The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 126: Raw Materials Concern

"This..." Zhang Mujin hesitated.

Seeing Zhang Mujin's look, Yang Yuhuan joked, "Look, I'm pregnant now, so I can't play with you guys."

Then, she leaned close to Zhang Mujin's ear and whispered, "If you don't accompany your husband, there will be someone else to accompany him. Let's waste a little more of his time so that he won't have to marry a few more women."

Zhang Mujin knew that with Li Ying's personality and current situation, he would never have the mind to take a concubine.

Yang Yuhuan knew Li Heng better than she did, and she must have known about this situation.

So Zhang Mujin knew in her heart that Yang Yuhuan said this to her just to ease her emotions.

"Yeah." Zhang Mujin was quite touched, but she didn't point it out. After responding, she said, "Sister, I'll help you go and rest."

"Okay." Yang Yuhuan did not refuse. She took Zhang Mujin's hand and asked Zhang Mujin to help her back to the room.

After Zhang Mujin sent Yang Yuhuan back, she came to Li Ying and sat next to him, one meter away from him. She watched Li Ying writing and drawing silently without saying a word.

It was not until she saw Li Heng yawning that she said, "Your Highness, it's getting late. Why don't you take a rest first and work on it tomorrow?"

"No need." Li Ying shook his head.

It’s not that Li Heng doesn’t want to take a rest, but the current situation doesn’t allow him to slack off at all.

He had to teach Cen Shen first, so that after the explosives were produced, he could then let Cen Shen do these things, such as how to mass-produce them, how to train soldiers to use them, how to store and transport them, etc.

Otherwise, by then, he would not be able to handle it all by himself, and these things cannot be accomplished in a day.

Seeing that Li Ying was still not resting, Zhang Mujin went to make some tea, handed it to Li Ying, and said, "Your Highness, drinking tea can refresh you, but..."

"Just what?" Li Ying took a sip of tea.

Zhang Mujin said: "It's just that when you are resting, forcing yourself to be alert is harmful to your body."

Li Ying smiled when he heard that and said, "You haven't slept either, have you? Why don't you go and rest first?"

Zhang Mujin shook her head and said, "The princess asked Mujin to serve His Highness well."

"I have my own maid to serve you." Li Ying stood up and patted Zhang Mujin's shoulder, saying with a smile: "You are my wife now, not a maid."

The so-called Ruren is the prince's concubine.

The prince's wives and concubines, according to their ranks, include one principal wife, two concubines, ten maids, and no limit on maids.

Zhang Mujin said: "As long as I can follow His Highness, I am willing to be a maid."

"Uh..." Li Ying saw how much love and loyalty Zhang Mujin had for him, and felt pity for her. He said, "Don't worry, since you've married me, I won't abandon you. Go and rest first. You can't help me with anything here."

Zhang Mujin finally had the chance to spend time with Li Heng, and she didn't want to miss it, so she said, "Mujin sees that Your Highness seems to be worried, so please tell me. Mujin may not be able to help, but I will be a good listener."

"Okay." Li Heng did have a lot of worries right now, so he agreed. After thinking for a while, he said, "My most urgent matter recently is that I don't know where to find a large amount of saltpeter."

The three key materials for making black powder are saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal.

Sulfur and charcoal are easier to find now, but saltpeter is more difficult.

Most of the saltpeter used by the Tang people now comes from the ground, corners, and "floor frost" in toilets. There are few large-scale saltpeter mines.

Zhang Mujin listened, thought for a moment, and said, "Your Highness, Mujin knows where there is a large amount of saltpeter."

Li Ying was startled when he heard this and asked hurriedly, "Where is it?"

Zhang Mujin said, "Shanshan County, Xizhou."

Shanshan in the Western Province had a more famous name before, Loulan. Zhang Mujin reminded Li Heng that the largest saltpeter mine in China seemed to be in Shanshan.

Li Heng couldn't help but be a little confused and asked, "How do you know about saltpeter?"

Zhang Mujin explained, "There is also a technique called alchemy in medicine. Mujin has studied medicine since childhood and has studied Sun Simiao's alchemy, so she knows saltpeter."

"Yes." Li Heng reacted and asked, "Then you also know the Fuhuo Sulfur Method?"

"Yeah." Zhang Mujin nodded.

The Fuhuo Sulfur Method was summarized by Sun Simiao. Zhang Mujin has such superb medical skills that he must have studied Sun Simiao a lot.

When Li Heng reacted, he also realized that he paid too little attention to Zhang Mujin.

"Then how do you know there is saltpeter in Shanshan?" Li Heng asked again.

Zhang Mujin said, "After leaving Chang'an four years ago, Mujin traveled with Your Highness. On the way, they passed through Shanshan. In order to make medicine for Your Highness, Mujin went out to collect herbs herself, and she found saltpeter there."

"I see." Li Heng nodded, and then he had a new question: "As my medical officer, if you needed any medicine, you could just ask the government office directly. Why did you have to go and get it yourself?"

"No." Zhang Mujin shook her head. "Some medicines are not available in the government office, and Mujin cannot tell them."

Li Heng asked: "Why can't we tell them?"

Zhang Mujin said: "Because those herbs are not used to treat meridian knots. If others knew about it, I'm afraid... I'm afraid they would be suspicious."

"That's right." Looking at Zhang Mujin, "But you never told me these things."

Zhang Mujin said: "Mujin did this not for the sake of seeking credit, so I didn't tell Your Highness."

Upon hearing this, Li Heng couldn't help but sigh.

For four whole years, this girl did a lot of things for him silently behind his back, but she never used this to seek credit or favor. In the face of his lukewarm attitude, she didn't even complain.

Li Heng couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

He reached out and pulled Zhang Mujin to his side, saying softly, "Thank you for your hard work over the years."

Zhang Mujin shook her head, smiled softly, and said, "It's not hard. These are Mujin's responsibilities. Besides, I can also share the worries of His Highness, which is what Mujin wants."

"Okay." Li Heng stroked Zhang Mujin's face and returned to the topic, saying, "Shanshan County does have saltpeter, but I need saltpeter for an extremely secret matter, and Shanshan is under the jurisdiction of Beiting. If I ask the Beiting Jiedushi for Shanshan's saltpeter, and he asks me what I will use it for, how should I answer?"

Zhang Mujin said: "Saltpeter has medical uses, but if it is only used for medicine, the amount should not be large. I don't know if it has other uses."

"Yes, saltpeter can also be used to make ice!" After Zhang Mujin reminded him, Li Ying remembered.

Before this, Li Ju went to Qujiang to deliver ice and met Yang Yuhuan on the way, and they had a conflict.

If he could use some of the saltpeter to make ice, that would be a great discovery.

"You are so smart!" Li Ying put his arm around Zhang Mujin.

When Zhang Mujin felt Li Ying hugging her, her face immediately turned red and she lowered her head shyly.

Li Heng had solved a big problem and was in a good mood. He saw Zhang Mujin's shy look and said, "Mujin is a flower and also a medicine. Your name is not only nice, but also has a good meaning."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness." Zhang Mujin's voice was so low that it was almost inaudible.

Li Heng said, "You know the Fuhuo Sulfur Method, that's great, what I'm writing is also related to this, you can take a look at it together."

(End of this chapter)