After leaving the Li Mansion, Qian Jin's mind was in a mess.

For the beam of light summoned by his grandfather, Qian Jin would not really think that it was a fairy spell. Every stage of civilization has always had an inexplicable awe of unexplained phenomena that would have led them to deify them, just as primitive people would have understood thunder and lightning as the wrath of the gods.

Not to mention what means Wen Tianzheng mastered, what Qian Jin couldn't figure out was: since his grandfather had such ability, why did he still let himself be imprisoned for eight years; Why didn't he ignore his grandmother being kidnapped and killed by bandits and his mother and uncle being displaced? If anyone stands in the way, it is a big deal to recite a prayer and summon the beams of light from heaven to kill.

For this, Shousuke didn't know why, and the only one who could give an explanation was his grandfather.

…………

In the early morning of this day, the capital closed the nine gates, and the purge in the city began.

Without the edict of the first assistant and the queen mother, no one is allowed to enter or leave the capital. Jinyiwei, Jinwuwei, and the soldiers guarding the Nine Gates were the main force of this purge. From early morning to dusk, people were being arrested everywhere in the capital, and the crying shook the sky.

Since the day the men in black attacked the Zhenfu Division at night, today is exactly the tenth day. According to Shoufu's words, if there are officials who have their hearts set on King Ming, these nine days are enough for them to take refuge. The court was not afraid that they would go to the king of Ming, but that they would stay in the capital and cause trouble.

When the capital closed the Nine Gates, the 5th Army Battalion, the 3,000 Battalion, and the Shenji Battalion stationed near Gyeonggi were all dispatched, but their movements were hidden, and no one knew where they had marched. The garrison strength of Juyong Pass, Bauhinia Pass, Shanhaiguan, as well as Xuanfu and Datong Pass was twice as large as usual, in order to guard against possible sneak attacks by the northern Tatars and Liaodong Jurchens.

On the official road from Jingshi to the south, the guards along the way had received the news half a month ago, and they closely watched the movements of the troops along the way. Once the army deployed by King Ming is discovered, no matter what the cost is, it must be delayed to the death.

A cavalry contingent of 2,000 men had marched south more than half a month earlier to welcome Xu Baolu, the next new secretary of the ministry, into Beijing.

After these deployments were completed, Shousuke's layout was fully powerful. Whether it is the father-in-law and palace maid in the palace, or the official in Beijing, as long as he has anything to do with King Ming, he will be arrested first. Many of these officials have been recorded for a long time, and they were immediately detained in the prison of the Criminal Department after the first assistant's order.

All criminals must be judged by Liu Long, the secretary of the Criminal Department, Fan Gongming, the Zuodu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Lu Chuan, the secretary of the Dali Temple. Perhaps because there are too many prisoners killed on weekdays, there is always an eerie smell wafting from these three people, and most of the officials will stay away from them when they are fine.

This time, their cold-blooded side as Chen Guogong was fully displayed. Once a criminal confesses, regardless of men, women, or children in his family, he will be immediately taken to Xishikou for execution, and the crime is treason.

Of course, there are some people who have been tortured into tricks. But in the face of the efficient state apparatus, they don't even have a chance to cry out for grievances, and no one has time to pay attention to them. You must know that there are no more than 1,000 people who need to pass through the hall every day, and the prisons of the Criminal Department, Dali Temple, and Zhenfu Division together cannot accommodate so many people.

By the fifth day, more than 5,000 good heads had been cut off at the west entrance of the capital, and the executioner's broad-backed machete had been cut open. In order to ensure the efficiency of the execution the next day, the Ministry of Punishment strictly ordered all executioners to sharpen their knives at night, otherwise they would be punished as serious crimes.

Surprisingly, none of the scholars, imperial histories, and servants of the various disciplines were implicated this time, and most of the executions were those who were in charge, the main book, and the officials. The official positions of these officials are neither high nor low, and they have some real power, and they are bold enough to collect their money. Princess Jing saw this and acted.

Of course, how could it be that these punished officials did not hand over the money to them? If it weren't for the habit of those adults who usually turned a blind eye, how could the people below be so unscrupulous? But if these big men are also killed, the pillar of Chen Guo's officialdom will fall.

Shousuke didn't want to see that happen. For a person who has been ill for a long time, the first thing is to remove those rotten internal organs to prevent the disease from gradually spreading to the skeleton and center. As for those officials who have been purged, Guozijian will immediately select a batch of additional ones, and next year's spring will fill a batch of vacancies, and the time will be much different.

Another point, Shousuke is a person of great affection. I have been fighting with these big people in the court for decades, and I don't want these big people to end up in ruins when they get old.

It is worth mentioning that this time, Dai Xiaoru and some "Yashi" who were usually close to Princess Jing escaped. Most of these people who like vassal elegance don't know the details of Princess Jing. After the incident, because of the master's face, Shoufu only ordered someone to reprimand Dai Xiaoru and ordered him to think about it. As for others, etc., they will never be hired.

…………

When the slaughter began to spread in the capital, Qian Jin entered the courtyard and immersed himself in the design sketches of the musket and the corresponding tools.

These days, he has always been a little restless.

Ding Wei was sent to Shandong to look for graphite mines, and he didn't know if it was safe on the road. Ever since Qian Jin heard the news that the brocade guard who went to Suzhou to collect Houttuynia cordata was robbed and killed, he was faintly worried, hoping that Princess Jing would not pay attention to his team of craftsmen, and also hoped that Ding Wei would be clever and avoid Princess Jing.

Gao Yuan has been invited into the courtyard in the past few days.

The wind is tight outside, and Qian Jin is worried that something will happen to him outside. No matter how high a person's kung fu is, when facing dozens or hundreds of people, even a cow will be dragged to death. Besides, the Jinyi Guard has a fire gun and a three-eyed gun, and the flesh and blood body fighting against it is tantamount to blocking the car with a mantis arm.

Regarding the matter of Master Huijing's visit to the courtyard at night, Qian Jin chose not to mention it. The matter between the masters, let them toss it themselves.

On this day, he was busy all morning, and the design drawings were still wrong and wrong, and the floor of the study was already full of discarded rice paper. Just as he grabbed the half-painted rice paper on the table and threw it away, his palm inadvertently knocked the inkstone on the table to the ground. Only to hear the jingle sound, the inkstone was broken into two parts.

Qian Jin was a little curious when he heard the voice, so he picked up a piece of inkstone and examined it carefully, and found that the inkstone was actually made of graphite, and the purity was quite high.

After pondering for a while, he used a stone mill to grind the inkstone that he had spent two taels of silver to buy back into powder, and then went to the market to dig some clay for salted duck eggs and mixed it with water to make a paste, and then put it into the coal stove after the two were mixed.

After several attempts, he managed to make a pencil lead.

Delighted, he found a thin wooden stick and cut it in half, cut a groove in the middle of the wood chip, and then put the pencil lead into the groove and fixed it, and a simple pencil was a great achievement. As for the eraser, you can make do with a steamed bun and bake it. With the "pencil" and "eraser", it is much easier to draw sketches in the future.

Qian Jin found the wooden ruler used by Zhang Baixuan and the tailor's workshop, carefully outlined the outline and size of the six-eyed fire gun, and marked the size and annotation. After drawing the overall outline, he drew an exploded view, with the front, sides, and facets of each barrel.

While Qian Jin was busy sketching, Gao Yuan had been watching. When the picture was completed, Gao Yuan couldn't help but say: "After getting it for a long time, it turns out that your kid is thinking about firearms." ”

"Gao Qianhu, don't underestimate this picture. When this great killing weapon is created, the Great Protector of the White Lotus Sect will have to run away when he sees me. Qian Jin held the picture and laughed.

"What is rare, there was an official in the Ministry of Industry who wrote a book of "Artifact Spectrum", and the items in it are much more complete than you here." Gao Yuan glanced at Qian Jin with disdain, and said disapprerovingly.

"Really? Can Gao Qianhu know the whereabouts of that person? ”

"That official was taken into prison by Jinyiwei because he offended people, and now he doesn't know if he lives or dies."

Qian Jin grabbed Gao Yuan's shoulders and said bitterly: "A genius was killed by you like this. If this person doesn't die, my Chen Guo's firearms are far beyond the current level. ”

"I cut off the heads of so many officials outside, and I haven't seen you say a word. An unknown person is dead, and you're very nervous. Gao Yuanqi said.

Qian Jin ignored Gao Yuan's sneer and asked, "What's his name?" ”

"It's been so long that I can't remember the name." Gao Yuan thought about it again and muttered, "It seems that that person calls himself 'Heavenly Machine'." You have the opportunity to go to the case library of the Zhenfu Division to check, there should be a record of him. ”

Although he didn't get the whereabouts of the author of the artifact spectrum, Qian Jin was still full of joy. The person who wrote the "Artifact Spectrum" probably can't find it; But if you can find the book he wrote, it will be a great achievement, and you won't have to work so hard in the future. Thinking of this, Qian Jin said happily: "Today, I invite Gao Qianhu to drink two catties of wine." ”

…………

In the south square, a middle-aged scribe gently knocked on the door of an inconspicuous house opposite the courtyard. A big man dressed as a butler opened the door and welcomed him in.

Once inside, the middle-aged scribe removed all the beard and paint from his face, revealing the face of a handsome young man. If Qian Jin was here, he would definitely be able to recognize this person as the white-robed scholar who attacked him in Xiangshan.

"Great Protector, maybe go out of the city?" The butler-looking man asked.

The white-robed scholar ate a jujube on the table, chewed it for a while, swallowed it, lay down on a bed beside him, and said with a grin: "I can't get out." ”

"How's that for good? This is locked up in the capital, and there is no guarantee that there will be soldiers who will come to investigate one day. ”

"What's the panic?" The white-robed scholar said dishappily: "The most dangerous place is the safest, how many times have I taught you." We have secretly attacked the courtyard house that Qian Shi talked about, and the officers and soldiers could not have imagined that we were hiding here. Hum...... If it weren't for you to take down this yard early, I would be so leisurely now. ”

"It's still the Great Protector who is prescient...... "The butler-like man complimented.

The white-robed scholar took a sip, looked out the window, and muttered: "I earned it this time, the silver taels paid by King Ming this time are enough for this great protector to recruit troops and horses, just wait for a suitable opportunity, let's ......."