Gasp! She's a Time Traveler Using Modern Tech to Improve Ancient Life-Chapter 567: Xiao Chong Extra - (Birthday Special)

This morning, having skipped work, Li Shimin, who was preparing for a polo match with the eunuchs at the West Inner Court’s polo grounds, heard from the guard that Xiao Chong, the County Magistrate of Mao County, was seeking an audience.

"Has that kid from the Xiao Family arrived?" Li Shimin put away his crescent-shaped mallet and smiled, "Let him in."

Xiao Chong arrived quickly, dressed in a trim long robe with narrow sleeves, unusually wearing a headscarf that concealed all his hair, with black boots, carrying a box as he walked over with a commanding presence.

Stopping in front of Li Shimin’s carriage, Xiao Chong set the box down, clasped his hands in a salute (bowing was generally not necessary outdoors in the Great Tang, or else one’s clothes would be ruined), and said, "Minister Xiao Chong pays respects to Your Majesty."

Li Shimin looked curiously at the box and asked Xiao Chong, "Zifang, what is this item? Worthy of you personally carrying it all the way here?"

Even if it were a humble gift from Mao County, there was no need to deliver it so early in the morning, and especially not carried by himself. Usually, such gifts from localities would not be presented directly to the Emperor but handed to the eunuchs, who would then convey them to the Emperor.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, inside is the gunpowder weapon I mentioned in my memorial."

"Oh, I must see for myself this gunpowder weapon you claim can blow up mountains and open paths," Li Shimin dismounted, striding forward to lift the box’s lid.

"Your Majesty, please wait." Xiao Chong quickly stopped him.

Only he, Dugu Di, and several from the Mo Family knew well the efficacy of what lay inside.

How could he dare let Li Shimin, a precious body, touch it himself?

"Your Majesty, this item is powerfully potent; it would be best if I handle it." Xiao Chong bent down to open the box and extracted a section of bamboo sealed with a wooden plug, showing it to Li Shimin with a long gray paper fuse extending through a hole.

"Is it just a firecracker?" Li Shimin was speechless. "Can this small piece of firecracker have such great power? At New Year, haven’t I thrown firecrackers myself?"

Xiao Chong, along with Dugu Di and Mo Family disciples, were inspired by the small fireworks provided by Lin Wanwan and repeatedly researched texts.

Dugu Di and the Mo Family disciples also visited various mountain alchemy Daoists for their experiences, finally deriving the current powder, made by mixing sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal in a "one part saltpeter, two parts sulfur, three parts charcoal" ratio, then stuffing it into bamboo sections, with fuses, creating a lethal "firecracker."

"Wu Fei, set a few off as a test. Having just passed New Year, I find myself missing the sound of firecrackers," Li Shimin instructed the eunuch nearby.

Xiao Chong interjected, "Your Majesty, it’s prudent to first set off just one."

Seeing Xiao Chong’s serious expression, Li Shimin laughed, "Very well, we’ll do as Zifang suggests. Wu Fei, just one."

"Yes!"

"Please, Eunuch Wu, retreat a hundred meters before lighting the fuse, and quickly leave once it’s lit," Xiao Chong continued to direct.

Wu Fei looked at Li Shimin, who nodded lightly.

Li Shimin knew that this kid from the Xiao Family had grown up and wouldn’t speak frivolously.

Though he was mischievous in his youth, fond of blades and swords, gathering a group of noble descendants to indulge in the carefree life in and around Chang’an City, wielding a sword recklessly, under the pretext of ’chivalrous justice, uprooting the strong and lifting the weak’, often resulting in complaints at the family doorstep, much to the headache of the elders.

It was even more audacious that he dared reject the marriage set by his family elders.

He even refused a woman from the Cui family, claiming he wished to be free all his life, traveling the world with sword in hand, causing the stubborn and unreasonable old Xiao Yu to be infuriated to the point of saying he should join a temple and dedicate himself to Buddha. Even Li Shimin had heard of this within the palace.

But since the age of sixteen, this kid seemed to have changed completely, not only passing the imperial exam as a scholar but no longer fooling around in Chang’an City.

The young man, who once donned bright clothes and rode fine horses, transformed into a steady and young School Book Officer.

After a few years of diligent work, he was promoted step-by-step, and just when a bright future was in sight, he voluntarily requested an assignment elsewhere the year before last.

Crucially, after being assigned externally, he made significant accomplishments in a short time.

He managed water conservancy projects in Mao County, promoted several high-yield grains, developed white-feathered chickens, solved a locust plague, and discovered the strangely gifted Lin Wanwan.

Moreover, what made Li Shimin view him in a new light was that he obtained the salt drying method for coastal flats but chose not to teach it to his family for private salt production and instead offered it directly to him, Li Er.

The salt fields of Mao County were largely owned by the court.

Li Shimin was well aware of the interests the Xiao Family had forsaken in this process.

Thus, he found Xiao Zifang increasingly pleasing to the eye.

Although Xiao Chong’s grandfather, Xiao Yu, had suspicions of avenging Princess Yicheng and was stripped of his chancellorship by Li Shimin and reassigned as the Crown Prince’s Tutor, this did not affect Xiao Chong’s standing in Li Shimin’s mind.

By now, Wu Fei had already placed the firecracker by the willow tree outside the polo field and ignited the fuse using the tinder provided by Xiao Chong.

As the fuse sizzled, Wu Fei nonchalantly observed it for a moment before retreating.

Xiao Chong couldn’t care less about the disobedient eunuch Wu Fei’s fate; after all, he had repeatedly warned him. At this moment, he covered his own ears and shouted to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, cover your ears!"

He shouted because he’d realized after experiencing several explosions that opening his mouth during the loud noise eased the pain in his ears.

Li Shimin saw Xiao Chong’s comical and foolish act of covering his ears and laughed aloud, "Zifang..."

"Boom——"

A thunderous explosion shattered the words Li Shimin was about to say.

Wu Fei was blown away by the shockwave like a giant salmon, sprawling on the polo field, and the patrolling guards, who had dropped their Tang Blades in shock, hurriedly picked them up to surround Li Shimin.

The willow tree had already been blasted into the sky with the dust and fallen heavily to the ground, shattered to pieces.

Li Shimin’s ears buzzed, almost knocked down by the shock, but he was indeed a fierce man who emerged through trials of life and death, far unlike other emperors raised within the palace walls.

Quickly, he realized what the advent of such a "firecracker" signified!

By now, Xiao Chong had put down his hands, closed his mouth, and once again assumed the appearance of a refined and handsome young gentleman.

Li Shimin vigorously patted Xiao Chong’s arm (the shoulder was too high for him to reach comfortably) and repeatedly praised, "Good! Good! You’re great! You and that kid from the Dugu family are great!"

"I know this isn’t a good thing; used incorrectly, it could bring calamity. But just thinking that soldiers can storm fortresses without sacrificing their own bodies makes me eager to try it out. Should there be blame from the world, let Xiao bear it."

Xiao Chong flashed a slightly shy smile, a smile reserved only for Li Shimin and the elders of the Xiao Family, unseen by outsiders.

Whenever this smile appeared, it meant Xiao Chong had stirred things up again, and he was quite pleased with himself.

Li Shimin laughed heartily, "You’re at such a young age, already thinking of leaving your mark in history. Such ambition, now get yourself to the Imperial City, and teach the people at Military Equipment Supervision well!"