Chapter 293 The Tree Stands Out in the Forest
In her past life, Jiang Yu had seen videos on her phone of ancient soldiers unleashing volleys of arrows; the sheer power of it was chilling, even through a phone screen. Now, seeing the real-life version, she was even more awestruck. She thought that if she were on the enemy side, seeing this swarm of arrows like locusts, she would surely be at a loss.
Not only her, but Prince Rui and Prince An also felt the same way. Although they had all personally tested the power of rockets, those were all experiments with single arrows. This kind of experiment, similar to firing thousands of arrows at once, was something they had never seen before.
Prince Rui didn't think too much about it, at most feeling a slight sense of pride. Prince An, however, was quite excited, even feeling a surge of ambition to lead thousands of troops to expand his territory. But only he knew these inner thoughts; he didn't show them on the surface.
The Marquis of Chengen and his son were naturally proud, having devoted a great deal of effort to training the Rocket Force. At the same time, the Rocket Force was their biggest trump card.
The heir apparent of the Marquis of Chengen made a gesture, and the 300-strong force withdrew in an orderly fashion, while another 300-strong force marched forward in perfect unison. This time, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Chengen took out a red flag and waved it twice, and the 300-strong force lined up in staggered formations. Seeing the red flag waved four times, all 300 rockets were launched simultaneously.
boom!
Boom!
Boom boom boom!
......
Explosions rang out one after another, and craters appeared on the other side, showing how many casualties would be inflicted if the other side were enemy troops.
Looking at this scene, Jiang Yu couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. She had transmigrated from the modern world, and the idea of a unified nation with all nations paying tribute was deeply ingrained in her. She also wanted to use her influence to help Dagan, a country that might exist in a parallel universe to China, achieve unprecedented unity and prosperity, and perhaps even avoid the two hundred years of humiliation that followed.
"Very good!" she praised sincerely.
Marquis Chengen responded modestly, knowing that both his Rocket Force and the newly developed explosives by Prince Rui were influenced by the Duke of Chu. Wasn't the Heavenly Crafts Bureau established under her influence?
He had never looked down on her because she was a woman before, and he certainly wouldn't now.
Having obtained what they wanted, Jiang Yu, along with Prince Rui and Prince An, left the camp outside the capital. On their way back, they stopped at a pavilion to discuss their next steps.
"What does the Duke of Chu intend to do next?" Prince An asked.
Jiang Yu thought for a moment and said, "Let's hold back for now and wait for the fish to take the bait before sending Marquis Chengen to suppress the bandits and make a big show of it. As for showing our strength at the border, we'll see how things go."
Anyway, we have powerful weapons at our disposal, so we are confident.
Prince An nodded in agreement. "The Duke of Chu should report this matter to the Emperor."
Jiang Yu shook her head upon hearing this, "Your Highness should report to the Emperor, but don't mention me in the report."
These words silenced the room for a moment, even Prince Rui, who hadn't intended to participate in the discussion, looked at her. Jiang Yu smiled without explaining; they were all intelligent people, and they could easily understand what she meant.
Indeed, Prince An and Prince Rui understood her meaning in an instant. However, neither of them expected that Jiang Yu would give up this opportunity to appear before the Emperor.
Prince An silently sighed, stood up, and bowed to Jiang Yu, saying, "Thank you."
Jiang Yu quickly returned the greeting, "Your Highness, there's no need for that."
She did indeed do this to curry favor with Prince An, but she was also thinking of herself. She was currently gaining considerable influence, and standing out too much wasn't always a good thing. Prince An had already revealed his ambition to compete for the throne to the emperor, so she needed to demonstrate her abilities to the emperor, and this was a perfect opportunity to do so.
Prince An realized that Jiang Yu didn't want to stand out too much, but since she had given him this opportunity, he should be grateful. However, he couldn't make any promises now, but if he succeeded in the future, he would certainly not let her down.
Prince An did not express his gratitude again. The two discussed some more details, and then the three parted ways to return to the city. After returning to his residence, Prince An went directly to his study to write a memorial, which described his speculations about the Prince of Lingnan's plan and his countermeasures. He did not mention Jiang Yu's speculations about the Prince of Lingnan's plan.
This was something he had discussed with Jiang Yu. Although he needed to make a good impression on the emperor, he couldn't go too far, and he couldn't let the emperor know about his relationship with Jiang Yu.
After returning home, Jiang Yu wrote a letter and had her secret guard deliver it to Xie Ning'an. Meanwhile, she awaited an audience with the Emperor. If the Emperor truly trusted her and intended to give her an important position, he would summon her to discuss countermeasures once he received the Prince of An's memorial.
However, if the emperor fears or distrusts her, he will not consult with her, and may even support others to oppose her in order to keep her in check. This is the most common way of maintaining balance used by emperors.
Of course, she didn't want the emperor to treat her like that.
...
Imperial Study
The emperor held a memorial in his hand, reading it intently, while Prince An sat in a chair to the side. The room was quiet, with wisps of incense smoke drifting from the incense burner. Prince An sipped his tea, his face appearing calm and composed, but his heart was far from at peace.
He was also waiting, waiting for the emperor's attitude after reading the memorial.
Although the emperor expressed his willingness to compete for the throne after the last test, have all the previous prejudices against him truly been completely erased? Did the emperor give him the opportunity on a whim? Did the emperor later regret it?
The emperor's heart is unfathomable!
Time passed slowly. When the emperor put down the memorial in his hand, Prince An also put down his cup, looking at the emperor with "eager and nervous" eyes. But the emperor glanced at him, said nothing, and after a moment of silence, picked up his cup again to drink tea.
Prince An pretended to suppress his emotions and waited, watching the emperor put down his cup, and then heard him say, "Your analysis is very insightful. I have been thinking about this matter these past two days."
Prince An's expression relaxed. "I've been feeling uneasy these past few days, and this idea suddenly came to me last night when I was looking at the map."
The emperor nodded. "You and your uncle went to the camp outside the capital?"
“Yes,” Prince An said respectfully, “When I went to the Imperial Workshop, the Duke of Chu happened to be there as well, so I invited her to go to the camp outside the capital with me.”
The emperor didn't ask Jiang Yu what she was doing at the Heavenly Crafts Bureau, but instead hummed in agreement and asked, "How are your experiments going?"
Upon hearing this question, Prince An's face lit up with excitement. He stood up and recounted the process and results of the experiment, then said, "Your subject knows the power of firearms, but I did not expect them to be so lethal."
The emperor's face also showed excitement, and he said, "I never expected that your uncle would work so hard for us and make such a great contribution."
He said this with a strong sense of pride.
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