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

Ning Nan smiled. Kids really only care about these things.

Previously, Li Xing, that little devil, came with Da Hei and San Zhuang to rob the road, hoping to rescue him from the Jinyiwei. After a blunder, seeing how bold the kid was, they simply gave the musket to Li Xing, but without ammunition, to prevent accidental discharge. It was a trump card weapon kept in his possession.

From then on, I only had three muskets left. After firing so many shots, the barrels were probably starting to break. I didn't know how much longer they could last, so I really needed to find a way to forge a few more.

While eating an orange, Ning Nan said leisurely, "The power of a pebble depends on the distance. It's like using a slingshot. If you shoot a bird from ten feet away, the bird will be killed instantly. If it's ten feet away, you might only injure it, and it might not even be able to flap its wings. But if it's fifty feet away, even if you hit it, the pebble won't have much power left."

San Zhuang and Li Xing nodded.

Li Xing nodded his little head and said, "So, the power of the two guns is different depending on the distance?"

Ning Nan popped a slice of orange into his mouth and gave a nonchalant "hmm".

"Brother, what if it were ten zhang?" Sanzhuang leaned closer, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Compared to the Northern Dynasty's muskets, whose is more powerful?"

"Mine," Ning Nan said, chewing on an orange.

"Twenty zhang?" San Zhuang's eyes widened, and he raised his voice.

"Mine," Ning Nan said calmly.

Li Xing exclaimed, "Fifty zhang?"

Ning Nan turned her head and looked at him with a strange expression, as if to say, "What are you talking about?": "Of course it's still mine."

San Zhuang and Xing Ge'er paused for a moment, then took a deep breath and stared at their eldest brother in shock.

……

Hearing the tinkling sound of the beaded curtain swaying, Zhu Cuiwei's eyes darkened.

Da Chun, standing ahead, still wore a confident, smiling expression.

Although the officials of the Southern Dynasty stood up and said things like, "No matter what benefits your country may bring, the world is not determined by the benefits of war," they ultimately lacked confidence.

She understood that the officials who stood up and said there was no need for a contest were naturally worried that the Southern Dynasty's firearms were inferior to those of the Northern Dynasty. If they agreed to set up some prize and ended up losing, they would lose face in front of the other countries.

Seeing the expressions on Da Chun's and the Northern Dynasty's delegation's faces, Zhu Cuiwei naturally knew that the other side's attack today was a carefully planned scheme. They wanted to provoke the Southern Dynasty with the advantage of firearms in front of the envoys of various countries, especially the envoys of Russia, Annam, and Japan, and they would not give up until they achieved their goal.

Zhu Cuiwei felt a deep sense of unease.

I wonder how the war in the north is going. Why would the Northern Dynasty disregard the formidable enemy of the Rakshasa and instead turn its attention south to the Great Liang?

Previously, the Embroidered Uniform Guard reported that the Northern Dynasty might be provoking the Southern Dynasty by presenting firearms as a gift. This was not entirely unexpected. However, the fact that the other side said they would use the so-called "100,000 dan of grain" as a prize was a blatant provocation. They were determined to force the Southern Dynasty into a corner with no way out.

A moment later.

She took a deep breath, raised her eyes, and said calmly, "Your Excellency."

Upon hearing Prince Xin speak, the officials of the Southern Dynasty immediately fell silent.

Although the Northern Dynasty delegation was still grumbling, their voices quieted down.

Da Chun's smile remained unchanged, and he still bowed slightly, seemingly waiting for Prince Xin to make a decision.

Zhu Cuiwei said, "Your Excellency's request just now was rather absurd."

Da Chun frowned slightly, while the officials of the Southern Dynasty breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that His Highness hadn't been provoked, but they couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, thinking that His Highness had lost some of his spirit. On one hand, they hoped that His Highness would exercise restraint for the sake of the country and not act rashly, while on the other hand, they hoped that His Highness would rebuke the wicked envoy and vent their anger... Such conflicting thoughts tore through the hearts of the officials.

"A famine has struck the capital region of the Northern Dynasty; this is a matter of life and death."

Zhu Cuiwei, unaware of what the courtiers were thinking, spoke calmly at this moment.

"If your dynasty is in trouble and hopes that our dynasty will lend a helping hand, your emperor should send a letter of state to ask for assistance. Why do you bring a musket and make a joke, betting 100,000 dan of grain with our dynasty?"

"If Your Excellency loses, and your dynasty is short of those 100,000 dan of grain, are you simply going to sit idly by and watch your people starve to death?"

Her voice started slowly, but then suddenly turned sharp, and a sense of righteous indignation arose spontaneously.

"Excellent!" Cao Du immediately stood up and exclaimed, "His Highness is right! This is a matter of life and death, yet Your Excellency entrusts it to a mere gambling match? Why is this? Is it child's play?"

"Indeed! Your Highness is truly righteous!"

"Indeed, this is what it means to secure a nation not through military might! The people in the capital region are starving, yet your country still dares to try and suppress them by force?"

"If you want food, then send us your credentials. Will our dynasty stand idly by and watch our neighbor starve to death?"

"The Han people of the North and South are all one family..."

"Your Highness is wise..."

As soon as Zhu Cuiwei finished speaking, the eyes of the Southern Dynasty officials lit up. They seized on the flaw in her words, stood up, and launched a scathing attack.

Since ancient times, a military expedition must have a just cause.

The Northern Dynasty used the pretext of food shortages, so they used food shortages as a pretext to fight back. They focused on the matter at hand, and instead of getting bogged down in the issue of "whether they dared to have a musket duel," they angrily denounced the other side for not submitting a letter of credence to "request food" and called them heartless.

Everyone immediately saw through the Northern Dynasty's evil intentions.

They wanted to use firearms to probe the strengths and weaknesses of the Southern Dynasty, and make the Southern Dynasty lose face in front of the envoys. Once the Northern Dynasty moved south, Japan and Annam would likely take advantage of the situation and cause trouble.

Upon seeing the sudden surge of emotion from the crowd, Da Chun, Ni Long, and the others' expressions all changed.

They never expected that a casual excuse from Dachun would become a pretext for the other side to attack them.

Amidst the clashing of flames, a sudden, incoherent sound arose, and the shouting between the two sides gradually subsided as they looked towards the source of the sound.

Upon seeing that it was Rostov, a young man from the Rakshasa delegation, he stood up with a smile on his face and spoke some Rakshasa language to His Highness, while the interpreter beside him listened attentively.

After a while.

The plump interpreter stepped forward with a smile and said, "Your Highness, the Rakshasa envoy has important matters to report." The old eunuch consulted Zhu Cuiwei, nodded, and said, "Please welcome the Rakshasa envoy."

Rostov bowed slightly, left his seat, and came to the middle of the room, standing side by side with Dachun.

Rostov said something.

The translator translates it into a single sentence.

"Your Highness, Prince Xin of Daliang, our vassal state of Luosha has always had a tradition and custom of gunfights. This is just a small matter, something for the nobles to enjoy. I was very happy to hear Ambassador Dachun bring this up. Such a competition feels very familiar to me and I find it very interesting... Ambassador Dachun's suggestion is very interesting. Our Luosha Kingdom also has excellent firearms, which are very powerful, and we are very willing to join this competition."

Rostov chuckled and took out a rapier he carried with him. The hilt and scabbard were inlaid with gold. Upon closer inspection, the blade was very thin; it was a pure silver sword. With a clang, he sheathed the silver sword again.

"I will present this sword to the victor."

After Rostov finished speaking, he held the silver sword in both hands, bowed slightly, and the interpreter quickly translated his words.

The people of the Southern Dynasty looked at this man, who was politely holding a silver sword with both hands, and their expressions became troubled. They did not expect that this Rakshasa ambassador would be interested in such a contest. He not only agreed but also wanted to join in, and even took out his personal sword as a prize.

The group exchanged bewildered glances.

If the Southern Dynasty did not accept this contest, which the other party considered merely "interesting," it would truly be impolite.

Dachun glanced at Rostov without leaving a trace. The other man's smile remained unchanged, his gray eyes reflecting the cold white of the moonlight. His eyes seemed to hold only an almost naive longing for the 'competition' and nothing else.

Da Chun's face quickly lit up, and he turned around with a smile, saying:

"Your Excellency Rakshasa is right, this is just an interesting contest."

As he spoke, he took a small, exquisite waist knife from his waist. With a clang, he drew it out and saw that it was gleaming coldly. He said that he would give this weapon as a reward to the winner.

The Northern Dynasty and the Rakshasa were the two kingdoms.

The Southern Dynasty officials were taken aback. They looked around, unsure of what to do. They couldn't help but look at the head of the table, wondering what decision Prince Xin would make.

At this moment, Qi King Zhu Ensong, dressed in a white dragon-patterned robe, unexpectedly stood up with a smile.

"Ah, you two,"

Zhu Ensong looked up and said,

"You two are right. This is just a small competition, a way to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. How about..."

He smiled faintly and said, "How about I have the musket team and muskets I recently hired and acquired compete with you two?"