After the explosion, Chen Biao went home contentedly to sleep, leaving the frightened craftsman aside.
His cousins Li Wenzhong, Zhu Wenzheng, and his sworn brother Chen Ying, whose legs had finally recovered, all packed their bags and headed for the front, leaving only his uncle Li Zhen to accompany him.
Looking at Li Zhen who was hesitant to speak, Chen Biao said that his workload for today had reached the standard, and if he had any questions, they could talk about it tomorrow!
While Chen Biao was sleeping soundly, Zhu Yuanzhang rushed home in a hurry.
He rested for a while outside Yingtian City, tidied up his appearance, and sent people to inquire about the situation in Yingtian City.
At this time, he heard violent explosions in the suburbs of Yingtian City, as if many cannons were concentrated on firing at one place.
Some people also said that the loud noise must have been the angry thunder god in the sky, which gave rise to many rumors.
However, the Chen family soon posted a notice saying that the Zhu family army was testing new artillery weapons, so everyone should remain calm and not believe or spread rumors.
Zhu's army is testing new artillery weapons? How come I didn't know about it?
Zhu Yuanzhang scratched his head and sent people to continue investigating, only to find out that it was a top-secret experiment conducted by the Chen family. Even Hua Yun, who was guarding Yingtian City, was not very clear about it.
Hua Yun said that he was also scared, but Chen Biao had already gone home to sleep, so it was not good to disturb Chen Biao, so he could only wait until Chen Biao woke up before asking.
Zhu Yuanzhang was so frightened that he rushed home, shook Chen Biao, who was already sleeping soundly, out of the soft quilt, and carefully checked whether Chen Biao was injured.
When Zhu Yuanzhang stripped off Chen Biao's underwear and then his pants, the furious Chen Biao used the trick he often used in his childhood and bit Zhu Yuanzhang's arm, leaving a big tooth mark on him.
After biting it, Chen Biao's expression froze and he spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
Zhu Yuanzhang was so frightened that he cried out "Wow" and went to find a doctor while holding Chen Biao.
"Doctor! Biao'er is vomiting blood!" Zhu Yuanzhang burst into tears, his expression was sad and crazy, "He was vomiting blood from the explosion!"
The doctor was confused.
When Chen Biao was conducting the experiment, although he made sufficient safety preparations, he also asked the doctor to bring a medical kit with him just in case.
But the doctor saw with his own eyes that Chen Biao was standing far away and could not have been affected by the aftermath of the explosion. How could he have been injured?
Chen Biao, who was finally put down by Zhu Yuanzhang, spread out his hand, with a bloody front tooth lying across his palm.
Zhu Yuanzhang's voice trembled: "All your teeth are broken?!"
The doctor held his forehead and said, "It must be the teeth changing. Biao'er , what hard thing did you chew on?"
Chen Biao pointed at the teeth marks on Zhu Yuanzhang's arm.
The doctor said, "It seems that your arm was too hard, causing your front teeth to fall out prematurely."
Zhu Yuanzhang's expression of grief froze.
The doctor said, "Rinse your mouth with salt water first. I'll prescribe a medicine pack to clear heat. Teething will cause itching and swelling. Don't bite hard objects. If you feel uncomfortable, bite the medicine pack."
Chen Biao, with a stern face like Tuzki, said word by word, "Okay. I won't bite my dad!"
Zhu Yuanzhang took the cloth handed to him by the doctor's apprentice and wiped his face: "Are you not injured?"
The doctor said, "I was there when Biaoer was doing the experiment."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "Is it just because my arm was too hard that I broke his teeth?"
The doctor said, "Biao'er, open your mouth."
Chen Biao: “Ah.”
The doctor examined it carefully and said, "That's it."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "Pfft...Hahahahaha, Biao'er, who told you to bite me? You deserve it!"
If Chen Biao wasn't afraid that his other front tooth would also be broken, he would have wanted to grind his teeth on Zhu Yuanzhang's arm again.
What's wrong with my dad!
After knowing that Chen Biao was fine and just had his teeth replaced, Zhu Yuanzhang was in a very good mood.
He had been feeling very depressed and distressed the entire way. First he was frightened by Chen Biao, then he burst into tears. Now, after laughing out loud, the depression in his heart was swept away, and the heavy feeling in his heart also dissipated.
While Chen Biao was rinsing his mouth, Zhu Yuanzhang also washed up, changed his sweaty clothes, and returned to the appearance of the noble and wealthy businessman Chen Guorui.
Chen Biao said unhappily, "Aren't you at the front line? Why are you back?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "I have some things to do and will stay at home for a few days. I have to go back later. Your mother is busy and won't be back for the time being. This year during the New Year, we will try to come back. Why are you talking so slowly? Are you not feeling well?"
Chen Biao said slowly, "My front teeth are leaking, so it's hard to speak."
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed again.
He held Chen Biao in his arms, rubbed his cheek against his fat son, and said, "Has Biao lost weight? His arms are much smaller."
Chen Biao said: "It's finally starting to grow taller."
Chen Biao's height had finally begun to grow, and his arms and legs, once thin as lotus roots, had finally become slightly more refined. The only thing that greatly dissatisfied him was the stubborn lumps of baby fat on his face, which refused to go away.
Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed Chen Biao's soft cheek again: "Biao'er is finally growing up."
Chen Biao said, "It's still early... Stop rubbing! My face hurts. Dad, what do you want to eat? I'll make you dinner. Let's stay at the hot spring villa today and soak in the hot springs to relieve fatigue."
The hot spring villa was located in Shangyuan County, Yingtian Prefecture, which is Tangshan Street in Nanjing City in later generations.
Tangshan Hot Springs was once the exclusive hot spring for the emperors of the Southern Dynasties. Now, the former emperor's hot spring palace is deserted, and many houses of wealthy merchants and gentry have appeared around it.
After Zhu Yuanzhang conquered Yingtian, he also allocated land here to reward his brothers. Naturally, "good brother Chen Guorui" also received the reward.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang had a lot to say to Chen Biao, he was not in a hurry since he had already returned.
He first sent someone to ask for leave from Yingtian Primary School for Chen Biao, and then visited the families of Zhu Sheng and Ji Renshou who were still living at home.
Ji Renshou already knew that "Chen Guorui" was Zhu Yuanzhang, and he pretended to be the real Zhu Yuanzhang.
Literati who often give lectures are generally quite good at managing their facial expressions. Chen Guorui and Ji Renshou had a very pleasant conversation.
Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to behave better in front of Ji Renshou, pretending to be a good lord who respects the wise and humble. But after thinking carefully, he realized that Ji Renshou was already in his cup and there was no way he would run away, so he was too lazy to pretend.
He acted like a nouveau riche businessman, and patted his chest and said, "Mr. Ji, if you have any requests, just ask Biaoer directly. My Chen family has nothing but a lot of money." Under Chen Biao's contemptuous gaze, he threw his son up and caught him, playing a dangerous game of throwing and catching with his son in front of Ji Renshou and Zhu Sheng.
The game of catching is very dangerous for children, please do not imitate it.
Zhu Yuanzhang's free and easy appearance was quite to Ji Renshou's liking.
Perhaps Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed not like a serious lord in private, but it was his warm and compassionate side that made the cautious literati in troubled times let down their guard in their hearts even though they expressed disgust for him, and unconsciously treated Zhu Yuanzhang like a friend.
Ji Renshou was unconsciously infected by the warm atmosphere around Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Biao, and said in a gentle tone: "Master Chen is very busy and rarely gets to spend time with his children. I will be staying in Yingtian from now on, so I will not lack this time to get to know them. Master Chen, please don't worry about me."
Zhu Sheng said with disdain: "Go ahead, go ahead. I know you wish Shanfu and I would disappear from your sight immediately. Don't disturb you from playing."
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed foolishly, looking like a scoundrel who had been "exposed".
Chen Biao, who finally landed on the ground again, kept stepping on the back of Zhu Yuanzhang's boots with his little feet in straw sandals.
If I can't bite you, I can still step on you!
Stop grinning! These two old gentlemen are laughing at us!
Zhu Yuanzhang picked up his fat son and prepared to drive to the hot springs.
Chen Biao quickly stopped Zhu Yuanzhang and asked him to visit his other four sons.
Chen Biao imitated his second brother and screamed, "Dad! Have you forgotten that you have four sons?"
Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his head and said, "I really forgot."
Chen Biao: “…”
Chen Biao said in a muffled voice, "I heard from mother that you have a concubine's daughter. It's rare for you to come back, so why not go and see her?"
After being subtly reminded several times by Ma Xiuying, Chen Biao did not have too much resistance to his attitude towards illegitimate sons and daughters.
He actually understood that the concubines' sons and daughters in feudal society were different from the illegitimate children in modern society. They were all legal children born in wedlock.
Ma Xiuying told him that, not to mention the future, even now, he was half the head of the family. His attitude towards these illegitimate children almost determined their future.
Especially those illegitimate sisters, if Chen Biao treats them coldly, it will be difficult for them to marry into a good family in the future. Even if they marry, their future will definitely be miserable.
For most women, they have no decision-making power over their future and rely entirely on their parents' family.
The only support a illegitimate sister can have from her parents' home is the pity of the legitimate brother of the head of the family.
Ma Xiuying also told Chen Biao that asking Chen Biao to be nicer to his half-brothers and sisters did not mean that Chen Biao should be more considerate of these brothers and sisters, but just to save Chen Biao's face. It was enough to treat these people better than strangers.
As for taking care of these people, Ma Xiuying will do it herself.
Ma Xiuying was very kind. Their family was special, destined to become part of the imperial family. If Chen Biao showed excessive indifference to his concubines, it would be like the Crown Prince showing indifference to the other princes and princesses. Even if the Crown Prince's position was secure, the excessive indifference of the Crown Prince and the future Emperor could crush the spirits of these children.
Ma Xiuying knew that Chen Biao was also very kind, just indifferent, and would not do anything to mistreat his brothers and sisters.
But the others didn't know. They were afraid that Chen Biao would torture them or even kill them after he became emperor.
If this happened, firstly, Biao'er's reputation would be damaged innocently; secondly, if any of his half-brothers really died of panic and depression because of this, Biao'er, who is so kind, would definitely feel a heavy sense of guilt.
After hearing his mother tactfully tell him that his attitude would determine the future of his half-brothers and sisters, Chen Biao couldn't help but soften his heart.
Whatever, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. If those half-brothers and sisters were left undisciplined and did something wrong, wouldn't he be the one to clean up the mess in the end?
Does he still expect his father to take care of things?
His father only knows how to beat his children!
Chen Biao was just about to throw himself back into his mother's arms and roll around. He and his mother were both too kind!
What made Chen Biao even more frustrated was that if he returned to the modern era, he would definitely not be considered a kind person. In the chaotic feudal world of the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, could someone like him still be considered a moral role model?!
How frustrating this is!
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "What are you looking at, little girl? What's so good about it?"
Chen Biao was almost choked by Zhu Yuanzhang's words of favoring sons over daughters. After a long silence, he said, "You usually send them good things. You also give them some of the things I give to mother. How come you neglected them when it's your turn to meet? You should go and check on the things you gave them. It doesn't matter to your concubines, but if you become estranged from your children, won't you be responsible if they do something wrong?"
Zhu Yuanzhang quickly stopped Chen Biao: "Stop, stop, stop! Who gave them the things you gave your mother? I definitely didn't give them anything except treasure notes!"
A big question mark popped up in Chen Biao’s head.
What is Baochao? Is it waste paper?
The father and son talked at cross purposes for a long time and finally understood the current situation.
Chen Biao: "It was my mother who did it."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "It must be your mother."
The father and son looked at each other in silence.
Chen Biao: "Compared to my mother, I always feel that both of us have low moral standards."
Zhu Yuanzhang: "That's because your mother's moral standards are too high, not the problem between us."
Zhu Yuanzhang was justified. Those people sent their daughters and sisters to him as concubines, weren't they seeking peace of mind and the promise of future wealth? He had given these families wealth and trust, and kept these women well-fed and clothed. How could he be treating them unfairly? As for those women's status, allowing them to marry into other wealthy families and enjoy the luxury of life, what did it have to do with him? He hadn't forced them into marriage!
Chen Biao was speechless after hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's scumbag speech.
Yes, yes, you did your best to repay the families who sent you these women. But the women who became your concubines didn't choose to come. Who cares what they think?
Chen Biao finally understood why his mother was so gentle to these women.
Why should women make things difficult for other women? His mother was so gentle, she must have sympathized with her father's concubines, pitied their plight, and taken care of them.
Chen Biao thought of an idiom, "I feel pity for her when I see her."
After Huan Wen conquered Shu, he took Li Shi's daughter as a concubine, secretly hiding her in a separate courtyard. The princess, furious, went to catch the adulterer. Li Shi poignantly remarked that her country had been destroyed, her family had been ruined, and she had been forced to become a concubine, and that dying at the princess's hands was an honor. The princess embraced Li Shi and consoled her, saying, "I feel pity for you, let alone an old slave."
Although his mother would not call his father "old slave", she probably could not help but feel pity when she saw the group of frightened noble ladies and concubines.
Chen Biao finally sighed and said, "Dad, the root of the conflict between legitimate and illegitimate children is the struggle for interests. If the legitimate children are powerful, the illegitimate children are no better than slaves and pose no threat to the legitimate children. Do you think I look like someone who would be robbed?"
Zhu Yuanzhang: "Whoever steals your things, I will chop him to death!"
Chen Biao waved his hands repeatedly: "Okay, okay, okay, okay. So you can rest assured and go and see them when you need to. I can ignore them, but you can't. Whether it's a concubine or a illegitimate child, it's your responsibility."
Zhu Yuanzhang also waved his hands repeatedly: "I know, I know, Biao'er, you are so talkative. You are in charge of everything, so why do you care about your father sleeping with women?"
Chen Biao was speechless again. Who cares if you sleep with women? Am I talking about you sleeping with women?
Chen Biao found that he and the real feudal men had nothing in common in this regard, so he simply shut up.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not take Chen Biao's words seriously.
Of course he would watch when he should, and educate when he should. After all, his illegitimate children were also princes and princesses, and if he didn't teach them well, there might be big problems in the future.
But that little girl is still young, so why would he go see it? It would be useless even if he saw it. Biaoer really thinks too much.
Before Zhu Yuanzhang went to the hot springs, he asked Chen Chong about his homework and successfully made Chen Chong cry;
He then asked Chen Tan if he was enlightened and if he was usually obedient, and then scolded Chen Tan for being too naughty, successfully scolding Chen Tan and making him cry;
Finally, he glanced at Chen Gou'er and Chen Mao'er, then looked away in disgust: "Not like me."
Chen Biao was so angry that he almost broke another front tooth on Zhu Yuanzhang's arm.
Dad, what's wrong with you? I asked you to have a relationship with your brothers, but all you can do is scold them!
Zhu Yuanzhang felt that he had done nothing wrong. He was a strict father and a kind mother, and he just acted like a strict father in front of his sons. Was that wrong?
Chen Biao coaxed one brother and then another, then turned around and scolded: "Next time you make your brother cry, you can coax him yourself!"
Zhu Yuanzhang crossed his arms and said disdainfully, "Why are you trying to coax them? You've spoiled them too much, and that's why they've developed a weak disposition that makes them cry easily. My son, Chen Guorui, is going to be a great general in the future. He shouldn't even cry when he's being cut by a sword!"
Chen Biao, the little tiger cub, roared, "The general also cries when he's so young. Dad, haven't you heard the story of forcing a child to grow by pulling up a seedling? Come and comfort your little brother!"
Zhu Yuanzhang came over with a look of disdain and gave his second and third sons a flying high gesture. The two silly children immediately burst into laughter.
Chen Biao: “…” Fortunately, my brothers are two little fools, and their emotions come and go quickly .
The other two even younger fools had no idea that their own father disliked them. Some of them were in a daze, some were sleeping, and they didn't respond at all to Zhu Yuanzhang, their father whom they hadn't seen for a long time.
Chen Biao didn't know whether allowing his father and his younger brothers to communicate with each other deepened their relationship, or whether his younger brothers would grow up and shout "I'm strong now" and beat his father up.
He dragged Zhu Yuanzhang, who still wanted to continue checking his son's homework, to take a hot spring bath. His two younger brothers leaned on the door frame and watched their brother leave with his hateful father. No one wanted to go with Chen Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang.
Chen Biao couldn't help but say, "Dad, you are despised by your two sons, aren't you ashamed?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Should I go back and give them a beating?"
Chen Biao slumped down on the carriage seat, his face full of despair.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help laughing.
He understood that Chen Biao wanted him to be a loving father to his young sons, but he didn't want to.
Zhu Yuanzhang was very clear-headed. He had been fighting wars for years, and Ma Xiuying was by his side. Both of them were working hard to end the chaos, and probably had no energy to educate their children.
His other children were real children and could not maintain their relationship through frequent correspondence like he and Biaoer did even if they did not meet.
Instead of long-term companionship and short-term warmth, it is better to have short-term fear to deter these children when they do bad things in the future.
Besides, didn't Biaoer have the warmth, companionship, and earnest advice? As a father, he just had to be the bad guy and come out to protect Biaoer when his younger sons got ahead of him.
Zhu Yuanzhang kept these little tricks in his heart and deliberately teased Chen Biao, making Chen Biao very angry.
Chen Biao was so angry that after the carriage stopped, he rushed into the hot spring villa like a little cannonball, saying that he would be the first to jump into the hot spring pool and let Zhu Yuanzhang wash his bath water.
Zhu Yuanzhang stood with his hands behind his back, walked with his feet turned outward, and followed Chen Biao, who had short legs, with a smile on his face. He could take three steps ahead of Chen Biao with one step, and soon caught up with Chen Biao.
The hot spring villa had already prepared the food.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they took a stroll to help digest the food before going to soak in the hot springs.
Chen Biao really kept his promise and jumped into the hot spring pool first, which was extremely childish.
Zhu Yuanzhang then walked into the hot spring pool wrapped in a towel. There were only the two of them here, so in order to better soak in the hot spring, they were frank with each other. Zhu Yuanzhang also laughed at Chen Biao's little flesh bug and proudly showed off his own greatness.
If Chen Biao's legs weren't too short, he was about to kick him up.
After chatting for a while, the two of them snuggled up to each other and quietly enjoyed the hot spring for a while before getting down to business.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Biao'er, why are you playing with explosives?"
Chen Biao said: "The chaotic world is too troublesome, I want to end it as soon as possible."
Zhu Yuanzhang raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Your explosives can actually end the chaos early? So powerful?"
Chen Biao organized his words and introduced high explosives to Zhu Yuanzhang as simply and understandably as possible.
Time-travel novels often have time travelers use explosives as a golden finger, but they mostly use black gunpowder made of saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur, which is actually a small mistake.
The power of black gunpowder is extremely limited, so limited that even if you write its detailed formula online, no one will call you to have tea.
Black gunpowder was already widely used by the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and cannons and muskets were used in sieges.
However, the power of a cannon is not necessarily as great as that of a catapult, it is just lighter in comparison; the power of a musket is far less than that of a crossbow, it is just that the strength required to use a musket is not as high as that of a crossbow.
Even during the First Industrial Revolution, the most advanced black powder flintlock rifles had to be used in conjunction with powerful crossbows and bows and arrows, which was far from the point of eliminating cold weapons.
Because black powder is not strong enough and will leave a lot of impurities after burning, the power limit of guns using black powder is naturally very low.
The starting point of modern gunpowder was yellow gunpowder.
The original yellow gunpowder was called picric acid, a yellow crystal originally used as a dye. The invention of this explosive did not continue the skills of black gunpowder, which is one of the reasons why many marketing accounts deny the connection between modern gunpowder and the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China.
Although modern gunpowder is not yellow , it still carries the name "yellow" dynamite.
From picric acid, fulminate of mercury, nitrocellulose, to the nitroglycerin, TNT, and dynamite familiar to modern military fans... by the time RDX appeared, the power of explosives was second only to mushroom eggs.
Traditional black gunpowder has been eliminated from weapons and at most becomes the ignition base of some weapons, and is basically only used for fireworks.
In the 19th century, modern explosives had completely replaced black powder. Later guns and smoothbore guns and other guns that used black powder were completely different things. Their internal structures and manufacturing principles were completely different, and they were similar in appearance.
The "gunpowder" that the time travelers imagined as decisive for victory was actually modern high explosives. Without a solid understanding of chemistry, chemical equations, and a long period of experimentation, and... ahem, prior experience making it yourself, it would be difficult to achieve.
Moreover, there are no modern props and it is purely handmade, which is not only very dangerous but also has extremely limited production.
Chen Biao said, "With me here, it won't be a problem for me to provide you with ten explosive packs before each siege. One explosive pack is enough for Marshal Zhu to blow a big hole in the city wall."
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyelids twitched.