Chapter 291 They're all shrewd people
The carriage rumbled along, but the interior was quiet, making the two people inside feel somewhat awkward. Jiang Yu turned to look at Prince Rui, and his gaze met hers. Both were momentarily stunned, and then Jiang Yu smiled.
Although Da Gan was known for its open-mindedness, it was still extremely rare for a woman to ride with a man from another region, especially since Prince Rui was a "nerdy engineering student." To ease the awkwardness, Jiang Yu started a conversation.
She didn't discuss court affairs with Prince Rui. Prince Rui had been engrossed in his research for so many years; besides his love of it, he probably also used it for self-protection. Jiang Yu didn't want Prince Rui, with his background, to get involved in the court's turmoil.
An hour later, the carriage stopped. Jiang Yu lifted the curtain and saw Prince An and the heir of the Marquis of Chengen standing not far away. Prince Rui also saw them, got up and got out of the carriage, and Jiang Yu followed closely behind.
When the heir of the Marquis of Chengen saw the two men alighting from the same carriage, he paused for a moment, then walked over to them and bowed. The group then headed towards their tent.
None of the group discussed their purpose for coming today. Whether it was the training of the Rocket Force by the Marquis of Chengen or the experiment they were going to conduct today, it was all top secret.
Upon arriving at the main tent, Marquis Chengen was already waiting. After exchanging greetings, Prince An directly stated the purpose of his visit. After listening, Marquis Chengen's gaze lingered on Jiang Yu and the other two for a moment. Although his expression remained calm, his mind was in turmoil.
Like everyone else, she had never placed Prince An in the same position as the other princes. The reason was simple: by placing him in the position of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the emperor had effectively blocked his path to the throne.
Imagine, which official would be willing to let someone who might know many of their secrets become emperor?
But now, Marquis Chengen felt that it wasn't impossible for Prince An to inherit the throne. His gaze swept over Jiang Yu and Prince Rui, seemingly casually. If these two supported Prince An, the possibility of him inheriting the throne was very high.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, among the princes, Prince An's abilities are the most outstanding. Thinking of this, Marquis Chengen felt a pang of sadness; he thought of the late Crown Prince…
Her hands clenched into fists involuntarily. The death of the late Crown Prince was not only a pain for the Empress, but also for their Cheng'en Marquis's mansion. However, she was, after all, a man who had weathered many storms, and these inner wounds could not affect her judgment.
He then looked at Prince Rui and asked, "What kind of weapon is the explosive charge that Your Highness mentioned?"
Since Prince Rui wanted to test the power of the explosive charge here, it meant he trusted Marquis Chengen. He explained the situation of the explosive charge to Marquis Chengen, whose eyes lit up as he listened, and finally he couldn't wait to say, "Your Highness, may I have a look?"
“Of course, Your Highness, please have someone summon my personal attendant,” said Prince Rui.
The Marquis of Chengen looked at his heir, who immediately stood up and walked out. A moment later, he returned with a servant carrying a wooden box. The Marquis of Chengen stood up somewhat eagerly, and Prince Rui, without keeping him in suspense, instructed the servant to open the box. The Marquis of Chengen and his son hurried over to look inside.
Inside the square wooden box, about two feet in size, lay a yellowish-brown package bound with rope. Although the package looked simple, the strong smell of gunpowder emanating from it made it a serious matter.
"How powerful is this...?" asked Prince Wenrui, heir apparent to the Marquis of Chengen.
“Destroying a bridge is not a problem,” Prince Rui said.
The Marquis of Chengen and his son became even more excited. They looked at the explosive charge with a greedy gaze. Then the Marquis of Chengen said, "Let's test the power of this explosive charge first, and then the three of you can see the power of the Rocket Force."
Jiang Yu and the other two naturally wouldn't object to this. Marquis Chengen instructed his heir to make preparations while he chatted with them. During their conversation, he repeatedly probed why Jiang Yu and the others were here to observe the Rocket Force's training results and test the power of the explosive charges.
However, all three were shrewd individuals, and they wouldn't be tricked into revealing anything they didn't want to say. The emperor was unaware of the "flexing muscles" plan, and naturally, it couldn't be disclosed to others at this time. But once the emperor approved the plan, Marquis Cheng'en should be the first person to be notified.
A little over fifteen minutes later, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Chengen returned, leading several men to an abandoned warehouse about two miles outside the camp. Pointing to several abandoned houses, the heir apparent asked Prince Rui, "Does Your Highness think these houses are suitable?"
Prince Rui looked at the abandoned houses, with walls made of blue bricks and roofs of blue tiles. Although they looked old and had not been used for many years, they were still sturdy. He said, "It's fine."
Having said that, he strode towards the abandoned house, and Jiang Yu and the others quickly followed. They saw Prince Rui enter the house, ignoring the mess and filth inside, take the explosive pack from his servant, look around, and walk to the southeast corner, where some dirty and messy things of unknown origin were piled up.
When the Marquis of Chengen saw that he was about to put the explosives there, he stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, please allow me to tidy up the clutter."
"Need not."
Prince Rui squatted down, his fair hand reaching into the pile of dirty junk. He pulled out some things from the bottom, made a hole in the bottom of the junk, put the explosive charge in the hole, and then, holding the fuse, bent over and walked out until he was about two meters away from the house.
He reached out to his attendant for a tinderbox, and the attendant immediately said, "Your Highness, let this servant do it."
Prince Rui grunted and stood up. His attendant squatted down, took out a tinderbox, lit the fuse, and ran back. Prince Rui looked at Jiang Yu and the others and said, "Retreat." Jiang Yu and Prince An immediately ran back quickly, while Marquis Chengen and his son stood there without moving, wanting to observe more closely.
Seeing this, Jiang Yu turned around and grabbed the sleeve of the Marquis of Chengen, quickly retreating. Although she didn't know the power of the explosive charge that Prince Rui had made, she had seen the power of explosive charges on television in her previous life.
Putting aside everything else, the story of the people's hero Huang Jiguang blowing up a cement bridge with a bomb is something that the people of the whole country know.
Marquis Chengen, having been pulled along, immediately realized he had been somewhat dazed. He thanked Jiang Yu and quickly retreated. Marquis Chengen's heir, also clever, saw his father running backward and immediately followed.
The group ran to a spot about ten meters away from the dilapidated house and stopped. The fuse was already burning towards the doorway. Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the burning fuse.
One breath, two breaths, three breaths...
A few dozen breaths later, with a deafening roar, the dilapidated house collapsed from one corner, billowing thick smoke and dust. Everyone present, except for Jiang Yu and Prince Rui, was utterly shocked. Such power, if it had struck a person, would have been fatal.
After a moment of stunned silence, Marquis Chengen strode toward the dilapidated house, and his heir quickly followed. The steps of the father and son seemed to carry both shock and joy.
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