After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

"Okay! It's broken! It's broken!"

"My eyes are sharp; the Ordnance Bureau's knives are indeed brittle!"

"Of course... not only is it crispy, it's also expensive..."

"Hehe, it was originally reduced to 2.8 qian per knife, but the New Weapon Bureau only offered 2.4 qian. They even broke their knives."

"That's right, this round, hehe, it's already..."

"No, no, no... Stop talking... Minister Cao is here... His face is all black..."

A burst of noise followed.

Hong Wei's eyes widened in surprise.

"What happened?"

Cao Du, dressed in a red round-necked official robe, walked from right to left.

The crowd immediately made way.

"Master Cao!"

"Greetings, Lord Cao!"

"Minister Cao..."

The generals hurriedly shouted and saluted, some bowing, some clasping their hands, all looking like quails, but the gloating in their eyes was impossible to hide.

Generals Shen Yue and Jiang Luzhi, along with Zhou Yingyuan of the Five Military Commands and Luan Zongyuan, the Minister of War, were also drawn by the commotion and came over to see what was going on.

A master craftsman from the ordnance bureau stood trembling on the stage, holding a broken sword in his hand. His face was ashen as he stared at the broken sword, speechless with astonishment.

Just now.

A kid from the New Weapons Bureau came over, claiming to be the dean of some academy. He said that although the swords from their New Weapons Bureau weren't very good, after three strikes, even the swords from your Military Weapons Bureau might not be able to chip their blades.

"Dare to give it a try?"

The craftsman laughed and then came with several knives.

The child called out to everyone, pulling at people and saying:

"Although our bureau's swords only cost 2.4 qian, within three strikes, even a sword from the Ordnance Bureau costing 2.8 qian can't nick ours!"

The craftsman chuckled inwardly. Two qian and eight fen was already the ultimate amount of cutting corners, and you're going to use two qian and four fen?

He then decided to teach this damn bureau a lesson.

Never thought.

The opposing physician from the New Weapons Bureau, Li Dahei, with his honest and dark-skinned appearance, wielded a goose-feather saber from the New Weapons Bureau and engaged them in close combat with their own goose-feather sabers.

With a "clang!"

As his arm went numb, the goose-feather knife snapped in two.

Because that brat named Li Xing was shouting for people everywhere, the area gradually became crowded with people.

After a few rounds, a great uproar ensued.

"snort!"

Cao Du cast a cold glance at the craftsman who had disgraced himself.

The craftsman was so frightened that his whole body went limp.

"Lord Cao, Lord Cao... this humble one... this humble one..."

Cao Du waved his hand, telling the craftsman to roll away. The craftsman felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and his legs went weak as he scrambled out of the crowd.

Cao Du turned around again and addressed the group of military officers and civil officials who were watching the spectacle:

"Gentlemen, have you not heard of Tian Ji's horse racing strategy?"

"For today's procurement meeting, our Ordnance Bureau has specially developed a goose-feather knife for the soldiers of Liang, which costs only two mace and eight fen of silver. This knife can be fully equipped for all the armies and garrisons of our army to protect the peace of the people."

"This sword is indeed of inferior quality, but it was never intended for use in the north to kill enemies. Rather, it was meant to be a low-grade horse, for our Liang soldiers to use in the region to kill mountain bandits and thieves. Although this sword is a low-grade horse, surely it can't defeat the donkeys of those mountain bandits and thieves?"

Cao Du's words were amusing, and they immediately caused a burst of laughter.

Many people laughed and agreed, saying, "Cao Cao is right!"

"Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"

"Even a low-grade horse is still far superior to a donkey!"

Everyone chimed in to help defuse the situation.

Minister of War Luan Zongyuan also cast an approving glance at this vice minister.

Cao Du then said:

"If we were to face the Northern Dynasty, we would naturally need to use medium-grade and high-grade horses produced by our Ordnance Bureau, such as the 3.2-qian goose-feather sabers or even 4.3-qian goose-feather sabers from our Ordnance Bureau! And just now—"

Lord Cao waved his hand, pointed at Li Dahei behind the long table, and sneered:

"Your company's top-quality horse, perhaps even the finest horse you've painstakingly crafted, has cut off our inferior horse. What's so surprising about that?"

After Cao Du spoke, everyone couldn't help but admire him.

I can only think that he truly deserves to be called a Vice Minister of the Six Ministries. He has a remarkable quick wit, and his words are insightful and convincing. He is truly remarkable!

Cao Cao's words also implied that although you claim that a goose feather knife costs only two and a half qian, the knife you have now must be a fine knife worth far more than two and a half qian!

If I placed an order with you, the knife I received would definitely be a piece of junk, not the knife you have now.

Li Xing shouted:

"Our sword is also our inferior horse."

Cao Du glanced at the child:

Who are you?

Li Xing patted his chest:

"Vice President of the Daliang Academy of Sciences!"

Daliang Academy of Sciences?

Cao Du was taken aback. A blacksmith shop's name? And they call themselves the dean? He sneered.

"I have no time to waste on a child like you. I've never even heard of any Academy of Sciences."

Li Xing stared:

"We are a legitimate Academy of Sciences! We have the official seal of the imperial court! And I, this official, am even a ninth-rank official!"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small seal, which appeared to be made of jade and of decent quality.

Cao Du sneered:

"Do you know that impersonating an official of the imperial court and forging official seals is punishable by death?"

Li Xing's face immediately turned pale.

Li Dahei, a physician at the Bureau of New Instruments, quickly clasped his hands in greeting and said:

"Greetings, Lord Cao. Li Dahei can testify that Li Xing's official seal is absolutely genuine. He...he..."

Li Dahei said somewhat embarrassedly:

"He could indeed be considered an official appointed by the imperial court."

Li Xing curled his nose and scoffed, "Hmph!"

"How dare you!" Cao Du shouted, raising his voice to rebuke, "Just because you say you're an official appointed by the imperial court, does that mean you are?"

"My sister-in-law says I am!"

"Hmph, your sister-in-law..." Cao Du sneered, about to curse, when suddenly his brows furrowed slightly.

"Li Xing..."

He narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the child in front of him.

This appearance... these eyebrows and eyes...

Cao Du exclaimed "Huh?", his heart skipped a beat, and he frowned, saying:

"Are you Li Xing from the elephant-themed opera?"

Why have you gotten so fat?

Cao Du looked puzzled, but his heart suddenly pounded.

Li Xing?

Li Xing, the one from the Lower Elephant Play?

Who's Li Xing, the one who follows Ning Baixuan around calling him "Big Brother"?

"And his sister-in-law?... "

Huff... Cao Du silently took a long breath, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Hmm~" Li Xing nodded.

Cao Du snorted, not bothering to argue with him anymore, and instead turned to Li Dahei, calmly saying:

"Do you know that you've priced it at two and a half qian per bunch? If the goods don't match the description, you'll lose your head."

Li Dahei smiled and said, "Lord Cao, rest assured, I can guarantee that every knife will be of the same quality."

Cao Du turned around and looked at the craftsman from before, who was huddled in the crowd.

Cao Du raised his hand and pointed:

"You, go, go and bring me those goose-feather swords that we forged for three and a half cents each."

The craftsman froze, his face, which had finally recovered, turning deathly pale.

His whole body trembled like a leaf.

Cao Du shouted, "Go!"

"M-My lord..." the craftsman stammered, his teeth chattering.

Cao Du's eyes widened.

"Master Cao,"

Before the craftsman could speak, Lu Kun, a soldier from Jiangpu Army standing nearby, pointed at the broken knife and called out rather inappropriately:

"This knife is already worth four and a half qian! The one worth three and a half qian broke long ago!"

……

……

"Huff... huff... huff..."

He got out of the sedan chair.

Ning Nan took deep breaths and wiped the sweat off his body.

At this time.

"Da da da da da!"

The sound of galloping horses came from ahead.