"Ahem, I am Lin Yang, the Duke of Wu. I am also the host of this conference. The food you are eating now was bought with my money!" Lin Yang said, his eyes wide open, enunciating each word clearly.
"Oh, thank you very much. By the way, your rice is really delicious. I'm already full after only a few pounds. Um, my name is Xu Zhu, Xu as in Xu Zhu, Zhu as in Xu Zhu, I'm from Xu Family Village." Xu Zhu patted his round belly and said with a smile.
Lin Yang was speechless at this; how did such a rascal suddenly appear? However, Xu Chu seemed to be quite young at the moment. Therefore, Lin Yang decided not to argue with a child.
"Hahaha, that's hilarious. No wonder you got the token. From now on, you'll be my follower. You'll get what you deserve if you stick with me," Su Qing'er said with a laugh.
"Can we eat meat every day?"
"We can have meat at every meal!"
"Okay, I'll follow you from now on," Xu Zhu said excitedly.
"Okay, then you should go and rest first."
Soon, watching Xu Chu's departing figure, Lin Yang couldn't help but feel a little depressed. It seemed that the title of Duke of Wu wasn't useful to everyone. At least, this glutton in front of him didn't care at all.
Fortunately, this person was Xu Chu, and fortunately, he was still young at the time. Otherwise, if it were someone else, Lin Yang would have had opinions in his heart even if he didn't say anything on the surface.
However, when he thought about Xu Zhu's future and his fighting strength, all his dissatisfaction turned into joy.
It's important to know that in terms of pure combat prowess, Xu Chu was even slightly stronger than Taishi Ci. Throughout the entire Three Kingdoms period, apart from Lü Bu and Huang Zhong in his prime, no one could defeat him. Of course, there were a few instances where they were merely evenly matched.
...
Soon, another person appeared. This person was a Taoist priest, holding a whisk in his hand. His clothes were not complicated, but he had a sense of returning to simplicity.
Combined with the unique sense of vicissitude that comes with the passage of time in a middle-aged man, his incredibly handsome face, and that stylish little mustache, it's enough to win the favor of most people.
"I am Xuanxuanzi, a Qi Refiner, paying my respects to Duke Wu," the Taoist said with a smile. At the same time, he was carefully observing Lin Yang, plotting how to deceive him and swindle more money.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang's eyes immediately lit up with excitement. Because, in the original owner's memories, this Xuanxuanzi was a truly remarkable figure.
The reason for his extraordinary achievements is quite simple. He invented the "True" Qi mechanism, and based on this, he further propelled an industrial revolution in the Three Kingdoms world. Of course, the power source he used was spirit stones. Relatively speaking, it was pollution-free and highly efficient.
In particular, the airplanes and warships invented later based on the True Qi mechanism played a huge role when the Black Lotus Prince invaded.
Unfortunately, the invention of the Qi-generating mechanism came rather late. It is said that by the time of its invention, the Warring States period had already begun. And its actual use, sparking the Industrial Revolution, came even later.
Could this person be about to join me? But that doesn't make sense. The True Qi mechanism hasn't been invented yet, so why would he join me directly?
"Then, Fellow Daoist Xuanxuanzi, why do you want to join me?" Lin Yang asked calmly.
"Of course it's for wealth and status. Only by siding with Your Highness can I hope to become a nobleman. So why not?" Xuanxuanzi said, feigning concern.
"Ahem, I'm afraid you're not some Xuanxuanzi, but rather Ouzhizi!" Lin Yang said casually.
At the same time, a thought struck him, and the surrounding environment immediately underwent a dramatic change. Countless bolts of lightning suddenly appeared in the sky, directly aimed at this person. Then, a faint light barrier perfectly protected Lin Yang and Su Qing'er.
Seeing this, the Taoist priest carefully examined his surroundings. He had to admit he was doomed. There was no way he could escape from this magical grotto-heaven. However, it seemed there was still a chance; otherwise, they wouldn't have just been making noise without taking any action.
But where exactly did I slip up? This Xuanxuanzi was clearly a disguise I had just come up with, so how could it have been discovered so easily?
"As expected of the Duke of Wu, you are indeed remarkable, guessing my identity in an instant. That's right, I am the current successor of Ou Zhizi's lineage. However, I am not worthy of the title Ou Zhizi until I create a great invention," Ou Zhizi said calmly.
“It’s alright, I say you are you, so you are. So, what exactly did you come here for?” Lin Yang asked.
At the same time, Lin Yang closed his eyes and began to carefully organize the original owner's memories related to this person.
The True Qi Machine is modeled after the steam engine from the technological world. It is much more powerful, far surpassing the internal combustion engine. Most importantly, it can be used in the Three Kingdoms world.
In an instant, Lin Yang's mind conjured up a scene of tens of thousands of fantasy-style airplanes and cannons crushing everything in their path. He didn't care about formations or malevolent energy; he would simply push them all aside.
At that time, even if the Black Lotus Prince were to invade again with another world, we could simply crush him.
Therefore, as long as Ou Zhizi in front of him doesn't have any major problems, Lin Yang will definitely support him.
------------
Chapter Sixty: Lin Yang's Little Moves
"Of course it's for the true qi mechanism. The so-called true qi mechanism is..." After realizing there was no possibility of escape, Ou Zhizi seemed to have given up on treatment. He answered whatever Lin Yang asked.
Later, he even revealed his true purpose in seeking investment from Lin Yang.
“Initially, I was in charge of researching crystal cannons in the army. As my research progressed, I discovered that although these crystal cannons were very powerful, their utilization rate of spirit stones was extremely poor,” Ou Zhizi said.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang couldn't help but nod. The so-called crystal cannon actually uses spirit stones as its power source. When in use, it is powered by injecting true energy and burning the spirit stones.
The consumption was considerable; each shot required burning at least one qian (a unit of weight) of spirit stones. It was truly a case of "when the cannon fires, gold flows like water." In fact, if the spirit stone powder contained within the various cannonballs were added, the price of each shot would be over five hundred taels of silver.
Of course, its power is equivalent to a full-force attack from a Grandmaster-level martial artist. Even those Grandmasters could be killed if hit head-on by the cannonball.
This powerful weapon was one of the important secrets the imperial court used to intimidate the world. The fact that Ou Zhizi could work in such a department was itself a testament to his ability.
"Later, I stumbled upon the steam engine mentioned in those mechanical worlds. In a flash of inspiration, I came up with the idea I have now. Unfortunately, I failed, and quite a few times at that. As a result, I eventually left the army."
“However, once I have enough funds, I’m sure I can research and develop a real qi machine that has practical value. Instead of just using it for setting up formations or forging crystal cannons, which would be a huge waste of spirit stones.” As soon as he mentioned his specialty, Ou Zhizi immediately transformed into a professor, explaining in detail to Lin Yang the various advantages of the real qi machine.
"In my opinion, once the True Qi Machine is invented, it will bring about earth-shattering changes to the world. Imagine tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, or millions of tons of materials, traveling a thousand miles a day under the guidance of the True Qi Machine. How efficient would that be?"
"Besides that, there is also..."
It must be said that although these were all Ou Zhizi's imaginations, they were still quite persuasive. At least, Su Qing'er, who was standing to the side, had already begun to imagine that wonderful scene.
"Ahem, Daoist Ou Zhizi, how far have you progressed in your research? How far are you from achieving your goal? And how much funding will you need during this process?" Lin Yang asked hurriedly.
"Ahem, well, it's still a bit far from being a finished product." Looking at Lin Yang's disdainful gaze, Ou Zhizi said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Alright, I'll give you one million taels of silver as funding. You must produce some results within three months. If you can't, then you should just honestly forge weapons or cast crystal cannons," Lin Yang said expressionlessly.