novelden Chapter 145 Gunpowder
Chapter 145 Gunpowder
"Tch..." The words had barely left his lips when a sarcastic sneer came from not far behind, which was particularly noticeable in the silent Golden Palace.
"What does Minister Lin mean by this? How dare you make such a sound in the hall? Could it be that you are dissatisfied with Her Majesty the Empress?" Qi Xin's tone was displeased, her brows furrowed, her words subtly reminding Lin Shu of her status.
"I am indeed dissatisfied, but not with His Majesty, but with what Lord Qi said."
After speaking, Lin Shu looked at Qi Xin with disdain and contempt, slowly stepped out of the ranks, faced the Empress, and spoke in a clear and steady voice:
"Your Majesty, I believe that Lord Qi's words are a misguided act that will harm the country and its people. Easily ceding territory and surrendering without a fight will only embolden the Japanese and discourage the soldiers of my Fengming Kingdom who are fighting to the death to defend our land!"
Moreover, the saying goes, "One should live as a hero, and die as a ghost," but the battle hasn't even begun, and nothing is certain yet. How is Lord Qi's action any different from treason?
"Clap clap clap..." After a long while, a round of applause rang out in the court. Grand Tutor Ji stepped forward and said to Feng Han, "I second Lord Lin's words!"
"I second that!" A few people chimed in, agreeing with Lin Shu's statement.
"Well said, 'To live as a hero, to die as a ghost!' Minister Lin is right! Nothing is certain yet!" Feng Han nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject to Qi Xin:
"Qi Aiqing, it seems you don't even have the awareness of a junior!"
Qi Xin's expression changed slightly. She hadn't expected Lin Shu to react so quickly, even accusing her of treason, and it seemed that His Majesty agreed with her statement.
Qi Xin cleared his throat and knelt down abruptly, trying to save face: "Your Majesty, even if Lord Lin's words are reasonable, the other side has 'Heavenly Punishment' in their hands. I just don't want my Fengming soldiers to die in vain!"
As she spoke, she gave a wink to her "own man," the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, who immediately understood:
"Your Majesty, although Lord Qi's actions were inappropriate, they were for the sake of the people."
However, Minister Lin doesn't seem like someone who only talks the talk; he must already have a plan? If that's the case, that would be wonderful! Minister Lin, please don't keep anything to yourself!
These words put Lin Shu in a very difficult position. If she couldn't come up with a solution, it would prove that she was hiding something.
“Your Majesty! Even we, the senior officials of the court, have no solution to this matter. It is already remarkable that Lin Shu, a junior who has just entered the court, has such insights. What other solutions are there to offer?” Grand Tutor Ji’s words were clearly in support of Lin Shu.
"The Grand Tutor is right. We should not make things difficult for Vice Minister Lin. If Vice Minister Lin can really handle this, then I don't need to be the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat anymore. I can just hand it over to Vice Minister Lin."
As soon as Qi Xin finished speaking, even the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected that Lord Qi would go to such lengths!
Lin Shu was lost in thought amidst the murmurs of the crowd, seemingly preoccupied with something.
"Your Majesty..." Grand Tutor Ji was about to speak again when Lin Shu interrupted him:
"Five days. I humbly request Your Majesty to grant me five days. In addition, please lend me the Ministry of Works for five days. I will certainly not disappoint Your Majesty!"
As soon as Lin Shu finished speaking, the court was abuzz with discussion. The officials whispered among themselves, probably not believing that Lin Shu could really have any solutions! They just thought she was being forced into this situation!
Feng Han observed the various expressions on the faces of the officials in the court—some sympathetic, some regretful, some disdainful, some watching with amusement… Finally, her gaze settled on Lin Shu:
"Granted! Apart from the Ministry of Works, the Crown Princess is to lead the other five ministries to fully cooperate! I await your good news in five days!"
"Yes!"
"..."
……
After the court session, Lin Shu went to the Ministry of Justice to take her duty, while pondering the matter of Japan's 'divine punishment'.
If she wasn't mistaken, this so-called 'divine punishment' was nothing more than early gunpowder. Judging from the descriptions of the two people who were captured, they must have discovered it by accident and didn't know how to mass-produce it (as for how they discovered it, it was nothing more than alchemy, alchemy, etc.).
Furthermore, if this gunpowder truly has flames attached to it like a spark from outer space, then it proves that it is only a flying spark in the early stage of gunpowder, which needs to be ignited by humans before being thrown out. It has a limited range and its power is not very great.
Thinking of this, Lin Shu took out Xuan paper, ground the ink, picked up her brush, and began to write and draw.
That's right, she also wanted to make gunpowder. She drew many diagrams, and finally picked up the finished drawings, blew on the ink, frowned and threw away two of them, keeping only one.
Gunpowder is mainly made from saltpeter and sulfur, with wood ash as an auxiliary agent. Gunpowder made with saltpeter and sulfur in a 9:1 ratio is called "concentrated gunpowder" and is used in guns and muskets. It will not explode when it ignites. Gunpowder made with saltpeter and sulfur in a 7:3 ratio is called "hybrid gunpowder" and is mainly used for blasting.
With the world's current casting technology, bronze-cast hand cannons and fire lances are simply impossible to produce. However, weapons with higher explosive power, such as thunder cannons and deafening thunderbolts, are more than capable of being made.
Most importantly, unlike the gunpowder currently used in Japan, thunderbolts and shock bombs do not rely on combustion. Instead, they rely on the fragments from the explosion to injure the enemy, while also creating a huge sound to shock them and causing smoke and flames.
If launched, it would be like a bomb or grenade in later times; it could even be ignited in the water to form a mine, preventing the Japanese from even setting foot on land.
Lin Shu had just gotten up, intending to go to the Ministry of Works, when she saw Feng Zhao walk in, followed by the awkward Ji Wan.
"What are the Crown Princess and General Ji doing here?" Lin Shu asked, puzzled. Why were these two here at this time?
"The people of the Ministry of Works have been waiting for a long time, so I have come to invite you, A-Shu," Feng Zhao said, getting straight to the point.
"You just signed a military pledge, you haven't forgotten it already!" Ji Wan looked surprised, and then added, as if to cover up his mistake, "If the East Coast weren't my garrison, I wouldn't bother with you."
Lin Shu raised an eyebrow, said nothing more, took the blueprints, said, "Thank you!" and then they went to the Ministry of Works together.
Ministry of Works, Manufacturing Warehouse.
Lin Shu handed the blueprints to the Minister of Works, then explained the gunpowder manufacturing process, proportions, and precautions to the craftsmen in the manufacturing workshop, before handing over the site to the Ministry of Works staff.
He then retreated to the back rest area and sat down next to Feng Zhao and Ji Wan.
The Minister of Works and other officials listened with growing interest, and their attitude towards Lin Shu changed from disdain to admiration.
Although their Ministry of Works is one of the six ministries, it ranks last in terms of status because it rarely produces any political achievements! Now that Lin Shu is offering political achievements for free, how could they refuse?
Feng Zhao naturally noticed the change in the Ministry of Works' attitude. Those who had been dismissive just moments before were now eager to study Lin Shu's thunderbolt blueprints. Even the Minister of Works couldn't wait to take action himself.
For a moment, the air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur and saltpeter.
Feng Zhao was somewhat puzzled. From Lin Shu's description, the thunderbolt bombs weren't difficult to make; she could do it herself. Why then did she need to entrust the task to the Ministry of Works?
"Why doesn't Ah Shu do it herself? Why just give the credit to the Ministry of Works?"
"Your Highness will find out soon enough." Lin Shu didn't answer directly. She wasn't a professional, so she hadn't handled it herself; the gunpowder preparation could easily explode if done carelessly…
"Boom..."
As soon as she finished speaking, a loud bang was heard from the manufacturing warehouse in front, followed by a wave of heat and a slight tremor under her feet.
"The earth dragon has turned over? The earth dragon has turned over?" Ji Wan, who had almost fallen asleep, woke up with a start, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, and frantically tried to run outside, only to realize halfway there that everyone was staring at her...
At that moment, Ji Wan's still somewhat blurry eyes caught sight of the Minister of Works' dark, grimy face, his hair standing on end, black and curly. A word of disdain involuntarily escaped her lips:
"Damn it, who is this? So ugly! It scared me to death!"
The official robe of Zhang Chen, the Minister of Works, was licked by the flames of the explosion, its edges charred and torn, revealing the scorched skin beneath, with gunpowder residue still lingering under his fingernails. But he had no time to care, his eyes gleaming with excitement, clearly still immersed in the power of the gunpowder.
Feng Zhao was also startled by the explosion. She sat up straight and, if you ignored the hands that were gripping the armrests of the chair tightly, she looked extremely calm.
After a while, she looked at the disheveled Minister of Works, twitched her lips, turned to Lin Shu who had expected this, and teased her:
"Ah Shu! I've noticed you've changed! You've become increasingly wicked!"
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