Chapter 142 The End of the Military Parade
Four strong men surrounded the 40-inch TV, and they looked as if they wanted to stick their eyes to the screen.

Zhen Youfu and Li Lanying looked at each other, puzzled. What was going on?

Before Zhen Youfu and Li Lanying could express their doubts, Zhen De urged them, "Ahem, Dad, I brought you a new fishing rod this time. Your fishing rod is broken, isn't it? The second uncle at the entrance of the village always nags you for not going fishing with him for a long time!"

"Aren't you just wasting money, kid?!"

Although Zhen Youfu meant to blame him verbally, his actions and expression betrayed him. He held the fishing rod tightly with both hands, his brows were relaxed, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

After Zhen De and Li Lanying persuaded him for a while, Zhen Youfu pinched his nose and reluctantly agreed, saying "I have something to do." Then he walked out of the house excitedly, with brisk steps, like an old boy.
When it was Li Lanying's turn, Zhen De said, "Aunt Wang seems to have something to do. It seems that she is going to marry her daughter off."

"what!"

Li Lanying could no longer sit still and hurried out of the house.

Seeing this, Zhen De breathed a sigh of relief.

He squeezed between Liu Bei and Guan Yu, his eyes moving across the faces of the four men. Be it Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, or Zhao Yun, all their faces were filled with disbelief.

The four of them looked at the screen, where various teams with tall postures, skillful yet uniform movements took turns to appear on the field. Both their mental outlook and clothing were far superior to any other team of the Han people.

Liu Bei couldn't help but wonder, 'What are these soldiers holding?'

Zhen De, who had been with Liu Bei for a long time, could roughly guess what Liu Bei was thinking, even if he was not a worm in Liu Bei's stomach.

He smiled and said, "Brother Liu, that's a gun. Modern warfare has long abandoned cold weapons such as swords, spears, and halberds. As long as you have a gun and good marksmanship, you can take the head of an enemy general from hundreds of meters away. Not to mention a fierce general, even Xiang Yu would die on the spot."

Liu Bei and others were amazed after watching the firearms video that Zhen De found.

Then armored vehicles and rocket vehicles appeared on the screen.

After listening to Zhen De's explanation, Liu Bei thought: The future of war will depend on firearms.
Just at this moment, teams of fighter planes cut through the sky on the screen, leaving long lines of colorful smoke.

Zhang Fei opened his mouth wide in shock, and a sound of surprise came out of his throat.
"What is that? An iron bird? The iron bird is flying, flying into the sky!"

From ancient times to the present, people have had endless fantasies about the sky, from Lu Ban's wooden kite flying into the sky to Dong Zhongshu's theory of the correspondence between heaven and man, and more recently Wan Hu who dedicated himself to flying into the sky in the Ming Dynasty.

For Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun who came from the Han Dynasty, being able to witness the instruments soaring in the sky with their own eyes was a wonder that could not be seen even in dreams. If they had not been in the afterlife for quite some time, they would have suspected that what they saw was an illusion and that the instruments inside were creations of immortals.

Liu Bei asked: "Director Zhen, how much does this fighter cost? How many people can board the fighter?"

"Well, I'm not sure. The R&D cost alone must be tens of millions."

"Tens of millions"

Hearing this number, Liu Bei and the others were surprised, but they were not shocked. After the last incident, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had a general understanding of the prices of later generations. A pound of rice was only two or three yuan. How many people's rations would it take to make a fighter plane? Thinking about it, this is just flying in the sky. It is not practical to think about it now. We have to be down-to-earth.

Liu Bei asked again, "Director Zhen, fighter planes are like war horses and chariots, they are used on military battlefields, are there any?" "Brother Liu, of course there are." Zhen De smiled, "There are civilian passenger planes, but a ticket costs at least hundreds or thousands. Once everyone is ready, I will take everyone to try it."

"!"

Zhang Fei approached Zhen De and said with a smile, "Haha, you are worthy of being Director Zhen! It's settled then!"

"Speaking of this, I suddenly thought of something." Zhen De was very secretive.

Zhang Fei acted as a supporting actor and asked, "Director Zhen, what's the matter?"

"If we talk about flying, there was something before the airplane." Zhen De didn't keep it a secret anymore. He looked around and said, "The hot air balloon, or the Kongming lantern, which has the same principle."

"Kong Ming?!"

The four of them spoke at the same time, looking at each other, and seeing the surprise in each other's eyes. The fact that the Kongming lantern could be called a lantern must have something to do with the prime minister, and it might be the prime minister's doing.

He really deserves to be the Prime Minister! He has mastered the skill of flying!
"?"

A question mark slowly emerged on Zhen De's forehead. He always felt that the four brothers seemed to have misunderstood something. He thought for a moment and thought: They must be praising the Prime Minister.
So, Zhen De smiled and explained, "Brother Liu, Second Brother, A Fei, Zi Long. According to legend, this Kongming lantern was made by a woman who followed her husband to fight in the south. In order to convey military intelligence, she used bamboo strips to make a square frame, covered it with paper, and made it into a large lantern. She placed burning pine resin on the chassis, and the lamp flew into the sky with the help of hot air. Because it looks like Zhuge Liang's hat, it is also called a Kongming lantern."

"There is another saying that when Zhuge Liang was besieged by Sima Yi, he came up with a brilliant plan. He calculated the wind direction and used white paper and bamboo strips to make countless lanterns. Then, the hot air generated by the fuel at the bottom made the 'lanterns' rise into the sky. Countless lanterns rose up, and the soldiers took advantage of the situation and shouted, 'The prime minister has broken through the siege by riding a sky lantern!' Sima Yi believed it and chased in the direction of the rising lanterns. Zhuge Liang was able to escape. Later, people called this lantern 'Kongming Lantern'."

"Great! You are worthy of being the Prime Minister!"

Zhang Fei slapped his thigh fiercely.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhao Yun all had smiles on their faces.

Zhang Fei patted his head, and he was a little confused again, "What does this have to do with hot air balloons? Could it be that hot air balloons are large-scale Kongming lanterns?"

"In a sense, it's good." Zhen De shook his head, "It's still a restricted material, but it's simpler than an airplane."

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore, let's continue watching."

Zhen De drew everyone's attention back to the military parade. Gradually, the parade came to an end with singing, and the picture froze on the fluttering red flag.

"This song is so good," Liu Bei said with emotion, "It's so good that the heroic people have overcome the hardships."

Zhen De smiled and said, "I know an iron army. They are strictly disciplined and do not take anything from the people. They are strong-willed and fearless of the cold weather. They are strong enough to drive away any invaders. Although their numbers have changed several times, they have been passed down to this day."

"These papers contain some of my thoughts on rectifying the atmosphere based on many references. I wonder if they can help."

Any help?
Liu Bei clutched the paper tightly and thought, Director Zhen, you have helped me a lot.
The two looked at each other and understood each other's meaning.

Why should we say thank you to brothers?
　Sorry, I'm not in good shape today, so I'll update once. I'll be back to Dahan next time.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)