It must be admitted that Tang Bo, the prime minister of the Southern Yue Kingdom, was a guy who was extremely good at exploiting human weaknesses.
Even at this point, he was still keeping everyone in suspense, only revealing half of what he meant, which greatly worried Emperor Tiande, Li Zongmin.
Li Zongmin said urgently, "Prime Minister Tang, but what is it? Tell me!"
In the imperial court, all the officials, including Crown Prince Li Shiyu, craned their necks, eagerly awaiting what Prime Minister Tang Bo would say next.
However, Crown Prince Li Shiyu looked at Tang Bo with a hint of disdain.
He thought to himself, "Even with 100,000 elite wolf soldiers, I, the Crown Prince, failed to defeat the Dragon City's southern expeditionary army, which was aided by demonic magic, at the gates of Yongzhou."
You, Tang Bo, a mere civil official, a fellow who only knows how to wield a pen and talk, how could you possibly withstand the heavenly thunder summoned by the sorcerer under Pang Xianchu's command?
I, the Crown Prince, would like to hear what brilliant strategy you have to defend against the enemy that makes you dare to utter those righteous words just now.
Forehead--
On the other side, Prime Minister Tang Bo hesitated for a moment, and seeing that the atmosphere in the court had reached a certain point, he slowly and deliberately spoke:
"Your Majesty, I believe that the heavenly thunder summoned by the sorcerers of Longcheng, as mentioned by the Crown Prince, is essentially a type of weapon, similar in principle to fireworks and firecrackers!"
"impossible!"
Before Tang Bo could finish speaking, Crown Prince Li Shiyu flew into a rage.
Ignoring all court etiquette, he rushed to Prime Minister Tang Bo in a few strides, pointed at his nose and said, "Prime Minister Tang, are you implying that I, the Crown Prince, have failed in battle?"
"Fireworks and firecrackers? Do you think I'm a three-year-old? Can't you even tell the difference between fireworks and thunder?"
"Let me tell you, the weapons used by the rebel army in Longcheng to attack my Southern Yue army could not possibly be fireworks and firecrackers. Have you ever seen fireworks and firecrackers that can send people flying several meters away with a single boom?"
Have you ever seen fireworks that can blast down a sturdy city wall with a single boom?
Have you ever seen fireworks or firecrackers that can create a huge explosion and send sand and stones flying everywhere?
"You've seen—"
"Enough!"
Just as Crown Prince Li Shiyu was shoving his saliva at Prime Minister Tang Bo, Emperor Tiande on the dragon throne finally couldn't help but speak up and stop this farce in the court.
Li Zongmin said, “Your Highness, let Prime Minister Tang finish speaking. What kind of behavior is this, arguing and laughing in the court!”
"Father, I—"
"Get out!"
Li Shiyu wanted to insist on something, but Li Zongmin sternly rebuked him and told him to step back.
Ultimately, they had no choice but to retreat back to their original positions.
However, his gaze, which seemed to want to tear two ounces of flesh from Tang Bo's body, never left the latter for a moment.
Cough cough!
At this moment, Chancellor Tang Bo coughed twice and continued, "Your Majesty, I understand His Highness the Crown Prince's overreaction. If I hadn't had the opportunity to personally witness that weapon called the bronze cannon..."
"Perhaps, like Your Highness the Crown Prince, I would also consider that thing that could collapse the city wall with a single boom to be a kind of heavenly lightning summoned by sorcery!"
Bronze cannon?
When this new term came out of Prime Minister Tang Bo's mouth, all the civil and military officials in the entire Southern Yue court looked at each other, completely bewildered.
Nobody knew what this bronze cannon was!
Before Emperor Tiande on the dragon throne could even ask a question, Prime Minister Tang Bo knelt down to plead guilty, saying:
"Your Majesty, I must confess my sins. On the fifth day of the seventh month of the second year of Tiande, I violated Your Majesty's policy of isolationism by secretly meeting with barbarians from the Atlantic Kingdom!"
brush!
These words shocked everyone present.
The Southern Yue Kingdom was located by the sea, and blond-haired, blue-eyed barbarians often came to Guangzhou in large ships to trade and establish trade relations. They were not unfamiliar with the Atlantic Kingdom.
However, after Li Zongmin, the Prince of Guangxin of the Da Xin Dynasty, declared himself emperor in the first year of Lingwu of Da Xin and established the Nan Yue Kingdom, he adopted a policy of isolationism.
From then on, there were few traces of blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners in Guangzhou.
This Prime Minister Tang Bo actually met with barbarians from the Atlantic Kingdom in secret a few days ago. According to the laws of the Southern Yue Kingdom, this is punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family!
Sure enough, upon hearing that Chancellor Tang Bo dared to disobey the imperial edict and secretly meet with foreigners, Emperor Tiande's face on the dragon throne turned even more ashen.
However, given that the time was right when people were in need of talent, and because Prime Minister Tang Bo's actions were also for the survival of the Southern Yue Kingdom, Emperor Tiande did not pursue his responsibility at the court meeting.
Instead, he waved his hand, showing great magnanimity, and said, "Prime Minister Tang, I pardon you. Please continue!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Tang Bo took a deep breath and continued, "Your Majesty, the barbarians from the Atlantic Kingdom who I contacted this time are here on behalf of their Atlantic Kingdom Chamber of Commerce to conduct trade with the Southern Yue Kingdom."
"It was during a conversation with the barbarian leader Markel that I came to see the bronze cannon after boarding the barbarian's ship."
As he spoke, Tang Bo began to gesture with his hands, saying, "The bronze cannons cast by those barbarians had barrels about three feet and three inches long, mounted on two-wheeled carts, and could fire solid projectiles."
"I saw it with my own eyes; the solid projectiles that were launched had a range of over a thousand paces, and upon impact with the sea, they stirred up waves two or three zhang high, accompanied by a thunderous roar."
Um?
After listening to Tang Bo's description, Crown Prince Li Shiyu, who had been furious, suddenly calmed down and carefully recalled the appearance of the monsters in the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army.
It seemed to be a two-wheeled vehicle with a large, dark iron pipe mounted on it, covered with bright red silk.
Upon thinking of this, Crown Prince Li Shiyu hurriedly asked, "Prime Minister Tang, were those barbarian bronze cannons covered with bright red silk?"
Forehead--
Tang Bo hesitated for a moment, then said, "It seems not!"
After thinking for a moment, he looked at Crown Prince Li Shiyu and asked, "What, Your Highness, besides not being covered with red silk, what is the difference between these barbarian bronze cannons and the monsters of the Longcheng rebels?"
Li Shiyu shook his head and said, "No, the demons of the Dragon City rebels were also mounted on two-wheeled carts, and it seemed that their soldiers were even carrying torches."
"At the time, I thought they were performing some kind of sorcery ritual!"
"That matches up!"
Tang Bo suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Your Majesty, it seems that the demonic weapon used by the rebels in Dragon City is merely a type of bronze cannon, not the heavenly thunder that is invincible to human power."
"If our Nanyue Kingdom could rely on the strength of the barbarians and use the bronze cannons carried by their fleets to assist in the battle, we might be able to break through the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army's attempt to annihilate our Nanyue Kingdom!"
"Your Majesty, I humbly suggest that we seek the assistance of the barbarians from the Atlantic Kingdom to counter Chen Huai'an's southern expeditionary army from Longcheng. I hope Your Majesty will grant my request!"
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