When Taoist Shenxiao's body was carried out, Meton could not help but feel sad. His heart was heavy. It could be said that Meton was responsible for Taoist Shenxiao's encounter. If Meton had not exposed Taoist Shenxiao's deception, Taoist Shenxiao might still be living a carefree life in the Tang dynasty.
"When one hears the truth in the morning, one can die in the evening! Don't feel guilty, fellow Taoist Mo. Instead of falling into the wrong path, Taoist Shenxiao died a worthy death, "Yuan Tiangang said as if he could see through people's hearts.
Modun was enlightened and said firmly, "Among the Hundred Schools of Thought, which one of them didn't study the classics and focus on their own knowledge? The School of Medicine tasted all kinds of herbs and died from poisoning. Li Daoyuan wrote the Book of Water and traveled north and south of the Great River, passing through mountains and dense forests. How many times did he encounter life and death? The School of Mohism studied machinery and suffered many injuries. The School of War wrote the art of war and suffered many deaths on the battlefield. The crisis we are facing today is to pave the way for future generations."
Yuan Tiangang nodded. Although the big explosion caused heavy losses, it truly proved that the path of Taoist External Alchemy was correct.
Meton solemnly bowed to Taoist Shenxiao's body and said, "Rest in peace, fellow Taoist Shenxiao. We will follow you in the future."
Everyone looked solemn. Although the philosophies of the Hundred Schools of Thought differed, their desire for knowledge was the same. Although Priest Divine Firmament had suddenly died, the earth-shattering explosion had proven that Priest Divine Firmament's pursuit of the Dao was correct.
"General, all the bodies have been found. No one was left out," a soldier came to report.
Li Junxian immediately breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the number of people was correct, the accident could be defined as an accident. That would be much simpler.
However, Li Junxian was not careless. He said, "Someone, go and invite the best coroner in Chang 'an City to verify the identity of one by one. Please cooperate with us, Taoist Shenxiao."
Yuan Tiangang clasped his hands and said, "General Li, rest assured. Xuandu Temple will cooperate fully."
Only then did Li Junxian nod his head in satisfaction. This matter was of great importance, and he had to be on guard.
"General Li, have you investigated the cause of the accident?" Meton quickly asked.
Li Junxian nodded and said, "According to the evidence we have, Daoist Divine Firmament was the first to catch fire. Following that, it rapidly spread, causing many people to be unable to escape in time before they perished in the sea of fire. I have never seen such a rapid and intense fire in my life."
"If it was only a fire, there wouldn't be so many deaths. However, within the fire, there were bursts of thunder-like noises that destroyed houses and trees. That's why there were so many losses."
Li Junxian looked at the scene of the fire and saw a huge circular shockwave that rose three feet from the ground. There was a strange smell in the air.
Meton understood in his heart that the greatest power of gunpowder was not the flame, but the huge impact he produced in an instant. That was the root of all destruction.
"Before His Majesty speaks, continue to seal off Xuandu Temple." After Li Junxian finished instructing the cavalry, he turned to Meton and others and said, "Let's go. I believe His Majesty has been waiting anxiously."
Everyone's heart sank, and they immediately took a deep breath. Seeing the power of gunpowder, Meton and Yuan Tiangang both understood how important gunpowder was to the Tang dynasty. Now, Li Shimin would be held accountable.
Taiji Palace.
Li Shimin sat on the dragon throne with a gloomy face, listening to Li Junxian's report on the situation at the back of Xuandu Temple.
On his right, the two military ministers, Li Jing and Hou Junji, were listening. The explosion of Xuandu Temple had exposed gunpowder to the world. Naturally, there was no need to hide it from the military.
When the two heard Li Junxian's report, they could not help but raise their eyebrows. They looked in surprise at Meton and Yuan Tiangang, who were respectfully opposite them.
No one expected that the Mo Family and the Taoist Family would secretly make such an earth-shattering weapon. It was simply a peerless weapon tailor-made for the militarists to destroy cities and pass.
Li Jing's eyes suddenly lit up. He suddenly remembered that in the imperial court, Meton insisted on encouraging the Tang dynasty to attack Tuyuhun. When Li Shimin asked the Mo Family whether they had the weapon to destroy cities and pass, Meton implied that the Mo Family did not have it.
Even Hou Junji reacted. He glanced at Meton and Yuan Tiangang in surprise. He could not help but think highly of the foundation of these Hundred Schools of Philosophers.
"So, not only was the gunpowder destroyed, but even Taoist Shenxiao lost his life." Li Shimin suppressed his voice. Anyone could feel Li Shimin's suppressed anger.
The explosion of Xuandu Temple allowed Li Shimin to fully understand the power of gunpowder. At the same time, he realized how heavy the loss of the explosion was. The destruction of the gunpowder was secondary. The most serious loss was the death of Taoist Shenxiao.
The gunpowder was still in the state of development. Taoist Shenxiao, who had obtained the secret formula of the gunpowder, was like a madman. He put all his energy into the development of the gunpowder. According to Taoist Shenxiao's routine secret report, the development of the gunpowder was about to reach perfection. It could be said that the value of Taoist Shenxiao was equivalent to ten thousand warhorses in front of Li Shimin.
"We are guilty." Yuan Tiangang bowed and apologized. In any case, the incident happened in Xuandu Temple. In addition, he was the leader of the Taoists. The responsibility naturally fell on him.
"Have you found out the cause of the explosion?" Li Shimin took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart.
Li Junxian nodded and said, "Judging from the current traces, it was initially determined to be an accident. Baiqi and the soldiers are still conducting further investigation."
Li Shimin's expression eased. As long as the secret formula of the gunpowder was not leaked, the situation was not the worst. He was also more inclined to Baiqi's judgment. When Meton first showed the power of the gunpowder to Li Shimin, there were no outsiders other than the School of Mo and the External Alchemy Sect. Even the military was hiding it. It was impossible for outsiders to know the use of the gunpowder.
"I am ashamed. This is the Taoists' bad fortune. We are unable to bear such a killing weapon. This caused the Heavens to be angry and to be punished." Yuan Tiangang clasped his hands and apologized.
Now, the Inner Alchemy Sect unified the Taoists. The Inner Alchemy Sect, which had always advocated peace and quiet, naturally did not like such a killing weapon like gunpowder. After the explosion in Xuandu Temple, Heavenly Punishment became popular in Xuandu Temple.
"Heavenly Punishment? I think it is negligence!" Li Shimin said coldly. Gunpowder was flammable. At that time, Meton had repeatedly reminded the External Alchemy Sect to prohibit the use of fire. If the External Alchemy Sect had paid attention, this accident might have been avoided. He saw with his own eyes how Meton made the gunpowder. They were all ordinary things. How could there be Heavenly Punishment?
Hou Junji laughed and said, "Taoist Yuan, the Taoists advocate peace and quiet and pursue the Heavenly Way. It is pardonable that they are not good at such killing weapons. However, the Ministry of War advocates killing weapons. Why don't the Ordnance Supervisor of the Ministry of War be responsible for making the gunpowder?"
The School of the Militarists did not believe in Heavenly Punishment. With such a sharp weapon in hand, the School of the Militarists even dared to fight against Heaven and Earth.
Yuan Tiangang looked up at Hou Junji and could not help but frown. He then said lightly, "As long as the School of the Military can ensure that the gunpowder does not explode a second time, the Taoists will naturally be happy to see it happen."
Hou Junji was momentarily at a loss for words. Although he had determined that the gunpowder explosion had been caused by carelessness, it had cost the life of Daoist Divine Firmament far too great a price to pay. Moreover, the fire had concealed everything, making it impossible to know what had caused the explosion. He did not dare to guarantee that a second accident would occur.
Hou Junji rolled his eyes and could not help but look at Meton, who had been silent since he came in. He had a thought and said, "Marquis Merton was involved in the making of the gunpowder. Furthermore, his intelligence and wisdom are well known in Chang 'an City. I wonder if he has a way to solve the hidden danger of the gunpowder explosion."
As soon as Hou Junji's voice fell, everyone immediately looked at Meton.
Li Shimin's eyes could not help but show a hint of anticipation. The power of the gunpowder was obvious to everyone. If the problem of the gunpowder explosion was not solved, it would be like an untamed beast, hurting itself before hurting others.
Meton pondered for a moment and said, "In the end, the gunpowder explosion is still ignited by a fire source. In the final analysis, we have to prevent anything that can cause the fire source to come into contact with the gunpowder."
Yuan Tiangang frowned and said, "Although what Marquis Merton said makes sense, Fellow Taoist Divine Firmament is not a reckless person. It is impossible to ignite the fire source in the gunpowder workshop when he knows that gunpowder is easily ignited."
Meton shook his head and said, "Gunpowder is different from other things. Even the smallest spark can ignite it. In my opinion, there are too many ways to ignite gunpowder other than the common fire starter."
"I'd like to hear the details!" Yuan Tiangang asked shamelessly.
"First of all, thunder and lightning can hit trees and cause a fire," Merton said.
Yuan Tiangang nodded. In history, there were many thunderstruck trees that caused forest fires.
Hou Junji suddenly sneered and said sarcastically, "Marquis Merton, you don't really believe that the gunpowder explosion in the Xuandu Temple is because of the punishment of heaven. It is a lightning strike fire! This is spring thunder, and it is all muffled thunder. No one in Chang 'an City has seen lightning. "
Yuan Tiangang suddenly looked embarrassed.
Meton shook his head and said, "I'm just talking about the possibility of fire. And if we wear mink coats in winter and take them off in the dark, we will find that there are small lightning bolts on the mink coats. If we wear mink coats and come into contact with gunpowder, this may be a possibility of fire."
"This is also the cause of the fire?"
Everyone could not help but open their mouths. Who could think that the clothes they wore could also catch fire?
"In addition, the collision of flint and swords will cause sparks. Therefore, gunpowder workshops must also be strictly guarded against ironware." When Meton said this, everyone could not help but nod. This problem was extremely common, but when it came to Taoist Shenxiao, there was no precaution at all. It seemed that Taoist Shenxiao's accident was not accidental.
"In addition, in the School of Mo's statistics, if too much and too high is accumulated for a long time, there will be spontaneous combustion. Gunpowder workshops must avoid long-term accumulation. Some phosphorescence can even spontaneously combust at room temperature …" Meton listed one by one the natural phenomena that could cause fire.
Everyone could not help but click their tongues. Who would have thought that there were so many causes of fire? Everyone could not help but look at Meton with surprise. How bored were the people of the School of Mo to study such unpopular knowledge?
"Of course, these phenomena will only cause fire under certain circumstances. However, gunpowder is the most flammable. Even if there is a slight possibility, it must be guarded against. In addition, gunpowder must be made in an open space. Once it is made, it must be immediately transferred and sealed. This way, even if an accident happens, it will not cause any major losses." Meton sighed.
Everyone nodded in unison. It was fine if nothing happened to gunpowder. However, if something did happen, it would be earth-shattering and the losses would be disastrous. Naturally, they had to ensure that nothing went wrong.
"This Penniless Daoist has learned from being mindful." Yuan Tiangang sighed in admiration.
After Meton's analysis, everyone suddenly realized that it was not strange for Taoist Shenxiao to have an accident. Instead, it would be strange if nothing happened.
Li Shimin took a deep breath and said, "Gunpowder is of great importance. In the short term, it concerns the Battle of Tuyuhun. In the long term, it concerns the plans of the Tang dynasty for a hundred years. I plan to take gunpowder production into the hands of the imperial court. I will establish a Firearms Division that will specialize in producing gunpowder and developing gunpowder weapons for the Ministry of War. "
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Everyone said in unison.
Yuan Tiangang heaved a sigh of relief. Gunpowder was a hot potato for Daoists. Furthermore, Taoist Shenxiao had already passed away. It was naturally best if it could be handed over to the imperial court. Furthermore, Daoists had already contributed to the contribution of the gunpowder formula. There was no need to add any more complications.
Hou Junji revealed a look of glee. He had long been tempted by the immense power of gunpowder. If the Ministry of War could control it, it would be an additional weapon for the Ministry of War.
"Meton will be the Firearms Division's Chancellor. He will be in charge of rebuilding the gunpowder workshop. You have to produce enough gunpowder before April to supply the Battle of Tuyuhun. If something similar happens again, you will be punished severely." Li Shimin looked at Merton.
"Yes, sir!"
Meton stood up and accepted the order.
No one was surprised by the appointment. After Taoist Shenxiao passed away, Meton was the one who understood gunpowder the most. Furthermore, to produce enough gunpowder before April to supply the Battle of Tuyuhun was probably only possible with the Mohist family's powerful industrial capabilities.
Li Junxian immediately looked at the inexperienced Meton. When ordinary people entered the bureaucracy, they would all start from the bottom. Yet, Meton had suddenly risen to the position of Chancellor. His starting point was much higher than ordinary people's.
Hou Junji sneered inwardly. It was rumored that Mo Jiazi would enter the Ministry of Civil Affairs or the Ministry of Works in the future. Who would have thought that Meton's first official post would be in the Ministry of War? As long as Mo Jiazi entered the Ministry of War, he would be at Hou Junji's mercy. He might even be able to take control of the Mohist family.
However, before he could rejoice for long, Meton bowed and said, "The supervision of firearms is a top secret. The gunpowder formula is of utmost importance. Although the Firearms Division belongs to the Ministry of War, I would like to imitate Baiqi and report directly to Your Majesty to ensure that the gunpowder formula is complete."
When Hou Junji heard this, his heart skipped a beat. He looked at Meton in disbelief. He never expected Meton to have such an idea.
"Approved!" Li Shimin said coldly.
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