Chapter 404, please read.

When Shen Qingrui appeared, everyone present was stunned for a moment, and then fell silent.

Is this Shen Qingrui? The third young master of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion? He doesn't look like him at all!

What a distinguished person the third young master of the Shen family is!

His father was the God of War of the North of Dayu, and his elder brother was the youngest Duke of Dayu.

My elder sister is Princess Pingning, a highly sought-after princess in the Great Yu Kingdom.

My cousin is the emperor of Dayu, and I heard that he is very favored by him and does everything he wants.

How could a young master from such a prestigious family wear plain clothes?

He was still dressed in short clothes like a farmhand.

Even the stewards of noble families dress better than him in this outfit!

When Shangguan Jin saw Shen Qingrui, her eyes welled up with tears.

This child... must have suffered a lot!

Look, not only have you gotten darker, but you've also lost so much weight!

What kind of father is Shen Huaichen? His youngest son has been in the north for a year, and he hasn't even taken care of him!

The child has suffered so much...

Where is even a trace of the dashing and debonair air of a young nobleman now...?

The officials fell silent.

Looking at it this way, this Third Young Master Shen is actually a decent person. At least from what we can see now, he seems to be sharing weal and woe with the people in the gunpowder research group.

Even the people at the weapon forging workshop who disliked Shen Qingrui kept nodding in agreement.

They look a bit like them...

"Young masters from noble families don't concern themselves with trivial matters; Rui-ge'er's spirit is something we should all learn from!" Emperor Xiao Wu suddenly said.

His ministers immediately nodded in agreement.

The court attendant, who was responsible for recording the emperor's words, immediately picked up his pen and wrote down the two sentences in the daily record.

......

Seeing so many people at the scene, Shen Qingrui was not intimidated at all; on the contrary, he was very excited.

Wow! So many people have come!

Are they all here to see the power of the new type of fire bomb?

Oh, my cousin the emperor is too kind. I only invited him and the officials to take a look, but he brought half the people in the capital.

I'm really a little embarrassed!

Thinking about the scene that was about to unfold, Shen Qingrui felt a little excited.

For the past two weeks, everyone must have been thinking about just how powerful their fire-thunder technology is!

Haha, I'll dazzle you all in a minute.

For the past two weeks, Shen Qingrui had no idea what everyone was discussing.

He didn't even meet anyone from the Shen family; he was just preparing for this experiment.

Therefore, in his eyes, everyone's expectations for Huolei this time must be very high.

He couldn't let everyone down; he had to present the best power of fire and thunder.

As for why I dressed like this...

Isn't that obvious? Wearing brocade robes is too much trouble and it would delay things.

Wearing shorts allows for better movement!

Shen Qingrui had no idea that the sudden silence was due to the shock of seeing him in short clothes.

On the contrary, he believed that everyone was impatient and eager to see the power of the new type of fire bomb.

"Your Majesty, the experiment can begin in no more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn." Shen Qingrui bowed to Emperor Xiao Wu.

Emperor Xiao Wu didn't care what kind of bow Shen Qingrui performed; he simply nodded.

He knew a little about the power of the new fire bomb being tested.

It wasn't that he saw it himself, but that Huangfu Ruolang saw it and then came back to tell him.

"Your Majesty, you have no idea, it was just that one loud bang!"

With a loud bang, even my warhorse was startled!

That power... wow! I so wished I could have dealt those blows to the Northern Hu imperial court back then!

Emperor Xiao Wu understood; it meant that the new fire thunder was extremely powerful.

And if it can even startle Huangfu Ruolang's mount, then it's definitely something to look forward to.

Such a magnificent sight, how could we not share the joy with the people!

Everyone watched as Shen Qingrui directed the Imperial Guards to remove the black cloth covering the row of items below them.

This is......

Something that looks like a catapult.

However, it seems to be smaller and more complex than a catapult.

The catapults were only responsible for throwing things like stones; they couldn't guarantee where they would land.

But what's in front of me now...

It seems like they've added some aiming features as well.

Oh, these things even have wheels, so they can be easily pushed around.

Everyone was stunned for a long time.

This is... this must be something the Ministry of Works is researching!

Wasn't today supposed to be a test of a new type of fire-propelled torpedo? What does this have to do with the new torpedo?

However, Master Zuo from the weapons forging workshop suddenly sat up straight.

That's impressive!

This thing seems to be more accurate than the catapults that the Ministry of Works researched.

See that hole on the back? That's for aiming!

Master Zuo remained silent, staring intently at the catapult.

It seems today's trip wasn't in vain...

Shen Qingrui ignored what everyone was saying and continued to direct the Imperial Guards as they were busy with something.

Soon, a member of the Imperial Guard, holding two flags, lashed out a few times at the Imperial Guards on the opposite hill.

The Imperial Guards on the opposite side also waved their flags a few times.

Then everyone saw that the black cloths on the small hill about a mile away had been torn down.

Those with good eyesight could squint and quickly see what was covered by a black cloth on the opposite hill.

It was a row of stone houses made of piled stones.

Judging from its appearance, it must have been built in the last couple of days.

So many stones piled up to form a row of stone houses, more than ten in total. It must have taken a lot of effort!

Also, this stone house must be very sturdy.

Seeing the black cloth on the stone house being lifted, Shen Qingrui whispered a few words to the Imperial Guards beside him.

Soon, the Imperial Guards waved their flags twice more towards the opposite side.

Upon seeing the flag signal, the Imperial Guards on the opposite side immediately formed a small squad and quickly retreated from the hill.

Only after the Imperial Guards had completely left did Shen Qingrui proceed with his next move.

One by one, black fire bombs the size of watermelons were carefully carried out.

Then, two Imperial Guards stood next to each of the catapults.

"Your Majesty, there will be quite a commotion later, so please be careful."

"Your Majesty, this is about to begin," Shen Qingrui said loudly.

Emperor Xiaowu nodded. Was the commotion that could startle Huangfu Ruolang's mount finally about to arrive?

I'm kind of looking forward to it!

The onlookers were just as excited!

Will we be able to see the daytime fireworks? I'm really looking forward to it!

Besides, can such a small fireball really kill someone? Why do they seem a little skeptical?

It's okay, we'll see fireworks and firecrackers soon...