Chapter 213 Gunpowder
The Li family certainly didn't have the means to go to the imperial camp on the outskirts of Beijing at Shili Slope to see how Emperor Wu inspected his troops, but just because the Li family couldn't go didn't mean others couldn't.
For example, Xing Yu's family is one of the families that can go.
Xing Yu has now recovered from the shock and panic. Holding his young son, he looked up at Xing Dalang and said, "You stay with me and your mother and never leave. There are too many people today. If you get separated, you really won't be able to find us."
Xing Dalang, who was about to turn fourteen after the New Year, nodded and stretched out his hands: "Son, come and hug your younger brother. He's really heavy now."
Xing Yu handed the youngest son to his eldest son, then said to the guards beside him, "Hurry up, let's buy some food and head out of the city. We should be able to make it in time."
But by the time Xing Yu and other commoners with some wealth arrived at the edge of the camp on the outskirts of the capital, Emperor Wu had already finished watching the soldiers' drills.
Not only that, he also delivered a speech.
The gist is, "I owe my current state, the Tang Dynasty's current state, and the people's peaceful lives to all of you soldiers. It is because of you that the Tang Dynasty is what it is today! You are all meritorious officials of the Tang Dynasty!"
These words ignited the soldiers' passion, making them eager to grab their spears and swords and immediately sacrifice their lives for Emperor Wu.
After the soldiers finished their drills, the weapons of war were displayed.
In addition to the conventional siege weapons such as catapults, battering rams, towers, and crossbows, there was also a great gift from Du Qinghui: a newly developed weapon that was reserved for last.
This weapon, which is extremely destructive and should not have appeared at this time, can be said to be an epoch-making thing. Before it was transported to Chang'an, it was naturally discussed with Emperor Wu and the Ministry of War from beginning to end.
This weapon was also the main reason why the civil officials had to agree to Emperor Wu's request to inspect the soldiers.
Civil officials may be forced by the "threat" of force, but at the same time, this internal struggle between civil and military officials is a problem we have to solve behind closed doors. However, once the doors are open, it becomes a common goal for us.
This groundbreaking weapon is of great significance in deterring those small states and tribes on the borders far from Chang'an who are not content with the status quo and are always secretly plotting trouble.
The best strategy in warfare is to subdue the enemy without fighting; the greatest skill of a physician lies in preventing disease before it occurs.
In a corner of the training ground, in a tent specially set up for Emperor Wu, besides Emperor Wu sitting in the center, the Prince Xiang was to her lower right, and Princess Taiping was sitting below him.
On the left are three prime ministers, led by Lou Shide, and many officials are seated in order of their rank.
Following behind were the smaller states and tribes that brought their kings' letters of state and their finest products to the Tang Dynasty as gifts.
At this moment, a young general stepped forward, came to the center, saluted Emperor Wu, and then spoke loudly: "Today is the birthday of His Majesty of the Great Tang Dynasty. On behalf of General Du, I would like to present a congratulatory gift to His Majesty, wishing him a long life and the Great Tang Dynasty a prosperous future!"
After saying this, the man bowed and left the center, then went to the side and waved and nodded to a soldier.
Then the soldier ran away.
Then, a short while later, the sound of war drums rang out. At this time, Emperor Wu and the others were invited out of the training ground and came to the northwest, where they saw a newly built high platform.
After waiting for a while, there was nothing particularly beautiful to see except for a few hills not far away.
Suddenly, a deafening roar from afar exploded in everyone's ears, accompanied by a strong tremor that shook the earth.
For a moment, many people thought that the earth had turned over. At this moment, Prince Xiang grabbed Princess Taiping's hand and looked anxiously at Emperor Wu.
The ministers at the front, dressed in bright red round-necked robes, remained quite calm. Of course, the reason for their calmness was that they had been informed in advance that this would have such an effect.
After a moment of panic, the ministers in scarlet robes who were seated at the back saw that the bigwigs in front of them were not afraid or nervous at all. Those who were quick-witted naturally realized that this was deliberate.
Okay, now that we know it was done by someone, it was intentional and generally controllable, so we can relax.
When Prince Xiang dragged Princess Taiping to Emperor Wu's side, Emperor Wu looked completely calm and showed no sign of being frightened.
Emperor Wu patted Prince Xiang on the shoulder: "My son, do not be afraid. It is not an earthquake, but a birthday gift for me."
Among those who didn't know what was going on, the bolder ones remained relatively calm. Seeing that none of the important figures above had moved and the Imperial Guards standing around were also fine, they figured it out: this was probably intentional.
This was probably arranged in advance.
Where there are bold people, there are also timid ones. For example, the envoy from Annam was so frightened that he fell to the ground.
After a while, once everyone had calmed down, someone noticed that one of the hills that were not far away seemed to have disappeared out of nowhere!
"This...is this a miracle?"
When someone looked in the direction the man was pointing, the others realized that the hilltop had been leveled!
It seems that a giant took a long sword and effortlessly cleaved a mountaintop flat with a single stroke!
After a moment of astonishment, shouts of fear and excitement erupted simultaneously from the crowd.
"This...this really is a miracle, isn't it?"
"Ah! What a miracle? This is General Du's birthday gift to the Emperor!"
"Haha, haha, very good, very good! With such a powerful weapon in our Great Tang Dynasty, what is there to fear!"
"Ah, so that's what caused that earth-dragon-like awe-inspiring scene just now?"
...
After witnessing the effects of the gunpowder explosion, Emperor Wu had a clear understanding of the situation and, unwilling to linger and listen to the chattering of others, got up and headed towards his tent.
The young general who had come to present Du Qinghui's birthday gift earlier returned. He saluted Emperor Wu and, after receiving the emperor's permission, said, "This is a birthday gift from General Du to Your Majesty, called gunpowder. It is extremely powerful and can easily flatten a small hill. If Your Majesty wishes to see it, we have brought enough today to detonate it again for Your Majesty to witness its power."
"Alright, General Du, you're too kind. This is good, but there's no need for another batch. We can discuss it another time."
"yes."
...
Outside the training ground, the common people who had followed the emperor from a distance of about three hundred feet, separated by the Imperial Guards, learned from the messengers that the seemingly earth-dragon-turning-over-the-earth phenomenon was not actually an earth-dragon-turning-over-the-earth phenomenon, but rather a birthday gift from General Du Qinghui to the emperor—a new weapon of war.
Old Zhou, sitting in a corner, patted his chest and said to his eldest son, "Goodness, this scared me to death! I thought the earth had turned upside down, but it turns out to be a birthday gift. This is amazing, truly amazing. This trip was definitely worthwhile."
Zhou Dalang was also a little frightened, but he agreed with Old Man Zhou's words in his heart: "This trip was definitely worthwhile."
Although it's not very clear from here, the loud noise and the tremors from the ground are undeniable.
The locals were talking loudly to each other, venting their fear from the fright they had just experienced. They felt that coming to see it sooner was definitely the right decision; the trip had not been in vain, and they would have something to talk about when they got home.
Xing Yu's carriage was positioned further forward than Zhou Laoweng's, after all, he was indeed wealthy.
At first, Xing Yu also thought it was an earthquake, but when he saw that the Imperial Guards maintaining order in front of him were not flustered at all, he knew that it was not the case.
With her excellent eyesight, Xing Yu could clearly see the mountain in the distance that was obviously different from the two mountains next to it, and that it had been artificially flattened.
At that moment, Xing Yu felt nervous.
When someone from the Imperial Guard came to explain to the people, Xing Yu didn't know whether he was excited or scared.
With the advent of gunpowder, the era of firearms began.
The Tang Dynasty is about to reach even greater heights.
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