Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 544: Yue Puzi Attempts to Replicate the Strange Thunder
March is the time when everything comes back to life, spring is warm and flowers bloom, and the spirit of spring is in full swing.
Jin Xia, Capital City.
In a luxurious and antique courtyard, deep within lies the Alchemy Room.
After retreating from Yu State, Wanyan Xiaji led his elite forces out of the Great Song and stationed troops in the Dongyou Kingdom. He then returned to Jin Xia with his Personal Guard Battalion, leaving only a mix of non-mainstream troops in Longyou, mainly to act as eyes and ears and to give Chen Mo some trouble.
After finishing the morning court meeting, Wanyan Xiaji headed towards the Alchemy Room.
"True Man." Wanyan Xiaji called out to Yue Puzi while pushing open the door of the Alchemy Room.
Just at this moment, an explosion sounded from within the Alchemy Room, and a thick black smoke and heat wave poured out, rushing toward Wanyan Xiaji who had just entered.
Wanyan Xiaji raised an eyebrow, and in the next second, a barrier formed by Innate Spiritual Qi appeared in front of him, completely blocking the incoming black smoke and heat wave.
"True Man?"
Wanyan Xiaji waved his hand, enveloping himself in a protective shield formed by Spiritual Qi, then walked straight into the Alchemy Room.
"Cough cough... General, you’ve arrived." A Taoist with disheveled robes, untidy hair, and a face covered in black soot coughed as he walked out, then upon seeing Wanyan Xiaji, wiped the grime from his face and sighed, "General, it failed again."
Hearing this, Wanyan Xiaji’s expression became tense, and he asked in surprise, "Did you cause the strange sound just now, True Man?"
Yue Puzi nodded, "I seemed to be on the right track, but it still failed."
Previously on the battlefield, Yue Puzi felt an inexplicable familiarity with the "Strange Thunder" used by the Chen Army, as its emitted scent was somewhat similar to his usual alchemy practices.
So afterward, he collected the remnants left after the explosion of the Strange Thunder. From the residue, he detected several substances: one was sulfur, another charcoal, and there was a smell he couldn’t identify on the spot, but after returning to Jin Xia and some searching, he found it was nitrate.
Thus, he found these three substances and began his research in the Alchemy Room, but he failed each time.
However, judging by the sound emitted by the failed experiments, he seemed to be on the correct path.
"I guess I’m missing something or skipped a step," Yue Puzi said in a deep voice.
Wanyan Xiaji nodded, "I think so too. The power is too weak, not even causing damage to this room’s doors, and the sound is not as loud as that of the Strange Thunder. Also, it seems you can’t even control it."
"Looks like I need to try more." Yue Puzi said, "General, I need more manpower, it would make the trials faster."
"That’s not a problem. We captured a large number of slaves from the Dongyou Kingdom and the Great Song this time, so you can have as many as you want," Wanyan Xiaji said.
"A hundred or so should be enough. Also, I need a bigger place."
"I’ll arrange it for you."
"Thank you, General."
"No need to be polite. If the True Man can successfully replicate the Chen Army’s Strange Thunder, it would be a great merit for Jin Xia. At that time, I will certainly petition the Great Khan to make you the State Preceptor," Wanyan Xiaji said.
Yue Puzi didn’t really care about being a State Preceptor; he was more interested in the "Strange Thunder." He sighed again, "If only I had a complete Strange Thunder to observe."
Yue Puzi continued, "It’s already March, how is the Great Khan dealing with the total defeat of the Eastern Army?"
Nearly the entire force of 80,000 troops was wiped out; this was a significant blow to Jin Xia and could shake its very foundation. Such a severe matter surely needed someone to take responsibility.
But Commander Tie Muer and Deputy Generals Yelv Nuqi and Tie Mutie had all successively died in battle.
So Yue Puzi was very curious who would take the fall for this.
"Gale confessed and has already been imprisoned," Wanyan Xiaji said in a deep voice.
Yue Puzi was taken aback. As the rear guard of the Eastern Army, Gale, a mere Fifth-Grade Martial Artist, taking the blame, seemed somewhat frivolous.
Yue Puzi said, "Can he shoulder such a big responsibility alone? Is Prince Fulin unaffected? He was the Military Supervisor of the Eastern Army?"
"Whether he can shoulder it or not is not important. As long as someone steps up to take responsibility, everyone saves face. If Gale honestly takes full responsibility, he alone will die, but his entire clan will remain unharmed and even benefit from the fortune he leaves behind," Wanyan Xiaji spoke softly.
It should be known that the decision to attack the Great Song was made by the Khan himself. Although Tie Muer was the Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Army, if one were to pursue the matter, it could greatly damage the Khan’s reputation. Thus, someone had to take on the responsibility forcefully.
And Gale, who had neither background nor strength.
Hearing this, Yue Puzi showed a sympathetic bitter smile, "Indeed, Prince Fulin, being the Khan’s brother and an Upper-Grade Martial Artist, wouldn’t have an issue so easily..."
"True Man, be cautious with your words," Wanyan Xiaji interrupted Yue Puzi.
"What about the war with the Great Song..."
"It has to be put on hold. Some of the Beidi tribes are becoming restless," Wanyan Xiaji sighed heavily.
As the confidant of Khan Tuoba Hui, Wanyan Xiaji knew that Tuoba Hui wanted to accumulate great prestige through the war against the Song, and eventually, with iron and blood, suppress several Beidi tribes.
But no one expected such a significant defeat.
"Doesn’t this give Chen Mo more time?" Yue Puzi asked.
"How could I not know, but given the current situation, this is the only option. If the Khan proposes a new war against the Song, more than half of the court officials will oppose it."
...
Luonan.
The news of Chen Mo holding an Imperial Examination in the Four States naturally reached Lu Sheng’s ears.
In the study, Lu Sheng slammed the table before him hard, exclaiming, "He doesn’t even bother to pretend anymore. Now it’s a matter of who will turn against each other first between me and him."
"Prime Minister, Chen Mo’s actions clearly show contempt for you. We should petition to Your Majesty to punish him," someone suggested.
And this so-called punishment would obviously be pressing down on Chen Mo with the moral high ground of the Court.
"We cannot." Luo Qingyang stood up to oppose, "At least openly we cannot. If the Court decrees punishment, it is equivalent to the Prime Minister publicly turning against Chen Mo. We can act in secret."
Luo Qingyang’s meaning was clear, which was to create public opinion without an official declaration.
Lu Sheng nodded, "This is the only solution."
"That little thief is truly despicable."
After saying this, Lu Sheng cursed Chen Mo again, then turned his gaze to the official responsible for the current Imperial Examination, "Lord Jia, how many scholars have come to take the examination this time?"
The official referred to as Lord Jia smiled and said, "After hearing about the restoration of the Imperial Examination, scholars across the world are excited and eagerly applying. So far, more than three thousand have registered."
