Heirs of the Seven Swords of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 1943: Demon Slayer (Part )

Most of the prisoners were just ordinary people and might not be able to analyze so thoroughly, but they could at least figure out that if they were to go against the court and go to war with the army, they would have absolutely no advantage.

As long as they had a breath left in their bodies, it would be difficult for them to make up their minds to rebel against the court.

Any complaints and anger can only be suppressed.

This makes the entire Mount Li like a confined space with constantly increasing pressure, which may reach the pressure limit at any time and explode directly.

It also gives those who are interested an opportunity to take advantage of it.

In the eyes of the brothers Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang, this was a great opportunity that could not be missed.

However, during this period of time, the two of them were just trying their best to build good relationships with more prisoners, and they did not dare to make any real big moves.

They couldn't afford to provoke the imperial army in the Lantian camp.

In general, restraint is still necessary, whether it is them or anyone else who wants to resist and overthrow the empire.

A lean camel is bigger than a horse, and the current empire is still far from being lean.

While the two rebels Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang were still working diligently on the emperor's mausoleum, a traveler arrived at the foot of Mount Li, a traveler wearing a blue shirt and a bamboo hat.

He held the edge of his hat with one hand and looked up at the huge imperial mausoleum project on the mountain.

Tombs are usually only underground, but the emperor's mausoleum is much more complicated, and a large complex of buildings must be built on the ground, which looks very conspicuous.

"It has been more than 30 years since the first year of Emperor Qin's reign. The construction time is even longer than the construction time of the Mirage and Zhengguo Canal. It is really awe-inspiring and frightening."

The man wearing the bamboo hat sighed and continued walking towards Mount Li, "I have wanted to see it for a long time, and today I finally got my wish."

………………

The next evening, Sanghai City.

Gongshu Chou, urged by Zhao Gao in the name of the emperor, rushed to Sanghai as quickly as possible and saw the two mechanism drawings made by Donghuang Taiyi.

In the main hall of the general's mansion, Gu Xun sat on the upper seat, sipping tea from the teacup in one hand, while Gongshu Chou sat at the lower seat, holding the two drawings in his hands and looking at them intently.

There were only two of them in the room; Zhang Han and Yan Ri were not there.

The two of them were deliberately sent away by Gu Xun - it wasn't that there was something that they must not know, but Gu Xun didn't want anyone else to get too involved in the affairs of the Mirage.

The two of them are just tools for doing the work. They just have to obey orders and do their work honestly. It is enough for them to know the results but not the reasons.

Knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing.

Gongshu Chou looked at the blueprint for a while. Gu Xun was somewhat impatient and coughed softly.

"Chief Gongshu."

After hearing this, Gongshu Chou showed no reaction. All his attention was still focused on the drawings. His eyes were full of admiration and desire, and he was obviously very interested in the contents of the drawings.

Gu Xun could only raise his voice and shouted again:
"Chief Gongshu!"

This time, Gongshu Chou finally reacted. After a moment of hesitation, he looked up at Gu Xun and suddenly realized what he was doing.

"I was distracted for a moment and neglected the Imperial Master. Please forgive me, please forgive me!"

He quickly stood up, wishing he could kneel down and admit his mistake to Gu Xun.

Gu Xun has been notorious for many years, but if you were to say who fears him the most in the world, it would be Gongshu Chou.

Among those who have witnessed Gu Xun’s full strength attack, Gongshu Chou is the most courageous.

He really didn't dare to provoke Gu Xun, who was able to tear the Soldier Demon God to pieces alive, and he didn't dare to neglect him at all.

Gu Xun put down the teacup and waved his hand, "Stop talking nonsense and talk about business."

Gongshu Chou stood up and bent over, feeling that he was being swept up by an invisible force, and then he was forced to sit down.

He naturally knew that it was Gu Xun who "pressed" him down, and he did not dare to struggle, but just smiled and replied:

"Your Excellency is right, you are right."

Gu Xun continued calmly, "Patriarch Gongshu can think about the contents of this blueprint in detail later. Now, please answer my question first."

"What are the uses of the mechanical creations in these two drawings?"

Gongshu Chou sat down obediently, tried his best to keep calm, and answered the questions honestly:

"One of the drawings records a new type of fixed high-powered crossbow, which has a complex structure and powerful effects."

"What is the effective range of this crossbow and what is its lethality?" Gu Xun asked immediately.

"Range... I can't give a completely accurate number without building a real thing, but it's at least over three hundred feet. If nothing goes wrong, it can reach five hundred feet or even farther."

"As for the lethality...it depends on the material of the arrow."

"If the arrow is hard and sharp enough, there should be no one or any object in the world that can block the arrow shot by this crossbow within 300 feet." Gongshu Chou frowned and reluctantly gave some data. At the end, he did not forget to praise Gu Xun, "Of course, you, the Imperial Master, are an exception."

Gu Xun fumbled with the teacup and nodded slowly.

The answers given by Gongshu Chou were all outrageous.

Most modern firearms cannot reach a range of more than 500 meters, let alone the "backward" bows and crossbows.

Gu Xun had also seen the blueprint. The entire crossbow was made up of countless densely packed parts, and the structure was so complicated that it made him dizzy just looking at it.

However, if the effect that Gongshu Chou said can be achieved, it would be worth the complexity.

As for the indestructible destructive power...if the range can meet the standard, then it is understandable that the lethality is stronger.

"What about the other drawing?" Gu Xun asked.

"That... is a very complicated stargazing instrument. I can make it, but I don't know what it is used for or how to use it."

"I don't understand this matter of stargazing and divination. I hope the Imperial Master will forgive me."

Gu Xun had expected Gongshu Chou not to understand, and he didn't worry about it.

The stargazing instruments were used by the Yin-Yang family, and if there were any problems, the Yin-Yang family would be responsible. As long as Gongshu Chou could manufacture the instruments and provide them to them, it would be fine.

"How soon can these two things be made?"

"Uh..." Gongshu Chou frowned, and after thinking for a while, he hesitantly gave a number, "The fastest...it will probably take one and a half months, or even two months."

"So slow?" Gu Xun was a little surprised.

Seeing Gu Xun's reaction, Gongshu Chou hurriedly and carefully explained, "Master Imperial Master, it's not that I don't work hard, it's just that these two things are too complicated."

"One and a half to two months is the shortest time I can spend working on two lines simultaneously and working day and night." "Can't it be faster?" Although Gongshu Chou's words were very firm, Gu Xun still asked one more question.

Gongshu Chou gritted his teeth and replied, "Unless you transfer some of the manpower from Lingqu over here, please forgive me for being unable to do anything."

Gu Xun gave up Gongshu Chou's proposal without even thinking about it.

Looking at his behavior, we know that it will not be helpful to transfer ten or eight people. It is estimated that a large number of manpower will be withdrawn, which will slow down the progress of the Lingqu project.

Gu Xun didn't know whether Ying Zheng was willing to exchange the progress of Lingqu for the progress of Mirage, but he was not very happy about it anyway.

The war in Lingnan was like a knife that kept cutting the flesh of the empire. As long as the war continued, the damage to blood and flesh would never stop.

Therefore, it is better to complete the Lingqu Canal as soon as possible. It is better to suffer a short pain than a long one.

Although Gu Xun didn't want to get involved in the empire's mess anymore, he was willing to contribute in this matter - because strictly speaking, he didn't need to do anything to achieve the goal.

He just needs to do nothing and not let Ying Zheng know about this.

The only ones who knew about this were him and Gongshu Chou. He didn't say anything, and Gongshu Chou didn't dare to reveal a single word.

Gu Xun skipped the topic of time and continued, "Then you should prepare to start work as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Gongshu Chou quickly replied, "Your Excellency, this matter still requires the cooperation of Mirage."

"Whether it's an astronomical instrument or a crossbow, we need to first determine the installation location on the ship before we can manufacture and build it."

"I will inform the Yin-Yang family to cooperate with you." Gu Xun replied casually about such a small matter.

Gongshu Chou had no other questions, and bowed his head respectfully and replied, "In that case, I have no other questions."

"There is one more thing." Gu Xun changed the subject and asked, "Can you tell the difference between these two drawings?"

"This..." Gongshu Chou looked down at the design drawings in his arms and asked hesitantly, "Sir, I heard that these two drawings were provided by the Donghuang Sect Master of the Yin-Yang School?"

Gu Xun nodded, "It's him."

"How about it? Is it possible that it came from the Yin-Yang School?"

"It's impossible that they were made by the Yin-Yang School." Gongshu Chou first rejected Gu Xun's suggestion, and then analyzed, "Neither of these two drawings looks like they were recently drawn. They may have existed for a long time."

"It should have been kept by the Yin-Yang family and was only taken out recently."

"Then judging from the skills shown in the blueprint, is it closer to the domineering mechanical skills of your Gongshu school, or is it closer to the non-offensive mechanical skills of the Mohist school?"

"This..." Gongshu Chou hesitated for a moment, but finally replied, "Master Imperial Master, to be honest, in terms of technical features, this crossbow is closer to the technology of the Mohist school than the technology of my Gongshu family."

"Even if we put aside the technology, these drawings should have nothing to do with the Gongshu family. If the Gongshu family had designed such an ingenious and complex crossbow, I would not have been unaware of it."

Gongshu Chou's difficulty just now was not because the crossbow used Mohist technology rather than Gongshu family's technology.

It doesn’t matter which technology you use, there are no patent fees anyway.

No matter how much Gongshu Chou cared about his reputation, he would not show off at this time.

He hesitated because he couldn't figure it out, and the key to his confusion was why such an indestructible weapon used non-offensive mechanical techniques.

The Mohist school has always been very restrained in the research and development of weapons, to the point that they have almost no particularly powerful weapons.

Over the years, whenever the Mohist School had to fight a head-on battle, the main force had always been the Mechanical White Tiger.

On the one hand, the White Tiger is indeed useful, and on the other hand, there is simply no substitute for the Mohist school.

So how could the Mohist school, which has always followed the principle of universal love and non-aggression, suddenly develop such a powerful crossbow?
And why did the drawings fall into the hands of the Yin-Yang family?
Judging from the degree of wear and tear on the drawings, they were definitely not drawn in the past few years. It seems that they have been in the hands of the Yin-Yang family for quite some time.

The Mohist School suffered such a loss, how come we have never heard of it?
"Chief Gongshu seems to have some doubts. Why don't you just speak up?" Seeing him like this, Gu Xun asked directly.

Gongshu Chou gave a brief explanation after hearing this, "Master, the design structure of this crossbow has obvious characteristics of Mohist mechanical techniques, but such a killing weapon obviously violates the Mohist principle of loving all and not attacking. Moreover, the material is not right, as a large amount of metal is used."

"It's like someone who adheres to the mechanical philosophy of my Gongshu family stole the technology of the Mohists and then mixed it up to come up with something."

"I am really curious."

Gu Xun listened calmly and said nothing. After a moment of silence, he said:
"You don't have to worry about these details, Patriarch Gongshu. As long as you can make the thing, it's fine."

Then he changed the subject and asked, "If you need to make two crossbows, how much extra time will it take you?"

Gongshu Chou answered without thinking, "It won't take much time. It should still be done within two months."

"I'll give you two months to build as many as you can within the time limit." After listening to this, Gu Xun simply gave a time limit without setting a goal. "If you need any help, feel free to find Zhang Han and Yan Ri. I will ask them to provide you with the greatest support."

Gongshu Chou didn't care and accepted the task directly, "I understand, I will definitely complete the task you gave me."

………………

A few more days passed, and the situation in Songhai remained the same. It did not get worse, but it did not get better either.

But the empire finally took action.

In order to help Gongshu Chou complete the project as quickly as possible, the empire mobilized all carpenters, blacksmiths and other craftsmen in the Sanghai area to assist the Gongshu family in creating the required various mechanical parts as quickly as possible.

With such an obvious action and the appearance of Gongshu Chou, everyone immediately guessed that the empire was planning to use mechanical technology as a breakthrough to solve the major problems at sea.

Although they generally don't understand why the evil spirits at sea need to be solved by mechanical means.

But this is not important to them. What is important is that once the empire takes action, they can try to find loopholes and opportunities.

Outside Sanghai City, inside the Mohist stronghold, Tianming, Shaoyu and Shilan gathered together.

"The Empire is really not slow in its actions. It has caused quite a stir in the blink of an eye." Shao Yu said with a smile, "It's just that this operation is hard to understand."

"Tianming, can mechanical arts be used to deal with monsters?"

Tianming rolled his eyes, "I haven't even seen what a mirage is, how would I know?"

"Besides, we still don't know what the Empire is planning to produce."

"What do you think it will be?" Shao Yu asked following Tianming's words.

"It's hard to say." Tianming spread his hands, not knowing what to do. "There are many possibilities."

"There is thick fog blocking the road at sea. They may be planning to build a giant machine that can blow air to blow away the fog."

"It is also possible that they are trying to create a purely lethal weapon to directly kill the mirage that is blocking the road - if the mirage monster can be killed."

"Is the answer to this question important?" Shi Lan interrupted and asked.

Tianming and Shaoyu looked at each other and shook their heads together.

How the empire plans to solve the troubles at sea is indeed not their focus.