Chapter 82 When the first explosion rang out...
When the first explosion rang out, Ying Wang finally understood just how powerful Qin Ren's words were.
To put it simply, nothing is more terrifying than heavenly thunder.
Ying Wang had seen a person struck by lightning, and that person was still a whole person.
However, if someone were blown up by the gunpowder Qin Ren made, they wouldn't be a whole person anymore.
Because that gunpowder can blast mountains apart, how can the flesh and blood of ordinary people be compared with mountains and rocks?
They were some distance from the mountain, but even so, the sound made their ears ring.
If he hadn't listened to Qin Ren and insisted on watching up close, he might have actually gotten hurt.
Looking at the distant mountains, Prince Ying sighed, "This gunpowder is truly terrifying. If it were deployed on the battlefield, we could win without even fighting."
Qin Ren smiled upon hearing this, "Gunpowder is indeed powerful, but it also has limitations. It is extremely dangerous to deploy, posing a threat to our soldiers. Also, we don't produce enough gunpowder yet, so we can't deploy too much on the battlefield."
Qin Ren had told them this before; in his view, given the limited amount of gunpowder, it was better to use it where it was more useful.
However... judging from the way Ying Wang is staring at the mountains over there, he seems to have other plans in mind.
King Ying: "It doesn't matter if there aren't many. The main purpose of these things is deterrence. As long as Marquis Yuling is willing to give some away, I believe that their existence will be of great benefit to the army."
Upon hearing this, Qin Ren's eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately understood the meaning behind Ying Wang's words.
I reckon they didn't really want a gunpowder, but rather wanted him to voluntarily "hand over" the gunpowder.
Qin Ren thought about it carefully. He figured Prince Ying was worried about the power of gunpowder, especially since Qin Ren was currently far away in his fiefdom and still had some private troops. He feared that if Qin Ren had too much gunpowder, it would threaten his brother's throne.
Since King Ying had such concerns, Qin Ren thought it would be better to simply hand everything over.
He happened to be quite tired lately, and his purpose in making gunpowder and firearms was not because he really wanted to rebel.
He simply did not want the people of his fiefdom to be bullied.
The creation of these items, whether given to him or the emperor, will make Yongzhou even stronger.
Once Da Yong becomes powerful, naturally no petty person will dare to plot against the people of Da Yong.
Qin Ren said to Prince Ying, "I am willing to hand over the methods for making both gunpowder and muskets to Your Majesty. As for how to use them, that will also be left to Your Majesty to decide."
Seeing that Qin Ren was as sensible as ever, Ying Wang smiled.
"Marquis Yuling is truly a great talent of Dayong. This time, you have created such a powerful weapon. His Majesty will surely reward you handsomely when he finds out."
"It is my honor to serve Da Yong."
...
Qin Ren said he would hand over the items, and he started making preparations when he returned.
However, King Ying did not actually make him hand over the firearms completely. Firstly, the manufacturing method of firearms is different from other things, and Qin Ren would need to find a way to improve the firearms in the future. Therefore, Qin Ren could not completely ignore the firearms.
Secondly, he couldn't just take all the benefits; he still needed to give Qin Ren some rewards.
Qin Ren is indeed a very capable person, and King Ying does not want Qin Ren to feel unhappy.
If possible, he still hopes to make good use of Qin Ren and wants to give Qin Ren a good outcome in the future.
So when Qin Ren said he wanted to hand over the muskets, King Ying simply added a few of his own men to the list. These men were there to ensure that the muskets would not be leaked.
In this matter, Qin Ren still has the final say.
The emperor would pay to buy the muskets, bullets, and gunpowder that Qin Ren made from him.
In this way, the muskets remained under the emperor's control, and Qin Ren could also make money from them.
The emperor simply gave Qin Ren money, not much power, so he wasn't worried that Qin Ren would be able to rebel.
The days that followed flew by, and a year passed in the blink of an eye.
Prince Ying only stayed with Qin Ren for a year before leaving, once he was certain that Qin Ren had no intention of rebelling.
Also leaving with him was Wen Lingzheng, who had been staying with Qin Ren for several years.
Wen Lingzheng didn't really want to leave, but her father was getting old.
The emperor intended for him to go to the northern border to hone his skills so that he could eventually succeed the Marquis of Zhenbei in taking charge of the Zhenbei Army.
Upon learning this news, Wen Lingzheng naturally could no longer stay.
He had indeed been away from the battlefield for a long time, and now was the perfect opportunity for him to gain valuable experience.
With Prince Ying gone and Wen Lingzheng gone, no one in the fiefdom had a higher status than Qin Ren, and Qin Ren finally had time to do some things.
Over the past few years, Qin Ren has gained some understanding of the situation in his fiefdom.
Some landlords and gentry, relying on their wealth, colluded with local officials and committed many heinous acts.
With Wen Lingzheng and Prince Ying present, Qin Ren couldn't show off his skills in front of them.
Because those landlords and gentry symbolized aristocratic families.
The royal family is the largest aristocratic family.
If Qin Ren were to do anything, it would more or less make Prince Ying feel uncomfortable.
Now that Prince Ying has finally left, Qin Ren wants to unleash his full potential and do something.
A month after King Ying left, the reward for Qin Ren's work in making gunpowder and firearms was also delivered.
Although the gunpowder and muskets were not completely confiscated, Qin Ren still deserved his reward.
Only by giving Qin Ren more honors and rewards can Qin Ren be motivated to continue to serve Dayong.
Similarly, this is also meant to show the people of the world, so that more talented people will be willing to serve the court.
This time, in addition to various gold and silver jewels, Liu Qingyue was also given a special honor.
That means the emperor bestowed an imperial title upon Liu Qingyue, making her his husband.
This is an immense honor. From now on, even if Liu Qingyue goes out and travels alone, no one will dare to bully him just because he is a husband.
Liu Qingyue never expected that the emperor would bestow an imperial decree upon him.
Given his family's circumstances, even if Qin Ren made many contributions to Dayong, he shouldn't have benefited from them.
To his surprise, the emperor bestowed upon him an imperial title this time.
It's unclear whether it was truly because of Qin Ren, or because he wanted to tell the people of the world that he was a wise and magnanimous ruler.
Regardless of the reason, the benefits are indeed real, and Liu Qingyue is naturally willing to accept them.
Liu Qingyue and Qin Ren reviewed the emperor's rewards this time, which were more generous than those before.
There were five thousand taels of gold alone. Looking at the chest full of gold, Liu Qingyue said to Qin Ren beside her, "Didn't you say before that the national treasury is empty?"
Previously, Qin Ren wanted to build a river embankment, but the emperor refused his request.
At that time, Qin Ren guessed that the treasury of Da Yong probably didn't have that much silver.
Seeing so many rewards, Liu Qingyue couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.
Qin Ren: "That was a year ago. Now, many people are surviving thanks to sweet potatoes. The new brewing recipe I gave to Prince Ying has probably helped His Majesty earn a lot."
Wine has always been a best-selling item.
Even though many people know that drinking leads to mistakes and harms health, many still rush to drink it.
Before Qin Ren came to Dayong, many people enjoyed even the most ordinary, cloudy wine.
Qin Ren obtained a new brewing recipe, and the wine he brewed tasted much better than the previous cloudy wine.
It's estimated that these wines alone could earn the emperor a considerable amount of money.
With the national treasury becoming more abundant, the emperor naturally became much more generous than before.
Liu Qingyue: "This is too much silver. Let's send some to the modern world."
Qin Ren did not bring back to the modern world any of the previous rewards.
Including the revenue from their workshops and shops, their family's treasury had a considerable amount of silver, enough to cover the expenses of their manor.
Qin Ren nodded upon hearing this, and then personally transported the gold to the modern era.
Besides gold, there were thirty bolts of fine brocade, two boxes of South China Sea pearls, two boxes of precious herbs, and many paintings and calligraphy works by famous people.
Liu Qingyue rummaged through the items, keeping the cloth and sending the rest to the modern world.
Afterwards, Qin Ren returned to the modern world alone and stayed for almost half a month, where he cashed out 500 taels of gold in two different places.
With this sum of money, their family was no longer short of money in the modern world for the time being.
To avoid attracting too much attention, Qin Ren did not continue to convert the remaining gold into cash.
He gave half of the cash from this sale to Liu Qingyue.
Their child is almost two years old, and they'll gradually start preparing for school.
Liu Qingyue is now very independent and can handle many things on his own.
Qin Ren thought about giving him more money, since Liu Qingyue could make her own decisions about some minor matters.
Of the remaining half, Qin Ren set aside two million to fund the education of impoverished children in mountainous areas.
Two million is really not a large number for those impoverished mountainous areas.
However, if only a few children are selected, it is still possible to sponsor their college education.
Nowadays, the country has good welfare benefits, and many public schools have very low tuition fees.
If you have excellent grades, you may not only receive a scholarship but also have the possibility of tuition waiver.
If you don't pursue a high quality of life, it actually doesn't cost too much money to sponsor a child's schooling.
Of course, there are also some truly wealthy people who sponsor a student to complete four years of university, with tuition and living expenses totaling over 200,000 yuan.
Qin Ren felt that since they were all students from impoverished families, they shouldn't pursue a better life.
Moreover, raising children too well is not necessarily a good thing for them.
Because Qin Ren is not their biological father, he cannot protect them for life.
Once they finish school, they will have to face the harsh realities of society on their own.
With so many people in society today, raising children too well and spoiling them might indirectly harm them.
They might not be able to withstand the storms of life, and they might even resent Qin Ren for not continuing to support them.
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