Normally, as an emperor, he would not easily visit incognito.
However, the situation was different this time. The Emperor was also interested in the changes that had taken place in Miao Jiang. However, the reason that prompted him to take the risk was that the Jin army was heading south. With the current strength of the country, it was impossible to stop the Jin army.
If the Miaojiang really had such a magical object like what his minister had said, then even the Emperor would have to consider communicating with the other party. After all, face was not as important as the destruction of the country.
Thus, the Emperor took Gu Zong, his imperial bodyguards, and a trustworthy Taoist priest and set off for the Miao Territory.
Nonetheless, the emperor was surprised because Gu Zong did not bring them to Dali right away. Instead, they took a boat all the way to Zhangzhou.
"Minister Gu, why are you here?"
Disembarking from the ship, the Emperor was rather puzzled, but Gu Zong replied in a low voice.
"Your Majesty … Your Majesty, there happens to be an airship here that connects to Dali. We can take the airship here and head to Dali."
"Oh?"
The emperor was taken aback by Gu Zong's reply.
"Has this flying boat … arrived at Zhangzhou already?"
"Yes, it's not just Zhangzhou. Chengdu, Jiangling, Xiangyang, and other places have also been connected."
"Hmph, but my capital just happens to have none?"
Hearing this, the Emperor's face darkened again, clearly not very happy. Then he flung his sleeves and strode forward.
"Let's go and see what's so special about that flying boat."
"Sir, please follow me."
As he spoke, Gu Zong led the Emperor away from the pier and arrived in front of a strange building not far away. This building was built against the mountain and looked like a temple. However, there was a long platform built halfway up the mountain. No one knew what it was used for. At that moment, many people were standing on the platform and watching. Most of them were businessmen.
"Gu Qing? Where's the airboat? "
The Emperor turned his head and looked around for a long time, but did not see the flying boat. Gu Zong laughed bitterly.
"Your … Majesty, it's not time yet. I've already bought the tickets. We can go straight to the VIP lounge …"
"Ticket?"
"Yes, Sir. The method of riding this flying boat is very peculiar. The tickets are counted by the number of people, and each person gets one ticket. The front row is the special class cabin, which is luxurious and gorgeous. Usually, only people with high status and wealth can sit there. The ticket price is 100 taels of silver. At the back is the ordinary cabin, which only has a table and a chair, a pot of herbal tea, and the ticket price is ten taels of silver. "
"Hmm … the ticket price isn't too expensive."
Hearing Gu Zong's answer, the Emperor nodded in satisfaction. Gu Zong also smiled.
"That's true. Although it's a little expensive for ordinary people, it's very fast to get to Miao Territory from here. It's also safe and convenient. It's worth it to spend a little more money."
"That makes sense."
Of course, the Emperor understood what Gu Zong meant. In this era, if an ordinary person wanted to go to Miao Jiang, it would take a few days just to walk the mountain road, not to mention the ferocious beasts, monsters, and bandits hidden in the forest. If an ordinary person was not careful, they might die on the way.
Considering the time and energy he would have to spend on this journey, he might as well spend more money on the airboat. Although it was slightly more expensive, it was comfortable and safe. Naturally, it was a good choice.
"Clang … Clang …!"
While they were talking, the bell suddenly rang. Then, the people on the platform rushed forward excitedly. Looking at this scene, the Emperor was also shocked.
"This, this is …"
At this moment, Gu Zong said to the Emperor and pointed to the sky.
"Sir, look, the airboat is here!"
The Emperor also raised his head and looked at the sky. Then, he widened his eyes in surprise.
Not far away, in the endless azure sky, a small black dot slowly emerged. At first glance, it looked like an eagle or something in the sky. But as the black dot gradually grew in size, a pure white, mysterious object slowly descended from the sky. It looked similar to a warship, but was also different from one. The white airboat was shuttle-shaped, with air bags hanging above it and thrusters on both sides for rotation and change direction.
This was something Fangzheng came up with through his own airboat. Although this was the Xianxia era, the use of spiritual energy was still very backward. Therefore, Fangzheng simply referred to hot air balloons and the German Zeppelin airships of World War I to create this airboat.
The advantage of this airboat was that the gas filled inside wasn't helium or hydrogen, but the wind element from the wind spirit. Therefore, it had the advantages of high load capacity, stability, convenience, safety, and controllability compared to modern airships. Soon, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the airship slowly came to a stop at the edge of the platform. Now, the Emperor finally understood why this strange platform was built halfway up the mountain. The airship was more than ten meters high, and if it was at the bottom, it would not be easy to board it.
"This thing is really interesting!"
Looking at the pure white and beautiful airboat, the Emperor's interest was piqued.
"Minister Gu, how do we board the airboat?"
Looking at the crowd queuing up to board the airboat, the Emperor was a little anxious. Normally, as long as he revealed his name, everyone would naturally make way for him. But now, the Emperor was visiting incognito, so he naturally couldn't reveal his identity. But if he had to wait in such a long queue ….. the Emperor would definitely not be willing.
"Don't worry, Your Excellency. We've already bought first-class tickets. This way."
While saying that, Gu Zong led the Emperor and the others around the long queue and came to the other side. The entrance here was different from the previous one. There were only a few people, and there was a red carpet outside the entrance. Not only that, but the attendants standing here were not like the fierce-looking men on the other side. Instead, they were beautiful young ladies with sweet smiles. Even though the emperor had a harem of three thousand beauties, his eyes couldn't help but light up when he saw these young ladies.
"Hello."
Seeing the arrival of the Emperor and his entourage, the girls revealed sweet smiles.
"Please show me your ticket."
"Oh, it's here, it's here."
While saying that, Gu Zong handed over a few wooden boards in his hand with a smile. After carefully checking the engravings on the boards, he respectfully made way and bowed slightly.
"Welcome to the flying ship of Southern Airlines. I wish you a pleasant journey. Please come in."
Then, under the guidance of the girls, the group of people came to the cabin located at the bow of the ship. As soon as the door was opened, the Emperor couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at the scene in front of him.
"What a spectacle!"
As far as the eye could see, the cabin in front of them was a large piece of transparent curved glass. Through the glass, they could clearly see the green mountains and clear waters in the distance. Even the figures on the streets below could be seen clearly. At this moment, the Emperor immediately walked to the window and looked out curiously.
He even stretched out his hand and gently knocked on the glass window in front of him.
"What is this? Why can it see outside so clearly? "
It was no wonder that the Emperor would have such doubts. Although there was already glass in this era, glass in the modern sense did not exist. Therefore, the Emperor was naturally curious about these things in front of him. In fact, not only the glass, but everything in the entire room was extremely novel to the Emperor.
Even the chair here was completely different from the ones the Emperor knew. It looked like it was wrapped in leather. When the Emperor sat on it, he found that the whole chair was soft and sunk in. It was quite comfortable to sit on it.
"What is this? Why have I never seen this kind of chair before? It's so comfortable … Why didn't you bring it to me? "
The Emperor looked at them one by one. The more he looked, the more curious he felt. The more he looked, the more he complained. In short, he wanted them all!
"Ding dong …"
Just as the Emperor was looking curiously at the things in the room, he suddenly heard the crisp sound of a bell being struck. Then, a sweet voice rang out.
"Dear passengers, welcome to the flying ship of Southern Airlines. The flying ship is about to take off. To avoid any accidents, please take your seats immediately and fasten your seat belts."
"Quick, quick, sit down! Gu Qing, what's that seat belt? How do I use it? "
Although the Emperor didn't know what a seat belt was, nor did he know where the voice came from, he still understood what the other party meant — the flying ship was about to take off!!
I'm going to heaven!!
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