Leaving a group of generals to familiarize themselves with muskets in the school grounds, Zhou Jun rushed back to the imperial city without stopping.
A group of people came from Anxi. To Zhou Jun, these people were not only courtiers, but also old friends whom he had not seen for a long time.
The master craftsman Mao Shun, the textile expert Peng Po, the food scholar Jabir, the leader of the Yinglong Order Yis, etc., the first pioneers who went to Anxi from the Central Plains, have now come to Liangcheng, waiting to see the emperor.
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When Zhou Jun appeared in the main hall, a group of guests from Anxi were stunned at first, and then came forward to kneel down at a loss.
Zhou Jun didn't take it seriously and walked directly to the palace to help everyone up and said with a smile: "We are all old acquaintances, why bother with these red tapes."
Fan Jinian on the side looked sad when he heard this. He wanted to step forward to remind him of the etiquette, but he had no choice but to give up.
Zhou Jun led a group of people from Anxi through the palace corridor and directly came to the spring lake in the back garden.
The imperial dining room is in the hall next to Quanhu Villa, and wine and food have been prepared early.
When all the chambermaids and maidservants saw the emperor appearing, they knelt down and shouted long live the mountain.
Zhou Jun entered the central hall, and first sat down by himself. Seeing that others were still standing at the door, he said, "What are you doing here? Come and sit with us."
Mao Shun, who was standing at the head, said sarcastically: "Your Majesty is joking. We are of humble status, how can we sit at the same table with you?"
Glancing at Mao Shun, who had white hair and beard, Zhou Jun shook his head and said, "Today, no matter your status or your past friendship, come and sit down."
Hearing this, Mao Shun looked at each other and walked over to sit down.
Seeing everyone sitting down, Zhou Jun first looked at Mao Shun and Granny Peng: "I heard that you two live together and have grandchildren?"
Mao Shun was a little embarrassed: "We are all old and helpless, so why not live together together? As for the grandchildren, I will take a few children who seem to be pleasing to me as close disciples, so that they can be regarded as follow-up people."
"
Zhou Jun: "That's good, life will go on."
Mao Shun: "Your Majesty, there are many new faces coming to Jianghong Taixue, including many good talents. In terms of starting point and craftsmanship, they are even much better than this old guy like me."
Zhou Jun: "Oh? Is there anything else?"
Mao Shun: "The emperor must have forgotten that Anxi allowed the imperial examination. At the beginning, even business and miscellaneous students could participate, so many people came to Anxi and settled down."
Jabir, a food scholar on the side, said: "Your Majesty, not only the people of the Tang Dynasty, but also many Western scholars have come to settle in Anxi."
Zhou Jun was quite surprised: "A scholar from the West?"
Jabir: "Civil strife is breaking out in the Byzantine Empire, and with the rise of Charlemagne in the Frankish Empire, Christianity begins to liquidate heretics. Many scholars from the Roman School began to move eastward in order to save their lives."
Mao Shun: "Those scholars from the west and us Tang Dynasty people helped each other academically. The craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty valued practice, while Western scholars valued academic theory. The two met together and learned from each other."
Jabir: "What Master Mao said is right. For example, the weapons brought from Anxi this time have another thing besides muskets."
Zhou Jun: "Is there another weapon?"
Jabir: "The name of this weapon is called Earth Fire. It uses pig iron as the outer shell, and then mixes black powder, iron sand, and broken iron pieces into it. Some poison powder can be added inside to enhance the damage. Then when using it
, just bury it in the ground, fix a piece of wax paper at the exposed area, and put a few drops of concentrated sulfuric acid on top of the wax paper. Once an enemy passes nearby, the shaking of the ground will cause the wax paper to tilt, and the sulfuric acid on it will flow into the inner tank.
, triggering a gunpowder explosion, erupting to the surface like a volcano, killing and injuring the enemy."
Zhou Jun was stunned when he heard this. What kind of earth fire is this thing? This is the earliest land mine.
Jabir: "The craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty were responsible for the design of the prototype, and the Western scholars were most responsible for the preparation of the sulfuric acid reagent. The combination of the two resulted in such a weapon."
Zhou Jun: "Has mass production of this weapon begun?"
Jaber: "Not yet. There is still some room for improvement in terms of vibration sensitivity. The biggest problem now is that, let alone people and horses passing by, sometimes even a mouse passing by will cause an explosion. Master Mao and I are trying to find ways
, Reduce the triggering sensitivity of the fuze.”
Zhou Jun nodded: "If there is a breakthrough in technology, remember to let us know. Such weapons will be of great use to the court."
After talking about the landmines, Zhou Jun looked at Mao Shun and the others: "Anxi is remote and the war in the Central Plains has stopped for a while. Do you want to move to the Central Plains?"
Mao Shun and Po Peng looked at each other, and the former bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we have lived in Anxi for a long time. If we come back again, I'm afraid we won't be able to get used to it."
Jaber also said: "I have many friends in Anxi. If I move here, I'm worried that I won't be familiar with the place."
After hearing this, Zhou Jun nodded and said, "In that case, I won't force you."
Just when Zhou Jun turned his attention to himself, Yis, who was in charge of Yinglong's teaching affairs, lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, my mission is to spread the teachings. I will go wherever I am needed."
Zhou Jun: "Okay, I will discuss the Yinglong Sect matters with you in detail later."
At this moment, Jaber suddenly said to Zhou Jun: "Your Majesty, did you know? The civil war in Dashi is nearing its end."
Zhou Jun was stunned and quickly asked: "What's the current situation of Dashi?"
Jabir: "The Umayyad royal family's army, led by the 'Invincible Shadow' Anina, has achieved a decisive victory. The Egyptian legion and the Papal legion have already attacked the city of Antioch.
The Abbasid army has completed the encirclement. I believe this is the last battle between the two dynasties."
Zhou Jun took a deep breath and asked: "Once the Umayyad royal family wins, what will happen next for Dashi?"
Jaber shrugged and said: "Your Majesty, the news was brought by some big food merchants. I don't know the specific situation. But I predict that once the Umayyad royal family wins, there will be a great purge in the country, and all dissident political views will be wiped out.
Those who do not will be slaughtered and exiled. In other words, the entire Great Eclipse will be in chaos for a long time."
Zhou Jun: "So, what will happen to Anina?"
Jaber: "Anina? She is the only agent of God in the world. What she wants to do is to consolidate her rule. On the one hand, she must suppress domestic rebellions. On the other hand, she must naturally prevent the invasion of Byzantine and Christian countries."
Zhou Jun nodded slightly and said to himself: "If she does this, it is natural."
Mao Shun and Po Peng saw that Zhou Jun was thoughtful and seemed to have something on his mind, so they touched Jabir with their elbows and signaled the latter to stop talking and talk about something else.
Jabir understood it and quickly mentioned that Taixue Jianhong was building the largest star observatory in history on the foothills of Tianshan Mountain.