Fang Er intentionally slowed down the process, wanting the blacksmiths to understand why each component was assembled in a particular way.
One of the blacksmiths, while working, suddenly burst into tears.
He put down his work piece and knelt before Fang Er.
His voice trembling with excitement, he asked, "May I ask, honored sir! Is this the lost mechanical arts of the Mohists?"
Fang Er didn't understand why the blacksmith was so agitated.
"You can indeed understand it as mechanical arts."
There was no fault in that statement.
The earliest machines in the world actually originated from the mechanical arts of the Mohists.
For example: the reconnaissance wooden kite.
According to Han Feizi...
Mo Ming's face was streaked with tears.
After more than a thousand years of inheritance,
Only these remained!
That's why, after witnessing Fang Er's skills, he was so eager to become his disciple.
In these ancient traditions, seniority was never a factor; the most capable was always the master.
Thirty-year-old Mo Ming felt no discomfort kneeling before sixteen-year-old Fang Er.
All he felt was immense anticipation and longing!
Fang Er helped Mo Ming up from the ground.
"We'll discuss this later. Let's focus on the task at hand first."
Fang Er had considered taking on disciples.
But he couldn't simply accept someone based on a few words.
At the very least, he needed to conduct a thorough background check.
Although he had already screened the craftsmen once when selecting them,
It was still better to investigate further.
Mo Ming's face showed some disappointment,
But he did not lose heart.
During the subsequent assembly process, he worked with exceptional diligence, striving to prove himself.
One day later.
The first armored tracked vehicle was assembled.
Looking at the behemoth before them!
The blacksmiths could not believe it was their creation.
The engine was installed.
As Liu Meng cranked the handle,
A roaring sound erupted.
A thick black plume of smoke spewed from the exhaust pipe on the left side of the vehicle's front.
The eight-meter-long chassis could accommodate twenty people at once.
Simultaneously, firing ports were incorporated on both sides of the cabin.
There was a sunroof on top that could be opened.
Liu Meng placed the crank handle inside the cabin and climbed into the driver's seat to test it.
With the powerful torque of the V16 engine, nearly 2000 horsepower, the seven-ton steel monster began to move.
The fine steel tracks provided immense grip, leaving imprints like teeth marks on the ground.
Watching the armored vehicle slowly accelerate, the blacksmiths let out earth-shattering roars.
"It's amazing!"
"It actually moves!"
"I can't believe it! We made this!"
From a standstill to acceleration, and then to full speed.
Liu Meng was ecstatic!
Tracked vehicles had a different steering mechanism than pickup trucks, using two control levers, one on the left and one on the right, to control the speed of each track independently.
Slower left, faster right, turned left.
Faster left, slower right, turned right.
This method, he felt, was more engaging than a round steering wheel.
Tracked vehicles, of course, could not be driven on cement roads; otherwise, they would likely wear out after only a few runs.
Cement roads would ruin them.
On the open ground, the armored vehicle weaved left and right,
Sometimes accelerating at full speed,
Sometimes executing sharp turns.