[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming":3,"chapter-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-966":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Unorthodox Sword of Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2338171,4570,"Chapter 966: Reminder","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-966",966,"\u003Cp>Pan Yu felt incapable and decided to diligently train in martial arts, study military texts, and drill his troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Ming and the Oirats will inevitably go to war to wash away humiliation, reassert dominance over all directions, and establish its status as the paramount state.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For military officers, promotion comes only through battlefield merit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yu did so, but Pan Yue worked even harder, immersing himself daily in books and case records.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The case records were all old cases, usable as historical sources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no choice—he had not entered the Hanlin Academy and could not access official records of this dynasty; he could only glimpse the past through these case records.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The case records contained abundant information, but differed from established historical accounts—they required personal discovery and summation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They laid bare the struggles of interests, shifts in factions and imperial will, and the benefits or flaws of state policy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, his father could no longer obtain more confidential case records; he was particularly interested in several major cases from the Hongwu era, sensing that many root causes lay hidden within them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he had never seen the case records, through his father’s descriptions he knew the Great Ming had many ailments, the largest of which had been planted at the very founding of the dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His younger sister sought reform; some ailments could be healed with medicine, but others must be cut out with a knife to prevent regrowth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Medicine could no longer heal them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yu was right—the court was not without others who had sensed the emperor’s reformist intentions;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yue was also right—those who sensed it were few.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without exception, all who sensed it remained silently complicit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the third day of the eighth month, the emperor’s birthday, the entire nation celebrated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regional princes and envoys from vassal states each presented gifts to honor the emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The emperor was delighted and immediately took them to watch the final trial of the Embroidered Uniform Guard—though they saw only the last round.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the final round ended, Minister of Works Hu Cheng presented the newly forged arquebus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qiyu turned and invited the foreign envoys to witness the new arquebus in action, specifically naming the Jurchen and Burmese envoys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Cheng waved his hand; ten imperial guards stepped forward, each holding a long firearm. The new arquebus differed in design from current models—it was arm-length, with a wooden guard covering the barrel, no gunpowder loaded, no fuse lit, yet fired with a mere slight motion and trigger pull; and after the ten guards hit the target center, they did not pause to reload, but continued aiming and firing…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the imperial guards fired their second round, all officials widened their eyes; the foreign envoys stood up, staring intently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jurchen envoy Fan Cha’s thoughts raced; his pride subsided—how could the Great Ming possess such a device?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Burmese envoy’s gaze flickered; his smile remained, but grew strained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The family of Si Jifa, who had fled from Luchuan, now hid in Burma.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the imperial guards fired five rounds and halted, a moment of silence swept the crowd—then erupted into thunderous applause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qiyu had never seen the new arquebus tested before; he too was stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No need to reload gunpowder—not only did it spare a gunpowder soldier, but the firing rate increased dramatically. Last year, had they possessed this, how could his elder brother have been chased across the land by Oirat cavalry?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could have formed arquebus formations to block cavalry charges…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qiyu clenched his fists tightly, his face expressionless, still smiling broadly, and declared loudly: “The Great Ming now possesses this formidable weapon—Ministry of Works has done well! Reward!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Cheng immediately accepted the reward on behalf of the Ministry of Works; the craftsmen chosen to attend the birthday celebration were overjoyed and knelt together to receive their honors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Cheng said: “Your Majesty, though this new arquebus still uses gunpowder, its barrel manufacturing, overall structure, and gunpowder mixture all differ. To distinguish it clearly from the old arquebus, I humbly request Your Majesty name it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qiyu fixed his gaze on the arquebus in the imperial guards’ hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hu Cheng, quick-witted, immediately took one from a guard and presented it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhu Qiyu stroked the barrel; the wooden guard outside was slightly warm—far superior to the old arquebus’s barrel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The length and standardization had changed greatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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 once the gunpowder was spent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had already planned a name last night, but after seeing it today, he immediately changed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said: “This firearm resembles a long spear, and its gunpowder blast sounds like thunder. Let us call it the Thunder-Shaking Long Spear—what do you think?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from Hu Cheng and the Ministry of Works craftsmen, everyone else thought the emperor’s name was utterly inappropriate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thunder-Shaking was fine, but what did it have to do with a long spear?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was only one arm’s length—how was that like a long spear?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was the emperor’s name, and today was his birthday; everyone enthusiastically praised the name as excellent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun stood far away, faintly hearing the praise and flattery, yet clearly seeing the emperor’s pride and joy on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The name was thus settled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zijin appeared behind Pan Yun without notice, watching with her for a long while: “See? Even an emperor finds it hard not to grow arrogant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zijin snorted coldly: “You’ve spent too little time in the palace. Trivial matters are the easiest to turn into repeated battles. In this palace, it is the major issues that pass swiftly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve been here longer than I have—I trust you,” Pan Yun said after thinking: “A test of compliance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zijin raised an eyebrow: “You named it well. Indeed. A new emperor ascends, seeks to control his ministers; the ministers, in turn, seek to control the new emperor. Thus, at the very start of a new reign, trivial matters are most easily chosen for contention.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun raised an eyebrow: “But in the current emperor’s case… there doesn’t seem to be any?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He was lucky—the former emperor died suddenly, and so miserably, the dynasty nearly collapsed. Nearly a quarter of the 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: “Moreover, you stabilized the army. Under the crisis of imminent national collapse, they forgot their own interests. His luck was good—and yours was too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun’s lips curled slightly: “So the people of the Great Ming still have good hearts, with a sense of the greater good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zijin looked at her with a half-smile, sizing her up: “I hope you keep thinking that way. I came to warn you: avoid unnecessary killing. Your merit is strong enough to bear the debt owed by Mount Sanqing, but if you commit more killing, you and Pan Ping will share merit and sin—and you will be crushed beneath it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Zijin turned and left, leaving behind one sentence: “You are the most promising disciple my Dao sect has ever had—don’t let the secular world bind you.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1288,"2026-06-20T22:04:01.137Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","418c3d24905501365b2d2ce9bb63216084e6a02c4588330d651dc373b2c52f71","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-967","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-965",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-cover.jpg"]