Chapter 99: Standing the Military Posture

"Old Xu, the white powder I had you collect is Earth Saltpeter. I need a large amount of Earth Saltpeter now. Mobilize your friends to collect it as quickly as possible; the more, the better. I will still purchase it at the rate of ten wen per jin," Meng Yifan said.

"Earth Saltpeter?" Xu Dafu was stunned for a moment. His mind couldn't help but think of saltpeter. Although he was only a servant who collected excrement, he knew that the price of saltpeter was very high and that it was in short supply. Could Meng Yifan actually extract saltpeter from Earth Saltpeter? That would truly be turning waste into treasure.

Meng Yifan took a sip of tea. He was not worried about Xu Dafu knowing the white powder was Earth Saltpeter, because in this world, apart from him, no one knew the technology to extract saltpeter from Earth Saltpeter. Even if they obtained a large amount of Earth Saltpeter, it would just be a pile of foul-smelling trash.

Xu Dafu knew Meng Yifan had come to discuss business, so he was not as nervous. He was very willing to do this business. He had collected some Earth Saltpeter during this period and was just preparing to send it to Meng Yifan, but Meng Yifan and his group had killed officials and rebelled, which made Xu Dafu hesitate and afraid to take the initiative to deliver the goods.

Now hearing that Meng Yifan still wanted to continue purchasing Earth Saltpeter at ten wen per jin, Xu Dafu said happily, "Lord Meng, my family currently has fifty-five jin of Earth Saltpeter stored. I will send it to you in a while, and I will also mobilize my companions to continue collecting Earth Saltpeter."

"Good, send it over. Also, Old Xu, send me two large buckets of the excrement and urine you collect as well," Meng Yifan said.

Xu Dafu was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Lord Meng, what do you need those filthy things for?"

Meng Yifan did not explain, but said, "Just send them over, and I will pay you for them as well."

Xu Dafu did not dare to ask more and honestly went out to collect Earth Saltpeter. Before long, he pushed a cart, bringing the Earth Saltpeter, and also brought two large buckets of excrement and urine. The foul, unbearable smell made Meng Qinghe, who was nearby, not want to breathe.

Meng Qinghe pinched his nose and asked, "Brother Meng, what do you want this excrement and urine for?"

Meng Yifan laughed, "You will know in a while."

Meng Yifan led Meng Qinghe to push the cart to a very remote courtyard in the north of the city. He had people set up many earthen walls here, and then arranged for people to splash all this excrement and urine onto the earthen walls. Instantly, the entire courtyard was foul-smelling and filthy.

Meng Yifan looked at the sky. Today was a sunny day with some wind. These excrement and urine should dry by the afternoon, and some Earth Saltpeter should form.

This was a crude method for making Earth Saltpeter that Meng Yifan had seen when he was on Earth. He didn't know if it would work, but now it could be considered an experiment. If it worked, he could use this method to mass-produce Earth Saltpeter in the future.

Meng Yifan also knew that even if this crude method succeeded, the amount of Earth Saltpeter produced would be limited, but a small amount was better than nothing. He was in urgent need of gunpowder now, and there were no saltpeter mines around Luolong County, so he could only use this crude method to create Earth Saltpeter and then extract saltpeter to solve his immediate needs first.

"Let's go, come back in the afternoon." Meng Yifan took Meng Qinghe back. From the Game Panel, he could see that Meng Qinghe's Loyalty had already reached 92 points. This was the Subject with the highest loyalty besides Meng Dayong. He was a die-hard follower of Meng Yifan and a trusted confidant, so Meng Yifan was prepared to teach Meng Qinghe the technology of extracting saltpeter from Earth Saltpeter and mixing Black Powder.

Meng Yifan had many things to manage, and he also needed to cultivate. He did not have much time to repeatedly extract saltpeter and mix gunpowder. Teaching this technology to the people around him was also a matter of necessity.

The two soon returned to the underground secret room in the county office. Meng Yifan taught Meng Qinghe the extraction method hand-in-hand. Meng Qinghe was very smart; Meng Yifan only did it once, and he remembered the entire process.

Then Meng Yifan watched from the side, and Meng Qinghe did it himself, operating it once. Surprisingly, he succeeded in extracting saltpeter on the first try.

Next, mixing the gunpowder was even simpler. Just follow the ratio of one part saltpeter, two parts sulfur, and three parts charcoal, weigh them out, and mix the three raw materials evenly, and the scientifically proportioned Black Powder was finished.

Meng Qinghe looked at the Black Powder he had mixed in disbelief and said, "How amazing. Is this an Immortal Art?"

Meng Yifan laughed, "This is not an Immortal Art; this is chemistry and physics knowledge. Later, I will prepare some textbooks, and you, Qingshan, and Qingyu must all study hard for me."

"Yes, don't worry, Brother Meng. Since you are willing to teach us such amazing knowledge, we will definitely study it with all our hearts."

Meng Qinghe said very firmly. Being able to extract precious saltpeter from Earth Saltpeter, such a skill was simply comparable to turning stones into gold. Meng Yifan was willing to teach them such a precious skill without reservation, which was an incomparable trust in them, and this made Meng Qinghe feel very moved inside.

Meng Yifan saw on the Game Panel that Meng Qinghe's Loyalty had increased again, reaching 95 points.

Knowledge is the primary productive force. Meng Yifan had already decided that when he returned to Earth next time, he would bring back textbooks on mathematics, physics, chemistry, and so on, and teach them to the companions around him. Letting them understand this scientific knowledge would also allow them to better help Meng Yifan do things.

"It's a pity that I transmigrated here with my soul and cannot directly bring things across worlds. If I want to bring knowledge over, I can only rely on myself to memorize it first, and then after transmigrating back, write it down from memory."

Meng Yifan was a bit distressed, but ever since he obtained the Game Panel, his memory had also been greatly improved, almost to the point of never forgetting what he saw. Writing down a few books from memory was still something he could do.

…………

On the Grand Drill Ground of Luolong County, the training of new recruits like Zhang Shagen officially began.

New recruits like Zhang Shagen sucked in their stomachs, puffed out their chests, raised their heads, looked straight ahead, and pulled their shoulders back, just like sturdy, upright pine trees. The first training subject they were undergoing was the Military Posture.

Meng Dayong loudly explained the essentials of the Military Posture; these were all taught to him by Meng Yifan in advance.

"All of you listen to me: the essentials of the Military Posture are three-straight, three-suck, one-open, and one-push."

"The three-straight refers to straightening the neck, straightening the chest, and straightening the legs."

"The three-suck refers to sucking in the chin, sucking in the abdomen, and sucking in the buttocks."

"The one-open means the eyes must be opened wide and look straight ahead."

"The one-push means the head must push upward."

Zhang Shagen did not understand why one had to stand in a Military Posture to be a soldier, but for the sake of his family, he did not want to be kicked out of the army, so he did his best to stand in the Military Posture according to Meng Dayong's requirements.

Meng Dayong also did not understand at first why Meng Yifan wanted the new recruits to practice standing in a Military Posture first, but as these new recruits stood there straight and square, there was instantly an aura of solemnity, and they looked like a murderous elite force. This made Meng Dayong secretly marvel: could this be another Immortal Military Training Art taught to Meng Yifan by some white-bearded old immortal?