Zhang Fei's question lingered in the hall.
Liu Bei fell into thought for a long while. In the end, he could only answer with something brief, vague—and solemn:
"Imperial family secret."
After that, he reached out with practiced ease and tapped the Like button.
On the light-screen, a new line of text slowly surfaced:
[The next video will be released in three months.]
The interval between appearances had changed—but no one questioned it.
A miraculous screen that showed the past and future was clearly not something mortals could schedule.
Next, Huang Zhong stepped forward, carrying the prepared gift.
Jiang Wan, who had been loosening his wrists, craned his neck to look—and froze.
It was a ceramic beast figurine he'd never seen before. Black and white, round-bodied, oddly adorable in a way that made no military sense whatsoever.
Huang Zhong carefully placed it directly beneath the spot where the light-screen usually appeared, weighed down with a polite greeting note. Liu Bei followed ritual, clasping his hands:
"Liu Xuande of the Great Han thanks the later generations for their guidance."
The light-screen unfurled once more.
A flash of radiance—and the ceramic beast vanished.
Zhuge Liang turned to Huang Yueying and Jiang Wan, explaining calmly:
"Once the screen accepts an offering, a receipt usually follows shortly."
Both nodded in understanding.
Liu Bei picked up the sketches they had all worked on earlier, studying them closely.
"This thing the descendants call… 'promotion.' What exactly is it?"
Mi Zhu had already been pondering the matter and now spoke with confidence:
"It appears commerce in later ages is highly developed. Merchants use the light-screen to advertise goods. As for these so-called 'price cuts'—they are likely tricks of the trade. Merchants are always merchants."
"Ah—promotion tactics!"
Everyone nodded as if enlightened.
"I wonder if we could buy things ourselves?" Liu Bei said wistfully.
Zhuge Liang answered without mercy:
"Impossible. Even our questions are restricted. How could goods cross such a boundary?"
Liu Bei's dream shattered.
Meanwhile, Huang Yueying's gaze had locked onto the three illustrations:
A pattern-welded Han sword
A brick-built Eight-Ox Ballista
A facsimile titled Tiangong Kaiwu
Zhuge Liang warmed up, clearly in his element:
"This 'pattern-welding' likely refers to bin iron. The Dao Ming says: 'Layer upon layer, form revealed through texture'—the origin of the method."
"Later generations appear to call bin iron 'steel.' Even Liezi speaks of refined steel blades cutting jade like mud."
Huang Yueying added:
"And this 'blower machine' must be referring to the water-powered bellows invented by Governor Du of Nanyang."
She was beginning to notice a pattern:
Later generations used different terms—but simpler, more visual ones.
"But this 'small blast furnace'…"
She frowned. "Just a… taller furnace?"
Zhuge Liang's eyes gleamed.
"Perhaps height alone produces unexpected results. We can experiment."
He then shifted to the Eight-Ox Ballista sketch, enthusiasm rising:
"This design is exquisite—and powerful. Mounted on city walls, it would be unmatched!"
Huang Yueying disagreed immediately:
"Structurally, it surpasses repeating crossbows. The mechanical amplification comes entirely from the frame. Why couldn't it be mounted on carts and deployed with an army?"
"Useful for breaking formations—or sieges."
Zhuge Liang nodded.
"My wife speaks wisely."
His gaze softened as it fell upon Tiangong Kaiwu.
"Whoever wrote this book… I regret never seeing the original. Even these two pages—Rice, Rice Conditions, Rice Labor—are astonishing."
"Just these chapters make agriculture crystal clear."
Huang Yueying sighed in admiration:
"Even the title is magnificent—Heavenly Craft Revealed. As if saying human ingenuity can rival the heavens. The author must have been a true sage."
The rest of the room silently screamed:
What are they talking about???
Zhang Fei finally spoke up, politely cupping his fists toward Jiang Wan:
"Sir Gongyan… do you know what those 'German barbarians' and that 'Rome' thing are?"
Jiang Wan, flattered and terrified, thought hard:
"If they speak of a 'Scourge of God marching west,' then both must lie beyond our western regions."
"The Book of Han lists thirty-six Western States. Those described with conquest… perhaps Persia or Dashi?"
"Rome may be even farther west."
He glanced again at the long list of obscene titles attributed to the Roman ruler and shuddered.
"If such a man ruled my state, I'd rather die."
Compared to that, Emperor Ling almost seemed virtuous.
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Huang Zhong exchanged looks of longing.
Conquering those lands… how many times would that get you into the Martial Temple?
Mi Zhu, meanwhile, was silently dissecting future marketing strategies.
As for Liu Bei—he had been staring at the spot where the light-screen appeared, lost in thought.
Zhang Fei wandered over.
"Big Brother, what're you thinking?"
"Yide…" Liu Bei snapped back. "If future merchants could sell to me—restoring the Han would be easy."
"Buy high-speed rail first?" Zhang Fei asked seriously.
"First, high-speed rail," Liu Bei declared.
Zhang Fei sighed.
It's over. Big Brother's gone mad.
Thankfully—the light-screen lit up again.
Jiang Wan realized at once:
"The receipt!"
First came an impossibly detailed rendering of the ceramic beast.
Jiang Wan stared, stunned.
"Such craftsmanship…?"
Mi Zhu waved it off:
"Minor tricks. Compared to what they truly possess…"
(If he ever saw satellite imagery, Mi Zhu suspected Liu Bei's eyes would never recover.)
Text followed:
[Thank you so much for the panda figurine!! It's unbelievably cute!!
The texture is slightly matte—amazing! Porcelain wouldn't even feel this good.
Next video, I'll put in extra effort! Love you!!]
Good. Liu Bei exhaled.
They weren't always calculating—sometimes sincerity mattered.
Last time, the uploader's love for the white bear had overflowed the screen. After discussion, they had commissioned this piece.
Absolutely not because gold was expensive.
More comments appeared:
[So thoughtful! Want one—+1! Do you have an online store?]
[Ceramic really works here—the texture must be incredible]
[Cultural treasure, honestly]
[Speaking of ceramics—Han-era deforestation was bad, right?]
[Yeah, charcoal for iron and pottery—too many trees]
[Han Dynasty: crimes against forests]
[Forced Tang–Song coal innovation]
[To be fair, coal tech wasn't ready back then]
Liu Bei froze.
Crimes?
Deforestation?
Low tech???
WHAT DO YOU MEAN LOW TECH???