"If you don't worry about it, the King of Wu will be fine."

Zixi could only reply in frustration.

At this time, Qingji couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth, and said with a smile: "Mr. Shen, I heard that the queen of the country is pregnant. I wonder if this is true?"

"It's just a rumor, King Wu can't rely on hearsay."

Zixi immediately denied it.

joke!

How could he admit such a thing?

Not to mention Zixi, no one in Chu would be able to admit that Meng Ying was pregnant, and that the child in her belly was Qing Ji’s flesh and blood!

Although Wu and Chu have now entered into a non-aggression covenant and are married to each other, this does not mean that the two countries have turned their feud into friendship and will live in peace from now on.

Wu Chu feud!

This cannot be changed.

Moreover, as two neighboring countries in the south, if Chu State wants to eliminate its worries and go north to fight for hegemony, it must get rid of Wu State, a thorn in its side and a thorn in its flesh.

Similarly, if Wu State wants to dominate the world, it must have a wrestling match with Chu State.

Therefore, Meng Ying's pregnancy became a secret matter in the palace.

Although the Chu people are discussing it privately, they will never admit it.

The wife of Chu State ruined King Wu's child. What's going on?

"I'm just curious. Please don't take it to heart, Mr. Shen."

Seeing Zi Xi's face getting more and more ugly, Qing Ji waved his hand and said, "I wonder why Mr. Shen sent Wu this time?"

Finally getting to the point!

Zixi immediately bowed and said: "King Wu, the foreign ministers are here to talk about the good relations between Chu and Wu. Chu and Wu are neighboring countries, so they should have frequent exchanges."

"What Mr. Shen said is very true. In the near future, I will also send an envoy to Yingdu to express the good alliance between the two countries."

"King Wu, when foreign ministers are here, they should offer a generous gift to King Wu!"

"What a generous gift?"

Qingji asked pretending not to know.

"They are ten beauties from Chu State!"

Zixi said seriously: "As the saying goes, a beauty matches a hero. The King of Wu is an unparalleled hero, so naturally he must be accompanied by a beauty!"

"However, my king observes that there are very few beauties in Queen Wu's palace, especially the beauties from the Chu Kingdom. How can I not hesitate to do so?"

"Therefore, my king specially recruited ten beauties in the country. They are all of excellent appearance, and they are good at singing and dancing. They are especially good at bed skills. They are willing to flatter you. It's no problem."

"Please also ask King Wu to accept it!"

There are really ten beautiful young women!

Qingji suddenly felt happy.

Before, he had heard that the King of Chu searched for widows or beautiful wives from all over the country, and sent them to the palace to train them and prepare them for him.

Didn't expect it to be true?

This made Qingji feel a little depressed.

Is it possible that my reputation as a good wife will never be washed away in my lifetime?

To be nailed to the pillar of shame in history?

"Since it is the King of Chu's kindness, I would be disrespectful to you!"

Naturally, Qingji would not refuse a beautiful woman who came to his door.

Even if you don't eat it in your stomach, it's good to look at it occasionally and appreciate the beautiful things.

On the occasion of parting, Qing Ji wrote a specially written letter (love letter) and asked Zi Xi to forward it to Meng Ying.

After all, she is the child's mother, her own woman, how could Qingji not care about her?

With Meng Ying's power in the Chu State at this time, he could keep the child well-fed and clothed, but he could not give him a title.

But, this is enough!

However, this was disgusting to Zixi.

For now, his relationship with Qingji is still quite messy!

Meng Ying can be regarded as Zixi's stepmother. Although she is younger than him, her seniority is there.

And Qing Ji was Meng Ying’s lover, and at the same time, Ji Mi, the sister of King Xiong Zhen of Chu, was my fiancé.

Brother-in-law?

Qing Ji was indeed Zi Xi's brother-in-law, but the unclear relationship between Qing Ji and Meng Ying really made Zi Xi feel as uncomfortable as swallowing a fly alive.

…

Gusu Mountain, weapons workshop.

At this time, Qingji was holding a crossbow for test firing.

The crossbow in Qingji's hand consists of three parts: the bow, the crossbow arm, and the crossbow engine: the bow is mounted horizontally on the front end of the crossbow arm, and the crossbow engine is installed on the rear of the crossbow arm.

The crossbow arm is used to hold the bow, support the string, and support the user, and the crossbow machine is used to buckle the string and launch.

When using it, open the string and hold it with the crossbow machine, place the arrow in the arrow path on the crossbow arm, aim at the target, then trigger the crossbow machine, the bowstring will rebound, and the arrow will be shot.

"Take it!"

The arrow fired from the crossbow is inserted into the bullseye.

However, Qingji couldn't help but frown as he clutched the crossbow in his hand. He looked at the great workman on one side and made the general feel a little uneasy, fearing that Qingji would be punished.

"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong?"

The general asked bravely.

"This is not an ideal crossbow."

Qingji shook his head and said: "A normal archer, using a hard bow, can shoot an arrow up to eighty steps. But based on my estimation, the maximum range of this crossbow is probably only seventy steps. The effective killing range is only sixty steps."

About one step."

"If that's the case, why don't I ask the archers to use ordinary hard bows?"

"Furthermore, the accuracy of this crossbow is insufficient and it has no counterweight. If I hadn't had extraordinary arm strength and wasn't shocked by the crossbow machine, I'm afraid the arrow fired by the crossbow machine wouldn't have hit the target."

Qing Ji's words pointed out the two major flaws of this crossbow machine.

On the one hand, the range is not far and the effective lethality is insufficient.

Secondly, the recoil of the crossbow is so strong that it is difficult for ordinary archers to control it. I am afraid that even a large living person standing there within fifty steps may not be able to hit it!

And if these two defects are not taken seriously and the crossbow machine is improved, I am afraid that the power of the crossbow machine is not as good as that of an ordinary hard bow!

Not to mention the recoil, after all, if the two armies are fighting, the Wu army can adopt a "fire coverage" method and use the crossbow to fire arrows indiscriminately round after round.

However, the issue of the range of this crossbow cannot be ignored!

As far as Qing Ji knows, in this era, one step is about one meter and three meters. One step is a step, two steps is a step.

Therefore, the effective range of the crossbow is approximately 91 meters, and the real effective damage distance is only 78 meters, which is far less than that of a hard bow.

"Your Majesty, I and others should improve it."

The general quickly assured.

"good."

Qingji was not in a hurry.

Although he has provided drawings of the ancient crossbow mechanism's construction, and craftsmen can manufacture the crossbow mechanism based on the drawings, the power still needs to be improved.

Qing Ji was not in a hurry. After all, there was no war in Wu State. He could wait for a year and a half and let the craftsmen continue to improve it to maximize the effective range of the crossbow!

In Qingji's vision, the effective range of the crossbow was at least 150 steps away.

It is said that during the Warring States Period, the Qin family of Chu State invented the crossbow by "bowing the arm horizontally and setting up the mechanism and pivot".
Chapter completed!