lThe "snap pop" firecracker Li Daoxuan took out was the common paper-wrapped kind, a small ball less than a centimeter in diameter—about the same size as a miniature's height.
Placed before Xu Dafu, it was a large ball roughly the height of a man.
Xu Dafu took one look and a sniff, immediately understanding. "Ah? Such a large ball of gunpowder? This… this thing would have a terrifying power if it exploded."
(Ming Context: The snap pop is a type of impact-sensitive firework, a simple but clever application of chemistry. The explosive mixture often contains gravel or sand coated with a tiny amount of silver fulminate or red phosphorus, substances that detonate upon friction or impact—a rudimentary precursor to the principle behind modern percussion caps.)
"The power is secondary. The key is its detonation method. Watch closely."
With that, Li Daoxuan tapped the "North" button twice, shifting his view several hundred meters away from Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu, selecting a deserted, empty patch of land.
This distance was certainly safe from harming the two, yet they could still see it from the hilltop.
Li Daoxuan threw the snap pop hard towards the empty ground…
Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu only saw the man-sized ball they had just witnessed fall from the sky and hit the ground. The moment it landed—BOOM—it exploded.
The power was truly terrifying. Flames shot skyward, thick smoke billowed, rocks and debris flew everywhere. All the surrounding valleys echoed with a prolonged, buzzing roar.
Gao Yiye cried out in fright, falling back onto her rear.
Xu Dafu also stumbled back a couple of steps in shock. Fortunately, they were far enough away; the blast's force didn't reach them.
After a while, the echoes from the explosion in the valleys slowly faded.
Li Daoxuan moved his view back above Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu. "Did you see clearly?"
Gao Yiye: "Such enormous power!"
But Xu Dafu said, "There was no ignition! That large gunpowder egg had no ignition. It fell from the sky and exploded the instant it hit the ground. There was no fuse."
Li Daoxuan praised, "Sharp observation. Correct, this thing had no ignition. So how did it explode?"
Xu Dafu might not have guessed otherwise. But he had just been discussing the idea of "two knives striking together, igniting on impact" with Li Da. Now, seeing Tianzun deliberately demonstrate this for him, he instantly understood.
"This large gunpowder egg ignited at the moment it struck the ground. It ignites from impact!" Xu Dafu was overjoyed. "I understand! The percussion cap can use this technique. The firing pin in Li Da's new firearm… is used to strike and ignite such a cap!"
Li Daoxuan was very pleased. Excellent, excellent. These miniatures are really clever.
"Alright, you've seen it. I'll take you back to the Firearms Bureau now."
Li Daoxuan's giant hand descended again. Gao Yiye and Xu Dafu climbed onto the palm. Whoosh! They were back in front of the Gao Village Firearms Bureau.
After setting them down, Li Daoxuan took out another snap pop and gently placed it before Xu Dafu. "This object is now yours to research. Open it up yourself, figure out why it explodes on impact, then apply its technology to make the percussion cap."
"Wow!" Xu Dafu yelped. "We can't just leave this thing that explodes on touch at the Firearms Bureau entrance! Too dangerous, far too dangerous! What if some clumsy apprentice runs over and bumps into it? It would detonate!"
Li Daoxuan: "…"
Xu Dafu looked up urgently. "Tianzun, I beg you, place me and this immortal gunpowder egg in an uninhabited cave. Let me, alone, without any disturbance, carefully open it, disarm the mechanism that makes it explode on impact, and then move it back to the Firearms Bureau. Otherwise, it's far too dangerous!"
"Hahaha, alright." Li Daoxuan laughed. "My Firearms Bureau Chief is truly the epitome of caution."
He placed Xu Dafu and the snap pop in a small, deserted cave, letting him research on his own…
Gao Yiye could now go about her own business, skipping happily back to the village.
Li Daoxuan patrolled the skies above Gao Village. San Shi'er managed the village's miscellaneous affairs in perfect order. Shopkeeper Wang and the other teachers took good care of the children at the school.
Zhao Sheng was in Refugee Valley, discussing with villagers from Qingjian County about clearing more wasteland to plant additional corn.
Cheng Xu was diligently training the militia, fresh from their victory.
Good. The village now operates with very strong self-sufficiency. Even if I don't check in for a short while, it should be fine. Better to focus on the county town. The current strategic priority is converting all the 'wild' miniatures in the county town into 'our' miniatures.
He tapped the "Chengcheng County Town" label outside the box. His perspective instantly shifted to the county town.
A strange atmosphere now pervaded the county town.
The refugees on the streets were no longer listless and lifeless. Instead, they were passing around and reading picture-books—yes, the Tale of the Daoist Mystic Tianzun Vanquishing Demons picture-books.
After the "buy a book, get flour" promotion had run for some time, the book had basically spread throughout the county town. Most people now knew of Daoist Mystic Tianzun's deeds, though of course, not most believed.
Unlike the refugees' focus, Magistrate Liang Shixian, Fang Wushang, and the large group of gentry and wealthy households they had summoned at the county yamen were concerned with the "Guyuan rebels."
Fang Wushang said with a dark face, "Gentlemen, Guerrilla General Li Ying was trash. He didn't even dare to engage the Guyuan rebels, fleeing before the fight. We just received word: that idiot Li Ying, after fleeing into Baishui County, was intercepted head-on by another group of Guyuan rebels and captured alive."
The gentry's faces turned ugly. "Li Ying still didn't escape after all?"
Li Daoxuan also smiled: I let him go, but he got caught by the real Guyuan rebels? Well, that's called 'the net of heaven is vast; its meshes are wide, but nothing escapes.'
A county gentry from Fengyuan Town said, "From what I saw, those Guyuan rebels seemed quite disciplined. They only fought Li Ying and didn't harm us common folk in Fengyuan Town. Perhaps they really are just here to demand their hard-earned back wages and will leave."
Liang Shixian shook his head. "The Guyuan rebel force that came to Fengyuan Town numbered only five hundred and emerged from Huanglong Mountain. But the intelligence we received states the Guyuan rebels still have a thousand men active in the Jing River and Fuping areas. This means the Guyuan rebel army has already split into multiple groups, operating in several locations simultaneously. The discipline of these separate rebel forces cannot be uniform. One group might not loot, but another might—that's entirely possible."
The gentry were startled. This made sense.
"We still need to make preparations for defense." Patrol Officer Fang Wushang said. "But as everyone saw at Fengyuan Town, the combat prowess of the Guyuan rebels is incomparable to bandits. Forget our local militia; even the official troops led by Guerrilla Li Ying were no match for the Guyuan rebels… Ai…"