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Hearing the soldier's words, Lu Yi and everyone in the yard were stunned.

They were somewhat incredulous at what they had heard.

Regaining his composure, Lu Yi quickly asked, "What! What did you say! You've found something that can be used to make the weapons of the North Country?"

The soldier replied excitedly, "Yes, Your Highness, our men encountered a group of Fake Taoist Priests who were selling some useless fake pills. Many of our soldiers were duped by them, spending a great deal of silver on those worthless pills."

"When our men discovered the hiding place of these Fake Taoist Priests and were about to capture them, they happened to be in the midst of alchemy. Just then, their Pill Furnace suddenly exploded, and several of the Fake Taoist Priests were injured by the flying fragments of the furnace."

"I immediately realized that the explosion of the Pill Furnace was very similar to the explosion of iron balls, so I captured these Fake Taoist Priests to interrogate them. According to their confession, their furnace often exploded during their alchemy."

"As long as we replicate what causes their furnaces to explode, we will be able to produce weapons like those of the North Country!"

Hearing the soldier's response, Lu Yi was momentarily perplexed. Then, regaining his senses, he suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Hahahaha, hahahaha, truly, heaven has not forsaken the lonely path!"

At this, the others in the yard started saying, "Congratulations to the Crown Prince, best wishes to the Crown Prince!"

"Once we produce weapons similar to those of the North Country, we will no longer have to fear them!"

"The Crown Prince is truly the Son of Destiny!"

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Listening to the congratulatory voices, a brazen smile appeared on Lu Yi's face. After laughing for a while, he immediately stood up and said, "Take me to see those Fake Taoist Priests!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The soldier then led Lu Yi to where the Fake Taoist Priests were being held.

Upon seeing Lu Yi, the Fake Taoist Priests were terrified, assuming he would have them all executed. But to their surprise, when Lu Yi saw them, he wore a smile and seemed to have no intention of killing them.

After glancing at the Fake Taoist Priests imprisoned in the cell, Lu Yi said to the soldiers by his side, "They are all talents. How can you keep them locked up? Quickly, let them out."

The soldiers immediately realized what he meant and quickly opened the prison door.

At this sight, the Fake Taoist Priests were baffled; they had sold fake pills to Prince Lu Yi's soldiers, yet he seemed not the least bit angry and even called them talented. What was going on?

Just then, the leader of the Fake Taoist Priests hurriedly knelt down and said, "Thank Crown Prince for your mercy in sparing our lives!"

Seeing their leader kneel, the rest of the Fake Taoist Priests also quickly knelt down and said in unison, "Thank Crown Prince for your mercy in sparing our lives!"

Smiling, Lu Yi said, "All of you, rise."

The crowd expressed their thanks in unison, "Thank you, Crown Prince!"

After everyone stood up, Lu Yi's smile left them confused about how he planned to deal with them.

Was he simply going to let them go?

That seemed unlikely, right?

At that moment, the leader of the Fake Taoist Priests spoke up, "Crown Prince, if there is any way in which we can be of service, we will not hesitate to lay down our lives."

They weren't fools; if Lu Yi had spared them, he surely had plans for them.

Lu Yi said, "You're a smart man, so I will speak frankly."

"I need you to stay by my side to make weapons,"

Upon hearing this, the fake Taoist priests were momentarily stunned.

Make weapons?

They didn't know how to make weapons.

The leader of the fake Taoist priests quickly said, "Your Highness, we are not blacksmiths and do not know how to make arms. Keeping us doesn't serve much purpose—we can at best only assist the blacksmiths."

Lu Yi spoke indifferently, "The weapons I need are not ordinary weapons."

"I have heard that during your pill-making, the pill furnace often explodes. I need you to write down the ingredients that cause the furnace to explode and to create something that can reliably trigger the pill furnace to explode."

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Listening to Lu Yi's words, the fake Taoist priests instantly understood what he needed. However, they didn't respond immediately. Seeing their leader in contemplation, Lu Yi's expression turned grim instantly, then he coldly asked, "What, can you not do it?"

This question from Lu Yi jolted the leader of the fake Taoist priests back to reality, and he hurriedly said, "We can do it, we can! We know how to make the pill furnace explode!"

The leader of the fake Taoist priests knew very well that if they admitted they couldn't do it at this point, they would have no value in the eyes of Lu Yi, and they would likely face execution.

Upon hearing the fake Taoist priests' words, Lu Yi showed a satisfied expression, then said, "Tell the soldiers whatever you need next, and they will provide it for you."

"As long as the explosions your creations produce can kill people or animals, I will give you a thousand gold taels! When I ascend the throne, I will confer official titles and noble ranks upon you!"

The fake Taoist priests quickly said, "Thank you, Your Highness, we will surely live up to your expectations!"

Lu Yi then turned to his trusted aide and said, "Arrange the best lodgings for them and prepare the best provisions."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Lu Yi said no more and turned away, returning to the courtyard he had come from.

At that moment, a military general approached Lu Yi and asked, "Crown Prince, now that the North Prince's power is great and, judging by his movement, it looks like he could reach the Capital City within half a year, should we continue to close in on the Capital City?"

Hearing this question, Lu Yi fell into deep thought. After a while, another military general said, "With the Aristocratic Family's heavy cavalry blocking us ahead, it may be very difficult to advance further. Moreover, when the North Country army moves south, we will only be able to make way for them."

"Now that you possess the method of making the North Country's weapons, perhaps we should avoid direct conflict for the moment and head to the south. Once we have a large number of those iron ball weapons, then we can fight our way back."

Hearing this suggestion, Lu Yi said, "That is indeed a good plan."

"Good, we will move south in some time."

Although Zhao King's army was in the south, Zhao King was now focused on the Capital City and hardly had the energy to pay attention to them.

Moreover, since Zhao King had previously annihilated many Seigniors, some of their subordinates had always been dissatisfied with Zhao King. Furthermore, there were offspring of Seigniors who harbored delusions of re-establishing their nations. Now, if he went south, as long as he could make some promises to those offspring of Seigniors, it was very likely that they would switch allegiance to him.

Conquering a piece of territory for himself in the south was not a particularly difficult task.

A few days later.

In the Royal Capital of Qi Country.

An imposing and exceptionally handsome man rode a white horse slowly into the Royal Capital, and the common people of Qi Country lined the road on both sides.

After the North Country army captured the Royal Capital of Qi Country, the soldiers did not harass the commoners. The North Country army only eradicated a few Aristocratic Families, then propped up a new ruler, instructing the common people to conduct land surveys and sign agreements for land ownership transfer.

Beyond that, the North Country army had not committed any acts detrimental to the commoners, and most importantly, they immediately declared a tax exemption upon arrival, which earned some goodwill from the common people toward the North Prince.

After laying the groundwork, Lu Chen finally arrived at the Royal Capital of Qi Country.