Xu Manor.
Xu Tingfeng burned the message.
He had always been like this, basically never leaving any written information, regardless of whether it involved state affairs or not.
He already knew the battle reports from the Northern Frontier.
Two in succession: one bad, one good.
Xu Tingfeng stood in the courtyard, but the crease between his brows did not ease; instead, it deepened.
He worried about his uncle and cared for his little nephew. Only those who had personally experienced the battlefield could understand how cruel it was.
"I don't know what will happen next in the Northern Frontier, but Nanning will probably make a move, Letian."
Xue Letian: "I'm keeping an eye on it for you. Your leg just healed, and you couldn't help but come out and jump around, could you?" He rolled his eyes, "I advise you to sit more. You haven't fully recovered yet, so avoid a relapse."
Xu Tingfeng: "Don't take it lightly. The people of Nanning are not to be underestimated. If we really clash, with the state treasury empty and provisions insufficient, Zhennan Pass might not be able to hold out."
Nanning.
Zhennan Pass.
Yu Ruo also received the battle report from the Northern Frontier.
However, besides the battle report, there were other things.
Gu Xin: "The Northerners are also demanding that Nanning increase the supply of gunpowder and weapons. They want to forcefully take the Second City. They feel frustrated and humiliated by this major defeat."
Yu Ruo: "Did Imperial Father agree to the Northern Frontier's request?"
Gu Xin nodded: "The second batch of gunpowder and weapons is already being secretly transported. Transporting from that place... who knows how many more people will die."
"So much has already been invested. A few more deaths mean nothing in Imperial Father's eyes," Yu Ruo said. "We've been stationed here for nearly three months, and I don't know when the next order will come."
He walked out of the encampment and looked towards the north.
He really hadn't misjudged the person back then. Hidden brilliance would eventually be glimpsed by the world.
[Yu Ruo Favorability +1]
"..."
Qu Dubian opened his eyes from his meditation.
He was a little surprised, but not much.
Yu Ruo was the first target he had ever seen who didn't need active wooing, yet could automatically increase his favorability from a distance. He was exceptionally self-aware.
After finishing yesterday's battle, he treated his wounds, gave his body a simple wash, and slept for four hours. Upon waking, he began to regulate his internal energy.
Yi Shier had not returned yet. There was temporarily no news from the Main City, and he didn't know if the exposed traitor had been caught.
Qu Dubian got out of bed. While changing clothes, he looked down at his body and even stood in front of the bronze mirror to inspect himself.
New scars crisscrossed his skin. The severe ones were wrapped in bandages, while the minor ones were only treated with medicine.
He looked away with a hint of disgust.
It was ugly.
Why did scars look so handsome on others, but so ugly on himself? Was it a matter of perspective, or because they hadn't healed yet?
...It could also be that a tiny bit of his idol mindset from his past life still lingered. When dancing on stage, too many scars would affect the style of the dance.
His mind was filled with random, chaotic thoughts as he grimaced, enduring the pulling discomfort of his scabbing wounds while putting on his clothes.
When choosing a hair tie, Qu Dubian picked through the box of hair ties Ye Banban had prepared for him, selecting one that looked less boyish to tie his hair.
It was sky blue, with a white jade bead dangling at the end.
Compared to the other flashy ones, it could be considered plain and monotonous.
He reluctantly gave up his other beloved hair ties and finished dressing.
The moment he stepped out of the tent, the conflicted little expression Qu Dubian had on his face while choosing the hair tie vanished completely, his emotions neatly tucked away.
Seeing him come out, Lang Qing's eyes lit up, and he hurried over. "Your Highness is awake? I didn't dare go in and disturb your rest. The research gunpowder you requested has been moved here from Jushan City. Would you like to go see it now?"
"I'll go see my grandfather first."
Qu Dubian went to Xu Jin's tent to check on him. As usual, he circulated his internal energy through his grandfather's body twice, noticing that the true qi within his grandfather was a bit stronger than when he first started.
The military doctor said, "The Marquis is still the same, but we are able to feed him medicine now."
"I'll have to trouble you to keep watching over him."
The military doctor waved his hand. "It's my duty. We all want the Marquis to wake up soon. However, Your Highness, the conditions in the Second City are still not as good as those in the Main City. Once his condition stabilizes a bit more, it would be best to send the Marquis to the Main City."
Qu Dubian: "Mhm."
But there was no rush right now. Until all the traitors were rooted out, he would not let his grandfather leave the protective circle of trusted people.
He left Xu Jin's tent and pondered for a moment. "What is Xia Fuyang doing?"
Lang Qing: "He should be setting up defenses and patrolling the city."
Qu Dubian: "Uncle Lang Qing, have him come find me in the rear city after he finishes his patrol."
"Alright, I'll go find him right now."
The drill ground of the Second City.
At this time, all the soldiers here had been cleared out.
In front of Qu Dubian were six large baskets, all filled with black, cake-like objects.
These cake-like objects were gunpowder mixed in different proportions, bound together with water and strong wine respectively, and then air-dried.
Greaseproof paper was spread out on the table. He crushed the cake-like objects into granules and gradually filled each sheet of greaseproof paper according to the normal proportions of an explosive pack, muttering to himself.
"Official experimental explosive pack number one: seventy percent saltpeter, twenty percent sulfur, ten percent carbon... binder: water. Control group, binder: strong wine."
"Official experimental explosive pack number two: seventy-five percent saltpeter, ten percent sulfur, fifteen percent carbon..."
"Number three..."
There were twelve explosive packs in total.
He was testing how the proportions and binders affected the gunpowder's power, in order to select the most potent one.
Around mid-afternoon, Xia Fuyang finally finished his work and hurried over, his steps hasty. "Little Seven, you called for me?"
"You came at the perfect time," Qu Dubian didn't look up. "It's almost done. Come help me tie the ropes on these few."
After leaving an opening for the fuse, the explosive packs needed to be tightly bound with fine hemp rope.
Xia Fuyang asked curiously, "This is gunpowder, but why isn't it in powder form? It's all granular."
Qu Dubian: "The granular form helps with thorough combustion."
The improved version of gunpowder with perfect proportions would be even more stable after being granulated.
Granulated gunpowder first appeared in the fifteenth century. From the current period of transitioning between cold and hot weapons, it would take at least the duration of two unified dynasties to reach that point.
Taking it out now made it an absolute weapon of mass destruction.
He had started researching it during the bandit suppression campaigns, and only now had he finally achieved results.
But previously, those were all small-dose experiments. To see how effective the finished product actually was, he needed to test it practically, and he needed to pull in a companion to hear their feedback.
Xia Fuyang didn't quite understand, but he was fast at helping to tie the explosive packs. "The divine arm crossbows and composite bows from last time were very useful. The divine arm crossbows have almost replaced the heavy crossbows, considering their range is the same."
Qu Dubian: "Let's wait a bit longer for the heavy crossbows. The blueprints are still missing a few details." It was faster to research than the divine arm crossbow since he had experience now, but it would just cause more hair loss.
Xia Fuyang: "?"
You actually have those too?
He said in shock, "I was just asking casually."
Qu Dubian glanced at him. "I wasn't just speaking casually."
He was serious about breaking through the Northern Frontier and permanently eliminating the threat of marriage alliances for this dynasty.
After tying up the last gunpowder packet, Qu Dubian put them all into a basket, tossed it to Xia Fuyang to hold, and wiped his soot-blackened hands on Xia Fuyang's clothes. "Let's go. We'll find an empty spot outside the back city gate to test them."
Xia Fuyang's face darkened with exasperation. Holding the basket, he walked beside him. "You've been like this since we were kids. Can't you learn to wipe your hands on your own clothes?"
Qu Dubian replied, "I've been doing it since we were kids, one more time won't make a difference."
The two bickered back and forth a bit more before exiting the back city gate and finding a wasteland quite a distance away from the Second City.
However, since they were the chief commanders, even with their formidable strength, no one felt at ease letting them go out alone. Lang Qing had called over Ye Lianyang to follow them from a distance to act as a guard.
Upon reaching the wasteland, Qu Dubian waved his hand, signaling Ye Lianyang to step further back.
Without even looking back, Ye Lianyang swiftly retreated.
A soldier behind him asked in confusion, "Brother Ye, is there really a need for us to retreat this far?"
Ye Lianyang replied in a weary tone, "You'll know in a moment."
Back in the small courtyard in Jushan City, the crackling explosions—even in small doses—had caught him in the blast several times, adding quite a few holes to his clothes and even singeing the boss's bangs until they curled.
It was completely different from the gunpowder he usually dealt with.
Now, there was such a large packet, and it was a finished product.
He was only afraid that he hadn't retreated far enough.
Arms crossed, Xia Fuyang watched as Qu Dubian touched a fire starter to the fuse, lit it, and threw it far away. Then, with a calm expression, Qu Dubian pulled out a booklet and began to record the explosion's details.
Seeing him so composed, Xia Fuyang didn't realize the severity of the situation and even leaned over with great interest to see what Qu Dubian was writing in the booklet.
Until—
Bang—!
A massive explosion echoed across the wasteland, sending dust flying and rocks splattering in all directions.
Xia Fuyang's face went blank for a moment before he turned his head in shock to look at the site of the explosion.
Where the gunpowder had exploded, a conspicuous crater had appeared.
If the gunpowder currently in use focused on combustion and flames, then Qu Dubian's improved gunpowder focused entirely on explosive power.
Xia Fuyang's heartbeat unconsciously began to accelerate, and a faint layer of cold sweat formed on his palms.
Qu Dubian announced, "Gunpowder packet number one: explosion range and explosive power recorded. Commencing number two."
He lit number two and threw it out.
A few seconds later, an even louder blast erupted, leaving the ground scorched black.
Qu Dubian's eyes lit up, and he checked off number two. Not bad. Barring any surprises, the ratio for number two was the most ideal.
He picked up the number two packet that used a liquor-based binder, lit it, and threw it out.
Boom—!
Qu Dubian recorded, "With a liquor-based binder, the power is slightly greater than with a water-based binder. However, considering the cost, water is still more suitable for mass production..."
He tested the remaining packets one by one, resulting in twelve explosions of varying volumes.
Finally, he decisively circled number two.
"Alright, I'm done with the tests. We can head back now. Tell me on the way... Hmm?" Qu Dubian spoke for a while without hearing a response. He looked up, only to find Xia Fuyang lost in thought.
Qu Dubian raised a hand and waved it in front of his eyes. "Have you snapped out of it?"
It took a long while for Xia Fuyang to suppress the stormy waves of shock in his heart.
He simply couldn't imagine what would happen to their Great Zhou if the enemy possessed this improved version of gunpowder. Just a brief thought of it made his fingertips run cold.
Fortunately.
We are the ones wielding this lethal weapon against the enemy.
He spoke with unprecedented seriousness, "The formula for this improved gunpowder and the granulation process you mentioned must absolutely not be leaked!"
Qu Dubian replied, "I know."
But in truth, even without him, gunpowder had already appeared in this world. As militarization became more complete and conflicts intensified, its power would inevitably grow greater and greater.
If inland wars were already like this, let alone overseas nations?
He had merely relied on a few memories from his past life to grope his way forward and conduct research, giving Great Zhou a head start.
Pulling back his thoughts, Qu Dubian smiled and tapped his head. "I'll burn the formula as soon as we get back and keep it only in my head."
With the tests finally yielding results, he was in a good mood. He turned around and called out to Ye Lianyang.
"Let's go, we're heading back to the city."
Ye Lianyang poked his head out from behind a large rock, his ears still plugged. "Is it safe to come out now?"
Qu Dubian replied, "Come on out."
Looking at his back, Xia Fuyang couldn't help but chuckle. The improved gunpowder had ignited a trace of fiery passion in his heart.
He rejoiced once again. Fortunately, fortunately, Little Seven was not from the Northern Frontier.
If he were from the Northern Frontier, an enemy, he would definitely become a nightmare for Great Zhou's borders.
But now, the nightmare would only belong to others.