Chapter 334: Thunder descends, an unexpected surprise
The invention of gunpowder was somewhat accidental. It is said that a master alchemist mixed several raw materials together and threw them into the alchemy furnace. Just as he was waiting for the elixir to be completed, there was a loud bang! The furnace exploded.
When Westerners see this scene, their first reaction is that it is used to kill people.
When the people of the Central Plains discovered this treasure, their first reaction was...
Festive!
Wouldn't it be perfect if we use it to replace the explosive rod?
Peace is almost engraved into the bones of this nation. Peace is the most precious thing. When two tigers fight, one will be injured. Warfare will lead to danger...
This nation has been at war almost non-stop since its birth.
With more experiences, people who have been caught in the rain know the pain of being caught in the rain, so they long for the sun to shine on the world.
But the tide of history is mighty. Those smelly foreign races, regarded as barbarians by the Central Plains dynasty, relied on gunpowder invented by the Central Plains people to continuously attack cities and conquer lands, and finally drove their strong ships and powerful guns to the eastern coastline.
——Open the door, free trade!
Free trade was naturally impossible, and then the door of this old nation was blasted open by gunpowder, thus beginning a long history of humiliation.
……
"What are these?"
In the small pavilion in the back garden of Fengyuan Building, Chen Zhan opened the box and took out seven or eight kinds of materials.
"It's sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal."
Han Yu carefully examined it and asked, "How much did Jiang Qingzhi buy?"
Chen Zhan said: "Hundreds of pounds."
Yang Qing picked up a piece of realgar stone and said, "Yesterday he said he would go out for a trip today and show us some Mo family treasures. Is this related to it?"
Chen Zhan shook his head, "I don't know. But there has been some movement in the Bo's Mansion recently, as if something is being built."
"Does Jiang Qingzhi want to take the medicine? No." Han Yu shook his head. "Does the Mo family have some elixir? No, that's not right. If there is a good elixir, he only needs to present it to His Majesty. Why does he need all the officials to accompany him?"
"What on earth did this old man come up with..." Yang Qing muttered, "Charcoal, saltpeter, sulfur... Isn't this gunpowder?"
"Yes, that must be the case!" Han Yu's eyes lit up, "Why is Jiang Qingzhi playing with gunpowder?"
"Could it be that he has made some firearms?" Yang Qing stroked his beard. "But it is said that the Armory Bureau has made all the firearms that can be made. Is he trying to imitate them?"
Han Yu frowned and said, "Ask."
Someone went to ask, and came back saying, "There haven't been any firecrackers in Xin'an Lane recently."
"Then why is this?!" Yang Qing was completely confused.
"Is he planning to set fire?" Han Yu patted the stone table, his eyes sharp, "Yes, he secretly got several hundred kilograms of gunpowder and dumped it in some house...all he needs to do is ignite it..."
The power of gunpowder explosions in this era was very impressive, and it was even more effective in arson.
Yang Qing pondered for a long time and said, "If that's the case, why would Jiang Qingzhi buy these things openly?"
Han Yu sat down, frowning, "What on earth did this guy do?"
"Just wait for the news." Yang Qing said, "How about we play a game of hands?"
……
If the Mohists gain the upper hand in the court, what should we do?
Those barbarians only know how to kill and burn people, and they regard mechanical skills as a hundred times more important than self-cultivation. Moreover, one of their great men once said: Confucianism is a woman's skill!
Everyone, don’t stand in the wrong place!
Similar voices have been echoing in various parts of the court in recent days.
Boycott Mohism!
Boycott Jiang Qingzhi!
This undercurrent continues to surge.
So when Jiang Qingzhi asked everyone to step back, no one took it seriously.
Some officials even deliberately went against him.
I just won’t retreat!
what?
Jiang Qingzhi was not very good, and only said: "You will bear the consequences at your own risk!"
Those officials stood calmly and confidently at the front, at least ten steps away from Dao Ye and Jiang Qingzhi.
They were even chatting and laughing.
boom!
When the explosion was heard, a gust of wind swept in at the same time.
The rubble and debris from the wall were flying all over the sky.
In the midst of the smoke, the Taoist shouted, "Take it away!"
Sun Bu Tong refused to take it even at the risk of his life.
Still holding the shield in front of Taoist Master.
"Ahem!" Jiang Qingzhi coughed dryly, and Sun Bu Tong stepped back. "My Lord has ordered us to make sure that Your Majesty is safe. Your Majesty, I am rude."
Tsk!
This guy is trying to save face for Jiang Qingzhi again.
The Taoist's eyes became much gentler, but when his gaze turned to the front, it suddenly froze.
The smoke gradually dissipated, and more than ten sheep fell around the explosion site, while the others were either injured or frightened.
The makeshift earth wall had several holes blown down at this moment.
Everyone stared at this scene blankly.
I don’t know how long it took, but I saw an official rushing over like crazy.
He rushed to the fallen sheep, knelt on the ground, tried to lift a dead sheep, and turned his head suddenly, "Your Majesty, it's dead! It's dead!"
Wang Yiqi's loud shout woke up all the officials.
"God, is this gunpowder?"
"Hey! Brother Ma, why are you kneeling?"
Several officials were either kneeling or prostrating themselves, trembling as they prayed.
But it was better than the reaction of the people in Altan's tribe at that time.
"What is this?"
Zhu Xizhong grabbed his little brother in disbelief, "Damn it! Don't say it was gunpowder, if it was, I would eat it!"
The gunpowder ratio was not optimal and the quality control was even worse. After the Wanli period, soldiers in the army even had to sell the gunpowder distributed by the court and then buy gunpowder on their own to fight.
All the officials looked at Jiang Qingzhi.
"It must be magic!" Chen He was frightened by the previous explosion and turned pale. The Taoist narrowed his eyes, "Andan tribe..."
He thought of the last time Jiang Qingzhi reported on his diplomatic mission to the Altan tribe. In the valley, Jiang Qingzhi used gunpowder to blow down the hanging mountain wall.
The Taoist didn't take it seriously at that time, but after seeing this power today, he knew that he had misjudged it.
The emperor's instinct kicked in, and Dao Ye ordered, "Huang Jin!"
"exist!"
"Lu Bing, Rui Jingxian!"
"exist!"
"Yan Song!"
"Chen is here!"
As the ministers came to their senses, the Taoist said coldly: "If today's events are leaked, the entire clan will be executed!"
Huang Jin was in charge of the palace, Lu Bing was in charge of all officials, and Dongchang was in charge of everyone else.
"Yes."
"Brother Yang!" Someone cried out in grief at this time, and everyone then remembered the few officials who had been unwilling to retreat.
The officials were lying all over the place at this moment, and the guards hurried over to check.
"Not dead yet." A guard grinned and pinched the official's philtrum hard.
"Oh my! Am I dead? This place... is the underworld? Oh my! Lord Yama, why does Lord Yama look so much like Your Majesty? Meet Lord Yama..."
The elderly official seemed to be stunned by the shock. He actually knelt down in front of the Taoist priest and shouted "King of Hell".
The Taoist priest's face darkened, "What a disgrace!"
Several officials were not killed, and Sun Chonglou felt a little regretful, "It's a pity that they were not killed."
Jiang Qingzhi said calmly: "It's easy to kill him."
Adding some iron filings and gravel into the gunpowder bag makes killing people seem like a piece of cake.
The civil servants walked around the collapsed earth wall for a long time, and studied why the fat sheep killed in the explosion had no wounds.
"Uncle, it's our turn." Sun Bu Tong said.
"We are not needed." Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile.
Wang Yiqi coughed dryly, "This new gunpowder is a powerful weapon in the military! If it is used to attack cities and strongholds, and used in wars, my soldiers and officers of the Ming Dynasty will be the best in the world."
Everyone was silent.
Wang Yiqi said: "If the Ming Dynasty had such gunpowder when Yesen's army arrived at the capital, why would we have to worry about destroying the city?!"
Zhu Xizhong then praised: "This can be regarded as a great weapon of the Ming Dynasty, a treasure that can suppress the country's destiny!"
"That's all." Someone muttered.
"Who said that?" An official said coldly, "We just witnessed the power of the explosion. Aren't the fat sheep killed and the earth walls collapsed enough? Has there ever been such a sharp weapon in the past thousand years? Or can the gunpowder in the army have such power? If there is, you speak up. If not, shut up!"
The official bowed to Jiang Qingzhi and said, "I used to disapprove of Chang Wei Bo. After the Silver Mountain Contest, I even regarded Chang Wei Bo as my enemy. It's nothing else, Confucianism and Mohism are incompatible! But seeing such power today, I know that I am narrow-minded."
Someone shouted, "Li Jia, are you planning to join the Mohist school?"
The official said in a loud voice: "I still don't agree with the Mohist school, but Chang Wei Bo is worthy of my respect."
"That's right!" an official said, "I sneer at the Mohist school's ideas, but I am convinced by their mechanical skills."
"The existence of the Mohist School...is not all bad, right?"
Xu Wei was observing and whispered, "My Lord, 20% of them have defected.
Hu Zongxian said: "It's not a defection. These people just saw the benefits of the existence of Mohism to the Ming Dynasty, but they still don't take Mohism seriously, and are even wary of it."
"That's enough." In Jiang Qingzhi's expectation, the emergence of new gunpowder could change the attitudes of 10% of court officials at most. 20%, isn't this an unexpected preference?
In my mind, the cauldron began to speed up...
At some point, the Taoist priest, surrounded by several guards, walked to the earth wall. He reached out his hand to the collapsed gap and tapped it a few times.
The Taoist turned around and saw Jiang Qingzhi looking at the officials calmly, and he couldn't help but smile.
"This game is well started!"
Huang Jin said: "Your Majesty, it may be difficult to keep this matter secret."
There are too many people coming today, and they are too diverse.
Emperor Jiajing said calmly: "This news will reach the ears of those who should know it before lunch."
Then you still solemnly issued a gag order?
Emperor Jiajing called Rui Jingxian over.
"Did you get anything from those officials I asked you to keep an eye on a while ago?"
Rui Jingxian said: "I am incompetent and am still looking for evidence of corruption among those people."
"No need to investigate." Dao Ye said, "Wait until the news from here reaches their ears. Whoever spreads it will be arrested as well."
"Yes."
Dao Ye turned around and said, "Yes."
Changle said eagerly: "Dad, we haven't eaten yet!"
The Taoist frowned and looked at his daughter, sighing, "Children are just debts, that's all."
The Jiang family’s chef had already prepared the meal, so the emperor and his ministers had a meal outdoors and praised the delicious meal highly.
What Mohist frugality is the ultimate? Just look at what Long Wilbur eats!
I’m afraid even Your Majesty can’t compare to him.
The officials looked at Jiang Qingzhi with less vigilance in their eyes.
"What a pleasant surprise!" Hu Zongxian said with a smile while holding the bowl.
Xu Wei took a bite of rice and said, "I have a question at the moment. How many treasures does the Mo family, or the master, have?"
"Ask yourself."
Xu Wei really went to ask.
Jiang Qingzhi was struggling with a bone, and upon hearing this, he asked casually, "How much do you want?"
Xu Wei: “…”
……
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(End of this chapter)
