Chapter Eighteen: Hui'er, the Treasured Child

Gao Buyi smiled and nodded, then led Shangguan Peihui toward the Zichen Hall. “Well, Hui’er, how many people have you managed to contact?”

“Including the Mohist faction, only nineteen in total. The others are either too old or too young to be of use.”

“A real dearth of talent. Make sure to make the most of these people. Tell me about each of the nineteen.”

“Yes, sir!” As they walked, Shangguan Peihui gave Gao Buyi a detailed introduction. In the end, Gao Buyi assigned them to the Six Ministries according to their strengths, with five of them intended for the Peilong Guard.

As they were about to enter the Zichen Hall, Gao Buyi suddenly stopped and pointed at a palace cloaked in smoke some distance away. “Hui’er, what’s going on over there? That place keeps smoking for no reason these days. Is there a fire?”

“Your Majesty, that’s the Alchemy Hall. Inside, a respected Daoist is making elixirs for you.”

“What?!” Gao Buyi’s eyes widened at her words. Who was this scoundrel, daring to swindle him? Furious, he shouted, “Yan Wu! Where’s Yan Wu?”

After Geshuhan and Li Sheng left for Jiangnan, Yan Wu had taken over as the Rear Guard’s commanding general. Hearing Gao Buyi call for him, Yan Wu hurried over. Before he could even salute, Gao Buyi pointed at the Alchemy Hall. “Take your men and arrest the old Daoist inside. Smash everything in there and throw it out! How dare a charlatan try to dupe me? I’ll make an example out of you!”

Yan Wu immediately led the Imperial Guards to raid the Alchemy Hall.

Shangguan Peihui was a bit confused, as alchemy was all the rage throughout the Tang Empire. Many nobles had their own alchemists, and the one in the Alchemy Hall had been hired by the court at great expense.

After a cacophony of crashing sounds, the smoke stopped billowing from the Alchemy Hall. Its contents were cleared out, and an old Daoist, trembling alongside four young apprentices, was dragged to the palace entrance to kneel.

Gao Buyi approached and pointed at him. “Which temple are you from? Instead of practicing properly, you dare come here to swindle? Speak the truth, or else!”

The old Daoist was dumbstruck by this sudden imperial wrath. Wasn’t it you who invited me here to make elixirs?

The old Daoist quavered, “Your Majesty, I was making immortality elixirs for you.”

“Nonsense!” Gao Buyi snatched a small jade bottle from Yan Wu, poured out a few red pills, and said, “Look at this color—so red, there’s a lot of cinnabar in here, isn’t there?”

He held the pill to his nose and sniffed it. “There’s sulfur too, and some herbs. You expect people to eat this? This is poison, not medicine! Tell me the truth, and if you dare lie, I’ll show no mercy.”

“Yes, yes, yes! Spare me, Your Majesty! It was the officials from our area who forced me to come and make the elixir of immortality for you. They threatened to slaughter everyone at my temple if I refused. Truth be told, there’s no such thing as an immortality pill in this world. If there were, wouldn’t we all have become immortals by now? The pills we usually make are just for treating ailments.”

When the old Daoist finished, Gao Buyi realized the problem stemmed from his own orders—he was the one forcing an honest man into wrongdoing. His expression softened. “Very well. Since you’re speaking the truth, I’ll let you off this time. But if you ever make these poisonous pills again, I won’t forgive you. Go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and help the doctors detoxify everyone in the palace who has taken your pills. Afterward, you may return home.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you!”

“Get up. Also, you need to write a statement declaring that the immortality elixir is a fraud, and sign your name. I want to use this to stamp out this unhealthy habit in the palace. These people have money to burn and are gambling with their lives. If they have so much wealth, they’d do better to donate it to the court to build ships and cannons.”

The old Daoist didn’t quite understand but kept thanking the emperor profusely.

Gao Buyi waved his hand, signaling the guards to escort them to the medical bureau. But after a few steps, he called them back. “Do you have a formula that mixes charcoal and saltpeter to create something that burns intensely, gives off blinding white light, and much smoke? I remember your founder Ge Hong invented it centuries ago.”

“Yes, yes! Here it is, Your Majesty.”

Gao Buyi took the recipe and saw it only listed a few names, nothing more. It was useless to him since he already knew the ingredients; what mattered was the proportions.

Noticing Gao Buyi’s disappointed look, and when only he and Shangguan Peihui remained, she asked, “Your Majesty, this recipe doesn’t include the proportions, does it?”

“How did you know? Wait, does your faction already know how to make gunpowder?”

“Gunpowder? I’m not sure, but our Mohist engineers, using collected alchemical recipes, have produced a black substance. Its properties are exactly as you described. If you want, I can write down the formula for you.”

“Really?!” Gao Buyi, elated, hugged Shangguan Peihui and kissed her cheek. “Hui’er, you’re my lucky star! On behalf of the Tang Empire, thank you! Come, let’s get this written down right away!”

With that, he dragged the stunned Shangguan Peihui toward the Zichen Hall. Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was just overcome with desire.

Shangguan Peihui was speechless. How had things turned from a simple conversation to hugging and kissing? Although she secretly harbored feelings for him, this was hardly proper. If the jealous Imperial Consort heard of it, the whole harem would be thrown into chaos.

Gao Buyi, however, could think of nothing else. Gunpowder—something he had dreamed of—was finally within reach. How could he not be excited? With his knowledge from later eras, given two years, he could fully unleash gunpowder’s might on the battlefield. By then, what would the Tang army have to fear?

After Shangguan Peihui wrote out the formula, Gao Buyi saw the Mohists had already perfected the recipe. He only added a note to include egg whites, then hurriedly summoned Lishi, handed him the gunpowder formula, along with blueprints for landmines, cannons, and flintlock guns. He also instructed Shangguan Peihui to assign their best gunpowder expert to assist, sparing no resources and keeping everything secret.

After sending Lishi away, Gao Buyi was still so excited he paced the room restlessly, muttering to himself. Shangguan Peihui couldn’t understand his words but could tell he was delighted, which made her happy as well.

“Hui’er, does your Mohist faction have any other inventions that seem unremarkable but are actually very powerful?”

“Ah?” Shangguan Peihui was at a loss for words.

“I mean things that look ordinary but have great destructive power.”

“Oh, yes. There’s something we distill from rock oil—a pale yellow liquid that burns fiercely and won’t go out in water.”

“Hui’er, you’re a treasure trove!” Gao Buyi exclaimed. He knew exactly what she meant: gasoline.