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

Seeing that Li Hong's expression was off, He Yong immediately asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with the astronomy and calendar of the Chu Kingdom?"

This time, Li Hong did not answer He Yong's question. Instead, the eunuch attending him said, "Feng Chun, go and fetch the astronomical calendar from the second to last book in the third row of the bookshelf in the Imperial Study. Hurry up."

"The slave obeys the order."

Upon hearing the order, Feng Chun immediately departed.

Before long, he carefully returned to Li Hong, holding a blue-covered book with both hands.

Li Hong took the book and began comparing it with the astronomical calendar of the Chu Kingdom.

After a moment, he sighed and placed both books on the shelf.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

He Yong leaned closer and asked in a low voice.

Li Hong shook his head: "Starting from the fifth year of the Qianyuan era, I have called on the Imperial Academy to jointly revise the astronomical calendar, striving to perfect the analysis of time."

I had wasted five years, and I thought the calendar used by my Wu Zhao Kingdom was the most perfect in the world, but after seeing the Chu Kingdom's calendar today...

Only then did I realize that my martial prowess was somewhat lacking; in terms of understanding astronomy, the State of Chu was indeed superior to the Celestial Empire.

He Yong: "Your Majesty, there is no need to be discouraged. The State of Chu is, after all, a major power in the East. It's not surprising that they have some special skills."

After all, Wuzhao is a large and populous region, and it's impossible for us to be proficient in every industry.

Upon hearing this, Li Hong felt somewhat better: "Indeed, what you, my servant, say makes some sense. Even if the astronomy and calendar of the Chu Kingdom are more advanced than those of our Celestial Dynasty, it doesn't prove anything. Each has its own strengths."

He Yong hurriedly accompanied Li Hong to the next display stand, which featured a huge oil painting depicting an aerial view of Jinling, the capital of the Chu Kingdom.

"Is this the capital of Chu? I never expected it to be so magnificent, and this painting is so lifelike. Inform the painting students at the Imperial Academy so they can take a good look and learn from it."

Li Hong smiled and glanced at the Jinling oil paintings before moving on to the next display case.

This is a model of a steam engine, resembling a forging hammer. Even without human intervention, it can swing its arm up and down to strike the hammer.

After observing for a while, Li Hong suddenly asked, "How is it possible to activate this thing without human intervention?"

He Yong replied, "Your Majesty, this thing is called a steam engine. You just need to fill it with water and heat it up..."

The steam that rises will drive the movable joint behind the hammer arm, allowing it to operate continuously.

Following He Yong's explanation, Li Hong roughly understood the operating principle of the steam engine.

"Hehe, it's quite an interesting object."

His eyes were unreadable. After carefully observing the operation of the steam engine several more times, he turned and walked to the next display case.

I passed several display cases, all of which contained "insignificant" items, but they were of considerable artistic value.

When they arrived at a model train track, curiosity reappeared on Li Hong's face.

He Yong explained, "Your Majesty, this thing is called a train. It's powered by the steam engine we saw earlier, and it can travel a thousand miles a day without stopping, carrying tens of thousands of shi (a unit of dry measure) of goods back and forth between the north and south."

"If my Wuzhao Kingdom could import this steam engine and train, the efficiency of His Majesty's travels, troop deployments, and disaster relief transportation would be greatly improved, with minimal losses!"

Li Hong: "It is indeed very novel. The strange and ingenious skills of the Chu Kingdom are quite interesting."

After saying that, he walked to the next place.

"what is this?"

Li Hong's eyes lit up when he saw the self-ringing clock in front of him.

"Your Majesty, this thing is called a self-ringing clock, and it also tells the time."

"Check the time?"

Li Hong was taken aback.

"Can the exact time be accurately controlled?"

He Yong: "Yes, Your Majesty, this thing is truly amazing. Look at the pendulum on it; one swing to the left and right is one breath."

Every sixty shakes, the minute hand moves one small square; after sixty squares, the minute hand has completed a full circle.

The hour hand had moved exactly one large tick, which meant half an hour had passed, and at that moment the clock would chime to remind everyone…

After hearing He Yong's explanation, Li Hong's eyes were filled with delight: "This item is truly exquisite; I am very pleased with it."

"You may convey my message to the merchants of Haizhou: if any of these self-ringing clocks exist in the Chu Kingdom, they need not hesitate to purchase them and transport them to the Imperial Household Department."

"The slave obeys the order."

After expressing his gratitude, He Yong accompanied Li Hong to look at the remaining items.

After removing these things, He Yong suggested, "Your Majesty, this servant believes that our Wu Zhao Kingdom should import steam engines, trains, and textile machinery."

Furthermore, we should try to acquire iron smelting technology from the State of Chu. Once these materials take root and flourish in Wuzhao, the future profits will be immeasurable.

He Yong thought his suggestion would be highly praised by Li Hong, but before he could finish speaking, he heard Li Hong laugh and say, "How could I not know that these things are convenient and labor-saving? But you are still too superficial."

He Yong was puzzled: "This servant is foolish and asks Your Majesty for clarification."

At this moment, the tea and snacks from the imperial kitchen were also served, and Li Hong asked He Yong to sit down and enjoy them with him.

Li Hong picked up a piece of Eight Treasures Cake and said to He Yong, "Take this steam engine for example. If it were to become widespread in Wu Zhao Kingdom, it would definitely make the people lazy."

If the people become lazy, unnecessary troubles will inevitably arise.

Only by keeping them hardworking and diligent will they have no other thoughts, and only then can the Wu Zhao Kingdom enjoy long-term peace and stability. Do you understand?

He Yong was taken aback, but immediately put on a smile: "Your Majesty has indeed seen further than this servant. Even if this servant had a hundred more tricks up his sleeve, he wouldn't be a fraction as clever as Your Majesty."

"You, hahaha."

Li Hong pointed at He Yong and laughed loudly.

"And what about those trains? If they were laid and introduced into Wuzhao, how would those livestock herders survive? Without income, wouldn't they cause trouble?"

Or is it that all that animal power is just food on the table, what a waste!

"As for that ship, regardless of whether it's real or not, even if it were real..."

"If my Wuzhao Kingdom switches to maritime transport in the future, how will we provide for the livelihoods of the millions of people involved in the canal transport?"

"As for the looms, a few dozen will suffice in the palace. A bolt of cloth that would normally take ten days to half a month to complete can be finished in a single day."

Wouldn't the weavers then use the remaining time to profit themselves? If women profit too much, wouldn't they climb over men? Wouldn't that be turning yin and yang upside down, putting the cart before the horse?

In short, we should consider importing oil paintings, sculptures, mirrors, clocks, and the like into China.

We don't need those other time-saving and labor-saving gadgets. Our Celestial Empire is vast and rich in resources; we can live very well without those fancy tricks.

"Keeping a few pieces in the palace to admire is enough."

"Slave understands."

After He Yong finished speaking, he tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, what about the Chu envoy's upcoming audience..."

Li Hong waved his hand: "We've been keeping them waiting for two years. Since they're so persistent, how could I possibly spoil their fun?"

Send someone to inform the officials of the Haizhou Maritime Affairs Bureau that I have granted the Chu envoy permission to come to the capital for an audience with the Emperor.

"And by the way, inform the local government offices along the way that they must display the majesty of our glorious Celestial Empire, and not allow anyone to look down on us."

Upon hearing this, He Yong immediately knelt down to express his gratitude: "This servant obeys the decree!"

"Report! Urgent report from the Eastern Barbarians!"

Just then, urgent cries of alarm came from outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, Generals Hulü Guang and Quan Xiancheng, leading 5,000 elite soldiers, were ambushed by 30,000 Eastern Yi troops on their way to the capital of the Eastern Yi Kingdom and suffered a great defeat. Now, the entire army is less than 3,000 men and has retreated to the Eastern Yi border to await orders. Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."