Announcing the Closure of Hundred Herb Hall
“Guns are unlike grenades and landmines. Those things are consumable items. They can only be used once before needing to be immediately replaced. But guns can be used continuously. The Divine Archery Group has 500 guns, which were distributed to each person. From this moment forward, the responsibility has fallen into their hands. You will take care of distributing the ammunition, and I will provide all of the supply, but they will need to engrave their names onto those guns in a set location. Each person will be responsible for one gun. Regardless of whether it’s putting them to use or servicing them, they should treat them same as their bows and arrows. The gun will go anywhere they go! At no time can any member of the Divine Archery Group allow others to inspect the guns, and it’s even more forbidden to lend them out. On the battlefield, it’s also forbidden to lose your gun. If someone is unable to take care of their gun, it will be taken back, and they will no longer be permitted to use it.”
Feng Yu Heng had a stern expression and spoke seriously. She told He Gan: “I said that it’s an absolute order, thus it’s an absolute order. If there is any opposition, handle it with military law!
He Gan nodded, “Master, don’t worry. This subordinate understands the importance of the guns, and I trust that the soldiers also understand. This subordinate will immediately go and make arrangements!” He immediately went to handle the matter, quickly gathering the members of the Divine Archery Group that were still practicing with their guns. He then told them what Feng Yu Heng had just told him. With Feng Yu Heng choosing a location, they used a dagger to engrave their names.
The members of the Divine Archery Group were very receptive of this new sort of weapon. At the same time, they also understood what it meant to have this sort of thing. Regardless of whether it was the killing power or the range, both had already far surpassed what they had. It was just like the grenade and landmine. The soldiers of the Divine Archery Group felt that this sort of thing was definitely not something from this world. Their master was most likely a goddess that had descended to this world, bringing lightning and thunder.
Every member of the Divine Archery Group carried a dagger on their person, and they were hidden in their pant leg, and they would be used to protect their lives. The people were responsible for gently engraving their names onto the guns, and they had the perfect grasp on the force used. It would not be erased by friction, nor would it cause any damage to the structure of the gun. Feng Yu Heng saw that the soldiers were all very obedient, thus she also calmed down.
At this time, the Support Group had already used up all of their grenades and landmines, and Xi Fang came over to report while wishing to continue. He reported that they had already grasped the basics and would lead the soldiers to continue practicing, but they would not need real grenades. They could use rocks of a similar weight to practice. At the same time, they would need to thoroughly research their formations and strategies to strive to make use of the miraculous things like landmines in order to easily defeat the enemy.
Feng Yu Heng nodded. There was not much technical skill needed when it came to using grenades and landmines, and there was indeed no need to use real grenades for practice. The important thing was formations and strategy. Now, the ones that needed to practice was the side with the guns. She left behind a large quantity of bullets with He Gan then announced to Divine Archery Group that they did not need to do anything else. They just needed to focus on practicing with their guns. But they were limited to practicing in the area behind in the mountains. Once they left the area behind the mountains, they must not mention the weapons that they have. As for the storage of their guns, she temporarily left the two carriages behind. After they finished practicing, they would have them all stored in the same place. Next time they would practice, they would be distributed by name. She also immediately went to have slings made, so the soldiers could carry the guns on their backs. In the future, they could just bring them back to their tents.
Not letting them appear for now was to make sure that nobody else discovered them. She had never been someone that was optimistic to the point of being defenseless. Even if it was Xuan Tian Ming’s military camp, she was still a bit cautious. After all, there were some missing people after the situation in Qian Zhou. Although everything looked fine for the time being, they could not guarantee that there were no spies that had gotten in during the confusion.
The Divine Intent Army practiced with modern weaponry behind the mountains, and the sounds reverberated through the mountains. The soldiers in the military camp were able to hear it, and those that were stationed closer could feel the ground slightly shaking.
At first, the people expressed their horror, just as the soldiers of the Divine Intent Army had, believing that there would be an earthquake. There were even some that ran into the general’s tent to report to Xuan Tian Ming, who was in the middle of a meeting with his deputies. As a result, they ended up being scolded by Xuan Tian Ming because Xuan Tian Ming had already told them that no matter what they heard from behind the mountains, they must not panic, nor should they get curious. They also could not go and ask the Divine Intent Army about it. As long as Imperial Daughter Ji An was leading the Divine Intent Army in investigating secret weapons, it would definitely be a great thing for future battles.
Having been scolded, those soldiers settled down. At the very least, they no longer felt horrified. But the booming sounds continued to come from behind the mountains. To say that the people did not get curious would be impossible. Not daring to ask their general, they could only gather in small groups to discuss it. It currently was not time for training, and they had nothing to do. As for their speculation as to what was happening behind the mountain, they made no fewer than 100 guesses. It was just a pity that no matter what they guessed, they could not guess what Feng Yu Heng had brought this time.
Those with sharp eyes noted that Feng Yu Heng had brought two carriages with her when heading behind the mountains. One of them was even driven by her personally. Connecting that to the sounds coming from behind the mountain, they made a bold speculation: “She shouldn’t have brought two carriages of firecrackers, right?”
However, this was immediately shot down by someone else: “Impossible! If they were firecrackers, why would she not have them set off here?”
“They might be a new type of firecrackers? Even that’s not right. What sort of benefit would firecrackers bring to a battle? Boost morale?”
“Stop guessing, stop guessing!” Finally, someone waved their hands and stopped this line of speculation while making a judgment: “Either way, no matter how it is, our princess is a deity. No matter what she brings out, it’s definitely not something that we can use. As long as we remember the general’s words and cooperate with our comrades in the Divine Intent Army, it will be fine!”
These words received everyone’s agreement. Although the Divine Intent Army was individually split off, they were still chosen from among these people. Back then, everyone had an equal chance. In the end, 1000 people stood out among their peers, and they were still part of the same family on normal days. That was why the soldiers would collaborate with any secret plans that were being hatched behind the mountain.
Feng Yu Heng remained in the military camp for two days and one night. Because of her arrival, the people in the military camp rejoiced; however, the capital had become a mess.
Under Feng Yu Heng’s direction, Wang Lin had already stuck an announcement on the wall at the front of Hundred Herb Hall, telling of Hundred Herb Hall’s closure. In regards to the sick living inside the hall, they would be treated to the best of their abilities within five days. After five days, everyone must leave Hundred Herb Hall and return home.
Hundred Herb Hall would be closing. News of this was a bombshell to the people of the capital. Regardless of whether they were commoners or high-ranking officials, they were unable to understand why a perfectly fine Hundred Herb Hall would suddenly be closing. Of course, the members of the eighth prince’s faction were an exception. When those people heard this news, they covered their mouths and secretly laughed at home. Not only was Hundred Herb Hall closing, but they had also heard that Feng Yu Heng would be leaving the capital for her fief. The eighth prince’s faction was happy. This just meant that the risk that they had taken during the banquet was bearing fruit. The current emperor was already old. After a few more years, the eighth prince would ascend the throne. At that time, it would no longer be seeing results. They would be seeing returns.
But the eighth prince’s power was still a bit lacking in the capital. He was stationed away from the capital for most of the year, and he was a military general. Noble Lady Yuan’s family would be unable to provide any assistance, and this led to the balance of power in the capital being very off. Especially when it came to the government officials, there was not a single one above second rank that supported him. This was a shortcoming of the eighth prince’s faction. He was unlike Xuan Tian Ming, who did not just have government officials but also had imperial censors. Those imperial censors had prepared themselves to sacrifice their lives. If there came a day when the two sides opposed each other, the imperial censors would push aside the master and use their own life to face the danger.
The eighth prince’s faction was small, and this meant that they did not have the power to create a threat to keep things suppressed. Hundred Herb Hall’s sudden closure announcement on the seventh caused many small disruptions in the capital. Too many people had gathered around Hundred Herb Hall and the street that it was on. With Hundred Herb Hall as the center, the crowd spread in all directions for miles. They were all loud and rowdy commoners, and they expressed their objections to the sudden closing of Hundred Herb Hall. The poor people cried for Hundred Herb Hall to provide a reason, while the wealthy said that if the finances were no good, they could raise the prices. Either way, they were able to afford it.
Wang Lin was a smart person, especially when it came to the business side of thing. Although he was not a profiteer, he was very clear on how to make the most of a situation to promote his side’s story to under the premise of prestige and conscience. Now that the citizens were gathered around, it was the best time to put on a show, thus the shopkeeper wiped his face, rubbing the pepper juice from his fingers onto his face, tears immediately began to flow.
He stood at the entrance of Hundred Herb Hall. Fearing that the people in the back would not be able to see him, he had a clerk bring a table out. He then climbed onto the table with help from the clerk and painfully spoke from his commanding position: “Folks, we also do not wish to close Hundred Herb Hall! Ever since Hundred Herb Hall had our boss, oh, that would be after Imperial Daughter Ji An boss took over, we have been wholeheartedly thinking of the citizens. The medicines sold in the hall are the best medicines, and all of the doctors were personally taught by Imperial Daughter herself. That could be considered as being the best medicine in Da Shun, or even the world. Over the past two years, how many people with untreatable illnesses and illnesses that other doctors could no longer treat and even people that had prepared to never get better, how many of them were saved by the doctors of Hundred Herb Hall? Not only this, but Imperial Daughter did not just take care of treating the patients at Hundred Herb Hall one or two times. She never worried about the nobility of a person, nor did she care if you were a high-ranking official or simple commoner. Everyone, say, have you ever looked at our Hundred Herb Hall in a favorable light?”
While Wang Lin cried, he spoke and created a feeling of sincerity. His words caused the women down below to also begin crying. While they cried, they said: “We’ve never seen such a good imperial daughter. She’s truly a living deity. Our family’s eldest child was treated by Imperial Daughter. Their legs were crippled, but Imperial Daughter managed to fix them. Now, it looks like they have never been broken before, and they walk like a healthy person.”
Another person said: “Our family’s wife had a difficult birth, and the midwife said that she could not survive, and the child could not be saved. If it was not for Imperial Daughter personally handling it, that would have been two lives lost!”
“Folks!” Wang Lin spoke up once more, “Based on this, it can be seen that our Hundred Herb Hall truly values the citizens.”
“Then why must it be closed?”
Wang Lin wiped away some tears once more and thought to himself, “The time has come.” Thus he raised his voice and loudly cried: “It’s not that we want to close it. We were forced by others to do so!”