Chapter 136: Two Tyrants Sparring

"Uh... The two of you can understand this item? How is that possible? This was just drawn by the teacher a moment ago."

The burning gazes exhibited by Ying Zheng and Meng Tian left King Zhou, Su Hu, Bigan, and the others utterly bewildered.

Little did they know that this rapid-fire crossbow was a divine weapon—the Zhuji Crossbow—crafted by their Great Qin only after a series of reforms.

It had swept across all the states in one fell swoop, creating countless mythical miracles.

Passed down for centuries, this divine crossbow underwent further modernization and restructuring in later eras, making its firepower even more domineering.

"Isn't this thing our Qin crossbow?" Meng Tian asked timidly.

"What? Your Qin crossbow? This..." How could that be?

King Zhou, Su Hu, and Bigan all turned their gazes toward Chu Xiaoyu.

Could it be that the teacher had plagiarized something from their Great Qin?

Heh!

Is that even possible?

Given the teacher's immense talent, wisdom, and capability, the only possibility was others plagiarizing from him.

"Ahem... As for this thing in the diagram, it's not called a crossbow; it's called a Zhuji Crossbow. As for your Qin crossbow, it does bear some resemblance to it."

Chu Xiaoyu spoke eloquently, "The operational principles of the two are connected. Currently, your Qin crossbow can probably only fire fewer than 10 arrows in succession, right? But this model of the Zhuji Crossbow, if conditions permit, can fire 100 arrowheads consecutively without any problem."

"Moreover, and this is the most important point, this Zhuji Crossbow does not rely on human arm strength to operate, but is controlled and fired by mechanical gears. Its deterrent power is vastly superior to anything operated by human labor."

Chu Xiaoyu had already explained the structural principles and manufacturing of the Zhuji Crossbow clearly to King Zhou, Su Hu, and the others. It was just that, given the conditions of their Great Shang, it seemed impossible for them to manufacture such a perfect Zhuji Crossbow.

"What? It can fire 100 crossbow bolts consecutively? This..."

Ying Zheng's gaze instantly locked onto the discarded blueprint in his hand, and he immediately became extremely excited. "Teacher, could you give this Zhuji Crossbow to me? I have the confidence to forge this divine weapon."

"Teacher, this absolutely must not be done." King Zhou immediately refused, then looked angrily and discontentedly at Ying Zheng, rebuking him, "What is wrong with you? Everything has an order of priority, doesn't it? This divine weapon belongs to the teacher..."

"Ah... King Zhou of Shang, don't be angry first. Everything is open to discussion. I just feel that this divine weapon looks so much like our Qin crossbow that I couldn't help getting excited for a moment and..."

"Hmph! So just because you got excited for a moment, you wanted to snatch what others love? This king will not agree." King Zhou refused to relent at all.

"Oh, I wasn't... I was just too excited, King Zhou of Shang, don't be angry..."

Well!

The two tyrants actually started bickering with each other?

This scene of two tyrants trading barbs was a rare sight even once in a millennium.

"Alright, you two stop arguing. I think we should do this."

Chu Xiaoyu rubbed his slightly aching temples and then said to King Zhou and the others, "To tell you the truth, when I handed over the blueprints for this Zhuji Crossbow earlier, I did have some concerns in my heart."

King Zhou's expression sank immediately: "Teacher, what do you mean by those words? This king doesn't quite understand."

"What I mean is just what the literal words say. I really don't mean to discourage you, but currently, the metallurgy and smelting technology in your Great Shang is only just taking its embryonic form. On the contrary, their Great Qin's smelting technology is already very mature."

"I can put it to you this way: this divine weapon, the Zhuji Crossbow, requires very high smelting technology. Given the situation in your Great Shang, you probably won't be able to meet the technical requirements."

"Teacher, no... We can..."

"Di Xin, don't speak yet. Let me finish what I have to say."

"Teacher, my apologies. Di Xin was just too impatient." King Zhou expressed his regret.

Chu Xiaoyu continued, "Because of the issue with smelting technology, I think handing this Zhuji Crossbow over to Great Qin for production would yield much better results. Their smelting technology is very mature, making it at least a hundred times more effective compared to the isolated and backward conditions of your Great Shang."

Chu Xiaoyu furrowed his brows slightly. "Of course, saying this is not intentionally depressing or undermining the smelting technology of your Great Shang; I am merely stating the facts."

"Let me offer you a suggestion: hand over this Zhuji Crossbow to Great Qin for production. If your Great Shang also wants Zhuji Crossbows, you can trade grain with them at equivalent value. That way, both of your countries can achieve a win-win situation."

"You benefit, I benefit, and everyone benefits together—why not? What do you think?"

"Ah... This proposal by the teacher is wonderful. Currently, our Great Shang is not short on grain. Sweet potatoes, potatoes, radishes, and other crops have bumper harvests every year. Coupled with the rice planting the teacher taught us in the first half of the year, we have reaped another bumper harvest in grain this year, so we can definitely conduct equivalent value exchanges," Bigan said happily.

Grain had always been a shortage for Great Qin, and one could even say it was a very severe one.

It was not just Great Qin that lacked grain; the other states suffered from grain shortages as well. Every year, countless commoners in various states died of starvation, numbered in the tens of thousands.

Corpses of the starved littered the earth, and tattered-clothed commoners were everywhere.

If they could exchange weapons for grain, Great Qin—which was not short on weapons—would undoubtedly be a supreme blessing for the commoners of Great Qin.

"Tea... Teacher, can we really exchange weapons for grain?" Ying Zheng asked, unable to keep his trembling in check.

Chu Xiaoyu looked at King Zhou: "What do you all say? Can we or not?"

As a monarch, watching the subjects of one's own country starve, reduced to chewing tree roots and grass bark to fill their stomachs, was a tragedy of the human world.

King Zhou felt the same empathy, so without even thinking, he immediately said, "There is no problem with this at all! As long as your Great Qin can manufacture this divine weapon, we will trade it for grain."

"Good, good! It's settled then. General Meng Tian, the manufacture of this Zhuji Crossbow is entirely entrusted to you. Do you have confidence in this?"

"This subordinate obeys the decree! This subordinate has full confidence in this."

Meng Tian, the grandson of the Senior Minister Meng Ao and the son of the Inner Historian Meng Wu, came from a noble background, possessed extraordinary knowledge and experience, and above all, currently held the position of Grand General.

Heh!

Wasn't it just a mere tactical crossbow?

Although the engineering seemed somewhat complex, Meng Tian, who had shown extraordinary military insight surpassing ordinary people since childhood, harbored absolute confidence in his heart.

He was bound to succeed in manufacturing this divine weapon, the Zhuji Crossbow.

"Good, good! Since that's the case, I congratulate you in advance. Since everyone is meeting for the first time today, I wish you a pleasant cooperation."

"Many thanks, teacher!"

"It's all thanks to the teacher's wonderful proposal! Thank you, teacher!"

As the saying goes: Plant flowers intentionally and they may not bloom, plant willows unintentionally and they may grow into shade.

Years later, King Zhou of Yin-Shang and Ying Zheng of Great Qin both sighed with emotion: Back then, we truly owed it to the teacher's profound insight, which allowed the states across different displaced time-space dimensions to forge ahead, ultimately making us all the foremost superpower nations!