Chapter 273 The East Wind Blows, Blooming a Thousand Trees of Flowers (…)
By the time Qi Chengming led his men to another mountaintop and they had settled in, nearly half an hour had passed.
It was already getting dark, but the emperor was not in the palace. They weren't even sure if they could get back before the palace was locked... most likely not. Where would they stay tonight?
Xiao Chengzi felt very uneasy when he thought about this.
Fortunately, Xiao Dezi quickly put his arm around his shoulder and patted him on the shoulder like good buddies. After years of friendship, how could he not know what Xiao Chengzi was worried about? Xiao Dezi, on the other hand, was easygoing and even found it exciting—after all, their Emperor held all the power, so even if he wasn't in the capital or the palace at night, the Empress Dowager wouldn't scold him anymore.
"Here... phew, this should be enough." Fang Bi said breathlessly, her legs feeling weak.
As someone knowledgeable in the field, she chose to accompany Qi Chengming on a secluded mountain hike to provide explanations. What she didn't understand was why His Majesty had said he would find a way to signal the camp to test fire once they reached a suitable position. How was that to be done?
Qi Chengming silently bought a "Voice-like Pill" from the system store and swallowed it while drinking water from a bamboo tube.
This bamboo tube wasn't some crude or simple compromise; rather, the craftsman specially selected high-quality bamboo tubes. First, he sawed off the head, then coated the body with oil and soaked it for a day. After repeated drying, polishing, and smoothing, he carved patterns of flowers, plants, insects, and fish on the sides, making it appear emerald green and full of wild charm. Since the bamboo tube had shrunk by a size, the original top cover was placed on a piece of silk cloth, which allowed it to be sealed tightly.
There are also sixteen strands of woven thread in the upper middle part of the bamboo tube, which can be used to hold the bamboo tube, and a small jade pendant can be hung from the hanging end. In this way, when Qi Chengming wears it at his waist, it is as elegant and beautiful as other ornaments.
Yes.
Rather than being used for drinking water while out for a stroll, this thing seemed more like a fancy and fun fashion item that the artisans gave to the emperor.
"Cough cough..." Qi Chengming cleared his throat, feeling as if he could control the switching between his true voice and falsetto, and control whether the sound came from his throat or his nose. He could also control whether his voice was normal or booming.
"—Test firing begins." He stepped forward deliberately to avoid disturbing others and announced loudly.
The rumbling sound echoed through the mountains, deafeningly loud, stirring up echoes and startling birds, and carried far and wide.
Fang Bi's pupils dilated slightly, and she subconsciously held her breath.
Although she had heard many rumors about the night His Majesty ascended the throne, all sorts of things, but...
Nothing beats seeing it with your own eyes!
The others were alright. Whether it was the imperial guards who came to protect him or the palace maids and eunuchs who served him closely, they were all Qi Chengming's confidants, and most of them had already experienced that night. But now, seeing His Majesty perform a miracle again, they couldn't help but tremble all over, kneeling on the ground, filled with extraordinary awe.
Xiao Dezi: "..."
Xiao Chengzi: "..."
His Majesty is no longer hiding anything from us.
A brief commotion arose from the camp, but it quickly subsided. Qi Chengming took out a small bamboo telescope, but no matter how he looked, he couldn't make out anything. The area below the mountain was a vast, dark expanse, and the deep forests where no one ever came were even more frighteningly dark. Apart from the torches they had brought, there wasn't a single glimmer of light.
That was a miscalculation.
Qi Chengming thought to himself.
He should have brought the drone; at least it has night vision.
However, the drone's positioning capabilities only truly come into play when combined with long-range attack rockets. He'll have to test this when he gets back, and see if he can allocate one to the research department so they can learn how to operate it.
Otherwise, people in ancient times would have no experience dealing with attacks beyond visual range and would have had to rely on blind firing. This would make the battlefield too unpredictable.
It must be used in conjunction with drones.
"Whoosh—" A sharp, piercing sound rang out.
Qi Chengming suddenly looked up and saw a streak of light trailing a flame across the night sky.
Gan Tang stared in shock. Although Commander Mao had repeatedly warned himself that he should be more vigilant in such situations, he still couldn't help but look up when that unusual sound rang out from above, and he was horrified.
The streak of flame simply flew by, unremarkable, and because it landed beyond the horizon, all that could be heard was a muffled, faint explosion.
Qi Chengming couldn't help but sigh, "When will I be able to see the scene of 'a thousand trees blooming in the east wind at night' again?"
Although he was being greedy, he really wanted it!
The traveler knelt on the ground, unable to contain his shock, and boldly glanced at His Majesty: "…………"
He's not someone who doesn't read at all, so what is Your Majesty talking about?
Those present knew best how shocking the shell that had just flown past under the cover of night was; they couldn't help but kneel down.
But... is Your Majesty still not satisfied?
It seems that His Majesty has witnessed even more awe-inspiring scenes.
The traveler dared not think any further.
Hearing the young emperor mutter, Fang Bi also looked troubled: "Your Majesty, is this why you named it 'East Wind'?"
These expectations, these heavy burdens... weighed heavily on Fang Bi.
Will she be able to see His Majesty live to see that day, even if she dedicates her entire life to it?
Fang Bi was unsure of herself, but she could only grit her teeth and agree: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty and your servants will do our best."
Qi Chengming came to his senses and saw that it was completely dark. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Let's go down the mountain. You don't need to worry too much. Just take this as a good expectation."
Looking at the technological gap alone, there's a difference of nearly a thousand years.
Fang Bi nodded, walked to Qi Chengming's side, and, whatever she was thinking, began to describe the inventory situation in great detail:
"We've made twenty Dongfeng cannons so far. The cannons are in very stable condition and can be used year-round. Five Dongfeng rockets—the tubes used to make the rockets can only be used once because they're too powerful; the debris is too bad to use anymore. Then the experiments wore out fourteen tubes, so now it's fifteen."
Fang Bi quickly calculated in her mind and answered, "...There are still sixty steel pipes left in the camp."
She walked down the mountain in small steps, peering at His Majesty's indistinct profile in the dim light of the torches, awaiting instructions.
"Make ten more cannons, and turn the remaining fifty rounds into rockets." Qi Chengming gritted his teeth, leaving no stock. After overseeing a major military supplies preparation, he understood that the war was raging, and by the time the supplies were needed, it would be too late to make rockets.
While the Dongfeng cannons were formidable, Qi Chengming had other means to assist or replace them in various ways. Only rockets were his trump card, his current strategic weapon.
"Yes." Fang Bi took note carefully and said shrewdly, "I will take precautions and keep it confidential."
Qi Chengming nodded, lost in thought, and descended the mountain without saying another word.
Now is not the time.
The existing rationing system in Dingguo needs to be addressed gradually, like a festering sore, piecemeal. Natural disasters and man-made calamities in various regions also need to be dealt with. The people have suffered years of war and heavy taxes; they need time to recover and catch their breath. The wool processing method can conveniently keep those restless small countries in check…
It's not the right time yet...
Wait a little longer, and this well-sharpened sword will finally be revealed to the world.
...
That night, after Qi Chengming and his group had gone through many hardships to return to the outskirts of Beijing, it was already late at night.
"No need to knock on the gate, the city's security is quite good." Qi Chengming secretly raised his binoculars, intently observing in the darkness. Some of the soldiers guarding the city gate were yawning, some were chatting quietly, but they were changing shifts as usual, maintaining an orderly line of several men. There were no sleeping soldiers, nor were there any obvious cases of dereliction of duty.
That's enough.
"But...where are we going to spend the night?" Commander Mao scratched his head in distress and asked worriedly.
Please.
Spending the night in the wilderness with an emperor in your arms means he'll be dead by tomorrow morning!
Qi Chengming turned his head with a strange expression, looking at the wail that Mao Datong had unconsciously let out. He put his hand on Mao Datong's door-like shoulder with an annoyance and threatened in a low voice, "If you don't find a place now, you'll die tonight."
Qi Chengming raised his chin, gesturing for him to look to the side.
De Gonggong stared at him with resentment, clearly eager to make a move.
Everyone had just spent the afternoon climbing the mountain, and they were all exhausted and nearing their limits. Now that His Majesty's safety was uncertain, and since it had been announced that they would be camping in the wilderness, they had no time to dawdle here!
"Don't worry, there are so many of us, we can't find enough rooms in ordinary farmhouses. Let's just sleep in the fields—it's been years since we've done this, and I miss it a bit." Qi Chengming patted the curtain of the carriage. Fortunately, the trip to the camp was short, so to save time, the Imperial Guards rode horses the whole way, while the rest of his trusted confidants sat in Qi Chengming's carriage and another carriage behind him carrying his travel supplies.
Let the horses huddle together in a circle, squeeze in with each other, and they can manage sleeping in the open.
"Understood, Your Majesty." Commander Mao stopped arguing and went to find his men to prepare for taking turns keeping watch at night.
Qi Chengming felt at ease.
At this distance, he could easily summon a drone. Drones have a high-altitude hovering standby mode, only issuing an alarm when an anomaly is detected. All Qi Chengming needs to do is mark everyone present as friendly.
"Your Highness." In the distance, the Imperial Guards who had dispersed returned one after another, whispering to each other, as if they had made a discovery.
Qi Chengming looked over sharply: "What's wrong?"
At the very top of his talent list appeared a few nearby names; aside from the green of the Imperial Guards, the rest were in ordinary white. Did this mean the Imperial Guards had encountered… civilians?
In this desolate wilderness?
“They live here, Your Highness,” Youzi changed his form of address and walked over to speak in a low voice, looking at the somewhat uneasy group of people, “...they built their own shacks, like tents. They make a living by doing odd jobs, and it’s already like a small village.”
The group of seven or eight people, including men, women, and children, knelt down uneasily. The elderly man at the head of the group mustered his courage and said tremblingly, "Honorable sir... honorable sir, are you well?"
Qi Chengming had someone quickly help them up, and asked with concern, "Old folks, why are you living here? How long have you been here? Where is your original house? Don't you have any land?"
"this……"
The old man stammered, unsure of what to say, as if afraid of offending the distinguished guest, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
"Tell me, if you have any difficulties, I can help you solve them."
Perhaps it was Qi Chengming's overly confident tone that finally made the old man set aside his concerns and speak hesitantly: "We've lived here for several years now. The war has been fierce, and the border taxes have been getting heavier and heavier... Some people couldn't make ends meet and went to live with wealthy families. We simply can't afford it and don't want to sell ourselves into slavery, so we have no choice but to..."
Qi Chengming's gaze sharpened as he grasped the key point.
—Border troops?
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Author's Note: Third update, phew!
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