88 gunpowder
"The recipe must never leave this workshop."
Shen Suqin left and stood with Yan Lin in the open space behind the mountain, waiting to see the explosion effect of the three piles of gray gunpowder in the center of the open space.
In front of them was a low wall ten feet high, and the experienced craftsmen stood in front of the wall.
It should be noted that the person in charge of guarding and assisting the workshop was still chosen by Zhou Baihu from among the retired soldiers.
The difference is that this group of people are the same ones who went to the Shule River with Shen Suqin a few days ago. They are returning to the battlefield again, and their hearts are somewhat turbulent.
So Zhou Baihu arranged for his men to come here and told them that the sooner they could make gunpowder, the sooner they could attack the Shatuo homeland.
At the moment, the manager of the workshop was named Lian Guoxi. At his command, an old soldier with a broken leg, leaning on his cane, pulled a half-inch-long red-hot iron cone from the brazier next to him and slowly walked towards the gunpowder pile.
Shen Suqin's gaze narrowed slightly. Just before the old soldier was about to bend down and insert the iron spike into the gunpowder, she suddenly shouted, "Stop! Don't move!"
The old soldier straightened up suspiciously and looked back.
Even Guo Xi and the experienced craftsmen turned to look at her.
"Why does Madam want to stop?" Lian Guoxi asked.
"With the gunpowder exploding, did he have time to escape?" Shen Suqin asked in a deep voice.
With the explosion at such close range, and the veteran having mobility issues, how could he possibly avoid it?
Lian Guoxi was silent for a moment, then said, "It's too late."
"So, you're sending him to his death in vain?"
"He did it voluntarily."
Seeing that the two men were speaking in an unfriendly tone, the experienced craftsmen quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Since ancient times, sacrifices have been indispensable for achieving great things."
"Madam, please don't worry, we have made proper arrangements for her family..."
“No,” Shen Suqin said firmly, “In my country, there is no reason to pave the way with human lives. If you cannot solve this problem, then you don’t need to call me here anymore.”
"Furthermore, even if they volunteered, it won't work. Human life is so precious, and I dare not employ those who treat human life like dirt. If you do not change your ways, I will have no choice but to have Shi Ye invite you all back."
She spoke these words with a harsh tone, carrying a chilling edge.
After saying that, without waiting for their reaction, he walked out.
Lian Guoxi didn't dare let her leave in a huff, so he quickly chased after her and said, "I'll take Madam home."
Shen Suqin stopped in her tracks, looking at him coldly. "If I were you, I would definitely be far away right now."
Lian Guoxi smiled wryly, "Or you could beat up your subordinates to vent your anger?"
"What's the point of hitting you? Go back. Human life should always be the top priority. I'm sure Brother Yan thinks the same way."
On the way back, Shen Suqin asked Yan Lin, "Did they inform you beforehand about the old man's matter?"
Yan Lin shook his head. "It was my oversight. I should have kept a closer eye on things."
“It’s not your problem, it’s that you don’t understand the ways of these lunatics,” Shen Suqin said. “You may not know that before I sent grain to the Black Flag Army, they lived on grass roots and tree bark. The commander of the 100,000-strong Black Flag Army was so poor that he had nothing to his name. When he went back to the capital, he had to carry the hides back to sell in order to get money to buy grain.”
“Even so, not one of them said they wanted to retreat from the Shule River. They stood there, blocking the Shatuo’s southward route and protecting the peace of Daliang. Xiao Pingchuan once asked me, putting aside his status as a general, what else about him was worthy of me?” Shen Suqin chuckled. “What I liked about him was never his status as a general, but his heart that protected the people of the world.”
Yan Lin looked at her, "You like him that much?"
"I like him, after all, no one else can make me willing to spend that much money."
"Weren't you quite generous to Su Yubai too?"
“That’s different. I owe him, and he was much more generous when he paid me.” Shen Suqin returned to the previous topic. “So for the Black Flag Army, whether they are active or retired, as long as you tell them to fight the Shatuo, they will rush in even if it costs them their lives. As for the gunpowder workshop, apart from those few master craftsmen, the rest are all retired members of the Black Flag Army. You have to be careful that they don’t risk their lives too much. I don’t want to lose several lives before the gunpowder is even made.”
Yan Lin nodded: "I will be careful."
"By the way, is Ju Tao safe in Shatuo? Why hasn't she sent any messages back?"
"She's hiding very well over there, not showing herself in the open, so it's inconvenient for her to write letters. Don't worry, she'll come back on her own when the time is right."
When the weather turned cool, a loud bang came from Laomaoling, and half of Ningyuan was shaken.
Yan Lin rode in to report, and as soon as he entered the courtyard, he excitedly shouted, "It's done! The gunpowder is done!"
Shen Suqin, who had been hunched over the table calculating accounts, rushed out upon hearing this and asked, "Is it really done?"
"It's done. Come with me to take a look."
"Let's go, we'll go right now."
Standing at the training ground behind Laomaoling Mountain, Shen Suqin watched them light the fuse and saw the earth scatter with a loud bang. She was so excited that she almost jumped up on the spot.
"We changed the ratio of saltpeter and sulfur, wrapped the gunpowder in tough paper to make the fuse, and that's how it was done," the master craftsman said.
Shen Suqin took the recipe he handed over, glanced at it, and then burned it directly on the torch next to her, saying, "The recipe must never leave this workshop."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
They knew that once the formula flowed into Shatuo or other surrounding small countries, Daliang would never have peace.
“I will write a letter to the general and ask him to return. Until then, I ask that you all stay in the workshop temporarily. If you need anything, please let Lian Guoxi tell me and I will do my best to arrange it.”
She provided them with ample supplies of soap and saltpeter, and her food, clothing, and shelter were exquisite; she couldn't bear to let them suffer hardships beyond the scope of her research.
"I would like to congratulate you all in advance. Your achievements will surely be remembered for generations to come, and the history books of the Great Liang will surely record your deeds," Shen Suqin said sincerely, clasping his hands in a fist and bowing.
The others returned the greeting, saying, "We are entirely relying on Madam's leadership."
Shen Suqin smiled and said, "Everyone should rest well for now. We'll have a victory celebration banquet when the general returns."
"good!"
Yan Lin escorted Shen Suqin down the mountain, and the smile on Shen Suqin's face never faded the entire way.
"Are you really that happy?"
"You can tell?"
"Sure, look at you, you're smiling as you talk."
"I'm happy because two fewer of our own brothers will die."
Yan Lin looked at her seriously and said, "You are really different now."
"What's different?"
“You used to be careless about everything, as if you didn’t care about anything. Now you care about everything and you’re much more popular.”
Shen Suqin laughed: "So I wasn't popular before?"
"No, you've always looked at things with your chin up since you were very young. You looked down on everyone and were very arrogant."
Shen Suqin: "Nonsense."
——
Shule River.
After the weather got hot, Xiao Pingchuan's general's tent became the favorite place for Xu Youcai and his deputy generals to stay.
After the start of the hottest period of summer, the lady sent people to bring in a large amount of ice, and even left behind a master ice maker to supply everyone with ice to cool them down every day.
That day, he was sitting behind his desk studying military strategy. In front of him, on the open ground, were a group of people sitting or lying down, simulating a battle between two armies on a sand table. They were all fighting with bloodshot eyes.
"General! A letter from Ningyuan!" A messenger ran in, holding a letter.
Xiao Pingchuan suddenly stood up, walked around from behind the table, and went to greet him, "Who delivered this?"
"It is Madam."
Upon hearing the word "Madam," Xu Youcai and his men subtly pricked up their ears, stopped what they were doing, exchanged glances, and then fixed their gazes intently on the general's hands.
Xiao Pingchuan first stroked the signature on the envelope before peeling off the wax seal and taking out the letter inside.
"My husband Jin'an feels as if he has seen the person in person upon reading this letter."
As soon as Xiao Pingchuan started reading, he could no longer hide the smile on his face, which was even more dazzling than the sun hanging high in the sky outside.
Xu Youcai curled his lip somewhat sourly, got up from the ground, leaned over and stretched his neck, and read aloud:
"My dear husband Jin'an, seeing this letter is like seeing you in person. Everything is going well in Ningyuan, so there's no need to worry. It's just that I haven't seen you for many days, and I miss you very much. The little bird we keep is so cute and adorable; I hope you can come home soon so I can see it with my own eyes."
After he finished reading, a series of smacking sounds, as if their teeth were ache from the sourness, emanated from inside the tent.
"General, you are truly blessed."
"I miss it so much, tsk tsk, I miss it, tsk tsk."
"When will I be able to find a wife? I'm so tired of seeing all your old faces every day."
As everyone chattered on, only Chai Shun spoke thoughtfully, "General, do you have birds in your residence? I don't remember having any."
“Yes, it was brought back from Jade Green Mountain,” Zhao Chengchun said. “Was it the general who personally gave it to his wife?”
Xiao Pingchuan shook his head.
The little bird in the house was clearly killed by Yuanxiang, so there are no more little birds left.
He read the letter over and over again, and suddenly remembered Old Cat Ridge.
gunpowder!
His heart skipped a beat. Shen Suqin had told him about the gunpowder being developed on Old Cat Ridge. He said that he had seen him injured by Sha Tuo with gunpowder last time and wanted Sha Tuo to experience the power of gunpowder himself.
Could it be that gunpowder has been invented this time?
"Chai Shun, Xu Youcai, hand over your work and come back to Ningyuan with me immediately."
Xiao Pingchuan's eyes were burning and his tone was urgent, as if something big had happened in Ningyuan.
Infected by his tone, Xu Youcai and the others also became agitated. "What's wrong, General? Is something urgent coming up with the Madam? What else did she write in her letter?"
Chai Shun was slightly calmer than Xu Youcai. "Do you need to bring men, General?"
“Take,” Xiao Pingchuan thought for a moment, “allocate a thousand men, the elite scouts.”
"Fully armed?"
"No need, just bring a knife."
Chai Shun accepted the order and pulled Xu Youcai down to reorganize the team.
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