You are here in the wilds, building a workshop instead of taking an official post. Tell me, what business do you intend to conduct?
Li Er asked, bewildered.
I have some ideas, but I will need Your Majesty's approval. Otherwise, I fear I cannot withstand the pressure from the noble families. However, let us first look at those two weapons and see if they meet Your Majesty's satisfaction.
Fang Er replied.
Upon reaching the workshop, Zhao Hu and his men were maintaining the firearms and cannons. On the way back from Xingyang, Fang Er had specifically instructed them to clean the firearms thoroughly after use and to also polish them with tung oil.
While uncertain about the next time he could procure seamless steel pipes, Fang Er intended to extend the lifespan of this batch of firearms as much as possible.
Young Master, we are cleaning the firearms as you instructed. What brings you here?
Seeing Fang Er approaching with a few men on horseback, Zhao Hu came forward to report.
Nothing, just came to look around. Give me your gun.
Fang Er was about to introduce Li Er when he was subtly signaled to stop.
Zhao Hu took the gun from his back and handed it to Fang Er.
This is one of them, called a firearm. It uses the explosive force of gunpowder to shoot a projectile out of the barrel, capable of repelling enemies from a hundred paces. Once formed into a military formation, its power far exceeds that of arrows.
Fang Er casually handed it to Li Er and explained.
Try it out.
Li Er examined the firearm repeatedly but couldn't quite figure out how it worked.
Zhao Hu, go get a target.
Since he was demonstrating for Li Er, it was more intuitive to have a target.
Soon, a wooden target was placed about a hundred paces away from Fang Er.
After requesting gunpowder and projectiles from Zhao Hu, everything was ready.
Fang Er remained calm, raised the firearm, aimed at the center of the target with the sights aligned, and leisurely pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A shot rang out.
As a flame flashed from the muzzle, a copper projectile shot towards the bullseye.
Wang Yong, go and see.
Li Er instructed his guard to check.
Wang Yong nodded and quickly ran towards the target.
The target had a hole in the middle from the firearm, and the projectile had flown straight through the bullseye, its destination unknown.
He carried the target back directly and placed it before Li Er.
Hiss!
Li Er gasped.
Its power exceeded his expectations.
A board one inch thick was pierced directly from a hundred paces away.
If this were used on the battlefield, within a hundred paces, leather armor would be almost negligible.
In this era, iron armor was a privilege reserved for squad leaders at least. Corporals wore leather armor, while ordinary soldiers primarily wore padded armor. The "cotton" mentioned here referred to kapok, not the fluffy cotton plant.
The Tang Dynasty adopted the Fubing System, based on farmers from the Land Allocation System. Fubing soldiers were farmers who cultivated land during peacetime, trained during their spare time, and served in the army during wartime. Fubing soldiers were responsible for their own weapons and horses. Throughout the country, there were the Chongfu offices responsible for the selection and training of Fubing soldiers.
This is why it was said, "buy a fine horse in the east market, buy saddles and bridles in the west market, buy reins in the south market, and buy whips in the north market." All weapons and equipment had to be self-provided by the Fubing soldiers.
Similarly, the nomadic tribes of the grasslands were the same. Their armies were mostly composed of ordinary citizens, who were soldiers when mounted and civilians when dismounted. Furthermore, with iron being scarcer in the grasslands, leather armor was the mainstream for their armies.
Piercing at a hundred paces greatly excited Li Er.
In a confrontation between two armies, long-range attacks were primarily carried out by archery. However, the effective killing range of arrows was actually around seventy paces. Beyond seventy paces, it was basically impossible to penetrate armor, even leather armor.
Is this firearm expensive to produce?
Li Er asked.
This was the core question. Even the best things were useless if they couldn't be equipped by the soldiers.
Primarily the materials, especially the barrel. It must be at least hundred-refined steel, otherwise, it could easily explode, incapacitating oneself before even hitting the enemy.
Fang Er spread his hands.
Li Er weighed the firearm in his hand; it was at least ten pounds heavy. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, and the excitement on his face instantly vanished.
Hundred-refined steel was fine steel obtained by folding and forging pig iron hundreds of times.
Ten pounds of hundred-refined steel, with the current technological level, would require at least a hundred pounds of pig iron.
This meant a large amount of labor and a significant amount of time.
Captain Fang, I see everyone here is equipped with a firearm, so you must be able to mass-produce hundred-refined steel, right?
Duke Deng, as someone who served by Li Er's side, had indeed noticed Li Er's change in expression and guessed the reason.
We don't have a way yet, but it should be resolved soon.
Fang Er replied.
This was the truth. He was already planning to build a blast furnace for steel refining. Once the blast furnace was operational, it could produce over a thousand pounds of steel per batch, and then he would no longer worry about materials for any endeavor. As the saying goes, even the cleverest cook cannot cook without ingredients, and Fang Er had deeply felt this in recent days.
Anzhi, your workshop doesn't just make farm tools, does it? Otherwise, when we arrived, there would have been no need for me to give my approval.
Li Er asked Fang Er, as if he had figured something out.
Your Majesty is wise. My plan is to first produce some farm tools. One purpose is to improve the labor efficiency of the farmers on the estate, and the other is to create something that can be sold for money. After all, my large family needs to eat as well.
Just these things, you won't be able to impress me.
Li Er said with a smile.
Then, Your Majesty, what do you think of this firearm?
Fang Er patted the firearm in his hand.
Oh? You can mass-produce them?
Li Er's interest was piqued.
As I mentioned earlier, I will be able to solve the problem of mass-producing hundred-refined steel in a few days. Afterwards, I will hire some skilled craftsmen, and I believe it will not be difficult to mass-produce firearms.
Furthermore, it's not just firearms, but also cannons. Those are far more powerful than firearms. I call them the God of War, a crucial weapon that can sway the outcome of a battle.
The God of War. Just the name filled Li Er with anticipation and completely captured his interest.
Fang Er had Zhao Hu and his men push the cannon over.
With its carriage, the cannon, over a meter tall, looked exceptionally imposing. Li Er glanced at the dark muzzle, then at the muzzle of the firearm in Fang Er's hand, and suddenly felt his entire body ignite with excitement. If such a small muzzle could pierce at a hundred paces, then a cannon large enough to fit a child seemed to hold unimaginable power. He wondered how much force such a shot would unleash.
Fang Er loaded gunpowder and an iron ball into the cannon's mouth. He looked around, spotting a small grove of trees in the distance. He asked Zhao Hu for assistance to turn the cannon's muzzle towards the grove.
You'd best cover your ears. The sound will be very loud.
Fang Er took out a fire starter, lit it, and said to Li Er.
It's alright. Continue, I'll watch.
With Zhao Hu and the others present, Li Er refrained from using the imperial "朕" (zhen), opting instead for the more personal "我" (wo).