Chapter 211

First Volume, Chapter 211: How to Catch a Tiger Cub

"All troops stationed in Jingdu are elite! The Longhu Army is the elite among elites, directly commanded by the Beixi County War Hero. Even their provisions and pay are separately budgeted—they are the very bulwark of Jingdu! Breaking into the Longhu Army is a crime punishable by extermination of the nine clans!"

Qin Feng waved his hand, his face relaxed: "Don't worry. I've already petitioned the Emperor and corresponded with the Grand General of the Longhu Army. They've granted us amnesty."

Hearing this, Xu Mo quietly exhaled in relief.

Ning Hu, however, still wore a grave expression, his face heavy with pessimism: "To face the Longhu Army—a royal army—right off the bat… isn't that too much of a stretch? And the Longhu Army holds a unique status. If we win, we undermine their prestige. If we lose, we'll be mocked by every other unit…"

At this, Qin Feng grew annoyed. He snatched a handful of grapes from the table and hurled them at Ning Hu's face. "You're already cowering before we even fight?! When you face the Beidi Cavalry on the battlefield, will you also flee before drawing a blade? Who cares if they're royal elite? I fight elite troops precisely because they're elite! When two foes meet on a narrow path, the courageous prevail. If you lack even this much courage, what are you even doing in war? Go home and till the soil!"

Laden with Qin Feng's scathing rebuke, Ning Hu's face flushed red and pale in turns.

Yet he suddenly awakened to the truth!

Yes—Qin Feng had poured vast resources into training these elite troops. If they lacked the courage to even begin fighting, wouldn't that be a total failure?

The Longhu Army may be royal elite, but these three hundred guards aren't far behind!

Thinking this, Ning Hu and the others' gazes gradually hardened.

Ning Hu bowed, each word deliberate: "We shall not disgrace our mission!"

The three hundred guards shouted in unison: "Your Young Master, await our good tidings!"

As the words faded, Xu Mo and Ning Hu led the three hundred guards toward the Dragon-Tiger Army Camp.

Watching their retreating backs, Qin Feng leaned back in the Tengyi Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair Chair, grinning shamelessly: "Await good tidings? Hahahaha, so naive. Just wait to get beaten senseless!"

Shu Feng, standing nearby, watched the departing guards and grew increasingly uneasy: "Young Master, can Little Marquis and the others really complete the mission? Isn't this a bit too much of a stretch?"

Too much of a stretch? No need for such vague euphemisms!

Qin Feng had absolute confidence in the three hundred guards—they'd be crushed flat by the Longhu Army.

The Longhu Army is the backbone of Jingdu's defense, with fifty thousand soldiers on record, and equipment so refined it was almost obscene.

Even if Qin Feng had warned the Longhu Army in advance, as soon as Ning Hu and his men infiltrated the camp, they'd be beaten to within an inch of their lives.

After all, the gap in strength was simply too vast.

While Ning Hu led his men to "seek death," Qin Feng wasn't idle.

He had Qin Xiaofu bring paper and ink, bit the pen's tip, racked his brain for a long while, then finally began writing out a list of materials.

Silica Sand, Wood Ash, Feldspar, Dolomite, Limestone, Mirabilite.

All these materials were needed to smelt Glass.

After all, that little brat, the Princess of Qiyang Commandery, kept pestering him.

To gain some peace, Qin Feng had to use every spare moment to experiment with Glass smelting.

Although Qin Feng remembered the entire process for making Glass.

But since it wasn't his specialty, he had no idea whether he'd succeed.

For now, he could only treat a dead horse as if it were still alive.

To minimize trial-and-error costs, Qin Feng handed the material list to Qin Xiaofu and stressed repeatedly: "The sand in Jingdu has too many impurities—screening it is too costly. If you can't find pure Silica Sand, use Quartz Stone instead."

"As for pure alkali—if you can't find it, substitute Alkali Ore or Poplar Alkali. If Jingdu doesn't even have those two, just get Wood Ash. Making Wood Ash Leachate is troublesome, but it's the only option."

Qin Xiaofu tucked the list away and asked softly: "How much of each does the Young Master need?"

Qin Feng didn't know how many trials it would take to successfully smelt Glass.

After a moment's thought, he waved his hand decisively: "One cartload of each."

At this, Qin Xiaofu turned and left at once, promising he'd get it done.

Seeing Qin Xiaofu take his orders so seriously, Qin Feng was pleased—but glancing at the pitch-black night sky, he called him back: "It's late at night—where are you going to buy this? No need to rush. Go early tomorrow."

But Qin Xiaofu dismissed this, grinning sycophantically: "I just took a look—the items on the list are all in the Ministry of Works. I'll go straight there. If I wait until tomorrow, when the Ministry's officials are on duty, they'll hear it's for you and start meddling."

Sensing the cunning in Qin Xiaofu's eyes, Qin Feng suddenly understood.

The reason for going at night was to use Aifeng's Back Door.

This kid was getting sharper by the day!

Good—true to my teachings!

Whenever Qin Xiaofu handled tasks, he always delivered on time and in full quantity—even if he skimmed a little off the top or pocketed the price difference, Qin Feng was perfectly willing to let it slide.

With the material source settled, now came the equipment for smelting Glass.

The difficulty in making Glass wasn't the materials or Temperament Control—it was the forming process.

If you couldn't form it properly, the Glass would just be ugly, broken slag.

And given Glass's properties—hard to cut or sculpt—even if you succeeded, it'd still be useless.

The only forming process Qin Feng could currently use was Float Process.

Qin Feng pondered briefly, then sketched a large trough.

One zhang by one zhang in area, three chi deep.

The trough should ideally be iron—but forging technology in this era was abysmal.

So Qin Feng withdrew and sought the next best: wood.

He inserted iron pipes along the trough's edges.

One end of each pipe extended into the trough, level with the waterline; the other end connected to a funnel.

Below the trough, he inserted three horizontal beams, linked by rollers that could be rotated manually from either side.

Thus, a simple Tin Trough was complete.

Qin Feng immediately summoned Lu Ming, handed him the Tin Trough design, and asked seriously: "How soon can you build this trough?"

Once a destitute craftsman, since joining Qin Feng, Lu Ming had grown increasingly arrogant.

Now, all skilled artisans around Jingdu were under Lu Ming's command, and he was riding high.

He took the design, glanced at it, and instead of answering, asked: "Is the Young Master in a hurry?"

Qin Feng was slightly surprised and regarded Lu Ming with interest: "What if I'm in a hurry? What if I'm not?"

Lu Ming seemed to regard the 'Tin Trough' as utterly insignificant, smiling broadly: "This water trough is simple enough, and the best carpenters and blacksmiths in the Jingdu region are all in our camp. If the young master needs it urgently, I can have it ready by tomorrow morning. If not, whenever the young master requires it, I'll make it for him then."

Ho! What a bold tone!

Qin Feng felt that recruiting Lu Ming had been the most correct decision he'd ever made—one man was worth a thousand troops!