I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

Lu Yuan picked up the paper from the imperial desk and handed it back to Lu Cangqiong, pointing to the iron piece on the drawing.

"Father, don't just look at it because it looks ugly."

Lu Yuan pointed to the curved structure of the horseshoe, "Warhorses gallop long distances, and their hooves wear out very quickly. After running a few hundred miles, the hooves will crack. Once the hooves crack, the horse is ruined."

"But if you nail these iron shoes to the horses' hooves, the problem of wear and tear will be completely solved. The horses can run farther and longer without damaging their hooves."

Lu Cangqiong remained silent, his gaze fixed on the picture.

Lu Yuan moved his finger down and pointed to the saddle pattern drawn next to him.

"Let's talk about this again. Father, what do you think our Great Yong's cavalry rely on for riding?"

"It relies on squeezing the horse's belly with both legs, holding the reins with one hand, and holding a knife with the other."

"It greatly limited the combat effectiveness of the cavalry."

Lu Yuan tapped the raised arc at the back of the saddle twice with the pen handle.

"These are called stirrups, and they hang on both sides of the saddle. You step into them with your feet."

"When a person sits up, their center of gravity is stable, and their hands are freed up. Cavalrymen can hold weapons with both hands, draw their bows and shoot arrows, and turn around."

"When they turned back to charge, the men and horses were welded together; they couldn't be cut off."

Lu Yuan put down his pen and took a half step back.

"Father, you've led troops for half your life. You know how many lives these two items are worth on the battlefield, don't you think?"

The hall fell silent.

Lu Cangqiong held the paper and looked at it three times.

He was an emperor who conquered the country on horseback, had fought in battles, and had seen warhorses ruined.

I have also witnessed the horrific scene of cavalrymen losing their balance and falling off their horses during a charge, only to be trampled to death.

Horseshoe, stirrup, saddle.

The idea that these three things combined could double the cavalry's fighting strength is not an exaggeration, but an understatement.

Lu Cangqiong swallowed hard, and the way he looked at Lu Yuan when he raised his head changed.

"Zhou Fu," Lu Cangqiong called out.

Zhou Fu quickly stepped forward: "This servant is here."

What do you think?

Zhou Fu took the blueprints, glanced at them, and then smiled broadly: "Your Majesty, the principle of putting shoes on a horse is simple and clear. How come no one has thought of something so simple for hundreds of years?"

Lu Yuan curled his lip. "They've all become bookworms, all they know is how to focus on the Four Books and Five Classics. Who would bother with such trivial matters?"

"Those who are capable of thinking of these things have no way to offer their insights."

These words made Lu Cangqiong's face turn bright red.

But he couldn't do anything about it; this was the established system ever since the imperial examination system was established.

It's not something he can change.

Lu Yuan reached out and snatched the blueprints from Zhou Fu's hand, then pushed them in front of Lu Cangqiong.

"Hurry up and send someone to the Ordnance Bureau to have one made according to the blueprints and test it. If it works, come back and praise it. If it doesn't, I'll accept any punishment from Father Emperor."

Lu Cangqiong suppressed the excitement on his face, cleared his throat, and tried to regain his imperial demeanor.

"Zhou Fu, take this to the Ordnance Bureau and have Wang Ke personally oversee its manufacture. It must be completed today and sent to the training ground for horse testing."

"This servant obeys the decree."

Zhou Fu took the blueprints with both hands, folded them neatly, stuffed them into his sleeve, and quickly left the palace.

The palace doors closed again.

Lu Cangqiong turned around, looked at Lu Yuan who was still sitting on the dragon throne, and his face darkened.

"Is this all the gods gave you?"

"yes."

Lu Yuan leaned back in his chair, speaking with an air of self-righteousness, "This is all I'm giving you for the first time. The old immortal said there will be plenty more in the future."

"Then why aren't you getting up yet?"

Lu Cangqiong's voice rose half an octave as he pointed to the dragon throne, "Is this a place you can sit?"

Lu Yuan remained completely still.

"Father, my legs are numb. Let me catch my breath."

"you……"

Lu Cangqiong took a deep breath and turned his face away.

Lu Yuan was secretly delighted.

This old man is as cunning as a monkey. Just a moment ago he was confidently saying that Lu Yuan was talking nonsense, but as soon as the blueprints came out, he changed his tune and called them treasures.

If they don't even give us this much room to test the waters, then there's no way we can discuss anything further.

Lu Yuan sat for a while longer, then slowly stood up from the dragon throne and patted his robe.

Lu Cangqiong sat back down behind his desk and stared at Lu Yuan.

"Is that all the old sage said?"

"Indeed." Lu Yuan stretched his neck. "He only said two things. First, Lu Yuan will have children and will be rewarded by the gods for his first time with a woman. Second, the Great Yong Dynasty will last for ten thousand generations."

Lu Cangqiong's eyes darkened slightly, as if he was weighing something.

After a while, Lu Cangqiong spoke.

"You mean, you consummated your marriage with Su Yuling, so the gods gave you the blueprints for horseshoes and saddles."

"That's right."

Lu Yuan nodded emphatically, "That's exactly the point."

"But did the old sage say what kind of woman it had to be with?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan immediately perked up.

"Father has hit the nail on the head."

Lu Yuan took a step forward and lowered his voice, "The old immortal did indeed make a request. You must be a woman of virtuous character and beautiful. If you're not beautiful, the immortal won't pay attention to you and won't give you anything."

Lu Cangqiong stared at Lu Yuan for a full three breaths.

"I strongly suspect that you added this clause yourself."

"That's not true!"

Lu Yuan shook his head vigorously. "How could I dare to falsely relay the words of a deity? That's exactly what the old deity said. I was just reciting it verbatim."

Lu Cangqiong didn't respond, but he didn't believe Lu Yuan's words at all.

He's my own son; I can tell what kind of poop he's going to take just by the way he bends over.

Lu Yuan lowered his head somewhat guiltily.

Damn it, that old man is as cunning as a monkey; I almost gave myself away.

Having read many time-travel novels in his previous life, Lu Yuan found it easy to understand how the system rewards could be disguised with a dream-like tale of a deity.

But Lu Yuan had to forcefully add the criterion of "beautiful".

Otherwise, this old man might just find any palace maid to appease the gods for a reward, and then he would truly become a stud.

After a few moments of silence, Lu Cangqiong picked up a vermilion brush and wrote a word on the memorial.

"I approve of Su Yuling's matter."

Lu Yuan was taken aback and exclaimed in surprise, "What?"

"I can agree to your marriage with Su Yuling."

Before Lu Yuan could even feel happy, Lu Cangqiong changed the subject and continued, "But whether it will work out depends on your own abilities. I won't intervene with the Marquis of Yongning; you'll have to speak to him yourself."

"If Su Yuling agrees, I will issue an imperial decree to grant them marriage."

"But if she doesn't agree, you have to keep this to yourself and not mention it to anyone."

Lu Yuan grinned and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Thank you, Father! If there's nothing else, I'll go ahead..."

"roll."

"Alright."

Lu Yuan grinned, then turned and left.

The seed of this miracle has been planted today; the next step is to verify it step by step.

As long as this cheap father isn't a fool, the position of crown prince will surely be his.

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan couldn't help but hum a little tune as he walked down the steps.

Lu Cheng was still lying on a stretcher under the eaves of the outer corridor of the palace.

The sun was shining directly on Lu Cheng's face, which was wrapped in bandages, making him sweat profusely.

The wound under the gauze was incredibly itchy, and I wanted to scratch it but couldn't reach it.

Two eunuchs stood beside the stretcher, dozing off with their necks hunched over, and no one paid any attention to him.

"Hey! You bunch of lackeys!"

Lu Cheng, enraged, yelled hoarsely, "Move the stretcher to a shady spot! The sun is practically blinding me, can't you see that? Are your eyes glued to your butts?"