When Zhao Dezhao heard that the device came from Zhuge Wuhou, he accepted it as perfectly natural and did not question it further.
Instead, it was Zhao Pu who suddenly looked as if he wanted to speak but stopped himself.
The expression piqued Zhao Dezhao's curiosity.
"Prime Minister Zhao… you look troubled. Could it be that the method for this stone-thrower is somewhat… unusual?"
He had only asked casually.
Yet Zhao Pu actually nodded with a faint, helpless sigh.
Still, no matter how Zhao Dezhao pressed afterward, Zhao Pu refused to say another word on the matter.
In truth, the design for this stone cannon had been mentioned only during casual conversation near the end of the luminous screen's session. Zhao Pu had asked how long it took Zhuge Wuhou to recover Chang'an.
The answer, "half a day," had nearly stunned him senseless.
Afterward, Zhuge Wuhou had briefly explained the structure of the weapon, even describing the proportions of the throwing arm in clear detail. That was why Zhao Pu could now describe it so confidently.
What truly soured the moment, however, had been the interjection from that chaos-loving general:
"This weapon is later called the Huihui cannon. The Mongols used it to break Xiangyang and destroy Song, wiping out its state name."
"Now that your foolish Song learns its method, it may be considered returning the jade to Zhao."
Returning the jade to Zhao my foot. Foolish Song, indeed.
Zhao Pu's initial excitement at gaining such a weapon vanished instantly. In its place came the unpleasant feeling of swallowing a fly and being forced to praise its flavor.
Naturally, none of that could be explained to Zhao Dezhao.
So in the end Zhao Pu merely waved a hand and left, carrying a belly full of complaints he could not voice.
Seeing this, Zhao Dezhao could only set aside his curiosity and turn his mind to the practical problem of constructing the stone cannon.
Yet since he had only recently taken charge of the Ministry of Works, his understanding remained limited. His entire instruction on the matter became a single simple order.
"Go invite Master Builder Yu Hao here at once."
Before long, a man entered whose weathered face and plain clothing made him look more like an old farmer than a master craftsman.
"Your Highness called for me?"
Zhao Dezhao rose with a smile, invited him to sit, and handed him tea before asking casually,
"How goes the work on the mountain stage outside Xuande Gate?"
Xuande Gate was the main entrance of the imperial palace. Since the Five Dynasties period, it had been custom from the New Year until the Lantern Festival to erect a wooden mountain there. Performers of various arts would use it as their stage. On the fifteenth day it would be modified into the great Ao Mountain Lantern structure for the festival celebration.
This was traditional Ministry of Works business, and Yu Hao was one of its foremost experts. That was precisely why Zhao Pu had first noticed this unassuming man.
"Thank you for Your Highness's concern."
Yu Hao had clearly hurried here and was still breathing slightly hard. He grabbed the tea and drank it in one go, leaving Zhao Dezhao silently deciding not to mention that Prime Minister Zhao had dipped his finger into that very cup earlier.
With a satisfied sigh, Yu Hao spoke animatedly,
"Before I came, I saw the sword-swallower arguing with the fellow who spits five-colored water. The bird-dance performers were trying to mediate, while the alchemists nearby were hoping the quarrel would escalate so they could sell more of their miracle pills."
Zhao Dezhao could not help but feel a bit envious. He knew the festive scene outside Xuande Gate well, yet somehow had never witnessed such amusing incidents himself.
But the thought passed quickly.
After a short exchange of small talk, he turned the conversation back to the main matter and explained the stone cannon.
"It sounds similar to the traction catapult. The principles are close but not identical. Why has no one made such an improvement in a thousand years?"
Yu Hao sighed deeply.
"If such a device had existed earlier, His Majesty's northern campaign would not have returned empty-handed."
Zhao Dezhao froze.
"The Prime Minister said this was made by Zhuge Wuhou. How can you say no one made it in a thousand years?"
Yu Hao was equally stunned.
"With such power, if it truly came from the Three Kingdoms era, why did Zhuge Wuhou not use it in his northern expeditions? Why do the Tang records never mention it?"
This time it was Zhao Dezhao's turn to be speechless.
Regardless, compared with the mysterious cannon, the stone-thrower project progressed smoothly from the start.
After Zhao Dezhao even visited the Imperial Academy to consult scholars about the optimal ratio of throwing-arm lengths, the construction of the weapon was finally ready to begin in earnest.
Yet before that good news could arrive, another event came first.
The most lively festival of the year.
The Lantern Festival.
Standing atop the Xuande Gate tower, the most eye-catching sight was a banner reading:
"Kaibao Rejoices with the People."
Zhao Dezhao narrowed his eyes and looked down.
Crowds filled the imperial avenue. For ten li, music, dance, and a hundred entertainments roared in chaos. Performers took the stage one after another.
Ball games, cuju kicking, tightrope walking, pole climbing, puppet medicine shows, cold noodle vendors, dramatic skits, acrobatic exhibitions, leaping dragon-gate performances, animal mimicry exercises, and countless others.
There were even trained monkeys performing tricks, fish leaping through blade gates, and handlers guiding swarms of bees and butterflies.
All of it shimmered beneath the towering Ao Mountain Lantern, leaving Zhao Dezhao almost overwhelmed.
"Our Song may stand far from Han and Tang,"
Zhao Kuangyin's voice suddenly sounded beside him.
Zhao Dezhao turned. At some point his father had come to stand there as well.
From the side, Zhao Dezhao found his father's expression difficult to read. There was regret in it, but also relief, and above all something like the gratitude of a survivor who had escaped disaster.
"Yet there are many ways in which our Song surpasses them."
Zhao Dezhao did not fully understand that emotion. Still, it did not stop him from speaking boldly.
"What is difficult about that? Once my stone cannon is completed, it will help Father conquer Southern Tang."
"Then we march north, destroy Northern Han, subdue the Khitans. The achievements of Han and Tang will be within reach."
"When that day comes, how could Song not surpass them?"
His words rang with the fearless confidence of youth.
Zhao Kuangyin could not help but recall history.
Qin King Zheng assumed full power at twenty-one and within ten years swallowed the Six States.
Emperor Wu of Han took control at twenty-one and spent sixteen years campaigning in all directions, breaking the Xiongnu threat.
Emperor Taizong of Tang raised troops at eighteen, captured two kings at Hulao Pass, and pacified the realm by twenty-four.
And Dezhao?
Without noticing, he too had already turned twenty-four.
Yet despite knowing all those legendary achievements, the worry on Zhao Kuangyin's face faded. What replaced it was quiet satisfaction.
"The foundation of Song for hundreds of years shall pass from father to son between us."
It was a completely sincere, unguarded confession.
Zhao Dezhao was deeply moved. Still, he did not forget etiquette and bowed.
"Your son is unworthy…"
Yet a small doubt lingered in his mind. Shouldn't such words be "ten-thousand-generation foundation" or "eternal legacy"? Why had his father said only "hundreds of years"?
Zhao Kuangyin gazed at the performances below with rare seriousness.
"For a ruler, the rise and fall of the realm over a hundred years rests on one person. You need not be afraid. Only remember one thing."
"Your son will remember."
"Understand this… when the ruler is wise, the people flow like water. When the ruler is deaf to reason, the people surge like raging waves."
…
In the middle of the third month, Cao Bin had already surrounded Jiangning for over a month.
Hearing the messenger's report, he raised an eyebrow with interest.
"With this weapon, no fortress will stand."
"This device… can break Jiangning within a month?"