fifth form

Chapter 3220 Good Fortune Shines Brightly
The alchemy furnace in Princess Guantao's residence has been sitting there for a long time.

The structure of this alchemy furnace is not particularly remarkable; its special abilities originate from the coal and stones inside.

All it takes is to ignite it, and this alchemy furnace will have a strong enough flame, plus Princess Guantao's residence has a basket of coal.

This alchemy furnace had been ignored until the new emperor went to Princess Guantao's residence to request it, at which point it was brought out.

"Someone, light the fire!"

The new emperor had seen burning wood and charcoal, but he had never seen burning soil or stone.

They rode their horses out of Shanglin Garden and traveled more than sixty li before reaching the location of the discovery.

The person in charge of the search at Princess Guantao's residence was Dong Yan.

Dong Yan still maintained his elegant demeanor, and his hands were free of coal dust, indicating that he was the one sent by Princess Guantao's residence to receive the reward.

The new emperor gave an order, and Dong Yan, who was unfamiliar with the properties of coal, almost ordered his men to set the mine ablaze.

"Take it out and test it with a spark. This place can't tolerate even the slightest spark!"

Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to speak up, lest a spark accidentally ignite the coal and cause further trouble.

"Take it out! Take it out!"

The new emperor waved his hand, signaling the staff of Princess Guantao's residence to do as instructed.

Someone took a hoe and dug around until they dug out about half a basket of coal, which they then piled on the open ground and kept burning it with a tinderbox.

The outer layer of coal was not of high quality; it took quite a while for black smoke to rise after it was ignited, and sparks continued to emerge.

"This soil can indeed be burned. What about the black stones inside?" the new emperor asked.

"Reporting to the Commander, the Black Stone can only be dug out after digging through ten feet of black soil!"

Unable to give a precise answer immediately, Dong Yan quickly summoned an elderly cultivator.

This answer made the new emperor nod, and he began to ask the old monk about this area of ​​black soil and black stone, the depth that could be dug, and even the possible output.

These questions sound simple, but they are extremely difficult to answer.

The old monk struggled to give a definite reply, gesturing for a while before still stammering.

"This place should be a mountain. It may not be inexhaustible, but it's more than enough for alchemy and metallurgy!"

The amount of coal needed for alchemy is limited; the real purpose of coal is to smelt and forge items such as swords.

Based on what the old cultivator had said, Zhang Xuezhou felt that this open-pit coal mine was quite large, and if the underground veins were deep, its uses would be extremely considerable.

An open-pit coal mine is not unusual, but proving that coal can burn is a low-probability event. Few people would dig three feet into the ground in the middle of nowhere just to dig up soil for a fire.

The poor combustion quality of the coal and soil at the top layer further raises the bar for its use.

Zhang Xuezhou guessed and said something, and the new emperor couldn't help but have a red glint in his eyes.

The new emperor knew about swords but not about smelting, but the Pingyang Marquis's family was knowledgeable about smelting. Princess Pingyang complained more than once that the flames in the blacksmith's furnace were impure, which resulted in weapons that were not tough enough and were easy to break. Good fire was also necessary for smelting.

"Men, dig up the black stone deep inside, bring it back to Chang'an City, and take this special order into the city!"

Now that the investigation was complete, the new emperor only had to go to the Marquis of Pingyang's residence to conduct smelting and verification.

He looked excited; although he hadn't managed to execute the sword-drawing technique in one go, he was quite lucky.

In just two short months, the source of this combustible stone was found, and the amount of combustible material at the source was far greater than he had imagined.

If elixirs alter the body's internal structure, thereby enhancing individual strength, then metallurgy alters the body's external form. Weapons such as spears, swords, armor, and arrows are inextricably linked to metallurgy; even a slight improvement can have a significant impact on the balance of power in battle.

The advantage of cultivators in combat and war is not entirely determined by their cultivation level; both internal and external factors must be considered to increase the chances of victory.

The advantages were clearly accumulating little by little, some of which the new emperor had never anticipated.

"The art of destiny is indeed infinitely mysterious. Unfortunately, I have been intimidated by the King of Huainan for years, and my father has warned me, so I have never dared to practice it rashly. Fortunately, this art does not require arduous daily cultivation..."

The new emperor was extremely happy.

He felt a sense of bittersweet joy, and even a regret that he hadn't met the magic of fortune sooner.

Anyone who can experience the wonders of magic can find this feeling truly addictive.

The new emperor felt wonderful that everything was going smoothly.

Whether it's mastering the Sword Drawing Technique or improving smelting technology with black stone, as long as there's real gain, the new emperor feels that the backlash from using the technique is nothing to worry about.

No matter how much backlash he suffers, the technique can never take back the skills he has learned, and a well-forged weapon cannot suddenly become brittle and break.

After pondering it repeatedly, the new emperor couldn't help but feel slightly tipsy.

"Dongfang Shuo, what happened when you first experienced the power of destiny, and what happened afterward?"

While everyone was digging for coal, the new emperor couldn't help but ask Zhang Xuezhou about his fate. He wanted to hear what kind of luck Zhang Xuezhou had encountered, what misfortunes he had suffered, and how he ended up in his current state.

"I feel like I've benefited, but I also feel like I haven't. If you're asking about the first time, it goes back to a trip I took with Master Dong. At the time, we just hoped for a safe journey..."

Zhang Xuezhou spoke eloquently, mentioning his first encounter with the "Tomb Classic".

At that time, their thoughts were simple. After being robbed by the Beast Taming Sect, they only hoped to make it to the north smoothly.

This wish was eventually fulfilled, but the unfortunate part was that Dong Zhongshu and his group were imprisoned after arriving and suffered quite a bit of torment.

"The situation in the north is very unstable, and Han Anguo faced tremendous resistance during his inspections," the new emperor murmured. "This time, the chaos caused by breaking up the southern and northern armies is considerable!"

Although he did not personally go to places such as the Northern Military District to conduct on-site investigations, the problems in the North lasted for more than just one day.

Li Guang's garrison in the north seemed secure, but he mostly led his personal guards. His hundreds of thousands of troops were mostly stationed in various places, and he rarely carried out large-scale military operations.

This is also one of the reasons why Li Guang has been stationed in the northern border for more than 20 years without ever achieving any great merit.

The new emperor sent Cheng Bushi back to Yanmen Pass in the western border region and Li Guang back to the north. Although their positions seemed to remain unchanged, the new emperor had the idea of ​​replacing the generals and was even putting it into practice.

For example, his support for Wei Qing to challenge Cheng Bushi was a kind of exploratory approach.

If there are no major problems, Wei Qing can stabilize the situation, and Cheng Bushi is sensible enough to understand the situation, so this power may be transferred smoothly.

As for replacing Li Guang, it was quite difficult, and the new emperor couldn't think of any suitable candidate at the moment.

He made several arrangements for Han Anguo, and even helped Han Anguo become the general in charge of the ambush at Mayi, but Han Anguo's performance disappointed him somewhat.

This True Self Realm cultivator's abilities are slightly inferior.

Having experienced the sword-drawing technique and with Zhang Xuezhou's explanation, the new emperor understood the difference between Han Anguo and Li Guang, and no longer insisted that Han Anguo force his way to the throne.

He set his sights on newcomers, hoping that one of them might be a formidable figure who could replace Li Guang.

The new emperor did not doubt Li Guang's decision to abandon the greatest military general of the Han Dynasty, but rather he discovered that Li Guang had significant flaws, particularly his narrow-mindedness.

Li Guang's inability to effectively manage the Northern Military Region and his lack of success in small-group operations over the years proved that his military strategy of deploying elite troops was ineffective.

The court had given Li Guang twenty years, but the new emperor felt that his reign was unlikely to grant him another twenty years.