Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 287 Blows Out a Wuwei
Use this thing to fry loaches?

Do you own a mine?

Uh... it seems like they actually do have some.

Li Longji was quite helpless about his little nephew, but judging from Li Longji's reaction, it's no wonder that Lady Zixia didn't take the fried loach seriously back then.

It is indeed difficult to make any connection between the two.

Suddenly, a burst of loud cheers erupted from all around the mine.

Although it was the second successful explosion, the shocking scene still made the spoiled brats of the nameless academy feel as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

The cheers brought the ministers present to their senses.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Even those with vast knowledge and learning did not know how to refute it.
A headache!
Zhang Shuo suddenly exclaimed excitedly to Li Longji, "Your Majesty, this is truly a blessing from Heaven for our Great Tang!"

Li Longji was still in a state of excitement when he heard Zhang Shuo shouting like this, and couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean by that, Grand Secretary?"

Zhang said, "With the power of this gunpowder, if it could be used on the battlefield, our army would be invincible."

Li Longji immediately gasped.

Images of enemies being blown to bits flashed through my mind, just like reading a thrilling novel, and my dopamine levels soared.

It was an immediate intracranial hyperstimulation!

This is an invincible prelude!
Zhang said, using his scientific knowledge, "Your Majesty should immediately issue an order to keep this gunpowder strictly confidential and absolutely not allow this secret formula to be leaked, otherwise it will pose a great threat to our Great Tang."

"What the Grand Secretary said makes a lot of sense."

Li Longji nodded repeatedly, but then suddenly remembered that this thing was invented by the Nameless Academy, so he looked at Wang Xi again.

Wang Xi immediately said, "What belongs to my nephew belongs to my uncle. If it is of benefit to the country, I will be very happy. Uncle, please take it, hehe."

Upon hearing this, a glint flashed in Zhang Shuo's eyes.

Suddenly, Huangfu Sengnian, who was standing nearby, lightly kicked the dog-headed vulture from behind.

Wang Xi turned around, puzzled, and asked, "What are you doing?"

Huangfu Sengnian glared at him and said, "My legs are a little numb."

"My legs are numb. How strange!"

Wang Xi glared at him, then continued to fawn over Li Longji, saying, "Uncle, don't be impatient. I will present the secret formula to you later, and the gunpowder workshop will also be handed over to the court."

Li Longji saw everything and understood, chuckling as he said, "It's rare to see such filial piety from Que'er. So be it!"

He looked around and his gaze settled on a young major general. "Guo Ziyi."

"The end will be here."

Guo Ziyi immediately stepped forward and clasped his hands in a salute.

Li Longji said, "You are in full charge of procuring gunpowder. Remember to cooperate with the Nameless Academy."

Guo Ziyi immediately replied, "This subordinate obeys."

Li Longji then looked at Wang Maozhong and said, "Maozhong."

"I'm here! I'm here!"

Wang Maozhong immediately stepped forward.

Li Longji said, "Your Ministry of Works should also do your best to cooperate with the Nameless Academy in developing gunpowder."

Wang Maozhong immediately replied, "I already know this without Sanlang saying it."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo's expression changed slightly, but he didn't say anything more.

It must be admitted that the old man's mind works very fast. As long as the secret recipe is handed over to the imperial court, it will no longer be exclusive to the nameless academy, and at least it will not be able to monopolize it.

Although the imperial court would not reveal this secret formula to outsiders, as it did involve national security, the court could sell gunpowder exclusively to the mining industry for use in mining.

Even a fool would know that it would benefit Lady Zixia and the others, but his cleverness lies in his ability to combine personal interests with national interests.

Gunpowder is indeed a powerful tool that can change the battlefield, and it is extremely important for a country. It can be said that every word he said is correct and is indeed very beneficial to the country.

Even if he has ulterior motives, you should still do it; you can't argue with that.

However, Wang Xi and Huangfu Sengnian were not slow-witted either.

Wang Xi immediately realized what was happening, but as a favored minister, he had to flatter the emperor. He couldn't refuse and had to do his best to satisfy him.

Huangfu Sengnian was a staunch supporter of Wang Xi's strategy of favoring his ministers, so he had to play the bad guy. His kick was actually a hint to Li Longji.

Brother!

We are currently in competition.

If we hand this over, we'll lose.

Li Longji also came to his senses. He did not hand it over to the Ministry of Works or the Ministry of War, but instead entrusted it to Guo Ziyi to handle.

Guo Ziyi currently serves as the Chief Secretary of the Left Guard, in charge of the palace guards, and is directly under the command of Li Longji. In other words, Li Longji wants to keep this gunpowder in his own hands.

There's actually nothing wrong with that.

But don't forget that Guo Ziyi was promoted because of Wang Xi. Later, Li Longji found that this young man was quite good, and more importantly, he was handsome, so he nurtured him. Today, Guo Ziyi is the one in charge of clearing the area.

So, handing it over to Guo Ziyi was actually still in Wang Xi's hands.

Li Longji then asked Wang Xi, "Que'er, gunpowder has existed for a long time, but it has never been so powerful. What is going on?" Wang Xi understood immediately and replied, "Uncle, this is the Qi-based energy of our Daoist school."

Li Longji asked curiously, "Is this also related to the Daoist theory of Qi?"

Wang Xi nodded and said, "According to our research, qi has the power to move, which is why feathers can float in the air. This is called qi mechanics."

At the same time, we also discovered that both firewood and coal produce some odor when burning, which means that these things produce new gas when burning. With a sudden increase in gas, the force will naturally be greater.

Therefore, we assume that when an object can burn rapidly, it will produce a large amount of gas in a very short time. This gas is extremely hot, but the outside is sealed. When this extremely hot gas expands to a certain extent, it will produce a violent explosion.

We discovered that gunpowder could burn rapidly, so we began to study the formula of gunpowder and what role each of the materials played during the combustion process.

Based on our findings, we have a formula for preparing gunpowder to produce greater power.

This explanation is only superficial, because at present they only have pneumatics, and they must explain it around this point. They haven't touched on things like heat and mass yet, but that doesn't matter. It's enough to fool them. They can slowly re-explain it when they learn more about it later.

In any case, he has the final say on everything.

Li Longji understood even this rudimentary explanation and exclaimed, "Our Taoist thought is truly profound and extensive!"

"That is!"

Wang Xi proudly said, "In fact, this is the Taoist principle of governing by non-action."

Yuan Qianyao, hearing this kid spout off so easily, wondered what this had to do with governing by non-action. He couldn't help but say, "This is indeed a Taoist concept, but it has nothing to do with governing by non-action, does it?"

"Yes! Yes!"

Wang Xi said with an air of seriousness, "It is of great importance."

Yuan Qianyao smiled and asked, "I would like to hear the details."

Wang Xi said, "Prime Minister Yuan should know that governing by non-action does not mean doing nothing."

Yuan Qianyao nodded. "You're right."

Wang Xi then said, "What is governing by doing nothing? It means governing in accordance with the laws of nature."

As I mentioned in the Ministry of Works last time, once the patterns are figured out, governance becomes quite simple.

Our success was due to our understanding of the explosive properties of gunpowder, which enabled us to increase its explosive power.

If this power were used for mining, then those coal miners would be in luck; they wouldn't have to use hammers to chisel or fire to burn coal.

The imperial court did virtually nothing, yet it managed to alleviate some of the burden on the people while simultaneously increasing the nation's strength.

And another thing, I just realized it myself, it's what Master Zhang mentioned before about using gunpowder on the battlefield. Oh, that's amazing! We can use catapults to throw gunpowder into the enemy's camp.

Hehehe, can the opponent's flesh and blood be harder than this big rock? It will definitely be blown to pieces.

But the imperial court didn't issue any policies, yet our army was invincible on the battlefield. Isn't that the essence of governing by doing nothing?

quiet!
The scene was eerily quiet for a moment!
Is he really a genius?
Is this the true meaning of governing by doing nothing?

Wang Xi's understanding is completely different from theirs.

Their understanding of "governing by doing nothing" mainly meant allowing the people to rest and recuperate, with the court refraining from making policies that would disturb them, and letting the people develop freely.

However, in comparison, Wang Xi's policy of non-interference was clearly more effective.

The best outcome of rest and recuperation is that people can only grow one acre of land and eat from it. But Wang Xi's policy of non-interference can enable people to grow half an acre of land and eat from it.

Which is better?
The key facts are right in front of you, and you can't refute them.

Zhang Shuo suddenly stroked his beard and laughed, "If I remember correctly, Que'er mentioned last time that Confucianism and Taoism are based on law."

Wang Xi immediately said, "What just happened shows that Confucianism and Taoism are based on law. Didn't my uncle say that we should keep it strictly confidential? That's the law. We can use gunpowder to blow up the enemy, but we can't use gunpowder to blow up our own people."

According to Confucianism, using gunpowder for blasting mines to reduce the burden of corvée labor is an act of benevolence.

Li Longji's eyes lit up, and a gratified smile appeared on his lips.

It was definitely worth spoiling this little nephew.

"This kid has made a lot of progress!" Zhang thought to himself, giving a silent thumbs-up. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he smiled and nodded, saying, "Que'er is right. Gunpowder should be used on a large scale in mining to reduce the burden on the people."

This old man is truly omnipresent; no wonder he's a prime minister. Wang Xi muttered to himself, but said smugly, "That's how it should be. Que'er agrees too. However, Que'er also hopes everyone knows that this is Taoist thought. Don't criticize us verbally but then shamelessly use it; that's not the behavior of a gentleman."

Zhang nodded with a smile.

He genuinely never cursed.

But many officials nearby looked displeased, especially former Ministry of Works officials, who were the harshest critics.

Li Longji suddenly asked, "Has anyone been insulting you?"

Wang Xi said, "Many people criticize us, saying that our Taoist thought is all about strange skills and tricks, and is a low-class thing."

Li Longji frowned.

Huangfu Sengnian suddenly said, "Wang Xiaoque, don't get carried away."

Li Longji then looked at Huangfu Sengnian, "Why did Sengnian say that?"

Huangfu Sengnian said, "Your Majesty, everyone has witnessed the power of gunpowder just now. Therefore, even the slightest improper handling could cause many casualties."

We have only just developed it, and there are still many hidden dangers in its operation that have not been completely eliminated. If we give it to others to use, it may cause a disaster.

The gentleman also instructed us to ensure absolute safety before allowing others to use it.

Li Longji nodded and said, "That makes sense. This matter will be handled by the Nameless Academy. We will take your word for it."

(End of this chapter)