Chapter 110 What is a surprise? !
The manufacture of firecrackers in Hunan Province began in the Tang Dynasty, flourished in the Song Dynasty, and originated in Liuyang.
Liuyang County is located on the border of Hunan and Jiangxi. As a county, it became famous all over the world thanks to its fireworks.

The fireworks here are real. In the Southern Song Dynasty, craftsmen grouped and bundled individual fireworks of various varieties, and then connected them in sequence with fuses. When the viewing time came, the fuses were lit, and fireworks of various colors shot into the sky and bloomed for a long time.

This kind of fireworks that "combine hundreds of skills into one frame" is the famous "frame fireworks", which was once extremely popular in the Song and Yuan dynasties.

When Ou Zanghua took Liu Qing to watch a fireworks show on the outskirts of Liuyang County, they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts, thinking it was such a refreshing performance.

Then, while waiting for Xiang Danian and others, Ou Zanghua took Zuo Lengchan to visit the local fireworks factory in Liuyang County.

It was the first time that Zuo Lengchan knew that saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal could create such a big scene. He originally thought that gunpowder was very precious, so the imperial court treasured it so much.

Now I see, that’s it?

Then what is the point of him practicing martial arts?
Lao Zuo felt that the Taoist faith that he had rebuilt with great difficulty was about to collapse again.

Ou Zanghua calmly comforted him, "Master Zuo, don't worry too much. If I don't take action, gunpowder won't make much progress in the next few hundred years."

Zuo Lengchan looked at his nephew speechlessly. These words made him feel a sense of responsibility to "eliminate harm from the martial arts world."

However, Ou Zanghua ignored Zuo Lengchan and thought quietly. He didn't know much about gunpowder, only the formula of "one nitrate, two sulfur, three charcoal" that he learned when watching short videos in his previous life.

In addition, he knew that adding sugar to gunpowder would have a better effect.

But this is the Ming Dynasty!

When did I, Da Meng, become rich enough to add sugar to gunpowder?

After visiting the artillery factory, on the way back, Zuo Lengchan suddenly asked: "Master Ou, what do you think is the end of martial arts?"

Ou Zanghua was still trying to recall the development history of gunpowder. When he heard Zuo Lengchan ask such a philosophical question, he was stunned. He turned around and saw Zuo Lengchan's confused look, and he probably understood how much impact this experience had on him.

"Uncle Zuo, I cannot answer this question."

"In martial arts, I am only a latecomer. But I think martial arts should not just be about fighting and killing, right?"

"Just like gunpowder, when used on the battlefield, it is a ruthless killing machine that brings endless pain. When used in fireworks, it blooms in the morning and withers in the blink of an eye, bringing joy to the viewers."

After hearing this, Zuo Lengchan couldn't help but laugh. This question was indeed too profound for him. Perhaps he would need to spend his entire life to find the answer!

While waiting in Liuyang County, Ou Zanghua took Zuo Lengchan to walk the streets, communicated with the gunpowder craftsmen of each manufacturer, and recorded it in writing. Among them, an elderly gunpowder craftsman gave Ou Zanghua a surprise.

While visiting the fireworks field, Ou Zanghua noticed that the gunpowder craftsmen used various types of shovels to load gunpowder.

At that time, Ou Zanghua realized that perhaps he could put forward his own ideas from this step, that is, fixed-load gunpowder.

He remembered that the first time this was done was in Sweden in the 17th century, when they used fixed ammunition bags instead of the previous long-handled shovel to load bulk gunpowder, in order to increase shooting rate and safety.

The artillery of other European countries of the same period still used medicine shovels.

However, when chatting with a gunpowder craftsman, Ou Zanghua learned that the Ming Dynasty had similar technology. The craftsmen weighed the gunpowder and put it into bamboo tubes, and the muzzle could hold a few coins of lead bullets, that is, the number of coins in each barrel.

And according to the gunpowder craftsman's recollection, this practice has existed for decades.

Ou Zanghua deduced that it should be the Chenghua period. After so many years of development, the Ming army must have become more standardized. A few days later, Xiang Danian arrived with Taoist priests Tianmen and Wang Chengwu. Together with the Taoist priests from the Hengshan Jinmu Temple, their team had more than 50 people.

It is quite spectacular to see a team of more than 200 people coming together to act together.

When the team arrived in Fengxin County, a cavalryman discovered them. After both sides verified their identities, the cavalryman sent two riders to lead Ou Zanghua. The two riders first returned to Nanchang Prefecture to report, while the rest continued to patrol to prevent a surprise attack by the rebels.

Fengxin County is 120 miles away from Nanchang Prefecture, and it took everyone nearly three hours to get there.

Because the cavalry had reported the news first, there were officials waiting at the city gate. When they saw the team approaching, they stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant is Zhao Han, the magistrate of Nanchang Prefecture. I have been ordered to come and receive Lord Ou."

"Mr. Zhao, thank you for your help." Ou Zanghua came out of the carriage and said with a bow.

"Lord Ou, you have had a hard journey. Please follow me. The prefect has already arranged accommodation for you." Zhao Han smiled. Although the new deputy envoy was young, he was not arrogant, which made him feel more at ease.

The residence arranged for Ou Zanghua by Nanchang prefect Li Chengxun was a three-courtyard house in the city. According to Zhao Tuiguan, this house was originally purchased by a scholar from Ruizhou City.

However, after Ruizhou City was captured, the scholar and his family were killed by the rebels, and the courtyard was then taken over by the government office.

As soon as Qu Feiyan entered the mansion, she began to arrange various people. Twenty nuns from the Hengshan Sect lived in the second courtyard to protect Liu Qing.

The remaining twenty or so nuns and the people from Taishan Sect and Mujin Palace booked two inns nearby to stay temporarily so that they could provide support to the mansion at any time.

The Songshan School selected twenty good fighters to live in one courtyard and be responsible for the outer protection.

The rest of the people could only temporarily live in the camp in the city under the arrangement of Zhao Tui Guan.

After everything was arranged, Zhao Tuiguan suggested to Ou Zanghua: "Master Ou has come here exhausted, why don't you take a rest first?"

"Officer Zhao, who is currently in charge of military affairs in Jiangxi?" Ou Zanghua asked directly as he sat in the living room and took a sip of strong tea to refresh himself.

Zhao Tuiguan immediately replied: "Currently, the Left Censor-in-Chief Chen Jin is in charge of the military affairs. Not only Jiangxi, but also Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Huguang, etc., all obey his orders. At the same time, for the sake of convenience, if anyone below the commander dares to disobey his orders, he can be directly convicted and punished without asking the court for permission."

When Ou Zanghua heard this, it didn't matter, after all he was a civil servant.

The so-called Left Censor-in-Chief, also known as the Chief Censor, was the head of the Ming Dynasty Censorate and was in charge of the affairs of the Censorate.

Simply put, he is the boss of that group of trolls.

This boss should be the most difficult person to be in the Ming Dynasty officialdom, because many of his subordinates are lackeys raised by other big men. Not only do they disobey orders, but if they cause trouble, the boss has to take the blame.

So if you hate someone, recommend him to be the Left Censor-in-Chief. Within a few years, he will become depressed.

As for Chen Jin, Ou Zanghua didn't know much about him. He only knew that he was a Jinshi in the eighth year of Chenghua and had quelled the Miao uprising in the previous few years. He thought he should be a capable person.

He looked at the sky and decided to visit Chen Jin and Li Chengxun first.

As for whether or not they meet, that’s their business.

Ou Zanghua changed into a fourth-grade scarlet robe and put on a black gauze hat, and under the leadership of Zhao Tuiguan, went to the Governor's Office, where Chen Jin's ceremonial guard was currently.

At this moment, Chen Jin was writing a memorial to the emperor. After observing several recent battles, he believed that it would be difficult to pacify these bandits relying solely on the soldiers from the counties. He hoped that the court would allow the transfer of the Guangxi Wolf Earth Soldiers to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop!
(End of this chapter)