Ye Hui looked at the working laborers: “Are there any trustworthy ones among them?” Because the upcoming work was a military secret, crucial in future wars, if leaked, it would be a fatal blow to Ying Tang.
“Old Zheng and his two sons are trustworthy, you can test them.” Li Weichen waved to Zheng Hei, who was filling soil: “Zheng Hei, come here, the mistress has something to ask you.”
Zheng Hei was a middle-aged man in his teens, with agile movements from years of physical labor. Hearing Li Weichen’s call, he put down his shovel and walked over, cupping his fists to Ye Hui: “Zheng Hei greets the mistress, is there something you wish to ask?”
Ye Hui looked him over: “What did you do before?”
Zheng Hei was stunned, Li Weichen explained: “The mistress is asking about your previous occupation, just tell the truth.”
Zheng Hei said: “I used to be a ferryman on Qinghe River, does the mistress know about the bandits that used to plague the river’s source?”
Li Weichen laughed and said: “Don’t underestimate Zheng Hei’s education. He knows exactly what to do and what not to do, as clear as a mirror. His eldest son served in the military last year and was recently promoted to centurion for his bravery in a major battle against the Turks.”
Ye Hui looked at the group filling the earth, saw that the work was coming to an end, and said: “Zheng Hei’s family can stay employed, everyone else can leave!”
Li Weichen went over and distributed wages to everyone. Because he had previously seen the jade pendant hanging on Ye Hui’s chest, he knew her background and was generous with her money, giving each worker an extra twenty coins. Everyone happily took their wages and thanked him as they left, envying Zheng Hei’s family for finding such a good employer.
Ye Hui, seeing that the unrelated people had left, gathered Li Weichen and Zheng Hei’s family together, explaining what needed to be done. Afraid they might not understand, she drew diagrams on the ground with her gold hairpin.
Mochi remained by her side, while Lao Shi and Lao Shiyi found it curious and gathered around.
“This is extremely dangerous. The extracted gasoline cannot come into contact with even the slightest flame. No fire can be within several meters, not even candles or oil lamps at night. When transporting, it must be handled with extreme care. If it falls and causes a massive explosion, everything in the surrounding area will be destroyed.”
“Explosion?” Li Weichen asked in surprise: “Like gunpowder?”
Ye Hui shook her head: “No, gasoline explosions are even more terrifying, earth-shattering.”
She had her reasons for this answer, as ancient gunpowder was poorly made, with more noise than effect and limited killing power. She had considered creating later-type gunpowder, but Pingzhou lacked resources, and saltpeter and sulfur had to be transported from elsewhere, making it impractical against the Turks.
Lao Shiyi couldn’t help but ask: “Grandmother, why make something so dangerous, especially not something a girl should be doing?”
Ye Hui gave him a cold look: “It’s precisely because it’s dangerous that we must do it. Imagine a small can of gasoline is already terrifying – what if thousands or tens of thousands of cans were launched by catapults? It might not be just a fantasy to win a battle with a single strike.”
Lao Shiyi was rendered speechless.
Li Weichen’s eyes brightened, his heart stirring.
“Prepare everything, and remember: safety comes first.”
Petroleum was brought and poured into the pot, then sealed and heated. Following Ye Hui’s concept, the petroleum was decomposed, with gases flowing through more than ten meters into a large vat to cool slowly. This primitive method produced gasoline with many impurities, but it was sufficient as a weapon of war.
Gasoline is highly volatile, and even with a lid, it’s not completely secure. After boiling several batches, Zheng Hei’s son transferred the cooled gasoline into cans and sealed them with oil cloth.
Ye Hui stood in front of the workshop, knowing that to improve the process and extract more gasoline, they would need to modify the equipment. But she had only demonstrated the method – the important work would be left to Huangfu Ze, who had manpower, resources, and supreme authority.
The cliff was only sixty meters high, with bushes covering the ground below, not a large area, and occasionally a few animals could be seen passing by. She looked for a while and thought: If this gasoline tank is thrown down, it might harm the nearby animals.
Just as Ye Hui hadn’t time to think, a thunderous sound erupted, and a huge black smoke burst up from the cliff bottom, whooshing to the cliff top. Ye Hui had no time to dodge, but saw a hot wave rushing towards her. Li Weichen, who was closest, suddenly threw her down and rolled with her several times.
It turned out that Lao Shiyi hadn’t even reached the cliff edge when he dropped the gasoline tank, completely unaware of its terrifying power. Because he was far from the cliff edge, he wasn’t affected by the blast wave. But Ye Hui and Li Weichen were closest to the explosion point and were most obviously impacted.
Lao Shiyi was scared stiff, shouting “Your Highness!” and rushed over. He saw Ye Hui’s clothes were extremely disheveled, with a few flames still burning, and her long hair had become a messy short crop. Li Weichen was even more miserable, his scholar’s hat gone, his hair charred, his body still burning, yet he was focused on frantically patting out the flames on Ye Hui.
The others came over, helping to extinguish the flames on both of them.
Mo Qi removed her outer robe and wrapped Ye Hui in it, her face deathly pale, trembling as she wanted to check her injuries. Ye Hui quickly stopped her, unwilling to be examined with so many people around. Li Weichen kept asking, “How are you? Are you alright?”
Ye Hui, who had been scared out of her wits, gradually calmed down. Seeing everyone’s anxiety, she frowned and said, “It’s just ruined clothes, not as serious as you think.” She spoke to reassure everyone, but in fact, several places on her body were burning painfully.
But Lao Shi and Lao Shiyi were not at ease.
“Young Master Li, why don’t you come back to my residence? I have a doctor from the capital with excellent medical skills.”
Li Weichen shook his head: “Just a minor burn on my back, it’s nothing. I’m strong, and I’ll recover after applying some medicine. But you’re a girl, and it would be bad if you’re left with scars. You should see a doctor when you get back.”
He saw her originally fair face was blackened by smoke, and wondered how long it would take for her hair to grow back. His mood was low, feeling more distressed about her injuries than his own.
“You used your back to block the blast wave. Your injuries must be serious. It’s better to come back to my residence for treatment,” Ye Hui was worried. Burns were not easy to treat in ancient times, and infection could be dangerous.
But Li Weichen just shook his head. Ye Hui understood his reluctance to impose on others, thinking to herself: I’ll send Doctor Zhou over later!
The group returned to Li Weichen’s residence, with Zheng Hei’s family staying to care for him.
Ye Hui and Mo Qi were supported onto a horse-drawn carriage, with Lao Shi and Lao Shiyi escorting them towards the city. The two guards’ eyes carried a hint of unease, worried about Ye Hui’s injuries and the severe punishment awaiting them upon return.
