Chapter 105: An Unexpected Delight

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As soon as the words fell, a deathly silence descended upon the Purple Zenith Hall.

No one—not even Emperor Li Xian of Great Tang—had expected that Zhang Qian’s decision to spend a fortune having his alchemical furnace made of pure copper concealed so many “deeper intentions.” One by one, they were left gaping in astonishment.

Among those who had long harbored resentment toward Sha Chongyi, many could not help following Zhang Qian’s line of thought. Sha had seized upon Zhang Qian, a minor eighth-rank secretary who had entered official service less than two months ago, and worried him without end. Was his true purpose really nothing more than currying favor with Zong Chuke and Ji Chuna?

After all, Sha Chongyi’s ancestors had originally been Turks who had submitted to Great Tang. Though the Sha family had served the dynasty for three successive generations, and Sha Chongyi himself held a purely civil post, no one could guarantee that he had absolutely no connection with the recently resurgent Western Turkic forces.

The Turks were currently without a settled home, appearing and vanishing like the wind. Even if they learned of gunpowder’s formidable uses, they lacked both the skilled craftsmen and the secure locations needed to forge the enormous alchemical vessels used by the Firearms Office.

But if those pure-copper vessels were replaced with iron pots, earthen jars, and bamboo tubes, the Turks could obtain gunpowder with embarrassing ease.

Once the Turks mastered the use of gunpowder, the odds of their soldiers dying after being wounded would fall by more than half. And Turkic soldiers had never been trained in the ordinary sense; they relied entirely on survival of the fittest through real combat.

When large numbers of wounded but recovered Turkic veterans returned to the front lines and launched fresh attacks against Great Tang’s borders, they would certainly become far more difficult to deal with. And after they invaded Tang territory in search of enough grain to make rice wine, their treatment of the people of Great Tang would become even more savage.

“Monitoring the officials is, is the duty of the censors! You, you have no evidence. You cannot, cannot make wild accusations!”

Several breaths later, someone finally broke the silence. It was Sha Chongyi himself. He had at last realized what sort of iron caltrop he had bitten down upon today. Beads of fine sweat covered his forehead as he stammered out a defense.

“You accused Zhang of employing cunning schemes to exhaust the state without needing a shred of evidence. Why do you suddenly require evidence now that the accusation has landed at your own door?” Zhang Qian hated this man for snapping at him like a mad dog. He stepped forward again, closing the distance by half a pace, and asked with a smile, “Every component of the alchemical vessel Zhang had made came from the Armory Directorate and the Directorate of Palace Construction. Not a single part came from outside. Once the vessel was erected, the entire process for distilling alcohol was written out on wooden boards. Nearly every craftsman could recite it backward and forward. Zhang concealed nothing.

“Zhang has devoted himself to improving the method of producing alcohol and has had no time to stand beside the vessel from dawn to dusk. Yet under the craftsmen’s operation, production has continued to rise day by day. At present, from every ten catties of yellow wine, Zhang can produce one catty of alcohol. Including firewood, charcoal, labor, and fuel consumption, the production cost has already fallen below one hundred and fifty copper coins per catty—and it is still declining!

“Even after doing all this, Zhang is accused by you of exhausting the state through clever schemes. You neglect your proper duties and spend every day watching Zhang’s copper alchemical vessel. Is your intention not perfectly obvious?”

“I did not! I wasn’t watching your vessel! I—I was merely carrying out a censor’s duty to report what I had heard!”

Though a considerable distance clearly separated them, Sha Chongyi was driven backward in stumbling retreat. His defense sounded increasingly unconvincing.

“Your Majesty, that gunpowder must never fall into the hands of the Turks!”

As the saying went, every fence had three supporting posts. Right Vice Director Xiao Zhizhong had no shortage of allies beneath him. Seeing Sha Chongyi beaten by Zhang Qian without the slightest ability to fight back, one of them quickly stepped forward to add fuel to the fire.

“Your Majesty, I beseech Your Majesty to investigate clearly what the Censor Sha’s true intentions are!”

“Your Majesty, I second the motion.”

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“Your Majesty, it is never excessive to take precautions before trouble arises!”

“…”

As one of Minister of War Zong Chuke’s attack dogs, Sha Chongyi had offended far too many people in his usual dealings. Now that he appeared likely to fall from favor at any moment, everyone rushed forward to kick him while he was down.

Seated behind the imperial desk, Li Xian had long since transferred all his suspicions of Zhang Qian onto Sha Chongyi. After hearing that the cost of alcohol was only around one hundred copper coins per catty, he felt guilty toward Zhang Qian—and loathed Sha Chongyi even more intensely.

Now, seeing so many ministers surrounding Sha Chongyi and beating the fallen dog, Li Xian hardened his resolve. He struck the desk with his hand and declared in a ringing voice, “My ministers, remain calm and do not make a commotion. I will certainly investigate this matter thoroughly. Guards…”

“Your Majesty, show mercy!”

Terrified, Sha Chongyi’s legs went weak. He could no longer remain standing and dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing as he begged for forgiveness.

“This humble servant absolutely had no intention of prying into the secret recipe for making gunpowder. I am utterly loyal to Great Tang. I…”

Just as he was so frightened that he nearly fainted, he suddenly saw his patron, Minister of War Zong Chuke, step forward several paces and bow solemnly to Li Xian.

“Your Majesty, I impeach Sha Chongyi for neglecting his duties and abusing the authority of the censors!”

“Your Majesty, I second the motion. Sha Chongyi has abused his power and endangered the state. He ought to be stripped of his censorial post and banished to the provinces. Let him educate the people of one region on Your Majesty’s behalf and redeem himself through service!”

Ji Chuna knew that unless they cut their losses immediately, Sha Chongyi would probably be making a visit to the Ministry of Justice’s prison that very day. He hurriedly joined Zong Chuke in speaking up.

“Hmm…”

Seeing the two men voluntarily draw a clear line between themselves and Sha Chongyi, Li Xian was highly satisfied. His gaze toward Sha Chongyi was no longer as cold as before. After a brief moment of thought, he asked aloud, “Sha Chongyi, do you admit your mistake?”

“This humble servant admits his guilt and is willing to accept Your Majesty’s severe punishment, so that those who come after may take warning!”

Utterly despondent, Sha Chongyi lay prostrate on the ground and awaited his sentence.

Seeing how docile he was, Li Xian’s suspicions rapidly diminished. After pondering for several more breaths, he slowly announced that Sha Chongyi would be demoted to Military Assistant of Yazhou and ordered to take up the post at once.

Having escaped disaster, Sha Chongyi hurriedly sobbed out his thanks. But before he could finish his formal declarations, the old Palace Censor Yang Lin, who had not taken part in any of the discussion, suddenly stepped forward and loudly addressed Li Xian.

“Your Majesty, although Sha Chongyi is suspected of abusing the authority of the censors, he has served the state for many years. Sending him to Yazhou would be excessively harsh. I believe he should remain in the capital and be given a post nearby. This would spare him the hardship of traveling a thousand miles. Moreover, if the gunpowder formula and production methods were to leak in the future, he would not needlessly become the object of further suspicion and entanglement!”

“Hmm?”

Li Xian had not expected Yang Lin, who had long since ceased involving himself in political affairs, to plead for Sha Chongyi. He immediately began to waver.

“Your Majesty, this old minister has another proposal. The production of gunpowder concerns the safety of Great Tang. Its tools and methods of manufacture must not be allowed to leak under any circumstances. I humbly request that Your Majesty issue an immediate decree forbidding the disclosure of today’s simplified method for producing alcohol.

“Should anyone among the common people use this simplified method to produce gunpowder, the authorities must investigate the source of their manufacturing techniques with all their strength and punish those who reveal the secrets without mercy!”

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“I second the motion!”

As soon as Yang Lin finished speaking, Ji Chuna immediately raised his voice in support.

“I second the motion.”

Zong Chuke could not have been more eager to keep Sha Chongyi in Chang’an, where he could seek opportunities to have him restored to office. He too voiced his emphatic agreement.

With the three of them leading the way, seven or eight mid- and lower-ranking officials immediately joined in. A powerful momentum formed naturally. Though Right Vice Director Xiao Zhizhong did not belong to Zong Chuke’s faction, he too felt that keeping Sha Chongyi in Chang’an, where he could be watched closely, made a leak less likely than banishing him to the provinces. Smiling, he decisively went along with the current.

“Your Majesty, I second the motion!”

Thus, the proposal to strictly prohibit the production of alcohol by crude methods became settled policy.

Zhang Qian’s decision to have the alchemical vessel made of pure copper was likewise transformed into evidence of far-sighted wisdom. No one could accuse him of wasting state funds any longer. Even if someone later discovered a cheaper and more efficient method, they could only continue making the best of the decision already made.

“H-How is this possible? I’m really not dreaming, am I?”

As benefit after benefit came crashing down upon him, Zhang Qian nearly turned around and bit his own fingers several times just to make sure he was awake.

Extracting alcohol from yellow wine required very little technical expertise. Once the thin veil concealing the method had been pierced, not even the deployment of all his wealth and connections could have stopped crude distilleries from springing up throughout Great Tang.

Yet today, for the sake of secrecy, the imperial court had actually driven a thick iron plate over that fragile veil.

It was easy to foresee that once the ban was issued, the spread of highly distilled liquor throughout Great Tang would be delayed by at least five years. Without high-concentration alcohol, it would be far more difficult for ordinary people to decipher the formula and production process of floral toilet water.

And if they could not decipher the formula, the Six Gods Trading House could continue enjoying an exclusive monopoly.

The longer the Six Gods Trading House maintained that monopoly, the stronger and more prosperous it would become. Once it transformed into a monstrous creature of capital…

“Ahem… yes, ahem, ahem…”

Old age had shortened his breath, and after speaking at such length, Palace Censor Yang Lin suddenly bent over and began coughing softly.

The man was, after all, the grandfather of the Ruby Girl. Zhang Qian hastily suppressed the wild joy in his heart and turned his gaze toward him, judging whether his assistance might be needed.

To his astonishment, however, the old fox quietly turned his face toward him. His two wrinkled, triangular eyes blinked with unmistakable smugness.

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