Fang Er was finally forced to get to work, drinking three large pots of chicken soup until he could only rub his stomach.
Citing fatigue, he returned to his assigned room to organize his plans.
The goal of a hundred million gold had just begun, and a sense of urgency made him dare not delay.
He took out paper and pen and listed the tasks he needed to accomplish, a habit he had always maintained.
The next morning, he went to the Ministry of Works with Zhou Yanxi and Ge Luoyang.
By now, everyone in the court knew that there was a group of people in Lin'an Prefecture who were not to be trifled with. They had short hair and strange attire, and possessed formidable firearms. Even Emperors Taizong and Shenzong had to show them respect.
The junior officials at the entrance of the Ministry of Works, upon seeing the trio's attire, quickly stepped forward with fawning smiles. After a brief exchange, they eagerly led the way.
With Zhao Gou having abdicated, the throne was currently vacant, and court affairs were temporarily managed by Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Xu.
With their intervention, more than half of the Six Ministers had been replaced.
The current Minister of Works was He Zhu, formerly the Censor-in-Chief.
His rise to power was solely due to his integrity and courage in speaking out for Yue Fei, nothing more.
Upon arriving at the main hall of the Ministry of Works, after being introduced by the junior official, Fang Er smiled and cupped his hands.
"Minister He, congratulations~"
He Zhu, visibly nervous, quickly rose to return the salute. "This subordinate greets Duke Fang!"
He then invited Fang Er to sit and ordered tea to be served.
"May I ask why Duke Fang has graced us with his presence?"
Fang Er nodded and took a list from his pocket, handing it over.
"Since you are in charge of the Ministry of Works, I won't stand on ceremony. I need you to procure these items as quickly as possible, and in as large quantities as possible~"
He Zhu took the list and opened it. However, he had no idea what the items on it were used for.
He casually handed the list to a junior official beside him and asked, "See if we have any of these items in stock in our inventory."
After reading the list, the junior official replied with a troubled expression, "Your Excellency, Field Marshal Yue is about to lead the northern expedition soon, and the raw materials for gunpowder are extremely scarce at the moment~"
It is a common misconception that the Chinese invented gunpowder but only used it for firecrackers. This is completely unfounded.
At least by this time, there were already many weapons that utilized gunpowder for long-range combat, such as rockets, a volley of arrows, poison smoke balls, and so on. Even bamboo tube firearms had already appeared.
Fang Er frowned upon hearing this.
This world was on the brink of destruction, and the treasure on Mount Fuji could not be wasted.
Unfortunately, the missiles on the three aircraft carriers and the torpedoes on the Ka-27 had all been used up.
His plan was to mobilize the Ministry of Works to gather a batch of materials, concoct gunpowder, and then make another trip to the Land of the Rising Sun, but he had forgotten about Yue Fei's army also needing gunpowder for their campaign.
From a rational standpoint, there was no need to deal with the Jin Dynasty at this point; they could be left to their own devices.
However, as a soul from the 21st century, he felt a deep regret for this period of history. He yearned to witness the day when Yue Fei's army would shatter the Five Kingdoms City.
Similarly, he believed that every Han descendant wished to see this.
After much deliberation, he said to He Zhu and the junior official,
"You don't need to worry about Field Marshal Yue. I have my own arrangements. These items must be gathered as soon as possible!"
"Furthermore, issue a decree to all prefectures and counties to send all available artisans to Lin'an."
"They must not be delayed en route. Those who disobey will be beheaded!"
"Also, construct a thousand thatched huts outside Lin'an city, with at least a hundred meters between each one."
Fang Er's attitude was unyielding, and He Zhu could only reluctantly accept the task.
Returning to the inn, he encountered Li Shimin, who was just leaving. He stepped forward and asked,
"Father~ Are you really planning to join Field Marshal Yue in the northern expedition?"
Li Shimin put on a righteous demeanor. "Nonsense! To bully our Han people, if I don't strike them, I am not worthy to be a ruler!"
"Besides, who knows how many descendants of the Li and Fang families were among those massacred by the Jin people?"
"For both public and private reasons, I cannot stand idly by!"
"Very well, take this~" Fang Er casually handed him a collar.
Li Shimin glanced at it and understood its purpose, his face creasing with displeasure. "What do I need this for?!"
"Uh, I picked up the wrong item. I intended to give you bullets~" Fang Er feigned realization, took back the collar, and continued.
"By the way, I have too many bullets. How about you have someone come to my room to get them?"
He planned to bring out a thousand AK47s.
Since he had requisitioned Yue Fei's gunpowder, he had to compensate with something else, and this would also serve as a safeguard for Li Shimin's personal expedition.
Li Shimin waved his hand. "I understand. I'll have Xie Bi'an bring people to fetch them later."
Then he snatched the collar from Fang Er's hand, his face filled with disdain. "Such a young age and already learning bad habits! I'm confiscating this!"
With that, he changed his original plan to leave and turned back towards his room.
Fang Er almost burst into laughter. Keep pretending~ Heh heh~ Keep pretending~
Behind the inn were several courtyards, and he had stayed in one of them yesterday.
Upon returning, he retrieved the AK47s from his spatial warehouse and exchanged for a hundred thousand rounds of ammunition, piling them in the courtyard. Just as he finished, Xie Bi'an arrived with Yue Yun to collect them.
From their interactions over the past few days, Yue Yun was no longer unfamiliar with the AK47 and had even experienced the thrill of firing one.
Looking at the courtyard piled high with wooden crates, his hands trembled with excitement. With these miraculous weapons, the northern expedition was already more than halfway to success!
Ten days later, Fang Er once again arrived at the Ministry of Works.
He Zhu had already arranged for everything Fang Er had requested to be prepared. Sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter were piled high in several warehouses.
Not only that, but the artisans recruited from the vicinity of Lin'an had also arrived, numbering over a thousand.
Fang Er was already very familiar with the proportions for gunpowder, and he even had backups of the formulas that Yuan Tiangang had recently devised.
To prevent major accidents, he had divided these artisans into groups, with each group limited to ten people to receive raw materials and then proceed outside the city to prepare them.
In the farmland outside Lin'an city, although not all thousand thatched huts were completed, they were sufficient for the hundred teams of craftsmen currently present.
"What is Anzhi doing?" Li Xiuning, accompanied by several sisters, went out to admire the snow and saw Fang Er busy at work, so she came over to ask.
Upon learning that all these thatched huts were being used to prepare gunpowder, she immediately became like an agitated tiger.
"Are you trying to court death!"
"Can these people compare to the artisans in our household?"
"If something happens, how can I face Yue'er~"
As she spoke, her jade hand reached out to pinch Fang Er's ear, but the force of her grip did not seem like a scolding at all.
Fang Er gave a wry smile. It was precisely because these artisans were not as skilled as Zhao Gang and the others that he had to be here to supervise them; otherwise, who knew what kind of gunpowder would be produced.
However, Li Xiuning's attitude was resolute, and no matter how he explained, she refused to let him continue supervising here.
Helpless, he had to return to the inn and hide, having people come to take samples for inspection daily.
The preparations were rather dull, and Wang Xuance and Xue Rengui had not yet returned.
Bored to the point of idleness, Fang Er exchanged for a pile of electrical appliances and, with Ge Luoyang and a few special forces soldiers, began assembling radios.
Computers, televisions, and radios were all disassembled into piles of parts, and then assembled according to the blueprints provided by Li Tai.