The crackle popper Li Daoxuan produced was the kind easily bought during the New Year—small paper-wrapped, spherical pellets less than one centiter in diater, about the size of a little person.
Placed before Xu Dafu, it appeared to be a large sphere about the height of a person.
Xu Dafu glanced at it and caught its sll with his nose; he imdiately understood. “Huh? Such a large gunpowder ball! This… if this thing exploded, its power would surely be terrifying.”
“Power aside,” Li Daoxuan said, “the key is how it detonates. Watch closely.”
Finished speaking, Li Daoxuan pressed the “North” button twice, shifting the view hundreds of ters away from Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu to select an uninhabited, empty field.
This distance ensured Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu couldn’t be hard by any explosion, yet from their position on the mountain peak, they could still see it.
Li Daoxuan hurled the crackle popper forcefully towards the empty field…
Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu saw only the person-sized large sphere they had glimpsed earlier fall from the sky and strike the ground. The instant it hit, a BOOM rent the air.
The power was genuinely terrifying. Flas erupted skyward, thick smoke billowed up, rocks and debris flew chaotically. The surrounding valleys were all sent tremors by the shockwaves, buzzing and echoing.
Gao Yiye yelped in fright and fell backwards onto her seat.
Xu Dafu also staggered back a couple of steps in shock. Fortunately, they were far enough away that the blast wave didn’t reach them.
Only after quite so ti did the echoes from the explosion within the valleys slowly fade away.
Li Daoxuan shifted the viewpoint back above Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu. “See that clearly?”
Gao Yiye: “Such imnse power!”
Xu Dafu, however, said, “There was no lit fuse! That big gunpowder ball had no lit fuse. It fell from the sky and exploded the instant it touched the ground. There was no fuse cord!”
Li Daoxuan praised, “Very observant. Correct, this thing didn’t require lighting. So how did it explode?”
Xu Dafu might not have guessed imdiately, but he had just been discussing the idea of “two clashing knives sparking fire” with Li Da. Now, seeing the Deity deliberately providing this demonstration, he grasped it instantly.
“This large gunpowder ball ignited the instant it slamd into the ground. It detonated on impact!” Xu Dafu exclaid in delight. “I get it! The fire cap can use this technique! The firing pin in Li Da’s new-style firearm… it’s ant to strike and ignite this kind of fire cap!”
Li Daoxuan was imnsely pleased. Good, good, these littles truly were clever.
“Alright, demonstration over. I’ll take you back to the firearms bureau now.”
Li Daoxuan’s giant hand descended once more. Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu climbed onto his palm. With a swish, they were back at the entrance of the Gaojia Village Firearms Bureau.
After setting them down gently, Li Daoxuan took out another crackle popper and carefully placed it in front of Xu Dafu. “This,” he said, “is yours to study. Take it apart yourself. Figure out why it explodes on impact. Then, apply its technique to craft the fire caps.”
“Woah!” Xu Dafu yelped in panic. “Sothing that explodes at a re touch can’t just sit out here by the entrance! It’s too dangerous! Much too dangerous! What if so clumsy apprentice cos running over and bumps into it? Wouldn’t that set it off?”
Li Daoxuan: “”
Xu Dafu urgently looked up, pleading, “Deity! Please place this humble one and this immortal gunpowder ball into a deserted mountain cave! Allow to dismantle it alone, completely undisturbed. I’ll gently open it and remove the chanism that triggers on impact. I’ll bring the rest back here afterwards. Otherwise… it’s far too hazardous!”
“Hahaha, very well,” Li Daoxuan chuckled. “My firearms bureau chief truly is exceedingly cautious.”
He placed Xu Dafu and the crackle popper into a small, deserted mountain cave, leaving him to study it alone…
Now, Gao Yiye could go about her own business too. She skipped back towards the village, her steps light.
Li Daoxuan conducted a sweep over Gaojia Village. Thirty-Two managed the village’s miscellaneous affairs in perfect order. Mr. Wang and the other teachers diligently cared for the children at school.
In Refugee Valley, Zhao Sheng conversed with villagers from Qingjian County about reclaiming more wasteland to plant additional corn.
Cheng Xu, anwhile, rigorously drilled the victorious militia troops.
Excellent. The village now possessed formidable self-managent capabilities. Li Daoxuan felt confident that even if he didn’t watch over them for a while, everything would be fine. His focus should shift more towards the county town. The current strategic objective was to transform all the county’s wild figures into his own people.
He reached out and tapped “Chengcheng County” beyond the box. His perspective instantly snapped over to the county town.
An odd atmosphere currently hung over the county town.
The refugees on the streets no longer looked listless or lifeless. Instead, they were passing around comic books—yes, the Dao Xuan Deity’s Demon Elimination Tale comics.
Through a period of offering flour incentives with book purchases, these comics had nearly spread throughout the whole town. Most people now knew of the Dao Xuan Deity’s exploits, though not all believed.
However, occupying the minds of Liang Shixian and Fang Wushang within the county office, along with the gathering of local gentry and wealthy families they had summoned, was sothing else entirely: the rebel band in Guyuan.
Fang Wushang wore a grim expression. “Esteed gentry,” he began, “Guerrilla General Li Ying is a gutless fool. He dared not even engage the Guyuan rebels; he fled before battle! We just received word: that idiot Li Ying fled into Bai Shui County, only to be intercepted head-on by another Guyuan rebel band! He was captured alive!”
The faces of the gathered gentry turned ugly. “Li Ying still didn’t escape?”
Li Daoxuan internally chuckled: I gave him a way out, only for the actual Guyuan rebels to catch him? Ah well, the net of heaven stretches wide; though its sh is loose, it lets nothing escape.
A county gentry who ca from Fengyuan Town ventured, “In my view, those Guyuan rebels seed rather disciplined. They only attacked Li Ying; they didn’t harm us common folk in Fengyuan Town. Perhaps they truly only ca to demand their blood-and-sweat military pay before leaving?”
Liang Shixian shook his head. “The rebel band that ca to Fengyuan Town numbered only five hundred n, erging from Huanglong Mountain. But the intelligence we’ve received indicates there’s another thousand Guyuan rebels active in the Jing River and Fuping areas. This ans the Guyuan rebels have long since splintered into multiple factions operating simultaneously. Different groups don’t all have the sa discipline. One band might not loot, while another band certainly might.”
The gentry were startled; the point was sound.
“We still must take precautions,” Patrol Officer Fang Wushang stated flatly. “But after witnessing the battle at Fengyuan Town, you all must see it too: the fighting prowess of these Guyuan rebels is not like ordinary bandits. Forget our local gentry troops, even the official soldiers led by Guerrilla Li Ying were useless against them… Ah…”
The Deity of Ti looked down at the bustling town in the box. The refugees were now clustered in groups, deeply engrossed in the comic books passed among them, murmuring among themselves. The atmosphere no longer held its earlier despair and gloom.
The influence of faith was a truly wondrous thing.
Just let it quietly spread… There’s no rush.
My focus right now should be on this rebel band business. This Guyuan rebel band… seed quite different?
According to the intel exchanged by the county officials a mont ago, they erged from Huanglong Mountain? Huanglong, Huanglong… seems like a familiar na.
He quickly rummaged through his mory.
Right! So ti ago, during the first refugee influx, didn’t Zheng Dashun ntion there were bandits in Huanglong Mountain? Later, he also reported that Huanglong Mountain had bandits intercepting official grain carts? It was him who drove those bandits away. It seems this group entering Fengyuan Town might have originated from the Huanglong Mountain bandits who clashed with Zheng Dashun?
But they call themselves Guyuan rebels? Guyuan is a military frontier stronghold… Guyuan soldiers who have deserted beca rebels… How did they end up in Huanglong Mountain in the hinterlands?
Li Daoxuan pondered but remained puzzled. The world in his box truly was complicated.
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