Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 39. Preparation for the Eastern Expedition
"General Feng, I will never forget your life-saving grace. If you need me in the future, just send an envoy to me. I will brave the sword mountains and seas of fire!"

Seven days later, Kou Feng finished guarding Guan Yu's tomb and it was time for him to return to Jianwei County to enjoy his new life. Feng Xi also came to see him off.

"General Kou, you are too kind. Remember not to act rashly, but to act cautiously. In case of emergency, send an envoy to Chengdu in time."

Feng Xi also gave a few instructions, fearing that Kou Feng would cause more trouble later, which would add to the uncertainty. Kou Feng nodded repeatedly, and then rode on a fast horse with his attendants to Qianwei.

Feng Xi watched Kou Feng go away and disappear without a trace, then he and his personal guards mounted their horses and headed towards their own camp.

Old Liu has already begun mobilizing the troops to attack Wu. Now the entire Sichuan and Shu areas are on the move. It is expected that the troops will be dispatched after the summer grain is harvested, which is similar to what happened in history.

He still has a few months to complete all preparations and avoid the Yiling death situation.

……

"General Feng sent someone to deliver the blueprints again?"

Zhuge Liang had a half-day off today and had lunch with Huang Yueying at home. After lunch, he saw Huang Yueying impatiently take out a roll of drawings to study, and Zhuge Liang also became curious.

"Yes, Brother Liang, look at this. General Feng's idea for this crossbow is quite similar to the crossbow we envisioned at the time, but his crossbow is still based on distance.

The middle mechanism is connected to the trigger below, so when loading, you don’t have to pull the string hard, but just pull the mechanism back to its original position. In this way, the loading speed will not be reduced too much while the range is guaranteed..."

Huang Yueying was immersed in her own world, constantly studying these drawings.

Zhuge Liang smiled knowingly when he saw this. His wife was always like this. If the Military Equipment Bureau could start producing crossbows, it would be of great benefit to the subsequent battles.

"Brother Liang, you should take a look at this..."

Huang Yueying suddenly pulled Zhuge Liang's sleeve from behind. Zhuge Liang turned around and saw a structure that did not look particularly complicated, but was very large.

"Hydraulic forging hammer...? Hydraulic cutting machine...?"

Zhuge Liang looked at the tools assembled using water wheels, gears and other structures on the blueprint, as well as the accompanying text below, and fell into deep thought.

As an expert in internal affairs, Zhuge Liang naturally knew how much impact the improvement in production efficiency would have on the current situation.

"Madam, please study the weapons first. I will go and discuss these drawings with the craftsmen in person."

Zhuge Liang hurriedly took the blueprint and went out again.

Feng Xi just dumped those things that were inconvenient for him to study to Zhuge Liang. Although he opposed Zhuge Liang's three-part theory, especially the aspect of being tolerant of Wu, he was firmly opposed to it.

However, the goal of both of them is to make the current Chuanzhong and the future Ji Han develop better, so there is no personal grudge or anything like that, it's just a normal difference in ideas.

"Xiu Yuan, I found the people you asked me to find. These three people once participated in or watched the alchemy process in the Five Pecks of Rice Sect. It took me a lot of effort to dig them out."

Zhang Nan reported to Feng Xi. Behind him were three trembling civilians, some old and some young, all dressed neatly.

"Please spare my life, sir. I was just trying to make a living and never did anything to rebel against the Han people!"

The old man in the lead couldn't control himself and knelt down, thinking that Feng Xi was here to settle a score with him.

When the other two saw the old man doing this, they followed suit and begged for mercy.

"Okay, okay, be quiet and listen to me." Feng Xi waved his hands impatiently, and the three of them quieted down, looking at Feng Xi with some fear.

"Do you know the process of making pills? Or is there a formula?"

The old man in the lead thought about it and immediately understood. So the general in front of him also wanted to obtain immortality through the elixir? That would be easy.

"Yes, yes, sir. I have presided over the refining of many furnaces of elixirs and have gained a lot of experience. I know the formulas of many immortal pills."

The old man immediately began to embellish his past resume, trying to show his own value.

"Oh?"

Feng Xi turned around and looked. The old man held his head high and chest out, looking very confident.

"That's perfect. I didn't call you here to accuse you of anything. Since the King of Hanzhong is kind and gracious, and has already said he would forgive you, I will naturally not pursue your past crimes.

I asked you to come here to refine this thing."

Feng Xi handed over a roll of brocade. The old man thought it was a one-sided document, so he took it and looked at it carefully, then screamed in fear.

"General, if you combine these things like this, the furnace will definitely explode! You can't refine this thing!"

Feng Xi took a look and thought that the old man seemed to know something, so he nodded.

"What I want is explosion. I want you to study how to make the explosion more powerful and wider. If one day you can develop explosives that can flatten a mountain, I will personally advise the King of Hanzhong to let you become officials."

Feng Xi also made a big promise, which made the three people's eyes shine.

"Don't be too happy yet. I understand the reason a little bit, so I'll tell you first. It's best to have 75% saltpeter, 15% charcoal, and 10% sulfur.

Then you need to study on this basis how to make the gunpowder faster and more powerful. For example, the charcoal material, how to extract the pure saltpeter essence, etc. Do you understand?"

Although Feng Xi knew the general principle, he did not have enough time and energy to put it into practice, so he simply found some relatively experienced people to do it slowly.

"If you know anyone else who knows this skill, you can call them over, and then you will be their captain."

Feng Xi also took advantage of the people's desire for power and asked them to bring other colleagues over. Sure enough, the old man's eyes lit up.

"I know them. I know them! Xukongzi, Xuwangzi and those old fellows are still alive! They are all masters of alchemy! I know they are living in..."

The old man immediately sold out all his former colleagues like a sieve. The guards beside him took bamboo slips and writing brushes to write down the names and addresses of each person, and then they would send someone to "invite" them.

"Here are some basic materials. Take your time to study them. Be careful not to blow yourself up."

Feng Xi pointed to the wooden table next to him. This was an independent open space next to the military camp, which was used for these people to study gunpowder.

"You can also try to add something to it that can emit a foul smell, or something that can make a loud noise or a bright light. In short, if you have any useful inventions, I will reward you handsomely. Of course, if you dare to be sneaky, you will also be punished. Don't forget, your family is still in Chengdu."

After feeding the three people dates, Feng Xi hit them with a stick. This frightened the three people so much that they became obedient and dared not have any other ideas.

(End of this chapter)