Chapter Ninety-Four: Searching for the Saltpeter Mine

Since Bai Hao and his cavalry squad had left, and no one was watching Chu Yun anymore, he naturally had free rein to begin arranging his own plan.

So he did not leave Pingba Manor at once. Instead, he went to see Baron Cheng Qiong.

When Cheng Qiong saw that he had not yet departed and had come to visit again, he could not help asking, “Earl Chu Yun, what can I do for you? Is it about the waterproof tent I sent you? Don’t worry. The Great Qi Dynasty is about to change, and the Witch Doctor Sect probably has no time to keep paying you the same attention as before.”

Chu Yun shook his head. “No, it is not about that. I want the people of Pingba Manor to gather the charcoal ash from their kitchens and sell it to me. I will pay for it at the price of grain.”

At this, Cheng Qiong could not help asking, “Earl Chu Yun, what do you want with charcoal ash?”

Chu Yun smiled. “It makes starting a fire in the wild much easier.”

Cheng Qiong smiled and nodded. “With charcoal ash, it is indeed easier to catch a flame.”

Though he said that aloud, he understood in his heart that Chu Yun buying charcoal ash, and at the price of grain no less, was certainly not as simple as it sounded.

But he was a clever man. Since Chu Yun did not want to explain, he did not press the matter. Instead, he said, “Very well. I will have people gather the charcoal ash from the kitchens and send it over to you at once.”

With that, he arranged for people to tell the folk of Pingba Manor to collect charcoal ash.

When everyone heard that Chu Yun was willing to buy charcoal ash at the price of grain, they all eagerly set about gathering it.

There was not much charcoal ash to begin with, and the people here were honest and plainspoken, with none of the tricks of fraud.

In the end, Chu Yun only managed to collect a single sack, roughly fifty kilograms of charcoal ash.

Then Chu Yun bade farewell to Cheng Qiong and left Pingba Manor with his large party.

After they had gone, Cheng Qiong’s steward could not help asking, “My lord, what do you think Earl Chu Yun is collecting charcoal ash for? What use could it possibly have?”

Hearing this, Cheng Qiong only smiled. “Heh, did you not hear Earl Chu Yun say it was to make starting a fire in the wild easier?”

The steward froze, realizing that Cheng Qiong was telling him not to ask too many questions, and so he fell silent.

More than ten li after leaving Pingba Manor, Yang Liuer could no longer hold back and asked Chu Yun, “Husband, why did you buy so much charcoal ash?”

Chen Ping’s family and Ye Zelan were nearby as well.

After hearing that, they all looked at Chu Yun curiously, wanting to hear his answer.

Chu Yun only laughed. “Ha, you will know after a while.”

Then he turned to Ye Zelan. “Miss Ye, now that Sir Bai’s cavalry squad has left, I may need to trouble you for help.”

Ye Zelan waved a hand. “No trouble at all. Just say the word. Hmm, before, you had Sir Bai and the others act as scouts to probe ahead. Now that they are gone, do you want me to be your scout?”

Chu Yun said, “Yes and no. The Witch Doctor Sect does not have time to bother with us for now, but we still cannot be careless. I have been observing the terrain nearby and think there ought to be large karst caves around here. I want you to help me check whether there are any caves along the road ahead.”

Ye Zelan thought for a moment and said, “Finding caves is indeed important. That way, if we are caught by rain on the road, we can take shelter inside. And if the next resting place ahead is under the control of the Witch Doctor Sect, and they have set an ambush there, forcing us to take a detour, we can also hide in a cave to avoid disaster.”

Chu Yun nodded. “Exactly. That is why I am troubling Miss Ye.”

In truth, he was not looking for caves merely to escape rain or danger.

It was because he had noticed that there was much limestone in this area, forming karst terrain, so there should be many caves.

If bats, certain birds, or other animals had lived in such caves for a long time, deposits of saltpeter would form there.

He had bought charcoal ash from Pingba Manor precisely in order to make gunpowder.

Sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal ash were the main ingredients for gunpowder.

Sulfur and charcoal ash were relatively easy to buy.

Saltpeter was different. It was controlled by the Witch Doctor Sect, because the sect had alchemists who believed saltpeter was an essential medicinal ingredient for refining the elixir of immortality.

If Chu Yun were to purchase saltpeter, it would inevitably draw the attention of the Witch Doctor Sect.

So he intended to collect the saltpeter himself.

Finding it near latrines, or extracting it by boiling manure, was far too inconvenient. Unless he had no other choice, Chu Yun would not easily resort to such methods.

Chu Yun told Ye Zelan that their next destination was Nanhui Town.

Ye Zelan immediately rode out ahead of the main party.

The distance from Pingba Manor to Nanhui Town was sixty li. Since they had been delayed that morning, Chu Yun had everyone travel thirty li before stopping to find a place to rest and make a fire to cook.

After four days of practice at Pingba Manor, the division of labor in cooking had become much clearer, and everyone coordinated far more smoothly. In barely two quarters of an hour, the meal was ready.

If Bai Hao were still here, he would surely have cried out again, “Even the most battle-hardened troops of the Great Qi Dynasty could not start a fire and cook in two quarters of an hour.”

Of course, there was another reason Chu Yun’s people could cook so quickly: everyone cooked together. Unlike an army, where the task was mostly left to the camp cooks.

While they were eating, Ye Zelan returned.

She came straight to Chu Yun’s side and said with a smile, “Earl Chu Yun, you are truly amazing. You even guessed that there would be caves around here. Fifteen li ahead, there is a large one.”

Chu Yun was delighted to hear this. “Ha, wonderful. After we finish eating, you can lead the way ahead and take us to the cave.”

But Ye Zelan froze and said in surprise, “If we go to that cave and then continue on to Nanhui Town, it will add at least twenty li to the journey. From here to Nanhui Town, there are only a little over thirty li left. Do we still need to go to the cave? I have been to Nanhui Town before. There are no people from the Witch Doctor Sect there. And the locals know we are coming and are waiting for us to teach them how to make fluffy leavened flatbread, fried dough sticks, and tofu, so they should not be hostile either.”

Chu Yun said, “Going to the cave is for something far more important.”

Ye Zelan acknowledged this and asked no further questions. She simply replied, “Very well. After we finish eating, I will lead the way and take everyone to the cave.”

Chu Yun nodded, then called over the three household chiefs and told them to arrange their respective household contingents to follow Ye Zelan and head for the cave.