In the afternoon, Qin Yin went to arrange for Qu Chu's residence. As the empress's tutor, Qu Chu lived in Ze Tian Palace Hall. Furthermore, he could protect Qin Yin.
Lin Muyu returned to the Holy Temple and was stunned by the pile of files in the Great Deacon's office.
"What's wrong, Great Deacon?" Ge Yang asked with a smile.
Lin Muyu felt her scalp go numb and said, "Grandfather Ge Yang, the Holy Temple should hire a few civil officials. Many of these files don't need me to go through them personally. It's a waste of my time."
Ge Yang stroked his beard and laughed, "I understand. I will let Deacon Zheng pick some qualified civil officials later. However, most of the people in the Holy Temple are warriors and not many of them are literate."
"There will be some."
"Yes!"
Lin Muyu calmed herself down and sat down. She flipped through the files one by one. It was still about the selection of personnel from the various Holy Temples and the allocation of funds. It was very tedious and boring compared to cultivation. Fortunately, Lin Muyu could silently cultivate the Remnant Scroll of the Forging Dragon Bone so that she wouldn't waste so much time.
Before dusk, the guard outside suddenly said respectfully, "Great Deacon, the commander of the Imperial Guards, Feng Jixing, requests an audience."
"Oh, let him in."
"Yes!"
Feng Jixing entered the office and sat on the corner of the Great Deacon's desk. He laughed, "Oh, Great Deacon, are you going through the memorials again?"
"They are only files. Only the emperor's are called memorials." Lin Muyu looked up at him and laughed, "Didn't we agree to have a drink tonight? Why are you here so early, Brother Feng?"
"Haha." Feng Jixing laughed heartily, "Before we drink, I want to bring you to a place."
"Where?"
"Ministry of Works, Weapons Department."
"Oh? Weapons Department? "
"Yes, let's go. Put down your files. The treasures there are much more powerful than these!"
"Okay!"
After exiting the Sacred Hall, Lin Muyu mounted a horse and rode on Taxue. She and Feng Jixing galloped towards the Ministry of Works of the Empire. Neither of them brought any guards with them. There was no need at all. Who would dare to target them?
The warhorses were very fast. After entering the Ministry of Works, there were all sorts of supervision of craftsmanship along the way. When Feng Jixing brought Lin Muyu into the depths of the Ministry of Works, they finally saw a very dignified building in the distance. It was heavily guarded, with at least 200 guards surrounding it.
It seemed that there was indeed a secret hidden here.
"Do you still remember Qin Ziling?" Feng Jixing asked.
"I remember. What happened to Ziling?"
"Without your permission, I directly asked for this person on behalf of the Minister of Works, Ouyang He. Qin Ziling's Beast Hunting Repeating Crossbows are of excellent quality, so the skilled craftsmen of the Ministry of Works modified them according to his blueprints. You'll see it soon."
"Okay."
The two of them arrived at the main entrance of the Weapons Department. Immediately, the guards cupped their fists respectfully. "General Feng, Commander Yu!"
Feng Jixing nodded. "Bring us in. Commander Yu and I want to see the power of the arrow box."
"Yes!"
A centurion respectfully brought the two of them into the Weapons Department. Not long after, an official in a civilian uniform came forward. He was about 50 years old, but his face was pale and wrinkled. He cupped his fists and smiled. "Ouyang He greets General Feng and Commander Yu!"
Feng Jixing smiled. "Master Ouyang, you don't have to be so polite. I brought Commander Yu to see our new weapon."
"Yes, Commander Yu, this way please."
Lin Muyu was confused. What exactly was this arrow box? Was it a new weapon that could fire continuously, similar to a repeating crossbow? If it was, she had already seen it before. It was just that she didn't know how to make it and didn't understand the principles behind it.
Ouyang He brought the two of them to the shooting range of the Weapons Department. Not far away, a group of people dressed in Ministry of Works civilian uniforms were fiddling with a black box. The box was filled with holes from the arrowheads. It was indeed the legendary arrow box. One of these civilian officials was Qin Ziling. When he saw Lin Muyu, he quickly stood up and said respectfully, "Ziling greets Head Deacon."
Lin Muyu saw at a glance that Qin Ziling's rank had been promoted to chiliarch. Being in the Weapons Department, it seemed that he had also been incorporated into the Imperial army. She nodded and smiled. "Ziling doesn't need to be so polite."
Qin Ziling said with some shame, "Ziling joined the Weapons Department without the Great Manager's permission. I'm really … sorry, Great Manager. Please forgive me."
Lin Muyu couldn't help but laugh. She patted Qin Ziling's shoulder and said, "Silly boy, don't say such silly things. I can't be more than happy for you to have your talents in the Weapons Department!"
"Great Manager is really happy for Ziling?"
"Yes, show me the weapons you've developed."
"Yes!"
Qin Ziling gave the order. Two soldiers slowly moved the arrow box and aimed at a target in the distance. This target was very far away, about 200 meters away. This was the upper limit of the bow's range. Moreover, the target was made of a very thick piece of wood. It seemed to be half a meter thick. Lin Muyu frowned as her eyes fell on the arrows in the box.
Ouyang He smiled faintly and took an arrow from the table. The arrow head was covered in a fiery glow. He smiled and said, "This arrow is specially made. It has been tempered with a fire poison. This fire poison is the venom of the Southern Sky Bamboo and Continental Grass. It can kill the target on contact with blood. Even the powerful vitality of the Armor Demons can't resist this poison."
Lin Muyu was surprised. She asked, "Have you tested this poison on the Armor Demons?"
"Yes." Ouyang He nodded. "Fortunately, Commander Yu brought back a few living Armor Demons from the Rice River Camp. That's why we were able to test it. Unfortunately, these Armor Demons didn't have a cure and died."
"Hey!"
"Okay, get ready to shoot!"
"Yes!"
A soldier pulled the wrench and suddenly pulled it. Suddenly, the sound of a spring twisting came from the arrow box. It was followed by a series of "Sou Sou Sou" sounds. Nearly 40 arrows were shot out in an instant. The target in the distance was like a wall. Countless arrows drilled into the wall. The power of the arrows was amazing. The target was shaken and dust flew up.
"Let's go and see." Feng Jixing said.
"Yes."
Lin Muyu stepped forward and came in front of the target. She gently pulled out an arrow. This arrow was made of steel. The arrowhead was very sharp. It directly pierced 20 centimeters deep into the wooden target. Ouyang He said with a proud smile, "The best archer in the empire's army can only do this much."
"Not necessarily."
Lin Muyu had seen Wei Chou's archery. From 200 meters away, Wei Chou would definitely be able to penetrate this kind of target. He gently raised his hand and pulled out the Dragon Spirit Sword. After thinking for a while, he silently circulated his qi and slashed out. Suddenly, the blade of the sword was surrounded by a swirling qi. With a "Bang" sound, a 40 centimeter hole was made on the wooden target.
"Commander Yu, what are you doing?" Ouyang He looked surprised.
Lin Muyu said, "I've fought with Armor Demons face to face. So I know the hardness and toughness of their shells. That's about the strength needed to split open the hard shell of an Armor Demon. So, Master Ouyang, unless your arrow box can penetrate 40 centimeters deep into the target, you won't be able to penetrate the shell of an Armor Demon, let alone poison it to death."
Ouyang He frowned, "This is going to be difficult …"
At this time, Qin Ziling said from behind, "Master Ouyang, give me some time. This subordinate is confident that he can continue to improve the arrow box and make it meet Commander Yu's requirements. Moreover … there is still room for improvement in our arrow forging. As long as we hire a good enough craftsman, I believe we can penetrate the hard shell of an Armor Demon."
Ouyang He said with joy, "Can Ziling really do it?"
"This subordinate will do his best!" Qin Ziling said sincerely.
Lin Muyu also smiled and said, "If Ziling can really improve the arrow box and make it a sharp weapon to kill Armor Demons, then I will recommend you to Her Highness Qin Yin as the head of the weapons department!"
Qin Ziling said with joy, "Thank you, Commander Yu. Ziling will do his best!"
At this time, Ouyang He said, "In addition to the arrow box, we also studied the ballista and ballista. General Feng, Commander Yu, will you follow me to take a look?"
"Okay, please lead the way, Master Ouyang."
"Mn."
Qin Ziling went to draw the blueprints, while the Minister of Works, Ouyang He, was very excited. The weapons department had always been the department that was least favored by the major dynasties of the Empire. This was because the Qin Empire had always neglected the research of weapons. The Empire revered martial arts. Qin Jin had always encouraged his people to practice martial arts and archery, but he had never encouraged the research of weapons.
This time, Feng Jixing and Lin Muyu, these two Imperial Commanders who held great power, regarded the Weapons Department so highly. This was enough to make Ouyang He feel extremely flattered. Naturally, he would put in even more effort in recommending new weapons!
Ballista was divided into single ballista and multiple ballista. Compared to the arrow box, the single ballista had fewer shots, but the advantage was that it was light and portable, far less heavy than the arrow box.
Ouyang He said proudly, "This kind of ballista can penetrate 50 centimeters of wood with one arrow. If the distance is close enough, it can penetrate the body of an Armor Demon. However, the requirement to aim at the head is too high."
Lin Muyu nodded and didn't say anything.
Ouyang He then pointed to a machine that was about the height of two people and said, "This is the legendary ballista. It can shoot boulders and arrows with great power. It needs more than ten people to operate and can't be fired. Moreover, it is very heavy and not suitable for battle."
Feng Jixing licked his lips and looked up with a smile, "It looks quite mighty."
Lin Muyu's eyes lit up and said, "If this ballista is equipped with sharp stones, will it be able to shoot through the side boards of ordinary warships?"
"Yes, it definitely can!" Ouyang He said excitedly, "Commander Yu, what do you mean?"
"Just make it a little smaller and it can be equipped on the warships of the Empire's navy."
Lin Muyu said complacently, "The demons aren't fools. Sooner or later, they will fight to the death with us on the Dao River. Moreover, the Yihe Nation will fight with us sooner or later. If we don't develop water-based weapons, it will be difficult to subdue them."
Ouyang He's face was flushed. "I understand, but … the Jinyin dollars that the weapons department has applied for has been delayed. Duke Lan and Duke Yun aren't interested in developing weapons, so the file has been stuck in the front hall of Ze Tian Palace and can't reach Her Highness."
"Give me the file, I will hand it directly to Her Highness." Lin Muyu smiled.
Ouyang He was ecstatic. "Good … Good … Thank you, Commander Yu!"
Feng Jixing also smiled at the side. "Yu, are we still drinking tonight?"
"Let's drink after meeting Xiao Yin."
"Alright!"
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