Great Qin Shi Empress

== Firecrackers ==

Lin Qian was stunned for a moment when he met Shang Yingzheng's gaze, and then realized: "I'm not injured, no, no, no... I don't think it was an earthquake just now, it might be caused by the group of alchemists from the Institute of Chemistry .”

However, Ying Zheng didn't listen to Lin Qian's words. He still took her hand and looked her up and down. Seeing that there was no wound on her body, he felt relieved.

After calming down, he recalled Lin Qian's words just now: "You said the movement just now was not an earthquake?"

Lin Qian held his hand tightly, and asked inappropriately, "Why did you come here on horseback? Where's your bicycle?"

Ying Zheng looked back and said helplessly: "Because the bicycles are expensive, the CRRC government ordered all the bicycles to be locked in the warehouse. If we hadn't prepared in advance, we would have to wait for the other party to open the warehouse door, and then find the key to open the bicycles." The car lock...was too troublesome, so I just grabbed a horse and rushed over directly."

Lin Qian snickered, but quickly said seriously: "Don't you still believe me? Remember to protect yourself first when you encounter this kind of situation in the future, and it won't be too late to come to me after you ensure your safety."

Ying Zheng glanced at Lin Qian, but did not answer.

Lin Qian: "..."

She sighed, and had no choice but to change the subject: "It's not that Xianyang has never experienced an earthquake. Don't you remember what the earthquake was like? Don't say anything else, everyone in Xianyang should have noticed a continuous burst of movement. Shake it?"

Ying Zheng paused, and slowly recalled the previous details following Lin Qian's words.

He frowned: "The widow seems to have noticed some shaking..."

Although it was insignificant and only shook for a while, it was indeed shaking.

If not, he wouldn't have come out of Xianyang Palace in a hurry.

Lin Qian reminded: "It's not a moment, it's a burst of continuous shaking."

It is impossible for the first earthquake to shake only once, not to mention there will be many aftershocks after the earthquake.

Furthermore...

Lin Qian looked at Ying Zheng: "Don't you think that the loud noise before didn't sound like a house or other buildings collapsed?"

After Ying Zheng listened, he slowly figured out what was suspicious.

It seems that it is not an earthquake?

The two were talking, but they saw that Lin Qian had been unable to find the Mo family's giant son before, with a dark face with indistinguishable facial features, and an afro-headed man who was being driven back on the back of the tricycle.

As soon as he got out of the car, he hurried to the gate of the workshop.

While walking, he shouted: "Everyone, don't worry, it's not an earthquake, it's just those alchemists doing experiments!"

He was about to go in, but was stopped by Mo Shu at the door.

Juzi of the Mo family stared at him anxiously: "What are you doing, boy? After I go in and notify everyone, I will go into the palace to find His Majesty! Don't waste my time!"

Mo Shu awkwardly pointed to the direction where Lin Qian and Ying Zheng were standing: "Your Majesty is there!"

Juzi of the Mo family froze instantly.

He turned his head back in disbelief, and when he met Shang Yingzheng's gaze, he immediately knelt down with a plop: "Your Majesty, I wanted to report this matter to you as soon as possible, but my current clothes Not tidy, lest His Majesty would be frightened, so I thought about going back to the workshop to wash up, and then change my clothes..."

If he really wanted to enter the palace with this face, the soldiers guarding the gate might not know him!

Juzi swallowed his saliva: "And Xu Shi and others assured me that they will enter the palace as soon as possible to report the details to His Majesty, and I just need to go in later to prove the truth to them..."

【However, Your Majesty, you are not in Xianyang Palace, why did you come to the Mohist Workshop? 】

[God, if His Majesty sees my dignity, His Majesty will not despise me and think that I am an obstacle, so I will not be allowed to enter the palace in the future, right? 】

Thinking like this, Juzi of the Mo family immediately lowered his head and hid his face.

Ying Zheng: "..."

There is no need to be so affectionate, he doesn't care so much about the minister's appearance.

He coughed twice, and said: "Today Gu Fenghou has something to go to the Mohist workshop, so..."

【I see! 】

【I just said how did Your Majesty appear in the Mohist workshop without incident? It turned out that he was looking for Marquis Gu Feng?This is normal! 】

Ying Zheng swallowed what he was about to say in an instant, then gave Mo Jiajuzi a meaningful look, and looked away before he noticed his gaze raised his head.

Lin Qian took the reaction of the two into his eyes, and had some guesses about Ying Zheng's abnormal reaction.

but……

She took a deep breath and said, "Should we go to the Institute of Chemistry first to see what those alchemists have researched?"

Although Lin Qian already had some guesses in his heart, he still had to take a look at such a dangerous thing...

Ying Zheng looked at Lin Qian: "Can you guess what those alchemists have researched?"

Lin Qian raised her head to meet Shang Yingzheng's gaze, hesitated and said, "I do have some guesses."

【If my guess is correct, what those alchemists researched should be fire and medicine...】

[No, pure gunpowder should not be so lethal. 】

[Or explosives? 】

……

The facts are related to Lin Qian's thoughts, but... the connection seems not so close.

Because Xu Shi and other alchemists have indeed researched fire and medicine——

The formula of this thing is not difficult, and it is only normal for them to research it.

but……

These alchemists made such a big commotion not because they developed explosives on the basis of fire and medicine, but because they used fire and medicine to develop...

Ahem, firecrackers.

Yes, firecrackers.

Standing beside Ying Zheng, Lin Qian looked at a large pile of shredded paper tubes covering the entire open space of the Institute of Chemistry, and felt very ill.

But after thinking about it, although the picture in front of her was somewhat beyond her imagination, she had to say...

This is very Chinese!

Ying Zheng looked at Lin Qian suspiciously: "What's wrong?"

Lin Qian explained to him the relationship between fire, medicine and firecrackers in his heart, and China was the first country to invent fire and medicine, but it never thought of using them in the past 300 years During the war, it was actually used to make fireworks.

Ying Zheng: "..."

His eyes fell on the large pile of paper tubes on the ground, and the previous sound and slight vibration sounded, and he didn't know how to speak for a while.

With such a powerful thing, no one has ever thought of using it in war after it was invented?

Ying Zheng was a little unbelievable.

But thinking of the situation that the Qin army has always been invincible and invincible on the battlefield, he is a little cracked: If the armies of future dynasties are as brave and fearless as the Qin army, the existence of fire and medicine seems really unnecessary.

After all, the greater the power, the greater the casualties.

Lin Qian didn't know Ying Zheng's thoughts, and his eyes were completely glued to the paper tubes that had been "shattered to pieces": "Why did you suddenly set off..."

Xu Shi reminded in a low voice: "Firecrackers."

[The name has not changed? 】

Lin Qian paused, and said, "Why did you suddenly set off firecrackers?"

Xu Shi glanced at Lin Qian and Ying Zheng in embarrassment, and said hesitantly, "We didn't intend to set off firecrackers in Xianyang City, but we wanted to have people move them to a secluded place outside Xianyang City for an experiment. .”

Lin Qian was stunned: "Do you know that the sound of firecrackers is very loud?"

Xu Shi took a careful look at Ying Zheng, and nodded: "Didn't many people set off firecrackers in Xianyang City on New Year's Eve? We were doing an experiment at the time, and after hearing the sound, we thought about using the fire and medicine we had just researched. Roll it up in a paper tube and set it off as a firecracker.”

"It may be that the amount of gunpowder was used at that time. Although the sound was not too loud, there was no other movement."

"But it was that random little experiment that succeeded, so we thought about making some firecrackers with better effects. In this case, we might be able to make some money with these firecrackers by the end of this year."

"Who knew that when we prepared all the firecrackers and were about to transport them outside the city, someone accidentally dropped the firecracker while carrying the firecrackers in the yard, and then..."

==·Xiqiang·==

Firecrackers have a long history in China, and it is almost impossible to find the source of their original appearance.

But the firecrackers that Xu Shi talked about were actually two things, firecrackers and the original firecrackers.

The original firecrackers were not the firecrackers in people's impression——

After all, gunpowder and paper were not invented thousands of years ago, so firecrackers naturally did not exist at all.

At that time, firecrackers were "as the name suggests", just bamboos that could explode.

Because bamboo itself is hollow, when it is thrown into a burning fire, the air in the bamboo joints will expand rapidly, and when its volume reaches the point where the bamboo itself cannot bear it, there will be a loud "bang".

If the bamboo is long enough, there will be a burst of "crackling" sound like firecrackers.

——People used it to drive away evil spirits, and later used it to drive away Nian Beast.

The name of firecrackers is originally derived from bamboo.

……

Because the people around are setting off firecrackers, some people are eager to make firecrackers with gunpowder, and then want to make firecrackers with better effects to sell?

This sounds like nothing, but thinking about the consequences caused by these alchemists...

The only good news is that the damage of a single firecracker is limited. Even the soldier who dropped the firecracker at the beginning and caused all these things to happen was only slightly injured because he escaped in time. After bandaging, he was fine. .

But everyone in Xianyang City, because of that sound...

Ah no, it should be that countless indistinguishable sounds mixed together and made a loud noise that frightened him, and even affected his normal life.

Ying Zheng rubbed his brows, and called Wang Qiang: "Immediately go to the barracks and dispatch enough soldiers to go around Xianyang City with gongs and drums for a few rounds, and it was not the earth dragon that turned over, but the alchemists who set off firecrackers." Let the news out."

Wang Qiang did not dare to delay, and immediately took his leave and left the Institute of Chemistry.

Xu Shi had already realized that he was waiting for someone to cause trouble when he heard the people around the Institute of Chemistry yelling "the earth dragon turned over". After Ying Zheng appeared, he realized that they had caused a disaster. After completing Ying Zheng's orders, he still couldn't help but feel uneasy about it.

Ying Zheng took a deep breath: "You should tidy up the yard first, and then enter the palace to explain the situation."

After finishing speaking, Ying Zheng returned to the palace with Lin Qian.

For such a big matter, Li Si and other ministers must have already gone to Xianyang Palace.

That's exactly what happened.

When the two of them appeared at the entrance of Xianyang Palace, they saw countless carriages, bicycles, horses, tricycles and other means of transportation lined up at the entrance of Xianyang Palace.

After the two appeared, a group of people rushed in front of them in an instant.

Ying Zheng waved his hand: "Let's talk in the palace."

So he rode a bicycle with Lin Qian directly (Ying Zheng found a bicycle in the Mohist workshop) and went back to Xianyang Palace, and the others followed after they entered the palace.

……

"Firecrackers?" Li Si couldn't believe it, "How loud are firecrackers?"

Seeing so many ministers for the first time, Xu Shi was a little nervous, but he still nodded his head and explained the relationship between gunpowder and the new version of firecrackers. Gunpowder in it.

All ministers: "..."

Isn't this thing a bit fierce?

But when others were worried about the great power of gunpowder, Wei Liao suddenly stood up and said, "If you want to achieve such an effect, or even exceed this effect, how much gunpowder do you need?"

Xu Shi was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Wei Liao glanced at Wang Jian, and said, "After hearing that Qin State conquered the entire grassland in the north, the Western Qiang tribes have been a little bit ready to move. But Qin State is not suitable for war at present, so I am thinking whether to Threatening the Western Qiang tribes so that they can settle down."

After taking down the tribes in the grassland, the only ones who still threaten Qin are the Xiqiang——

After Baiyue, Yelang, and Dian kingdoms were captured in the south, there was only one Ailao country left, and there was nothing to fear.

Xiqiang used to be compared with the Xiongnu who were more fierce and more prone to trouble, but Yingzheng has never been regarded as the first target that needs to be attacked and defended against. A little more, but the still quite annoying Xiqiang is a bit eye-catching.

Especially after the entire grassland was captured, Naxi Qiang probably sensed the threat of Qin State to them, so they frequently harassed Qin State's border recently.

And this Xiqiang happened to be adjacent to Yongcheng, the former capital of the Qin State. Because it bordered the Qin State with a large area, there were two generals in charge of guarding it nearby. Wang Ben, who made great achievements in the war.

Li Xin was in charge of guarding a considerable part of the border with the Yuezhi, Wusun and other tribes, but the area Wang Ben was in charge of guarding overlapped with the activities of Xiqiang.

In addition, Li Xin had just made a great name in the grassland, but Wang Ben's reputation was covered up by Wang Jian...

Wang Ben has been harassed recently quite seriously.

Wang Jian is naturally aware of his son's current situation, although he is not worried about Wang Ben, but of course he cannot turn a blind eye to Wei Liao's kindness.

He simply stood up and said, "Xiqiang has been invading frequently recently. Although the consequences have not been too serious, it has also annoyed the border soldiers. If we can deter the opponent and let them settle down, the soldiers can also rest for a while. Wait After resettling the tribes of the steppe, the condition of the soldiers will be better."

What do you want the soldiers to do to keep their spirits up?

Of course it passed!

Wang Jian's expression was calm, and he didn't feel that he had said too many serious things.

The others also looked pale, and they didn't think there was anything wrong with Wang Jian's words: Is there any problem in fighting Xiqiang?No problem at all!

It's just this so-called deterrence...

Everyone looked at Xu Shi in unison, and they broke out in a cold sweat.

He straightened his mind and said, "If you want to achieve the previous effect, you only need [-] firecrackers. But..." Xu Shi swallowed, "But those firecrackers aren't very lethal, are they?"

You know, after all the firecrackers were accidentally blown up, the most seriously injured soldier only burned a leg because he didn't dodge in time.

Lin Qian looked at Wei Liao curiously, a little curious about what he did.

After all, if the initial gunpowder is not increased in quantity, its lethality is indeed very limited.

Wei Liao smiled and said, "It doesn't need much lethality."

Everyone: "???"

Just when the others were at a loss, Xu Shi hesitated and said, "I don't know when the Taiwei will need firecrackers? Let's prepare in advance."

Wei Liao looked at Ying Zheng, and smiled after getting his nod: "Of course, the sooner the better."

Xu Shi didn't dare to ask any more questions, and immediately agreed to the matter.

soon……

A certain tribe of Xiqiang led troops to harass the border of Qin State again. After arriving near the Great Wall, they were about to go to the surrounding villages as usual, but they were about to set foot on the intersection of the village. They sat down on their horses and fled around like crazy.

And this situation is constantly happening in many villages.