Chapter 966: Reminder

Pan Yu felt inadequate and decided to diligently train in martial arts, study military texts, and drill his troops.

Great Ming and the Oirats will inevitably come to war, to wash away humiliation, reassert dominance over all directions, and establish its status as the suzerain state.

And for military officers, promotion comes only through battlefield merit.

Pan Yu did so, but Pan Yue worked even harder, immersing himself daily in books and official case files.

These case files were all old cases, usable as historical records.

There was no choice—he had not yet entered the Hanlin Academy and could not access official records of this dynasty; he could only glimpse the past through these case files.

The case files contained abundant information, but differed from established historical records—they required personal discovery and summation.

They laid bare the struggles of interests, shifts in factions and imperial will, and the benefits or flaws in state policy.

Unfortunately, his father could no longer obtain more confidential case files; he himself was more interested in several major cases from the Hongwu era, sensing that many root causes of decay lay hidden within them.

Though he had never seen the case files, through his father's descriptions he knew Great Ming had many ailments, the greatest of which had been planted at the very founding of the dynasty.

His younger sister sought reform; some ailments could be healed with medicine, but others must be cut out with a knife to prevent regrowth.

Medicine could no longer heal them.

All Pan Yue could do was find these ailments and write down countermeasures one by one; he was not certain his solutions were correct, but he believed that if he could find them, he could help her.

Pan Yu was right—more than one court official had sensed the Emperor's intent to reform;

Pan Yue was also right—those who sensed it were few.

Without exception, all who sensed it fell into silent accord.

On the third day of the eighth month, the Emperor's birthday, the entire nation celebrated.

Vassal kings and envoys from foreign states each presented gifts to congratulate the Emperor.

The Emperor was greatly pleased and immediately took them to watch the final trial of the Embroidered Uniform Guard—though they saw only the last round.

When the final round ended, Minister of Works Hu Cheng presented the newly crafted arquebus.

Zhu Qiyu turned and invited the foreign envoys to witness the new arquebus in action, specifically naming the Jurchen and Burmese envoys.

Hu Cheng waved his hand; ten imperial guards immediately stepped forward, each holding a long firearm. The new arquebus differed in design from existing ones—it was as long as an arm, with a wooden guard covering the barrel, no gunpowder loaded, no fuse lit, yet fired simply by a slight motion and trigger pull; and after the ten guards hit the target center, they did not pause to reload gunpowder, but continued aiming and firing…

As the imperial guards fired their second round, all officials widened their eyes in shock; the foreign envoys stood up, staring intently.

The Jurchen envoy Fan Cha's thoughts raced; his arrogance subsided—Great Ming possessed such a device.

The Burmese envoy's gaze flickered; his face still smiled, but the smile grew forced.

Si Jifa's family, who had fled from Luchuan, now hid in Burma.

After the imperial guards fired five rounds and halted, a moment of silence swept the hall, then erupted into thunderous applause.

Zhu Qiyu had never seen the new arquebus tested before—he too was stunned.

No need to reload gunpowder meant not only saving one gunpowder soldier, but also faster firing speed. Last year, had they possessed this, how could his elder brother have been chased across the land by Oirat cavalry?

They could have formed arquebus formations to block cavalry charges…

Zhu Qiyu clenched his fists tightly, his face expressionless, still smiling broadly, and declared loudly: "Great Ming now possesses this mighty weapon—the Ministry of Works has done well! Reward!"

Hu Cheng immediately accepted the reward on behalf of the Ministry of Works; the craftsmen fortunate enough to attend the birthday celebration were overjoyed, kneeling together to receive their rewards.

Hu Cheng said: "Your Majesty, though this new arquebus still uses gunpowder, its barrel manufacturing process, overall structure, and gunpowder composition all differ. To distinguish it clearly from existing arquebuses, I humbly request Your Majesty name it."

Zhu Qiyu fixed his gaze on the arquebus held by the imperial guards.

Hu Cheng, quick-witted, immediately took one from a guard and presented it to the Emperor.

Zhu Qiyu stroked the barrel; the wooden guard outside was slightly warm—far superior to the barrel of the old arquebus.

The length and standardization had changed greatly.

Last night, the State Preceptor had shown him blueprints; he knew this was not the complete design—above the barrel, a bayonet could be mounted, allowing hand-to-hand combat after gunpowder was expended.

He had already planned a name last night, but after seeing it today, he immediately changed it.

He said: "This firearm resembles a long spear, and the sound of its discharge is like thunder. Let us name it Thunder-Shaking Long Spear—what do you think?"

Aside from Hu Cheng and the Ministry of Works craftsmen, everyone else thought the Emperor's name was utterly inappropriate.

Thunder-Shaking was fine, but how was this an arquebus related to a long spear?

It was only one arm's length—where was it like a long spear?

But it was the Emperor's name, and today was his birthday, so everyone lavished praise on the name.

Pan Yun stood far away, faintly hearing the praise and eulogies, yet clearly seeing the Emperor's pride and delight on his face.

The name was thus settled.

Zhang Zijin appeared beside Pan Yun without warning, watching with her for a long while: "See? Even an Emperor finds it hard not to grow arrogant?"

Pan Yun smiled: "Today is his birthday; ministers don't want to spoil the mood. Besides, naming something is a trivial matter—no one needs to oppose the Emperor over it."

Zhang Zijin snorted coldly: "You've spent too little time in the palace. Trivial matters are the very ones most easily dragged into endless struggle. In this palace, it's the major issues that pass swiftly."

"You've been here longer—I trust you," Pan Yun said after thinking: "A test of compliance?"

Zhang Zijin raised an eyebrow: "You named it well—it's exactly that. A new Emperor ascends, seeks to control his ministers; the ministers seek to control the new Emperor. Thus, at the very beginning of a new reign, trivial matters are most easily chosen for contention."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: "In the current case… there doesn't seem to be any?"

"He's been lucky—the late Emperor died suddenly, and so miserably, the dynasty nearly collapsed. Nearly a quarter of civil and military officials perished. Had he followed Empress Dowager Sun's wishes and settled old scores, half the survivors would have died," Zhang Zijin glanced at Pan Yun: "Besides, you stabilized the military. Under the crisis of national collapse, they forgot their own interests. His luck was good—and yours was too."

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly: "So the people of Great Ming still have good hearts, with a sense of the greater good."

Zhang Zijin looked at her with a half-smile, sizing her up: "I hope you keep thinking that. I came to remind you: avoid unnecessary killing. Your merit is strong enough to bear the debt owed by Mount Sanqing—but if you create more killing, you and Pan Gong will share merit and sin equally, and you will be crushed under it."

Pan Yun froze in surprise.

Zhang Zijin turned and left, leaving behind one sentence: "You are my Dao sect's most promising disciple—don't let worldly matters bind you."