Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 100: Raising an army! Aiming at Japan
Zhu Yuanzhang put down the telescope in his hand and turned his head to look at the people who were panting and sweating profusely.

Upon finding that all the generals had arrived, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di hurriedly stood up.

There was no command received from the explosion in the distance, so naturally the experiment was not carried out.

Xu Da swallowed his saliva, and despite the dryness in his throat, he asked:
"Your Majesty, shouldn't there be any gunpowder banned in the palace? Why is there such a big commotion now?
We heard the noise before we even got close, and thought something big had happened, so we rushed over without stopping."

Faced with Zhu's concern, Xu Da hurriedly wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked around and found that there was indeed nothing unusual, so he slowly relaxed.

The people behind him looked at each other and saw a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes.

After all this trouble, it turned out to be a misunderstanding.

Old Zhu then put the telescope on the table, walked up to Xu Da and patted his arm, saying, "What a good show! Brothers are not like subjects."

Arrange the opponent's position very close to you.

"Come on, come on, sit down and take a breath."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Just because Xu Da has a special identity doesn’t mean their identities are the same.

This was now a semi-formal occasion, and even Mu Ying did not call him father, but rather Your Majesty.

As soon as he arrived at the martial arts arena, Zhu Yuanzhang made it easier to observe the changes in the experiment and discuss his memories.

So he ordered people to rearrange the surrounding area as quickly as possible.

In less than ten minutes, all kinds of tables and chairs were moved in from other places in an orderly manner.

A simple meeting room and observation room were set up in this way.

After everyone was seated, a little man started placing teacups and pouring tea for everyone.

A man with an impatient temper like Lan Yu directly took the servant's teapot and drank it down with one gulp.

It's like Kuafu drinking the river water.

"Everyone, please sit down. We are going to talk about business. Do you think that there is danger in the palace from the noise you heard outside?"

Lao Zhu said this half-jokingly, and the group of people could only laugh awkwardly and keep silent.

"Actually, don't be too nervous. I was just looking at the weapons you will use in the future war.

Tiande, look at the weapons above. These are the latest firearms developed, and this, this, and this are all.

The power is much greater than before."

Zhu Yuanzhang directly handed all the drawings prepared by Yang Chen to Old Zhu, and now he displayed these things in front of a group of generals.

While everyone was discussing in a low voice, the noise of Yang Chen eating nearby quickly attracted the attention of some people.

Old Zhu looked at Yang Chen with some disdain.

This guy was seen holding a lotus leaf, grabbing a roasted chicken without legs or wings, and starting to eat it in front of everyone.

While eating, I kept praising the cooking skills.

"It smells so good. It's different with the improved salt. Ah Biao, this flower chicken tastes really good and is very fragrant. Are you sure you don't want some?
This chicken breast is good for your health. ”

"Ahem. Well, Brother Yang, I won't eat it. You can eat it yourself."

Zhu Biao waved his hands repeatedly to refuse.

When Lao Zhu saw this scene, he suddenly became speechless.

"That's enough! You've already eaten a few steamed buns, so don't eat this flower chicken for now.

Come over here, and wash your hands clean, so you don't come here with your hands full of dust."

Old Zhu was not angry, he was just unhappy with Yang Chen's attitude.

But there is nothing wrong with the other person, and it is natural to eat when you are hungry.

While Old Zhu turned his head, Xu Da next to him also began to examine Yang Chen seriously.

"Your Majesty, please wait for me. I will finish eating soon."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "."

Holding his forehead, Lao Zhu wanted to say something, but in the end he could only sigh and choose to remain silent.

Little did he know that his unintentional action instantly caused several generals to start discussing.

"Who is this guy? Why have I never heard his accent before?"

"I don't know. He doesn't even listen to your Majesty and wants you to wait. Could he be the son of one of you?"

"Nonsense! I don't even dare to be disrespectful to His Majesty, let alone my son."

"How dare this guy be so rude? If he were one of my family members, I would definitely break his legs!"

"Hey! Lan Yu, you are being impulsive. He is my son-in-law! He is not someone you can break."

Upon hearing that Lan Yu had the urge to take action, Mu Ying immediately stood up to defend Yang Chen.

He knew very well how bad this guy's temper was, and he would really take action if he wasn't careful.

Fortunately, he is not drunk now, otherwise, even if Zhu Yuanzhang were still here, he would dare to do something outrageous.

"Ah? Mu Ying, are you okay? How did you let this guy become your son-in-law?"

"That's right, and didn't your daughter say that she wouldn't marry anyone unless he could beat her?
I see this boy has delicate skin and tender flesh, he doesn't look like a martial artist at all. How did he become your son-in-law?"

Everyone was very curious about this and kept pestering Mu Ying, wanting to find out the truth.

But Mu Ying refused to reveal any information at all, so everyone had no choice but to stop pestering him.

Soon, everyone sat down.

The older people sat at one table, while Yang Chen and the other two young people sat not far behind Xu Da.

Next is Lao Zhu’s home court.

The results of the black powder granulation were announced to everyone along with the drawings.

The generals present had personnel deployed to equip gunpowder, so they naturally knew the power of gunpowder.

In order to let them know as much as possible how powerful gunpowder is.

Lao Zhu issued the order to conduct the experiment.

As the surrounding soldiers waved flags, the soldiers in charge of launching missiles on the training ground began to operate.

"Tian De, you can see more clearly with this thing."

Before the battle officially started, Zhu Yuanzhang took out a telescope and handed it to Xu Da.

Xu Da, who had never seen such a thing before, found it very novel.

Use it according to the method taught by Lao Zhu.

I was very surprised at first sight.

I almost shouted out loud. If I hadn't experienced enough big scenes, most people would not be able to sit still.

With the help of the telescope, several musketeers began to reload their rifles about a hundred meters away from them.

Put granulated gunpowder into the hole, close the mechanism, and put in lead bullets.

The next step is to light the fire.

The whole process went very smoothly.

Compared to dust gunpowder which needs to be compacted, granulated black powder directly omits this action.

It saves a lot of time in the launch process.

The overall speed is one third faster.

Not only that, Zhu also arranged a control group, which was also a group of soldiers holding muskets.

They design and operate the muskets.

They formed a control group with soldiers using granulated black powder.

After ten rounds of shooting, the soldiers using granulated black powder had finished, while the soldiers using dust powder were still reloading for the sixth and seventh time.

The fastest man had just finished his eighth shot.

"So fast! With the same number of people, the improved gunpowder is 30% faster!"

"Not only that, did you see that? The gunpowder was very powerful. The modified gunpowder used earlier made every guard feel uncomfortable in his hands after firing.

I don’t dare to imagine the damage I would suffer if I were hit by a lead bullet.”

The generals present were all veterans, and Lan Yu was especially fond of gunpowder.

Among all the generals of the Ming Dynasty, the one who used gunpowder most frequently was Lan Yu.

All his subordinates knew that if they encountered an enemy that they could not defeat for a long time.

Lan Yu would select death squads from the army, tie gunpowder all over their bodies and rush towards the enemy's important figures.

He learned this trick during the struggle for power between Zhu Yuanzhang, Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng and others.

Once there is enough gunpowder, it can explode with powerful power.

Seeing everyone with smiles on their faces, Lao Zhu also felt happy.

"Tian De, what do you think? If all these improved gunpowders are equipped in the military camp, can you destroy the Northern Yuan Dynasty if it invades the border in the future?"

Xu Da, who was standing nearby, bowed in response.

"Brother! If these gunpowder can be used in cannons and muskets, and the power is guaranteed, the Northern Yuan will not know what's good for them and will come to disturb the stability of the Ming Dynasty again.

I, Xu Da, will definitely be able to extinguish their front and beat them back to their original form. From now on, there will be no Northern Yuan! Only the Mongols!"

Xu Da's voice was full of fighting spirit, as if he could lead his troops into battle right now, but he was very curious about the origin of the gunpowder.

“It’s just that, brother, when did these gunpowders become so powerful?

Could it be the work of the Ministry of Industry? But I have no information at all in the Grand Commandery.

Isn’t this too strange? "

"Yes, Your Majesty. Gunpowder is of utmost importance. Its sudden appearance feels a little strange to me."

Not only was he curious, but even Tang He was very confused about this.

Everyone was wondering about the origin of the gunpowder, but one person was very proud.

"Ahem, everyone, please stop guessing. If I'm not mistaken, this gunpowder should have been made by my son-in-law.

What about you, son-in-law? Why didn’t you tell your father-in-law that you made such powerful gunpowder?
Look, now these uncles are so surprised. Don’t do this again next time.

And you, Lan Yu, did you have any opinions about my son-in-law just now?
If you want to use good things in the future, remember to be polite to my son-in-law, otherwise I will give you less gunpowder!"

Mu Ying was already very satisfied with Yang Chen. Now it seemed that he had developed powerful gunpowder on his own.

This achievement is not small in the entire court.

Mu Ying could also take this opportunity to teach Lan Yu a lesson for not being able to speak just now, so there was no reason for him to remain silent.

"What? You said that the powerful gunpowder just now was made by your delicate and seemingly incompetent son-in-law?"

Lan Yu looked at him with disdain and said in a tone full of disbelief:
"Do you really think I, Lan Yu, am a fool? A guy like him, who has nothing, can make gunpowder. I'd rather believe that there are pigs in the sky that can fly!"

In an instant, everyone present fell silent.

Many people felt a chill down their spines and looked towards Lan Yu from time to time.

What did he just say?
He said a pig can fly!
Because "猪" and "朱" are homophones, after Zhu established the Ming Dynasty, he forbade anyone to mention this word for a period of time.

However, after several years of governance, he found that treating the people in this way for the sake of the dignity of the royal family was actually somewhat contrary to his original intention.

So the ban was relaxed and people were only allowed to bring up the idea of ​​slaughtering pigs during holidays, not at other times.

It's actually okay for you to say it, but if someone hears it, you will be reported.

Then this matter can be a big deal or a small deal.

Now, at this moment, Lan Yu actually mentioned in front of everyone that a pig could fly.

It's like a slap in the face to Lao Zhu.

Old Zhu, who originally had a slight smile on his face, suddenly became gloomy, and the blue veins on the back of his hands gradually bulged.

Yang Chen felt that the atmosphere around him was very strange. He looked at Lan Yu, who still had no idea what he had done wrong and maintained an arrogant attitude.

He shook his head helplessly and sighed.

This guy's death was truly deserved.

If it weren't for Zhu Biao as his amulet, Lan Yu would probably have been killed by Zhu Yuanzhang long ago.

This guy embodies the words "arrogant soldier and brave general" to the fullest.

"Lan Yu! That's enough! If you can't speak, just shut up!"

Zhu Biao already felt that his father was very unhappy, and if he did not exonerate Lan Yu in time.

I am afraid that the other party will be severely punished.

He vaguely remembered Yang Chen saying that after he passed away, his father, who had long been fed up with Lan Yu, would simply kill him.

All of them died on the execution platform.

"No! What are you doing, nephew-in-law? Mu Ying is speaking rudely to us because he thinks his son-in-law has some skills.

Isn't it just a son-in-law? What about you, my son-in-law? Or the future one."

"Call me Prince!"

In an instant, the air around gradually solidified.

Everyone looked at Zhu Biao eagerly.

Zhu Biao looked at Lan Yu with an extremely hostile look and gave a final warning:
"General Lan, my father summoned you here today to discuss important matters, not to cause trouble!

If you want to compete with anyone, please return to your own tent.

This is the imperial palace! You can't do whatever you want!
Have you forgotten what the Ming dynasty's surname is? "

thump!
Lan Yu is not stupid, he is very smart, just a little impulsive.

After Zhu Biao's reminder, he suddenly remembered what he had said just now.

He immediately knelt down and bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang to apologize:
"Your Majesty! Lan Yu was reckless and disrespectful to Your Majesty earlier. I hope Your Majesty can forgive me!"

None of the other generals came to his defense.

This was his fault.

Besides, Lan Yu was famous for his impulsiveness in the military camp, which was both his strength and weakness.

The advantage is that he dares to fight in wars, but the disadvantage is that he easily offends people.

First he had a conflict with Mu Ying, and now he has directly offended Zhu Yuanzhang. How could anyone be willing to speak for him?

After Lan Yu spoke, Old Zhu remained silent, and only the sound of fingers tapping on the armrest could be heard.

"Father, my uncle has realized his mistake and will not make the same mistake again."

It was unknown how long it took before Zhu Biao personally spoke up to plead for him.

This moved Old Zhu. He lowered his eyes and stared at the kneeling Lan Yu, and said in a deep voice:
"Only this time." These four words almost caused the Ming Dynasty warrior Lan Yu to collapse mentally.

"Thank you, Your Majesty for your grace!"

"How is the grenade preparation going?"

Old Zhu ignored Lan Yu's meaning and asked about the next experiment.

"It's ready and can be used now."

Knowing that his father was very unhappy, Zhu Biao naturally quickly continued with the other party's words.

"Then send someone to prepare to start."

After nodding, he issued the order. Old Zhu looked at Xu Da and others with a relaxed expression, as if nothing had happened just now.

"Tian De, you will see them later. They are quite different. I guarantee you will be shocked."

"Really? Since Big Brother has said so, I am really curious about what it is. Don't you think so?"

A group of people began to respond to Xu Da's voice.

They also understand that some things are over and should not be dwelled on for too long.

As the flag bearers around the house waved flags, they signaled to people in the distance to continue their actions.

Soon the Norda Martial Arts Arena began to be cleared and all the previous soldiers left.

Instead, there were death row prisoners wearing white prison uniforms.

"Brother? Why don't you let our people do the operation and let these death row prisoners take the stage?"

Xu Da asked curiously.

The person who answered him was Zhu Biao.

"Uncle Xu, the new weapon is called a hand grenade, which is similar to the thunder bomb of the Song Dynasty, but it is filled with our improved gunpowder.

Because the weapons cannot be guaranteed to be stable at present, this experiment must be conducted by death row prisoners.

Otherwise, if our soldiers are injured accidentally, it will be a huge loss for us."

After Zhu Biao's explanation, the others finally understood.

They were not at all disturbed by this.

Not to mention death row inmates, they wouldn't have any emotional fluctuations even if a few criminals died.

Initially, these death row prisoners were unwilling to do this job, but Zhu Biao promised that if they could survive, they would not have to die.

With the hope of survival, the death row inmate naturally mustered up the courage to start the operation.

The first condemned prisoner to ignite a dust-filled grenade was the reference group.

Obviously, the dust powder did not explode, but just produced a black ball and burned out without any result.

"Huh? What's going on? Why isn't this grenade exploding?"

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed a little disappointed when he saw the result.

The generals only discussed in whispers, unable to make any clear conclusions.

Only Yang Chen can explain the reason.

“Your Majesty, this powder is extremely loose and will show signs of sedimentation if it is naturally released.

This causes the gaps between the various materials to shrink, and insufficient air and temperature to stimulate the gunpowder reaction, so it naturally cannot explode.

This is why the Song Dynasty gave up the Thunder Bomb. "

After Yang Chen's explanation, everyone nodded, seemingly understanding.

In fact, they didn’t understand what the principle was. They just felt that what Yang Chen said was very mysterious, as if it was some big secret.

Only Lan Yu had a sour face and was very dissatisfied, and kept complaining in his heart.

"Tsk, it sounds so magical, but it's just a trivial skill."

"continue."

The others ignored him, but Lao Zhu signaled them not to stop.

As the flag bearer waved, another death row inmate in the distance began his experiment.

This time, the grenade was loaded with granulated black powder.

The condemned prisoner lit the fuse on top, which was like a firecracker, and tried his best to throw the wooden-handled grenade into a place surrounded by wooden boards.

Although it didn't hit the exact center, it was pretty close.

Everyone looked around the wooden board intently.

I want to see how powerful this weapon is.

But after waiting for a long time, I found that it was not even as good as the previous one.

Not to mention an explosion, there wasn't even any smoke.

It was immediately disappointing.

Only Lan Yu was different. This guy started to make fun of others whenever he got the chance.

"Haha! How ridiculous! This grenade is nothing but this. Mu Ying, oh Mu Ying, what kind of vision do you have?
You actually chose a son-in-law from so far away?
Really not."

Just as Lan Yu was thinking about how to point fingers at Mu Ying.

A loud noise interrupted his performance.

All I saw was a huge thunder in the distance.

The piercing explosions, accompanied by sound waves, struck everyone's cochlea one after another.

Countless pieces of broken iron began to fly around.

The surrounding wooden boards were shattered in an instant, regardless of whether they were covered with iron or fur armor.

Everyone within two meters of the grenade explosion was seriously injured.

The shock wave even caused a wooden board as thick as a finger to break into pieces.

This is not an ordinary grenade, but a black powder grenade, which can be understood as a small explosive pack.

Yang Chen even mixed some nitroglycerin into it.

He had tried it, and with the current level of technology and the deaths of so many alchemists, he could only barely obtain nitroglycerin of low purity.

And it’s gone.

This time he planned to let Lao Zhu see thoroughly how powerful the chemistry of later generations was.

But I didn't expect that just changing the formula of the grenade would make it so incredibly powerful!
Even those who were nearly a hundred meters away felt a lingering fear. Some people's hair stood on end, looking at the scene in front of them in disbelief.

When the smoke cleared, the surrounding soldiers approached cautiously and picked up the target.

Sort them by distance and show them to everyone.

"What a powerful force! The damage range of this grenade is simply too large! If a grenade is only as big as a baby's arm, if it can be equipped to cavalry, wouldn't it be a powerful weapon to kill people on the battlefield?"

"That's right! Whether charging into battle or being surrounded and pursued by the enemy, with this thing, one person can face a hundred people without fear."

"Mu Ying, Mu Ying, you really found a good son-in-law. I, Xu Da, will remember the great contributions he has made to millions of soldiers!"

To be able to become a great commander, Xu Da’s insight was no less than Zhu Yuanzhang’s.

Ever since he saw Yang Chen, Xu Da kept wondering where this young man came from.
It seemed like he wasn't paying attention, but in fact every time Yang Chen spoke, Xu Da was observing what Zhu Biao, Zhu Di and Zhu Yuanzhang's reactions were.
After the conflict caused by Lan Yu's impulsiveness just now, he finally became convinced.

Yang Chen is a very important person.

And it does not belong to any imperial power. This is the most terrifying thing.

"Marshal Xu, you are joking. My son-in-law only knows a little bit, but he will be happy to help the millions of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

Isn't that right, son-in-law?"

Mu Ying nodded and responded to Xu Da with a smile, then handed the power to speak to Yang Chen.

"Whether in public or private, every Han Chinese should do something for the Ming Dynasty to help it get back on the right track."

Yang Chen did not show any fear and directly acknowledged the credit.

These polite words made everyone present nod their heads.

"By the way, Yang Chen, this gunpowder explosion is so powerful. What on earth was added to it? Can you tell us about it?"

A word came from Zhu Biao's mouth, and everyone looked at Yang Chen with curiosity.

Everyone wants to know what the truth is here?

Seeing this, Yang Chen looked calm and said in a calm tone:
“It’s nothing special actually.

It's just the application of some chemistry knowledge.

If I explain it too complicatedly, you won’t understand, so I’ll try to make it as easy to understand as possible.”

Yang Chen stood up, walked to the table, and started fiddling with some things.

"As you all know, the ingredients of gunpowder are sulfur, nitrate and charcoal.

Adding sugar here can make the reaction of the ingredients more intense.

Under high temperature, sugar is converted into two substances: hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

You can understand that these two things are like dry wood and raging fire, which will ignite at the first touch.

The power of black powder will increase exponentially after the fusion reaction of these things.

To this I added something else called nitroglycerine.

It’s a pity that the alchemists I requested from you, Your Highness, a month ago are not enough.

The nitroglycerin finally extracted was not pure enough and the quantity was also less.

Even so, all of these things can be put together to make the grenade I just demonstrated to you.

I won't go into detail about its power, it's even stronger than you can imagine."

After his explanation, the crowd, who were already confused, seemed even more at a loss.

However, they were all stubborn and refused to admit that they didn't understand. When they saw others nodding, they followed suit.

"What is all this? I am confused."

Apart from Lao Zhu, he was quite generous and only muttered a few complaints under his breath.

Yang Chen touched his chin and said with a smile:

"Some people call this thing chemistry, a science full of violent reactions and colors."

"I don't know whether to learn or not. Anyway, according to your method, we can make the gunpowder stronger, right?"

Lao Zhu waved his hand and hit the target directly.

After getting Yang Chen's nod in response, he turned to look at Zhu Biao.

"Biao'er, you've also seen that the gunpowder has a strong ability to granulate, just look at those explosions just now.

Once the distance is too close, or even if it explodes not far away, it can cause damage to people's internal organs.

How are you going to deal with this?"

Old Zhu didn't expect that adding sugar or other things to ordinary black gunpowder could double the power of the gunpowder.

If only the imperial court had gunpowder, he wouldn't be worried.

But there are also many capable people among the people who also know how to make gunpowder.

What if the rebels use this gunpowder against him one day?

Old Zhu couldn't imagine how much loss the Ming Dynasty would suffer.

"I think that the method of adding sugar to black powder to increase its power can be hidden for a while, but not forever.

From now on, except when the people need it, officials below must be warned.

Let them know that anyone who hoards sugar in large quantities is breaking the law.

We also need to send someone to investigate why sugar is hoarded.

Otherwise, once it is known, it will cause unnecessary impact on Ming Dynasty."

"In addition to what the prince said, I have another suggestion, which is to pay attention to areas with high sugar production, such as the areas in the north that are rich in sugar beets and the areas in the south that are rich in sugar cane.

During harvest season, these sugars would be stored in large quantities and managed by the imperial court.

The rest of the time, only part of the candy can be distributed to the people.

It was even listed as a war reserve material. Once an emergency war broke out, the court had the right to collect sugar from the people. "

Zhu Biao originally thought that he had spoken very well, but he did not expect that Yang Chen was more thoughtful than he thought.

Old Zhu was not angry at Yang Chen's sudden addition. Instead, he nodded in agreement.

The people around were watching this scene and they secretly communicated with each other through eye contact.

Obviously, most people expressed admiration and even surprise towards Yang Chen.

This young man who seemed to know nothing seemed far from as simple as they imagined.

"Brother Yang, it has to be you, otherwise I wouldn't know how to list this candy as military supplies."

"Your Highness, thank you for your praise. I just want to add a little. Even if I don't tell you, you will find it in the future."

Yang Chen patted Zhu Biao on the shoulder and said.

"Okay! In that case! Biao'er, starting tomorrow, you will announce this matter in the court.

From now on, except for the sugar needed for daily life, all the remaining sugar will be collected in the form of tax.

Get ready for the battle ahead! "

Since he already knew that Japan had a large amount of silver and gold, Zhu Yuanzhang put this battle on the agenda from that moment on.

As long as all the gold and silver in the Japanese region were brought into the Ming Dynasty, the government's lack of money problem could be solved at one time.

Without these troublesome things getting in the way, Zhu Yuanzhang would not have to worry about having nothing after Zhu Biao ascended the throne in the future.

Before he planned to pass on the throne, he had to turn the Ming Dynasty into a stage large enough for Zhu Biao to display his talents.

And this will inevitably require war with Japan.

"Your son obeys your command! I will prepare a memorial tonight and announce it to all the officials and ministries tomorrow. I will definitely not delay the battle!"

When all the generals saw this scene, they were all very surprised.

"What? Fighter planes? Could it be that the Ming Dynasty is about to go to war with the Northern Yuan Dynasty? This is too sudden."

"Your Majesty, didn't you say earlier that you were short of food and grass and would not fight with the Northern Yuan for the time being? Why are you about to set off now?"

"Yes, big brother. Besides, the weather is getting colder and winter will come soon. The Northern Yuan Dynasty will be covered by wind and snow, which is bad for the millions of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty!"

Xu Da couldn't help but ask.

The Ming Dynasty suddenly declared war. Apart from the enemy being the Northern Yuan Dynasty, they had no idea who else could have made the Ming Emperor mobilize such a large army.

(End of this chapter)