Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 421 Trial of the Cannon, Vermilion Bird Guard
"Help me up, I want to pass on my Cultivation Technique to Ru Yan."
The slightly frail voice of Grand Dowager Yue echoed in the room, causing everyone to tremble. Then, a realization dawned on them, and they all showed expressions of grief.
The Yue Family, descendants of the Nanyue Kingdom’s Royal Family, possess royal bloodline. Since ancient times, a Secret Technique has been passed down within the Nanyue Kingdom’s Royal Family, which only direct descendants can inherit.
This allows a Divine Power Realm or higher Martial Artist to transmit their cultivation to the next generation. Using this Secret Technique, the loss does not exceed thirty percent.
Grandmaster Yue is a Third-Grade Martial Artist, while Yue Ruyan is Fourth-Grade.
If she accepts the transmission from Grand Dowager Yue, she can leap to become an Upper Third-Grade Martial Artist.
However, the person who transmits will die immediately after completing the transmission.
Therefore, the Upper Grade Martial Artists of the Yue Family throughout history only pass their cultivation to the next generation when they are nearing their end.
Yue Ruyan’s mother and grandmother have average talent; transmitting to Yue Ruyan is the best choice.
"No, Ru Yan doesn’t want it. Great-grandmother, you will surely pull through." Yue Ruyan’s voice was low.
"Ru Yan, good child." Grand Dowager Yue gently stroked Yue Ruyan’s cheek with her dry hand and said, "I believe you can lead the Yue Family out of the current predicament, but I won’t be able to witness it..."
"Great-grandmother..." Yue Ruyan’s eyes finally became moist.
"Help me up," Grandmaster Yue said to Yue Ruyan’s grandmother.
Yue Ruyan’s grandmother quickly helped the Dowager up; she had already become a weeping mess.
"Ru Yan, come up," Grandmaster Yue said.
"Great-grandmother..." Yue Ruyan hesitated.
"Come up." Compared to the gentle tone towards Yue Ruyan’s grandmother, Grandmaster Yue’s tone towards Yue Ruyan was extremely tender.
Yue Ruyan obediently got on the bed and sat cross-legged.
Grand Dowager Yue sat behind Yue Ruyan, her expression solemn, circulating her entire Cultivation Technique, her robes stirred. At this moment, she seemed far from a person nearing her end; even young women didn’t have her spirited demeanor.
Grand Dowager Yue raised her hands, her palms heating up, with a faint white mist emerging.
"Ru Yan, relax..."
After a gentle reminder, Grandmaster Yue gently pressed her palms against Yue Ruyan’s back.
...
Grand Dowager Yue passed away.
At the moment she finished transmitting to Yue Ruyan, she closed her eyes completely, unable to awaken despite any calls.
Yue Ruyan advanced to become a Divine Power Realm Martial Artist, yet there wasn’t a trace of a smile on her face.
After burying Grandmaster Yue, Yue Ruyan immediately returned to the frontline. At this moment, her gaze was filled with intense killing intent.
Just then, a piece of good news reached Yue Ruyan’s ears.
Prince Huai dispatched troops to reinforce Longyou.
...
Linzhou.
Chen Mo felt like an idiot.
Truly.
Because he suddenly recalled that traditional Chinese cannons did not have the Flower Bullet, meaning a type of projectile that would explode upon impact.
In the late Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese introduced the Red Coat Cannon, which did have Flower Bullets accompanying it, but at that time, manufacturing Flower Bullets was complex and unreliable, mainly due to the lack of a reliable fuse, making it hard to precisely control the timing of the explosion.
Sometimes the cannonball would explode as soon as it left the barrel, sometimes it would explode long after hitting the ground, hence it wasn’t widely used, and solid iron balls or grapeshot with iron sand and nails were used more for large-scale damage.
Therefore, Chen Mo realized it was impossible for craftsmen to figure out his desired Flower Bullet within a month.
To test whether the cannon made by Tian Sheng’s team was qualified, they could first use solid iron balls as cannonballs for testing.
And manufacturing a solid iron ball wouldn’t take long.
Upon Chen Mo’s request, by mid-December, the craftsmen had produced the solid iron balls he needed.
On that afternoon, Chen Mo ordered the cannon to be hauled out from the Military Workshop, taken to a forest outside the city for testing, accompanied only by the Personal Guard Battalion.
Though both the cannon and solid cannonball were now available, this novelty was unfamiliar to the Personal Guard Battalion, and even to those who made it, lacking knowledge on its purpose and use.
Thus the testing procedure required Chen Mo to personally oversee it.
First, they fixed the cannon to the ground.
For better maneuverability, Chen Mo had the craftsmen equip the cannon with wheels.
The cannon had sights, but Chen Mo, being theoretical, didn’t know how to use them, and thus tampered with it using methods seen in films and shows.
Fortunately, the purpose was just to test the cannon’s quality, not needing precise aim.
Chen Mo weighed the gunpowder, filled the barrel, compressed it with a wooden rod, then loaded a solid iron ball.
Sun Meng and his men watched from a distance, curious.
Quickly, Chen Mo’s voice reached their ears.
"Cover your ears."
Though puzzled, Sun Meng and his men dared not disobey Chen Mo’s command and complied one by one.
Once they covered their ears, Chen Mo used Innate Spiritual Qi to ignite the fuse at the cannon’s tail end.
Boom——
A fiery tongue shot out from the cannon’s barrel, causing the 2,500-jin cannon to recoil a bit.
The earth-shattering thunder echoed from afar.
Chen Mo aimed at a mountainside—though his aim was slightly off, hitting a neighboring tree.
The result was still satisfying for Chen Mo; a half-meter thick tree was directly smashed by the solid iron ball.
"Hiss..."
Sun Meng lowered his hand, looked at the broken tree, and couldn’t help but inhale sharply.
To think the Marquis had spent so much effort to create such a powerful weapon.
If this were unleashed on a person, they’d likely die instantly.
This thing seemed more useful than a Fire Bomb.
Chen Mo waved his hand, summoning Sun Meng, and said, "Do not utter a single word about today’s events."
"Understood." Even if Chen Mo hadn’t said, Sun Meng knew such matters should remain confidential.
...
After returning from the cannon firing, Chen Mo realized a problem.
That is, a specialized department must be established, tasked with managing the production of cannons, cannonballs, and gunpowder, and training specialist artillerymen responsible for firing cannons. Additionally, this department would be in charge of figuring out the cannon’s charge, aiming angles, and distances, etc.
To avoid misfiring on the battlefield.
Furthermore, if he thought of other weapons in the future, he could have this department manufacture them.
And this department could only obey his orders, prohibiting interference from anyone else.
After all, such a lethal weapon, Chen Mo needed to keep it firmly under his control. Without a specialized department to manage it, too many people involved could lead to leaks.
Chen Mo, after some contemplation, began preparations.
The name of this department would be "Vermilion Bird Guard."
Zhi Ning had been idle long enough; she could be put in charge.
