Gu Yuan continued with a smile, "I met the eldest prince at the Ministry of War. He said that the envoy from Yue will arrive in a few days. The envoy is the third prince of Yue. The eldest prince asked me to go out of the capital with him to meet the envoy."
This was the first time that Gu Yuan met the eldest prince Chu Yi, who had been a hostage in the Kingdom of Yue for eight years.
Before that, he thought that the eldest prince had been a hostage in Yue State for many years and might have been raised to be cowardly. It was not until they met today that he realized from the eldest prince's words and deeds that the eldest prince was not the same as he had thought before.
When the eldest prince mentioned the third prince of Yue, his expression was calm and composed. He was not at all cautious, nor humble and prudent. He was definitely not a weak-willed person. Being a hostage for eight years did not crush his pride, nor did he make him kowtow to Yue.
"Meow!" Qingguang seemed to understand and remembered a human who had pinched the back of its neck.
Humph, such a bold and stupid human being! ! Qingguang was about to look up at Gu Yuan, but Gu Yanfei quickly pressed his hand on the back of his neck.
Gu Yanfei patted it on the back twice perfunctorily, meaning, eat yours well.
The cat succumbed.
Gu Yuan took another sip of tea and continued, "The visit from Yue State was only arranged temporarily this month."
"Over the years, Dajing and Yue have kept to themselves, with only some ordinary trade exchanges. Until the emperor ascended the throne, in order to exchange the eldest prince for his return to the country, the emperor spent more than half a year to barely suppress those high-ranking families, and also approved a blueprint of a firearm from Yue, before the saint of Yue agreed to release the prince."
Gu Yuan was not originally aware of the agreement between the two countries regarding the firearms blueprints. It was when he met the eldest prince at the Ministry of War today that the eldest prince told him in person...
Thinking about it, Gu Yuan's eyes turned cold, and he continued, "Because the two countries did not trust each other, the emperor only gave Yue Kingdom half of the blueprint at that time. This time, the third prince of Yue Kingdom came to Dajing in person just to get the other half of the blueprint."
These Vietnamese people are extremely ambitious!
Gu Yuan's eyes were dark and deep, and the hand holding the teacup subconsciously tensed up.
He had a deep hatred with the Kingdom of Yue for killing his father. How could he forget it, how could he let it go!
"What firearm?" Gu Yanfei asked curiously after taking a bite of the soft and fluffy pastry.
Gu Yuan looked at Gu Yanfei, his eyes softened, and explained: "When Emperor Taizu was alive, he improved the matchlock gun and named it the 'flintlock gun'."
As we all know, Emperor Taizu was a genius. Not only was he the best in the world in both civil and military affairs, but he was also well-informed and proficient in various miscellaneous subjects. He invented glass, mercury mirrors, soap, and improved springs, looms, movable type printing, and countless other things.
Thinking of the great achievements of Emperor Taizu, Gu Yuan's handsome face seemed to glow, and he could not hide his admiration and yearning for Emperor Taizu.
"Although the original matchlock gun was much more powerful than bows and arrows, swords and guns, it also had obvious flaws. It took a lot of time to load gunpowder and bullets, and it needed to light the matchlock before firing. It was also not accurate."
"After being improved by Emperor Taizu, the new 'flintlock' used flint to strike fire, which not only greatly simplified the shooting process, but also made the firing speed two or three times faster than the matchlock, and also improved the shooting accuracy."
"Once a good soldier has mastered the 'flintlock', he can defeat a hundred enemies with one man."
Gu Yuan's eyes lit up with excitement, and he looked like a sword about to be unsheathed, ready to rush to the battlefield at any time.
Gu Yanfei was just asking casually at first, but as he listened, he became interested and asked excitedly, "Brother, do you have a flintlock?"
"Yes." Gu Yuan nodded and smiled dotingly, "I'll have someone get it for you to play with."
He actually had a flintlock rifle. When he went to the Ministry of War just now, Chu Yi gave him a flintlock rifle.
So Gu Yuan called Juanbi in and told her to go to Chenghuiyuan to get it from Wutong.
After Juanbi left, Gu Yuan pursed his lips and remained silent for a moment, then asked the question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time: "Sister, do you recognize the eldest prince?"
His sister and the eldest prince should have no relationship at all, but today the eldest prince told him that he could tell his sister about the task he was going to take on without hiding anything, which forced him to make this assumption.
"Yes." Gu Yanfei nodded honestly and answered honestly.
It’s true!
Gu Yuan didn’t even think about asking how they knew each other. In his opinion, since his sister was so outstanding, it was only natural that the eldest prince would remember her.
Gu Yanfei picked up a piece of plum blossom cake for Gu Yuan with chopsticks and asked casually, "Brother, have you been to Yue Kingdom?"
"I've read in a book that the Kingdom of Yue has many dialects, and in some places there are dozens of dialects in one state."
Gu Yanfei was not familiar with the State of Yue at all.
In her previous life, her world was too small. There was only this tiny Dingyuan Marquis Mansion. She didn’t even know much about the capital, let alone the distant Yue Kingdom.
Gu Yuan took a bite of the plum cake and shook his head. When his dark phoenix eyes met Gu Yanfei's curious eyes, they were filled with warmth and became softer.
He sorted out his thoughts and said with a smile: "I haven't been there, but I heard some things from my friends."
"One day when I'm free, I'll take you to Dayan Street. That area is also called Nanyue Street. Many shops on the street sell Nanyue products, such as snacks, kites, embroidered screens, purses, round fans..."
"By the way, there is a theater on Dayan Street. They have invited a troupe from South Vietnam to perform operas from South Vietnam. It has a unique flavor."
Gu Yuan racked his brains and spoke a lot. What he said was all what he heard from his friends, so it was a bit mixed and scattered.
"Brother," Gu Yanfei leaned slightly closer to him and coquettishly pinched Gu Yuan's sleeves, "Then let's make a deal. Next time, we'll go to the shop on Dayan Street together and buy some Jiangnan fabrics to make clothes?"
"Then, we'll go watch a play at the troupe you mentioned."
In their previous life, they missed a lot, and in this life, Gu Yanfei didn’t want to miss anything again.
She would tell Gu Yuan whatever she wanted to do and what she liked.
"Brother will accompany you in whatever you want to do." Gu Yuan always agreed, and even thought: since his sister likes watching plays so much, maybe he can buy a troupe for her in the future, and then she can watch plays anytime she wants.
However, before that, he had to work hard to save money, and then separate from the family with his sister!
After the family was divided, my sister could live as she pleased, happily and freely, without being restricted in the marquis's mansion.
Originally, Gu Yuan had no interest in joining the Imperial Guard. No matter how glamorous and promising the Imperial Guard was, it was not what he longed for or what he was pursuing.
But now…
Gu Yuan had a new idea.
Today, since the eldest prince told him so much, even told him the secrets about the "flintlock" drawings, it means that the eldest prince should have other arrangements for him... or in other words, the eldest prince intends to use him!
Yes, now is not the time when the late emperor was in power.
He was confident that with his ability, he would be able to create a kingdom of his own in the army like his father! For his sister, he had to work harder! Thinking of this, Gu Yuan couldn't help but be inspired. His dark pupils glowed brightly, and he said again with great energy: "Sister, my ten-day vacation is definitely gone. I have to serve the eldest prince from now on, and I will be busy again..."
"After this busy period, I will definitely take you to have a good time in the capital!"
Looking at Gu Yuan like this, Gu Yanfei felt an inexplicable urge in her heart, and she also wanted to touch her brother's head.
But, my brother won't be happy.
She laughed in her heart, and the smile showed from the corners of her eyes and eyebrows.
"Girl!" Juanbi finally came back, holding a heavy rectangular wooden box in her hands.
Gu Yuan personally opened the long wooden box, and saw a brand new flintlock rifle quietly placed on the red velvet cloth in the box. The long black barrel shone with a cold and hard luster, and there were eight or nine bullets next to the gun.
Gu Yanfei looked at the strangely shaped flintlock rifle and took it out of the box with great interest. It felt heavy in his hand.
The little girl's arms were so thin that they were not even as thick as the barrel of a gun, but she easily grasped the heavy flintlock in her hands, as if she was holding a long sword.
Gu Yanfei grabbed the flintlock rifle in his hand and played with it casually, touching the barrel, pulling the trigger, and touching the buttstock...
Gu Yuan first introduced the various parts of the flintlock rifle, and then began to teach her step by step how to clean and unclog the barrel, where to fill the gunpowder, and where to load the bullets...
"The steps to fire a gun are much more complicated than shooting with a bow. It takes at least ten breaths to fire once."
"However, the projectile is pushed out of the gun barrel by the burning gunpowder, and its speed is much faster than that of ordinary feather arrows, and its lethality is also greater. It can penetrate a person's skull with one shot from a hundred steps away."
Gu Yuan had never used a musket before. It was only when he was at the Ministry of War that the eldest prince personally demonstrated it to him.
It was indeed not difficult to get started. Practice makes perfect. No wonder Gu Yuan once heard his superiors say, "On the battlefield, training a soldier to use a musket is much easier than training an archer."
He spoke very carefully, and Gu Yanfei listened attentively, nodding frequently, and asked with interest, stroking his chin: "Brother, can I try it?"
This firearm called "flintlock" is a bit like a low-level spiritual weapon from the Yaoling Realm, but its power sounds much smaller than that of a spiritual weapon.
She just played with it in her hand for a bit and understood the pros and cons of this thing. For example, the burning of gunpowder can generate a strong thrust to push the projectile out, but it may also affect the accuracy of the flintlock.
However, in this small world, the flintlock rifle is probably a killing weapon.
(End of this chapter)
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