Jing Zhe waited on the street, and soon Hanhan and Zhou Zhiwei returned looking like refugees, each carrying a large sack.
It's understandable that they'd ask for more saltpeter, since there's certainly no shortage of firecrackers, and Jing Zhe gave Han Han a lot of money to buy it at a price higher than the market price, so others would definitely be willing to sell it to him.
It was surprising that Zhou Zhi failed to bring back such a large bag of sulfur; could it be that the pharmacy had been completely looted?
After asking, it was confirmed that Zhou Zhiwei didn't know how much he wanted to buy, so he simply bought it all. The young medicine boy originally didn't want to sell it, fearing that Zhou Zhiwei would use so much sulfur for bad purposes, but when he heard that he was from Jinxi, he finally agreed.
"Okay, let's carry it home first!"
So the two of them, looking rather tired, carried the sacks and headed towards the Jing family's house. Hanhan was a trained martial artist, so carrying such a sack wasn't difficult for him. But Zhou Zhiwei, a delicate young master, was already exhausted from returning from the pharmacy. After walking such a long distance, he collapsed onto the ground when he arrived at the Jing family's door.
This time, he didn't say a word, afraid that Jing Zhe would accuse him of "talking too much" again...
"Brother Zhou, your physique isn't good! How can you write calligraphy like that?"
"Brother Jing... does calligraphy have anything to do with physique?"
Zhou Zhiwei was panting heavily, looking puzzled.
"Of course! If you're too good at calligraphy, you'll easily attract jealousy and get beaten up. If you're not physically strong, you won't even be able to run away!"
"..."
The Jing family.
Zhu Xinning went to the palace for court and then went directly back to the Prime Minister's residence, while Liu Jinghong went to inspect the Jinghong Iron Cavalry's encampment in Jingzhou City. Although Zhu Xinning and Liu Jinghong both acted like little girls when they were with him at night, they were definitely strong women when they were outside.
This contrast was quite wonderful, and Jing Zhe thoroughly enjoyed it.
After telling Zhou Zhiwei and Hanhan to put their things down, Jing Zhe then dismissed them, saying, "Brother Zhou, that's enough for today. You should go back now!"
"???"
Exhausted like a dog, Zhou Zhiwei couldn't help but ask a few questions.
You promised to practice calligraphy!
"Your physique isn't up to par. Go back and practice some more. I'll teach you cursive script once you've improved!"
"Brother Jing, there's no need to train my physique. After all, I don't like to show off like you. I just entertain myself at home. No one will beat me up. You should teach me instead!"
But in my heart I was thinking, "You love to show off so much, but you haven't gotten beaten up yet?"
"Oh, I see..."
After thinking for a moment, I said, "Come with me!"
Then he went out of the house and came to the banks of the Yi River. Pointing to the vast expanse of water, he asked, "What is this?"
"This is the Yi River!"
"Yes, then you can just stay here and watch. When you have an epiphany, come back and I'll teach you calligraphy!"
"..."
What kind of epiphany is this?
Seeing his confusion, Jing Zhe smiled and looked at the lake, saying, "There are three levels of calligraphy. The first is what you see now, water as water. The second is a bit more advanced, called seeing water as not water. As for the third, it is returning to simplicity, called seeing water as water again!"
Is writing calligraphy really that complicated?
Zhou Zhiwei looked at Jing Zhe and couldn't help but feel a deep respect. No wonder he had seen some masters who had written calligraphy all their lives, but none of them wrote as well as Jing Zhe. The difference in their levels was immense!
It seems that choosing a master was the right decision. Once he has mastered his skills, he will surely be able to display his great prowess when he returns to Jinxi!
But then, with great curiosity, he asked, "What level of cultivation is Brother Jing at? Is it the highest level, where one can see water as water?"
Jing Zhe shook his head. "My cultivation level is rather unique..."
"..."
...
After leaving Zhou Zhiwei stranded on the banks of the Yi River, Jing Zhe went home.
First, they had Hanhan bring sulfur and saltpeter into the room, and then they collected a lot of charcoal from the woodshed and carefully placed it on the table. The three giants of the gunpowder world had finally gathered together!
When he was making ice in Mangshan, the prototype of gunpowder manufacturing appeared in his mind.
His initial idea was to make some gunpowder for Lu Li. The immense power of the gunpowder would allow her to keep it as a backup, and she wouldn't have to fear the government's renewed siege of Mangshan.
However, Su Mochen intervened, and Lin Wenyao's family suffered a terrible fate. The newly appointed prefect also canceled the pursuit of the people from Mangshan, so the plan to produce gunpowder was shelved.
Yesterday in court, when the method of breaking the silver-threaded garment was mentioned, he remembered this plan again.
Undoubtedly, the fastest weapon to break through defenses is gunpowder, because it is highly sensitive, easily combustible, very simple to operate, and can be ignited by a tiny spark, while also being extremely destructive.
When each unit volume of gunpowder burns, the combustion temperature reaches over 1,000 degrees Celsius, and the volume can expand nearly ten thousand times. The resulting violent explosion can destroy buildings thousands or even tens of thousands of times larger in volume.
That's why Jing Zhe dared to bet with Qi Junguang that as long as there was enough gunpowder, he could blow up the entire Southern Qi, let alone just fifty Silver Thread Army soldiers!
Furthermore, if sharp blades or other hard objects like iron or stone are mixed into the gunpowder, the explosive force will be like that of a shotgun, easily piercing through the human body and causing even greater damage.
Although he wasn't an engineering student, he knew some of the original proportions of black powder.
However, as times have changed, this ratio has been improved in many ways, so he is going to test it.
He first crushed saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal into fine powder. Then, according to a fixed ratio, he had Hanhan find some bamboo tubes, number them, fill them with the raw materials, and after tamping them down, he added a long lead wire.
Because the raw materials were readily available and Jing Zhe had a design in mind, he made six black powder bamboo tubes with different proportions and quantities in less than half an hour.
At that moment, Hanhan knocked on the door.
"What's wrong?"
Jing Zhe opened the door and asked.
"Young Master Zhou is back, and he says he has understood!"
"..."
Jing Zhe went out and saw Zhou Zhiwei standing outside the door with his legs crossed, looking triumphant and smug.
Upon seeing Jing Zhe, he immediately cupped his hands and smiled, "Brother Jing, no, from now on I should call you Master! Just now, Master asked me to watch the flowing water by the Yi River. I thought Master was just teasing me, and I couldn't figure it out even after watching for a long time!"
"But when I saw the confluence of the Yi River and the sky in the distance, I suddenly realized! Looking at the water again, it really was just water!"
"..."
P.S.: A call to those reading pirated versions: Don't you sometimes feel the writing is superficial and leaves you wanting more? Then hurry up and read the official version! Because some things can only be seen in the official version. It's only one cent per chapter, you won't lose out, you won't be cheated, what are you waiting for? Come on over!
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