Volume 1 Chapter 44 Undercover

Xiang Yun took out some of the sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter that he had prepared long ago.

He placed the three things on an open space, ground them into powder and mixed them together, then took a burning candle from Xiang Yun and lit it.

"Hiss~"

Sparks flew and smoke rose, it looked beautiful.

Peng Ying was stunned. Xiang Yun did not keep them in suspense and explained directly: "This thing is called gunpowder. It is a mixture of three materials: charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur. It has great power."

"The better the ratio of the three items, the greater the power. Go back and test them for me again and again to find the best ratio!"

Then Xiang Yun made way for him and said to Peng Ying, "Now try it yourself and feel it for yourself."

As a craftsman, Peng Ying's technique was naturally very flexible and her speed was even faster than Xiang Yun's. With just a flick of the flame, she succeeded.

Peng Ying's breathing began to become rapid. This kind of thing was really too unbelievable for him.

This stuff is extremely flammable and burns very quickly, and can produce extremely high temperatures in a very short period of time.

In just a moment, Peng Ying thought of dozens of uses for this thing.

At this time, Xiang Yun continued: "Okay, let's put the gunpowder aside for now, and take a look at these two things!"

Xiang Yun took a piece of rice paper and began to draw the structure of a pistol and a cannon, as well as some of its internal parts with a brush. Then he began to talk to Peng Ying about the structure of the pistol and cannon, the making of bullets and shells, and explained all these principles.

Peng Ying developed a strong interest in this and was not ashamed to ask questions. Whenever he did not understand something, he would ask Xiang Yun and learn very greedily.

There were many questions that even Xiang Yun didn't know the answer to. After all, he only had the experience of searching on Baidu in his previous life. So Peng Ying could only study them slowly on his own in the future.

But even so, the two chatted for an entire afternoon. In the blink of an eye, it was getting dark. Peng Ying nodded thoughtfully and said, "Your Majesty, I can't wait to make these two treasures!"

Xiang Yun nodded in satisfaction and said, "I will prepare a separate place for you. I will select a few people you trust to make it for me as quickly as possible. You will have to work hard these few days. There will be someone to take care of your eating, drinking, defecating and urinating. You are not allowed to go home. If you can make it, each of you will get a reward!"

"Yes, I'll remember it!" Peng Ying replied excitedly.

"Remember, make the pistol first, and bring it to me as soon as you're done!"

Xiang Yun was afraid of being assassinated. There were martial arts masters in this world. If he could have a pistol to protect him closely, his safety would be greatly improved.

It was a long time after Peng Ying left that Xiang Yun let out a long sigh. He was still a little worried in his heart, not knowing whether it was a good thing or a bad thing to bring gunpowder guns into this world.

A large number of corrupt officials were arrested and imprisoned. People from all over the Great Sun Dynasty applauded and praised the emperor for his wisdom.

A large number of scholars and literati composed poems and couplets about this matter, and some people who had not dared to offend these officials before stood up and cursed them.

However, there are more poems praising Xiang Yun's wisdom and bravery.

But many things are like this, some are happy and some are sad. The poor people in the dynasty are happy, but a large number of wealthy families and rich businessmen are unhappy.

Oh, I spent so much money and so many years of friendship to build up this relationship, but it was all destroyed by your imperial edict.

Years of hard work have gone to waste, and none of these rich and powerful people can be happy.

Many people began to think of ways to stir up trouble, hoping to create chaos in the world and make the Emperor give up.

When these wealthy businessmen and people from prominent families gathered together, they actually regarded Zhen Dajin as their leader and asked Zhen Dajin to take the lead in the charge.

This put Zhen Dajin in a very difficult position. Don't you guys know that I am His Majesty's man?

Zhen Dajin had no choice but to hand over the list of these people to Xiang Yun. How could Xiang Yun refuse such money that was delivered to his door?

They arbitrarily accused him of treason, put his entire family in jail, confiscated their property, and killed several wealthy businessmen. As a result, the rest of the people dared not cause trouble again and all stopped their activities.

One day, Xiang Yun had just finished his morning court and entered the imperial study when Little Guazi received the news. He said to Xiang Yun, "Your Majesty, Jia Jinyu, the son of the former Minister of Revenue Jia Yuan, is naked from the waist up, tied himself with thorns, and kneeling outside the palace gate. He said he wants to meet your Majesty and apologize for his father's crime. Your Majesty, do you want to see him or not?"

Xiang Yun was stunned, thinking of Jia Jinyu's appearance, and smiled bitterly in his heart: "Good fellow, he is asking for forgiveness with a thorn stick on his back. I didn't expect that such a thing that only happened in books would happen to me!"

Xiang Yun thought for a moment and said, "He is the champion in name after all. It is not appropriate to let him kneel outside the palace like this. Go and order someone to bring him here."

Jia Jinyu has been feeling very uncomfortable these days. He was originally arrested and imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison, but was released just last night.

The jailer told him that his father Jia Yuan had actively cooperated in the work of handing over the Minister of Revenue, and the emperor granted amnesty and allowed the Jia family to continue its lineage.

But what was the use of coming out? He no longer had his previous noble status. Throughout the capital, those who used to know him closed their doors and refused to see him.

He had no money, so instead of lingering on in this world, he might as well use the remaining life to do something.

So overnight, Jia Jinyu was willing to take a risk and came up with this idea.

When Jia Jinyu heard that His Majesty had summoned him, he was extremely excited. This was his only chance.

He came to the imperial study and immediately knelt down and said, "I, Jia Jinyu, pay my respects to His Majesty. Long live the emperor!"

Xiang Yun said sarcastically: "If there were fewer officials like your father in the Great Sun Dynasty, then I might be able to live longer;

Commoner? I remember you have a reputation, I think you were the top scholar in the imperial examination, right?"

Jia Jinyu's face flushed red after hearing this. She knelt on the ground and could not speak. Xiang Yun continued, "Who taught you this trick?"

Jia Jinyu quickly said, "I came up with it myself."

Xiang Yun looked at the bloody marks on Jia Jinyu's body caused by the thorns and whispered, "Well, tell me, what do you want to see me for?"

Jia Jinyu immediately perked up when he heard this, and said, "I am asking for forgiveness by carrying a thorn stick on my back, hoping that Your Majesty can spare my father's life. I am willing to bear the responsibility for my father's crime alone, and I will give my life in exchange for his!"

Xiang Yun smiled and said, "You think too highly of your life. Your life is worthless to me."

Jia Jinyu looked ashen upon hearing this, but immediately said, "Your Majesty, what can you do to spare my father's life? I can do anything for Your Majesty..."

Xiang Yun suddenly had an idea when he heard this, and asked again, "Did you really come up with this plan of asking for forgiveness by carrying a thorn stick on your back?"

Jia Jinyu was obviously stunned for a moment, but immediately replied: "Yes, I thought about this idea all night yesterday. After all, if I want to save my father's life, it can only be done with the approval of Your Majesty!"

"It's not impossible to spare your father's life, but I have something I need you to do. If you don't come up with the strategy of carrying a thorn stick on your back to ask for forgiveness, you will die miserably. Are you willing to go?" Xiang Yun said calmly.

Jia Jinyu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he kowtowed quickly: "Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your grace. Thank you very much, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Xiang Yun nodded, picked up a memorial and continued reading, and whispered: "Back off, someone will naturally contact you when the time comes and tell you what to do."

After hearing this, Jia Jinyu hesitated for a while and wanted to ask to see her father, but after thinking about it, she did not say it out loud.

His Majesty has shown great favor by allowing my father to live. If I ask for too much without having done anything meritorious, it will definitely make His Majesty unhappy.

Five minutes after Jia Jinyu left the palace, a man suddenly bumped into him in the crowd and disappeared in an instant.

But there was a package and a letter in Jia Jinyu's arms.

The package was heavy and there was no signature on the envelope.

After Jia Jinyu reacted, she looked around quickly, but she could no longer find the man.

Jia Jinyu quickly came to an uninhabited place and opened the envelope. Inside it was written: "After reading this letter, immediately go to the Mahayana Kingdom to settle down and investigate all the actions of the Mahayana Kingdom against the Great Sun Dynasty. Send back a message every half a month. If there is continuous news, Jia Yuan will not die."

Jia Jinyu took a deep breath. This was asking him to go undercover in the enemy country. If he was caught by the people of Mahayana Kingdom, he would have a hard time even dying.

"No wonder His Majesty just said that he wanted me to have a smart head."

Jia Jinyu quickly opened the package and saw a set of decent clothes and a purse lying quietly inside.

When he opened the purse, he found three hundred taels of gold inside, which was the funding for this operation.

Without any hesitation, Jia Jinyu changed his clothes on the spot, put away his purse, and left the capital directly, heading for the Mahayana Kingdom.

He had no choice. This was the only way to save his father. Perhaps if he did it well, not only would he be able to save his father, but the Jia family might also be able to make a comeback and be reused by the emperor again.

In the Imperial Study, Tang Shui reported: "Your Majesty, Jia Jinyu has left the capital."

Xiang Yun nodded silently. In fact, Jia Jinyu was an insignificant piece to him and had little significance.

This is a gamble. Maybe Jia Jinyu can really give him a surprise. Who can say for sure?

Xiang Yun has been exhausted these days. He has removed a large number of ministers. The newly appointed officials are not familiar with the work, so Xiang Yun needs to do many things personally.

Every day the jade desk in the imperial study was piled with memorials, but such days were very fulfilling, which greatly improved Xiang Yun's ability to govern. At the same time, he gained a very detailed understanding of how many things and what things happened in a court every day.

On this day, Xiang Yun issued a national policy, which was to build roads!

Build a highway from the capital to all cities of the Great Sun Dynasty, an official road!

Xiang Yun has discovered in recent days that many cities in the Great Sun Dynasty have no roads at all. If you want to get there, you can only cross mountains and ridges, take mountain roads and small paths, and some cities even require crossing three or four mountains to reach your destination.