Chapter 213: Gunpowder
In April, when gunpowder was first tested, Gu Changxiao and Cheng Yu brought the Black Feather Camp to watch. They didn’t bring too many people for fear of the news spreading.
Everyone knew the border city had fish oil firearms; if they heard about gunpowder, which was even more powerful, what would happen then!
Jin Sui tested the gunpowder on splitting mountains. If mountains could be blown apart, then blowing up city gates would be a piece of cake.
She personally hoped the gunpowder could be used for splitting mountains and road construction, repairing river channels and waterways, and mining, rather than for war.
But for wars that had to be fought, if the ownership of gunpowder was in our hands, it could end the war quickly, or at least serve as a deterrent.
The “boom” sound of gunpowder was different from fish oil. Fish oil was a muffled sound, like thunder from thick clouds, like a giant drumbeat.
Gunpowder, however, was like summer dry thunder, like successive gong sounds, louder and more startling. Everyone was mentally prepared, yet they were still startled by the sound.
Fearing they would startle the horses, they all walked. Cheng Yu’s eyes were bright as he looked at the sword at his waist, then at the gunpowder cartridges wrapped in thick paper. He had a premonition that practicing swordsmanship would be useless in the future; the dominant forces on the battlefield would be fish oil and firearms.
He then looked at Miss Ji, who was pointing at the mountain that had been blown up, and thought of what the ancients said: when the world is in great chaos, a person of great fortune is born to avert disaster and save the world.
Currently, Great Xia was not in great chaos or facing a major disaster, yet a savior had appeared.
That savior was Miss Ji! Fortunately, she came to our border city.
Gu Changxiao’s feelings were even deeper because Jin Sui had told him before that cannons were made from the ingredients of fireworks, just more refined and improved.
And then you tell me this is the result of the improvement! Does this have anything to do with fireworks?
Fireworks can’t kill people, but these cannons can blow up mountains!
Boom, boom, boom, the shattered rocks fell everywhere, dust flying, but no one cared about the dust settling on them. Everyone was thinking about how their Black Feather Camp would charge across the battlefield in the future.
A single fish oil firearm was considered a divine weapon by the Northern Frontier people. If King Batel saw the cannons, he would definitely do his best to snatch Miss Ji!
If Xia soldiers’ cannons were seen on the battlefield in the Northern Frontier in the future, Batel would probably regret it to death.
They shouldn’t have let Suisui go that day. They should have used all their strength, even if it meant killing Gu Changxiao and going to war with Great Xia, to keep Suisui at the Northern Frontier Royal Court!
Jin Sui took off her mask and ran to Gu Changxiao, asking, “How was it? More powerful than fish oil, right? When the catapults arrive, we’ll test the range again.”
“Long-range attacks are the strongest. Whether placed on the city walls for defense or for attacking, with gunpowder, combat power will be like adding wings to a tiger.”
“Moreover, gunpowder weapons can be improved into hand-held firearms for soldiers, with much higher lethality than arrows. They can also be made into landmines, which are best for surprise attacks on enemies.”
“Mounted on sea vessels, they are equally powerful for naval warfare, driving enemies to despair.”
…
Jin Sui became more and more excited. This was just the beginning. She had made firearms officially a powerful weapon on the battlefield in advance, which would save our Han Chinese from many genocidal catastrophes!
As for her long-cherished wish to kill the Japanese and destroy Japan, the appearance of firearms would definitely allow her to fulfill this wish.
The Military Industry Department officially took over the gunpowder workshop. All personnel in the workshop, even those who cleaned the garbage, were heavily guarded. The entire base was under heavy guard. As Han Xing put it, not even a single live fly could get out.
Jin Sui gave herself a day off to catch up on sleep, real sleep. She didn’t enter her space and just fell onto the bed and slept.
As dawn broke, a rooster in the front yard was crowing hoarsely. As soon as it let out its first cry, Grandpa Ling, with lightning speed, snapped its neck.
He told his startled disciples, “The young lady is sleeping, you can’t disturb her!”
The young disciples trembled, looking at the rooster’s corpse, feeling as if their master had become a different person.
They felt that if they shouted loudly at that moment and woke Miss Ji, their master would snap their necks.
How terrifying! It turns out the most terrifying thing about the Ji family is not the master being angry, but Miss Ji sleeping!
Gu Changxiao wanted to climb over the wall into Jin Sui’s courtyard before dawn, but found that a row of broken porcelain shards had been embedded in the wall overnight with cement.
He felt a chill run down his scalp, almost reaching out to support himself.
Needless to say, Grandpa Ling did this. He couldn’t climb over the wall anymore. However, the underground tunnel was almost ready. As long as Suisui agreed, she could enter and exit the Prince’s Residence through the secret door of the tunnel at any time, and he could also come to find her at any time.
Jin Sui slept until dusk. When she woke up, she thought it was still morning. Grandpa Ling and Jin An outside were scared. If she hadn’t woken up, Jin An would have gone in to check.
Jin An was older now and knew not to enter his sister’s bedroom casually, but if his sister were in danger, he would definitely go in.
For dinner, Grandpa prepared it as breakfast: “You just woke up, you can’t eat anything too greasy.”
Sleeping was like this; you didn’t want to get up when you were sleeping, but after waking up and realizing you had slept too long, you regretted wasting time.
Jin Sui did. She regretfully said, “I originally planned to go see the rapeseed and wheat harvest, and plant sweet potatoes and potatoes today. I promised the Tuntian Camp soldiers, how could I have missed it?”
Grandpa Ling smiled and said, “Don’t worry, they sent someone to invite me, and I went to see for them. Grandpa’s harvest festival dance was more skillful than yours, and they were very happy.”
Jin Sui was surprised: “What? There was dancing involved?”
Grandpa Ling chuckled: “What else do you think they asked you to do? The harvest festival is a grand ceremony. It should have been performed by the Prince, but the Prince is so busy, so they had to find you.”
Jin Sui shrunk her neck, all her regrets vanished, replaced by relief. She grabbed Grandpa’s hand and said solemnly, “Thank you, Grandpa! From now on, all such celebratory dances will be entrusted to you!”
Grandpa Ling laughed heartily: “With these old bones, how many more years can I dance?”
Jin Sui pulled Jin An over: “Then you teach Jin An, and he’ll dance from now on!”
Jin An refused: “Teach Brother Lin Feng, he likes to dance.”
Gu Changxiao arrived halfway through the meal. Grandpa Ling smiled and said, “He sent people to ask eight hundred times a day! I say, Suisui, you should also take a break from the Prince’s work and come with me to see the construction tomorrow.”
What Grandpa was referring to were the construction sites of the Taoist Temple and the Academy. Jin Sui thought the same; she planned to focus on building the Academy this April. It was expected that a large number of artisans would flock to the border city in May and June.
She wasn’t surprised Gu Changxiao came, but she was surprised he came through the gate! He even sent someone to ask. Given his personality, he would definitely have climbed over the wall himself!
As she led Gu Changxiao to the study, she saw the answer. The corner of her mouth twitched; Grandpa was ruthless, the porcelain shards were embedded so densely.
Gu Changxiao rubbed his nose: “Does the Taoist priest dislike me?”
Jin Sui smiled: “Any man who climbs over his granddaughter’s wall, what grandfather wouldn’t dislike him!”
Gu Changxiao was very wronged: “If Suisui is willing, we can get married anytime.”
Jin Sui quickly comforted him: “I was joking. Grandpa has known about our relationship for a long time. He doesn’t dislike you; he just thinks climbing the wall easily leads to gossip.”
A flicker of worry crossed Gu Changxiao’s eyes: “Suisui, you don’t want to marry me anymore?”
Jin Sui was speechless. Usually, it was the woman who should be afraid. What was he, a grown man, afraid of?
“Didn’t we agree? Even the victorious Marquis Huo said, ‘If the Xiongnu are not eliminated, how can we think of marriage!’ We should have this awareness. If the world is not settled, how can we be confined by romantic love?”
“Lord Li, your burden is so heavy, don’t add the burden of a wife!”
Gu Changxiao lowered his gaze, a hint of disappointment appearing on his face, and said softly, “But I want to see Suisui anytime. Do you know how many steps it takes from the main gate of the Prince’s Residence to your courtyard? How much time do I waste?
I’ll listen to Suisui. We won’t get married until the world is settled, but you have to promise me one thing.”
Jin Sui’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. She felt like she had agreed to something! How could Gu Changxiao be disappointed over such a small matter?
So he was digging a pit for her here! Jin Sui glared at him and said, “You tell me what it is first? Then I’ll see if I can agree.”
Gu Changxiao couldn’t pretend anymore. He pulled Jin Sui to her study, took out a blueprint from his embrace, and pointed to her bookshelf:
“Open a secret door here, and the tunnel will lead directly to my study.”
“Okay, Suisui, Grandpa doesn’t allow me to climb the wall, but I really want to see you anytime. And I can’t open the door from the inside. Unless you agree, I can’t come over.
Okay?”
He actually tugged at Jin Sui’s sleeve and shook it. Jin Sui was so embarrassed. Did he dare let the brothers of the Black Feather Camp see him like this?
They all said she was good at acting, but Gu Changxiao was the best actor! He had completely different faces in front of her and outside.
Jin Sui thought for a moment and said, “I want the key to your place.”
Gu Changxiao quickly nodded: “Suisui can enter and exit the Prince’s Residence anytime!”
“Then it’s settled! Actually, I’m too lazy to go through the main gate to find you at the Prince’s Residence.”
Gu Changxiao smiled like a child who had received a reward. Jin Sui was starting to miss the aloof Lord Li from before.
She told Gu Changxiao her plan for the next month: “Besides checking on the spring plowing, I’ll also guide the military doctors in making medicines, and check on the businesses going to the Northern Frontier. The rest of the time I’ll be at the Academy.”
Gu Changxiao nodded: “You’ve been too tired lately. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of the gunpowder, and the catapults are also being rushed into production.”
Jin Sui added, “The kerosene can be used for street lamps first. When a large quantity of petroleum is delivered, I’ll guide the refining of kerosene.”
That was refined by her in the space laboratory. She was still trying to simplify the process and tools.
The businesses in the Northern Frontier included items from Yan Shiyi’s Rouge Shop, as well as our dried vegetables and fruit canned goods. Another item that must be made by her was glassware.
Our own kilns could also fire glass, but the quality was not good. It was fine to sell to ordinary tribal leaders, but to sell to the powerful people of the Royal Court, Jin Sui still had to fire it in her space.
They didn’t chat for long before Jin An ran over to say that Grandpa Ling was calling for a midnight snack.
Grandpa wasn’t really calling for a midnight snack! It hadn’t been long since dinner. He was reminding Gu Changxiao that it was too late and he couldn’t stay in his granddaughter’s room.
The two looked at each other and both felt that the underground tunnel and secret door were very necessary to build, because they often talked through the night before.
Jin Sui didn’t find Grandpa’s meddling bothersome at all; instead, she felt warm inside. Grandpa truly cared for her, which was why he managed so much.
For anyone else, they would curry favor with Lord Li, not care about their granddaughter’s reputation.
Jin Sui slept too much during the day and couldn’t sleep at night. She went to her space and worked until midnight, firing a batch of glassware and creating two new perfume formulas for Miss Yan.
She also adjusted two new shades for lipstick. Skincare and cosmetics had to be like this; the faster the turnover, the more the noblewomen would keep buying.
She didn’t dare work all night, fearing she would be drowsy again during the day and her biological clock would be completely disrupted.
She quietly snuck to the kitchen and ate a steamed bun. She was prone to dizziness from carbohydrates, and eating a steamed bun made it easy for her to fall asleep.
She woke up early the next day and didn’t hear the rooster crow. The rooster at home used to crow very punctually! She felt for her watch and saw it was already past six o’clock.
The timer was too troublesome to look at, so she quietly took a watch from her space and put it back after use. She planned to wait until there were more skilled craftsmen to form a small team to research clocks and make watches.
She smelled the fragrance of gardenia and jasmine outside the window. She put on her clothes and went out to look.
She saw a flower basket hanging on the courtyard wall, filled with a basket of jasmine, gardenia, and lilac.
This Gu Changxiao, was he that happy about agreeing to build the tunnel that he went to pick flowers early in the morning?
However, seeing this large basket of flowers, Jin Sui’s mood improved even more.
When she went to the kitchen to see the breakfast, she learned that Grandpa had snapped the neck of the rooster for her to sleep well.
Jin Sui smiled. The old man was quite cute.
“It’s okay, we’ll raise another one. Next time I want to sleep for a long time, I’ll tell you in advance, and we’ll send it away temporarily.”
After breakfast, Jin Sui and Grandpa took a carriage to the construction site. Jin An, Li Linfeng, and some Beggar Children went to the military camp.
A Youth Camp was built in the military camp for the children of Military Families, including those from the Tuntian Soldiers. They studied both civil and military subjects.
Jin An used to study at a private school with an old Licentiate. Grandpa had even asked Yan Shiyi for help with his studies, but Jin An insisted on not studying in Yanzhou and wanted to join the Youth Camp.
Grandpa Ling had to agree, but he made Jin An promise to participate in the Licentiate examination. If he failed, he would have to study at the Yan family’s school.
For this reason, Jin An once held Jin Sui’s hand and pleaded with her, “Sister, build your Academy quickly! I want to study at your Academy.”
Jin Sui didn’t tell him for now that her Academy was different from ordinary Academies for aspiring scholars. If he failed the Licentiate exam, Sister would have to support Grandpa and send him to study at the Academy in Yanzhou.
It was already past ten o’clock when Jin Sui arrived. It was still quite far, so riding a horse would be faster, but she wanted to accompany Grandpa in the carriage.
Coincidentally, they arrived at the construction site just in time for lunch. Since ordinary people in this era ate two meals, one around ten in the morning and another around four in the afternoon.
The construction site was the same. Some stingy people even gave the workers thin porridge, telling them to bring their own dry rations if they wanted to eat.
But Grandpa was so generous! Every meal included stewed dishes and flatbread, and the wages were top-notch, eight wen a day. This was truly top-notch. The Yanzhou Gentry hired workers from their own Tenant Farmers, who brought their own food and were paid six wen a day.
Only top-tier Gentry families like the Yan family were willing to pay workers eight wen.
After Grandpa inquired, he remembered his granddaughter saying she wanted to increase workers’ wages, so he naturally wanted to set an example. Therefore, it was agreed from the beginning: two meals a day and eight wen.
As a result, people scrambled to work for Grandpa, and even the families of the Tuntian Soldiers were very tempted. However, they had to be busy with Spring Plowing and could only watch as this good job was snatched up by the Refugees.
