Chapter 223 seems much shyer than before.
When Prince Rui heard from Jiang Yu that they were going to talk at the Ministry of Personnel, he had his servants carry an empty sedan chair out of the palace, and he and Jiang Yu walked towards the palace gate.
The weather in January was still cold, but today was nice, with the sun shining warmly on people. Jiang Yu and Prince Rui walked side by side on the path, enjoying the sunlight and this moment of leisure.
"How did Your Highness get injured?" Jiang Yu asked.
Prince Rui glanced at his hand, which was wrapped up like a dumpling, and said, "I was accidentally injured by gunpowder during an experiment yesterday."
Jiang Yu: "Your Highness should be more careful in the future."
Prince Rui smiled shyly at the concern shown to him, then said with a hint of excitement, "However, this experiment has made great progress. My initial idea was to fix gunpowder to the arrow so that it would explode after being shot. But after the experiment, I found that this method had many drawbacks, such as a short range, low power, and the need for someone with excellent archery skills to operate it."
Jiang Yu was shocked to hear this. As far as she knew, gunpowder was first used in weapons by fixing it to bows and arrows. After achieving great success on the battlefield, subsequent improvements were made. Moreover, these subsequent improvements seemed to span an entire dynasty.
Unexpectedly, after Prince Rui created the "rocket," he immediately made another improvement, and the improvement plan was similar to that of a hand grenade.
"May I take a look at the firearms that the prince made?" Jiang Yu asked.
“Of course, but the experiment must be conducted outside the city,” Prince Rui said without hesitation, as he also wanted to hear Jiang Yu’s opinion.
"good."
Upon hearing Jiang Yu's reply, Prince Rui instructed his men to immediately arrange for a carriage. When the two arrived at the palace gate, two carriages from Prince Rui's residence were already waiting there.
Although Jiang Yu has entered the court as an official, she is still a woman after all. The two of them riding together might cause gossip and damage Jiang Yu's reputation.
The two boarded the carriage, which rumbled towards the city outskirts. Half an hour later, the carriage stopped in an open area. Jiang Yu nimbly jumped off the carriage and was met with Prince Rui's surprised expression.
Their eyes met, and Prince Rui blushed slightly. "Duke of Chu...impressive skills."
Jiang Yu felt that Prince Rui seemed much shyer than before. She smiled at him and then turned her head to see several servants from Prince Rui's residence carrying several boxes out of the carriage and gently placing them on the ground.
Prince Rui led Jiang Yu over, bent down and took out a bow, then took out an arrow with gunpowder attached from another box. He nocked the "fire arrow" onto the bow and pulled it back forcefully. Because of his hand injury, he aggravated the wound when pulling the bow, and he frowned slightly.
A servant took out a tinderbox and lit the gunpowder fuse, which crackled and burned. Prince Rui released the tension of the draw bar, and with a whoosh, the fire arrow shot out, tracing a long arc before exploding with a bang.
The explosive force of this rocket would certainly cause considerable injury if it landed on a person. However, operating this rocket is indeed somewhat troublesome. Moreover, if the technique is not mastered properly, it may explode in mid-air, failing to achieve its intended killing effect. Nevertheless, if thousands of rockets were launched simultaneously, their power would undoubtedly be immense.
“I have conducted numerous tests and improvements on the rocket, but I have been unable to resolve its existing problems.” Prince Rui handed the rocket to a servant beside him, and then took out a round, black ceramic ball from the box. “I’ll call this the Fireball.”
Jiang Yu walked to his side and reached out to take the fireball from his hand. Their fingertips touched as they made contact. Jiang Yu didn't notice, but when Prince Rui withdrew his hand, he couldn't help but rub his fingers together, and his ears turned slightly red.
"This operation is indeed somewhat dangerous."
Jiang Yu's voice rang out, and Prince Rui snapped out of his reverie, looking at her. He saw her holding the fuse in her hand, saying, "If you don't master the timing technique, it's easy to hurt yourself. Besides, lighting the fuse is also a bit troublesome."
At this point, Jiang Yu suddenly realized that what she had said was quite discouraging. She had modern knowledge and thought this was outdated. But it was based on Prince Rui's numerous experiments, and he had even been injured in the process.
“However, this must be very impressive,” she added.
Prince Rui's focus was not on the shortcomings she mentioned at all. He said very seriously, "You are right. I have thought of many ways to solve the current problem, but none of them can solve it."
His handsome brows furrowed slightly, his face serious. Seeing that he wasn't discouraged, Jiang Yu silently breathed a sigh of relief, and then also fell into thought.
In her previous life, she had no knowledge of weapons, let alone how a grenade ignites gunpowder. However, the principle remains the same: for gunpowder to ignite, it must require fire or heat, and fire and heat can be generated in many ways, such as through friction.
She organized her thoughts, then looked at Prince Rui and said, "Gunpowder needs fire to ignite it, and fire ignites gunpowder because of its high heat. There are many ways to generate heat..."
“Yes,” Prince Rui interrupted Jiang Yu excitedly, his face suddenly enlightened. “How could I not have thought of that? When blacksmiths strike iron, sparks are produced when the hammer hits the iron. These sparks can ignite gunpowder. Yes, yes, that’s it. I’ll go back and try it now.”
As he was about to get into the carriage to return to the city, he realized that he was being impolite and quickly turned around to bow to Jiang Yu, saying, "I'm sorry, I was in a hurry and neglected you."
Jiang Yu smiled, finding Prince Rui quite adorable.
She said, "This humble official understands Your Highness's feelings at this moment."
Prince Rui's ears turned slightly red again. He gestured for Jiang Yu to get into the carriage, and the two returned to the city together. They parted at the crossroads; Prince Rui went back to his palace, while Jiang Yu returned to the Duke of Chu's residence.
She went to see the old Duke of Chu as usual, and the two chatted for a while before she returned to her own courtyard to continue her work.
The next day, as soon as she arrived at the study in the government office, Xie Ning'an came and handed her a booklet. Jiang Yu asked him to sit down, then lowered her head to carefully read the contents of the booklet.
Xie Ning'an sat opposite her, looking at her earnest expression, her hands unconsciously curling together. Every time she interacted with her, she could always discover something radiant about her.
At this moment, her focused concentration made it seem as if the whole world had quieted down, leaving only her and the booklet in her hands. Her calmness and determination were awe-inspiring and captivating.
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