The prince is more stable

Chapter 611 Secret Summoning Back to the Capital
The "Wofeng" (a type of bee) in the "Wubei Zhi" (Treatise on Military Preparedness) was merely an inspiration for Zhao Xiaoqian; in fact, the "Wofeng" he created was an improved version.

During the Ming Dynasty, a single swarm of rockets could launch up to thirty-two rockets at once. However, these rockets were launched one at a time, which, while seemingly impressive, were not actually very lethal.

When two armies clash, every second counts, and opportunities are fleeting. Therefore, every munition fired must be used to kill the enemy to the greatest extent possible; this is the purpose of war.

Zhao Xiaoqian's "Hive of Bees" rockets used shotgun shells, each filled with dozens or even hundreds of iron pellets. When each rocket exploded in front of the enemy, it could scatter hundreds of iron pellets, killing not just a single enemy, but a large area.

The change from single-shot to area-of-effect attacks comes at the cost of reduced range, so it can only be used for close-range engagements for the time being. This makes up for the shortcomings of the flintlock musket, and the combination of the two in battle can significantly reduce our casualties.

The current range is over a hundred paces, which Zhao Xiaoqian feels is not enough and should be improved.

So Zhao Xiaoqian squatted down again and started making rockets by hand once more.

This time he increased the overall length of the rocket, filled it with more gunpowder, and increased the number of iron pellets to about a hundred.

I tried it again and the effect was even better than last time. The kill radius was larger and the range increased by about a hundred paces.

With a range of over two hundred paces, it's sufficient for close to medium range.

When used in conjunction with a flintlock musket, it's invincible!
As for the Ming Dynasty's longest range of 300 paces, there was no need to deliberately pursue it. After all, Zhao Xiaoqian's rockets were an improved version, with greater length and weight than those of the Ming Dynasty. 200 paces should have been the limit.

"All done, that's a wrap!" Zhao Xiaoqian stood up, patted his bottom, and smiled happily.

Chen Shou and the Imperial Guards seemed even happier than he was, laughing so hard they were almost carried away.

"Your Highness truly lives up to his reputation. You are the only one in the entire Song Dynasty who has been able to create such powerful firearms one after another. You are irreplaceable," Chen Shou said with a smile.

Zhao Xiaoqian pointed to the swarm of bees on the ground and said, "Put it away and keep it safe. Later, I will write a secret memorial to the Emperor, presenting him with the blueprints and formula, and also send this sample to Bianjing."

When you create something new, you must first share it with the emperor. This is not about showing off on social media, but a rule that subjects must follow.

As long as there is no ambition to usurp the throne, it is best for a subject to behave properly. If such a powerful and valuable item is kept from the emperor, it is like planting a time bomb that could blow one to pieces at any moment.

Of course, one shouldn't be too honest. Honest people don't live long, and one should always keep some cards up one's sleeve.

While the "swarm of bees" technique is powerful, it's not Zhao Xiaoqian's trump card. It's fine to offer it to Zhao Xu.

"Chen Shou, send someone on horseback to the Juma River camp and give the blueprints and formulas to Xu Jiang and Zhong Jianzhong. Tell them to gather the artisans in the army's firearms department and have them produce two thousand rockets in the early stages, and at least one hundred thousand rockets."

"As for the materials and money required... tsk!"

Mentioning money, Zhao Xiaoqian grinned, a headache forming in his eyes. Why does money even exist in this world? It's so damn harmful.

"Tell Vice Envoy Xu that he will handle the materials and funding. The vice envoy sent by the court can't just keep an eye on me; he has to do something. Have Xu submit a memorial to the Emperor to request the funds."

With a single sentence resolving the issues of materials and money, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly felt relieved and thought of himself as a person of great wisdom.

A man like that deserves to have more than a dozen wives; the number nowadays is still too small.

…………

Bianjing Yanfu Palace.

The entire palace was shrouded in an extremely oppressive atmosphere. The death of the young prince Zhao Mao dealt a heavy blow to Zhao Xu and the entire Zhao royal family.

It was simply because the little prince was so important. Zhao Xu had been married for nearly ten years, and due to health reasons, he had not been able to favor many concubines. It was only with great difficulty that Consort Liu gave birth to a prince.

This young prince is not just the hope of the village, he is the hope of the whole country.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Prince Zhao Mao will be the undisputed heir apparent, just like Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Hongzhi had only one son, so there was no choice in who the heir apparent would be, for better or worse, there was only one.

Since his birth several months ago, the little prince has been physically weak, often suffering from persistent fevers, and his complexion has not looked healthy. From Zhao Xu to Empress Dowager Xiang, everyone in the palace is secretly worried, fearing that something might happen to this only heir of the royal family.

But this only prince eventually met with an accident.

Three days have passed since the young prince's death. In these days, Zhao Xu has announced the suspension of court and the cessation of state affairs. He has locked himself in the Funing Palace and refused to see anyone except Zheng Chunhe.

No one knew how Zhao Xu coped with his grief in the Funing Palace. Only Zheng Chunhe knew clearly that every night at midnight, Zhao Xu's heart-wrenching cries would be heard from inside the palace, continuing intermittently until dawn.

Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Xiang and Empress Meng in the palace were not idle either.

Zhao Xu was immersed in grief, but things that needed to be done still had to be done, such as the funeral arrangements for the young prince.

Empress Dowager Xiang has been unable to eat or sleep for the past few days. Thinking of the death of the young prince and the extinction of the Zhao imperial family line, she felt deeply grieved. Every day, she knelt in the Imperial Ancestral Temple to apologize to the Zhao ancestors.

The young prince's birth mother, Consort Liu, was nearly ruined. She spent her days in tears, fasting and weeping.

The only person in the palace who could still get things done properly was Empress Meng.

Therefore, Empress Meng presided over and handled the funeral arrangements for the young prince, with officials from the State Affairs Hall, the Ministry of Rites, and the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs assisting her. Zhao Xu, detached from worldly affairs, locked himself in the Funing Palace for four whole days.

Zheng Chunhe, who had been waiting outside the palace, was extremely anxious. Zhao Xu had barely eaten or drunk anything for the past few days and was so emaciated that he was unrecognizable. Zheng Chunhe knelt before Zhao Xu and begged him to eat something, but Zhao Xu remained unmoved.

Just when Zheng Chunhe was anxious and helpless, on the fifth day, his savior arrived.

Zhao Xiaoqian sent an urgent report from Zhen Ding Prefecture. Zheng Chunhe was overjoyed and hurriedly went into the palace to report to Zhao Xu.

No matter how grieved Zhao Xu was, he still had to read the memorial sent by Zhao Xiaoqian.

After unfolding the memorial, Zhao Xu glanced at it hastily, then paused, and a hint of excitement finally flashed across his grief-stricken expression.

After remaining silent for many days, he finally spoke.

"Besides the memorial Zian sent, did he send anything else?" Zhao Xu asked in a hoarse voice.

Seeing that Zhao Xu finally spoke, Zheng Chunhe was secretly delighted and hurriedly said, "Yes, the messenger sent by His Highness the Prince is waiting for the Emperor to summon him outside the palace gate. I heard that he also brought a large black box."

Zhao Xu closed his eyes and pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "There is an open space inside Xuanyou Gate. Zheng Chunhe, send the Imperial Guards to clear that open space, set up some straw targets, and dismiss any irrelevant people. Also, summon the messenger sent by Zian."

Seeing that Zhao Xu had finally regained his energy, Zheng Chunhe was secretly grateful to Zhao Xiaoqian, who was thousands of miles away, and hurriedly turned around to take care of his business.

Inside the Xuanyou Gate of the palace, on an open ground, Zhao Xu, dressed in a yellow robe, watched calmly as the messenger sent by Zhao Xiaoqian demonstrated a swarm of fire.

After a loud bang, the rocket shot out and exploded two hundred paces away. After the smoke cleared, the Imperial Guards moved the straw target in front of Zhao Xu, who bent down to examine it carefully.

Each straw target was covered with bullet holes, ranging from a few to more than a dozen. With a finger, you could pry out a small iron ball from each bullet hole, which was two or three inches deep.

Zhao Xu's gaze gradually shifted from calm to surprise, and finally he looked at the messenger with shock.

"This was created by Zian?" Zhao Xu asked incredulously.

The messenger bowed respectfully: "Your Majesty, it is indeed newly built by His Highness the Prince."

What is its maximum range?

"His Highness said that it can reach up to two hundred paces away, and in close combat it can annihilate all enemy troops within a hundred paces, which perfectly makes up for the weakness of our Great Song army's flintlock muskets in close combat..."

"This weapon can be used in conjunction with flintlock muskets on the battlefield. Unless an accident occurs, our casualties will be greatly reduced, and the enemy will have no chance of breaking through our first line of defense."

Zhao Xu's eyes lit up, and he nodded in praise: "Zian is indeed a genius of our Great Song Dynasty. His cleverness and intelligence are unmatched in the Great Song Dynasty."

The messenger added, "His Highness also said that about two thousand of these weapons could be equipped in the army, making our troops invincible in close combat and helping His Majesty sweep across the land and unify the country."

Zhao Xu was excited. The gloom that had been weighing on his heart for many days vanished, and a long-lost smile appeared on his face.

"Good, good! With Zi'an, I am no different from King Wen having Jiang Shang, or Emperor Gaozu of Han having Zhang Xiao! Good! With Zi'an assisting me, the unification of the world by my Great Song is just around the corner!"

Zhao Xu laughed heartily a few times, and then ordered the messenger to demonstrate again, placing the straw target two hundred paces away to try it out. The result was obvious, and it still did not disappoint.

"What is this thing called?" Zhao Xu suddenly asked.

The messenger lowered his head and said, "Your Highness named this creature 'A Nest of Bees'."

Zhao Xu was silent for a moment, then chuckled and said, "It's quite fitting, but it's rather crude. You're supposed to be the famous Zhao Banque, why would you choose such a lousy name?"

The messenger whispered, “His Highness said that although the name is crude, it is easy to understand and the soldiers in the army will understand immediately that this thing will make the enemy look like a honeycomb when it hits them. So the name does not need to be elegant, it just needs to be practical.”

Zhao Xu laughed and said, "Alright, alright, I'll grant his request. From now on, we'll call it 'A Nest of Bees'."

The messenger was instructed to leave behind a whole bunch of samples and to keep them safe.

The grief I had felt for so many days finally eased a little at this moment.

What pleased Zhao Xu the most was not how powerful Yi Wufeng was, but Zhao Xiaoqian's performance.

Having created something amazing, Zhao Xiaoqian, just like in the past, never hid anything from him. He immediately sent a fast horse to Bianjing, bringing not only samples but also blueprints and the secret formula.

It was difficult for Zhao Xu not to trust such a loyal minister who had no ambition or selfishness.

After waving away the messenger, Zhao Xu's smile gradually faded, and he stared solemnly at the straw target in front of him riddled with bullet holes, lost in thought.

After a long while, Zhao Xu suddenly summoned Zheng Chunhe and whispered, "Send someone to deliver an imperial edict from 800 li away, ordering Zhao Zian to return to Bianjing immediately. I have important matters to entrust to you."

Zheng Chunhe was taken aback, but dared not ask any further questions. He hurriedly bowed and accepted the decree.

(End of this chapter)