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

"I'll do it!"

Although the officials of the Southern Dynasty knew that this person was deliberately mocking and provoking them, they could not help but feel their blood boil.

Many young nobles and heirs of feudal lords slammed their fists on the table, glared angrily, and shouted, "I'll do it!"

Marquis Li Chunge of Jinxi glanced at his son Li Hanchen, who had suddenly stood up and raised his arms in a shout. While feeling a pang of sadness, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride and heroism that his son had instilled in him...

……

……

The bright moon hangs high in the sky.

A gentle night breeze whistled.

The flames of the small stove swayed gently in the wind, rippling endlessly.

Ning Nan, looking serious, fiddled with the small stove on the table, fanning away the steam with one hand and poking at the embers beneath with small tongs in the other, calmly saying:

"...Listen...this warming wine isn't something you can just do casually. You have to be careful with the heat, and you have to keep the inside and outside separate; you can't just put it directly on the fire to boil..."

"Hey, this thing is called a nested wine pot. It has two layers, an inner layer for wine and an outer layer for water. The water is heated to warm the wine inside... that's called warming wine... the taste of warmed wine is very different from that of unwarmed wine... just like the difference between iced and uncooled cola..."

"The ancients said, 'Newly brewed wine with green foam, a small red clay stove,' which refers to warming wine. It's an elegant affair, you know?"

Li Xing nodded his little head, his face serious as he carefully imitated his older brother, asking, "What is cola?" Ning Nan replied, "I'll make it for you to drink later."

San Zhuang boldly asked the little eunuch if there were any leftover dishes in the kitchen. The pastries were too dry. The little eunuch was surprised and said that they could make them fresh for the distinguished guest. San Zhuang then held a large bowl of rice with a thick layer of shark fin on top and slurped it up like he was eating noodles.

"What are you doing?"

A cold female voice, seemingly shocked and surprised, rang out.

Ning Nan looked up and exclaimed, "Eh? Commander Qin?" His face lit up with joy. "What brings you here?"

Qin Yuanyao squinted, too lazy to bother with the mistake of being called "Commander-in-Chief" instead of "Assistant Commander," and frowned as she poked at the other man's stove. "Mr. Ning, what are you doing?"

"Warm the wine," Li Xing answered quickly.

Qin Yuanyao's eyes were bloodshot, and her voice was somewhat hoarse: "Why warm the wine?"

Ning Nan complained, "The wine in the Prince's mansion is only so-so, what a waste of this top-grade tribute wine."

He felt a pang of heartache, so he asked the eunuch to bring over a stove and a jar of cold wine so he could warm it up himself.

He was also very bold, not afraid to argue with the female commander at all.

The other day, when I was drinking with Nalan Ruo, Nalan, He Weng, and especially that annoying Xie Lin, educated me about warming wine, saying that the wine in their mansion was not warmed properly and was too dry.

Manager Wang felt wronged because Ning Nan thought that wine should be heated directly, and that using a set of wine pots would make it too slow to warm it up. That's why Manager Wang made a fool of himself. Fortunately, he was an experienced old man and didn't betray his master.

Qin Yuanyao stared at the bright red glow of the charcoal fire, then looked at the steam rising from the kettle, feeling a sense of unease, as if something was stuck in her throat.

Upon reflection, what the other party said made sense. Most of the wine was indeed served by the Imperial Guards, and there were many unsatisfactory aspects. He was even more speechless.

He shook his head rapidly.

Putting aside her discomfort and ignoring the fact that the other person was still calmly warming the wine, she said solemnly:

"Prince Xin asked me to ask you something."

"what?"

"It's your musket."

"oh……"

"Your musket, along with the Northern Koreans and those Westerners..."

"Theirs are stronger, I can't beat them," Ning Nan said directly, poking at the charcoal fire.

Qin Yuanyao's temple throbbed, and she couldn't help but exhale a puff of white breath. She lowered her eyes and asked, "Are we evenly matched?"

"No," Ning Nan shook his head.

Qin Yuanyao's expression froze. She didn't know if the other party was telling the truth or not, but since the other party said so, it was clear that they were unwilling to take action.

"You can name your terms," ​​she tentatively suggested.

Ning Nan said helplessly, "If you can't beat them, you can't beat them."

Qin Yuanyao stared at his expression for a few moments, then her eyes darkened. She said irritably, "Warm up your bar!" With a flick of her hair, she strode away.

Li Xing's eyes darted around, and he whispered, "Big brother, didn't you just say..."

Ning Nan hummed in agreement but didn't say much, focusing instead on poking at the charcoal fire... This was too boring... He had just glanced at the fire and realized that although the Northern Dynasty and the two Westerners both used flintlock muskets, they were only structurally improved; the materials and craftsmanship were still average, so the firing rate was probably not high. Those with high firing rates were difficult to mass-produce, so there was really no need to fight for that momentary pride. The Northern Dynasty was probably just bluffing.

Even with his gun, it would be impossible to deploy it on a large scale and form combat capability in less than one or two years. It's hard to find craftsmen like him and Dahei, so they still have to rely on factories that can produce standard parts.

If the Northern Dynasty realizes something and continues to elevate the status of northern artisans, then there will be big trouble.

At this point, it would be better to warm up this incredibly expensive tribute wine, Junzi Tang, taste it, and then try to bring a jar back with you.

He let out a deep breath. "Come on, Xing-ge, you do it." He loosened his grip and handed the slightly hot tongs to Li Xing...

……

……

Young nobles like Li Hanchen and Feng Xi ultimately didn't get a chance to play.

Zhu Xianze and the heirs of the Prince of Jingjiang, among other princes, were also suppressed and could only vent their anger.

Some young civil officials, filled with righteous indignation and eager to follow suit, volunteered to fight, but were suppressed by the mature and prudent senior officials.

Upon hearing Nilong's words, Cao Du smiled and said, "Your Excellency is right. I have a servant who is skilled with firearms. Why don't we ask him to offer his opinion?"

He turned his head and whispered an order to send someone to fetch the skilled musketeers from the Ministry of Works who were on duty there.

While waiting, the group enjoyed another song and dance performance.

Cao Du ordered chairs to be prepared and invited the three musketeers to sit down.

To his surprise, apart from the Northern Dynasty's Danzhu sitting calmly, Anatoli was constantly breathing out air, but it didn't seem like he was cold; he seemed a little nervous. Pedro, on the other hand, was shaking his legs, his red beard trembling, and his eyes darting around, looking very uneasy.

Cao Du assumed that the Westerners were simply nervous in a foreign land, so he ordered his men to serve them a few glasses of wine to calm their nerves.

Zeng Qimei, a skilled craftsman from the Ministry of Works, arrived with a large Liang musket.

Cao Du exchanged a glance with him, and Zeng Qimei nodded slightly, patted the musket on his shoulder, indicating that the Right Vice Minister should not panic.

immediately.

Da Chun, the fat interpreter of the Rakshasa, said with a smile, "Next, the four musketeers can go to the training ground themselves. They will decide the winner themselves. It's better if we don't go and watch, otherwise it will hurt the dignity of the warriors."

The officials of the Southern Dynasty were immediately taken aback. What did this mean?

Cao Du asked Thomas, who was standing next to King Qi, and Thomas nodded solemnly, saying something like, "It's fair, the warriors will come back on their own." Cao Du then had nothing more to say.

The Portuguese were Qi King's men, and both of them agreed. Asking further would seem petty. They just gave Zeng Qimei a look, signaling her to be careful, and Zeng Qimei nodded.

Zeng Qimei was in his thirties, but he was an extraordinary master craftsman in the Ministry of Works. He was also well-versed in the principles of firearms and had been in charge of testing muskets for many years. Not only was he accurate in every shot, but he was also very knowledgeable about three-barreled muskets, muskets, and even Lumi muskets. He was also the musket instructor of the Great Liang Divine Machine Battalion. Upon hearing about this matter, he came without hesitation.

The four men, each carrying their own musket, headed together to the training ground ahead.

A flower hall separated the banquet from the training ground. It was dark, and the bonfires on the training ground could be vaguely seen, but it was impossible to see what had happened.

Not long after.

"Bang!"

A chilling gunshot rang out.

A few more breaths passed.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two more thunderous gunshots suddenly rang out.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation.

In the darkness, several eunuchs carried over two stretchers, saying that the musketeers' competition had ended.

The Northern Dynasty's Nadanzhu surpassed Pedro.

The Rakshasa Anatoli surpassed Zeng Qimei of our dynasty.

Everyone looked at the stretcher.

Pedro the Redbeard had a bloody gash on his forehead, and his eyes were wide open, as if he had died with his eyes open.

Zeng Qimei was shot in the chest, still breathing. Blood flowed through the willow stretcher onto the ground. Cao Du rushed forward, but before he could reach her side, Zeng Qimei's hand fell limp, and she breathed her last.

The courtiers were immediately horrified.