Let Fireworks Fill the Sky as the Signal; Former Soldiers, Heed the Order and Return to Camp
Gu Moran took a sheet of white paper, used a paperweight to hold down the corners, and first drew a bamboo tube with a charcoal pencil, then divided the tube into three sections.
The first stage involves igniting the flame, the second stage involves continuing the flame, and the third stage involves sounding an alarm.
Too much medicine will harm people; a thick bamboo tube will prevent it from flying; if the landing point is not controlled, the lantern market at the end of the year will turn into a fire.
He left a blank space next to the third paragraph, not rushing to draw anything further.
Si Renyou picked up his brush and waited a moment. Seeing that the bamboo tube on the paper was getting thinner and thinner, he lowered his brows slightly.
"The existing fireworks are nothing more than bamboo joints popping or fire-breathing fuses stuck in the ground."
If Your Highness wants the whole city to see this, these things alone are not enough.
Even the imperial workshops had never managed to get bamboo tubes over the city walls.
After he finished speaking, he placed the ink-stained brush on the inkstone, his gaze never leaving the drawing.
If this is just for show, then it's fine if it doesn't work out.
However, if they were to use it to recall the old subordinates of the Liu Clan, any mistake would alert the spies in the capital and Anyang who were stationed in Yi Prefecture.
Gu Moran added a thin, long fire line to the bottom of the bamboo tube.
"The reason why the existing fireworks can't fly up is because the medicinal effects are all wasted in place."
By separating the lifting and the whistle, the bamboo tube has a chance to leave the ground.
However, the first batch only aimed for high volume and loud banging, not fancy designs.
He moved the pen to the other side of the paper and drew a wooden frame standing on the riverbank.
Zhen Daijin bent down and looked at it several times, his thick index finger tracing from the bottom to the top of the bamboo tube.
He had led troops for many years and had seen rockets, but he had never seen a propellant cartridge that could launch itself and sound an alarm.
"If Your Highness wants to hold a fireworks display, I won't stop you."
But since this is the first time we've made it, we can't put it in the city first.
If a medicine container falls into a house, it won't just burn a few sheets of paper; half the street could be affected.
Zhen Daijin continued, "We need to go downstream to the riverbank first to see if it works."
Clear a path three hundred paces away, and prepare sand and buckets of water around it.
After three rounds of testing to confirm the landing point, it can be taken to the lantern market for use.
"Let's do as Commandant Zhen says."
Gu Moran wrote the words "Trial release on the riverbank" on the drawing and added three fire marks.
"Three shots, then a pause, then two more shots. That was the nighttime signal used by the Liu Clan Army back then."
Those who remember will hear it and look up to find the order behind them.
Si Renyou's pen hit the table, and ink splattered on the edge of the name card.
Without bothering to wipe it, he first dragged the old Liu Clan register in front of him and turned to the page with the military orders and secret notes.
"After three shots, pause for seven breaths, then fire two more shots."
When the old subordinates heard this, they would only recognize it as the beginning of a summons.
Without the three red and two gold accents and the folded corner of the old flag, no one would dare to show themselves rashly.
Therefore, the real command is reserved for the final act.
Gu Moran marked five fire positions on both sides of the elevated road.
"Hang red lanterns in three places, and set off golden fire in two places. After the five signals have been lit, light the willow flag with its corner and half a tiger's head."
Ordinary people would only see it as a fireworks pattern, but the old soldiers could understand the sequence.
"It's so complicated, can it really be done?"
"I am ninety percent certain."
Gu Moran went through it in her mind.
Although he worked in a large factory in his previous life, his family was in the fireworks business.
The process is not complicated.
Zhen Daijin removed his hand from the drawing and instead pressed it against the old knife at his waist.
"This method is much better than sending a message. But the crowd of onlookers is too diverse; we need to replace everyone around them with our own people."
Si Renyou flipped back to the register and pressed the pages with the current addresses under the lamp.
"After the fireworks are lit, the prince must leave a path that allows them to approach without revealing their identities."
Gu Moran circled the lantern market at the end of the year with a charcoal pencil.
"There are three secondhand stalls at the lantern market; pay close attention to old knife sheaths and copper coins from sixteen years ago."
He added a mark beside the trade route in the west of the city.
Si Renyou went through the whole process from beginning to end, pressing his palm down on the old book.
Fireworks only make people look up.
The secondhand stall owner was responsible for verifying identities, while the people from the Prince's mansion hid at the very back.
Even if someone understands half of it, they still can't get their hands on the half of the military order in Gu Moran's hand.
"Your humble servant obeys."
Si Renyou took a dry cloth and wiped away the ink spots on the edge of the name card.
But there's one thing.
This fireworks workshop must be sealed off.
The bamboo craftsmen only made the empty tubes; the medicinal ingredients were packaged by Miss Shen's people and arranged in order before being handed over to Commandant Zhen that evening.
No more than one person must know the entire arrangement.
"Master Si is meticulous."
After the initial blueprints were finalized, Gu Moran rolled up the city defense map and led the group to the backyard.
The stone table in the backyard was surrounded by empty space, and sand buckets left over from the renovation were placed against the wall.
Gu Moran spread out the papers again and weighed down the four corners with stones.
After finishing the last fire stand, he rotated his aching wrist.
Several sets of publicly available designs were laid out on the paper.
The rice ears spread out to both sides along the wooden frame, the waterwheel has only eight spokes, and the folds of the Shu brocade are composed of several intersecting medicinal threads.
At the very edge, there's a snowman with a round head, round belly, and feet treading on cloud patterns.
Yun Shuyue squatted by the stone table, her snowman hat askew on the back of her head.
She studied the snowman for a long time, and finally pointed to its belly with her finger.
"The rice stalks and waterwheels are displayed to show the people this year's grain fields and irrigation canals."
"This snowman can't be eaten or turned, so why is it hung on the highest shelf?"
Gu Moran pressed down on the blueprints that were being blown by the wind.
"It gives Mixue Ice City a boost in brand image. The higher it's displayed, the more people will buy tea next year."
Yun Shuyue then looked at the cloud patterns at the snowman's feet.
"But I'm afraid the medicine thread will burn out and leave ashes."
If the items hit any onlookers, the money the shop has earned won't even cover the cost of the medicine.
"Therefore, the designated areas for setting off fireworks must be cordoned off to prevent people from approaching."
Gu Moran added a protective barrier around the fire stand.
"This is your responsibility. On the night of the fireworks display, you take the express delivery and guard both sides of the riverbank. Stop anyone who crosses the line."
If anyone ignores the fireworks and only goes near the medicine shelves and workshops, remember their face.
Murong Xue leaned against a pillar and saw Yun Shuyue solemnly accepting her task, then rolled her eyes.
"Husband, she asked why the snowman is hanging so high, and you haven't answered her completely yet."
In my opinion, this snowman learned from you; it always spends other people's money but wants to stand at the highest point.
Yun Shuyue moved half a step to the other side of the stone table.
Lin Qingdai walked down the corridor and dragged the map of Yi Prefecture City in front of her.
Fireworks can summon old troops and also lure out spies hidden in the city.
The larger the crowd, the easier it is for things to go wrong;
But if the guards are positioned too densely, those hiding in the shadows won't show themselves.
After a moment's thought, she drew a circle around the city gate, the riverbank, the high-rise restaurant, and the west gate trade route.
If you ask me...
On the night of the fireworks display, the main gate of the West Gate was closed, leaving only the small gate for inspection open.
The veterans of Tailwind Express were transformed into caravan guards, and Xue Huan's men were assigned to the riverbank, the lantern market, and the outer street of the Prince's Mansion.
Lin Qingdai drew two evacuation routes along the west gate.
" Commandant Zhen is in charge of overt patrols."
After the last three rounds begin, repeatedly check the city gate. Be careful, someone might take advantage of the crowd to cause trouble.
After reviewing the city defense map, Zhen Daijin pointed to the north side of the river embankment.
"Place another twenty men here. The reeds along the river are tall, perfect for hiding archers. I'll have them dress as boatmen and put short crossbows in wooden buckets; outsiders won't be able to tell."
Yun Shuyue touched the snowman's hat.
"Oh, I understand."
It turns out that fireworks are for ordinary people to watch; it's the people leaving the theater who are the real audience.
"Then I'll lead the couriers to guard the rooftop. There are more people on the ground; if we lose them, we can intercept them from the roof."