Sheng Tang: What is Liu Jianjun going to do today?

Chapter 214 Gunpowder and a Brief Clash
Liu Jianjun thought for a while and shook his head, saying, "Not for now. General Xue is currently in a state of great distress and may not have the patience to listen to us talk about something we've never heard of before. Without real evidence, it's hard to convince anyone with just empty words."

"Besides, we haven't reached the point where we absolutely need his help yet. There's no need to rush this. Let's wait until I have the samples ready."

"Everything is at the Chief Secretary's discretion!" Wang Bo solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute.

……

Liu Jianjun assigned Wang Bo the task of selecting a site for the gunpowder factory and surveying sulfur mines, while he himself began to examine the cotton mill's ledgers.

He said that gunpowder research and his upcoming work would require a lot of money, and he would have to see if the cotton mill had enough money in its accounts.

Judging from his expression, the cotton mill in Yingzhou City seems to be making quite a bit of money.

After confirming that the cotton mill had enough money in its books, Liu Jianjun got busy again.

Although the locations for the sulfur mines and gunpowder factories had not yet been finalized, he had already gathered some scattered sulfur and saltpeter to prepare for the preparation of black powder.

On the contrary, Li Xian seemed to have nothing to do.

As for where to sleep at night, the conditions at the official post station were too rudimentary, so Li Xian and Liu Jianjun stopped staying there and instead moved into the staff dormitory at the cotton mill.

Although this place cannot compare to the royal palaces of Luoyang and Chang'an, at least the two of them can have their own private quarters to rest in, instead of having to squeeze into one room to sleep.

Liu Jianjun sometimes snores at night, but Li Xian was too embarrassed to mention it.

……

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was now the height of summer, with the air in the north exuding a scorching heat.

The first thing Li Xian received wasn't news of Liu Jianjun's successful gunpowder preparation, but rather a question from Xue Ne—Xue Ne couldn't hide the fact that Wang Bo had led a team to survey the sulfur mine area after all, and he came to ask Li Xian why he was wasting manpower on such trivial matters.

"Summer is the flood season of the Bailang River, which is the most important production period for cotton factories. At this time, cotton cloth production is of paramount importance. If cotton cloth production cannot keep up in winter, many soldiers will freeze to death."

Instead of immediately questioning Li Xian, Xue Ne brought up the most critical problem facing Yingzhou City.

It was only then that Li Xian learned that the river from which the cotton mill drew water was called Bailang River.

"Moreover, I heard that Chief Clerk Liu ordered people to cut down a lot of trees to make charcoal. At this time of year, the weather is hot. Besides boiling water and cooking, what else is needed for so much wood? This wood is also a resource that the soldiers rely on for survival in the harsh winter."

Li Xian knew that what Xue Ne said was true.

The northern region is bitterly cold, and cotton cloth and timber are indeed important strategic materials that are crucial to the lives of soldiers in winter. To outsiders, Liu Jianjun's "large-scale construction" does seem to show a lack of consideration and waste of resources.

Just as Li Xian was about to explain, Liu Jianjun's voice came from outside the door:
"General Xue! Please don't worry!"

Then, Liu Jianjun rushed in, winked at Li Xian, and said, "I've been working on something new these past two days, which has taken up a little time."

Seeing Liu Jianjun, Li Xian felt much more at ease.

He knew that Liu Jianjun must have produced a sample of the gunpowder; with this, he could definitely persuade Xue Ne.

"All that timber and sulfur you mentioned, not a single bit was wasted, it was all used effectively! We've just come up with some little gadgets here, and we were just about to ask you, General, to take a look and see if they can help in attacking Wugu City." Liu Jianjun chuckled and cupped his hands in a salute to Xue Ne, still acting quite unserious.

Xue Ne frowned, still displeased with Liu Jianjun's smirking face, but upon hearing the words "Wugu City," he patiently asked in a deep voice, "Oh? Chief Secretary Liu also knows about Wugu City?"

Liu Jianjun did not hide the fact that he had seen the map at the time, and answered truthfully: "Although you put the map away in a hurry that day, I still caught a glimpse of it. I also confirmed this with Wang Canjun afterward."

This time, Xue Ne's eyes brightened a bit, and he asked, "Does Chief Secretary Liu also know about military affairs?"

Being able to read military maps means that Liu Jianjun is not completely ignorant about military affairs, which, to some extent, has earned Xue Ne's initial approval.

"I can only read maps to a certain extent. When it comes to military affairs, I am certainly not as good as you." Liu Jianjun was unusually modest. He then said, "But what I have in my hand has nothing to do with military affairs. That is why it can cure the old general's current illness."

Li Xian could tell that Xue Ne was flattering him, but since it had nothing to do with his insights on military affairs, he didn't think of it.

But the horse was photographed very discreetly; at least the words definitely struck a chord with Xue Ne.

Sure enough, Xue Ne showed some interest and asked, "I wonder what... what is this thing that Chief Clerk Liu is talking about?"

……

Fifteen minutes later, Liu Jianjun led Li Xian and Xue Ne to the banks of the Bailang River.

Li Xian was also a little confused. Wasn't Liu Jianjun supposed to show Xue Ne gunpowder? Why did they end up at the White Wolf River?
But at this moment, Liu Jianjun was already standing by the White Wolf River, holding a strange object in his hand. The object looked like a bronze ball, about the size of two adult fists, with a long line at the top.

The moment Li Xian saw this thing, he felt that it looked extremely familiar.

This thing... if you just replace the copper ball with a bamboo tube, isn't it the black powder that Liu Jianjun demonstrated in Luoyang?
But Xue Ne didn't know that he really couldn't connect this thing with the destruction of the city. He frowned and said, "This thing... is the method you mentioned for splitting mountains and rocks?"

"General, calm down, cover your ears, and open your mouth wide," Liu Jianjun chuckled, reminding everyone again before signaling them to retreat to a safe distance.

Li Xian already knew the power of this thing, so he retreated more than ten steps away.

Xue Ne was skeptical, but seeing Li Xian retreat so far, he became more wary. He followed the instructions and stepped back a few paces with his personal guards, his eyes fixed on the bronze ball in Liu Jianjun's hand.

Liu Jianjun held the copper ball, took out a tinderbox, and brought it directly to the fuse.

"laugh……"

The fuse was lit, and sparks quickly spread toward the copper ball.

At this moment, Liu Jianjun threw the copper ball forcefully into the White Wolf Water, and then quickly covered his ears.

next moment.

"boom!!!"

A deep, yet extremely penetrating, roar suddenly erupted from beneath the surface of the White Wolf River!

As if a giant dragon were turning over underwater, the calm river surface was instantly torn apart by a tremendous force, and a thick column of water mixed with mud and water vapor shot into the sky, rising two or three zhang high!

"Crash..."

The blast of water sent crashing down like a torrential downpour, soaking everyone on the bank. The powerful shockwave even created a distinct ripple on the river's surface, which spread rapidly, crashing against both banks with a loud splashing sound.

Everyone was stunned by the thunderous commotion underwater.

Xue Ne's personal guards were all dumbfounded. Some even subconsciously took half a step back, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at the river. They couldn't understand why a bronze ball thrown into the water could unleash such terrifying power.

Xue Ne himself stood frozen in place, completely unaware as the river water streamed down his face.

He stared intently at the epicenter of the explosion, which was gradually calming down but was still churning and turbulent, his chest heaving violently and his breathing heavy.

This is beyond the realm of human power; it is almost the power of ghosts and gods!

Li Xian, on the other hand, had witnessed the power of this thing beforehand, so although he was somewhat surprised that its power had increased again, he remained relatively calm.

At this moment, Liu Jianjun wiped the water off his face and came over with a grin: "I miscalculated a little; the power of this thing is a bit beyond my imagination."

Before Xue Ne could recover, Liu Jianjun asked again, "Well, I heard that although large catapults can't be used to get to Wugu City, even the smallest catapults can probably throw this thing up there, right? At the very least, it should be enough to cause heavy casualties among the defenders, if not destroy the city walls."

This time, Xue Ne finally came to his senses, grabbing Liu Jianjun's wet arm. His fingers trembled slightly with extreme excitement as he asked, "Liu... Chief Secretary Liu! This thing... this thing can really... can be used like this?!" Liu Jianjun chuckled, "You saw my method just now. It's not difficult. Just light the fuse and throw it. The catapult can always throw farther than I can, can't it?"

This time, Xue Ne did not show any dissatisfaction with Liu Jianjun's smirking expression. Instead, he took a deep breath and asked, "The sulfur and charcoal that Military Advisor Wang found... are they the key to making this thing?"

Li Xian nodded inwardly. As expected of Xue Ne, after the initial surprise, he quickly realized the key to the problem.

Liu Jianjun nodded: "That's right. Actually, besides sulfur and charcoal, there's another crucial ingredient: saltpeter. However, saltpeter is quite difficult to find, so..."

But before Liu Jianjun could finish speaking, Xue Ne interrupted, "I know where there is saltpeter!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianjun and Li Xian both perked up and looked at Xue Ne.

Liu Jianjun hurriedly asked, "General Xue, do you know where there is saltpeter?"

Xue Ne nodded emphatically and explained, "About thirty miles east of Yingzhou City, there is a sizable salt flat, which the locals call Kushuidianzi. The land there is barren, and it is difficult for grass and trees to grow. The surface is often covered with white frost, and it tastes bitter and salty. In the summer, mosquitoes breed, and neither people nor animals want to go near it."

"I once led troops to patrol this area and I remember clearly that the white frost-like substance seemed to be somewhat similar to the saltpeter that Chief Secretary Liu needed to refine, but I had never investigated it in depth before."

His description was very detailed, clearly demonstrating his thorough knowledge of the geography within his jurisdiction.

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianjun slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "White frost! Bitter and salty! That's right! That's saltpeter! General Xue, you've been a great help!"

Li Xian was also somewhat excited. He knew how difficult it was for Liu Jianjun to collect saltpeter. He had dug up the walls of many abandoned sheep pens and cowsheds in Luoyang.

"General Xue, would it be convenient for you to take me to see this place?"

A slight hesitation appeared on Xue Ne's face, but it was quickly replaced by determination: "If we have this, Wugu City can be breached!"

Although Li Xian and Liu Jianjun were somewhat puzzled as to why Xue Ne hesitated for a moment, Xue Ne had already ordered his personal guards to prepare their horses. So, the two of them didn't ask any further questions and followed Xue Ne towards the east of the city.

Thirty miles is not a long distance for cavalrymen, and in less than an hour, the group arrived at the area Xue Ne had mentioned.

Even before getting close, a low-lying, sparsely vegetated wasteland could be seen in the distance. Under the summer sun, the ground reflected patches of white luster, as if covered with a thin layer of snow.

As everyone dismounted and approached, Liu Jianjun eagerly squatted down, picked up some white crystals from the ground with his fingers, smelled them, and then carefully tasted a little with the tip of his tongue. Immediately, a look of ecstatic joy appeared on his face.

"It's saltpeter, with a few impurities, but it's much cleaner than what you get from digging up the base of the wall!"

Upon hearing this, both Li Xian and Xue Ne showed joy on their faces.

Xue Ne stared intently at this wasteland, which he had previously considered useless, as if it were a mountain of gold.

However, just as everyone was immersed in the joy of discovering nitrate, a sudden change occurred!
"Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh!"

Several sharp whooshing sounds suddenly rang out from behind the mound to the side, and several sharp arrows, accompanied by a mournful whistle, headed straight for the group!

"Enemy attack! Protect His Highness and the General!"

Xue Ne's personal guard captain reacted extremely quickly, roaring and drawing his sword to parry!

"Clang!" An arrow was deflected by the blade, sparks flying everywhere.

The other guards also acted quickly, instantly protecting Li Xian, Xue Ne, and Liu Jianjun in the middle, raising their round shields to form a makeshift defensive line.

Liu Jianjun was startled by the sudden attack and instinctively shrank back. Li Xian also turned pale, but he quickly calmed down and gripped the sword at his waist.

Only Xue Ne remained calm and composed, but his eyes instantly sharpened as he assessed the enemy's situation.

"north!"

Almost the instant Xue Ne shouted, about twenty figures emerged from behind the hill to the north. They were all wearing leather armor, carrying bows and arrows or scimitars, and their hairstyles were very different from those of the people of the Central Plains. They were the Goryeo scouts who often harassed the border!
“It’s Goryeo cavalry! Not many, probably just a small group we ran into by chance!” Xue Ne made a quick judgment, his tone calm: “They’re trying to test our strength, or maybe they just want to take advantage! Form ranks! Push them back!”

Xue Ne's personal guards were all battle-hardened elites, and despite the surprise attack, they remained completely composed.

Under the captain's command, they used shields to protect their vitals and slowly advanced, while retaliating with crossbows.

Arrows flew back and forth as the two sides engaged in a fierce exchange of fire on the salt flats.

Li Xian crouched behind the shield, listening to the "thud" of arrows hitting the shield, his heart pounding.

Although he has experienced a lot in the past few years, this is the first time he has faced life-and-death battles on the battlefield so closely.

He glanced at Liu Jianjun beside him and found Liu Jianjun crouching down and winking at him: "Don't be afraid. These days, arrows can't even penetrate shields. Besides, this is our territory. These Koreans won't dare to fight us."

At this moment, Xue Ne also took the time to shout to Li Xian: "Your Highness, there is no need to worry. Chief Secretary Liu is right. This territory is still our Tang territory after all!"

As he spoke, he drew his bow and shot an arrow. In just a moment, the arrow flew out like a startled swan!
Almost instantly, a gasp of surprise came from the other side.

Li Xian looked in the direction of Xue Ne's arrow and saw a Goryeo leader behind the mound, who was about to draw his bow, suddenly freeze and fall backward, with a trembling arrow stuck in his throat!
This arrow actually took the life of the enemy commander!

Liu Jianjun's eyes lit up instantly: "General Xue's archery skills are just like your father's back in the day!"

The guards standing nearby exclaimed in surprise, "General, you're a master archer!"

Xue Ne's arrow greatly boosted their morale, and they fired their crossbows even more rapidly.

Xue Ne himself remained expressionless, as if he had only done a trivial matter. He drew another arrow from his quiver, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic Goryeo people, searching for his next valuable target.

On the other hand, the Goryeo side lost its leader and saw that the Tang army's defenses were tight and its counterattacks were sharp. They were already afraid. They were just small groups of cavalry responsible for harassment and reconnaissance. Their attack was all about surprise. Once they encountered strong resistance, they were unwilling to fight for long.

Someone shouted in Korean, and the remaining dozen or so Korean scouts lost all will to fight. They fired a few arrows haphazardly as cover, then turned their horses around and fled in a panic like startled rabbits, not even caring about the corpses of their companions.

In the blink of an eye, the barren beach, which had been filled with flying arrows just moments before, was now only occupied by the Tang soldiers, a few Goryeo corpses, and scattered arrows.

The guards did not relax their vigilance, maintaining their defensive formation and watching the direction the Koreans fled until their figures completely disappeared behind the mound.

Only then did Li Xian truly breathe a sigh of relief.

Is this the strength of a seasoned general on the battlefield? In the midst of chaos, taking the enemy's head is as easy as taking something out of a bag. This composure, this eyesight, this archery skill are far beyond what he usually sees in the imperial guards' drills.

Li Xian sincerely praised, "General Xue's archery is superb; I have truly witnessed it today! One arrow can decide the fate of the world, and it strikes fear into the enemy's heart!"

Xue Ne shook his head slightly, not taking credit: "It was just my duty. It was my oversight to put Your Highness in danger."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I was worried that I would be harassed by the Koreans, so I hesitated. I was just hoping that the Koreans would not disturb my border in the middle of summer. Who would have thought that we would still encounter them? It is no coincidence that the Korean cavalry appeared here."

Li Xian suddenly realized.

"I will investigate this matter, but I will leave the saltpeter mine to Chief Secretary Liu." Xue Ne turned to look at Liu Jianjun.

Then, he turned to the captain of his personal guards and ordered, "Send word! Immediately dispatch a troop of soldiers from the nearest beacon tower to garrison this place and protect the saltpeter mine! Also, send word back to Yingzhou to send an additional battalion of soldiers, carrying tools and vehicles, to mine this saltpeter day and night and transport it to the workshop in the west of the city! Strengthen the vigilance within a ten-mile radius. If any Goryeo scouts dare to approach again, kill them without asking for permission!"

At this moment, Liu Jianjun also came over, still with that same grinning face: "General Xue, can I discuss something with you?"

……

(End of this chapter)