Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 476 Firearms Bureau
The next moment, Emperor Longwu, his face filled with disbelief, gently stroked his beard. What was revealed was a beard about a zhu (a unit of length) long, jet black, and smoothly groomed!

"I actually have such a long beard?! ...
"Your Majesty, Consort Liu has brought you lunch!" After an unknown amount of time, just as Emperor Longwu was in a daze, Xiao Xizi quietly entered the hall and whispered.

"Xiao Xizi, bring the mirror in!" Ignoring what Xiao Xizi was saying about the concubine delivering food, Emperor Longwu subconsciously ordered someone to bring in the mirror after hearing Xiao Xizi's voice.

He needs to take a good look at himself!
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Upon hearing Emperor Longwu's words, Xiao Xizi was taken aback, but seeing the Emperor's unpleasant expression, he quickly accepted the order and turned to leave the palace.

Just a moment later, two eunuchs carried a glass mirror as tall as a person into the Hall of Supreme Harmony!

"Get out!" After the eunuch had placed the mirror, Emperor Longwu waved his hand, dismissing everyone.

For a moment, only Emperor Longwu remained in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Immediately, Emperor Longwu hurried to the mirror, eagerly and carefully examining his reflection.

In the exquisite glass mirror, there was a figure dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, about nine feet tall, with a majestic figure. A bright yellow headband held back his dark hair, and his handsome face and black, silky beard were neatly groomed.

His face was wrinkle-free, his eyes were sharp, and with his beard, he looked to be around thirty years old! He didn't look forty at all!
"Set the table!" After a moment of quiet self-admiration, Emperor Longwu, with a touch of smugness, flicked his sleeves and called out for the meal to be served!

Immediately afterwards, a woman with delicate features, wearing a tassel on her head and an elegant embroidered dress, walked in carrying a large lunchbox.

Clearly, without the help of maids or eunuchs, Consort Liu carried the lunchbox in herself. And the reason? Of course, it was because a certain emperor liked to spend his lunch breaks with his concubines!
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Consort Liu knelt respectfully on the ground to pay her respects as she entered the room.

"Set the table, I'm actually quite hungry!" Looking at the beautiful Liu Zhaoyi, Emperor Longwu snapped out of his self-admiration and immediately ordered the pretty young wife in front of him to set the table.

Afterwards, Emperor Longwu looked at Consort Liu, who had come to deliver lunch, with great interest, his eyes full of admiration!

Then, Liu Zhaoyi, without any further respect, bowed respectfully to Emperor Longwu before rising cautiously and neatly placing the exquisite dishes on the table. She also thoughtfully poured a cup of wine.

Seeing that the food was laid out, Emperor Longwu didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to the table to eat heartily. As for the wine, Emperor Longwu, of course, knew his young wife's little scheme, smiled gently, picked up the wine, and drank it.

Seeing the emperor drink her wine, Consort Liu was secretly delighted. After all, she had heard from her sisters that the emperor would favor whoever drank his wine! Consort Liu longed for the emperor's favor! Because she also wanted a prince!
Having eaten and drunk his fill, the Dragon Emperor, in high spirits, unceremoniously carried his shy young wife into the room.
As for the leftover bowls and plates, the eunuchs would naturally clean up the mess!

When Emperor Longwu reappeared refreshed, a group of eunuchs and palace maids quickly went in to clean up the mess in the inner room.

In a corner next to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a court attendant rolled his eyes, gritted his teeth, picked up a brush, and viciously wrote another entry for Emperor Longwu in his notebook!
However, Emperor Longwu didn't care about any of this. After all, as long as he was happy, that was all that mattered!
"Little Xizi~!" Once again seated before the mountain of memorials piled up in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Longwu called out to Little Xizi!

"Your Majesty!" Upon hearing Emperor Longwu's voice, Xiao Xizi immediately rushed in and bowed to listen to Emperor Longwu's instructions!
"Issue an order to the Cabinet!"
"On the day my sons are conferred titles of kings, I will first appoint the Crown Prince! Tell them all to prepare!" Looking at the bowing Xiao Xizi, Emperor Longwu spoke directly. At this moment, Emperor Longwu had also come to a realization! His eldest son had done a good job over the years; appointing him Crown Prince was only right!

Besides, being emperor forever is pointless! I'll just abdicate a few more years, then enjoy a carefree life in the harem! What a wonderful, idyllic existence!
"This servant obeys the decree!" After hearing Emperor Longwu's words, Xiao Xizi was stunned for a moment, then knelt on the ground with a look of surprise and replied firmly!
Clearly, the establishment of a crown prince in the Dragon Kingdom is something that everyone wants!

In fact, the court officials have been secretly vying with Emperor Longwu for a long time over the matter of the crown prince! Now that Emperor Longwu has relented, the court officials will surely be overjoyed upon hearing this news!
After all, the crown prince is the foundation of the nation! With a crown prince, the country has the hope of continuing its lineage!
"Go! Go! Go!

"Go to the cabinet and issue an imperial decree! That will save them from nagging!" Seeing Xiao Xizi's excited expression, Emperor Longwu didn't mind at all. He even waved his hand dismissively, telling the child to leave.

"Now that the Crown Prince has been appointed, my Empress will surely reward me handsomely!" Immediately, Emperor Longwu's mind began to wander back to his dignified Empress.
A few days later, Emperor Longwu brought his eldest son to the Firearms Bureau.

"Yu'er, where's your python robe?!" Walking along the road to the Firearms Bureau, Emperor Longwu awkwardly asked his eldest son behind him. Clearly, Emperor Longwu was very curious as to why his eldest son wasn't wearing a python robe!
"Father, the investiture hasn't been done yet!" Seeing his father's unreliable expression, Zhu Qiyu looked around and whispered a reply.

"Tch, you're such a busybody!"

My word is law!

"Anyone else would probably have worn it and shown it off by now!" After muttering this to his son in annoyance, Emperor Longwu stepped directly into the weapons testing ground of the Firearms Bureau.

At this moment, a group of officials and craftsmen from the Firearms Bureau were already waiting in the testing ground!
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Upon arriving at the enormous weapons testing ground, a group of officials and craftsmen knelt on the ground.

"Rise, all of you!" Emperor Longwu casually waved his hand, signaling all his ministers to stand up.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The officials rose with utmost respect.
Immediately, a group of Imperial Guards, holding large shields, stood before Emperor Longwu, leaving only enough space to observe the inspection field!

"Minister Zhang, let's test the newly developed firearms!" Emperor Longwu didn't stand on ceremony and, after settling down, immediately wanted to see the new firearms being tested!
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhang Dazhu accepted the order without hesitation.

Immediately, Zhang Dazhu waved his hand, and a craftsman dressed in a gray robe waved his flag in place. From afar, Emperor Longwu saw a person light the fuse with a torch.

With a deafening "BOOM!", a small hill not far away was completely flattened! Furthermore, the dummy figures erected around the hill were also shattered into pieces! At the same time, Emperor Longwu heard a series of crisp popping sounds!
"Landmine~!!" Upon hearing this sound, Emperor Longwu immediately stood up from his chair, his eyes filled with surprise and delight!
"Your Majesty, it is indeed a stone-throwing cannon!"

"Furthermore, the craftsmen, following the Emperor's instructions, filled the stone cannon with iron slag, making it even more powerful than before!" Zhang Dazhu, who knew the situation of the landmines very well, quickly chimed in.

"Great! I made the right choice coming today!"
"Continue!" Emperor Longwu immediately perked up, no longer sitting, but standing up and ordering his men to continue firing the weapons. The Imperial Guards then formed an even tighter line!
(End of this chapter)