Chapter 076 These are firecrackers!
Zhao Huan, Liu Ying and others surrounded Liu Chang.
Liu Chang had ordered people to grind the limestone and saltpeter into powder and put them in two sand jars respectively.
He ordered his men to dig a pit, placed the cauldron in it, and filled it with earth on all sides.
"Brother, please stay away... This is my first time doing this, and I don't know if I can succeed..."
Liu Chang said to Liu Ying in a casual manner.
"What happens if it fails?"
"Brother, do you remember the ore burst just now?"
"certainly……"
"This iron pot might burst and injure everyone... This thing is very powerful, even a strong bow or crossbow cannot match it..."
“No!”
When Liu Ying heard this, he did not retreat. Instead, he walked a few steps to Liu Chang's side and grabbed him, "It's so dangerous, don't try it!"
Liu Chang immediately became anxious, "Brother, if this thing is made, the efficiency of mining can be increased a hundred times! The Han Dynasty will no longer be short of iron. Moreover, this thing can also be used on the battlefield. Oh, brother, you don't understand, just go over there and watch!"
"Then I'll stand here and watch you do it."
"No, why are you meddling here? You can't help!"
Liu Ying didn't say anything, just stood aside and looked at him silently.
Liu Chang was about to speak, but he found that Luan Bu had come up and stood on the other side. Zhao Huan was stunned, cursing in his heart, and walked to their side helplessly. Liu Chang turned around and started to work while cursing. He lit a few soap beans and threw them into the pot. Then, he added stone yellow and saltpeter to make fireworks. Liu Chang kept waiting until the fireworks could not be burned, and hurriedly took out charcoal to fry. The flames were steaming hot, and Liu Chang was sweating all over.
When one third of the carbon was eliminated, Liu Chang immediately annealed the mixture, took it out before it cooled down, and put it on the fire.
"ah!"
Liu Chang exclaimed as he looked at the mixture. At that moment, Liu Ying suddenly stretched out his hand, picked up Liu Chang and threw him backwards. His movements were swift and without any delay. After throwing Liu Chang away, he held his head and waited for unknown danger.
"boom……"
Liu Ying did not encounter any danger, but Liu Chang did.
Liu Chang fell heavily to the ground, holding his waist in pain, "Even if I failed for the first time, you can't throw me like this... Ouch, my waist, my back..."
Liu Ying rushed to Liu Chang and helped him up.
"Are you okay? I thought...something went wrong..."
"Before you threw me, nothing was wrong... "
Seeing Liu Ying almost crying with anxiety, Liu Chang jumped up and patted the dirt off his body. "It's because I'm strong that I didn't get hurt at all after taking so many beatings over the years. This is definitely not something that ordinary people can do!"
Liu Ying then breathed a sigh of relief. He could still brag, so it seemed that there was no problem.
Liu Chang looked at the gray-white particles he had taken out helplessly and shook his head, "This is totally wrong... Is there too much carbon? Or is it not broken enough?"
"Let's try again..."
Facts have proved that knowing the formula alone is far from enough. Liu Chang was busy for four or five days, and the gunpowder he made became finer and finer, and the color gradually matched the black gunpowder in Liu Chang's memory. Zhao Huan found a separate place to store the black gunpowder.
After making enough, Liu Chang decided to start testing its effectiveness to see if he had succeeded.
He first placed the gunpowder in the chiseled ore, sealed it with stones, leaving only a fuse, and slowly pulled the fuse until it was long enough, then began to ignite.
Everyone hid far away, and Liu Chang covered his ears, staring excitedly, expecting the explosion to happen.
However, the fuse burned out and no explosion occurred for a long time.
Liu Chang was stunned for a moment, waited for a long time, and then went forward to check.
"Shouldn't it be?"
“Does it have to be put in a jar?”
Liu Chang didn't believe it and tried a few more times.
Liu Ying and the others were not in a hurry. Zhao Huan was also watching seriously. After Liu Chang mentioned the so-called explosion method, he didn't dare to underestimate this kid. He thought maybe he could really do it. He didn't know which book he read it from.
"Bang~~~~"
During the third attempt, there was a muffled sound, thick smoke came out of the mine and several cracks appeared. The noise scared the surrounding miners so much that they screamed and fled in all directions. Fortunately, the soldiers were not afraid and soon forced them to kneel down. The chaos in the vicinity did not last long.
Liu Chang looked at the gap helplessly. God knows how much gunpowder he had just put in, but the power was so low. It was just a large firecracker. Just from the sound, the lethality was too low... Liu Chang had originally been thinking about whether he could use it on the battlefield. With such power, it couldn't even be used to scare the enemy.
The specific formula of this thing is so important, but Liu Chang doesn't dare to mix it randomly... Ahem, it's not that he is afraid of being blown to death, but his parents are still alive now, and it would be so sad if the old send off the young.
Liu Ying was once again stunned. He looked at the iron ore that had been blasted open. "Brother, do you know how to attract lightning?"
The eyes of the prince's servants looking at Liu Chang were completely different. Perhaps influenced by the Qin Dynasty, the people at that time were very superstitious, and the northwest, which was the future Liangzhou area, became the leader of superstition in the Han Dynasty. It was not until the Eastern Han Dynasty that the government began a series of rectification activities for local sacrifices.
Therefore, in the eyes of many people, Liu Chang 's methods are like those of gods!
Liu Chang still had a bitter face, "Why did we end up making a firecracker? Oh, is there any way to improve it? Think about it, think carefully..."
He tapped his temple, thinking hard.
…
At this time, Liu Bang, who was preparing to return to Chang'an, received a letter from the State of Yan.
The person who wrote the letter was of course Lu Wan. In the letter, Lu Wan clearly stated that he had been wrong some time ago and thought that his subordinate Zhang Sheng had contacted the Huns. After he executed him, he realized that he was wrong. He felt guilty and spared his clan and prepared to make compensation.
Looking at this letter, Liu Bang felt a little strange.
He really knew Lu Wan too well. The two had been friends since they were born, and after Lu Wan became the King of Yan, the two had never stopped exchanging letters. Therefore, after seeing this letter, Liu Bang subconsciously felt that there was something wrong with it.
Some time ago, Lu Wan sent someone to deliver a letter, saying that his subordinate Zhang Sheng was colluding with the Huns and wanted to rebel, and was preparing to kill his clan.
That letter was normal, but this letter... Although it looked normal, there was not a word of concern, nor any complaints or grumbling like usual, and there was not even a joke. The whole text was too formal. Liu Bang even suspected that Zhang Sheng had killed Lu Wan and wrote back to him in his name?
Liu Bang hurriedly sent people to Yan to find Zhou Bo, who was chasing Chen Xi, and asked him to see if Yan was in trouble.
“Ahem…”
After arranging this, Liu Bang started coughing violently. Zhao Yao, who was standing beside him, hurried forward and brought the medicine.
Liu Bang took the medicine and drank it in big gulps.
"The imperial physician said that Your Majesty should not work too hard."
"I know!"
Liu Bang said this in annoyance, and then looked at the Liang State's imperial servant standing beside him, "Do you have any good wine in Liang State?"
"Yes, of course... our famous wine..."
As the imperial servant was speaking, Zhao Yao interrupted him. He knelt before Liu Bang and said sadly, "Your Majesty! You must not drink!"
"The imperial physician has ordered that your majesty not drink alcohol! Not get close to women! Not eat too much! Not work too hard! Only in this way can you recover!"
Liu Bang laughed and said disdainfully: "You can't drink, you can't have concubines in the harem, you can't hold banquets, and you can't eat your favorite meat... Then why are you still alive? You might as well die!!"
"Your Majesty is the ruler of the world. How can you talk about life and death lightly?"
Zhao Yao hurriedly tried to dissuade him.
Liang Guo's Taifu was a little at a loss and knelt down hurriedly.
This Taifu was the one who betrayed the King of Liang. When Liu Bang came to Liang this time, he summoned this Taifu and asked him to serve him. People like Zhao Yao would absolutely look down on such people who betrayed their masters for fame and fortune, and ignored him completely.
"Forget it……"
Liu Bang waved his hand, asked the Liang State's Taifu to leave, and asked Zhao Yao to sit next to him.
"The world is finally at peace..."
Liu Bang sighed and his gaze suddenly turned to Zhao Yao.
"This is all thanks to upright ministers like you, Censor Zhao... However, there is one thing I really don't understand, and I would like to ask Censor Zhao."
Zhao Yao looked at Liu Bang in surprise, wondering what he was going to say.
"You are usually upright and ruthless to those who make mistakes, and you always testify in front of them. However, I heard that the subordinates of Marquis Jiancheng seized the people's land and oppressed the good people, but I have never heard you impeach them. Why is that?"
Zhao Yao's face was pale, he pursed his lips, his lips trembled slightly, and he didn't dare to speak.
"When I return to Chang'an, I will summon everyone to investigate!"
"Hahaha, what are you afraid of? I was just joking!"
“Hahahaha~~”
Liu Bang burst into laughter, and Zhao Yao forced a smile, his face looking very ugly.
"By the way, that Taifu...I'll leave it to you."
"Yes, yes!"
