Besides them, Duke Yu Sheng, Grand Tutor Bai Qingyuan, Chancellor Zhu Tong, Vice Minister of War Wu Xianyong, Hanlin Academician Song Baiyun, and a group of ministers he did not recognize stood around him.
These people all have different thoughts. It is estimated that apart from Zhu Tong, who is genuinely worried about Zhu Xinning and wants Jing Zhe to win, the others probably all have their own agendas!
Meanwhile, Qi Junguang had already arrived at the side of Emperor An. His gaze towards Jing Zhe was not friendly, but rather carried a sinister smugness!
It seems that the third prince of Southern Qi was quite humiliated by him, and probably had all his might on the verge of killing him today to avenge his previous defeat. Heh, I'm afraid he'll be disappointed again.
Seeing Jing Zhe enter the house, Emperor An looked at him, who was all alone, and asked with some curiosity, "Jing Zhe, are you all ready?"
"Your Majesty, no."
"..."
Emperor Andi was speechless with a headache from his words, while the expressions of the others present varied, with many probably gloating.
Jing Zhe continued, "That's because—such a simple competition doesn't require any preparation at all!"
"..."
Qi Junguang, who had just grinned and hadn't even started to feel smug, suddenly froze. His general, Qi Gulong, sneered, "Young Master Jing, you'd better not talk big, or it will be too embarrassing if you lose!"
Jing Zhe nodded, "General Qi is right. You shouldn't say anything either, or it will be even more embarrassing if we lose!"
"Young Master Jing is not only a man of great literary talent, but also a master of words. I am ashamed to admit my inferiority!"
"If you can't even talk a good game, your other skills probably aren't much better, right?"
"Hehe, Young Master Jing is quite the talker, but I don't know about his other skills!"
"How will General Qi know about other places if he doesn't try them out?"
"..."
What was originally a serious and depressing scene was completely derailed by Jing Zhe's words, and the tone suddenly changed, becoming quite gay.
In a verbal battle, Qi Gulong was clearly no match for Jing Zhe, losing after just a few words. Moreover, Jing Zhe didn't play by the rules; even perfectly normal topics sounded lewd coming from his mouth, almost making Qi Gulong die of anger on the spot.
Emperor An was actually a little worried when he saw Jing Zhe come in empty-handed.
Seeing him arguing with Qi Gulong as if he were strolling leisurely, he felt reassured that Qi Gulong wouldn't fight an unprepared battle.
Sitting next to him, Su Mochen's eyes were already curved into crescent moons with laughter.
His mouth is still as sharp as ever, but I love it.
...
Although Emperor An was willing to watch Jing Zhe argue with Qi Junguang and the others, it was ultimately not a respectable matter, so he interrupted them in time.
"Jing Zhe, did you bring any weapons?"
Jing Zhe nodded, "Your Majesty, he's in the carriage."
"Oh? Then bring it here quickly, so everyone can see it!"
To be honest, not only Emperor An, but everyone else present was also very curious about what kind of weapon Jing Zhe could use to destroy the Silver Thread Army's defenses.
In fact, the Silver Thread Armor is not indestructible; otherwise, they would have already wiped out all the surrounding countries. Ultimately, the Silver Thread Armor has excellent defensive capabilities against arrows and other weapons thrown from afar, but it is also difficult to withstand close-range attacks.
However, Jing Zhe's claim that he could break through the defenses of fifty Silver Thread Army soldiers by himself is somewhat absurd.
Even if they used a crossbow, let alone a powerful crossbow with a power of five stones or more, given his small stature, even a crossbow with a power of one stone or more would be difficult for everyone to handle. So some people were just watching the show, while others were gloating and waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
"Your Majesty, this humble general shall go and fetch it!"
At this moment, Sui Shouren came out. He genuinely wanted to help Jing Zhe, but he also genuinely wanted to see the weapon with his own eyes.
Jing Zhe stepped forward and whispered a few words in Sui Shouren's ear, then cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll have to trouble General Sui!"
Sui Shouren nodded and walked out, but he was even more puzzled.
The lids are different colors?
Two more weapons were prepared?
But... what kind of weapon could have a lid?
A bewildered Sui Shouren went out, and a moment later, he returned, still looking bewildered, with four wine jars covered with white square cloths.
Then, the hall fell silent as everyone stared at the four wine jars, lost in thought.
"Cough cough..."
Emperor An, who had been telling himself to "trust Jing Zhe and stay calm," couldn't sit still any longer. "Jing Zhe, what are you doing bringing four jars of strong liquor? Even if you want to celebrate, isn't this a bit too early?"
"celebrate?"
Qi Junguang, who was standing nearby, sneered upon hearing this.
"Could it be that Young Master Jing knew he was doomed to lose, so he brought strong liquor for us to celebrate?"
After saying that, he and Qi Gulong, who was beside him, burst into laughter.
Jing Zhe gave him a cold glance, then said to Emperor An, "Your Majesty, this is not strong liquor, but a weapon!"
"arms?"
These words immediately caused a great commotion in the hall.
Emperor An was so stunned by the answer that he was speechless, while Qi Junguang, disregarding his image, laughed so hard he clutched his stomach.
"Young Master Jing, if I'm not mistaken, you probably intend to use these four jars of strong liquor to get our fifty Silver Thread Army soldiers drunk, so you can break through their defenses, right?"
After he finished speaking, even the ministers from Anguo's side blushed and felt uncomfortable holding back their words.
Although Jing Zhe was on their side, at this moment, they felt that Qi Junguang's statement was more reliable.
They were quite knowledgeable, having heard of all sorts of weapons even if they hadn't seen them before, but this wine jar weapon... was a huge shock to them!
Jing Zhe shrugged, "I hope the Third Prince will still be smiling so happily after the martial arts competition ends!"
"..."
Qi Junguang was taken aback for a moment, then stood up: "Alright, since Young Master Jing is so confident, let's not waste any more time and start the competition!"
He looked excited and eager to try.
But Jing Zhe waved his hand dismissively, "Wait!"
"What's wrong now?"
Qi Junguang was about to leave when he heard Jing Zhe's words and stopped.
"Third Prince, in order to avoid damaging the harmony, could your Silver Thread Army only send warhorses into the arena during the competition later, and not send any soldiers?"
Jing Zhe asked tentatively.
Sending only horses, not people?
Does that still count as the Silver Thread Army?
Let's just call it Silver Thread Horse!
Qi Junguang almost cursed, "Young Master Jing, if you're afraid, you might as well admit defeat now and save yourself from coming up with these terrible ideas! Our plan was for you to break through the Silver Thread Army's defenses, so what do you mean by suddenly ordering me to withdraw my men?"
Jing Zhe wasn't angry. He kindly said, "Third Prince, don't overthink it. I just think it's not easy for you to train fifty Silver Thread Army soldiers. It's just a martial arts test. If you kill them all, it's not worth it!"
"..."
The phrase "saying the most infuriating things in the calmest tone" perfectly describes Jing Zhe's current state.
At this moment, the minister of Anguo had a strange expression.
Qi Junguang was furious.
————
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