Chapter 223: Chapter 136: Dageda, Super Cool, Isn’t It?

When he and Gu Gaoxu first met, he had knocked Gu Gaoxu flat on his back twice.

Back then, Gu Gaoxu had begged to learn his techniques, calling him "Brother Lu" over and over. He’s been doing it ever since, completely without any airs.

At the time, Lu Yuan had firmly refused. "I’m not teaching you!"

And now, here Gu Gaoxu was, still fixated on it.

Lu Yuan answered thoughtfully, "Hmm... I’m not teaching you!"

"You..." Gu Gaoxu was momentarily speechless, pointing a finger at Lu Yuan, unsure of what to do next.

"Hah..."

Gu Gaoxu wasn’t actually furious, just surprised that the kid was so stingy. He wouldn’t share his precious gadget, and he wouldn’t teach his martial arts.

After all, for that factory with tens of thousands of workers, he had been running around ragged, bringing in refugees from outside the pass and even fronting the money.

He had nearly emptied out his old man’s entire coffers for this.

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but laugh at Gu Gaoxu’s reaction. To think the future King Han could look like this.

"Here, take it!" Lu Yuan pulled a book from his robes and slapped it against Gu Gaoxu’s chest.

Gu Gaoxu glanced down and took the book.

This put Gu Gaoxu in a tough spot. The thing he hated most was reading. If he’d loved to read, he never would have angered the Grand Ancestor Emperor.

When it came to reading, that was more his chubby older brother’s thing—always with his nose buried in a book.

’What’s so great about books, anyway?’

Seeing Gu Gaoxu’s reluctance, Lu Yuan said, "Don’t you know what’s good for you? This is an incredible martial arts manual."

The title *True Martial* was emblazoned on the cover!

Lu Yuan had pulled this book from his system, pretending he had been carrying it in his robes.

Lu Yuan had already read through most of it.

If it weren’t for the fact that Gu Gaoxu had treated him well, and that he couldn’t stand that pleading look in his eyes, he would have been a little reluctant to part with it.

But it didn’t matter. Their friendship was beyond keeping score like that now.

Gu Gaoxu flipped through the first few pages. The martial arts techniques were explained in incredible detail, and every page even had illustrations.

Gu Gaoxu was ecstatic, as if he had just unearthed a priceless treasure.

He threw his arms around Lu Yuan in a bear hug, feeling like he could plant a couple of big smooches right on his face.

He said excitedly, "My good brother! I knew you were someone worth getting close to! You were carrying this book in your robes... you were planning to give it to me all along, weren’t you? Weren’t you? Tell me, am I right?"

"C-Can you let me go first?" Lu Yuan was exasperated, held in a death grip by another man.

"Is it really appropriate for two grown men to be hugging in the backyard? If anyone saw us, they’d get the wrong idea."

’Came over first thing in the morning and scored a martial arts manual. Haha, totally worth it!’

Gu Gaoxu was overjoyed and let go of Lu Yuan. "Got a little excited and lost control, hehe."

Lu Yuan continued, "As for that ’brick phone’... it’s not that I won’t give you one. It’s just that I’ve only made two so far. I plan to have someone send one back to Taiping City, and I’m keeping the other with me for now. Of course, there will be a third and a fourth very soon. I’ll give one to you then."

"Right, right! You have to send one to your two ladies in Taiping City first. Brother Lu, you really dote on your wives back home!" Gu Gaoxu tucked the *True Martial* manual into his chest pocket.

Gu Gaoxu continued, "But that name is terrible. ’Brick phone’? It sounds awful!"

Lu Yuan thought about it and agreed. It should be called by its proper name: a mobile phone!

This time, Gu Gaoxu was truly satisfied. Lu Yuan was a real bro!

Clutching *True Martial*, Gu Gaoxu was about to head back to Prince Yan’s Mansion. He said, "Brother Lu, I just remembered I have something to do, so I’ll be going now. See you later!"

Before Lu Yuan could even say goodbye, Gu Gaoxu had already bolted.

He was a true martial artist; once he got his hands on a secret manual, he couldn’t bear to part with it, as if he was afraid someone would snatch it from him.

Lu Yuan went into the study and, with a flourish, dramatically scribbled out a user manual for the mobile phone on a piece of paper with his brush.

Then he summoned two Mansion Guards and had them package one of the mobile phones along with the user manual.

He ordered, "Ride with the utmost speed. After you deliver this to Aunt Zhao and Aunt Song, follow the official road to catch up with our convoy. By the time you get back, we should be on our way to the Imperial Capital."

The Mansion Guards took the items from Lu Yuan. Although they had no idea what these things were, their Young Master had given the order, so they would simply carry it out.

"Yes, Young Master."

"Oh, right," Lu Yuan added after a moment’s thought. "Pass down the order to speed up the construction of the base stations. It would be best if we could get them set up all the way to the Imperial Capital!"

His business in Yandu was running smoothly, and he had met with King Yan.

According to his original plan, it was time to accompany Su Liyan’s mother to the Imperial Capital. Even if she could only pay her respects to Empress Ma from outside the city walls, it would still fulfill a long-held wish of hers.

When he left Taiping City, he had originally planned for the round trip back to the Zhao Family residence to take about a month.

Who would have thought so many things would happen along the way, or that he would end up staying in Yandu for so long?

All in all, he’d been here for over half a month already.

At this rate, making it back within a month was no longer possible.

It was time to pack his things, bid farewell to King Yan, and head for the Imperial Capital.

「Inside Prince Yan’s Mansion...」

King Yan sat in the center of the reception hall, flanked by his three sons.

"King Yan, the factory in Yandu is now operating normally, bringing in tens of thousands of taels of silver daily. We have other matters to attend to, so we have come to bid you farewell."

Lu Yuan was extremely respectful toward King Yan.

This was the future Emperor Yongle, after all!

After listening, King Yan asked, "Are you heading to the Imperial Capital?"

Lu Yuan replied, "Yes."

King Yan already knew that Lu Yuan would come to the Prince’s Mansion to bid farewell today. Gu Gaoxu, of course, had told him.

King Yan greatly admired Lu Yuan, having gotten to know him over the past ten or so days.

King Yan had discovered that Lu Yuan not only had a sharp mind and a rich business acumen but also possessed martial arts skills far superior to those of an ordinary person.

As a transmigrator, Lu Yuan naturally knew that in the long river of history from his own era, prioritizing agriculture while suppressing commerce was a fundamental characteristic of ancient societies.

The Grand Ancestor Emperor of that age had inherited the traditional policy of prioritizing agriculture over commerce, imposing strict controls on merchants and markets. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

This era was still primarily agricultural, with only a basic industrial foundation.

Lu Yuan’s series of inventions had allowed the Divine Ling Empire to enter the dawn of an industrial age ahead of schedule.

He had accelerated the pace of development in this era and changed the course of its history.

It turned out that Lu Yuan was already subtly influencing the Divine Ling Empire.

The things Lu Yuan had created were especially useful to King Yan—their importance couldn’t be overstated in just a few words.

King Yan was not a man set in his ways.

His flexibility and his philosophy of giving equal importance to agriculture and commerce would soon make him the most powerful of all the Northern Vassal Kings.

Besides the wealth from the tens of thousands of taels of silver coming in daily...

King Yan’s transport brigades were equipped with a large number of tricycles. This allowed them to not only transport massive amounts of grain and fodder but also deliver them to the front lines much faster.

A few of his subordinate military units had also begun to be equipped with Flintlock Guns and Mortars.

In the near future, this force would be given its own exclusive designation—the Divine Strategy Camp!

Now, King Yan’s Army was handling the Beast Race from the Northwest Pass Outskirts with increasing ease.

The Beast Race was being beaten back in a steady retreat, and victory was in sight.

Since King Yan already knew Lu Yuan was heading to the Imperial Capital...

According to the rules, Vassal Kings from various regions were not allowed to enter the Imperial Capital without a decree.

King Yan continued the conversation, "As it happens, my eldest and second sons also need to go to the Imperial Capital to visit the Empress. You can all travel together."

King Yan glanced at Gu Gaoxu.

Gu Gaoxu was very surprised. He thought:

’What’s with the old man today? Didn’t he already arrange for my older brother to prepare to leave for the Imperial Capital a few days ago?’

’Why is he sending me along this time? Last time, because of my flippant behavior, I pissed off the old Emperor, and he was about to beat me in front of everyone.’

’No, no, that’s not right. The old man just glanced at me... Could it be that he wants the old Emperor to personally give me a thrashing?’

’Vicious, so vicious! Am I really his biological son?’

...