Chapter 48 Launch

Master Feixuan casually gave a few insignificant instructions and then waved his hand to let Yan Fenyi leave. Hearing the voice of Yan Fenyi muttering in Tianshu's ear, and seeing the dazed old face of Yan Ge Lao, he felt very happy in his heart.

To be honest, among all the outrageous remarks in the Heavenly Book, what Master Feixuan feared the most was not the inexplicable "milk separation literature", but Xinyin's speculation about tonics. Master Fei Xuan has been practicing Taoism for decades. In addition to his unwavering faith, he also uses the power of elixirs to intimidate the imperial court. In order to show off his fierce and tempered body, Master Feixuan wore a cotton jacket in summer and a light gauze in winter. He wore a tattered Taoist robe all year round and fluttered around like a big moth. He wanted to show the civil and military officials that he was different from others and had a chance to become an immortal, so that they would never have any inappropriate thoughts.

Master Feixuan still remembers everything about how his cousin Emperor Wuzong was eaten up by the nobles and civil officials after he became seriously ill!

But now, if people were to smell the scent of milk on him and guess what large doses of tonic he was taking, the fierce and vigorous persona that Master Feixuan had cultivated for half his life would be ruined in an instant.

The authority that a sickly emperor and a strong emperor can enjoy is completely different, and Master Feixuan understands this very well. For the sake of his unquestionable imperial power, he had no choice but to let Lord Yan suffer - of course, he would definitely not take the blame, and Lord Yan had to bear it himself.

The ceremony of the announcing of the imperial examinations was quite boring. In addition to the rostering of civil officials, a group of young noble sons had to dress in gorgeous clothes and ride fine horses, forming a battle formation to escort the newly-appointed Jinshi in and out of the palace to receive the emperor's orders and congratulations. It was probably also meant to show that the court attached equal importance to civil and military affairs by strengthening the army and horses and showing its power, in order to intimidate the newbies who had just joined the job. It was a large-scale team-building exercise.

During the reigns of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, the sons of noble families probably had some skills, but nowadays, if one can ride a horse steadily without falling over, he can be considered the best among the noble families. Therefore, an honest man like the Prince of Duke Mu, who had practiced horsemanship seriously, became one of the conscripted men who had to be drafted into service at every ceremony, and he had no way of avoiding it - as for the so-called display of military power, even the emperor himself did not dare to have such a luxury.

Such a perfunctory routine was, of course, extremely boring; Mu Qi forced himself to listen attentively to the eunuchs explaining the arrangements of the ceremony, but suddenly he heard Li Zaifang come out to convey the emperor's orders, and then loudly summoned him to the throne.

Mu Qi stepped forward and performed the greetings obediently. The emperor, sitting upright behind the veil, still spoke in a pretentious tone, using the poor Fengyang Mandarin:

"Prince Mu, let me ask you a question. You and Yan Donglou submitted a memorial saying that the Japanese envoys wanted to stay to celebrate my birthday and to watch the ceremony of the imperial edict and the banquet. Is this true?"

Mu Qi answered respectfully:

"It is true."

Previously, he used elixirs to intimidate the Japanese envoy Kusunoki Nishinin and forced him to stay to celebrate the emperor's birthday; originally he just wanted to delay time and extort some gifts from the Japanese. But later, at the suggestion of Yan Xiaoge Lao, Nan Yexi Ren was specially invited to visit the imperial examination ceremony, which also satisfied the emperor's vanity of attracting all nations to pay tribute when he held the imperial examination. Now it seems that the effect is indeed good. Although Master Feixuan lives in a high position in the Western Garden, he still sent his trusted eunuchs to inquire about the Ministry of Rites several times and retrieve relevant official documents for the emperor to review. It seems that he really wants to make a big splash in the annunciation, and his mood is very urgent.

Taking into account the subsequent events of maritime trade, he must do his best to please the old Taoist priest and try his best to cheat manpower, financial resources and authority to do things. So the prince racked his brains for a moment and decided to use his unfamiliar licking skills:

"…This is all due to your majesty's power and virtue. No one dares to disobey you. The Japanese are intimidated by your majesty's power, which is why this unprecedented event has not happened in a hundred years. I would like to congratulate your majesty."

The so-called "unprecedented in a hundred years" is indeed a bit of exaggeration. A hundred years ago, the emperor was still trying to survive in the wild on the Mobei grassland. But to say that it is a rare precedent is actually not a big problem - among the vassal states in the Central Plains, Goryeo, Ryukyu and others are "filial sons", obedient and respectful, and they do everything entrusted by the court properly; Myanmar and Siam are "proud sons", who have to be coaxed and deceived to be driven, and sometimes they even make trouble; as for the neighboring countries such as Japan and Jiaozhi, they are out-and-out "rebellious sons", greedy, arrogant, and conceited, and even have behaviors of rebellion and rebellion. Of course, they will not respectfully participate in important ceremonies in the Central Plains and fulfill their duties as vassal states.

Therefore, after Emperor Xuanzong's retreat and the achievements of the Yongle Dynasty gradually faded, the Japanese became perfunctory in their attitude towards their superior country. When Emperor Yingzong's emperor, nobles and generals went on a self-guided tour to the northern desert, Japan's attitude became almost cold, arrogant and overbearing. Now that the emperor can once again force the Japanese envoys to fulfill the duties of a vassal state, how can this not be a grand occasion?

The deterrent effect of Master Feixuan's elixir is of course also the deterrent effect of the emperor. What the prince said about being "intimidated by the holy power" is absolutely correct.

This flattery was just right, and Master Feixuan showed a comfortable and satisfied smile, quite proud of his achievements that surpassed those of previous generations. In order to reward this ingenious flattery and also to reward his loyal subjects, he opened his mouth again and threw out the reward that he had already considered:

"In this case, there is no need to trouble two masters for one matter. You and Yan Donglou should take over the matter of the foreign vassal watching the ceremony and handle it properly, so as not to disappoint me."

This means that the responsibility of receiving foreign vassals and arranging subsequent ceremonies will be handed over to the Prince of Mu. Entertaining guests and arranging ceremonies are the face of the imperial court. Those who are able to handle this are all the emperor's confidants and pillars of the country, and there is a lot of room for them to do as they please. Such a supreme honor certainly made the prince smile from ear to ear, and he immediately knelt down to express his gratitude.

But after sincerely thanking the emperor, he stood up again, only to see the eunuchs in front of him staring at him with very obvious expressions - the emperor openly announced the appointment in public using the "correct pronunciation" established by Emperor Gaozu, which was not just a simple oral order, but almost a formal decree.

It was just a casual order in private, and you could just bow and express your gratitude, and we won't argue with it; but now in front of so many ministers, what should you do?

Mu Qi's face froze for a moment, but he could only shake his sleeves and sway his waist, and began his passionate "dust-raising dance". The dust flew up as he danced, expressing his gratitude to Master Fei Xuan for eighteen generations.

·

After returning home from rehearsal in the West Garden, Zhang and Hai also recovered from the exhaustion of the three-day examination. They changed their clothes to thank the prince for his kindness. The prince was very happy to see the two SSRs visiting together, and he immediately asked the family to prepare a banquet to celebrate the two gentlemen.

They were both candidates taking the same exam, and both faced the same inhuman questions from Minister Gu. They were also soul mates who had known each other for a long time, so they should have had endless topics to talk about when they met. But this banquet was quite dull.

Hai Gangfeng and Zhang Taiyue are both people with extremely high emotional intelligence. Even considering the cultural level of the prince of Duke Mu, it is not appropriate for them to talk about the eighteen ways of writing eight-part essays in front of today's host; not to mention that the host's attitude today is also quite strange. After drinking two glasses of wine, the prince always makes inexplicable strange laughter, and looks back and forth with a meaningful and satisfied look, revealing a peculiar expression as if he has nothing else to ask for after being surrounded by women, which makes the two of them feel a chill from time to time.

…How should I put it? I just feel helpless.

It’s difficult to talk about the eight-legged essay, so we can only talk about matters related to official positions. As a child prodigy with an outstanding reputation, Zhang Taiyue understood very well the qualities that a qualified child from another family should have, so he just humbly said that his fate was determined by heaven and he dared not speculate; he did not reveal any Versailles face. Hai Gangfeng was very frank and directly stated that his hope of passing the imperial examination this time was not very high and it would probably be a waste of effort.

This is not unexpected. Hai Gangfeng's writing style and insights are both top-notch, but his academic tendencies are incompatible with the official ones. Nowadays, the imperial examination system is based on the Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, but what Hai Gangfeng most admires is the "practical learning" inherited from Wang Shouren's philosophy of mind. In addition to emphasizing that "there is no reason outside the mind", it also emphasizes seeking truth from facts and paying attention to practical matters such as water conservancy, military training, and construction. It runs counter to the Neo-Confucianism that talks about "heavenly principles" and the wording of his writing often violates the taboos of etiquette. Such an article, no matter how good its style and writing are, will never catch the examiner's eye.

Hai Gangfeng was certainly aware of his shortcomings, and even the Crown Prince had advised him tactfully several times, telling him that there are things that can be followed, namely, classics and authority, and that it would not be too late to just follow the mainstream in the imperial examinations and express his academic ideas after achieving fame. Unfortunately, Mr. Hai has always been a consistent person. He believes that it is better to take the straight path than to take the crooked path. Of course, he is unwilling to distort his ambitions for the sake of an exam. Since you insist on doing this, there is nothing anyone can do.

Of course, Mr. Hai was also very open-minded. He first solemnly thanked the prince for his help, then brought up the old matter again, expressing his willingness to abide by the previous bet and go to Shangyu to serve as the county magistrate. The prince was very happy and toasted Mr. Hai with several glasses of wine. He also asked him what his governing principles were and said he would do his best to help.

Hai Gangfeng was a practical man, so he didn't refuse and spoke directly, telling the strategy he had thought about many times in the past few days:

"Given the situation in Yiyu, we still have to follow the instructions of Emperor Gaozu and make training militia a priority. In my opinion, training one or two hundred people during the slack season would be enough..."

The prince exhaled a long breath of alcohol, but shook his head repeatedly after hearing this:

"One or two hundred people? Too few! Definitely not enough! In my opinion, we should at least recruit refugees and give them weapons, so that we can form a 700-800 elite army. Don't worry about the formalities. Zhejiang and the cabinet will make it convenient..."

If it was just to protect a county town, one or two hundred people would be enough; but according to later records, Shangyu was clearly an important stronghold for the Japanese pirates to land, and a key point that was repeatedly changed hands by both sides - to defend such a key point and wait for rescue, nearly a thousand elite soldiers would be necessary!

Hai Gangfeng was slightly stunned, almost thinking that he had heard some drunken mad talk. Of course, he did not doubt the prince's ability to seize power, occupy a position in the cabinet, and tear up resources. He also believed that the local authorities would definitely not dare to fail to give face to the Duke Mu's Mansion... However, with nearly a thousand elite soldiers, how could a small Shangyu bear it?

Maintaining and training troops is the most expensive thing in the world. Hai Gangfeng planned to recruit one or two hundred militiamen during the slack season, which was already a tough calculation as he had to squeeze out all possible financial revenue from Shangyu. He might even have to lose face and force local powerful landlords to donate, which would leave a huge hidden danger. Even so, it would be barely supportable - as for the nearly one thousand elite soldiers who were in regular training, everyone had to be equipped with weapons? Even if we eat Shangyu alive, we may not be able to squeeze out so much profit!

A penny can't kill a hero, Hai Gangfeng had to speak up:

"This money and grain..."

The prince took a sip of rice wine and seemed to ponder for a moment. Then, he slowly, slowly smiled:

"Don't worry about the money and grain. I will definitely give Mr. Gangfeng an explanation."

Hai Gangfeng: ...Ah?

No, there is no money, that is to say, there is no money. With the current empty treasury, even a mouse cannot get any silver out even if it goes in. No matter how powerful the prince is, can he really turn stone into gold?

It is said that Da'an is invincible if the military pay is insufficient, and it is invincible if the military pay is sufficient. After Emperor Xiaozong, the finances were exhausted. The prime ministers of successive dynasties exhausted their efforts but were unable to solve the problem of arrears in military pay, and could only watch the country's military strength decline rapidly. If there really is a financial saint who can solve this long-standing problem, then he deserves to be the one in control of our dynasty, right?

What do you mean “there must be an explanation”? How many dishes did he have to drink like this?

Unfortunately, Mu Qi did not explain his shocking words, but began to enthusiastically recommend his favorite side dish (fried peanuts with chili oil) to the two gentlemen, and changed the subject by persuading Hai Gangfeng and Zhang Taiyue to stay and watch the ceremony:

"This year's imperial examinations and the Emperor's birthday are very close, the Emperor might have some special favor." Perhaps because he drank two more cups of peanuts, the prince was a little tipsy, and gradually couldn't hold back his words, revealing his recent pride: "You two may not know that I have been entrusted by the Emperor to handle the important matter of the foreign vassal accompanying the ceremony. As long as such a matter is handled well, it is easy to get grace. If I can get some glory in such a major event, the following things will be much easier to handle!"

When doing business in the officialdom, one's background is the most important thing. If one can get some favor from a grand ceremony at the imperial court, the starting point for one's career will be completely different. This could be said to be a great opportunity, a pie in the sky, but the two rookie SSRs who were about to enter the officialdom did not feel any joy. After a moment of shock and surprise, they looked at each other in speechlessness, with a look of unspeakable worry.

...To be honest, after spending the past few days together, they have gained some understanding of the prince's behavior. A person with high emotional intelligence would say that being eccentric is hard to evaluate; a person with low emotional intelligence would say that... a person with low emotional intelligence is too rude and should not be spoken at all. But, would there really be no problem in letting such a...strange person be in charge of the national ceremony?

·

No matter how worried the two were, early the next morning, the prince still strongly invited the two SSRs to accompany him, gathered his entourage and brought enough equipment, and rushed to the Ministry of Rites to carry out his new job. He couldn't let the embarrassment of dancing in front of all the elders go in vain, so he specially ordered someone to carve a wooden plaque that read "In charge of ceremonial affairs by imperial order" and put it directly on the desk of the official of the Ministry of Rites, demanding that all matters related to the foreign vassal states watching the ceremony be assigned to his name without any delay.

This is the power promised by the old Taoist priest in front of all the important officials in the court. If you are not satisfied, you can go to Xiyuan to protest!

Perhaps because they had long heard about the various evil deeds of the Prince of Duke Mu in the cabinet, even in the face of such a blatant power grab, the official of the Ministry of Rites still did not dare to resist. He obediently handed over the seal and all related documents, and then slipped away and got the matter over with.

The Ministry of Rites opened the meeting, but the Crown Prince took the lead and after getting the seal, he immediately summoned the officials in charge of the Enrong Banquet and reviewed the process one by one. However, the more he reviewed, the more frowned he became - the Enrong Banquet had been held hundreds of times, and various regulations had long been mature. Probably the only part that the Ministry of Rites could change was the part about the emperor and his ministers having fun together after the banquet. However, the bureaucracy was conservative and the entertainment they arranged was quite boring, consisting of nothing more than juggling, illusions (magic), farces, etc., which were performed over and over again without any novelty. No wonder the prince was very dissatisfied:

"The emperor's order is to show off the country's strength in the ceremony, to intimidate the barbarians, and to demonstrate the dignity of a great country. What can you demonstrate by performing a bunch of acrobatics? Do you think the court relies on these things to intimidate the barbarians?"

Nowadays, the foreign vassals in the Central Plains also understand Chinese characters and know Chinese studies. You can shock them by sending out a group of strong horses and elite soldiers, but what's the use of singing a few songs?

This hat was so big that the officials were speechless, but when they lowered their brows and looked submissive, there was always a hint of dissatisfaction in their expressions - of course, they should be dissatisfied. As the saying goes, a good cook cannot cook without rice. Everyone knows how weak the garrison forces in the capital are now. If you want elite soldiers and strong horses to intimidate the barbarians, can the Ministry of Rites dig out an army for you from the tomb of Emperor Taizong? Do you think this is still the Xuanwu and Yongle years, when our dynasty was invincible?

——It’s funny, if it were really the time of Xuanwu and Yongle, there would be no need for any deterrence. The Da’an flag could be used as a deterrent just by sticking it in the ground. During the reigns of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, being a dog of Da'an was the greatest honor in the world. It was natural that the Japanese envoys should try every means to lick the Ministry of Rites. Now they have to rack their brains to intimidate a small barbarian. I don’t know how much lower their status is!

When they thought of this, all the officials of the Ministry of Rites who had worked so hard and made great contributions felt a little unhappy. They couldn't help but secretly glance at the prince who was sitting in the middle, and the two scholars who stood like door gods on both sides of the prince, and they complained in their hearts:

He is born into a noble family and is so ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth that he has no idea how difficult the current situation is!

As if sensing the resentment of his men, the prince sighed:

"Forget it, I know you are used to it and it is difficult to change it. Anyway, I was ordered by the emperor to come here to do this job, and now I can't refuse the hard work. You go home and listen to the letter. I will discuss the rules with Mr. Hai and Mr. Zhang first. These two gentlemen are experts in vassal studies. No one knows more about foreign affairs than them, so you don't have to worry about it!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the officials in the room changed immediately. A superior who starts finding fault with everything is of course very hateful, but if the superior is willing to handle the matter himself after being picky instead of pua-ing his subordinates, and is even willing to give his subordinates half a day off, then he is a considerate and good leader who is enough to make everyone grateful.

So they were eager to hear this invitation. The officials at all levels immediately responded in a hurry, bowed repeatedly to express their gratitude, and left the hall impatiently. But in a moment, the only ones left in the huge hall were the contented prince, and the two "feudal studies experts" Hai and Zhang who were standing on both sides and were still unaware of what was happening. As for the changes in the experts' facial expressions, they were truly spectacular.

...Even though they had anticipated this, they still dared to follow the prince out to do business; Hai and Zhang had themselves to blame for facing this situation.

·

Mu Qi was not modest at all. After sending away the officials from the Ministry of Rites, he replaced all the people with his own people. Then he immediately sent his trusted followers to the guild halls of various countries to invite people. He brought all the envoys from Goryeo, Ryukyu, Siam, Japan, Jiaozhi, etc., and held a small gathering of East Asian and Southeast Asian countries, which could be considered an Asian alliance.

As the host of the party, the prince specially arranged the venue at the manor of Duke Mu in the suburbs, and had a large banquet prepared for it. He was sitting alone at a table, with Hai Gangfeng and Zhang Taiyue sitting beside him, and below him were the envoys and ministers from various vassal states. He sat high up at the table, overlooking the crowd below, looking as if he was in high spirits and full of pride, and for a moment he really had the demeanor of the president of Asia.

Unfortunately, the people sitting below were unruly foreign vassals, not respectful and obedient subordinates of the Ministry of Rites. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the Jiaozhi envoy quickly stood up and said:

"I heard that the Crown Prince was ordered to take over the affairs of the foreign vassal watching the ceremony. We congratulate the Crown Prince. However, the Crown Prince asked us to come here. I wonder what you want to do? In the past, the officials of the Ministry of Rites of the upper country never met in private residences when they worked. Is this too much?"

The envoys from Jiaozhi had also heard of the reputation of the Prince of Mu. But he was just a foreign official with no worries and was not afraid of losing face in front of the emperor of Central Plains. Of course, he did not need to be afraid of a mere madman. Besides, even the experienced officials in the Ministry of Rites were helpless against him, let alone a fledgling son of a noble family? ! Therefore, the words were extremely impolite.

Jiaozhi has always been unruly, and it is common for it to clash with ministers of the superior country. Now bullying the ignorant new prince can help him see the sinister nature of people in diplomatic occasions, so that he won't vent his noble temper everywhere and really think that no one in the world can control him!

The rest of the questions are fine, but the so-called "going too far" is really rude and even seems to be a disrespect for the imperial edict. Even Hai Gangfeng and Zhang Taiyue, who knew nothing about foreign affairs, frowned when they heard it, and their expressions were extremely subtle.

But the prince remained calm and spoke calmly:

"I summoned you all just to inform you of some minor changes in the viewing process."

Upon hearing the word "change", the envoys present all frowned slightly. There are fixed regulations for foreign vassal states to watch the ceremony, and any changes must be notified in advance to prevent the barbarians from being ignorant and making a fuss. This has been a practice since the Yongle reign of Emperor Taizong - but, just looking at the four words "barbarians are ignorant", one can tell there is something fishy going on, and the court's deliberate advance notification was definitely not out of deep compassion.

In fact, the so-called "regulatory reforms" during the Yongle reign were more of a display of the court's war achievements over the past year than a display of ceremonial appreciation. In the "information meeting" arranged in advance, the barbarians saw the spoils of war that had been rushed from eight hundred miles away, such as the heads of vassal kings, the flags of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and Mongolian sacrificial supplies. The fresh, vigorous and undisguised fruits of victory, covered in dust and blood, were enough to shock all the small countries to piss and kowtow to the ground, and express their heartfelt gratitude for the great honor of being able to serve Emperor Taizong as a dog. After returning home, they had to carefully compose poems so that they could stand up during the grand ceremony and compose poems to present gifts to the emperor.

Such a straightforward and naked effect can be called "deterrence" and "coercion", but since Da'an's national strength has been declining, such "changes" have gradually disappeared and become a juggling magic trick without any novelty. Without strength, everything is empty talk. Now that the old things are brought up again, apart from making the envoys of the vassal states recall the past and suddenly feel fear and displeasure of being bullied and humiliated, it basically only has the funny effect of bluffing.

How much military strength does Daan have left? How much deterrence does Daan’s military still have? Doesn’t the prince himself know? Big talk is only the beginning of self-humiliation!

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere immediately became cold. The Jiaozhi envoy sat there motionless, and he didn't even bother to stand up and listen to the explanation. The others just bowed slightly and then stopped talking.

Although it was so embarrassing, the prince did not care about the envoys' reactions. He just clapped his hands and signaled his servants to lift a long iron pole with a cone-shaped top and display them one by one around the venue. There was nothing special about this heavy, dark iron pillar, except for the six large characters painted in red on its side:

【Feiyuan Zhenjun No.1】

The envoys… The envoys stared at the iron pillar and blinked blankly.

They still know the Taoist name of the current emperor. It is said that in order to avoid taboos, the ministers can only change the characters in their writings to "Fei Yuan" and the True Lord to "Zhen Jun". Therefore, the "Fei Yuan Zhen Jun" on the iron pillar should be His Majesty's Taoist name, but what does "No. 1" mean?

The prince smiled and stood up calmly:

"This is a little insight I got by chance while studying the basic principles of elixir ascension at home!" He said loudly, "Originally, it was intended to be a gift to Your Majesty, but the ceremony to celebrate the Holy Birthday was held in the Western Garden, which was not suitable for launching such a thing. Fortunately, the venue of the Rong'en Banquet is large enough for you to have a glimpse of it - of course, I'm sure you have all heard about my little insight on elixir, so there is no need to elaborate."

A strange silence fell at the banquet. The envoys looked at each other, not knowing what to say. They had long heard about the prince's crazy idea of ​​innovating the physical ascension elixir from the Japanese envoy Kusunoki Nishinin, but seeing is believing, and until now it has been limited to the stage of private amazement and rumors. Now that I suddenly see the real thing, I feel so confused that I can’t help myself:

Can this thing be called a pill? Can the emperor chew this lump of iron?

The prince said, "I named this thing Zhenjun No. 1 to show my sincere love for the most holy and wise emperor of today. I also hope to launch it into the stratosphere - no, Daluo Heaven, as a sign of the emperor's ascension to immortality. This is just a test launch. If there is any mistake, please don't laugh at me."

His tone was very gentle, which was very different from the rumors of madness in the past. But the envoys still stared at him blankly from afar, obviously not understanding this nonsense at all.

The prince did not explain any more, but just clapped his hands. The servants immediately carried Feixuan Zhenjun No. 1 down and transported him to an open space that had been cleared a hundred feet away.

"The noise from this thing is quite loud, so we need to inform you in advance." The prince said slowly, "To prevent everyone from being frightened and causing trouble for the court..."

Before he finished speaking, a loud bang was heard in the air, as if thunder had suddenly exploded. Even though there were trees blocking the way a hundred feet away, the sound still caused the dishes to roll everywhere. Amidst the echoes, a fire dragon rose from the ground, and in an instant rushed out of the lush green leaves of the forest and headed straight into the sky!

Mu Qi was so delighted that he immediately stood up, clapped his hands, and cheered:

“Long live! Long live! Ascended to heaven, finally ascended to heaven! — Feixuan Zhenjun, forward four!”

Hai and Zhang, who were accompanying him: …………

Although they were also shocked by this spectacle, didn’t the “True Lord ascending to heaven” seem a little bit amiss?

——Wait, will the emperor of the future also use this idea to ascend to heaven?

Is there something wrong with this cultivation method, Your Majesty?

Fortunately, when everyone was cheering, they looked up in amazement, and no one noticed the terrible flaw in the prince's words. Seeing is believing. To the ancient people with limited knowledge, the roar of a fire dragon soaring into the sky was almost a miracle!

The miracle was so awe-inspiring that not only the other short-sighted envoys, but even the well-informed Kusunoki Nishinin - no, especially Kusunoki Nishinin, his face turned frighteningly pale when he looked up. He clearly remembered that when the Prince of Duke Mu was explaining to him the great innovation of the elixir of physical ascension, the experiment had only progressed to ascend a dozen feet, just enough to get close to the branches of the old crooked tree in the backyard; but now, in less than half a month, the iron stick had actually soared up to more than several hundred feet!

If it could rise a dozen feet, it would only have the potential for naval battles; but a heavy iron rod that could rise hundreds of feet would undoubtedly be an irresistible weapon!

Who the hell can stop an iron stick falling from the sky like this? !

Under the horrified and shocked gazes of dozens of people, the iron rod flew obliquely across the highest point in the sky. Its size had shrunk to the size of a chopstick, and its shape was unrecognizable. But after staying for a moment, the iron rod suddenly exploded, spewing out countless dazzling flames!

The sudden change startled everyone who was watching intently. But all this was obviously planned by the prince. Zhang Taiyue took a glance and could even see that the prince beside him was smiling, his lips moving, as if he was holding back something.

Perhaps infected by the prince's madness and confusion, Zhang Taiyue's mind buzzed in shock and confusion, and a certain outrageous thought came to his mind:

[Master Feixuan exploded!] 】

·

The exploded Fei Xuan Zhen Jun broke into pieces in the sky, but soon, these pieces also began to explode and burn, bursting into colorful fireworks, forming eye-catching large characters under the clouds:

【Long Live the True Lord】