Chapter 798

The spring breeze carried a faint fragrance of peach blossoms from outside the imperial study.

After seeing Princess Pingyang off, Xiao Ming stretched his body lazily. A month had passed since his return from Shanhai Pass, and Qingzhou Province was now bursting with spring vitality.

Looking at the peach trees outside, full of crimson blossoms in the setting sun, Xiao Ming prepared to wrap up his day’s state affairs and return.

At this point, Qian Dafu came scurrying over, “Your Majesty, Lu Tong and Chen Qi request an audience!”

“They?” Xiao Ming showed an interested expression. He said, “Let them in. If both of them are here, they must have something new.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Qian Dafu also had a smile on his face. In fact, compared to people like Pang Yukun, he preferred people like Chen Qi, because they always brought good news.

Qian Dafu responded and left. Soon after, Chen Qi and Lu Tong entered the imperial study.

The two looked excited. After bowing, they said, “Your Majesty, the fuse is complete!”

“I knew you two would bring good news when you came,” Xiao Ming said to Qian Dafu. Qian Dafu also smiled cheerfully.

Chen Qi and Lu Tong exchanged smiles. Chen Qi then took out a small, stick-like object. “Your Majesty, this is the trigger-type mechanical fuse.”

Lu Tong explained, “The success of this fuse this time is largely thanks to the percussion cap. After Chen Qi and I pondered for a while, we realized that the principle of the fuse is similar to that of the percussion cap; it just needs an external force to strike the fulminate of mercury. So, we installed a firing pin outside the primer tube that contains the fulminate of mercury. As long as an external force strikes the firing pin cap, the firing pin will strike the fulminate of mercury, which then ignites the explosive in the fuse, thereby igniting the cannonball.”

Carefully taking the fuse, Xiao Ming examined it closely and was very satisfied.

The fuse Chen Qi gave him was a thin metal cylinder, with a metal cap containing a firing pin on its outside.

Opening the metal cap revealed a slender spring inside. This was to ensure that the fuse would not explode due to accidental operation.

In the middle of the spring was a priming device similar to a percussion cap. When the firing pin cap was struck, the firing pin would descend and ignite the fulminate of mercury. At this point, the fuse would cause the cannonball to explode.

Previously, the difficulty of fuses lay in the spring and fulminate of mercury. Now that Qingzhou Province’s industry could produce these two items, the manufacturing of fuses also became natural.

However, compared to modern fuses, trigger-type fuses had a relatively high failure rate. If the point of impact was incorrect, it could very likely result in a dud.

But even so, the birth of the fuse was epoch-making, because besides being used in cannonballs, fuses could also be used in landmines.

Thinking of this, a very sinister idea suddenly occurred to Xiao Ming. For trigger-type fuses, a cannonball formed by enclosing it in a spherical hollow shell was actually no different from a landmine.

One needed to be launched and strike, while the other needed to be stepped on. The real difference was only in sensitivity, which simply required reducing the spring’s force.

He said, “You are to immediately manufacture a batch of hollow cannonballs with fuses installed for the Pingzhou City front line. I will order Lu Fei to attack the city one month later.”

Chen Qi and Lu Tong exchanged glances. The sinister look on Xiao Ming’s face made their hearts tremble. The two responded with a “Yes.”

After seeing them off, Xiao Ming’s face showed a strange smile. In fact, landmines had been recorded in historical books long ago.

The earliest records can be traced back to 1130, when the Jin army attacked Shanzhou during the Song Dynasty. At that time, the Song army used gunpowder bombs buried in the ground, which were iron-cased landmines, causing heavy casualties to the Jin army.

By the early Ming Dynasty, true landmines with mechanical firing devices appeared in the Great Ming. According to the “Huolong Jing” (Fire Dragon Manual) written by Jiao Yu in 1413, it was recorded: “Detonating cannonballs are cast from raw iron, hollow, filled with pounded medicine, inserted into small bamboo tubes, with a fuse thread running inside. A long thread is run through a fire groove on the outside. Choose the enemy’s inevitable path, bury dozens in pits, connect the medicine groove to a steel wheel, cover with earth, so the enemy does not know. When stepped on, it triggers the mechanism, shaking up, iron pieces fly like mad, and flames surge to the sky.”

The landmines recorded in this classic possessed the characteristics of contemporary pressure-activated landmines. However, these landmines used a steel wheel and flint friction for ignition, similar to the principle of a lighter, and their reliability was still somewhat poor.

In Europe, landmines also began to appear in fortress defense battles in the 15th century. However, it was only after the mid-19th century, with the emergence of various high explosives and detonation technologies, that landmines were widely used in warfare.

The fuses that Chen Qi and Lu Tong had now produced were basically close to 19th-century fuses. Manufacturing landmines with such fuses would be much more reliable.

During the attack on Pingzhou, the Great Yu Empire army was constantly hampered by cavalry. This time, perhaps they could experiment with landmines.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming became increasingly expectant.

After a brief period of solitary thought, Xiao Ming returned to his bedchamber before the sky completely darkened.

At this time, Fei Yuer was closely following Xiao Yi, who was clumsily learning to walk. Xiao Yi was now one year and three months old, precisely at the age of learning to walk.

Seeing Xiao Ming arrive, Xiao Yi’s small face was full of smiles, letting out clear laughter as he pounced towards Xiao Ming.

Cui Xue’er, along with Lu Luo and Ziyuan, stood nearby, all smiling at the sight.

“Your Majesty went to Shanhai Pass, and after returning, Xiao Yi seems to be even more clingy to Your Majesty,” Ziyuan said, her face beaming.

Lu Luo said, “Indeed. Now he doesn’t even bother with us.”

Cui Xue’er was also now familiar with the palace environment. She played mahjong with the three of them daily, and their relationship had become as close as sisters, no longer having the melancholic mood she had when she first entered the palace.

She glanced at Xiao Ming. “But Your Majesty is busy with state affairs and rarely gets to accompany Yi’er. It would be nice if he had an imperial prince of his age to accompany him.”

As her words fell, Lu Luo and Ziyuan both looked at Xiao Ming, their eyes bold and fiery.

They and Xiao Ming had already shared the intimacy of husband and wife, so they were naturally not as shy as young girls. They spoke of this matter as if it were perfectly natural.

Fei Yuer, hearing this, smiled, “You all are shameless! Don’t scare His Majesty away.”

Xiao Ming was somewhat helpless. Now he finally experienced the difference between a young girl and a young woman, but it was truly a joyful pain.

After laughing and playing with the four for a while, Xiao Ming noticed a beautiful jade pendant hanging around Xiao Yi’s neck. He asked, “Where did this come from? Why have I never seen it?”

Fei Yuer said, “Today, the Prince of Yong’s consort entered the palace to visit the Empress Dowager, and then came here to visit me. When she left, she gave this jade pendant to Yi’er.”

“The Prince of Yong’s consort.” Xiao Ming raised his eyebrows. “The Prince of Yong’s consort never comes without a purpose. This visit must surely be for something she desires.”

“The great victory in Pingzhou, Your Majesty’s defeat of the barbarians, and your overwhelming prestige within the Great Yu Empire must have made the Prince of Yong feel uneasy,” Fei Yuer said.

Xiao Ming nodded lightly. The Prince of Yong’s consort entering the palace at this time, it was clear to any discerning eye that it was no coincidence. Since the Prince of Yong’s consort first went to the Empress Dowager, the answer was probably with her.

As the two conversed, Cui Xue’er’s eyes flickered, and she lowered her head.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair