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

King Qi had a deep, resonant voice and a tall, imposing physique, and was always referred to as a "wise king" by his ministers.

If the emperor hadn't unexpectedly passed the throne to Prince Xin...

It seems likely that the next emperor of the Great Liang will be chosen from among the grandsons of the Prince of Qi and adopted by the Tianqi Emperor, with the Prince of Qi then taking over the reins of government.

When the Northern Dynasty provoked them, and the Rakshasa Kingdom surprisingly assisted the Northern Dynasty, the ministers were at a loss, but the King of Qi stepped forward.

This act of kindness is truly admirable.

The King of Qi even sent his own musketeers into battle, so that even if they lost, it would not affect the dignity of the kingdom.

Many officials looked around and couldn't help but nod in approval, recognizing the officials' understanding of righteousness, courage, and wisdom.

The tall, imposing figure of the King of Qi was in front of him.

The elegant King of Wu loudly praised, "May my brother be victorious!" The youngest King Jing, however, looked away, curled his lip, and seemed somewhat disdainful.

The princes and their heirs cheered loudly. The heir of the Prince of Jingjiang exclaimed, "As expected of Uncle Qi!" Zhu Xianze, his face flushed, waved his arms and shouted, "Uncle Qi is amazing!"

Zhu Xianze looked excited. He had just seen the Southern Dynasty officials making all sorts of excuses, unwilling to compete with the Northern Dynasty. He and the princes and princesses all felt ashamed.

The commander of the guards who accompanied him to the capital was named Qu Wen, a general from Yunnan in his forties. He was extremely skilled in archery and muskets, and could hit the bullseye every time. He was highly regarded by his father.

He had intended to step forward and send Qu Wen to teach those Northern Tartars a lesson, but Cheng Qianqiu beside him forcibly stopped him, saying that "this would be disrespectful to Prince Xin," so he could only grit his teeth and endure it.

When Uncle Qi stepped forward, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and could hold their heads high again.

The King of Qi took out a priceless piece of mutton-fat jade pendant and said with a smile, "This is a jade pendant bestowed upon me by the late Emperor. I dare not accept its priceless value, but I think it should be comparable to the prize money for the two noble envoys."

Dachun and Rostov both nodded with smiles.

Da Chun smiled and said, "The musket is the most powerful weapon in the world. Your Highness is willing to join me and the Rakshasa Envoy in this grand undertaking. I am extremely grateful."

He no longer used "100,000 dan of grain" as a pretext; as long as the Southern Dynasty was terrified after tonight, that would be enough.

Now that things had come to this, neither Zhu Cuiwei nor the officials of the Southern Dynasty could say anything.

After pondering for a while, Zhu Cuiwei ordered Cao Du, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, to preside over the musket competition.

She was also curious to see if the so-called new type of firearms from the Northern Dynasty could really make her fight for "ten thousand dan of grain"!

Not long after.

Two men from the King of Qi's musketeer corps arrived.

Two foreign Portuguese.

A high nose, deep-set eyes, blond hair, and a red beard... The officials from the Ministry of Rites were not surprised, but most of them were still taken aback, and a chorus of exclamations arose in the room.

Li Xing and San Zhuang, the two village darlings, craned their necks to stare, wishing they could leave their seats and chase after him. Ning Nan tapped each of them on the head with his chopsticks before they finally pulled their necks back.

The two Portuguese men stood one in front of the other, each carrying a musket.

Marquis Li Chunge of Jinxi, Marquis Zhang Yanzang of Mingzhong, and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, all seasoned in military affairs, glanced at the document and their expressions became solemn.

The muskets carried by the two Portuguese were different in style from those of the Northern Dynasty man, but they had one thing in common: neither of them had a matchlock.

King Qi chuckled and introduced them, saying that the taller Portuguese man in front was named Thomas, the captain of the musketeers he had invited, and the shorter one was named Pedro.

Thomas had blue eyes and a chiseled face. He spoke in broken, flat Mandarin, "Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor, Your Highness the Prince, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival." Although this was presumptuous, the crowd didn't seem to mind. Instead, they were amazed that he could speak Mandarin.

Pedro was short and thin, but had a large red beard. At this moment, he followed behind Thomas with his head slightly bowed.

King Qi laughed and said that Pedro was the best musketeer in the musket team, and that Pedro would be fighting in his place later. Everyone cheered, and some even offered him wine, shouting things like "Brave warrior." Pedro, of course, didn't understand and just followed behind Thomas with his head down.

Rostov handed the silver sword to a young eunuch, stepped forward, and mumbled a few words to Thomas.

Thomas was taken aback.

After a few words, his eyes softened, and he replied in a string of gibberish.

The portly interpreter hurriedly said, "Your Highness, gentlemen, Ambassador Rostov is fluent in far-Western languages ​​and is currently communicating with Mr. Thomas in Portuguese. How should we conduct our contest later?"

Everyone suddenly realized, and their gazes toward Rostov were filled with more admiration. They had never expected that this Russian ambassador was also fluent in Portuguese.

Cao Du frowned at Da Chun and asked, "May I ask, Your Excellency, according to the rules of this competition, what does our dynasty need to prepare for you all?"

In general, at such times, it is necessary to prepare targets, live rabbits, scarecrows, or armor, or even unique terrain and temporary wooden structures.

The Ministry of Works was naturally more familiar with these matters, which is why Prince Xin used him instead of the Ministry of Rites.

Da Chun chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Lord Cao. For this kind of musket competition... in the north, we always use the Western methods, so we don't need to prepare anything."

Cao Du frowned immediately: "The Western method? They don't need to prepare anything?"

Da Chun stroked his long beard and laughed, "Not bad, not bad."

He pointed to the two Portuguese and continued with a smile, "It's excellent that the King of Qi ordered two Portuguese to fight for him. Portuguese are very familiar with these rules, and Rostov only needs to explain them to them, and they will understand very quickly."

Everyone frowned, somewhat puzzled.

as predicted.

They exchanged only a few words.

Thomas and Pedro both seemed somewhat shocked after hearing Rostov's words.

After a moment's hesitation, Thomas nodded solemnly, then nodded to King Qi. King Qi took a slight breath, feeling reassured.

Cao Du didn't know what the two Westerners were talking about, and he didn't want to ask the Northern Dynasty interpreter. After the two Westerners had reached an agreement and the Qi King's musketeers had also agreed to the rules, he asked Rostov to call up their musketeers.

While waiting for the Rakshasa musketeers, Cao Du couldn't help but sigh to himself. It was always foreigners who came to China and spoke Chinese, or foreigners who brought their own interpreters.

It seems that the court should prepare some officials who are familiar with foreign languages, so as to avoid inconvenience or being deceived.

For example, this North Korean translator had no way of knowing whether the other party had fully translated Rostov's words, or whether he had fully translated his own meaning to the other party.

The musketeer from the Kingdom of Rakshasa was named Anatoli, and he had a typical Rakshasa appearance, with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

Cao Du asked Da Chun, "Does your dynasty's musketeers also agree to the Westerners' competition strategy?"

Da Chun pointed to the stern-faced, apricot-yellow armor behind him and calmly smiled:

"That Danzhu fought against the Rakshasa people in the north using Western methods."

Da Chun paused, his eyes becoming somewhat amused, and continued, "Half a year ago, that Danzhu defeated five Rakshasa people in one fell swoop."

The crowd's expressions shifted, and they froze.

Their gazes immediately shifted, all turning to look at Danzhu, who looked dazed... This Manchu from the Northern Dynasty had actually defeated five Rakshasa people?

Everyone took a deep breath and looked around, their gazes gradually becoming clear.

No wonder Dachun was so confident in challenging the Southern Dynasty; it turns out this man easily defeated so many Rakshasa people… Everyone’s hearts sank slightly, and then they looked at Rostov, who had returned to his seat. While some doubts were resolved, others arose… What exactly happened between the Northern Dynasty and the Rakshasa… these two mortal enemies? Why did they suddenly seem to be fighting side by side?

Da Chun leisurely returned to his seat.

King Qi then led Thomas back to his seat. Dou Yuan chuckled and ordered a young eunuch to bring over a jade cup and a jar of fine wine from the Western Regions, saying that Westerners loved to drink this. Thomas immediately nodded and expressed his gratitude in broken Chinese.

Cao Du stood outside the beaded curtain of Prince Xin.

Only three musketeers remained in the arena.

Na Danzhu, a musketeer of the Bordered Red Banner of the Northern Dynasty.

Anatoly the Rakshasa Musketeer.

Pedro, the musketeer.

Cao Du slowly inhaled and exhaled, just as he was about to order them to decide the winner in the way they had agreed upon.

Nilon, however, raised his two small mustaches and said with a chuckle:

"Hehe, there are no Han Chinese among them."

The other party gently threw down a pebble, but it suddenly stirred up a thousand waves.