Great Liang Invincible General Cannon Blueprint!

After receiving Zhu Wen's completed imperial edict, Zhu Youning did not set out immediately. Instead, he headed to the Longxiang Army's camp.

The Longxiang Army camp was located north of Bian Prefecture City and covered a considerable area, with two drill grounds in front and behind. Four armored soldiers carrying spears stood at the entrance to the drill ground. They were broad-shouldered and vigilant, their gazes fixed straight ahead—truly worthy of being elite troops.

"Your Highness! Your Highness..."

After entering the camp, several officers overseeing training spotted Zhu Youning and immediately shouted out as they hurried toward him.

These men were all mid-ranking officers under Zhu Youning's command.

They rushed up before him with exceptional enthusiasm, catching Zhu Youning somewhat off guard.

"Your Highness, you're finally back!" "How are your injuries..."

The officers competed to express their concern, making Zhu Youning's head spin.

It seemed that the original "Zhu Youning" had indeed been a commander highly popular within the army.

But that was only natural. From ancient times to the present, sucking up to one's superiors had always existed, especially in the military.

Fortunately, not every officer was so blazing with enthusiasm. Wang Yanzhang, the Left Longxiang Army Commander, merely stood quietly to one side, showing neither slackness nor impropriety.

"Quiet. This is an important military camp. What kind of conduct is this, acting so casually?"

Zhu Youning glared at them. The men finally fell silent one after another.

Only then did Zhu Youning have a chance to speak. "Rest assured, my injuries have mostly healed. Otherwise, would I have come all the way here? No need to be nervous. Those who should train troops, train troops. Just perform your respective duties and handle your own affairs."

After speaking, he glanced around and beckoned. "I have something to ask General Wang. We'll speak inside."

"Yes."

Wang Yanzhang clasped his fists, and the two headed into the building one after the other.

Inside, Zhu Youning found a seat and sat down, while Wang Yanzhang stood there respectfully.

Zhu Youning asked, "General Wang, while I was away from camp, what has happened here?"

Wang Yanzhang immediately stepped forward two paces and clasped his fists. "Commander, there has been nothing important in the camp recently. If there has been anything at all, it has only been troop drills."

"Troop drills?"

"Yes." Wang Yanzhang said, "This subordinate believes that even without war, preparations for war must not be neglected."

"Well said."

Zhu Youning praised him, then said, "General Wang, I will be making a trip to Luoyang. Select a thousand elite soldiers to accompany me."

"Understood!"

After selecting a thousand elite troops from the camp, Zhu Youning immediately went to the Liang State's Directorate of Armaments.

This was the Liang State's military equipment workshop. It was responsible not only for forging cold weapons, but also for manufacturing hot weapons such as cannons.

As for why the Directorate of Armaments could manufacture technological creations as far ahead of their time as cannons... that was naturally related to Hanba, an Ancestral Corpse of the Xuanming Cult.

In fact, many of the Directorate of Armaments' firearm technologies had come from the Ancestral Corpse Hanba.

"Your Highness Prince An, why have you come here?"

At that moment, seeing Zhu Youning arrive with soldiers, an official from the Directorate of Armaments hurried over with great respect.

Zhu Youning formally clasped his hands toward the official and said, "Lord Zhuang, I came to borrow a few things from you."

The official surnamed Zhuang was stunned. He had not expected Zhu Youning, a prince, to show him such respect.

He was merely a blacksmith who had been recruited into the Directorate of Armaments because he possessed some skill in forging iron. By chance, he had also encountered the opportunity created by the vacant posts left after the Ancestral Corpse Hanba departed, allowing him to secure a minor official position in the Directorate of Armaments. How could he possibly deserve to be called a lord?

Zhu Youning's courteous gesture and that single address of "Lord" made Official Zhuang bloom with delight. He hurriedly said, "Whatever Your Highness wants, just take it."

"Lord Zhuang is refreshingly straightforward. I came here to borrow some Volatile Fire, in case of emergencies!"

So-called Volatile Fire was actually nothing more than buried mines made from sulfur and saltpeter.

Naturally, the Liang State possessed technology like buried mines.

Thanks to Hanba, the Red Earth Thousand Miles Paper Craftsman and one of the Four Ancestral Corpses of the Xuanming Cult, the Liang State had long since fully developed its gunpowder technology tree.

Back when Zhu Wen breached Chang'an, he had buried tens of thousands of Volatile Fires made from sulfur and saltpeter beneath Chang'an's streets, intending to reduce the entire city to ashes in revenge for the murder of his nephew Zhu Youlun.

Yet in the end, Zhu Wen had not dared to make up his mind. After all, once he committed such a heinous act as blowing up a city with gunpowder, he would inevitably be condemned by everyone under heaven.

Not only would he be unable to silence the voices of the people, he would also be recorded in history and reviled for ten thousand years.

Even now, those tens of thousands of Volatile Fires remained safely hidden beneath the ruins of Chang'an!

Besides Volatile Fire, the Liang State also possessed "Flying Fire." So-called Flying Fire was actually cannon ammunition—the shells for the Great Liang Invincible General Cannon.

Upon hearing that Zhu Youning had come to borrow that kind of thing, Lord Zhuang immediately grew nervous. "Your Highness, this stuff isn't something to play around with. One careless mistake and it could explode! Your Highness's person is precious beyond measure. If anything happened to you, this lowly official could never bear the responsibility!"

"I won't be handling those things myself, so Lord Zhuang need not worry about safety. Still, Lord Zhuang has a point. My men are rather clumsy, so I will need Lord Zhuang to give them proper guidance and ensure their safety."

With that, Zhu Youning took out a silver ingot and handed it to Lord Zhuang.

Lord Zhuang was a man of the same persuasion. Without changing expression, he accepted the silver and clasped his hands. "Rest assured, Your Highness. This lowly official will go at once."

With that, he led Zhu Youning's soldiers carefully toward the storeroom and explained to them the precautions concerning Volatile Fire.

Once everyone had disappeared, Zhu Youning's figure flashed, and he swiftly ran deeper into the Directorate of Armaments' administrative compound.

Zhu Youning moved quickly and was highly observant. With his eyes and ears alert in every direction, he actually avoided everyone's notice deep within the Directorate of Armaments office.

Zhu Youning swiftly approached a table.

No one around was paying attention to this area, and numerous blueprints lay on the table.

Zhu Youning picked up a sheet of paper, and a prompt suddenly appeared.

[Great Liang Invincible General Manufacturing Blueprint: A blueprint detailing the construction of the "Great Liang Invincible General" cannon. Store in inventory?]

Yes!

The blueprints on the table instantly vanished and appeared in Zhu Youning's system inventory. The next moment, Zhu Youning himself vanished from beside the table as well.

At that moment, a man dressed in ragged short clothes walked over and looked at the table in confusion.

"Eh? That's not right! Where did the blueprints go? How are we supposed to make the cannon barrels without them?!"

Suspicious, he went outside to ask the man closest to where the blueprints had been stored. "Tie Dan, did you see the blueprints on the table?"

Tie Dan was forging iron. Without even turning his head, he replied, "A Gang, you must've been careless and used the blueprints to wipe your sweat."

A Gang scratched his head in confusion, frowning. "Really? Why don't I remember that?"

Tie Dan knew A Gang's temperament. Thinking he was trying to slack off again, he said, "Enough, stop talking. You're obviously just looking for an excuse to be lazy. Hurry up and ask Lord Zhuang for another copy!"