Chapter 155: The Prince Who Cries Silently!
At this time, the innate who was being discussed by Lin Beifan and others, day and night rushed back to Northen Hebei.
“Prince, I didn’t disappoint you. I finally brought back the airbag of the air cushion!” He raised the deflated airbag with his only sound hand and presented it to the Prince of Northern Hebei.
The Prince took the airbag and handed it to his advisor Zhuge next to him.
Then he quickly helped the innate up and looked at the innate with only one hand, full of tears and said, “Liu Xia, you worked hard!”
“It’s not that hard!” He gave a bitter smile, his expression a bit low, “It’s just that we underestimated the court’s defenses! This time, I took 30 good hands to go, and none came back! Even Huang Daxia… I didn’t do a good job and let the Prince down!”
“Ah! Liu Xia, I’m just glad you came back safely!”
The Prince sighed deeply, regretting deeply, “If I had known this, I wouldn’t have sent you out. You are all my relatives and friends, my brothers that I can’t do without! Who knew that now, we are separated by life and death! I still remember that night when we were drinking and talking about the future, but now… sigh…”
As he spoke, two lines of hot tears reluctantly flowed from his eyes.
The reason for his tears was not regret, but pain.
Thirty seventh-rank high-level experts that he sent out all died, and an innate was sacrificed!
The only innate who escaped came back with a broken hand and greatly reduced combat effectiveness!
The loss was too great, and he really felt heartbroken!
However, Liu Xia, the man with his eyes, didn’t know.
He looked at the tearful prince and was moved in his heart, secretly nodding.
This is indeed a prince with unparalleled kindness and justice. This is the lord that we should follow!
“Prince, don’t be sad!” Liu Xia advised, “At least we brought back the airbag, and our sacrifice was not in vain! What you should do now is to cheer up and work hard for our great cause! Only by overthrowing the corrupt court and rebuilding the country, can we give the people a bright future, and only then can we truly honor the sacrifices of our brothers in the underworld!”
“Liu Xia, you’re absolutely right. Now is not the time to be sad!” Prince of Northern Hebei wiped away his tears and said, “Liu Xia, I have prepared a room and good medicine for you. Your top priority now is to rest well, recover from your injuries, and leave the rest to me!”
“Thank you, Your Highness!” Liu Xia stepped back.
Prince of Northern Hebei immediately turned to the advisor holding the airbag, looked it over a few times, and said, “Is this the airbag produced by the court? It looks just like ours!”
“Your Highness, it seems that the method of the top scholar in making them is absolutely genuine! The reason why we can’t make them may just be a matter of skill!” Advisor Zhuge smiled and said.
“Hmm!” Prince of Northern Hebei nodded, dispelling Lin Beifan’s doubts.
“Your Highness, we’re just outsiders. We can’t tell whether they’re the same or not. Why don’t we invite experienced craftsmen to come and have a look? Perhaps they will find something!” Advisor Zhuge suggested again.
“You’re right. Call the craftsmen over quickly!”
In a short while, several experienced craftsmen arrived. Carefully examining and comparing the airbags they had made, their faces became more and more troubled.
“So, can we make qualified airbags now?” the prince eagerly asked.
The craftsmen looked at each other and didn’t know how to speak.
One of the old craftsmen, gritting his teeth, said, “Your Highness, after observing, the airbags made by the court and the ones we make are indistinguishable, they are exactly the same! We still haven’t found out what the specific differences are! Why are the court’s airbags so durable and ours are not…”
“In other words, it’s still not possible?” the prince’s face darkened.
If it still didn’t work this time, he really would kill someone!
The craftsmen on the spot were frightened and sweating profusely.
“Your Highness, it is possible, but it just needs a little time for research!” The old craftsman quickly spoke up.
“Hmph! That’s more like it!” The prince’s face eased slightly. He snorted, “I’ll tell you, this airbag was obtained with the lives of more than thirty heroes! The blood of heroes cannot be shed in vain. I’ll give you one month. If you still can’t research it, then wait for your head to fall!”
“Yes, Your Highness!” The craftsmen trembled in obedience.
Prince of Southern Jiang and the Great Xia Dynasty also received the airbags from the court. However, they encountered the same problem as Prince of Northern Hebei, that is, they couldn’t see any difference between the court’s airbags and the ones they made themselves. They felt exactly the same.
However, the airbags of the Great Wu Dynasty could fly across the country, while theirs had trouble doing so.
What was the difference, and was it really a matter of craftsmanship?
As for the forces that gained nothing, they were heartbroken and bleeding.
They had spent so much money and lost so many experts, yet they had not gained anything. It really was a big loss!
The court’s training troops have returned in a sorry state.
In the court, the Empress is very angry and shouts, “Li Kaiguang, come here!” Li Kaiguang, the Minister of War, stood up with a stiff face and said, “Your Majesty!”
The Empress scolded, “Li Kaiguang, I am disappointed! I trusted you to handle the water training, but you made a mess of it! The military exercise was disrupted, and the court’s airbags were stolen! If it weren’t for the timely arrival of the Six Doors, the reputation of our court would have been tarnished! What punishment do you deserve?”
“Your Majesty forgive me! I never intended…” The Minister of War smiled bitterly. He thought he had a great job.
He thought that after leading 20,000 soldiers to travel 300 miles, he could get promoted and become wealthy. Who knew that so many postnatal experts, and more than 20 innate experts would come to snatch the airbags?
The postnatal experts didn’t matter much, but the key was the innate experts, which ordinary army couldn’t handle! What could he do? He was also very desperate!
“You never intended, do you think I did?” The Empress slapped the table and stood up.
“Your Majesty, please forgive me! I know I was wrong!” The Minister of War immediately apologized.
As the main person in charge of this matter, he couldn’t avoid responsibility for any problem, let alone such a big one. Therefore, he had to bear this big, round black pot.
“Your Majesty, Sir Li did not anticipate such an incident. Please forgive him!”
“Your Majesty, this time, there were no significant casualties, nor much loss of military equipment. Sir Li did his best. Please forgive him!” Two Deputy Ministers of War stepped forward to explain for their immediate superior.
The Empress shouted, “Don’t defend him. You’re also at fault!”
“Your Majesty forgive us!” The two Deputy Ministers immediately bowed their heads. “All officials responsible for this training exercise will have their salaries reduced for one year! Li Kaiguang, as the main person in charge of this training exercise, and with a significant mistake, will have his salary reduced for two years!”
“Thank you for Your Majesty’s mercy!” The officials of the Ministry of War breathed a sigh of relief. Salary reduction was not painful or itching for them as they did not live on the pay alone.
In fact, the Empress was also very helpless. Her punishment measures were nothing more than salary reductions, demotions, and in severe cases, direct execution. However, whether it was demotion or execution, the official position would surely be emptied, and with no one to work, it would be necessary to promote someone. The people behind were also corrupt, and they had no ability. What could she do?
Now, with enemies everywhere, the Great Wu court can no longer afford to be disturbed and can only maintain the current situation. Changing any senior official will have a huge impact, making her dare not act recklessly!
“From now on, all of you must be replaced!” The Empress said with hatred in her heart. Her gaze involuntarily shifted to Lin Beifan behind the officials, and her eyes softened.
Talent outstanding, virtuous and incorruptible, not forming factions or favoring cronies, but most importantly, capable of sharing her worries. This is the role model for all officials and the type of official she needs!
However, sometimes he can be quite troublesome!
Almost everyone has been deceived by him at least once!
And he can be quite lazy!
Without any opportunity for personal gain, he shows no enthusiasm!
If it weren’t for these flaws, he would be perfect!
The Empress dismissed these thoughts and continued, “Mistakes should be punished, achievements should be rewarded! During this military exercise, Chief of Six-Doors Guo and his skilled team promptly annihilated the enemy, reducing losses to the court, preserving its dignity, and achieving great merit. They deserve rewards!”
… .. …
“Each person will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver!”
“One suit of golden-threaded armor!”
“One imperial court sword or blade!”
“As the overall commander, Sir Guo shall be rewarded…”
…
In short, various rewards were bestowed, and they were quite substantial.
These rewards were almost like a windfall. Chief Guo and the skilled team were overjoyed and loudly exclaimed, “Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!”
Returning the favor, Chief Guo exclaimed, “May it please Your Majesty, it was due to the reminder of Principal Lin that we were able to discover the enemy’s whereabouts, annihilate them in a timely manner, and achieve a complete victory. Therefore, Principal Lin deserves the most credit. Your Majesty, please take note!”
“Sir Guo speaks the truth, Your Majesty, please take note!” other skilled individuals chimed in unison.
The court officials were left dumbfounded!
How did this become related to Lin Beifan again?
Did this guy unknowingly achieve another feat?
“So that’s how it is!” The Empress, with the persona of a diva, acted as if she had just learned about this matter and laughed, “Lin, my dear, I didn’t expect you to have contributed to this as well. You’ve kept it a secret from Us so skillfully!”
“I dare not deceive Your Majesty. It’s just that I wasn’t certain if this matter was true or false, so I refrained from informing you to avoid affecting your wise judgment!” Lin Beifan, acting as an actor, spoke somewhat anxiously.
The Empress pointed at Lin Beifan, shaking her head with a smile. “You, oh you… still so courteous with Us? In any case, you have achieved great merit. How do you suggest We reward you?”
“It is all due to Your Majesty’s wise leadership. I dare not claim credit!” Lin Beifan replied.
“I wanted to reward you generously, but I find that you lack nothing. There’s nothing more to reward you with! Let this merit be temporarily noted, and when you achieve another feat in the future, We shall reward you then!” The Empress declared loudly.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan exclaimed.
“Congratulations, Principal Lin!” Chief Guo and the other skilled individuals turned around and respectfully said with clasped hands.
“Same joy, same joy!” Lin Beifan responded with a smile.
Lin Beifan laughed, the Empress laughed, and Chief Guo and the other skilled individuals laughed too!
Everyone performed this act well, and each person gained something, leaving them highly satisfied!
Only the Minister of War wasn’t very satisfied, feeling like he had been kept in the dark from beginning to end and had become a sacrificial lamb!
So, he immediately voiced his dissatisfaction on the spot!!
