Chapter 195

"How is it? How is the battle situation at Zhu Family Manor?"

Early the next morning, the County Magistrate of Yuncheng County, where Zhu Family Manor was located,

hurriedly summoned the County Commandant in charge of military affairs and capturing thieves in the county government.

As the magistrate of Yuncheng County, he was naturally not unaware of Liang Shan's large-scale invasion of Zhu Family Manor.

Not to mention the informants he had planted in the territories of local powerful families like the Zhu and Li,

in fact, the moment Zhu Family Manor was surrounded, it not only sought help from the Li and

Hu families, but also specially sent elite manor servants to the county government to report the case.

It was just that Yuncheng County had been at peace for too long, and the county troops were long since unusable,

and could not be assembled in a short time,

so he could only first send some scouts to Zhu Family Manor to inquire about the news.

He thought that with the strength of Zhu Family Manor, there would be no problem holding out for a few days, right?

'What kind of profit can be made from this?'

Putting aside his worries about Zhu Family Manor, the magistrate began to think about his biggest purpose for coming to Yuncheng County.

He had only one purpose for coming to Yuncheng County: to make money, make money, and make more money!

Without money to bribe his superiors, how could his position as magistrate move up?

Without making enough money, how could he ensure his future life would be extremely comfortable?

Without making enough money, how could he support his newly married twelfth concubine?

"County Magistrate, Zhu Family Manor has already been broken through by the Liang Shan bandits!"

The County Commandant standing below reported the news the scouts had gathered with a bitter smile.

"This, are these Liang Shan bandits so good at fighting?"

The magistrate was shocked, his pair of old eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

This Zhu Family Manor was a famous and powerful family in Yuncheng County.

Not only did it train over a thousand manor servants, but it also built a fortress to protect itself,

and established city walls and other fortifications; although the scale could not compare to the county town,

in terms of sturdiness and durability, it was even stronger than the dilapidated city walls of the county town!

Neither he nor the previous few magistrates could do anything about this local tiger,

and could only try their best to appease and win them over; usually, when Zhu Family Manor did things that violated the law,

such as the Zhu family's young masters wearing armor and

riding tall horses through the streets, he chose to turn a blind eye.

What armor?

That was just clothing that looked like armor!

If anyone were to investigate deeply, he would have to ask who was in the hall and why they were accusing the official.

As a result, such a force that even the county government was three parts afraid of,

was actually broken through by the Liang Shan bandits in one day?

"I heard that the Liang Shan bandits have mastered the power of Heavenly Thunder!

The people in Zhu Family Manor only heard a loud bang, and the main gate was broken through!"

Speaking of this, even the County Commandant, who prided himself on fearing nothing,

could not help but show a trace of fear on his face.

In the Great Song, the theory of ghosts and gods still had a large market.

"Heavenly Thunder? That is absolutely impossible!

Our Great Song is the orthodox lineage of Heaven; how could any other bandits master Heavenly Thunder!"

The magistrate, as an official of the Great Song, dismissed this speculation without even thinking.

If Heavenly Thunder were to be mastered, it should be mastered by a scholar like him.

Could a mere group of bandits understand the Heavenly Dao better than scholars like them who had read many books?

"Then, then what was it?"

The County Commandant asked boldly.

"Hmm..."

The magistrate stroked his mottled beard and fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind: "Black powder!

Those Liang Shan bandits must have used a massive amount of black powder to break through the gate of Zhu Family Manor!"

"Black powder? That seems possible."

Upon hearing this, the County Commandant thought carefully and felt it really made sense.

Although most of the gunpowder used today is for making fireworks and firecrackers,

and its lethality is far from enough, the things in the military like thunder fireballs, caltrop fireballs,

divine fire flying crows, and fire dragons emerging from the sea are all small gadgets where the noise is greater than the power,

but if the quantity is increased, the power cannot be underestimated.

Zhu Family Manor was probably caught off guard,

allowing the Liang Shan bandits to pile a large amount of black powder under the city gate, which was why it was broken through in one fell swoop.

As for Heavenly Thunder or whatever, it must have been words used by the Liang Shan bandits to build momentum and confuse people's hearts.

Zhang Jie: Could I tell them that although I haven't figured out practical dynamite yet,

I already have mature granulated gunpowder?

Compared to black powder, the gaps between the granules of granulated gunpowder allow oxygen to better assist combustion, resulting in higher combustion efficiency.

The granular structure of granulated gunpowder makes it less likely to separate due to different component densities during transport,

ensuring the uniformity and reliability of the gunpowder;

the surface area to volume ratio of granulated gunpowder is smaller,

it absorbs less moisture from the air, and has better moisture resistance;

it has an appropriate and determined loading density,

so it will not cause eruptions due to parallel layer combustion caused by being pressed too tightly,

nor will it lead to insufficient power or duds due to being loaded too loosely.

In terms of power performance, because the combustion is more complete,

the energy released by granulated gunpowder of the same mass is higher than that of powdered black powder.

Historically, there is even a saying that one pound of granulated gunpowder is equivalent to three pounds of powdered gunpowder.

In general, granulated gunpowder is a milestone in the development of black powder technology,

improving combustion efficiency, stability, and safety through the granulation process,

becoming a qualified explosive and propellant.

The British Empire swept the globe, punching the French,

and kicking the lobster soldiers of our Great Qing, for most of history,

used traditional granulated black powder.

It was not until 1884 that French chemists invented smokeless powder,

and the British army did not switch to rifles using smokeless powder until 1892.

Zhang Jie: This "Empire on which the sun never sets" thing, it's not like my Liang Shan can't do it too!

"Phew!"

"Phew!"

The magistrate and the County Commandant, feeling they had figured it out, could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Since the news of Zhu Family Manor being broken through arrived,

what they were most worried about was naturally not the life or death of Master Zhu, Zhu Chaofeng, or the Zhu brothers,

but what if these Liang Shan bandits came to attack the county town?

Although attacking the county town is equivalent to killing officials and rebelling, which would lead to being thunderously exterminated by the Great Song with all its might,

but who knows what these Liang Shan bandits are thinking; what if their brains aren't normal?

Others could run, but a magistrate has the responsibility to defend the land,

and a County Commandant is the direct leader of the county's military forces;

if they dared to run, it wouldn't be as simple as being dismissed from office,

but rather their entire families would be executed, and the whole family would be reunited in the underworld.

So after quietly sending their families away, although they were terrified, they stayed behind.

"County Magistrate, I will go and stockpile sandbags, collect bows and arrows, and strengthen the defenses."

The County Commandant, feeling he had seen through Liang Shan's methods, said confidently.

"Hmm."

The magistrate, sitting upright in the sandalwood armchair, nodded.

He now felt that the County Commandant, who usually didn't get along with him, was so pleasing to the eye,

and so teachable: stockpiling sandbags could be used to reinforce the city walls and

city gates, so that even if the Liang Shan bandits wanted to repeat their old tricks,

they could not break through the city gates as they did with Zhu Family Manor.

Collecting bows and arrows could also solve the Liang Shan bandits from a distance,

to prevent them from transporting black powder to the city gate.

As for the smoking weapons with greater power than bows and crossbows reported by the scouts, it was simply nonsense;

how could a mere group of bandits master weapons with greater power than the imperial court's bows and crossbows.

They were just some minor clever tricks.

How could mere minor clever tricks compare to the Confucian way of the sages?