Chapter 265: Fine, I'll Forge It For You
Xu Dafu rolled his eyes. "Still talking about defying gods and slaying Buddhas? Before you spout such arrogance, remember how mighty the Heavenly Lord's power truly is."
Cheng Xu's expression instantly stiffened.
*Oh, damn it!*
That whole "defying gods, slaying Buddhas" bit—it was just a proverb, something that slipped out when he spoke too quickly. He completely forgot that in Gao Family Village, they *actually* had a deity, unlike other places where gods were just empty boasts.
Cheng Xu swiftly cast a glance skyward, spotting a low-hanging cloud a couple hundred meters above his head. That meant... the Heavenly Lord was right there.
"Ah!" Cheng Xu yelped, dropping instantly to his knees. "Heavenly Lord, this humble one spoke carelessly! I didn't mean it that way."
Li Daoxuan wasn't so petty. He chuckled, then unfurled an A4 sheet of paper in the sky. "No harm done! Prepare for battle; the border army has truly arrived this time."
Cheng Xu's spirits soared. So, the border army was truly coming.
He rushed off to rally the militia, preparing for their departure.
He waited quietly for a reprimand, but instead, another large sheet of paper unfurled in the sky: "Not guilty! Well done! You are rewarded."
Being literate, he easily recognized the characters.
A Silver Ball, gleaming brightly, descended from the heavens and landed directly before him.
Xu Dafu stared intently. This... this... wasn't this the very reward he and Ji Menghan had seen three plasterers receive on their first day in Gao Family Village?
This was called, ah, yes, the "Heavenly Lord Special Prize."
At the time, he had been utterly astounded!
He never imagined he'd receive such a thing himself one day. Hahaha!
Xu Dafu nearly roared with laughter, but his face suddenly darkened as a thought struck him. He abruptly darted to the roadside.
He quickly snatched a handful of grass and covered the Silver Ball. He glanced furtively left and right, and only after confirming no one was watching did he breathe a sigh of relief. "Phew! Never flaunt your wealth. If others find out I possess this, what if they try to rob me? I must be cautious, extremely cautious. Don't get carried away with pride, or I might just lose my life."
Li Daoxuan could only shake his head.
Xu Dafu continued, addressing the sky. "Actually, this humble one didn't just make one. This item is quite easy to produce; I managed to put together ten of them in one go. I only brought out one for them to test earlier. Since the Heavenly Lord deems this item acceptable, I'll hand them all over to Instructor He for use against the border army."
Li Daoxuan displayed a new message: "Feasible! Proceed swiftly."
Xu Dafu darted back into the cave and quickly reappeared with a large cloth bag. It was stuffed with dry grass, and nestled among the stalks were nine of the gunpowder balls he'd just created. He handed the entire bag to Cheng Xu. "Instructor He, please count them.
...all nine. When you engage in battle this time, you *must* hear nine explosions. If one is missing, you must find out who secretly kept it and didn't throw it, and make sure to retrieve it. These items cannot be hoarded by militia soldiers; the consequences would be dire indeed."
Cheng Xu reached out and accepted the bag, delighted. "So there are nine more! Hehehe, with these, I don't even think the Heavenly Lord needs to intervene. Just us, we can make the border army weep for their parents!"
Xu Dafu interjected, "Hey, did you hear me? Don't just stand there laughing! Remember, *nine* explosions. You absolutely must hear all nine!"
Cheng Xu scoffed, "Who the hell can count how many firecrackers explode during a battle?"
Gao Chuwu's head suddenly popped out from beside them. "I can!" he declared.
Cheng Xu was speechless.
Meanwhile, Li Daoxuan opened his favorite anonymous history and military forum. He posted: "Hello everyone, I'm back with my perennial Ming Dynasty transmigration question. If I were to transmigrate to the Ming Dynasty, having already developed black powder charges detonated by a fuse, and wanted to evolve them into more potent hand grenades, which model would be the most effective choice?"
Reply 1: "How about a hand-thrown nuclear bomb? Just make sure you throw it far enough so it doesn't blow you up."
Reply 2: "Someone bury the first guy. I don't really get this either. Would a World War stick grenade work? Any gurus out there care to enlighten us?"
Reply 3: "The technology for grenades used in the World Wars is incredibly complex, involving springs, detonators, and various chemicals. You want to produce those in the Ming Dynasty? Do you even have a chemical plant? Stop dreaming. My advice: don't get bogged down with too many elaborate notions. Just mix small iron pellets into the black powder, wrap the exterior of the grenade with thin iron sheeting, and attach a wooden handle at the bottom to aid in throwing it further. Ignite it with a fuse. That's all you need. Overcomplicating it with high-tech designs will only make mass production impossible."
After his post, he also attached a diagram he had personally drawn, illustrating how to construct a black powder hand grenade feasible within the Ming Dynasty.
Reply 4: "Holy cow, who is this genius above me? So damn impressive!"
Reply 5: "Floor 3's advice is solid, but we can't stay so primitive forever. If the opportunity arises, we still need to establish a chemical factory. History, after all, must progress."
Reply 6: "Absolutely, chemistry is a must! With chemical engineering, we get black stockings, and then we can have all the girls on the Qinhuai River dancing in them..."
The collective response was furious: "Where's the admin? That clown is back again!"
Li Daoxuan joined the chorus, cursing "Floor 6" a few times, then thanked "Floor 3," downloaded the image, and printed it, miniaturized, onto a corner of a paper sheet......
Just then, Xu Dafu had finished handing the bombs over to Cheng Xu and was turning to leave. He'd barely taken two steps when he saw something suddenly appear in the sky—
...a colossal sheet of paper, drifting down. It bore a peculiar drawing and a line of text: "Hand Grenade."
"Huh?" Xu Dafu suddenly realized. "This is the Heavenly Lord's blueprint for 'celestial bombs'!"
He sprang forward, snatching and rolling up the paper with lightning speed. He then nervously scanned his surroundings. "Phew, good thing, good thing, only I saw it," he muttered. "If this blueprint were to leak, who knows what kind of havoc would erupt in the world."
Li Daoxuan chuckled. This fellow was as cautious as ever. That was for the best; these Hand Grenades absolutely couldn't fall into the wrong hands. If unauthorized individuals learned to make them and used them against his own people, he'd be absolutely devastated.
Xu Dafu retreated into the Gao Family Village Ordnance Bureau, poring over the blueprint for a good while. Then, he furtively slipped into the Craftsman Well and found Gao Yiyi. "Master Craftsman," he whispered, "I have a commission from the Heavenly Lord; I need some things forged."
Hearing it was a command from the Heavenly Lord, Gao Yiyi naturally assented. "What shall I make?"
Xu Dafu replied, "Tiny iron pellets, very fine grains will suffice. And also, iron casings shaped like this.
He didn't present the blueprint Li Daoxuan had given him to Gao Yiyi. Instead, he sketched the iron casing of a Hand Grenade himself, illustrating only the exterior shell and none of its internal mechanisms.
Gao Yiyi studied the drawing. "A thin iron canister, slightly smaller than a fist? What's this for? To hold water?"
Xu Dafu shook his head. "I can't tell you what it's for, but it's something the Heavenly Lord requires."
Gao Yiyi gave a wry chuckle, "Still keeping secrets from me, huh? Alright, alright, I'll forge it for you, I'll forge whatever you need. Is that good enough?"
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