Chen Qingwan sneered:

"Are we, the Imperial Guards, only capable of relying on external resources? If Shannan refuses to sell, are we just to surrender?"

The scholar turned pale with fright and immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness:

"Please forgive me, my lord, that was not what I meant..."

Chen Qingwan waved her hand, signaling him to stand up, and continued:

"No matter how good the muskets are, they are ultimately not produced by our Imperial Guard. No matter how powerful the thunderbolts are, they are still from another country. Only by cracking the secret of gunpowder can our Imperial Guard truly become strong!"

Her gaze sharpened as she surveyed the crowd, and she said in a deep voice:

"My mind is made up. Establish a dedicated research team immediately to decipher the gunpowder formula. In addition, strengthen intelligence gathering and find out the movements of Zhou's army!"

Chen Qingwan glanced around at the generals, finally fixing her gaze on Li Mu:

"General Li, the important task of gunpowder research is entrusted to you. The treasury will allocate 200,000 taels of silver as research funding. You must crack the code as soon as possible!"

Two hundred thousand taels of silver is no small sum.

The heavy silver boxes filled the entire room, demonstrating Chen Qingwan's determination to develop gunpowder.

After everyone finished their discussion and filed out, the hall gradually returned to calm.

Chen Qingwan deliberately left Li Mu alone, dismissed everyone around her, and quietly instructed the guards:

"No one is allowed to approach. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

Then, with a serious expression, she walked up to Li Mu and asked in a low voice:

"How is the gunpowder research progressing?"

Li Mu bowed respectfully and replied:

"Reporting to you, my lord, I began researching gunpowder a long time ago, and have made some progress so far."

"We have successfully cracked the code for two key components in gunpowder: carbon powder and sulfur powder."

He paused, then added.

"However, the remaining components have special properties and complex proportions, and are still being further deciphered."

"Beixiang and Java must also be secretly researching this gunpowder formula."

Chen Qingwan's tone was filled with worry.

"The reason why Shannan Prefecture was able to rise so quickly was not only because Lu Yan had some talent in military administration, but more importantly because of the power of gunpowder."

"If my Great Tong Dynasty could master this gunpowder formula, how could I not unify the world?"

“What you say is absolutely right, sir.”

Li Mu echoed this.

"Shannan Prefecture possesses advanced technologies in iron smelting, steelmaking, and arms manufacturing that far surpass those of other countries, which is why the prices of Shannan weapons that have been scattered abroad remain high."

"Therefore, I suggest that we concentrate all available resources and focus on solving the gunpowder formula."

His eyes gleamed with determination, and his tone became even more forceful:

"Only by mastering the independent production capability of muskets and thunderclaps can my Imperial Guard truly become powerful, ultimately invincible against Datong, and achieve hegemony!"

After listening, Chen Qingwan pondered for a moment and took out a broken gun that had been captured from her sleeve.

The words "Made in Shannan" are clearly engraved on it.

She handed the broken gun to Li Mu and asked in a serious tone:

"The muskets captured by General Xiong's troops are crudely made and are clearly not the elite weapons of Shannan Prefecture."

"In your opinion, where did Zhou's army obtain this batch of gunpowder weapons?"

Li Mu took the broken gun, examined it carefully, and gave a wry smile.

He sighed inwardly, thinking that Lu Yan shouldn't have sold the weapons to Zhou Chen for the sake of making money.

This has led to the creation of a dangerous situation, posing a tremendous threat to Your Majesty.

"I can guess a thing or two about Lu Yan's thoughts,"

Li Mu carefully considered his words and spoke cautiously.

"He just wants to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune from the war."

"The muskets used by Zhou's army are indeed not very powerful, and are even less powerful than the muskets currently equipped by our Imperial Guards."

However, Zhou Chen possessed the devastating weapon, the Heaven-Shaking Thunder, which was extremely powerful.

Any sturdy city wall is as fragile as paper before it, utterly vulnerable.

If Zhou Chen possessed a sufficient number of Heaven-Shaking Bombs, he might actually be able to smash down the city walls, with unimaginable consequences.

Chen Qingwan said through gritted teeth.

Upon hearing this, Li Mu fell silent, not daring to utter another word, for fear that he might say something wrong and displease Chen Qingwan.

He knew that under these circumstances, anything he said would be wrong.

Chen Qingwan waved her hand impatiently, and the broken gun barrel spun half a circle in her hand, making a crisp sound.

"Let's put that aside for now; the gunpowder is the key issue."

"Li Mu, tell me the truth, how confident are you in cracking this formula?"

Li Mu bowed, his tone cautious:

"Reporting to your Excellency, I have deciphered part of the composition, but the gunpowder's proportions are exquisite, and more samples are needed for comparative testing..."

He paused, glanced up to observe Chen Qingwan's expression, and cautiously added...

"This humble servant dares to request that some more gunpowder weapons from Shannan Prefecture be seized for research purposes."

Chen Qingwan frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.

She stared coldly at Li Mu, making him break out in a cold sweat, before slowly saying:

"As soon as possible. Datong's future rests on this gunpowder."

"This humble servant will certainly do his utmost!"

Li Mu felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly agreed.

Chen Qingwan gave a few more instructions on maintaining confidentiality, then waved for Li Mu to leave.

She stood alone in the empty hall, stroking the broken gun barrel in her hand.

His gaze was deep, as if he were plotting something.

...

Meanwhile, the setting sun, like blood, illuminated the retreating Zhou family army.

They staggered back to Xuzhou City like stray dogs.

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