Chapter 29: The Dream of Immortality Shattered [Jinjiang Authentic Edition - Refining Gunpowder]...
"Eat Chicken," a phrase that implies cheering and celebrating success, has become a common catchphrase among later generations of internet enthusiasts. However, separated by more than two thousand years, the Qin elite naturally didn't understand and could easily misunderstand it. Zhao Gao, upon hearing the emperor's eldest grandson's cheers, was horrified. He couldn't help but steal a glance at the little baby, his round face flushed and his eyes sparkling, and silently sighed, "This is like a newborn calf fearless of a tiger! My young prince, you're not only fierce! You're also quite the tyrant! Two large chickens, having eaten the poisonous pill, immediately went to see the black bird, and you're still thinking of eating poisoned chicken?! How hard to judge!"
Although the First Emperor didn't comment on his grandson's suggestion, he was filled with mixed emotions. He had waited so long for the elixir of immortality, only to be met with such a shock! He was just a hair's breadth away from taking the elixir! Alas, the First Emperor, exhausted by this crushing blow, closed his eyes and solemnly instructed Zhao Gao:
"Zhao Gao, go take these two chickens down and bury them."
"Yes." Zhao Gao nodded in understanding and leaned forward to agree.
When you think about it carefully, this pair of chickens that crowed happily "cock-a-doodle-doo" and "cluck-cluck-cluck" were, after all, the first hen and rooster in the Qin Dynasty to ascend to heaven together after eating the emperor's elixir of immortality. It can be said that they were insignificant in life and glorious in death!
Now they are presented to the black bird in the sky by the First Emperor. Although the chicken couple are not worthy of two small coffins, they are still worthy of choosing a sparsely populated land to preserve the chicken corpses.
Zhao Gao was seen walking away in a hurry, carrying a bleeding chicken carcass in one hand.
Han Zhong, his hair disheveled from kowtows, was nearly frightened to death by the Emperor's deep, sinister, narrow eyes. Kneeling on the wooden floor, gasping for breath and weeping, he looked utterly awful, even at his age.
"Your Majesty! Before I came to the palace to present you with the elixir, I truly had no idea it was poisonous! You could have someone carefully investigate. This recipe is an ancient one that has been passed down from the Shang Dynasty. It's this recipe that has been wrong since the Shang Dynasty. I truly have no intention of harming you!"
Han Zhong, who knew the First Emperor's temperament well, burst into tears, feeling despair. He knew this matter was truly serious! It was on par with Jing Ke's assassination of Qin Shi Huang! If things went wrong, not only would he die, but his entire school would be ruined! The alchemists of the Qin Dynasty would hate him from now on!
The First Emperor listened to Han Zhong's sobbing, pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and said nothing. The reason why he could still tolerate Han Zhong crying and begging for mercy in front of him was because he knew that Han Zhong really did not want to harm him, but was deceived by the elixir recipe passed down by his master.
Although his original intention was harmless, his actions were to directly deliver such a poisonous pill to him without inspection! The fact that he almost accidentally ingested it was also a terrible fact that could not be disputed!
Two healthy chickens, shaking their wings, walked seven steps happily on the wooden floor with their chests and heads held high, but in the end, they both had blood at the corners of their mouths and fell stiffly on the wooden floor. The horrifying scene has been deeply engraved in the mind of the First Emperor, and even Ying Zheng couldn't help but have some psychological trauma about all the pills. After all, he was only one sentence away from swallowing the pill from his grandson, "Please keep the person alive under the pill"!
Han Zhong was truly guilty of a heinous crime! He refined the elixir for him, yet he refused to eat it himself?! How could such a ridiculous and outrageous thing happen in the world?!
The more he thought about it, the more depressed he became, and the eyes of the First Emperor became extremely cold. He stared at Han Zhong with deep eyes, which made Han Zhong tremble all over and his back felt cold. He felt that in the next moment, his head would be completely separated from Han Zhong.
Ying, the little fat boy in the arms of the First Emperor, was clapping his hands with joy because he had defeated the fraudulent alchemist. But after Zhao Gao left in a hurry, he felt the increasingly oppressive atmosphere around him. Seeing that his grandfather looked at Han Zhong with a cold gaze as if he was looking at a dead person, his heart skipped a beat and his clapping hands slowly stopped.
After all, he has only been here for half a year, and his values are still the same as those of a good boy in his previous life.
The entire inner hall was now dead silent. He could vaguely feel that his father, who was in a low mood, was about to start a massacre among the alchemists! The little baby who had just been able to slap old man Han in the face, looked at Han Zhong kneeling on the floor with a face full of despair, crying as if he was about to collapse. His mood was also affected by the desperate cry of old man Han and became less relaxed.
He tilted his furry little head up to look at his grandfather, opened his mouth to say something, and the mechanical electronic sound rang in his mind again.
[Congratulations, host! Your luck is truly amazing! After personally experiencing the famous historical scene of "book burning," the host is now about to experience the famous scene of "burying Confucian scholars alive"!]
Qin Ying: “???”
[Under the host's desperate efforts, the host successfully completed the task of persuading the First Emperor to take the three-no elixir. However, this caused the First Emperor to lose trust in the entire group of alchemists, and he began to feel a bit of fear from within. Based on the idea of rather killing a thousand by mistake than letting one go, the First Emperor planned to use this incident as an excuse to order the burial alive of all the fraudulent alchemists in Xianyang City!]
Han Zhong was the most prominent alchemist in the Qin Dynasty. When the First Emperor ordered his execution, the entire alchemist community in Xianyang City was thrown into chaos. Everyone knew that your great-grandfather had attempted to achieve immortality through elixirs, but ultimately nearly poisoned himself to death!
Some sour Confucian scholars even mocked your grandfather, saying he deserved it! This made your already angry grandfather even angrier, and he immediately ordered the execution of several of the more talkative Confucian scholars!
The Confucian scholar's death completely stirred up a hornet's nest among scholars! The "Emperor killing the alchemist" incident suddenly became "The Emperor killing the Confucian scholar"! The remnants of the Six Kingdoms seized the opportunity and, after a relentless smear campaign, simply labeled the incident not "cultivating the alchemist" but "burying the Confucian scholars" instead! This incident, along with Li Si's recent proposal to "burn books and bury the Confucian scholars," was combined into the "burning books and burying the Confucian scholars" campaign. This made the tyrannical Qin Dynasty even more ruthless outside the Great Wall, and once again, your great-grandfather was branded with a smear that was impossible to remove!
Qin Ying was stunned when she heard this, her eyes widened: "!!!"
[No, this is also possible?! It's totally irrelevant!]
[This time, because the host personally participated in and promoted the occurrence of a well-known historical event, temporary mission three has been triggered: "Alchemist! Rescue again!"]
[Quest Requirements: Host, within half an hour, please calm the wrath of the First Emperor, save the life of the old alchemist Han Zhong, and guide the alchemists of the Great Qin Empire onto the right path!]
[Task Reward: After successfully completing the task, you will be rewarded with a random blind box draw! ]
After hearing this long electronic mechanical sound, Qin Ying's mood was really full of twists and turns. He really wanted to grab the idiot Tong and ask him carefully. The last task you issued was: "Get out! Alchemist!" How come the next task became "Alchemist! Save them again!"
You're an advanced AI from the future, after all. A time mess is fine, but you didn't even look back when you issued the mission. These two adjacent missions are clearly contradictory, aren't they?!
Although she was speechless, Qin Ying's mouth curled up for some reason after she heard the requirements of Task 3.
Seeing Zhao Gao hurried back after deftly dealing with the two chicken carcasses, and her father's expression cold as he prepared to order Zhao Gao to drag Han Zhong out and deal with him together, Qin Ying seized the opportunity and, before her father could issue the order to kill him, gently stroked his chest with her small hand. Then, with sparkling eyes, she looked up at her father and babbled in a childish voice:
"Aiya..." (Grandfather! The Black Bird just sent a message to my grandson, telling me a punishment that would make Han Zhong's life worse than death! The Black Bird said that Han Zhong almost caused a horrible disaster this time. If Grandfather had just ordered him to be beheaded, it would have been too easy for him! Grandfather wanted him to live in pain and suffer, and he couldn't die so easily!)
Ying, the little fat boy, felt that he was acting like a villain when he spoke like that, and felt a little embarrassed for some reason. But when he saw his grandfather looking at him, he knew that this matter was likely to happen, and he continued to speak baby talk even more excitedly.
Even though the First Emperor was so angry at the old fool Han Zhong that his head was buzzing, he did not miss the strange "sizzling" sound that sounded in his mind again.
Looking at his grandson's innocent eyes, he took a deep breath and suppressed his murderous intent. He looked at his grandson in his arms and asked in a low voice:
"Ying, what method did Xuanniao tell you?"
Han Zhong, frightened to the point of a cold sweat, saw the little grandson, held high in the emperor's arms, glaring down at him once more with a fierce, almost stern look. He then pointed at him with his chubby little hand while babbling something rapidly to the First Emperor. He was startled, his heart sinking even deeper into despair. How could this eldest grandson have such a completely different temper from the eldest son? He couldn't see he was nearly dead, yet he still glared at him and complained about him to His Majesty?
Old man Han closed his eyes, completely accepting his fate and just waiting to ascend to heaven with the two chicken fairies whose bodies were still warm. Forget it!
The First Emperor listened patiently to his grandson's proposal. His two sword-like eyebrows that slanted down to his temples could not help but slightly frowned. He looked at his grandson with some disbelief and further confirmed:
"Ying, did Xuanniao really propose that the alchemists study the refining of gunpowder?"
[Gun | Powder? What kind of fire? What kind of powder?] Han Zhong, who had already given up hope for his life, suddenly heard the words "alchemist, gunpowder" from the First Emperor's mouth. He subconsciously looked up at the royal grandfather and grandson in front of him with tears in his eyes.
Qin Ying glanced at Old Man Han below, then looked up at her grandfather, her eyes sparkling as she gestured with her two chubby hands:
"Ah, my..." (Yes, Grandfather! Xuanniao said that the materials for refining fire medicine are much fewer than those for refining elixirs, and the method is also simpler. Although Old Man Han almost made a big mistake, his intentions were good. He was able to combine heavy metal toxins, mineral powders, and tonic herbs together to refine round pills. I have to say, Old Man Han is still very capable!)
"Aa ...
"Ah Ba Ah Ba..." (Father, Old Man Han has made you so angry without knowing why! You must not let him off so easily! You shouldn't have let him go to see Xuanniao so easily! You must drain his physical strength! Empty his wisdom! Break his mind! Make him work hard to refine the gunpowder that the Qin Dynasty needs!)
"Ah, hey, hey, hey..." (Father, you should be more open-minded. Maybe that foolish old man Han will blow himself up while refining the gunpowder, saving you from having to come down and kill him. Then, wouldn't you, the victim of the elixir, need to dirty your hands in vain and tarnish the good reputation of the wise emperor?)
Although the grandson is young, he speaks very fluently in baby talk, and his persuasive words are well-reasoned and well-articulated. He speaks much more pleasantly than the stubborn eldest son!
The First Emperor thought carefully about his grandson's suggestion and recalled the secret manual on refining gunpowder that he had translated overtime in his study. He realized that Ying was right. After he translated the manual into large seal characters, he had many craftsmen from the Ministry of Personnel come to Zhangtai Palace to look at it, but they really couldn't understand it. Alchemist... Alchemist...
Ying Zheng pursed his lips, lowered his gaze, looked at Han Zhong who looked pitiful at his feet, and asked in a cold voice:
"Han Zhong, you were originally sentenced to death by my hand, torn into pieces by five horses, and your entire clan exterminated! But the Emperor's eldest grandson took pity on you and was willing to plead for mercy. I considered that you had no idea that the elixir recipe was poisonous, so I was willing to listen to Ying and show you some leniency."
"Right now, I have a prescription given by the Black Bird. If you can successfully refine the gunpowder I need according to the prescription within a year, I will recognize your efforts to atone for your mistakes, and the disaster caused by the elixir today will be wiped out. Are you willing to take this job?"
Han Zhong, who originally thought that he was bound to die without an intact body, never expected that the little grandson of the emperor, who glared at him, punched and kicked him, would actually save him when he was about to die. So, wasn't the little prince's long speech to the emperor with "Aba Aba, Yiyaya" in his baby voice just now complaining about him, but pleading for him to the First Emperor?
Han Zhong reacted and a look of ecstasy of escaping death suddenly appeared on his red old face. He looked at the fair and cute baby with tears in his eyes.
Qin Ying and Old Man Han locked eyes and turned her chubby little head away. Old Man Han was crying so unpleasantly. Hey—look at that snot dripping onto his white beard. It was unbearable to watch!
"Your Majesty, thank you for your grace! Thank you, young prince, for pleading for me! I am willing to pledge my life to help Your Majesty refine a new medicine within a year. Not to mention gunpowder, even if it's a water-based medicine, I will devote myself to research and work hard to help Your Majesty refine it as soon as possible!"
Qin Ying: "..." [Fire medicine is fine. He doesn't really want water medicine. Water medicine sounds watery and not very reliable. Who would want it?]
The First Emperor said nothing more after hearing this. He looked at Zhao Gao coldly and ordered:
"Zhao Gao, go to my study and bring me the nanmu box from the secret compartment in the second row of the bookshelf on the east wall."
"promise!"
Zhao Gao was surprised. He didn't expect that the emperor, who was about to order the killing of Han Zhong before he left, would not only not kill Han Zhong after he came back, but even give this old alchemist an important task.
[The Emperor's eldest grandson pleaded for Han Zhong's behalf? What did this young prince say to the Emperor? Why was it so effective?]
While Zhao Gao was pondering in his mind, he walked at a very fast pace and found the corresponding nanmu box in the secret compartment of the bookshelf according to the instructions of the First Emperor. He quickly returned to the inner hall and handed it to Han Zhong who was kneeling on the floor at the signal of the First Emperor.
Han Zhongru held on to the nanmu box tightly in his arms as if it were his last straw, and looked at it curiously with his head down. Then he heard the cold voice of the First Emperor from above:
"Han Zhong, the matter of gunpowder is as important to me as the elixir of immortality!"
"I only give you one year. If by the end of June next year you still haven't refined what I want, and if you even leak the secret method of refining gunpowder, then you! Your master! And your three clans! All of you must cleanse yourselves and go together to honor the Black Bird!"
When Han Zhong heard this, he was startled and quickly lowered his eyes. He gritted his teeth and promised:
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me this chance. I will definitely keep the gunpowder recipe safe and find a way to help Your Majesty refine it as soon as possible."
"Well, you can step back first."
The First Emperor didn't want to look at this disappointing old alchemist anymore, so he just casually said a word to send him off, then turned around and left with his grandson in his arms.
Han Zhong also immediately kowtowed three times with every step, and with trembling and weak steps, he floated out of Zhangtai Palace holding the extremely important nanmu box in his arms.
…
At the end of the You hour, flocks of birds fluttered across the azure sky and flew towards the dense forest of the royal mausoleum in the northern suburbs.
The red sunset is slowly beginning to set in the west.
Qin Ying was carried by her grandfather to the overpass connecting the palaces. She saw that her grandfather was still gazing at the large palace complex on the north bank of the Wei River, but the expression on his face was very cold today, and he didn't seem to have the relaxed and happy look he usually had when admiring large figures.
Well... he felt his grandfather's lost mood, and couldn't help but review what happened to Han Zhong today from his grandfather's perspective. He seemed to understand why his grandfather was so obsessed with an elixir of immortality.
In his grandfather's mind, the Qin Empire he built and himself were always equated and became one.
Because of the rainbow light bestowed by the system, his grandfather was able to return to his youth and middle age. It was precisely because he once again possessed the vigorous energy of his youth, compared with the previous exhausted middle age, that his grandfather deepened his obsession with immortality.
Even though I have regained my youthful strength, I want to keep my current vigorous energy so much that I am more afraid of the passage of time and becoming old again.
This was an era when ancient myths were everywhere and everyone believed in ghosts and gods. It was understandable that his grandfather placed his wish for immortality on the elixir of the alchemist.
Alas, what a pity! His grandfather was born into the wrong world! If he had been born into the world of immortal cultivation, this unattainable dream wouldn't have been a problem at all! If the Great Sage really existed, he could have found a way to build a large boat and run to the top of Flower-Fruit Mountain so that his grandfather could hold the still-rock Monkey King and absorb his immortal energy! But in this world, dreaming of immortality is simply impossible!
He tilted his head slightly and glanced at the system panel floating diagonally above him, and found that temporary task three - "Rescue the Alchemist" had been successfully completed.
But the second temporary mission—"Get lost, alchemist!"—was still ongoing. He needed to make his grandfather completely give up the idea of seeking immortality through alchemy within 24 hours. After all, there was only one alchemist, Han Zhong, who could make elixirs. When his grandfather left the capital to tour, he would run into Lu Sheng and Hou Sheng, who were crickets behind his back, mocking him, and who happened to be caught by him. And the most despicable one, Xu Fu, who had deceived his father's trust! He had deceived the boys and girls in his territory! He had deceived his father's ships! He had painted a false promise for his father and then fled with his huge pension!
He knew that the matter with the Taoist priest was not over yet. If he did not make his grandfather completely give up his trust in the Taoist priest's magical (false) methods, next time, his grandfather would still be coaxed into taking out his pension and buying health products without any quality assurance from the Taoist priest.
Qin Ying pondered and thought about it, sorting out his thoughts in his mind for a while. He tilted his furry little head slightly, looked at his grandfather's clear and sharp jawline, waved his two chubby little hands, and complained to his grandfather with a hint of excitement:
"Aa ...
"Aiyaah..." (My father is so wise and powerful. I must never believe the lies of these charlatans again!)
From his grandson's hurried baby voice, the First Emperor heard the little fat boy's worry and concern for him, so he smiled and nodded, as a sign of agreement.
He half-closed his eyes and looked into the distance at the imitation Six Kingdoms palaces in the north. He knew in his heart that even if his grandson stopped trying to persuade him, it would be difficult for him to believe the words of the alchemists in the future.
Qin Ying glanced at the system panel again and heard the mechanical electronic sound coming from her mind——
【drop--】
[Temporary Mission 2 - "Get lost, Alchemist!", Host successfully challenges!]
[The host is truly amazing! Congratulations to the host for completing three temporary tasks in one day, and for having won a total of 41 blind box draws. The draw will take place at the end of the evening at 11:00 PM.]
Since the system showed that the temporary task 2 was completed, Qin Ying breathed a sigh of relief, which meant that his grandfather really listened to his words.
He had just begun to look towards the towering palace complex to the north with a cheerful grin when he heard his grandfather's question, full of hope and curiosity:
"Ying, since the Black Bird said that alchemists in the human world can't refine the elixir of immortality, and the rainbow light that the Black Bird bestowed earlier was able to restore my grandfather to youth and strength, does the Black Bird have the real elixir of immortality?"
Qin Ying: “???”
Qin Ying: “???”
The little baby raised his little head in surprise and looked at his grandfather. Seeing the strong expectation in his grandfather's eyes, he couldn't help but fall silent.
The rainbow effect of the system is too significant!
Besides, in the hearts of the Qin people, the Xuanniao is an omniscient and omnipotent divine bird! With the rainbow light in front of him, if he told his grandfather now that the Xuanniao did not have the elixir of immortality, not only his grandfather, but also his foolish and vicious Eighteenth Uncle would probably not believe it!
Qin Ying thought for a moment, then waved her hands, babbling and gesturing to her grandfather with a look of regret on her face:
"Aaaah..." (Father, you guessed right. Xuanniao has many good things, including the elixir of immortality. Unfortunately, the price of the elixir of immortality is too expensive. I can't afford it, even if I sell myself!)
The First Emperor: “???”
Although the Emperor did not understand why his grandson would say that he wanted to "buy" the elixir of life from the black bird, upon hearing that the black bird really did have the elixir of life, the Emperor's originally dark and narrow eyes suddenly became extremely bright!
The First Emperor held his grandson under his armpits, lifted him up high, and laughed heartily with excitement at the setting sun.
"Ying, what you're actually saying is that we need to pay a huge tribute to the Xuanniao in order to obtain the elixir of immortality from it, right?"
Qin Ying thought about it and nodded. She had to "buy" it anyway. Although the words were different, the meaning was the same.
Seeing his beloved grandson nod, the joy in the Emperor's eyes grew even brighter, and he immediately said proudly and confidently:
"Ying, just tell Grandfather how much tribute Xuanniao requires! I own the entire world and am rich! Even if the tribute price is high, I can afford it!"
Seeing his grandfather's incomparably confident look, Qin Ying couldn't help but sigh helplessly: "Grandfather! It's not that I don't want to buy you the elixir of immortality, but I simply can't afford it!"
The little chubby boy thought about it, then pointed at the sky above his head and the red sunset in the west with his white and tender little fat fingers, with a bitter look on his chubby little face.
The First Emperor followed the direction of his grandson's finger, looked up at the sky - it was full of red clouds, then turned around to look at the setting sun - it was red and golden, sliding down under the mountains little by little.
"Ying, how come Grandfather doesn't understand what you're trying to say?"
The First Emperor was puzzled.
The little fat boy kicked his feet like a kitten in mid-air, and said to his grandfather in a baby voice:
"Aiya..." (Grandfather, the Black Bird wants me to pick ten suns, a hundred moons, a thousand stars as tribute, and then offer winter flowers and summer snowflakes as a bonus. Only then will the Black Bird happily sell the elixir of immortality to me.)
"Aiyawuwuwuwu..." (Wow, the price is too high! I can't afford it even if I sell my grandson!)
When the First Emperor heard this, his pupils trembled. He silently held his grandson, who was being held high under his armpits, sideways and held him in his arms again. Ying was right. This tribute was not something a human could do.
well……
The grandfather and grandson were both silent, looking quietly at the large victory palace complex in the north.
silence……
silence……
Silence is the Zhangtai Palace at dusk today.
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