Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 241

Chapter 241 Great Killing Weapon
In the entire mining area, the old master who played black gunpowder the most was known as Niu Wuzhi.

Of course that’s not his real name. In order to concoct black gunpowder to help mine ores, Niu Wuzhi only had five fingers left in his life, which were irregularly distributed between his hands. He had brought along three disciples, at least one of them for forty years. The youngest one was fifty-eight years old, and he hadn’t graduated yet.

This was because both Master and disciple felt that their techniques had yet to be mastered.

The four of them were famous in the Ruo Great Xiangzhou Mining Area. The reason for that was because the black gunpowder they concocted every year could multiply the production of ores in the mining area by several folds. Everyone, from mine managers to ordinary miners, worshiped them-it seemed that the Tang had somehow realized that “technology was the primary productive force.”

As a result, Niu Wuzhi and the others were really awesome. Of course, they were referring to their temper. It was said that apart from flint and mining areas, there was nothing else they could put in their eyes. There was no need to say anything about the chief miner, even the county magistrate and the others in Xiangyang County had to waste their minds to talk to them–

He had to roar loudly, but he couldn’t roar fiercely. Otherwise, if he angered Niu Wuzhi’s temper and abandoned him, the entire Xiangyang County Government would suffer. The Imperial Court would definitely not hand over the Iron Copper Tribute Quest.

Of course, the accompanying yamen attendant told Qin Mubai this. Niu Wuzhi’s name was really too loud, and almost everyone in Xiangyang County knew about it. Often there were women who frightened crying children in the middle of the night-“Cry again, cry again, and you’ll be caught by Niu Wuzhi!”

So the child stopped crying. Hundred Trials, Hundred Spirits.

“Xiangyang is really a crouching tiger, hiding a dragon. I never thought there would be such a big shot!” Qin Mubai was quite happy to hear that. Even if he didn’t have gunpowder, he had to see this “hero” who could stop children from crying at night.

I saw him.

In his late eighties, an extremely terrible and sloppy old man. She was thin and had a bent back, almost two heads shorter than Qin Mubai. Every strand of skin on his body was pitch black, but the few strands of hair he pulled were completely white. It must have been a long time since he washed them, and they were mixed together in a mess. More than half of his teeth were gaping, and one side of his nose tilted upwards. Three fingers in his left hand resembled a harpoon, and two fingers in his right hand resembled a natural V-shaped victory hand. Together, there were exactly five of them.

This reminded Qin Mubai of the terrifying monster in The Lord of the Rings, Gulu.

“Niu Wuzhi, this is a great official from the capital. Now, the great hero of the Xiang Province, the Commandant General of the Military Manor, has personally come to find you!” A yamen attendant shouted loudly at Niu Wuzhi’s ears.

Niu Wuzhi blinked his dry and muddy eyes and shouted louder than the yamen attendant, “I don’t recognize you. Don’t bother me, I’m very busy!”

Everyone was stunned by his roar. They hadn’t expected such a skinny and short old man to roar with more momentum than a galloping horse, just like thunder on the flat ground.

“Niu Wuzhi, don’t be ignorant! The general has something to ask you for help!” The two yamen attendants began to shout into his ears, causing him to be angry. They threw the harpoon in their left hand and the triumph in their right hand on the faces of the two yamen attendants–

“Scram!–or I’ll blow up your house!”

Everyone was dumbfounded, goosebumps falling to the ground.

“This old man is really tough. He has played black gunpowder all his life. He has played black and his temper is like gunpowder.” Qin Mubai couldn’t help but laugh as the yamen attendants burst into laughter.

Niu Wuzhi’s ears are not good, but seeing the posture of the people in front of him, he must know that he is laughing at him. He did not say anything else. He reached into his pocket and took out a half-foot long thing that was as thick as a finger and shouted, “Scram? I’ll blow you all to death!”

‘”Wow!–” cried the yamen-servants in horror, and the crowd immediately retreated and dodged.

Qin Mubai also felt a chill run down his spine, but he didn’t escape. Instead, he calmly took out a pile of paper and walked over to Niu Wuzhi. He spread out the first page and showed it to him.

Niu Wuzhi raised his head and glanced at Qin Mubai. His eyes looked like Qin Mubai was his enemy who killed his father. Then, he glanced at the paper with disdain and was suddenly stunned and attracted.

As a result, he widened his eyes and moved his face to the first three centimeters of the paper. Later, his expression became extremely excited as he shouted, “Where did you get it?”

The roar hurt Qin Mubai’s eardrums and he really wanted to escape. Before he could reply, Niu Wuzhi casually tossed the item in his hand. The harpoon and victory were about to snatch the item from Qin Mubai’s hand.

Luckily, Qin Mubai’s [Explosive Formula and Refining Method] managed to dodge the harpoon and the victorious attack. Niu Wuzhi was obviously a little angry, but this time, he did not get angry. Instead, he swallowed his saliva and pursed his dry lips, shouting, “Give it to me!”

“Why?” Qin Mubai smiled.

“Apart from this old man, no one else can produce such a black flame lightning!”

“Isn’t this recipe very powerful?”

Niu Wuzhi suppressed his anger and nodded unwillingly, “Yes!”

“It’s even more powerful than the Black Flame Lightning you’ve been pondering for your entire life, isn’t it?” Qin Mubai deliberately provoked him.

“Then I’ll have to try before I know!” Niu Wuzhi was annoyed and shouted, “Give it to me! I won’t be able to live long, time is precious!”

“I can give it to you.” Qin Mubai slowly folded the paper and put it in his arms. He patted his chest and said, “But, you have to work for me from now on!”

“Alright!” Niu Wuzhi agreed without hesitation, “As long as the Black Flame Lightning produced by this method is really more powerful than mine, I won’t work here anymore. From now on, I will only concoct medicine for you!”

“Wu–Master Niu, you can’t do this!” The miners who were in charge heard Niu Wuzhi’s roar from afar, and they were so anxious that they hurriedly ran over.

“Stop them!” Qin Mubai gave the order. All the yamen attendants rushed forward and even drew their knives. All the mine stewards were afraid and timid. They looked anxiously at this side as if Qin Mubai was not taking away a bad old man, but a lovely wife who was going to accompany them into the bridal chamber.

“Is that a deal, Niu Wuzhi?” Qin Mubai smiled at him.

“Cut the crap! Give me the recipe! If I can match this black flame lightning, I will never live in vain! I don’t care about anything else! I will keep my word, otherwise I will go to hell and be hooked with an iron hook by Old Man Yama!”

To an old man on the verge of death, this was an extremely vicious oath.

Thus, Qin Mubai nodded and said, “Bring your disciple and the tools and materials, and follow me.”

“Alright! I’ll call them immediately!” Niu Wuzhi replied loudly. He turned around and pushed away the crowd like a rabbit into the haystack. In an instant, he disappeared. Not long after, he appeared in front of Qin Mubai with three white-haired old men. He dragged two mountainous mule carriages and said, “Let’s go, we’re ready!”

“You’re quite straightforward. Then let’s go!” Qin Mubai laughed loudly and was about to leave with a group of people. Everyone in the mining area was dumbfounded, and they almost knelt on the ground and cried for help-Niu Wuzhi left. Wasn’t this going to tire them to death? They dared to rush to work day and night, but they didn’t have the same progress as before.

“I will explain my reasons to the Prefecture of Governors and ask the Prefecture Government to lower your mission. Don’t worry, I won’t make things difficult for you.” Qin Mubai dropped these words and left.

The people in the mining area had finally eaten a calming pill and calmed down.

“Ah, this official is an ox! A casual sentence can make us change between life and death!”

Qin Mu rented a farmyard in a remote suburb as a “research institute” for Niu Wuzhi and the others. Niu Wuzhi had brought all the tools and equipment that he needed to prepare. The two mule carriages were loaded with quite a lot of things, and they were unloaded and piled up all over the courtyard.

“Official, we need two more people to run errands, cook, wash clothes, clear the toilet, and give us some money to buy materials. You don’t need to worry about the rest.” Niu Wuzhi said with a booming aura, “I’ll give you new gunpowder in ten days!”

“Ten days?” Qin Mubai frowned.

“If you have the ability, go invite someone else! I can’t figure it out for a year!” Niu Wuzhi roared angrily.

“Alright, ten days is ten days. It’s good to eat and drink. Money is enough. You just have to work hard to make up the medicine.” Qin Mubai smiled, “Do you want a woman?”

“Scram-!!”

Qin Mubai left behind two yamen attendants to serve these old men and returned to the secretariat manor. He secretly sent a few more confidant soldiers to secretly protect and keep an eye on them. The formula of this new gunpowder was no different from a “great killing weapon” in this era. If it were to wander outside, it would be like a nuclear weapon disappearing. It would definitely cause panic and threats.

After that, Qin Mubai replied to Li Ke. Ten days later, she decided to explore the West Channel again depending on the situation.

“It’s best to dig out the secrets there within two to three months.” Li Ke said, “Because during this period of time, we can go back and forth to the capital. At that time, there may be envoys from the Imperial Court, and Wu Meiniang and Gaoyang may also arrive. The fewer people we alert, the better.”

“Alright, I see. Then, I’ll see you in ten days. I’ll go back to the military manor first, Niu Wuzhi’s side. You need to trouble yourself to send someone to keep an eye on him.” Qin Mubai said.

“Alright.” Li Ke solemnly agreed.

It seemed that he valued the secrets in the West River Cao very much. As for the royal family, his mind had unprecedentedly condensed, and he was extremely attentive.

“Then I’ll go first.”

“Don’t worry.” Li Ke suddenly stopped him and said, “There is someone who has been staying with me all this time. Don’t you want to say something about how to deal with him? Isn’t this making things difficult for me?”

“You mean, Zhang Tong?” Qin Mubai frowned.

“Isn’t that so?” Li Ke sighed softly, “This kid is under house arrest in the backyard. He eats and drinks less all day and squats in the corner without saying a word. If he continues to endure like this, his life will be lost in a few days.” Although it was hateful to see him as a spy, it was pitiful to see him like that. Ask him if he has any requests. He only said that he wants to see General Qin once. He said that if he sees you, he will feel at ease even if he dies. ”

Qin Mubai felt a slight pain in his heart, but his face was cold. “He still has the face to see me?”

“Forget it. A person is about to die, and his words are good. Why don’t you go there?” Li Ke said, “At least he has followed you for so long. He has also worked hard before.”

“You’ve already pleaded for him, so let’s meet!”

Hence, Qin Mubai went to the courtyard where the servants lived in the backyard. The yamen attendant who was in charge of guarding the courtyard opened a firewood room.

The room was in a mess, piled with firewood and withered grass, and the light was dim and fishy. Zhang Tong was dressed like a beggar, hiding in a pile of straw in the corner. He didn’t know if he was asleep or dead, but even Qin Mubai didn’t react when he walked up to him.

Qin Mubai gently kicked him. Zhang Tong flicked his body and finally woke up.

“I don’t even have this bit of vigilance. Are you still a Hundred Cavalry?” Qin Mubai said coldly.

Zhang Tonglun looked at Qin Mubai blankly and muttered, “It must be a dream, it must be a dream!”

“Dream on!” Qin Mubai shouted, “Zhang Tong, listen!”

“Yes!” Zhang Tong instantly bounced up like a spring and stood up straight.

“Go back to Chang’an, go back to your hometown!” Qin Mubai scolded.

Zhang Tongtong was stunned, and his entire expression froze. He opened his mouth, but didn’t dare to speak.

Because Qin Mubai did not say anything, this subordinate did not dare to speak randomly. Qin Mubai said, “Just fart.”

“General, you … you won’t kill me, won’t you punish me?”

“Nonsense. If I tell you to scram, scram!”

“You … at least beat me up and scold me!” Zhang Tong suddenly burst into tears and choked with sobs, “This subordinate, please! Either you kill me, you want me to beat me up, you want me to scold me to death!”

Qin Mubai looked at him and said indifferently, “I don’t need to kill you if you’re not guilty. If you want to beat and scold me, since you already know what you’re doing wrong in your heart, why should I do it again?”

“General … you are more aggrieved than killing me and scolding me!” Zhang Tong’s tears flowed down like this, “I really … didn’t expect it!”

“Stop talking nonsense. You can leave now!” Qin Mubai said coldly, “From now on, I forgot that you are a Hundred Cavalry. I forgot to know someone from Qin. Hundred Cavalry will also forget that Zhang Tong was in the army.”

With that, Qin Mubai turned around and left.

“General!!” Zhang Tongmiserable knelt on the ground with a thud.

“I beg you!–Kill me!”

“I won’t kill you.” Qin Mubai dropped this sentence and left.

He said in his heart, just like, even if my hands and feet have disgusting poisonous sores, I will not cripple myself.