While Li Daoxuan was busy subtly transforming the county seat into a reflection of Gao Village...
Several li from Gao Village, in a small mountain cave.
Xu Dafu, Director of the Ordnance Bureau, crawled out of the cave entrance with an exhausted look.
Though he seemed to have lost a few pounds, his eyes sparkled with joy. The moment he stepped out, he raised his hands to the sky and laughed heartily. "Hahaha! I succeeded! I finally succeeded!"
He had barely laughed twice when a man's voice rang out from the hillside behind him. "Succeeded at what?"
(The speaker's identity is intentionally concealed with the alias "Instructor He" - "禾教習" is a cover name.)
This nearly scared Xu Dafu to death. He turned to see the masked militia instructor, He. Only then did he relax. "Instructor He, are you trying to scare me to death? What are you doing scaring me out here in the middle of nowhere?"
Cheng Xu (the real man behind the "Instructor He" mask) rolled his eyes. "Who has time to scare you? I'm training the militia in mountain marching. How was I supposed to know you were holed up in this cave? What did you research that's got you so excited?"
Xu Dafu looked behind him and saw, sure enough, the entire militia was there, all looking quite tired and taking a rest.
"Heh!" Xu Dafu said. "What I'm researching is exactly what your militia will use in the future. No harm in telling you."
Cheng Xu became interested. "Oh? Let's see it."
Xu Dafu opened his hand to reveal a small, round ball.
Cheng Xu couldn't make sense of it. Neither could the militia on the hillside.
Gao Chuwu grinned widely. "Is it something tasty?"
Zheng Daniu: "Looks like a big candy ball."
Gao Chuwu: "I could eat two in one bite."
Zheng Daniu: "If you can eat two, I can eat three."
Gao Chuwu: "If you eat three, I'll eat four."
Cheng Xu snapped, "Shut up! What's there to compare? How could you eat something Xu Dafu made? It'd blow your teeth out at best."
The two quickly shut their mouths.
Xu Dafu chuckled. "Heh, I was just about to test if this thing works. Move back, I'm going to try it."
Cheng Xu waved his hand, and the militia retreated further.
Once Xu Dafu confirmed the distance was safe, he threw the small ball in his hand at a rock ahead with all his might...
The small ball hit the rock—BOOM!—and exploded. The blast wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, but it kicked up a huge cloud of dust and sent paper shreds from the ball's casing flying everywhere.
Cheng Xu and the militia were all startled, ducking back. Many covered their heads and crouched.
The two idiots who had talked about eating candy balls immediately covered their mouths with their massive hands, thinking, What would happen if we ate that?
Xu Dafu laughed triumphantly. "Hahahaha! Success! Success! I've finally made something that explodes on impact!"
Cheng Xu cautiously peeked over. "This thing... without lighting a fuse, you just throw it, and it explodes when it hits something?"
Xu Dafu puffed out his chest proudly. "That's right. Hits and boom."
Cheng Xu: "Holy mother of... wouldn't that be unbelievably powerful? In a battle, my men just flick their wrists, each throwing one of these. Wouldn't that blow the enemy to kingdom come?" (The original idiom "炸得哭爹喊娘" - "炸得哭爹喊娘" - means to bomb someone until they're crying for their parents, a vivid description of utter devastation.)
Xu Dafu also grinned. "Yep, could definitely be used that way."
Cheng Xu was delighted. "Then what are you waiting for? Make ten for each of my men. Make each one bigger, fist-sized. That'd be really powerful when it blows, hahahaha!"
Xu Dafu shook his head. "Unfortunately, it can't be used that way. Let me ask you: how do you get these ten impact-sensitive balls to the battlefield?"
Cheng Xu: "Hang them from your belt..."
He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing the problem.
Hanging them from a belt was definitely not reliable. If these things exploded on impact, what if someone tripped during the march? Wouldn't they blow themselves up?
Cheng Xu's face instantly turned awkward. "This... seems... indeed not feasible."
Xu Dafu nodded. "To get this thing to the battlefield requires extreme caution. Use a large box filled with cotton wool, place a single large ball in the cotton. That's the only safe way to transport it—one ball per box... Even on the battlefield, before throwing it, you have to handle it carefully. The soldier carrying it can't trip or bump into anything... He has to carry it like a grandson escorting his grandpa to a spot very close to the enemy before throwing it..."
He sighed with a hint of regret. "That makes it rather impractical."
After listening, Cheng Xu also nodded. Indeed, not very practical.
But then he had another thought. "Then don't use this impact-sensitive bomb. Use a fuse-lit bomb. Take off this impact-trigger mechanism and replace it with a fuse. Then you won't have to worry about it exploding on the way. Soldiers can easily carry it to the battlefield, light the fuse, and throw it at the enemy."
Hearing this, Xu Dafu spread his hands. "That's just a gunpowder satchel. They've had those since the Song Dynasty, but they're very inconvenient to use. If the bomb is too big, it's heavy and can't be thrown far. If it's too small, you can throw it far, but the blast is weak. Limited practicality."
Cheng Xu turned and pointed at Gao Chuwu and Zheng Daniu. "How far do you think these two oafs can throw a big bomb?"
Xu Dafu's eyes lit up again. "I see! Heh, with these two around, gunpowder satchels might just work. I'm heading back into the cave. Don't come in. And take your men, get far away. Do not come near."
Cheng Xu: "Wouldn't dream of it. Your touch-and-boom bombs are damn dangerous. I'd rather die than get near your little cave."
The militia quickly withdrew to a safe distance.
Xu Dafu, meanwhile, pondered what Cheng Xu had said. He set aside the impact-sensitive bomb for now. Using some regular black powder, he wrapped it into a bundle, encased it in black oiled paper to form a black ball, and attached a fuse. In his mind, he simulated lighting the fuse and throwing it... felt pretty good.
Then he considered the balance between weight and power. The bomb couldn't be too big or too small. After careful calculation, making it about the size of a fist seemed appropriate...
Huh? Wait a minute?
He suddenly snapped awake. I was clearly tasked by the Tianzun to research percussion caps. How did my research target get so derailed?
(Like a programmer assigned to fix a bug who ends up writing an entirely new, shiny feature instead. The research tree has branched.)
---
Baishui County...
The real Guyuan rebel army was camped in a forest about twenty li from the county town. Guerrilla General Li Ying was tied tightly to a dead tree.
Li Ying had the worst luck imaginable. (The phrase "倒了八輩子的黴" is a common hyperbolic curse meaning "cursed for eight lifetimes," used for extreme misfortune.) Spared by Li Daoxuan, he had fled headlong only to run straight into the actual Guyuan rebels, where he was promptly captured alive.
The rebel leader was a Qianhu commander, a mid-ranking military officer of the fifth grade. His real name was discarded; he had given himself the nickname "Northern Water Dragon."
Northern Water Dragon shot a fierce glare at Li Ying, then turned to his deputy. "Scout report clear? Which direction is easiest?"
The deputy whispered, "South gets us too close to Xi'an. If we really attack Xi'an, it's suicide. East is better. This useless Li Ying came from the east. Since we've already crushed him, there must be no government troops left to the east."
Northern Water Dragon nodded. "East of Baishui County... Chengcheng County, right? Good. Then the whole army will move out. Let's go to Chengcheng County to... requisition some military funds." (A classic euphemism for pillaging.)