My brothers are all warriors capable of taking on ten thousand men; I'll roam freely in the Thr

Dust rose slightly on the training ground.

Lu Bu's mount, "Crimson Flame," was entirely crimson, except for a hint of gold at the tips of its hooves and mane, resembling a border of blazing flames.

Ran Min's mount, "Zhu Long," had a deep reddish-brown coat and bulging muscle lines.

Both horses are descendants of the Akhal-Teke horses that Ji Xuanyuan purchased from Liangzhou at great expense. Although they are not as good as Lu Bu's Red Hare or Ran Min's true Zhulong horse in history, they are still excellent steeds selected from thousands. Now, equipped with new saddles, stirrups and horseshoes, they appear even more magnificent and extraordinary.

"war!"

Lu Bu took the lead, his crimson halberd roaring as it shot out like a ball of flame, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek as it charged straight at Ran Min in the middle.

This strike was swift, accurate, and ruthless, possessing the momentum of a charging horse, thus doubling its power.

Ran Min's eyes flashed with a cold light. Zhu Long stepped to the side, managing to slide half a step away in the blink of an eye. At the same time, his left hand, wielding a double-edged spear, flicked at the shaft of the halberd like a venomous snake, while his right hand, holding a hooked halberd, was ready to strike.

The stirrups firmly supported his body, making his exquisite horsemanship and evasive maneuvers, as well as the seamless switching between offense and defense with his two-handed weapons, incredibly smooth.

"clang!"

Spears clashed, sparks flew.

Lu Bu felt a tricky force coming from the halberd, trying to deflect his weapon. He snorted coldly, exerted his strength in his waist and abdomen, stabilized his lower body with the help of the stirrups, and suddenly shook his arms, deflecting the spear tip. The halberd spun around and slashed upwards towards Ran Min's waist and abdomen!

"Well done!" Ran Min pressed down with his hooked halberd to block, but his double-edged spear followed like a shadow, taking advantage of the moment when the two horses crossed stirrups to swiftly stab at the opening in Lü Bu's ribs!

Despite the danger, Lü Bu remained calm. Chi Yan, understanding his thoughts, stood upright, his front hooves barely touching the ground. At the same time, he leaned back, his halberd protecting him, and with a clang, blocked the insidious attack.

The two horses passed each other; the first round was a lightning-fast and extremely dangerous affair.

"Good!" Zhang Fei, standing by the training ground, was so excited that he wanted to beat the drum again, but Guan Yu stopped him with a look.

Yang Zaixing clenched his fists, his eyes gleaming: "Fourth Brother's use of these two weapons is becoming increasingly cunning! Sixth Brother's reactions are quick too!"

Xiang Yu's double pupils were deep and unfathomable as he silently watched the battle.

Li Cunxiao grinned: "That was a good fight! Better than the one I did with my second brother!"

On the field, the two horses turned around and charged at each other again.

This time, Lü Bu changed his strategy. His Crimson Flame Halberd moved erratically, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right, taking an unpredictable route. His halberd was no longer bound by wide, sweeping movements; sometimes it moved like a rain of pear blossoms, with multiple shadows of the halberd, and sometimes it moved like a nimble snake emerging from its hole, targeting vital points.

The new saddle allowed him to maintain his balance during high-speed changes of direction, while the stirrups helped him perfectly integrate the strength of his waist, arms, and even the horse's momentum, making each strike heavy and unpredictable.

Ran Min remained unchanged amidst the chaos, while Zhu Long moved with steady steps, wielding his double-edged spear and hooked halberd, creating a chilling zone of death in front of and behind him.

The spear moves nimbly, targeting Lü Bu's wrists, throat, and face; the halberd is heavy and powerful, responsible for parrying and slashing, and waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.

The double stirrups made his lower body as solid as a nail, and no matter how fierce Lu Bu's attacks were, he could always steadily block them and find an opening to retaliate.

The crescent blade of the hook halberd would occasionally hook, lock, and pull, attempting to seize Lü Bu's weapon.

"Jingle bells..."

The clanging of metal echoed across the training ground, and sparks burst forth like fireworks.

The two fought faster and fiercer, sometimes neck and neck, sometimes clashing with spears and halberds, sometimes circling and entangled in a perilous battle.

The sounds of horses' hooves pounding the ground, weapons clashing, warhorses neighing, and the two men exhaling mingled together, creating an astonishing cacophony.

Unable to gain the upper hand after a long battle, Lü Bu's arrogance surged. Suddenly, he roared, stood upright in his crimson robes, and used the momentum to raise his halberd high, slashing down with the force of Mount Tai crashing down!

"Fourth Brother, take this!"

This strike combined all his strength with the stability boost from his new equipment, and the halberd whistled through the air, even pushing aside the dust on the ground!

A flash of bloodlust appeared in Ran Min's eyes. He did not dodge. He crossed his double-edged spear and hook halberd and raised them to meet the attack head-on in a cross shape!

"boom--!"

A loud bang caused the eardrums of the generals watching the battle to ring.

Ran Min's crested dragon suddenly sank its four hooves, leaving deep hoofprints on the ground, but he steadied himself in an instant, his two weapons firmly blocking the halberd blades.

"Rise!" Ran Min roared, his arm muscles bulging, and he suddenly thrust his hooked halberd outward, while his double-edged spear swiftly sliced ​​through Lü Bu's fingers along the halberd shaft!

Lu Bu swiftly withdrew his halberd, and Chi Yan leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.

The two separated again, their chests rising and falling slightly, their foreheads damp with sweat, but their eyes burned with a fighting spirit even stronger than before.

And so the two of them stayed from midday until late afternoon.

The training ground was a mess, trampled by horses' hooves and the iron palms of their new equipment. The two had exchanged moves hundreds of times.

Lu Bu's halberd skills were divine and unparalleled in their ferocity; Ran Min's dual weapons were unpredictable and ruthless, making them difficult to defend against.

The new stirrups allowed them to unleash their full potential, effortlessly executing many difficult offensive and defensive maneuvers that were previously impossible on horseback, leaving the players on the sidelines dazzled and shouting with delight.

Finally, after another all-out battle, the two reined in their horses and retreated, facing each other from several feet apart.

Lu Bu took a deep breath, suppressing his surging blood, and said loudly, "Fourth Brother's dual weapons are unpredictable and divine; I, Fengxian, admire you!"

A slight smile appeared on Ran Min's cold face as he wiped the sweat from his brow: "Sixth Brother's halberd technique is unparalleled in the world; even Fourth Brother could not defeat him."

Both knew that if they continued fighting, they would likely exhaust their true energy, suffer mutual injuries, and the outcome would be uncertain.

Today's exchange was merely to test new tools and compare abilities, not a life-or-death struggle. This is enough.

"Haha, that's great! It's making my hands itch!" Zhang Fei was the first to jump out.

Guan Yu stroked his beard and nodded: "After more than three hundred rounds, we have exhausted all our moves and our strength is roughly equal. We are indeed evenly matched. The advantage of the new weapon is evident in this battle."

Yang Zaixing exclaimed excitedly, "With this new saddle and stirrups, my horsemanship skills will be much more versatile! I can't wait to try it out!"

Xiang Yu and Li Cunxiao exchanged glances, their eyes also showing eagerness, but remembering their elder brother's previous reprimand, they held back.

The fierce battle ended in a draw, leaving the brothers feeling somewhat unsatisfied but ultimately happy.

After this test, everyone's confidence in the new equipment soared, and their desire to fight the northern barbarians became even stronger.

The Prefect's Residence, Study.

Ji Xuanyuan was not unaware of the earth-shattering battle taking place in the training ground outside; his personal guards had already relayed the news back.

He smiled and did not interfere.

Healthy competition between brothers is a good thing, as long as it doesn't go too far.

His thoughts had already wandered to faraway places.

On the desk, several newly drawn blueprints lay with the ink still wet.

One of the drawings is a complex sketch of the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow, complete with a quiver, trigger, and linkage mechanism.

The side notes are densely packed: "The body is made of solid wood, the mechanism is made of iron, the arrows are eight inches long, and ten arrows can be fired at once. It can be equipped with a simple sight to improve the accuracy of mounted archery. The key lies in the reliability of the repeating mechanism and the arrow supply from the quiver. This is a divine weapon for armor penetration and suppression."

The Zhuge Repeating Crossbow can be considered the AK47 of the late Eastern Han Dynasty!

The other image is a breakdown diagram of the wooden ox and flowing horse.

Ji Xuanyuan did not pursue the legendary "unrelated to feng shui, operating by its own mechanism" kind of black technology. Instead, he strengthened and improved the unicycle based on the principle of the unicycle, reinforced the frame, designed a more labor-saving pushing structure, added a cargo platform and fixing device, and focused on the passability and stability under different road conditions.

One man can carry hundreds of kilograms of grain, traveling dozens of miles a day, and can even navigate rugged mountain roads.

If this becomes a large-scale operation, the efficiency of transporting military supplies can be increased several times over.

The third drawing is the most peculiar; it is a cross-sectional view of a monocular telescope, with markings indicating the focal lengths of the convex and concave lenses, the length of the telescope tube, and the adjustment methods.

Due to insufficient glass purity and limited grinding technology, only this Galilean type can be produced for the time being.

A magnification of about thirty times is sufficient to observe the enemy formation from a distance, detect their movements, and anticipate their moves.

The grasslands are vast, and the value of this item is immeasurable.

In addition, there are brief notes on the principles and concepts of basic construction tools such as cement and red bricks.

This knowledge, buried deep in the corners of his past life's memories, is now being unearthed, organized, and adapted to the technological conditions of this era.

If each of these tasks succeeds, it will significantly enhance the strength of the Jingnan Army.

Talented individuals need to be put to good use.

Ideas need to be put into practice.

Ji Xuanyuan put down his pen and summoned his personal guards.

Soon after, a new warrant was issued:

In a secluded spot in the west of the city, a hundred acres of land were allocated to build the "Academy of Natural History". The academy was divided into several departments: the Department of Mechanical Engineering (specializing in the improvement of military equipment, agricultural tools, and daily utensils), the Department of Construction (studying architecture, materials, and water conservancy), the Department of Natural History (exploring natural physical and chemical phenomena, geography, and astronomy), and the Department of Medicine (specializing in medical skills, medicines, and disease prevention).

Anyone in the Recruitment Hall who possesses a special skill or ingenious ideas can be admitted to the academy after examination, given a position, and provided with money and provisions to engage in research.

The institute encourages discussion and debate, promotes innovation through trial and error, and rewards those who achieve outstanding results.

At the same time, he listed his initial ideas and drawings on crossbows, wooden oxen and flowing horses, telescopes, cement, red bricks and other items as the first batch of "key projects" of the Institute of Geology, providing basic ideas and directions so that the talents who entered the institute could study, test and improve them on their own.

When the news spread, the artisans, sorcerers, doctors, and even some scholars who were "not doing their proper work" and were often looked down upon by orthodox scholars because of their "strange skills and tricks" were immediately excited.

With a try-it-out mentality, they participated in the assessment and entered this unprecedented "Academy of Exploration". They found that not only were food, lodging and salary provided, but there were also like-minded people to exchange ideas, seemingly whimsical but reasonable "topics" provided by the master, and an atmosphere that "allows failure and encourages exploration"!

Soon, the sounds of hammering, arguing, and experimenting filled the air inside the Institute of Physics.

Some people were racking their brains over the gear linkage while looking at the crossbow sketches, some were adjusting the kiln temperature while looking at the clay brick blanks, and some were polishing rough glass lenses, trying to see the leaves in the distance.

A pragmatic and vibrant atmosphere, quite different from the recitation of scriptures, quietly emerged in this small space.

Ji Xuanyuan would occasionally visit the Institute of Physics to answer some key questions about principles, but he mostly let everyone explore freely.

He knew that the development of science and technology was not the work of one person alone; igniting the spark and providing the soil were the right paths.

Unbeknownst to him, in this corner of Zhuojun, the existence of this transmigrator seemed to be initiating a small, silent "Hundred Schools of Thought Contending."

Legalist administration, agricultural practices, Mohist mechanisms, military strategy, medical skills... even the "investigation of things" that is difficult to classify into the traditional Hundred Schools of Thought but has truly promoted the progress of productivity, all found a corner to take root and sprout here, each displaying its strengths and making the most of its uses.

Of course, all of this was done in a relatively low-key manner.

Ji Xuanyuan knew that since Emperor Wu of Han "dismissed all other schools of thought and exclusively honored Confucianism", Confucian classics had become the right path for officialdom and the mainstream ideology.

If word gets out that he is "neglecting his proper duties" and making good use of "miscellaneous talents," not only aristocratic families but also countless Confucian scholars and upright officials across the country will rise up to attack him, condemning him with words and writings. The momentum would be far more ferocious than that of simple political enemies.

"Right now, keeping a low profile and making a fortune is the right thing to do," Ji Xuanyuan said softly, gazing at the setting sun outside the window.

"Only when you have sufficient strength can you have a say in many things."