The Empress’s Gigolo

“Someone, bring the wine out,” Ren Baqian shouted to the guards behind him.

At present, the results of the cloth dyeing contest were very visually evident, and the event had naturally progressed to the second task.

The empress was roused after hearing Ren Baqian’s words. After that day, she hadn’t been able to take that wine off her mind. Unfortunately, there was only a little that remained, and she was left with no choice but to not think about it. If she hadn’t let it go back then and finished all of it, Ren Baqian would certainly lose the contest.

Soon after, a guard brought out three 500 gram glass bottles, and everyone could see the amber wine swaying within them.

The empress glanced at Ren Baqian. There apparently wasn’t that much wine left after that day.

In fact, the jar back then had contained around five kilograms of wine. Around 500 grams of it was left after the empress stopped drinking. Fortunately, there was still some of it left in the still, which produced another kilogram of the final product.

“Sir Ren, can us commoners give it a try?” Zhang Junzheng asked as he looked at the wine bottles that Ren Baqian had ordered to be brought out. Zhang Junzheng had already given up on this task. Now, all he wanted to know was what Ren Baqian’s wine actually tasted like and how much stronger it was compared to the Zhang family’s.

Ren Baqian had someone pour Zhang Junzheng a bowl of around 100 grams. The amber fluid gave off a strong fragrance as it was being poured out of the bottle. Even the people behind the empress could smell it, and the sound of swallowing saliva could immediately be heard.

Tong Zhenye and Qin Chuan couldn’t take their eyes off it.

After Zhang Junzheng took the bowl, he closed his eyes first, then took a deep breath before taking a small sip with pursed lips. There was a pleasant aroma as it entered the mouth and a touch of sweetness that ignited the taste buds from the tip of the tongue. He then started to feel as if his throat and stomach were on fire. This flame subsequently began to subside after some time, and a hint of freshness soothed the parts of his throat that were burning, immediately rejuvenating them.

“I gracefully accept defeat. We have lost the second round!” said Zhang Junzheng as he opened his eyes after having enjoyed the aftertaste for quite some time with his eyes closed. Just based on this wine, he felt that there was no need to compete any further.

Even though he was very surprised to have lost two events in a row, the challenge that he cared about the most was actually the third event.

He was confident that he would definitely win the third event.

The torsion springs used in the Yun Nation’s ballistas were all made by the Zhang family. He believed that even if someone got their hands on one of these springs, they still wouldn’t be able to produce it.

The steel used in making these springs had numerous unknown materials added to it. Even if someone knew all the materials and possessed all of them, the composition ratio wasn’t something that could be researched in a short period of time. Needless to say, there was also the tempering method that was a top secret.

“Heqi, Heju, bring out the item.”

Following Zhang Junzheng’s words, Zhang Heqi brought out a tray from the courtyard. On top of it were two torsion springs that had the same measurements. Each was roughly the size of a fist.

Besides that, there was also a rack that was made of wood and metal.

“Your Majesty, the empress of Dayao, Sir Ren, and all the distinguished guests, this is a spring, the biggest accomplishment of the Zhang family. The repeating ballistas made from these springs are 100 times better than Great Xia’s crossbow battalion. The spring is the core of this. If it doesn’t meet the requirement, the power of the repeating ballista will be greatly reduced.”

Zhang Junzheng introduced the product with full confidence. It was as if he wasn’t affected by the defeats from the last two events.

He trusted that this would definitely move the empress.

“Sir Ren, I wonder if you have already manufactured a spring?” Zhang Junzheng laughed as he cupped his fists.

“Yes, I have,” Ren Baqian answered. However, there were some differences in size between Zhang Junzheng’s spring and his. It was obvious that the rack that Zhang Junzheng had brought out was a simple ballista used to test the tension and elasticity of the torsion spring. However, the measurements of Ren Baqian’s spring weren’t right, and this was something that he had previously overlooked.

“There’s no problem. This ballista is adjustable. Regardless of whatever size Sir Ren’s spring is, the Zhang family has a solution for it.” Zhang Junzheng immediately laughed after hearing what Ren Baqian said.

“That’s good.” As Ren Baqian clapped his hands, a guard who was on standby immediately brought out a sack. A clunking sound was heard when the opening of the sack dropped to the ground, causing a pile of springs to spill out… There were some that were the size of a thumb, some that were the size of a human fist, and some that were as big as an aboriginal’s fist. There were all sorts of sizes, and there were at least a few hundred of these springs.

Not only were there single torsion springs in the sack, there were also double torsion springs as well as many other types of torsion springs…

This pile of springs was scattered over the floor like a pile of rubbish, and everyone from the Zhang family was immediately stunned.

“Impossible…” With his mouth wide open, Zhang Junzheng stared at that pile of springs and nearly screamed out loud. He suddenly had an instinctive feeling that the spring, a top secret product of the Zhang family, had already been readily available on the street and that only they themselves had been kept in the dark.

Aside from him, even the craftsmen who extended their heads over from the east courtyard cried out in surprise. After that, a few dark skinned craftsmen in their forties rushed over from the courtyard to examine the springs.

“This is impossible. How could there be so many of them? How could they be made so small, yet so elastic?” asked the craftsmen as they cried out in alarm while examining the springs.

“You see, this is a double torsion spring, and as it turns out, they can be made this way as well. Originally, if they were made too thin, there wouldn’t be enough tension or elasticity. However, this can be resolved by making it a double or adding more strands!”

“Making it with multiple strands like this will allow the size of the spring to be smaller.”

After the craftsmen got over their alarm, they very quickly sat down on the ground and began a discussion.

After seeing the craftsmen’s behavior, Zhang Junzheng’s mind became flurried.

Ren Baqian was beaming as he looked at Zhang Junzheng. From Ren Baqian’s perspective, this product had indeed been all over the streets. They could be found almost anywhere, from clocks to cars to doors to locks. Only the Zhang family treated it like a treasure.

“Shall we still proceed with the contest?” Ren Baqian appeared good-natured.

“Yes.” Zhang Junzheng forced this word through his teeth.

Thereafter, a craftsman first placed the Zhang family’s spring into the ballista before loading a ballista bolt. Bodyguards then came to smash the wall apart, creating an open space between the two courtyards. The ballista was then placed on one end, whereas three layers of wooden targets were set up 100 steps away on the other end.

Next was the test. At the side of the ballista was a rocker arm that could be used to wind up the springs.

The test would include firing bolts with six and nine turns of the rocker arm. At six turns, the bolt fired and penetrated one wooden target, whereas the bolt fired with nine turns penetrated two targets and pierced deeply into the third.

Nine turns was the limit that the Zhang family could achieve. On the ground, the bolts could pierce through someone who was wearing leather armor and standing 200 steps away. Its range was two times as long as Great Xia’s crossbow battalion. As of now, this could definitely be considered a fine piece of weaponry.

Even the officials of the imperial court looked surprised when they saw the test results.

Hong Wu, Xi Wanya, and a few of them looked dignified. They had previously heard from the Protector of the Northeast that in the Yun Nation, there was a type of ballista that could fire hundreds of bolts at once and had a range of over 200 steps.

Never had they expected that this ballista was made by the Zhang family.

However, the people of the Zhang family said that the core of those ballistas was actually these springs. As for the springs, everyone looked at Ren Baqian’s springs, which were piled up on the ground. For no apparent reason, they simply felt like laughing. It was as if there was something very funny.