Chapter 272 Fire Arrow?! (I...)

Qi Chengming was having lunch at that moment.

Today's lunch included braised rabbit, a modified version by Eunuch Zhang. The succulent rabbit meat was braised with bamboo shoots and pine mushrooms, resulting in a deep reddish-brown color and tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Qi Chengming praised the dish highly and told the imperial kitchen, "Make two more dishes, one to be sent to the Tao family and the other to General Yang's residence."

Outsiders assumed that the two dishes served today were a reward for their beloved minister and future in-laws. They were indifferent to the Tao family, but extremely envious of Yang Shou. Those who harbored wicked intentions dared not make any small moves now, and were filled with jealousy.

Xiao Dezi personally delivered the vegetables to the Tao family. He took a detour along the road that was being paved with cement, which took him some time to get there. Fortunately, there was a small stove under the rabbit meat filled with hot water that had been simmering it, so the taste wasn't affected when it arrived.

"Lord Tao and Madam Tao, please have a taste." Xiao Dezi smiled and took out an exquisite wooden box from his pocket, handing it to Tao Jiang and whispering, "This is what His Majesty ordered."

Tao Jiang opened it and found a fine jade ruyi inside.

Although the ruyi is a common style and ornament in every household, Tao Jiang gripped the small, warm, and delicate jade ruyi tightly, her earlobes gradually turning red: "..."

If your future husband gives you a ruyi (a type of scepter), it means only one thing: 'I wish you a lifetime of peace, joy, and fulfillment.'

If this person is also the current emperor, then the meaning is even more glorious and illustrious.

Tao Jiang's maidservant was secretly laughing gleefully beside her.

Mr. and Mrs. Tao exchanged a glance, their faces beaming with uncontrollable joy.

They never expected that His Majesty would still be so meticulous about these little things after issuing the decree: sending over a delicious dish when he found it, and giving a gift to comfort the unmarried woman who was feeling anxious. These were all expressions of his heartfelt concern!

The emperor's favor is the most precious thing, and now he has given it all to their daughter. What parent wouldn't be happy?

Tao's mother could only hope that the two's relationship would grow stronger, but Tao's father was becoming increasingly uneasy.

"Please wait a moment, Eunuch!" Tao Jiang suddenly came to her senses and hurriedly called out to Eunuch De, who was about to leave. She rushed back to the house to fetch something, put it in the wooden box, and returned it to Eunuch De. Her voice was barely audible. "Please... return it to His Majesty."

Xiao Dezi nodded with a stiff expression and great composure.

When he returned to the palace to report, Xiao Dezi dropped the pretense and smiled kindly in the Zichen Hall: "Your Majesty, this is a return gift!"

Inside the wooden box was a delicate purse.

It is the color of a landscape in shades of blue-green, and is embroidered with lifelike bamboo joints.

Since his transmigration, Qi Chengming had carried quite a few purses, all made for him by the palace maids in the main courtyard. This purse looked similar and its design wasn't particularly unusual, but when Qi Chengming held it in his hand, he felt a different sensation for the first time.

He grinned foolishly, turning the purse over and over, stroking the patterns on it. Finally, he solemnly hung the purse on his waist. Even when he sat down to revise memorials, he asked Shishuang to bring him a soft cushion to cover himself, afraid that the ink would stain it.

When Qi Chengming looked up again, he saw that everyone in the hall was trying not to laugh.

He closed his silly grin, his face hardening with feigned anger and embarrassment as he pretended to scold them: "Why is this tea hot? Go get a new cup, stop standing here like idiots..."

Qi Chengming simply found a raft.

As soon as he spoke, everyone in the hall sprang into action. Some continued wiping the tables, others poured tea, and still others busied themselves closing the windows. The person dusting the incense burner was completely absorbed in their work.

Xiao Chengzi couldn't help but give Gan Tang a look, secretly thinking to himself, "It's so hot, who would dare to serve hot tea? I think it's His Majesty's heart that's burning with desire."

Even the composed Gan Tang smiled slightly.

The two quickly carried the teacups and teapot out the door, their guilty consciences making them run incredibly fast.

"...!"

Do you really think he's deaf?!

Qi Chengming rolled his eyes, disregarding his image, and ignored them. Opportunities to tease him were rare, and he didn't have many friends around him anyway, so he let them be.

The atmosphere inside the hall was lively and cheerful when someone hurried in.

Xiao Dezi regained his composure and entered to report: "Your Majesty, the Director of the Research Department requests an audience."

Qi Chengming's face flushed slightly. After calculating the time in between, he felt a surge of excitement and had a guess. He quickly called her in.

The woman entered, looking travel-worn, and bowed respectfully, exclaiming excitedly, "Your Majesty... you've achieved something!!"

"How so?"

Qi Chengming's guess came true, and he eagerly sat up straight and waved his hand. Xiao Dezi, knowing the situation, led the others out of the hall. He, Xiao Chengzi, and Gan Tang, familiar with the place, each took turns guarding the doors and windows. This way, even if more people came seeking an audience, they wouldn't be able to reach the hall and hear a single word from inside.

"Following the manuals and instructions given by Your Majesty, I had people conduct research in two places. The people from the Ministry of War's workshops forged a copper plug, which was inserted into the bottom of the pipe. The pipe was filled with one-third fertilizer and white sugar, and then secured with a specially made iron cannon carriage. Several sandbags were placed behind it. This is the Dongfeng Cannon. As long as projectiles, gravel, or iron fragments are added to the front, its destructive power is extremely high, capable of hitting targets one to two miles away..."

When Fang Bi recounted this story, her face was filled with awe and admiration.

The fertilizer bags His Majesty sent to their research department were covered in illegible writing, and the bags were made of a material that was neither paper nor bamboo, but very flexible. Also sent was a handwritten, rare book that clearly stated the optimal proportions of explosives… all these instructions saved Fang Bi and her team a lot of trouble.

After several years of research, Fang Bi remained silent, her awe growing ever deeper.

Years ago, His Highness tried to fool her, saying these were rare royal hide-and-seek books that he had copied from memory to show others. Now, Fang Bi absolutely refused to believe it!

Qi Chengming didn't even blink, but leaned forward and eagerly asked, "What about rockets that can fly?"

In his memory, this power was almost comparable to the Qing Dynasty's red-coated cannons. Qi Chengming relied on the uniqueness of the cannon barrel and the uniqueness of the gunpowder concentration. Perhaps it could give him a significant advantage in the battle, but Qi Chengming was preoccupied with another "treasure" that could deliver a devastating blow.

"..." Fang Bi lowered her head even further, and said with awe, "Ever since that time the cannon barrel flew out, we welded four iron plates to the tail of the barrel, filled the middle with fertilizer and pesticide, added a pointed end to the other end of the barrel, left a fuse in the plugged tail section, improved the internal structure, and finally used an iron frame to launch it..."

"The last time we successfully found it, it was in the sandy area eight or nine miles away. The rocks had crumbled, creating a large crater in the ground. Fortunately, there wasn't much vegetation nearby, so it didn't start a wildfire..."

Qi Chengming: "...?!"

Eight or nine miles away.

Four or five thousand meters... In ancient times, being able to strike from four or five thousand meters, being able to hit from the air, was superhuman!

—If this isn't a dimensional reduction attack, then what is?!

But Fang Bi was thinking of some terrifying scene and was somewhat absent-minded. She added, "Even with the manual given by His Majesty, there were still several accidents at the points and tails we added that were set on fire. Three people died. The craftsmen said that it couldn't be improved. The force of the projectiles was too great, and these materials... except for that pipe, simply couldn't withstand it."

Qi Chengming snapped out of his euphoria, and even though he knew that casualties were inevitable in experiments, his mood turned somber: "...Reward them. Their children and families are being taken care of by the court. After their funerals are over, remember to check if the pensions will be paid out in full."

"Yes," Fang Bi replied gratefully.

She felt bad because they were people she spent every day with, but she knew that they were all willing to die for His Majesty, and His Majesty would not let them down. That was enough.

"So the technology for rockets is still unstable..." Qi Chengming muttered to himself, trying to calm himself down.

This was a last resort. He wanted to forcefully demand rockets in ancient times, relying on the special properties of steel pipes and gunpowder. It was only natural that other things couldn't keep up or would hold him back.

"Your Majesty, only three out of ten test shots had problems. Seventy percent of them are already very high," Fang Bi earnestly advised.

In the past, both in the previous and present dynasties, those equipment and weapons had a success rate of five out of ten times, and could be used on the battlefield. Not to mention the terrifying power of this "East Wind Fire Arrow," which is like the wrath of the heavens, causing the sky to collapse and the earth to split... With only a 30% failure rate, this is already a top-tier divine weapon!!

"I must go and see for myself." After thinking it over, Qi Chengming decided, "I will stand far away and look through binoculars."

This is a fire arrow.

Without seeing it with his own eyes, Qi Chengming wouldn't have a true sense of reality. Besides, his three great books contained teachings on how to deal with air raids and how to improve the power of artillery shells; his mind was also filled with modern knowledge he wouldn't normally think of. He had to see the problem for himself; perhaps he could come up with some inspiration.

"Your Majesty...!" Fang Bi's first reaction was fear. She knelt down, daring not to let His Majesty personally take the risk, even if he stood far away, she was still afraid.

But Fang Bi couldn't go against the emperor's wishes. Qi Chengming had already called out to Xiao Dezi to prepare a carriage and summon people, and the remaining memorials for today were all handed over to Mr. Qin for sorting and processing. Even though the people in the hall surrounded him and pleaded, Qi Chengming still arrived at the rocket test site in the Mangling Mountains more than an hour later.

This is a vast expanse of sandy, rocky terrain, with the camp built along the Tu River. The surrounding area is barren and sparsely vegetated.

Qi Chengming looked around and understood why this place had been chosen.

It's hard to say whether there are any cemeteries nearby, but it's certainly a good place for fire prevention.

He also witnessed firsthand the true form of the ancient version of the Dongfeng rocket—

Strictly speaking, this thing and the Dongfeng cannon are not too different in appearance; they are both large iron objects supported by cannon carriages.

Liu, the craftsman, stroked the steel pipe with his rough hands and said solemnly, "This thing is too heavy. It would take two oxcarts to move it. If there's a real war, it won't be easy to move."

Qi Chengming nodded, not surprised: "That's enough."

In ancient times, there were no modern tricycles or motorcycles, and even the good mobility brought by these simple fire arrows was lost, but its current advantages are enough to outweigh all its disadvantages.

Liu the craftsman clearly wanted to say something more, but after hesitating for a long time, he finally decided to come over: "Your Majesty, I have a rough idea. I have a very good eye—once I saw this thing swaying around wildly before it crashed down, which is why it rushed down, and it had a lot of momentum. If... if we could make it fly in that direction for a while longer in the future, maybe it could go even further!"

Qi Chengming had a sudden inspiration and remembered the military videos he had watched before his transmigration... turbine stabilization technology...

To put it simply, it involves rotation and adding angled jets to the tail.

but……

He regained his previous worried expression and calmed down.

Sigh, the current technology can't do anything like planing or drilling on these seamless steel pipes... Oh well, never mind, it's already a game-changer.

Qi Chengming thought this way, but in his heart he began to pray for the omnipotent infrastructure system:

Any kind of electric drill will do... I'll give you one as a reward later!

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Author's note: Let us thank Qi Chengming for his years of diligent writing; the practical technical information he copied must have amounted to hundreds of thousands of words, right? Amen.

(Second update)