Li Sheng stood on his tiptoes, stretching his neck as far as it would go, looking at the mahogany box in Xu Qinghuan's hand.
Then, the lid was lifted.
Inside lay three dark iron lumps, about the size of fists, their surfaces rough and pitted, emitting a pungent smell of sulfur.
Xu Zhan leaned in for a look and immediately looked disgusted. "Little sister, aren't these just burnt black taros from under the stove? Why treat them like precious treasures and keep them in a mahogany box?"
Old Wu also reached out, picked one up, weighed it in his hand, and said doubtfully, "Lord Xu, this is too light. If you smashed it on someone's skull, it would at most raise a green bump. It's not even as useful as the stone locks we use for strength training by the drill ground."
Xu Qinghuan glanced at the two of them and threw the iron lump back into the box. "This thing is called a thunder jar, specifically designed to deal with the fast horses and heavy blades of the barbarian cavalry on the grasslands."
"A thunder jar?" Xu Zhan dug out another one, turning it over and over in his hands. He flicked his fingernail against the iron shell a few times, producing a dull, solid sound. "This iron thing can break cavalry? I don't think it could even kill a running wild dog."
Li Sheng chimed in from the side, "Eldest Miss, did we get scammed by that sly old blacksmith? Is this just scrap metal swept up from the floor?"
Xu Qinghuan didn't say another word. She picked up the wooden box and walked straight out. "Go to the wasteland by the drill ground. Li Sheng, go to the rear camp's supply office and fetch two old, sick horses that died and started stinking yesterday."
Li Sheng's eyes widened. "Why fetch dead horses?"
"As targets."
...
The abandoned wasteland by the drill ground was overgrown with weeds half a person tall. When the wind blew, the grass spikes rustled loudly.
A few new recruits practicing spearmanship saw the Imperial Envoy walking over holding a box. They all stopped what they were doing and stretched their necks to see the novelty.
Xu Zhan waved his hand, driving the spectating foot soldiers away, shouting, "Get lost and make some room! Lord Xu is going to test new military equipment!"
Li Sheng called for some helpers, dragged the two stiff horse corpses to the center of the wasteland, and, following Xu Qinghuan's instructions, piled a circle of dry grass stalks and broken wooden boards around them.
Xu Qinghuan took a thunder jar from the box and pulled a fire stick from her sleeve pocket with her other hand.
Seeing this, Old Wu felt his scalp tighten and took two steps back. "My Lord, will this iron lump really explode?"
"If it doesn't explode, would I use it to press down a pickle vat?"
Xu Qinghuan blew on the fire stick and brought it straight to the short fuse at the bottom of the thunder jar. With a fizzing sound, the tip of the fuse suddenly shot out sparks.
"Everyone step back!" Xu Qinghuan shouted, swinging her arm in a full circle and throwing the smoking iron bomb toward the center of the wasteland.
The iron lump tumbled through the air a few times and landed in the dry grass nest less than three feet from the horse corpses.
The fuse was still fizzing and spitting sparks.
Xu Zhan stood with his hands on his hips, his thick eyebrows furrowed, curling his lips in disdain. "Is that it?"
Just as his words fell.
A loud bang erupted from the flat ground.
The massive impact shook the drill ground's surface three times in succession.
A pillar of fire shot up in the center of the wasteland, sending mud, gravel, and splintered wood flying into the air.
The two heavy dead horse corpses were actually torn into several large pieces by the blast wave.
Blood mixed with charred, mangled flesh rained down, covering Li Sheng, who was standing closest, in bloody mud from head to toe.
The pungent smell of burning mixed with the scent of saltpeter and sulfur was blown back by the wind. The new recruits watching from the outer edge were choked so badly they bent over, clutching their throats and retching.
Li Sheng's legs went soft, and he couldn't stand. He plopped down into a dirt pit, watching a large wet patch spread across his crotch. His lips trembled wildly for a long time before he squeezed out a faint sound: "Mother... mother..."
The biggest reaction, however, came from Xu Zhan.
He stood frozen to the spot at first, then suddenly jumped and cried out, rushing forward recklessly.
In two or three steps, he threw himself to the edge of the wasteland, looking down at the blast crater half a Zhang wide with a charred bottom, his hands waving excitedly and erratically in the air.
"This, this, this... this was made by that burnt taro piece?"
Xu Zhan grabbed Xu Qinghuan's sleeve.
"Little sister! How many more of these deadly treasures do we have? Can the armory fire up the furnaces overnight and make eighty or a hundred of them? With this great killing weapon, when I lead a team to the grasslands to raid, it won't be called robbing, it'll be called picking up free heads!"
Xu Qinghuan pulled her arm back in disgust and brushed off the yellow dirt that had rubbed onto it. "Who was it just now boasting that this was scrap from under the stove?"
Xu Zhan, thick-skinned and unafraid, slapped the outside of his thigh with the back of his hand, making a loud smack.
"You didn't tell us the truth either! If you had mentioned earlier that this thing could send a dead horse flying to the heavens, I would have enshrined it in front of the ancestral tablets just now!"
Li Sheng finally managed to prop himself up, his legs trembling uncontrollably, complaining tearfully, "Miss, next time you pull this kind of deadly stunt, could you give us a heads-up? You scared half my soul away just now!"
"Weren't you just clamoring that this was scrap copper and rotten iron?"
"I was just talking nonsense! I was blind and didn't recognize the real deal!" Li Sheng slapped himself twice, then couldn't resist his curiosity. Dragging his feet, he slipped to the edge of the pit and peered inside. "Heavens, this big crater wouldn't feel crowded even if you buried two big bulls in it."
The commotion was too great, and the soldiers around the drill ground gathered in droves, all squeezing outside the fence, craning their necks. The sound of their gossip couldn't be covered up.
"What was that noise just now? Did a mountain collapse?"
"I heard the Imperial Envoy created a divine machine cannon from the previous dynasty!"
"A divine machine cannon! Could a catapult smash such a flat, big black crater?"
While the voices were boiling over, there was a rapid sound of armor plates rubbing together from the direction of the camp gate.
The Commander-in-Chief, General Tie Lanshan, wearing a stern expression, strode in leading a squad of saber-wearing personal guards. It was clear he had been alarmed by the loud noise and thought the main camp was under attack.
Tie Lanshan strode to the edge of the crater and stopped, then raised his eyes to sweep over the scattered horse meat remains around.
"Lord Xu, what exploded here?"
Xu Qinghuan unhurriedly reopened the mahogany box, picked up a thunder jar with two fingers, and handed it over. "An iron shell with a patina, filled with saltpeter, strong powder, and broken iron caltrops inside. Once the fuse is lit and it leaves your hand, wherever it lands is a dead end."
Tie Lanshan took the thunder jar, weighing it repeatedly in his palm. His gaze swept over the scorched earth, and the rhythm of his breathing faltered. "This object can really break the barbarian's large army formations?"
"It's born to counter cavalry." Xu Qinghuan pointed to the shattered iron scraps at the edge of the crater. "Once this shell breaks, the iron fragments pierce densely in all directions."
"Light cavalry without heavy armor will lose their lives on the spot; as for heavy cavalry, even if the men are wearing heavy armor, the warhorses beneath them absolutely cannot withstand this kind of thunderous sound."
"Once the horses are spooked, even the toughest cavalry formation is useless."
Tie Lanshan earnestly returned the thunder jar, rubbing his old hands together, and quickly turned around to ask the Armory Supervisor who had followed him, "Manager Zhou, can the armory's furnaces rush this batch of goods?"
Manager Zhou was a veteran who had worked his hair white in this trade. He squinted and looked around, shaking his head continuously:
"Commander, this iron shell outside is easy to hammer out, but we don't have the foundation for the gunpowder formula inside."
"We also have to make new mud molds. We definitely won't be able to produce the first batch within ten days or half a month."
The eagerness on Tie Lanshan's face immediately cooled by half.
Xu Qinghuan casually put the thunder jar back into the box and locked it. "Manager Zhou is a sensible man."
"If this item is really to be distributed as standard issue, delays and slacking are inevitable."
"These three are just our entire stock, hastily cobbled together from the scrap materials sent by Luoxia Valley."
"Right now, there isn't even half of one left."
"Only three left?" Xu Zhan became anxious upon hearing this. "Is that even enough to fill the gaps in our teeth? If we run into a tough crowd, a casual toss and we'll be left with nothing!"
"They are for a last resort to save your life, why would you need so many?" Xu Qinghuan explained in a low voice. "The raid camp's mission this time is hit-and-run guerrilla warfare, avoiding head-on clashes."
"These fire-thunder canisters are saved for when you are forced to the edge of a cliff with no way out, to forge a path of blood."
Xu Qinghuan clearly explained the key points of practical operation: "Remember the trick to throwing this thunder canister."
"Don't throw it into a crowd of people."
"Throw it directly under the hooves of the leading warhorses! The explosive charge will blow up the hooves, and when the barbarians fall into the mud, they will be nothing but sitting ducks waiting to be slaughtered."
Xu Zhan nodded heavily, engraving every word into his heart.
Tie Lanshan pondered for a moment on the side, still unable to let go of the fat piece of meat in front of him:
"Lord Xu, since guerrilla warfare doesn't consume much, please write down the formula for this fire-thunder canister first."
"I will have Manager Zhou requisition the best wrought iron from the storehouse. I'll arrange all the men and materials needed. We can slowly make them at home ourselves, so at least we have something to look forward to."
After thinking for a moment, Xu Qinghuan nodded in agreement: "Within ten days, I will give the formula to Manager Zhou."
"Settled!" Tie Lanshan straightened his body and slapped Manager Zhou hard on the back with his large hand. "Did you hear that! Even if you have to burn the blacksmith shop to the ground these ten days, you must get the place ready for me!"
Xu Qinghuan originally wanted to use the name of Luoxia Valley as a cover, but it seemed she had to reveal herself after all.
However... regarding such items, when they headed north back then, the old emperor probably already had an idea in his heart.
...
As night fell, the cold was biting.
On the weathered gate tower of Zhenbei Pass, pine oil torches crackled in the wind, their flames licking the mottled brick crevices.
Below the muster platform in the training ground, fifty light cavalrymen of the raid camp had silently formed a long snake formation.
Every single one was a fierce and capable veteran, each with two horses.
Both sides of the horses' backs were hung with light bows and short blades, with leather water skins and dried meat packed tightly.
The horses' hooves had long been thickly wrapped in coarse sackcloth, and all the warhorses were biting iron bits. Not a single loud neigh could be heard across the field. The grim atmosphere of impending slaughter was suffocating.
Xu Qinghuan stood on the high platform and personally handed the weighty mahogany box into Xu Zhan's hands.
"Three lives in total, use them sparingly."
Xu Zhan held the box with one hand and lifted his chin toward the stage below: "Put your heart in your stomach. Your second brother will treat it like my own father. Unless we meet the real King of Hell, this thunder will absolutely not sound."
After speaking, he instructed the crowd: "Repeat the military rules."
"Do not be greedy for battle, do not covet gold and silver. Any livestock and grain that cannot be taken away, burn it all to ashes!"
The crowd responded loudly: "Understood!"
Tie Lanshan strode down the stone steps of the city tower, his gaze sweeping from the soldiers at the front all the way to the back of the line.
Looking at this group of straight-backed men, Tie Lanshan didn't waste words on idle chatter. He only dropped a stiff oath: "Come back with all your arms and legs, and I will personally pour wine for you at the Commander-in-Chief's mansion!"
The fifty men raised their arms and cupped their fists in unison.
Old Wu leaped onto his horse. His one good eye gleamed dimly under the torchlight as he reported: "The northwest wind is blowing. The Helian hidden sentries won't be able to smell our sweat."
Xu Zhan carefully tied the long mahogany box tightly to the outside of his saddle. With a tap of his toes in the stirrups, he executed a neat flip and sat steadily on horseback, his right hand gripping the reins.
"Pass the checkpoint!"
The clumsy city gates let out a dull, teeth-setting creak, opening a gap just wide enough for two horses to ride abreast.
The fifty light cavalrymen quietly scattered under the cover of night, their horses' hooves stepping on the rammed earth road.
They only stirred up a very shallow layer of night dust, blending into the boundless night of the prairie in an instant.
Li Sheng leaned over the battlements of the city wall, looking at the pitch-black night sky to the north: "Miss, how much good stuff can the Second Young Master and the others bring back this time?"
The night wind swept up the stray hairs at Xu Qinghuan's temples, brushing against her cheek.
"Whether they loot a lot or a little has no bearing on the big picture." She looked toward the north. "This trip out is just to teach those princes and nobles on the prairie a lesson."
"From now on, the Great Qian can also be the dealer in this business of raiding for supplies."
No one had noticed that, taking advantage of the night and the time spent inspecting the horse gear.
Xu Qinghuan had already stuffed two hidden pouches with tightly sewn leather openings into the bottom saddlebags of Xu Zhan's jujube-red horse.
Meanwhile.
Deep in the prairie hundreds of miles away, at the edge of the vast royal camp of the Right Luli Prince of the Helian tribe.
Bayan was cracking a soft cowhide whip, lashing the slow-starting wooden shafts of the cargo carts, urging this supply convoy to drive into the night.
