Li An and his group followed Guan Zhiyue into the Imperial Study. They all looked at Guan Zhiyue with eager eyes, hoping that she would show them her amazing possession.

Guan Zhiyue looked at Li Qiji, who nodded to Ji Wu beside him.

Ji Wu scurried over to a small hidden compartment and pulled out a dark object. It had a thin stick at one end, which looked small and empty, while the other end was thick and heavy, with some hollow parts. He didn't quite understand it.

The group walked forward, bewildered, not knowing what it was, and all turned to look at Guan Zhiyue.

Guan Zhiyue took a deep breath, suppressing her anger. She snatched the gun from Ji Wu's hand, twirled it around in her hands, and then held it to her chest, explaining, "This is a firearm, a rifle! It was originally intended for use against the Turks, but due to various reasons, we made peace with them, so it wasn't used. I didn't intend to use such a powerful weapon, but today the Japanese are disregarding us, so we have no choice but to proceed this way."

"This is how you load a bullet, pull the safety, and then pull the trigger to fire it. It works on the same principle as our bow and arrow, but it is thousands of times more lethal."

Upon hearing that this weapon was so lethal, the group's eyes widened in astonishment. Not only was it the first time they had ever seen such a dark, unremarkable object, but it was also the first time they had ever heard of a weapon capable of killing from a distance greater than that of an arrow.

"Yue'er, Your Majesty the Empress, is she really that amazing?" Guan Hongsheng had just called out his daughter's given name, but remembering that they were in the palace, he quickly addressed her by her given name.

Guan Zhiyue didn't care about anything else and shouted, "Father, you have to believe your daughter. This thing is really amazing. The reason I wanted to go to the border with you was because of this thing. It was made by the Manufacturing Department long ago. When I started making glass, I had the Manufacturing Department make it."

"The Emperor knows about this and has even tested its power. If you don't believe me, you can try it."

"However, this thing has one major drawback!"

Upon hearing that there was a significant drawback, everyone perked up their ears, eager to see what that drawback was.

"What flaws? How can something so powerful have flaws?" the Minister of War asked, puzzled.

Guan Zhiyue nodded and said, "Yes, there are still major drawbacks. When the gun is fired, the sound is unavoidable; the sound is deafening the moment the bullet leaves the barrel."

Su Xu immediately realized something and asked, "So, if this thing fires, it will startle everyone, meaning it's not suitable for ambushes, let alone sneak attacks?"

Guan Zhiyue nodded and then said, "I did design another kind, the kind that's smaller and can fit in your pocket, and it's equipped with a silencer, but our technology can't achieve that level of silence, so this is the only way we can make it."

Guan Hongsheng, standing to the side, declared, "This is already incredibly impressive. In terms of weaponry, we've already surpassed them by a large margin. Their martial arts are indeed formidable, but against something like this..."

"gun."

"Yes, it's a gun! They're definitely going to die!"

"Yes, that makes sense! I just wonder how many of these Her Majesty the Empress has?" the Minister of War said.

Guan Zhiyue smiled slightly and said, "That depends on how many the manufacturing division can produce and how many bullets we can supply."

After seeing the so-called rifle, Li An remained silent. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but rather that he was secretly relieved that he hadn't started a coup. If he had started a coup long ago, wouldn't he have been dead without even a trace of his bones?

My niece-in-law has such a powerful ability, and I didn't even know it. This is a huge lack of information, and it's a major taboo!

"Thank goodness!" Li An muttered to himself, huddled to the side, seemingly saying something unintelligible.

Completely out of place in this noisy scene, it seemed as if it were none of my business.

"Uncle, what do you think? If we use this to fight those damned Japanese, do you think our chances of winning will improve?" Guan Zhiyue asked, looking at Li An who was muttering to himself in the corner.

Everyone looked in the direction Guan Zhiyue was looking, and saw Li An huddled in a corner, muttering to himself, saying something unintelligible.

“Ah…oh! This is excellent, excellent! We’ll make sure those Japanese are so badly beaten they won’t even recognize their own parents,” Li An said.

In reality, I was internally ecstatic, overjoyed, and thinking I'd done the right thing. Thank goodness I hadn't done anything to force someone out of office, otherwise...

“Uncle, we’ve been staying on the frontier for years. If you say it’s all right, then it must be going to work.” Guan Zhiyue smiled slightly, as if she possessed a kind of magic that could see right through people.

Therefore, Li Anke did not think so. He always felt that Guan Zhiyue seemed to know something, and that she was saying these words on purpose for him to hear.

"In that case, I will trouble you generals. We must win this battle, and we must win it beautifully. We must also use the blood of those Japanese to appease the souls of those who died in Nanding." After saying this, Guan Zhiyue bowed deeply to the group, expressing her determination to kill the Japanese.

Li Qiji had the same idea; he wanted to kill this Japanese man, otherwise it would be difficult to give an explanation to the dead people of Nanding.

"Very well, since the Empress has provided such a powerful weapon, then I wish all the generals a swift and triumphant return." Li Qiji stood before the jade table, speaking with great fervor.

Seeing that things were about right, Guan Zhiyue said, "In that case, the generals can go and test the power of this gun first."

The group, guns in hand, walked to the outside of the Imperial Study. The sky was already beginning to lighten. There was no need to attend the morning court session today, as they had already done so. After having breakfast in the palace, everyone went about their duties.

Guan Hongsheng was the first to pick up a gun and shoot at a wine glass outside, which Li Qiji had specifically asked Hua Quan to place there.

The man stood at the entrance of the Imperial Study. Hua Quan placed the wine cup on the handrail of the front corridor, about seven or eight hundred meters away.

Guan Zhiyue stood next to Guan Hongsheng and whispered about the gun's techniques. As a result, Guan Hongsheng aimed and fired directly. With a "bang," the bullet flew out, and wisps of white smoke rose from the gun barrel.

With a loud "bang," the wine glass was completely destroyed, which was simply unbelievable.

"My goodness! It's so amazing! This is truly a divine weapon! Even bows and arrows don't have this kind of accuracy. This is simply incredible." The Minister of War, like an ignorant old man, stroked his beard and said with great satisfaction.

Guan Zhiyue and Li Qiji exchanged a smile, both seeing the joy in each other's eyes...