Outside the imperial palace, an elder called out to the Imperial Marshal. The Imperial Marshal did not treat him with disdain simply because the elder was an "ordinary person."
The two walked side by side along the road. Some passersby saluted them respectfully, while others did not.
They did not demand that people show them respect, either. This was the most special aspect of the Peng Joe Empire—in some ways, it had achieved equality for all.
But only in some ways. Class still existed in this society; the gap between the classes was merely not that wide, and social resources were not entirely controlled by the noble Privileged Class.
"I saw those planes. If the Federation sends planes against us, do we have a way to deal with them?" the elder asked about what concerned him.
Secrets could not be hidden between people, nor between nations.
Some countries had already obtained the overseas-version Qi-I Bombers from Lin Qi, and those aircraft had subsequently flowed into the broader market.
The people here had spent a fortune to buy two planes. Supposedly, the Empire was already capable of producing a new generation of bombers with better performance based on replicating this model, and had entered a semi-mass-production phase.
In fact, once they understood the key aspects of aircraft, any industrial power could easily replicate them.
The Imperial Marshal and the military quickly understood the value of aircraft, then began deciphering and experimenting with them.
With money and industrial capacity, producing things that did not involve advanced electronic technology was not particularly difficult for this ancient nation.
The first generation of domestically produced bombers was now being manufactured. At the same time, to suppress the terrifying damage aircraft could inflict on the army, the Peng Joe Military Industrial Group had also developed several