After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

100,000 dan of grain?

Zhu Cuiwei's pupils contracted slightly, and she unconsciously pressed her hands on her knees together. She sighed inwardly; things were indeed unusual.

The Northern Dynasty's attack this time is probably not just about using a musket to humiliate the Southern Dynasty.

She swept her phoenix eyes across the crowd and glanced at the envoys from various countries to her right.

The Korean envoy looked worried, the Annamite envoy had a mocking expression, and the Japanese envoy was expressionless... As for the Russian delegation next to the North Korean delegation, the young Russian ambassador Rostov, who looked very different from them, was listening to the chubby Chinese interpreter speak with a smile on his face.

The Rakshasa were at war with the Northern Dynasty, and the battle should have been raging fiercely.

If the Northern Dynasty's so-called armor, capable of piercing even heavy armor at fifty zhang (approximately 30 meters), is true, why are the Rakshasa people completely unmoved? Not only are they not worried at all, but they even seem quite amused? Could it be that the Northern Dynasty's firearms are fake?

Zhu Cuiwei's eyelids twitched, and a slight worry rose in her heart.

As the crown prince, she had not yet ascended the throne, and the burden on her elder brother had only fallen slightly on her shoulders, yet she already felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"What a tempting offer!" Upon hearing this, the Southern Dynasty officials were enraged and laughed, "Your Excellency has quite the scheme! Ten thousand dan of grain? You think you can exchange it for a mere musket?"

Da Chun was not offended and said leisurely, "Gentlemen, if your dynasty's muskets are superior to ours, then our dynasty's muskets are worthless."

"If your dynasty's firearms are weaker than ours, then these firearms... let alone 100,000 dan of grain, even a million or ten million dan of grain would be priceless!" The threatening words landed with a thud.

Upon hearing this, the angry words of the Southern Dynasty officials seemed to get stuck in their throats, and for a moment they couldn't utter a single word. Their eyes froze, and a chill even emanated from their bodies.

If what this person said is true.

If a Northern Dynasty soldier's musket could truly penetrate the Southern Dynasty's heavy armor from fifty feet away, then the two cities north of the Yangtze River in Daliang... would truly be in imminent danger.

The two cities north of the river were able to be defended because of two factors: first, the continuous supply from south of the river; and second, the artillery and heavy crossbows on the city walls.

When the Northern Dynasties launched a large-scale invasion, there were cannons on the city walls, which prevented the enemy's cannons from reaching that far and getting close to the city.

If the enemy had such powerful muskets, they could easily kill a large number of heavily armored soldiers and archers on the city walls during their swarm attack, making the city extremely difficult to defend.

Without the support of the two cities north of the Yangtze River, Nanjing would probably not have the prosperous and peaceful city it enjoys today.

If the other side were to once again trample across Jiangnan like it did more than sixty years ago... then it would indeed be a matter that a mere 100,000 dan of grain could not solve.

What the other party can obtain is far more than ten million pounds...

The meaning behind Da Chun's words couldn't be clearer.

Marquis Li Chunge of Jinxi let out a long breath and gripped his son's wrist tightly, saying:

"The Northern Dynasty... I'm afraid they can't hold back any longer."

Hearing his father's soft sigh, Li Hanchen's pupils contracted. He thought about it for a moment and realized that his father's words made perfect sense. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and a chill ran through him.

However, after only a breath, something inexplicable flashed in his eyes. Li Chunge glanced at it and was stunned. The thing in his son's eyes was the same as the thing in his eyes twenty years ago.

This kind of thing... to put it nicely, it's called fighting spirit; to put it bluntly, it's called ignorance... A slight sadness flickered in his eyes, an extremely subtle sadness that quickly disappeared when his son's gaze swept over him. Li Chunge loosened his grip like an iron clamp, releasing his son's wrist, turned his head, and sighed wistfully...

……

The bright moon hangs high, the clouds drift, and it continuously casts beams of cold, silvery light upon the world.

A night wind suddenly rose from the north, brushing past the grass and trees in the backyard, passing through the main hall, and then blowing a mournful howl before stirring the beaded curtains. It then traveled south for more than fifty feet, stirring the lamps in the banquet hall.

"Tsk,"

The cold wind sobered Ning Nan up considerably. He peeled an orange, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"sharp."

"What's so great about it?" San Zhuang asked his older brother, stuffing a piece of roasted jerky into his mouth.

The Northern Dynasty soldier from the Southern Dynasty, wearing apricot-yellow armor with red trim, nodded and laughed, "The spear is impressive."

"Big pot." Li Xing's mouth was also stuffed full as he ate what seemed to be pastries from North Korea. He mumbled indistinctly, "More... um..." He swallowed most of it before his eyes widened and he said, "More powerful than the one you gave me?"

Ning Nan popped a segment of orange into his mouth. It was very juicy, but also very sour, which was perfect for clearing his head.

"Hmm, this is a different kind of amazing."

They were sitting at the very end of the table, quite far from the front, where they could hear the argument going on.

It was too noisy, so I couldn't hear very clearly. I vaguely heard several loud voices shouting something like "100,000 dan of grain," "Come on then, let's see if you can cross the river with these muskets," and "The strategic importance of the country," and so on...

Xu Longdao and Liu Zhi were originally sitting at the next table, but they were called away just now, apparently because of some urgent matter, and ran to the front. Their table looked even more lonely.

Fortunately, the Javanese on the other side were in a similar situation. They were probably there to pay tribute, bringing some local specialties. The court returned porcelain and tea, and they were very happy. Like San Zhuang and Li Xing, they were only concerned with eating and didn't care much about what had happened in front of them.

Li Xing and his companion had been staring at the Javanese for a long time, wondering why they were so dark-skinned and had curly hair. When the Javanese turned their gaze toward them, the two pretended to look up at the moon as if nothing had happened.

What caught their attention most were the Rakshasa people at the front, some with golden hair, some with brown hair, and there seemed to be one Rakshasa with red hair... San Zhuang and Li Xing were stunned. Ning Nan said that the eyes were even stranger, maybe they were blue, but they would have to get closer to see. The two became even more curious, as they couldn't imagine what blue eyes would look like.

"How is it so different from other amazing things?" Li Xing put down the pastries in his hand, his little face tense and his eyes wide open.

Ning Nan thought for a moment and said, "Theirs are more sophisticated, after all, they are flintlock muskets." Although he only glanced at them before they moved on, judging from their design, their guns were almost certainly flintlock muskets. "Ours are still matchlock muskets, but the materials are better."

When they were plotting to kill Xiao Chun, they also wanted to develop a flintlock musket. They carefully tested it several times, but failed. Time was too tight, so they chose a matchlock musket instead.

However, the barrel was made of high-quality steel that he and Dahei had almost exhausted thirty people to produce, and the gunpowder was also made using refined and ground gunpowder. The combination of the two naturally made it several times stronger than the matchlock guns that existed in the Southern Dynasty.

"Which one can shoot from a distance?" San Zhuang asked, his eyes lighting up. He didn't quite understand what his older brother was saying, but he was only concerned with this.

"As for gunpowder," Ning Nan stroked his chin and estimated, "it's about the same."

"Are they accurate?" Li Xing mimed holding a gun, excitedly asking, "Which one is more accurate?"

Ning Nan, with a segment of orange dangling from his mouth, chuckled, "It depends on the person. The difference in guns isn't that significant right now. But for now," after a moment of silence, Ning Nan smiled, "actually, at this moment, ours is still a little more accurate."

"Powerful?" Li Xing's small eyes lit up slightly, and he couldn't help but swallow.