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

On the training ground of Prince Xin's Mansion, a row of bonfires was lit on both sides, with flames shooting into the sky. At the eastern end, there was a large solid wood table, and at the other end, three targets were erected.

On the large table were three flintlock muskets with slightly different designs, along with some gunpowder and lead bullets.

Upon hearing Cao Du's words, Sun Chengshan and the other ministers of the Eastern Palace realized that Prince Xin originally wanted to inspect the latest replica flintlock muskets made by the Ministry of Works.

Chen Yuezhi chuckled and said, "Since it is such an occasion, I wonder if Your Highness would allow us to also go and take a look?"

The group of people were all experienced and shrewd. They thought that Prince Xin intended to find fault with Cao Du, send him to a post outside the capital, and give the position of Right Vice Minister of Works to a certain minister in the Eastern Palace. So they thought they should hurry over.

Zhu Cuiwei didn't think that much about it. She figured the officials wanted to see the newly made flintlock guns, so she naturally agreed.

The group arrived at the training ground in a grand procession.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

The five master craftsmen from the Ministry of Works bowed in unison.

Zhu Cuiwei wore a pearl and jade nine-phoenix crown, and the firelight in the training ground flickered on her fair profile. She smiled and said, "Please rise, all five of you."

They were originally brought here by Gong Youzhi, the chief clerk of the Ministry of Works.

Now that Cao Du has arrived, Chief Clerk Gong wisely waits behind Cao Du, ready to help Cao Du fill in any gaps in his knowledge.

Sun Chengshan and other officials of the Eastern Palace stood on a covered walkway further back, separated by eunuchs.

Of the five master craftsmen from the Ministry of Works, only one with a goatee had a relatively calm expression; the other four all looked anxious and distressed.

Having served as an official for a long time, Cao Du naturally possessed a thick skin. Without changing his expression or skipping a beat, he walked to the large solid wood table, raised the first flintlock pistol without a match, and calmly said:

"Your Highness, this musket was jointly made by two master craftsmen from the Ministry of Works, Yu Bai and Lu Youdao, along with dozens of other craftsmen, over three days and three nights without sleep."

Zhu Cuiwei glanced over there.

An old man and a middle-aged man stepped forward awkwardly. The old man introduced himself as "Yu Bai" and the middle-aged man introduced himself as "Lu Youdao." They both paid their respects to His Highness.

Zhu Cui smiled and said, "Please rise, both of you."

then.

The old eunuch beside Zhu Cuiwei said to Cao Du, "I trouble you, Vice Minister Cao, to arrange for someone to test the gun."

Cao Du nodded.

He glanced to the side, and a soldier stepped forward.

The old eunuch and two young eunuchs guarded Zhu Cuiwei and stepped back.

The soldier picked up the gun and first checked for any risk of it exploding. Yu Bai and Lu Youdao also stepped forward to check. After the three of them confirmed that there was no risk of it exploding, Yu Bai and Lu Youdao stepped back, and the soldier began to load gunpowder and bullets into the barrel and tamp them down with a long pole.

The soldier's eyes were sharp.

The movements were also solid and powerful.

After confirming that the gunpowder was compacted, he lowered the long pole, pulled the hammer back with a "click," and set it to the ready-to-fire position. He held the gun with both hands, squinted one eye, and aimed at the target at the other end.

call.

He exhaled, his finger on the trigger, his eyes sharp.

Everyone present held their breath.

With a soft "click," the soldier pulled the trigger.

A moment of silence fell over the room.

The soldier remained in the same position, his face already red.

The officials of the Crown Prince's palace were puzzled.

Yu and Lu hurriedly stepped forward and, together with the soldiers, the three of them awkwardly fiddled with the muskets. Only then did the crowd realize what was happening, and an official who knew about muskets quietly remarked, "It's misfired."

The sound was soft, yet extremely jarring.

Cao Du remained calm and bowed to Zhu Cuiwei, saying loudly, "Your Highness, the fire has gone silent."

Zhu Cuiwei had anticipated this: "It's alright. Firearms are exquisitely crafted and difficult to manufacture. Let's wait."

Several master craftsmen from the Ministry of Works, who had been looking embarrassed and even had beads of sweat dripping from their foreheads, couldn't help but feel a lump in their throats upon hearing His Highness's words.

The ministers of the Eastern Palace were not in a hurry. Even matchlock muskets can misfire, let alone this newly made flintlock musket.

However, what happened next was somewhat unexpected.

This embarrassing situation of failing to score wasn't a one-off occurrence.

Instead, it was repeated seven times.

Not only were the soldiers and Yu Lu extremely embarrassed, but Cao Du's face also became somewhat disheveled.

Fortunately, after glancing at the Prince of Xin and seeing that his expression was normal, he felt somewhat relieved, but he was still on tenterhooks, feeling that the Prince of Xin might question him at any moment, "Minister Cao, your Ministry of Works really knows how to make excellent guns!"

Repeated seven times.

"Bang!"

Then a thunderous roar, which brought a huge sigh of relief to everyone in the room, suddenly erupted!

Bullseye!

Cao Du took a deep breath.

Seeing that at least one shot had been successfully fired, Yu and Lu breathed a sigh of relief, but their faces were also bitter. They both knelt down before Zhu Cuiwei and said, "We are guilty of failing in our gun-making efforts. Please punish us, Your Highness."

Cao Du's expression also became uneasy. If His Highness really punished him, he would also be implicated and might be sent to a post outside the capital, which would make way for the faction of the Crown Prince's reform movement.

Zhu Cuiwei smiled and said, "Please rise, both of you. I am not so confused. The craft of flintlock muskets is difficult, and I am quite pleased that you two have been able to replicate them to such an extent in such a short time. How could I possibly punish you?"

Yu and Lu were stunned. Seeing that His Highness did not seem to be speaking sarcastically or angrily, they gratefully kowtowed repeatedly and stood up with the help of the little eunuch. Cao Du was also surprised, but thinking that His Highness might be planning to look at all three guns before attacking him, he was still uneasy.

Of the remaining three master craftsmen, apart from Qi Shan, Zhao Yijia and Jiang Yousong initially felt a sense of shared misfortune. After all, the flintlock muskets they had jointly imitated were not much better than Yu Lu's. If His Highness punished Yu Lu and then saw that their muskets were not much different from Yu Lu's, he would probably be even more furious. However, seeing that His Highness was so understanding and did not punish them, they thought they could also escape this calamity. The two exchanged a glance and felt much more at ease.

Yu and Lu left the stage, and Zhao and Jiang entered.

The situation was indeed not much better than the former. After adjusting the musket six times, they successfully fired a shot. The two men breathed a sigh of relief and bowed down to beg for forgiveness. Zhu Cuiwei naturally pardoned them.

The officials of the Eastern Palace on the veranda were discussing among themselves, so much so that they didn't even bother to write their memorials in their minds to impeach Cao Du. "Is it really that much worse than the Northern Dynasty?" "Such a high failure rate!" "What is the Ministry of Works doing!" Everyone was speechless for a moment.

Sun Chengshan and Xu Longdao, along with a few others, couldn't help but look somber. The news that Prince Qi had submitted a memorial requesting the establishment of the Fire Phoenix Battalion and to purchase large sums of Portuguese muskets to equip the Fire Phoenix Army had already caused quite a stir.

If the firearms produced by the Ministry of Works are this bad, the establishment of the Fire Phoenix Battalion will be unstoppable. The Ministry of Revenue will have to send large sums of silver to the Portuguese every year, and Prince Qi will also use the Fire Phoenix Battalion to bolster his own power, leading to many upheavals in the court.

Zhao and Jiang left the scene.

Qi Shan, who independently forged a musket with his apprentice, made his appearance.

Qi Shan was serious and rarely smiled. He slightly raised his chin, his face bearing the arrogance of a craftsman.

Qi Shan only needed to adjust his gun three times before successfully firing a shot. The expressions of the courtiers in the Eastern Palace relaxed a bit, and they didn't hesitate to offer a few words of praise.

Although it might seem like the pot calling the kettle black, Qi Shan's muskets were a level above the others, which still gave everyone a glimmer of hope.

Qi Shan also bowed down to apologize, but it wasn't a genuine apology; judging from his tone, it was more like he was asking for a reward.

Zhu Cuiwei smiled and said, "Master Qi, please rise."

Seeing that the three-shot test was over and His Highness Prince Xin had not made any move, Cao Du thought he had escaped a disaster. He felt relieved that His Highness really just wanted to see the progress of the flintlock gun.

At this moment, Zhu Cuiwei turned to Yu and Lu, saying, "Gentlemen, and Master Qi, I trouble you three," she smiled faintly, "to transfer the flint from Master Qi's flintlock gun to the guns of Masters Yu and Lu."

"Um???"

The three were stunned upon hearing this, and everyone looked around in surprise. What did His Highness mean by this?

Qi Shan was unwilling.

His Highness has given the order, and we dare not disobey.

They honestly took the flint out of their guns and handed it to Yu Bai. Yu Bai and Lu Lu then loaded the flint from the other man's gun into their own guns in the same way. Zhu Cuiwei then ordered them to test the guns one more time.

First shot.

It failed to fire.

The crowd was even more confused, not understanding the significance of it.

The second shot.

"Bang!"

Yu and Lu successfully fired their muskets, leaving everyone stunned. Yu and Lu themselves trembled slightly, and Qi Shan was dumbfounded: "Flint?"

Before anyone could react, Zhu Cuiwei ordered Zhao and Jiang to change their flint as well, and the two of them hurriedly stepped forward to change their flint.

This time, after two misfires, Zhao and Jiang's muskets finally fired successfully.

After several more attempts, their gun firing success rate was no less than Qi Shan's.

The five master craftsmen of the Ministry of Works looked at each other in bewilderment, while Qi Shan looked completely lost and speechless.

The ministers of the Eastern Palace and officials of the Ministry of Works, including Cao Du and Gong Youzhi, were all momentarily stunned.

Zhu Cuiwei glanced at everyone before explaining, "Gentlemen, flintlock guns are simple in structure and not difficult to imitate, but... the difficulty lies in the flint..."

She smiled faintly, "The quality of natural flint in my Great Liang is inconsistent. It's not hard enough, and many flints even have dark veins and impurities. As a result, most flints won't produce sparks when they hit the iron felt, or the sparks they produce are too weak to ignite the powder box... Master Qi's flint is a top-quality natural flint. When it's hit and struck, sparks fly everywhere, which is why it has a high success rate... Other flints need to be sharpened, polished, and undergo various treatments before they can reach the level of this top-quality natural flint..."

Zhu Cuiwei's voice was calm and steady.

The five master craftsmen of the Ministry of Works were astonished that His Highness Prince Xin had explained the intricacies of the flintlock musket without any error, and even pointed out that the flint itself was the key to the problem. Their words were truly a wake-up call.

The crowd looked at each other, their gazes gradually turning to surprise. As they realized what was happening, they were both delighted and ashamed, unsure of what to say. Qi Shan, in particular, blushed deeply, his only thought being to hurry back to the firearms workshop and, following the method His Highness had taught him, research how to polish flint to improve the firing success rate of his flintlock musket.

Cao Du's expression turned solemn, and he immediately bowed deeply, exclaiming, "Your Highness is wise and far surpasses ordinary people."

The courtiers of the Eastern Palace were taken aback by His Highness's extensive knowledge and insightful remarks. They were a step slower than Cao Du, but they quickly recovered and bowed deeply, saying, "Your Highness is exceptionally intelligent," "Heaven blesses the Great Liang," "Your Highness is wise and virtuous," "Your Highness is learned and has a strong memory"... Zhu Cuiwei smiled faintly and said, "Gentlemen, you flatter me. Please rise quickly."

With the flintlock musket arrangement settled, the crown prince, who was about to ascend the throne, felt much more at ease.

Just as she led her ministers back to the council hall, intending to order the royal palace to arrange sedan chairs and carriages to send the officials home.

Just then, Mu Ziying, the acting director of the Imperial Sacrificial Office, came to report that everything was ready and that Your Highness could practice the rituals on the 24th of August and go to the Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay homage to Emperor Taizu, and hold the formal enthronement ceremony on the 29th to ascend the throne.