Li Shimin's fishing plan was called off the next day, and at the same time, the punishment for Geng Jingming was officially announced.

The whole family will be exiled, and there will be no pardon!

From then on, no one in the imperial court dared to speak up for Geng Jingming.

After this incident, Li Jue's confinement order was lifted, and he was finally able to go out for a stroll.

He's been so engrossed in his research with Li Tai lately that he hasn't had any interest in going out to play.

"Fourth Uncle, how many times have I told you, this stuff needs egg whites!"

"Why did you put a lump of egg yolk in this? This isn't a cake!"

"This is egg white...wait, why is it yellow?"

Through their repeated efforts, the first batch of pellet gunpowder in the Tang Dynasty was finally produced.

Li Tai couldn't wait to grab a thick firecracker, intending to run out and test its power, but Li Jue stopped him on the spot.

Just kidding, this thing could accidentally blow this cheap fourth uncle into pieces!

"Fourth Uncle, you'd better stop playing with fire and give others a chance to make a contribution."

Upon hearing this, Li Tai curled his lip in disdain.

"This thing is just made by adding a little egg white to the original. Even if its power is increased, how much more powerful can it be?"

"Don't worry, your fourth uncle will be careful!"

Li Jue still refused to give in, but just as the two were arguing, Li Shimin walked in with his protruding belly. Behind him were his Crown Princess Wang, who was also pregnant, and His Highness Li Zhi, the Crown Prince.

"What are you two doing again!"

"Grandpa?"

"Greetings to Grandpa, and greetings to Uncle Jiu and Aunt Jiu!"

Upon hearing this, the three of them each gave a reply, and then curiously went forward to see what was going on.

"Nephew, what on earth are you doing?"

"Reporting to Ninth Uncle, Fourth Uncle and I have invented a new type of gunpowder!"

"New gunpowder?"

Li Zhi was very interested in gunpowder, but because it was such a sensitive subject, he dared not ask about it rashly.

Seeing Li Jue bring it up so openly, he immediately asked out of curiosity.

"Nephew, may I...may I take a look at this?"

"certainly!"

Li Jue handed over the gunpowder without reservation. Li Zhi took it in his hand, smelled it, and examined the color of the gunpowder. He couldn't help but ask a question.

"How was this made? Why does it smell like sulfur wine?"

"This substance is made with sulfur and..."

Just as Li Jue was saying this, Li Tai kicked him aside.

"Ninth Brother, this thing is meaningless. It's just a mud ball made of sulfur and soil!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jue looked at Li Tai with a face full of surprise, which made Li Tai extremely annoyed. If there weren't too many people around, Li Tai would have really wanted to kick this good-for-nothing to death.

This is gunpowder!

Doesn't this grandson know how to cover up at all?

Li Jue didn't take gunpowder seriously. After all, compared to nitroglycerin in later generations, it was only good for making a noise during the New Year.

But he was too lazy to explain to Li Tai, and let Li Tai treat gunpowder as a treasure.

Seeing Li Tai like this, Li Zhi couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

He realized that the uncle and nephew had a very good relationship, much better than his own.

Compared to this uncle and nephew pair, he, the rightful ninth uncle, seemed like an outsider.

Li Shimin naturally saw through Li Tai's attempt to conceal something, after all, he had personally seen the gunpowder formula and knew for certain that there was not a single grain of clay in the gunpowder.

However, he was too lazy to argue, and from the bottom of his heart, he didn't want to tell Li Zhi the gunpowder formula.

How should I put it...?

With gunpowder in Li Jue's hands, he could still sleep soundly at night. But if it were in Li Zhi's hands, he would really have to turn a blind eye.

"Is this something you two have recently researched?"

"Yes!"

"Grandpa, why don't we find someone to test its power?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately summoned Yuchi Fan.

"Yuchi Fan, pick two clever ones to try this stuff out!"

"promise!"

The Hundred Riders Division had long been acting as quality inspectors for gunpowder. Many of the new things Li Tai had developed over the past year were tested by the Hundred Riders Division.

This time, however, Li Jue added an extra comment.

"Uncle Yuchi, tell them to make the fuse longer, and after lighting it, run as far away as possible!"

"Don't worry about the eldest grandson, we're experts in this field!"

Yu Chi Fan spoke generously, but when it came to the actual experiment, he was more careful than anyone else, and he even chose a fuse that was more than ten feet long.

The experiment was conducted outside the city. Fortunately, Li Jue's Prince Qin's Mansion was located outside the city. Just a few hundred feet north of the mansion gate was an endless wilderness.

Because he frequently conducted experiments, Li Tai had long ago ordered people to build shelters, bunkers, and mounds of earth around the area.

Therefore, after the new type of large firecracker appeared, Li Tai first ordered people to use it to blow up a mound of earth, intending to see its power before deciding whether to use it to blow up a bunker.

You have to know that building a fortress costs a lot of money, and even if Li Tai was a wealthy man in the Tang Dynasty, he couldn't be so extravagant.

Yu Chi Fan's men quickly reached the designated location, buried the gunpowder under the mound, lit it, and ran towards the bunker.

This time, however, the fuse of the gunpowder was too long, and he even took a nap behind the bunker before he heard a loud "bang" from the other side of the mound.

The power of the gunpowder explosion stunned Emperor Li Zhi and his wife on the spot. Crown Princess Wang even touched her belly, her face showing a pained expression.

Both of them were shocked by the explosion. Only now did they truly realize how terrifying their opponent was, and finally understand why their father, the Emperor, doted on Li Jue so much.

Li Shimin was already used to this kind of thing and could even calmly comment on it.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!