Todd looked at Emerson in surprise: "A marriage alliance? How did you come up with this idea?!"
Emerson stroked his mustache and analyzed to himself, "Mary is now the Queen of Holy Guard City, and Your Majesty should be well aware of how much Holy Guard City's strategic position and military strength are of help to Twilight City. Once you marry Queen Mary, it will provide our country with an extremely powerful ally, and at the same time, it will make up for Twilight City's shortcomings in reserve forces and weaponry..."
"The only thing that worries me a little is Queen Mary's fertility. During her years as Queen of the Silver Ring, she had no children, leading many to question her infertility. Actually, even if the rumors are true, this problem is easily solved. His Majesty can simply find a mistress who will bear him a child, which can then be adopted by Queen Mary..."
Todd's face grew increasingly dark as he listened, and he couldn't help but interrupt the other man, shaking his head and saying, "My Prime Minister, aren't you overthinking this? I have never had any intention of marrying Mary as my queen."
Emerson was taken aback: "Your Majesty, you intervened in the succession to the throne in Holy Guard City and put Mary on the throne. Aren't you worried about how to control this power now?"
Todd sighed: "I have a rough plan in mind about how to integrate the power of Holy Guard City into the kingdom, but the time is not right to implement it now."
"A plan?" Emerson's eyes widened. "Could you tell me a thing or two first?"
“It’s not the right time yet. All I can say is that this plan is related to the religious reforms we are currently undertaking.” Todd looked at Emerson, who was looking at him with a probing expression, and said with a wry smile, “So let’s finish what we have on hand first, and put the marriage on hold for now.”
Emerson looked at Todd with some skepticism: "If Your Majesty insists, then I will temporarily put the marriage proposal on hold. As for the religious reform meeting you mentioned, I will go and gather the participants now."
Watching Emerson rush out of the room to arrange the meeting, Todd stood up with a smile and casually rang the call bell on the table.
Todd gestured to Hudgens, who was walking in through the door, signaling him to follow him.
"Your Majesty, where are we going?"
"Come for a walk with me."
Sitting in an unassuming carriage, Todd lifted the curtain of the window, first glancing at the guards on horseback following on both sides of the carriage, then looking at the endlessly prosperous Twilight City before him.
From the palace, Todd walked along the wide and smooth avenue, passing the bustling central square, the magnificent cathedral, the lively commercial street, and the orderly city hall.
As the carriage traveled further and further away, Huggins spurred his horse closer to the window and whispered, "Your Majesty, the workshop district is just ahead."
Todd nodded and lowered the curtain: "Go to Aiden Colm's workshop."
When Todd entered Aiden's workshop, the old craftsman was directing his apprentices as they worked together to hammer a wrought iron pipe.
Upon seeing the king's arrival, old Aiden rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then shouted joyfully, "His Majesty has arrived!"
Todd first smiled at the people in the room, but when he saw the burn marks on old Aiden's left eye, which had completely lost its sight, he frowned and asked, "Your eye?"
Old Aiden touched his blind left eye and said with considerable shame, "When I was testing a newly made musket, the barrel exploded due to the materials used in the gun and the amount of gunpowder..."
Seeing Todd's concerned expression, old Aiden laughed heartily, "Your Majesty, what's the big deal about losing an eye?! I still have another one that I can use! Compared to that, take a look, I recently forged a musket."
Old Aiden took out a flintlock pistol from a wooden box in the back room of the workshop; it had not yet been polished or painted.
As soon as Todd took the musket, he felt its weight. He examined it closely and asked with interest, "How is the performance of this gun?"
Old Aiden's smile faltered, and he coughed twice: "The effective range is about twenty-five meters. Within this distance, it can penetrate most scale armor and chainmail."
Todd, whose knowledge of firearms was limited to books and conversations, nodded and said, "Very good."
Old Aiden's expression darkened further. He whispered, "Your Majesty, the musket you sent has an effective range of forty meters."
Todd was stunned: "That much difference?!"
“And that’s not even the most troublesome problem. The musket you sent is superior to ours in terms of lifespan and parts manufacturing.” Old Aiden looked somewhat disheartened. “I’ve also sought help from scholars at Muxi University. They said it’s a problem with the manufacturing process and material quality. We’re currently working together to improve the musket…”
Todd fiddled with the musket in his hand, his thoughts wandering.
The captured musket was obtained by Aisha from an Abbasid Caliphate officer more than three years ago. Since it was a standard-issue weapon, it must have been a well-established model. Including its testing, improvement, and service life, this musket's history in the Abbasid Caliphate, from its prototype design to the present day, may have exceeded ten years.
A musket from ten years ago is far superior to the weapon copied by Muxi City. From this, Todd has already seen the backwardness of Muxi City in gunpowder weapons, and how huge the gap in technological level between the Northern Diocese and the Southern Empire is.
Todd scratched the back of his head in exasperation, thinking to himself, "This doesn't make sense!"
According to the usual plot development, the time traveler should have unparalleled technological advantages, and then, with the era's leading cannons and firearms, they should use a technological rush to quickly overthrow the natives... But when it comes to myself, I always feel like I'm going to be outdone.
Todd handed the musket back to old Aiden and asked, "In your opinion, how long would it take to develop the technology to manufacture the captured musket?"
The old craftsman hesitated for a moment, seemingly afraid of the king's wrath, and gave a trembling answer: "If the research at Muxi University goes smoothly, it will probably take another year."
Todd felt dizzy after listening for a while.
A year?!
If it takes another year to manufacture this musket, the enemy might already be at our doorstep.
Todd now regrets his major. If he had studied materials science, mechanical engineering, or energy and power engineering, he might have already invented a steam tank by now... But biochemistry is really a disadvantage when it comes to advancing military technology.
"I will give Terence a warrant to prioritize the research of gunpowder weapons."
Having said this, Todd, who was deeply worried about the future military strength of Muxi City, called Harkins and embarked on their journey back to the palace.
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