Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1054: Chapter 110: Deeper Meaning (Part 2)

Upon hearing about the rewards, the craftsmen’s enthusiasm soared.

Apart from the cannons, the improvements on the pistols were also proceeding smoothly. Moreover, although the rubber experiments hadn’t succeeded yet, they had made some progress compared to before.

The experiments at the North Mountain Laboratory were all going well, and Zhao Yao was very satisfied with this.

After making a round in the laboratory, Zhao Yao then went to the Divine Machine Camp.

Upon arriving at the Divine Machine Camp, the first thing was to check the soldiers’ training results over this period. Currently, there were still only two hundred soldiers in the Divine Machine Camp. Although more and more firearms were being produced and the camp could be expanded, Zhao Yao aimed to maintain the quality of the camp, so he did not plan to expand it at the moment. In the future, it would certainly be expanded.

The Divine Machine Camp held a shooting competition every month. The top three soldiers would naturally receive rewards, while the worst performer would be punished. If during the competition, someone performed extraordinarily poorly, for instance, failing to hit the bullseye even once, they would be eliminated and sent back to the Imperial Guard Camp. So far, no one has been so poor as to be eliminated from the camp.

Although not everyone had reached the level of a sharpshooter, every soldier in the Divine Machine Camp had excellent gun technique. Their worst scores in daily training were at least a "seven-ring".

The soldiers in the Divine Machine Camp all knew they were different from the Imperial Guard; they were Zhao Yao’s aces. Their status was higher than that of the Imperial Guard, and they were utilized more prominently. Most importantly, their treatment was far better than that of the Imperial Guard. To name one thing, their daily meals included three meat dishes such as pork, chicken, duck, goose meat, lamb, and various kinds of fish. They also had fruit to eat every day. Moreover, their monthly salary was high enough to support themselves and their families, allowing them to train with peace of mind without worrying about their family’s livelihood.

In addition to the monthly shooting competitions, hunting competitions were held every two months, during which the soldiers of the Divine Machine Camp would hunt in the mountains. Shooting required not just hitting dead targets but also live ones, and hunting was the best way to train for shooting moving targets.

Mere training wasn’t enough without real combat, so whenever pirates appeared, the soldiers of the Divine Machine Camp would be dispatched on missions. Hitting a pirate would earn them a reward of a hundred coins.

For the soldiers in the Divine Machine Camp, they wished pirates would appear every day so that they could not only receive bonuses but also practice their shooting skills. Unfortunately, pirates were not a daily occurrence.

The soldiers of the Divine Machine Camp were very excited to see Prince Han arrive. They held Zhao Yao in great esteem, feeling that he was akin to a "god" in their hearts. They respected Zhao Yao as a "god" mainly because he had created such things as firearms, hand grenades, pistols, and cannons. In their eyes, these were not things a man could make; only a "god" could produce such powerful weapons.

Zhao Yao competed in shooting techniques with the soldiers of the Divine Machine Camp, and unsurprisingly, he again outperformed everyone in the camp. Although Zhao Yao didn’t train in gun technique in the camp every day, he practiced it daily at Han Prince Mansion.

After witnessing Prince Han’s "supernatural" shooting skills once again, the soldiers were inspired and decided to train even harder.

After competing in shooting techniques with the soldiers, Zhao Yao went to chat with Chu Huan. He told Chu Huan that his future princess came from a commoner background, which greatly shocked Chu Huan.

"What do you think the old man is up to?" Chu Huan was the person Zhao Yao trusted the most. He would discuss major matters with Chu Huan. When he learned about the emperor and He Lianfang’s secret plans for him to become emperor, he also shared them with Chu Huan. "Does the old man not want me to become emperor?"

"Your Highness, didn’t you not want to take that position? What the Emperor is doing aligns with your wishes." When Chu Huan first learned about the emperor and He Lianfang’s secret designs on Zhao Yao becoming emperor, he wasn’t surprised at all. However, Zhao Yao’s decision to tell him about it was unexpected and deeply moving because it showed Zhao Yao’s trust in him. Zhao Yao not wanting to be tricked into becoming emperor didn’t surprise him either.

For him personally, whether Zhao Yao became emperor or not was not important. If Zhao Yao wanted to be emperor, he would support him with all his might. If Zhao Yao didn’t want to be emperor and just wanted to enjoy life as a carefree prince in Lingnan, he would support him and follow him forever.

"If the old man really gave up on me sitting in that position, then I’d definitely be more than happy for him to do so." Zhao Yao said, chewing on a blade of grass with a slight frown, "The key is, has the old man really given up on me?"

Chu Huan thought carefully, "I think the emperor hasn’t given up on you." For the sake of making His Highness emperor, the emperor and General He had been planning for over ten years. It wouldn’t be so easy to give up.

"So, I think there must be some conspiracy involved."

"Your Highness, maybe the emperor arranged for you to have a princess of commoner origin to prevent outside relatives from holding too much power?" Chu Huan speculated.

Zhao Yao hadn’t thought of this, but now hearing Chu Huan’s words, he found it very likely.

"It really is possible. An empress from a commoner background wouldn’t have a powerful family backing her and couldn’t cause trouble in the court."

"The emperor has always been wary of aristocratic families. That’s probably why he arranged for you to have a commoner princess," Chu Huan analyzed. "An empress from a commoner background wouldn’t have to worry about her family interfering in politics or committing acts that would endanger the dynasty in the interest of her family."

Hearing Chu Huan’s words, Zhao Yao suddenly understood and thought of many things.

He raised his hand and tapped his forehead, saying with regret, "I was so caught up in it that I didn’t think of this. Now that I’ve figured it out, I realize the old man’s arrangement has a deeper meaning." The cunning father had gone to great lengths to arrange for him a princess from a commoner background.