Ling Mohan, having witnessed Gu Beichen's failed research this morning, felt a pang of worry for Feng Jin.
"Don't worry, I'm not that idiot Gu Beichen. Nothing will go wrong. Hurry up and find the raw materials," Feng Jin said.
After sending Ling Mohan away, Feng Jin recalled the specific formula for gunpowder. With nothing else to do, she also drew out the blueprints for a firearm.
She had the blueprints, but she wasn't sure if Dong Chu's current manufacturing capabilities could produce it.
...
Ling Mohan mobilized his troops and searched extensively before finally gathering everything Feng Jin needed. He quickly had the items sent to Feng Jin.
Feng Jin examined the items placed on the table one by one. After confirming they were correct, she began her work.
During this period, Feng Jin sent everyone away.
Under the guise of this being a secret art, absolutely not to be leaked.
Ling Mohan and Gu Beichen, along with others, gathered in the study, anxiously awaiting Feng Jin's final results.
Gu Beichen was the most anxious, his heart a battlefield of conflicting thoughts. On one hand, driven by personal grievances, he didn't want Feng Jin to succeed in developing gunpowder. On the other hand, for the greater good of the nation, he desperately wished for her success.
These two opposing ideas warred within him, causing Gu Beichen immense torment as he paced back and forth, eager for the results to be revealed.
"Can't you just sit down and be still?" Ling Mohan flipped through the book in his hands, occasionally taking a sip of tea, appearing quite at ease.
Gu Beichen found it impossible to calm down. "Aren't you even a little worried about what will happen if she can't develop it?"
Ling Mohan put down his book. "I trust Feng Jin. Since she said she could develop it, she surely will."
Besides, even if it didn't work out, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
"You're truly carefree... Never mind, I'll just wait patiently. It all depends on Feng Jin now."
Since he couldn't develop it himself, any worry or anxiety was futile. They could only wait for Feng Jin's good news.
"Young General, Your Highness, she did it... Young Madam has succeeded... in developing it..."
Lu Shi, in a flurry of haste, rushed to report, breaking into a sweat from his urgency.
A flicker of surprise crossed Ling Mohan's eyes. To say he wasn't excited would be a lie. He was a general, the God of War of Dong Chu, and protecting the country was his mission. Only he knew the importance of gunpowder to the army.
By developing gunpowder before other nations, Dong Chu's soldiers would suffer fewer casualties, and the people could live and work in peace and prosperity.
"She actually managed to develop it?"
Gu Beichen's emotions were a complex tangle at this moment, an indescribable feeling.
"Stop brooding, let's go see."
Ling Mohan could empathize with Gu Beichen's feelings but could only attribute it to his own foolishness. He couldn't blame anyone else, considering how many times he had suffered at Feng Jin's hands.
He simply didn't learn his lesson, always running headfirst into trouble, bringing suffering upon himself. He had no one else to blame.
...
"These dark, round pellets are the gunpowder you developed? Are you sure you're not playing a trick on me?"
Gu Beichen looked at the several round, black, unidentified objects on the table and asked with disbelief. As he reached out to pick one up, a silver needle pricked his hand.
"What are you doing?" Gu Beichen had developed a complete phobia of silver needles. He quickly pulled it out, threw it away, and anxiously checked his hand for poison.
"Did you poison me? Why does my hand feel sore and numb? Oh no, my arm is starting to feel numb too..."
Gu Beichen sensed something was wrong all over his body and immediately concluded that Feng Jin had poisoned him.
Feng Jin rolled her eyes in exasperation. Did he suffer from paranoia, always thinking someone was out to get him?
"You can't touch gunpowder directly with your hands. If the temperature is too high, it can cause an explosion!"
She deliberately exaggerated, causing Gu Beichen to shiver and instinctively step back.
Feng Jin suppressed the smile at the corner of her lips and packed all the prepared gunpowder into boxes.
"Find an open space to test its effectiveness."
"Let's go to the western suburbs," Ling Mohan decided after some thought, deeming the western suburbs the most suitable. Surrounded by mountains and sparsely populated, any significant commotion there wouldn't attract undue attention.
"Yes, the western suburbs are deserted. I'll have people arrange a carriage right away."
Gu Beichen, thinking of witnessing the power of gunpowder firsthand, felt a surge of excitement and hurried off to make arrangements.
Guards carefully loaded the boxes containing gunpowder onto the carriage, and the group set off towards the western suburbs.
Upon arrival, Feng Jin instructed the guards to position the gunpowder and surround it with stones. A hundred-meter fuse was laid, and they all took cover behind the stones.
After Feng Jin lit the fuse, she quickly covered her ears tightly.
With a deafening 'BOOM!', it was as if the heavens and earth were splitting apart. Dust billowed everywhere, and shattered stones rained down.
A moment later, the dust began to settle, and the dim light of the sky became visible.
Fortunately, Feng Jin had prepared for this, covering her head with a scarf, thus avoiding a face full of dust.
As for the others, their faces and hair were covered in dirt, looking utterly disheveled.
Gu Beichen, in particular, who was closest, had his white clothes coated in a layer of dust. His black hair had gradually turned a dusty yellow, and his mouth, nostrils, and ears were all filled with dust.
"Ptooey... ptooey... I've eaten a mouthful of dirt..."
Gu Beichen spat repeatedly, taking the water offered by a servant and repeatedly washing the dust off his body.
Ling Mohan and Feng Jin had taken cover together. Apart from some dust on their exposed clothing, they were otherwise as before.
"Why are you so clean?" Gu Beichen asked, puzzled. He looked at the others, who were all in better condition than him. It seemed he was the only one who had truly suffered.
Ling Mohan ignored Gu Beichen and stepped forward to examine the aftermath of the gunpowder explosion.
The spot where the gunpowder had been placed was now a half-meter-deep crater. The stones that had surrounded it were all gone, reduced to fine particles.
Ling Mohan's eyes widened, and his eyebrows shot up, his astonishment evident on his face.
The power of this gunpowder was truly formidable. Such a weapon, deployed on the battlefield, would be invincible.
"It really worked, ugly woman. You're quite something."
This was the first time Gu Beichen had ever praised a woman. He hadn't expected Feng Jin to actually succeed in developing gunpowder.
Moreover, its power was even greater than what the merchants from Xiyue Kingdom had described. If it could be mass-produced, then his Dong Chu army would be unstoppable.
"Can this gunpowder be mass-produced?" Gu Beichen asked, approaching Feng Jin.
"Yes... but the preservation of gunpowder requires extreme care. Within a hundred meters, there must be no open flames, it cannot be too hot, nor too humid. Once these issues are resolved, it can be mass-produced."