Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 297 Zhao Ji: Sulfuric acid has been made, will nitric acid be far behind? [Seeking monthly votes]

At Pan Mei's command, three thousand heavily armored infantrymen, armed with weapons, led Xiao Siwen's family, who were driving a horse-drawn carriage, into the ranks, and then lined up to meet the tide of Khitan cavalry.

Heavy infantry has always been the nemesis of cavalry, especially cavalry in skirmish formation. When they encounter heavy infantry, it's like a giant wave crashing into a cliff; neither the rider nor the horse can survive.

The first few rows of heavily armored infantrymen wielded horse-chopping swords or large axes, specifically designed to deal with mounted soldiers.

Behind them were archers and crossbowmen, as well as spearmen who stabbed wildly from the gaps in the ranks. In just a few breaths, a pile of Khitan cavalry corpses appeared in front of the ranks.

Xiao Siwen ran forward for a while before stopping the carriage. He first touched his head and found that his daughters were still there. Then he lifted the curtain and looked at his three daughters in the carriage. They were all there too. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Pan Mei rode over and cupped his hands in greeting to Xiao Siwen:

"His Majesty ordered me to come and meet you. May I ask your name, sir? Do you understand the Central Plains dialect?"

Xiao Siwen scrambled down from the carriage shaft, straightened his clothes like a Han Chinese, bowed deeply, and said in standard Central Plains dialect:
"Xiao Siwen, the garrison commander of Nanjing, thanks the general for saving his life!"

Upon hearing this name, Pan Mei's heart skipped a beat. He didn't know Zhao Kuangyin's plan to let the Khitan royal family escape; he only knew that he was to wait for someone here tonight.

Unexpectedly, what they received was the Liao Dynasty's Nanjing garrison commander.

This is the brother-in-law of the Liao emperor! Could he be a spy for the Great Zhou?

No wonder His Majesty insisted on the Northern Expedition. With the Nanjing garrison working from the inside and outside, even if the walls of Youzhou were a hundred feet high, they couldn't stop the iron cavalry of the Great Zhou!

Pan Mei was very happy; her first move had been a great success, and the trip had not been in vain.

He didn't linger and immediately dispatched his personal guards to escort Xiao Siwen and his family to the main camp to meet His Majesty.

After arranging these things, Pan Mei was about to continue directing the battle when the carriage curtain was lifted, and Xiao Yanyan crawled out and knelt down before Pan Mei:

"My mother was killed by the Khitans. General, could you help me find her belongings?"

Pan Mei was surprised that this girl was not frightened by such a sudden change, but instead remained calm, so she nodded and agreed to the request.

He inquired about Yelü Lübugu's clothing and weapons, then turned his horse around and led his heavy infantry northward in a surprise attack.

While this side was massacring the Khitans, outside Yuhe County, just west of Youzhou, Wang Yansheng led a group of cavalry galloping in. A captain who understood Khitan shouted loudly at the city wall to open the gate:
"Open the door quickly! There's no one to meet us at the west gate of Youzhou. We've made a wasted trip!"

Upon hearing that they were his own people, the garrison commander of Yuhe County immediately ordered the city gates to be opened and everyone to enter.

The city's defenses weren't originally this lax, but after several members of the Khitan royal family came over at noon and said they wanted to lead troops into the city to clean up the traitors, the Yuhe garrison commander refused, and then the royal family members beheaded the garrison commander.

The new commander had only been in office for less than five hours and was afraid of being killed again if he wasn't careful. So when he heard the shouts below urging him to open the gate, he immediately opened the city gate and let Wang Yansheng lead two thousand cavalry and three thousand infantrymen in.

After entering the city, this living Yama did not immediately begin a massacre, but instead ordered all four city gates to be sealed off:
"We've finally managed to breach the city; we must leave the Khitans with an unforgettable memory!"

The city gates were sealed off, with three hundred men left to defend each gate. Then, the cavalry and infantry swept through the entire camp under cover of night, capturing thousands of soldiers.

Among these soldiers were both Khitans and Han Chinese.

Wang Yansheng announced on the spot:
"Han Chinese who can understand me, please stand on the left side of the drill ground, and I can guarantee that I will not kill you."

Soon, a group of Han Chinese went to the left, leaving dozens on the right. Whether they didn't understand or wanted to serve the Liao Dynasty, Wang Yansheng didn't bother to explain and instructed the captain beside him who was fluent in Khitan:

"Tell the remaining prisoners that each of them can live if they knock on the door of a Khitan soldier's house, otherwise their heads will be piled up into a mound tonight."

Military households were professional soldiers and the core force of the Khitan army; they were generally stationed with the army.

Wang Yansheng was worried that the military households would secretly gather in the dark, so he used this method to eliminate potential enemies and went through all the people in the city before dawn.

After daybreak, whether to escort the military households to Youzhou to demand an audience or to transfer these prisoners to the rear to build roads, both are good options.

The captain asked:

"What if the military household resists or refuses to open the door?"

“Then kill the prisoner who knocks on the door, and have someone else knock on the door. If the door is not opened three times, no matter who lives inside, exterminate the entire family… The Khitans have killed so many of my Han people, now it’s time to collect some interest.”

Wang Yansheng was a very clever man. Ever since Guo Rong made contact with the immortal's cave, he had keenly realized that the immortal favored the Han people. Since that was the case, then he should follow the immortal's wishes and deal with the Khitan people to death.

It is said that the Khitans were fierce and fearless, and now we can verify whether this statement is true or not.

Xiao Siwen led her three daughters to the camp. It was already midnight, but the camp was brightly lit, and there were fluorescent lights in the courtyard. Xiao Siwen was extremely surprised and wondered what kind of miracle this was.

Guo Rong had someone cook instant noodles and served them to the Xiao father and daughter. He also took a look at his chosen daughter-in-law, Xiao Yanyan. She was indeed a beauty, and her calm demeanor gave her a certain air of someone who could turn the tide.

After the father and daughters finished their instant noodles, Guo Rong planned to arrange for Xiao Siwen's family to go to Bianliang. He would first give them a sinecure to familiarize them with the environment, and then let them make contact with the officials left behind in Bianliang to learn about the rules of officialdom in the Great Zhou Dynasty, so as to avoid making a fool of themselves later.

Guo Rong was very satisfied with the outcome. All the key figures were present, and there wasn't a large entourage of relatives and friends. Even if Xiao Yanyan married a prince, there wouldn't be any interference from her maternal relatives in politics. It must be said that this kind of in-laws, without any extended family connections or powerful clans, were truly born with the potential to become the emperor's father-in-law.

As a result, Xiao Siwen did not want to leave. He wanted to stay in the camp and watch all the people who killed his wife die so that he could live in Bianliang in peace.

This request surprised Guo Rong:
"Okay, I agree. Starting tomorrow, you will be my military attaché."

At this time, Pan Mei also sent over Yelü Lübugu's belongings, a shiny spiked club, which was spotless... Pan Mei couldn't bear to let the children see the blood and flesh on it, so she specially had it cleaned before sending it over.

Seeing the object, Xiao Siwen and his daughters were overcome with grief and burst into tears, clutching the spiked club. Zhao Kuangyin and the others comforted them for a while before sending someone to arrange for the family to rest in a nearby tent.

After they left, Zhao Kuangyin looked at Guo Rong and asked:

"The Khitans are rude and barbaric, but I didn't expect Xiao Siwen's family to have such a deep bond."

Guo Rong flipped through the information on the tablet and sighed:

"This guy is a man of the Central Plains in spirit. He loves the poetry, books and etiquette of the Central Plains, and he educates his children in the Central Plains way. He values ​​relationships and family, and he is completely out of step with the Khitans... Now that he has returned to the Central Plains, he can be said to have devoted himself to his spiritual homeland."

The next day, the Xiao father and daughter dug a grave on a mound outside the camp, buried Yelü Lübugu's clothes in it, built a cenotaph, and then performed a sacrifice in the manner of the Central Plains people.

Meanwhile, inside the Hunyuan Palace, Zhou Yi was eating breakfast, flipping through a black notebook, his face full of shock and confusion:
"Xiao Siwen has actually defected to the Later Zhou, and Xiao Yanyan has followed him... The famous Empress Dowager Xiao in Liao history has become one of ours!"

The more he thought about it, the more astonished he became, feeling as if he had drunk fake alcohol the night before.

If Empress Xiao joins the Later Zhou, will the Liao Dynasty still have a chance?

Although he didn't know what had happened, he was certain that Guo Rong or Zhao Kuangyin had pulled some stunt to turn the Khitan nobles into subjects of the Great Zhou.

If Guo Rong and Xiao Siwen were to become in-laws again, the Great Zhou Dynasty would have a pillar of strength for the next fifty years.

Wu Zetian took a bite of the freshly made egg pancake and asked:

Will Xiao Yanyan bring chaos to the Later Zhou dynasty?

Zhou Yi shook his head:

"Guo Rong isn't stupid. He'll definitely make her family swear an oath to the token, whether openly or secretly. The only thing to worry about now is whether Guo Rong will agree if this family pleads for the Khitan."

When Guo Rong comes to Hunyuan Palace next time, we'll have plenty to talk about; it'll probably be a rather complicated story.

After dinner, Wu Meiniang went to wash the dishes, while Zhou Yi picked up a book on the history of the Southern Song Dynasty from the bookshelf and began to read, intending to help Xin Qiji find some talented people.

On the other side, in the world of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty.

After having breakfast at home, Li Zhaozhao rode his pink electric scooter leisurely to a newly opened courtyard of the Ordnance Bureau, where he saw a giant distillation kettle being heated by a coal stove.

It contained ferrous sulfate, which could be directly distilled into sulfuric acid. Emperor Huizong planned to turn it all into sulfuric acid at once, and then use the sulfuric acid to make nitric acid, thus figuring out the way to make explosives.

Once the process is established, sulfur mines from all over the country will be delivered, and then sulfuric acid will be produced using the lead chamber method, enabling the production of explosives to be streamlined and industrialized.

Li Qingzhao took several photos and then went to check on the operation of the wind turbine:

"The immortal has a five-ton crane that can install a more powerful wind turbine. If you need more electricity, just let me know, and I'll bring the crane over next time."

Upon hearing the number five tons, Emperor Huizong of Song suddenly thought of water forging equipment:

“Fairy Osmanthus, we plan to build a water forging facility on the banks of the Bian River. Could you bring us a crankshaft from the Immortal Master? Or related gear equipment would also be fine.”

Li Qingzhao took out her small notebook and asked:

What are the specifications? What is the strength? Are there any special requirements for tensile strength?

Emperor Huizong (Zhao Ji) didn't quite understand either, so he roughly gestured with his arms outstretched. Li Qingzhao planned to go to the scene to film a video, then take it to Hunyuan Palace, and use AI to calculate the dimensions of the necessary accessories.

As they were talking, the sulfuric acid in the distillation kettle had almost evaporated.

Emperor Huizong stopped the fire and waited a while to allow the sulfide gas and distilled water to fully combine, which would then produce concentrated sulfuric acid, an essential chemical for chemical production.

Before long, a slightly viscous sulfuric acid was poured out. A group of workers looked at each other in disbelief, finding it hard to believe that this stuff had anything to do with explosives.

Emperor Huizong did not believe it either, but that did not stop him from finding some saltpeter used to make gunpowder based on the contents recorded in "Principles of Chemistry", calculating the amount needed through chemical formulas, and then pouring it together with a certain amount of sulfuric acid into a distillation vessel for distillation.

Nitric acid, the mother of the defense industry, was about to be born in the Northern Song Dynasty!

(End of this chapter)