With the cannon fodder script in hand, it is easy for the king to change his fate

Among the pile of things Yuan Qi found were military strategies, martial arts manuals, and forging methods—a truly abundant collection.

“I never imagined there were so many treasures hidden in the storeroom. The dust outside was so thick, and it was hidden so well. No wonder it hasn’t been discovered for so many years. It was just a coincidence that I found it. If it had been discovered by previous dynasties… perhaps this is fate.” Yuan Qi said, “Your Majesty, I just flipped through this military treatise. It’s simple and easy to understand, and it’s more powerful than existing military treatises. Also, the forging methods here seem feasible. In addition, there are some things here that I didn’t understand at the moment, but they should be valuable.”

“Your Majesty, I suspect these things come from the ancient Kingdom of Ao.” Yuan Qi’s eyes were filled with reverence. “Only the legendary Kingdom of Ao could possess such treasures.”

"It is said that our current palace was originally a summer palace of the Ao Kingdom, built by its founding emperor. Later, the Ao Kingdom was destroyed and the world was in chaos. It was eventually ruled by the Liang Kingdom, which established its capital here. The original palace was not completely demolished, and the palace was built on the basis of this palace. Some of the items I found were hidden in secret compartments under the storeroom."

Ah-Zhou was rummaging through things when she heard this and couldn't help but look up.

She wondered why there were so many things, and that she hadn't put them there herself. It turned out she had indeed found a treasure in the storeroom.

Is it the Ao Kingdom?
It's been three thousand years since then. Historical records do mention it as a rather legendary dynasty, but the time is too far removed, and information about it is scarce. Some even doubt that the country ever existed. Undeniably, even this limited record had a significant impact on later events. It was precisely because the client had heard of the legend of the Ao Kingdom that he decided to take a gamble to secure a way out for himself and his family.

It's just because the founding emperor of the Ao Kingdom was also a legendary woman, who was said to have risen from a peasant woman to become the founding emperor.

However, dynasties are established and overthrown, in an endless cycle.

No matter how powerful the founding emperor was, he couldn't control what would happen afterward.

It is very difficult to preserve written information from this era, especially after three thousand years.

Nowadays, people only know that the Kingdom of Ao is a legend. Due to the lack of many details, it is unknown whether the kingdom actually existed; in any case, it is a legend in people's minds. Before the Kingdom of Liang, the world was in great chaos, divided into many countries, and wars frequently broke out, causing widespread suffering for 150 years.

The situation gradually calmed down after the establishment of the Liang Kingdom.

Actually, Liang Kingdom is not bad either, but the other party obviously did not discover the secret that Ao Kingdom hid under the warehouse, otherwise it would definitely be different.

"Let's take a look at everything." Azhen suddenly became interested in this proud country and decided to see what was inside.

The items in her hands were taken out of the box and were relatively clean, but she herself had gotten dusty from looking for them, making her look rather grimy.

It was because she was shocked by what she suddenly discovered that she hurriedly brought the items over.

Looking at the items on the table, Azhen silently began to examine them. She fell silent, especially after flipping to the military strategy and martial arts manuals.

Why does it feel somewhat familiar?

It looks like hers.

The handwriting above is clearly not hers; it could just be a coincidence.

However, Ao Kingdom must be quite advanced; their method of preserving books is impressive. Yuan Qi's dirt was simply from touching the dust. According to Yuan Qi, these items were all stored in small boxes.

At first, she was worried that the contents would be damaged after opening it, but to her surprise, everything was intact. Inside, there were records on animal hides, bamboo slips, thin stone tablets, and even paper books. And these paper books were surprisingly undamaged.

Judging from the paper, Ao Kingdom's papermaking technology is very advanced, even better than Zhao Kingdom's at present.

It seems that the papermaking technique of the Ao Kingdom has been lost.

It wasn't until Azhen picked up a piece of animal skin with only a pattern on it that she fell even more silent.

"Go to the warehouse."

"Your Majesty, is there something wrong with this map? Could it be the treasure of the Ao Kingdom?" Yuan Qi controlled his excitement. The Zhao Kingdom was not wealthy at the moment. If they could find the treasure of the legendary Ao Kingdom, he couldn't even imagine what it would be like.

Azhen didn't answer and went straight to the storeroom. Yuanqi led her to the place where the hidden compartment was found. The compartment was about the size of two suitcases, but inside there was a very conspicuous cylinder the size of a fist.

“I originally thought this cylinder was some kind of mechanism, and that pressing it might reveal a secret room,” Yuan Qi said. “But after pressing it, a small hidden compartment appeared, filled with countless stone buttons. It looked complicated. Without Your Majesty’s permission, I dared not act rashly.”

Before she could even mention it, His Majesty arrived, and seemed quite interested in the place.

Actually, she was also very interested. If this really was related to Ao Kingdom, it would be a great thing for Zhao Kingdom.

The things in the hidden compartment alone would be of great benefit to the Zhao Kingdom.

Azhen pressed the fist-sized cylinder, and just as Yuanqi had said, a small hidden compartment appeared, filled with countless stone buttons.

She glanced at the animal hide map in her hand and reached out to press the stone buttons.

Yuan Qi couldn't help but speak up: "Your Majesty, be careful. Hidden mechanisms in secret rooms can be dangerous. Let me handle this."

"It's alright." Azhen waved her hand. With this animal hide map, only she could open this mechanism, and it wouldn't pose any danger to her.

Even if there is danger, nothing will happen to her.

As A-Zhan pressed each stone button, the hidden compartment made a sound. Yuan Qi saw A-Zhan standing inside and jumped in after her.

As the two figures continued to sink, Yuan Qi saw countless sharp arrows hidden in the walls along the way, wondering if they were poisoned, and his heart was in his throat.

Fortunately, these hidden arrows were not intended to attack them. Soon, they found themselves in an open space surrounded by various boxes and stone paintings. Upon closer inspection, they discovered that these stone paintings depicted events related to the Kingdom of Ao.

"There's actually an underground palace here!" Yuan Qi exclaimed in shock. "Your Majesty, this might really be something left behind by the Ao Kingdom."

"Perhaps we can learn about the entire Ao Kingdom here."

But did Ao Guo hide the things here beforehand? Did he foresee something?

Yuan Qi didn't know, only that this discovery was a good thing for Zhao Kingdom.

Azhen, however, became certain of her thoughts.

I looked at the animal skin scroll again; the map on it roughly showed the entirety of Canglan.

The stone button she pressed earlier contained the characters "Canglan".

This underground palace was prepared for her.

If nothing unexpected happens, this place contains the history of the Kingdom of Ao, as well as some things she might need.

From now on, there's no need to make excuses. Just say that you've discovered the treasure of the Kingdom of Ao, and you can show the whole Kingdom of Ao to the world.

And we can work on it again. Zhao Kingdom is destined by Heaven, so it's easy to imagine how smoothly things will go in the future.

"Arrange for people to make proper replicas of these items," Azhen instructed. "There should be quite a few things here that our Zhao Kingdom needs."

"Your Majesty, does the Kingdom of Ao have a powerful national advisor who foresaw that the Kingdom of Ao's history might be lost, and thus prepared for all of this in advance? These records are in several different formats, for fear of damage or loss." Yuan Qi sighed, noting that the stone walls here were covered with patterns and text records.

Azhen fell silent again. (End of Chapter)