Shen Ling'er walked over quickly, checked the scene, and breathed a sigh of relief when she found no one was injured. She then slung the medical kit over her shoulder.
"Is it all done?"
"First paragraph, perfect."
Gu Moran stared at the arc-shaped opening, his voice revealing an irrepressible sense of satisfaction.
"There are three more sections. You don't necessarily need to blow them all up. Blow up two sections, and you can pry the rest open with a pickaxe."
Su Yao had already opened the ledger, picked up her pen and wrote down a new estimate in the project timeline column. After finishing, she looked up at him.
"You mark the joint locations of the remaining two sections. I'll calculate the consumption of medicinal materials. The treasury doesn't have enough saltpeter; I'll find a way to replenish it."
Gu Moran nodded and turned to look at the gap.
Blacksmith Mu and his men rushed forward with pickaxes, prying at the rock slabs along the crack. One muffled sound after another echoed through the air, rhythmic and powerful.
Xue Huan stood in front of the crowd, wiped the dust off his face, and shouted towards Gu Moran, "Your Highness, the irrigation canal can be cleared now!"
He glanced around and added a comment.
"Your Highness, your alchemy furnace wasn't destroyed in vain!"
Gu Moran sighed.
"Don't mention it again. That's my beloved stove, and it still bothers me."
"Never mind, it's all fate."
"I will build another furnace!"
After saying that, he gazed sadly at the gaping hole, but his eyes couldn't suppress the joy that welled up inside him.
On a high slope.
Gan Lingmu was the last to turn and leave. Before leaving, he looked back one last time, his gaze falling on Gu Moran's back. He paused for a few moments, then turned and walked into the woods.
Gu Moran gazed in the direction he had disappeared.
From the moment this breach was blown open, Yi Prefecture's game of chess was no longer something he could play secretly by himself.
But it doesn't matter. From the day Gaegyeong, it was destined that there was no turning back.
Three days after the Severed Dragon Ridge was blown open, Gu Moran's new furnace was built on the edge of Ten-Li Slope.
The furnace was about one and a half meters tall, built with fire-resistant clay and stones, with a blower pipe inserted diagonally from the bottom of the furnace.
Two craftsmen took turns operating the bellows.
Mu Lu circled the furnace three times, touching the furnace wall with his hand and frowning.
"Your Highness, can this furnace really forge something harder than iron?"
There was still a hint of doubt in his tone.
Gu Moran squatted beside the stove, drawing the stove temperature curve on the ground with a charcoal pencil, without even looking up.
"Whether it can be refined or not, we'll know after firing one batch."
The system provides very detailed drawings of the " Blast Furnace Co-Fusion Steelmaking Method," including the furnace type, the angle of the tuyeres, and the timing of the addition of pig iron and wrought iron.
It even clearly indicates how to judge the furnace temperature by the color of the flame.
Gu Moran has barely slept these past few days, spending his days overseeing the demolition progress of the Severed Dragon Ridge and his nights studying the blueprints by the light of an oil lamp.
The first batch of molten iron was poured out of the furnace just as dawn was breaking.
Mu Lu personally stood guard at the furnace opening, watching the stream of molten iron flow into the mold along the guide channel, holding his breath.
After it cooled down, he swung the hammer to test its hardness. With one blow, his hand went numb from the impact, but the piece of iron didn't budge.
"This... this..."
The Blacksmith Mu's voice trembled.
"It's more than twice as hard as the pig iron we usually use!"
The craftsmen gathered around to watch the spectacle, and a chorus of voices rose and fell in discussion.
Some say it's the work of immortals, others say the Prince Yi's Residence must have invited a deity to descend to earth, and still others go even further, saying Gu Moran is a deity reincarnated.
One hour later.
Gu Moran looked at the newly forged batch of iron picks.
The craftsman tried chiseling a few times into the remaining rock layers of the Severed Dragon Ridge, nearly twice as fast as before.
Si Renyou was dragged and pulled by Fang Bi to Ten-Li Slope.
Fang Bi had been completely shaken by the commotion at Prince Yi's Residence's residence these past few days. First, he was utterly impressed by the blueprints for the water storage tank, and then he heard that the Severed Dragon Ridge had been blasted open with a deafening roar.
Before he could recover, his men told him that a furnace capable of forging divine iron had been built near Ten-Li Slope.
He kept muttering to himself the whole way.
When he actually stood in front of the furnace and saw Mu Lu swing the hammer to test the iron, he froze completely.
"Sir, look at this iron."
Fang Bi's voice changed tone, "This old servant has lived for over fifty years and has never seen such hard iron!"
Si Renyou stood beside the furnace, gazing at the black smoke billowing from it, then at the row of new iron pickaxes on the ground, and was speechless for a moment.
Gu Moran has been too flamboyant these past few days. The loud noise of the Severed Dragon Ridge has already caused quite a stir in Yi Prefecture City.
There are even rumors that Prince Yi failed to refine the elixir and instead summoned a mountain god to descend to earth.
Looking at the stove now, the tension he had been holding in finally broke.
"What... what are you trying to do?"
He looked at Gu Moran, his voice revealing an overwhelming weariness.
"Your Highness, the tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind. Are you no longer willing to hide your talents?"
Gu Moran turned and walked into the shed, pulling out a dusty wooden box.
Lifting the lid revealed a fragment of the " Shen-shi's Alchemical Classic," its edges charred black.
The battle formation diagram was also included.
Gu Moran walked out and slapped her hand in front of Si Renyou with a "smack".
Si Renyou was so frightened that he took half a step back.
Gu Moran coughed twice. "There's a rumor going around that with my frail health, it's hard to say how many days I'll live."
Si Renyou looked down at the tattered scripture.
It reads "Nine Revolutions to Extend Life".
Gu Moran smiled.
"I originally only intended to refine some longevity elixirs according to the book, but I didn't expect to misjudge the amount of saltpeter and sulfur."
"The furnace is destroyed. I just want to increase the quantity; could you perhaps crush the stone?"
Gu Moran to the gap in the Severed Dragon Ridge in the distance.
"Who knew it would actually work?"
Si Renyou opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Gu Moran then pointed to the blast furnace that was still emitting black smoke.
"That furnace is also the large elixir furnace that I intend to use to refine Kim Seok."
Hoping to refine a golden elixir to save their lives.
Who knew that instead of refining the elixir, they'd end up with a pile of hard iron?
"Of course, we'll keep this hard iron a secret for now. If it's really useful, we'll have to refine it."
Si Renyou followed his hand and looked over.
She turned back to look at Gu Moran's pale face.
No problem.
A sickly prince, exiled to a fiefdom, resorts to any means necessary to survive.
That reason is plausible.
It's just too much of a coincidence.
Gu Moran pulled another folded cloth from his sleeve.
It was handed right under Si Renyou's nose.
"To avoid arousing my father's suspicion, I have written this letter of apology."
The memorial already confessed to the crimes of being obsessed with magic and destroying mountains and rocks. It requests the court to punish the offender.
Si Renyou accepted it with both hands.
Open it.
The handwriting throughout is messy.
Between the lines, it was all the lamentations of a good-for-nothing, admitting that he had gone mad while practicing alchemy.
Si Renyou sighed heavily.
He closed the folded document.
I think this is indeed an excellent way to preserve it.
After reading this memorial, the Emperor will only think that Prince Yi is incompetent and has no future, which will put him at ease.
"Your Highness has been wronged." Si Renyou bowed his head and returned the memorial to Gu Moran.
Gu Moran waved his hand.
He was instructed to arrange for the mail to be delivered.
Si Renyou left, but his pace slowed down.
Two days later.
Ten-Li Slope Blacksmith Shop.
The heat was intense.
Mu Lu, shirtless, swung a sledgehammer, sparks flying everywhere.
Zhen Daijin strode in and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
Gu Moran asked him to inspect the first batch of "tools".
He fully expected to see rows of gleaming swords, spears, and halberds.
The ground ended up being completely black.
He looked closely.
The ground was piled high with deep, thick, double-handled small iron pots.
There were also hundreds of large kitchen knives piled up next to it.
The back of the knife is ridiculously thick.
Zhen Daijin there, stunned.
Pointing to the small black pot on the ground, he turned to ask Gu Moran.
"Is Your Highness planning to open a large restaurant in the military camp?"