Ye Qingyi hesitated, mumbling, "Should we temporarily avoid his sharp edge?"
The Cult Master was still furious. "A plan spanning centuries, how can we abandon it now! Conquering Luzhou should have been an excellent opportunity, but I never expected it to fail because of Liang Xiao! I truly hate him to death!"
Ye Qingyi had no words, her heart filled with dread.
Centuries of planning?
Could it be that the Marshal and Hong Jie's speculation was true, that their predecessors were the Great Zhou Dynasty, and that was why they secretly harmed their brethren?
Realizing her slip of the tongue, the Cult Master regained her composure and said, "Qingyi, go approach Liang Xiao. Spare no expense, even if it means sacrificing yourself to the Tianshan chivalrous warrior by his side or a guard of the Liang mansion!"
"Master..." Ye Qingyi's face turned ashen with shock. "Even if I sacrifice myself, I won't be able to get close to Liang Xiao!"
The Cult Master said coldly, "Relying on your Marshal's plan, what if you fail in the end, wasting so much time? Moreover, you remnants of the Great Heng Kingdom are becoming increasingly cautious, even forbidding the killing of innocents. Is this the demeanor of those achieving great things?"
Ye Qingyi was prepared and explained, "The Marshal is negotiating with Liang Xiao, hoping to lull him into believing that we people of the Great Heng Kingdom are indeed peace-loving, and we will deliver a fatal blow to Liang Xiao when the time is right..."
The Cult Master was silent for a moment, then sighed, "Indeed, judging by the results of repeated assassination attempts, we should not confront him head-on. Then continue to approach Liang Xiao."
Ye Qingyi mustered her courage and said, "Master, if I go all out, I fear I will have little time to return to your side, perhaps no time at all..."
"Is this a small matter compared to your great cause of restoring the kingdom? As long as you can infiltrate Liang Xiao's inner circle, just do it!" the Cult Master said coldly.
Ye Qingyi breathed a sigh of relief and added, "Master, as I go on this journey, I still have a concern... Since I became your disciple, I have never seen your esteemed face, nor do I know your age. If we meet unexpectedly in the future..."
"I am already disfigured, you don't need to see," the Cult Master replied without hesitation.
Ye Qingyi had expected this. She merely used this time to gather her tears, then bowed deeply to the Cult Master with tears in her eyes: "Disciple bids farewell to Master..."
After Ye Qingyi left, the Cult Master's gaze turned icy. She slowly removed the veil from her head.
A face of unparalleled beauty, with golden hair, blue eyes, and skin as white as snow.
She bore an eight-tenths resemblance to Princess Christ of the Western Regions!
"Be it the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Great Heng Kingdom, or the Great Qian and Great Liang, only our race is worthy of occupying the Central Kingdom and standing at the pinnacle of the world!"
"If Liang Xiao is not eliminated, the rule of the Great Qian will be but a dream, and worse, our race may be annihilated because of him... What exactly is this 'Heavenly Thunder'? This thing is likely no mere sorcery!"
At the Zhuo mansion, Liang Xiao was contemplating the list prepared for him by the Zhuo family's steward.
Gongsun Ye and Zhuo Zifang sat by his side, waiting.
Manufacturing gunpowder required sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter.
The Great Qian Kingdom had an abundance of saltpeter and charcoal, but sulfur mines were scarce. Furthermore, most of the sulfur was used for medicinal purposes, making it impossible to produce gunpowder barrels in large quantities.
The last time Liang Xiao collected these materials, he had bought out an entire apothecary shop to disguise his actions, ensuring no one would associate it with the so-called "Heavenly Thunder."
Even if enemies wanted to create Heavenly Thunder, a thorough investigation would require tracing the whereabouts of hundreds or thousands of medicines in an entire apothecary shop, and they might not even suspect charcoal.
Although gunpowder barrels could not be manufactured indiscriminately, these materials, along with those used for concealment, had to be prepared for any eventuality.
Just like the Battle of Luzhou, a sudden earthquake had caused the city walls to collapse. If it weren't for the gunpowder barrels that had annihilated tens of thousands of enemy soldiers beforehand, even if the battle was ultimately won, Luzhou might have been breached and plundered by the rebels, leading to widespread suffering!
"Marquis Anguo, with so many apothecary shops in the capital, and the medicines within, purchasing them would cost two to three hundred thousand taels of silver!" the steward reminded him.
Liang Xiao pondered for a moment and said, "Purchase them under the name of the Dingguo Marquis Mansion, with the people of the Dingguo Marquis Mansion taking charge. If anyone purchases a certain medicine in large quantities, have the shopkeeper record it."
After the steward left, Gongsun Ye asked, "Why are you buying up these apothecary shops?"
Liang Xiao whispered, "This matter cannot be hidden from Grandpa Gongsun, after all, I am still using your imperial guards. In fact, some of the materials for making 'Heavenly Thunder' are kept in the apothecary shops, ready for use at any time."
Gongsun Ye nearly choked.
Materials for making Heavenly Thunder?
Zhuo Zifang explained, "This matter must never be leaked. Liang Xiao's caution is wise, and I believe His Majesty will support it. In any case, the apothecary shops can continue their normal business, so it won't be a loss of two to three hundred thousand taels for nothing."
"How did you come up with this Heavenly Thunder thing?" Gongsun Ye asked, bewildered.
"By chance!" Liang Xiao replied with a dry laugh.
Fortunately, there was no gunpowder in this world, not even the simpler form of explosive powder, otherwise, the people of Great Qian wouldn't even have firecrackers.
Gunpowder, due to its different material ratios from ordinary explosives, possessed greater power!
What Liang Xiao worried about most now was the enemy accidentally developing gunpowder, which would then deplete the sulfur from all the apothecary shops across the Great Qian Kingdom.
In this world, sulfur was mostly stored in the warehouses of apothecary shops because it was used for medicinal purposes.
As for saltpeter, ordinary people wouldn't think of using it to make explosives.
Gongsun Ye fell silent.
If even the intelligent Zhuo Zifang trusted Liang Xiao implicitly, perhaps he, the Dingguo Marquis, would also need to guard against Liang Xiao.
Such a person, loyal to Great Qian, was a blessing for Great Qian. But if he were to betray them in the future, who could contend with him?
At the same time, Xiao Qing received Liang Xiao's reply and was overjoyed.
"Huh? Why is my elder brother suggesting I secretly purchase apothecary shops in the capital and border areas?"
Wang Canghai took Xiao Qing's letter and read it. "This move must have a deep meaning. Your Majesty can follow Young Master Liang Er's suggestion and take over more apothecary shops under the guise of benefiting the public. After all, the promotion of smallpox prevention nationwide will take time, and the physicians from Tianshan are gradually traveling to all parts of the country to practice medicine. Official apothecary shops are indeed needed to support them."
This was perfectly reasonable!
Once Xiao Qing understood, he adopted an air of magnanimity and immediately approved: "Approved!"
After Wang Canghai left, Ning Xuejun saw that Xiao Qing was still dispirited and asked, "Is Your Lord missing Young Master Liang Er?"
Xiao Qing then looked pleadingly at Ning Xuejun: "I really want to go to Jiangnan..."
Ning Xuejun was speechless. She immediately understood that her lord was feeling the urge to go to Jiangnan because Christ had gone there.
To maintain order in the capital and prevent the noble families from causing trouble, Xiao Qing's desire remained just talk. He did not go to Jiangnan, but occasionally visited Luo Qingxue and Mi'er as Princess Ningshuang to deepen their affection.
With Liang Xiao's bookshop's procedures completed, the bookshop could finally sell books openly.
Undoubtedly, the Ouyang family's bookshop bought all the books from Liang Xiao's bookshop again.
Twenty thousand copies of the Four Books and Five Classics, plus two primers, a total of 220,000 copies, costing sixty-six thousand taels!
Ouyang Sheng looked at the full warehouse of books, his face extremely grim.
Another large sum of money spent!
"Young Master, the Grand Tutor has personally arrived!"
Gongyang He and Dugu Xiao arrived at the warehouse and their expressions also turned grim. "Why did you have to buy books from Liang Xiao's bookshop at double the price? Isn't that just giving him money?"