come here to me. I'll show you something interesting."

Zhang Wei'an cupped his hands and replied, "This humble subject dares not."

"I pardon you. Step forward immediately, come quickly."

"This humble subject obeys the order."

As Zhang Weian approached, Li Hong warmly took his hand and led him to a rectangular table covered with a curtain.

As Li Hong walked, he said, "Recently, I have heard a lot of rumors circulating in the court and among the people, saying that the military strength of my Wu Zhao Kingdom is not as good as before, and that it has fallen behind the world."

I've also heard that the Dongyi Kingdom is equipped with a very powerful weapon called a firearm, which originated from the descendants of the Mingzhao Kingdom who settled in Dongyi.

It was manufactured based on and improved upon royal techniques that had been lost to the world.

If my Wuzhao Kingdom were to face that Dongyi Kingdom, I fear it would be very difficult to win, and even if we did win, it would be a Pyrrhic victory.

But I believe all of this is utter nonsense, and I have specifically obtained those firearms.”

As he spoke, Li Hong walked to the table and ordered the eunuchs waiting beside him to lift the curtain.

Immediately, ten muskets and two mother-and-child muskets were placed on the table.

Li Hong picked up a musket and said to Zhang Weian, "This is the firearm you were talking about. Take a look for yourself."

Zhang Wei'an took the musket and examined it carefully, but couldn't figure out what it was.

"If you don't know how to do it, then I'll demonstrate it for you myself."

As he spoke, Li Hong picked up another flintlock pistol, quickly poured some gunpowder into the muzzle, then took out a lead bullet and inserted it into the chamber. He then quickly pulled out the tension strip on one side of the barrel and inserted it into the chamber, tugging it back and forth to make sure it was secure.

Finally, the remaining gunpowder was poured into the gunpowder pool at the end of the spear. Then, the eunuch lit the match rope tied to the dragon's head and gently blew on it, causing the match rope to immediately glow with a bright red light.

boom--

With a flash of fire and smoke, a gunshot echoed in the hall, and a wooden target a dozen paces away was immediately pierced with a black hole the size of a thumb.

"This is what you call a musket, this is what you call advanced technology. I really don't understand how this kind of firearm can surpass the strong bows and sharp horses of my Wu Zhao Kingdom."

Zhang Wei'an: "Your Majesty, although this musket has a short range and low accuracy, its power is considerable. The Eastern Yi army only managed to hold off our Wu Zhao Kingdom's troops by using platoon-style tactical firing..."

"Alright, I only believe what I see with my own eyes." Li Hong impatiently interrupted Zhang Wei'an. "You scholars just love to exaggerate things you've never seen before."

If it were truly as formidable as you all claim, then it wouldn't be my Wu Zhao Kingdom that has advanced within a hundred miles of Dongyi territory.

These things lose their accuracy beyond twenty paces, and can't even penetrate a layer of armor beyond thirty paces. How can they be used to fight an enemy?

In my opinion, this is nothing more than a scare tactic, utterly inept and unsophisticated, utterly unworthy of serious consideration.

Zhang Wei'an bowed his head: "Your Majesty is wise and mighty, and this humble subject is completely convinced."

"But I still ordered the Ministry of Works to research and improve this kind of firearm, and it has already succeeded. Today I will show you."

As he spoke, two palace guards carried a large spear, 2.5 meters long and weighing over 30 kilograms, to Zhang Weian.

"This is the musket that I ordered the Ministry of Works to improve. I named it the 'Raised Gun,' and it can hit targets a hundred paces away."

"Didn't you say that Wu Zhao Kingdom is backward? I will prove you all wrong with my actions. Even if this musket is useless to me, I will still have it, and it will be much better than yours."

Zhang Wei'an: "Your Majesty is wise; this humble subject is utterly inferior."

Li Hong smiled and said, "Minister Zhang, I am very disappointed in you. Others may not understand me, but you have followed me for more than ten years. Why can't you understand my heart?"

Zhang Wei'an: "Your Majesty, every word I have spoken comes from the bottom of my heart. The Eastern Yi Kingdom is nothing more than a state abandoned by my Wu Zhao dynasty."

"Your Majesty's massive military expedition to the Eastern Barbarians requires countless provisions and supplies. Such a wasteful expenditure of national resources will only lead to a deficit in our Wuzhao treasury."

"What do you know!" Li Hong shouted. "How can the glorious Tianzhao Kingdom tolerate such treacherous behavior?"

If we don't punish the small Dongyi countries, who will care about my Wuzhao Heavenly Kingdom in the future?

Since I ascended the throne for forty-seven years ago, I have never once lost face by allowing a small, ignorant country to act arrogantly in front of me.

I cannot bring myself to do this. I will not rest until they are completely subdued!