Lord of the Desert

Chapter 473 Transformation
Shenjing is the meeting point of the Nine Provinces and the core of the human race. Many important and major events concerning the world happen here every day.

But even in the capital, the New Year is the biggest event.

After confirming in advance that there would be no assignments within a month, Hong Fan settled Shen Hong and others, and returned to Jinhai alone before the New Year to meet up with Aunt Liu and others who had set out from Xijing in advance.

Spring Festival couplets, reunion, feast...

The end of the 31st year of Zhenghe was burning out amid the noise of fireworks and firecrackers.

A lot has changed this year.

Jinhai City built the first branch of Kaimingxing, which accumulated more than two thousand flintlock muskets and twenty new field cannons; the Hong family added seven more people with penetration, and including the forces brought back by Hong Fan from the Baisheng Army, the total number of people with penetration exceeded one hundred and twenty; Hong She and Hong Lie both held the Mingshen and the Red-faced Suanni for a long time, and gradually became close to the innate fire aura, and successively broke through to the level of communication between heaven and man.

After the Lantern Festival in the 32nd year of Zhenghe, the three new guns designed by Hong Fan were quickly finalized and put into production after several trials.

Because it was the first of its kind, the new product was not repeatedly polished, but was gradually improved through feedback from subsequent use; even so, the performance of the new gun has made an extraordinary leap forward.

The trigger success rate of the steel-rifled breech-loading striker rifle is over 90%, the effective range is 300 meters, and the firing rate is ten rounds per minute.

Revolvers are light and reliable. Although loading is troublesome, carrying two of them allows you to fire ten rounds in a row, which is a qualitative change in firepower.

As for the sturdy double-shot shotgun, it is mainly designed for close-to-medium range combat by warriors, using a smoothbore barrel and expanding lead bullets. Considering that the detonation velocity of black powder limits the muzzle velocity to 16 meters per second, Qian Hong deliberately uses mm caliber g heavy bullets with excessive black powder charge. Although it is not very accurate beyond meters, the muzzle kinetic energy is as high as joules, which is three times that of the M rifle...

Under the scorching sun of early spring in Xijing, Hong Fan fired three rounds of test fire and saw three layers of leather armor being penetrated and exploded under the critical hit, as if he saw visions of his previous life from these creations.

He immediately decided to subsidize the first batch of products at all costs, in order to run the production line as quickly as possible and deliver them to the hands of people in the Liangzhou border area as soon as possible.

With the participation of many Gold Element warriors, Kaimingxing produced over 100 products before February 15th. Most of them were sent to Jinhai City for trial use and received widespread acclaim.

On the third day of March, Hong Mansion’s martial arts practice field.

A three-meter-high slope was built around the huge shooting range to prevent stray bullets, and the red-clothed cavalry, wearing heavy armor and carrying rifles, stood guard.

"Before you came back, the tribe had been practicing the use of the new gun. At the end of February, Hongbo led the team to the Great Swamp. In actual combat, they repeatedly severely injured snakemen from 200 meters away. A single blow from a distance of 100 meters could be fatal. In addition, the new gun can be quickly replaced, so its effectiveness should be ten times that of the old gun."

On the viewing platform, Hongwu leaned over and spoke to Hongfan, unable to hide his emotion.

"In the past, we could hold our own in a field battle with a ratio of five to one. After we got the flintlock rifles, we had an advantage of two to one. Now, in a small-scale encounter, we can win with a ratio of one to three."

The whistle blew, and Xu Ting, who had reached the peak of his skills, performed as a representative.

Holding the shotgun with both hands, he fired continuously from the hip while walking, feeling the recoil as if it were nothing.

Two 30-centimeter-thick hardwood targets ten meters away became as fragile as paper under the single-headed bullets and exploded to the left and right.

Swinging the gun across his waist, Xu Ting tightened his gun belt, then pulled out two revolvers from his waist, and fired left and right while moving quickly. He hit ten iron targets in 2.10 seconds, with crisp sounds as fast as a line of fire.

Before the sound faded away, the heavy axe was pulled out from behind.

Xu Ting used the momentum of the charge to spin around and chop, cutting through the last three wooden targets.

There was warm cheering in the martial arts arena.

"Hongbo has tried the standard shotgun shells sent from Xijing on snakemen. Unless fired at close range, the killing effect is average, but the power of the heavy single-headed bullet is really fierce."

Hongwu clapped his hands, slightly raising the volume amid the noise.

"The strength and vitality of the Third and Fourth Priest snakemen are amazing. In the past, they could only be dealt with by pure warriors. But with the heavy shotgun, I estimate that three tacitly coordinated Guantong realm warriors will be enough to take them down."

Hong Fan nodded when he heard this.

The upper class of Dahua has always disdained firearms. The main reason is that guns pose too limited a threat to mid- and high-level warriors.

The reflex speed of a Hunran warrior is generally less than 40 milliseconds, and they can maintain high flexibility while running at a speed of nearly 100 kilometers per hour, which undoubtedly exceeds the upper limit of mortals' aiming ability.

But the snake people's most prominent scales and vitality just happen to counteract the excessive power of the firearms - you have to know that 5,000 joules of muzzle energy with a steel bullet is enough to kill an elephant with a single shot.

"The clan is not short of money now. Ah Sheng and I have discussed this and plan to equip all of our soldiers with new-style rifles in the future. For soldiers above the level of penetration, they will be equipped with a double-barreled shotgun and two revolvers as standard. In addition, the clan school will also add a new shooting subject, which will be taught starting at the age of fifteen..."

Hongwu reported everything in detail and noticed that Hongfan showed rare signs of fatigue.

Xu Ting has already left the stage.

More warriors demonstrated various shooting techniques using special firearms modified locally in Jinhai.

The special revolvers used by fire and thunder warriors are fired directly with true Qi. They do not require structures such as triggers, firing pins and primers. An experienced person can fill a five-round cylinder in two seconds. If it were not for the black powder that would easily explode if fired too many times, the firing rate of a semi-automatic rifle can be maintained for a short period of time.

Water warriors can quickly cool and clean their gun barrels, and generally seek to project fire for long periods of time and pull kites.

A Jin-style warrior is one with his gun, and can grasp the specific conditions of each rifling line and make repairs and adjustments immediately, so he often uses a long-barreled rifle to accurately shoot and kill from 300 meters away...

That night, Hong Fan hosted a family dinner at Xiongguangyuan for Hu Ang, the garrison commander of Jinhai City, and Chu Meng, the general of Shakou Guard. At 11 p.m., he met with good friends including Gao Junxia, ​​Cui Yutang, Chi Xinchi, Zheng Fuqiu, etc., and set out for Xijing at 12 p.m.

The next morning, when he sat down in the meeting room of Kai Ming Bank, the business plan for the new firearm was already displayed on the table.

[1. Breech-loading rifle

Manufacturing Cost

Materials: Wrought iron barrel, walnut stock, firing mechanism

Labor: 50 hours for a skilled gunsmith
Total cost: 5 taels (silver)

Retail price: 10 taels

2. Revolver

Manufacturing Cost

Material: revolver cylinder, alloy barrel

Labor: 25 hours for a skilled gunsmith
Total cost: 3 liang 5 qian (silver)

Retail price: 7 taels

3. Double-barreled shotgun
Manufacturing Cost

Materials: Wrought iron barrel, birch stock, firing mechanism

Labor: 40 hours for a skilled gunsmith
Total cost: 4 taels (silver)

Price: 7 taels and , high-end solution
Materials: Black iron barrel, sandalwood carved stock, gold and silver decorations

Labor: 200 hours of work by a top gunsmith
Cost: Over 100 taels (silver)

Custom price: 180 taels or more...】

In the first hour of the meeting, the directors reviewed and approved the business plan, and then discussed Hong Fan's plan to "recruit and hire gold-related warriors in Liangzhou."

At noon, in a private room of Xingsheng Hall, Hong Fan met Liao Zhenghao, Lu Yunshi, and their immediate superior in the Liangzhou camp, the third-rank commander Lu Zhiyuan.

Lu Zhiyuan is a veteran Yuanci who is generous and magnanimous, so he gets along well with Liao Zhenghao, who was promoted after a bloody battle. And Lu Yunshi, because his grandfather has an old relationship with Lu, also joins his faction.

Because Liao Zhenghao had given the message in advance, the dinner was very special.

Commander Lu has been in the army for a long time. He loves drinking and bragging. He has a special respect for people who dare to brag and are able to brag.

Although there was no one in Xijing who dared to look down on Chixing, considering Hong Fan's age and experience, he did not regard him as an "opponent" at first.

A bottle of fire jadeite burned into his stomach. Lu Zhiyuan started from how Shen Moye was abandoned by his elder brother in the war between snakemen when he was young. He also talked about Zhu Zhanran's three love affairs hidden behind his false prudishness in middle age, and how Xu Guinian accepted all the courtesans sent by Liu Xiu and Liu Rui before Guan Qimai took over...

Unexpectedly, Hong Fan smiled and was already prepared.

Taking a sip of the aged wine, he used Storm Lanshan from Fengyunding and Feng Jianke's Five Deteriorations of Heaven and Man as a prelude, and then mentioned the six martial saints he had seen in person, focusing on how Wan Guiche single-handedly killed the insect tide...

After all the confusion, not only Liao Zhenghao and Lu Yunshi were sitting there in a daze like two illiterate children, even Lu Zhiyuan was stunned and swallowed back the anecdote of "Jiang Danhu challenges Feixia Sect" that was about to come out of his mouth.

The meal was an eye-opener for all four of them, so much so that the subsequent cooperation between Liangzhou Camp and Kaimingxing was successfully negotiated over just a bowl of sobering soup, and the price of bulk purchases was set at 90% of the retail price.

After dinner, the sun was warm.

Willow catkins on both sides of Xianzun Bridge flutter like snow and disperse in the spring breeze.

Hong Fan had no time to rest. He just took a bath in Xingsheng Hall to get rid of the smell of alcohol and then rushed to the Instrument Works Department to welcome the mercury fulminate technical team from Hezhou...

······
On March 23rd, Jinhai City bid farewell to the last bit of frost left by the harsh winter.

At the north city gate, a hunting team led by three red-robed riders from the Hong family returned in the morning light. The camels' backs were loaded with snake skins, snake blood, snake gallbladders, and herbs that were unique to the Onuma.

"Ah, if I had known earlier, I would have learned from you and gritted my teeth to get a new gun. I earned four snakemen for you with fifteen taels of silver."

A young man of eighteen or nineteen was driving a ox cart and regretting his decision.

"With this old flintlock rifle, it's slow to reload and inaccurate, and neither I nor any of you can snatch it from me!"

"You are a man who gets bored easily - this is not what you said when you rushed to buy it half a year ago."

Old Bear rode on his horse, holding the double-barreled shotgun in his arms and stroking it lovingly.

"The scales of a snakeman can make three sets of leather armor. Unfortunately, I lost my grip and damaged the leather. I guess I have to discount it by 30%."

He pretended to feel regretful, but in fact he was just showing off.

"If you can't keep your hands steady, practice more."

A man rode up from behind the team on horseback. It was the team leader Hong Jie.

"Whenever you dare to let the snake man within three feet to shoot its eyes, your marksmanship and courage will be in vain..."

As the most skilled member of the team, he fought alone against a two-snake-sacrificing man. Two single-headed shells blew up the latter's head.

"Since the second young master invented the musket, the situation has changed greatly."

On the top of the city wall, Hongwu, dressed in a brocade robe, pressed his hands on the battlements, listening to the words floating in the wind.

"From last autumn to this spring, the five snake tribes within a hundred miles north of the Jinhai Desert all moved inland, and the outer edge of the Great Swamp was filled with wandering hunting teams of our tribe."

“The current situation is indeed encouraging, but we must not forget to prepare for a rainy day.”

Zheng Zhun on the side spoke up.

"Mr. Zheng, you don't need to appoint me. The clan has already passed the discussion after the New Year. All expenses for the concrete hardening project of the northern city wall will be covered by my Hong family."

Hongwu laughed, and Zheng Zhun was overjoyed when he heard the words and bowed repeatedly.

The government office was closed today, so the two walked side by side for another half a quarter of an hour, and then each took a carriage back home.

In the long alley outside the Hong residence, the ground was littered with tiny pieces of red paper left by firecrackers, and nearby were piles of tables and chairs from a buffet.

Just three days ago - on March 20th of the 32nd year of Zhenghe, the fourth anniversary of the death of Hong Jian, the former patriarch of the Hong family - Hong Wu opened the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices, and then announced on the spot that the duties of the patriarch would be passed to his nephew Hong Sheng.

The incident happened suddenly, but also naturally.

With the heavy burden suddenly lifted, Hongwu felt relaxed but also empty inside. Although he went to the yamen to do his work as usual for the next two days, he was no longer interested in the duties of the city magistrate, which he had been doing diligently for many years and had become accustomed to.

He stopped the carriage and entered the clan residence through the side door.

The old house in the middle of the first row was demolished to the foundation, and half of the frames on the four sides were built using the best fir wood.

Classes were being given in the clan school two rows of courtyards away, and the chants of Foundation Building Fist continued.

The faint sound of gunfire rose from the most remote new shooting range and hit Cangkong's abdomen.

Hongwu turned the corner with his hands behind his back, and suddenly heard a noisy voice from the side, followed by a sudden and tragic pig squeal.

At this moment, an idea suddenly popped into his empty mind.

【There will never be a better time in this life. 】

The next day, Hongwu first informed his clan members, then sent someone to order a coffin. Then he took the Fenzhong Pill that Hongfan had sent back earlier and locked himself in the iron house to meditate.

From then on, it rained every day in Jinhai City, and white smoke rose up from the iron house in Hong Mansion.

Until April 13, the lacquered coffin was delivered to the mansion, and finally a long whistle echoed throughout the city.

The iron house opened wide, and although Hongwu came out thin and unrecognizable, there was a divine light in his eyes, and he had already climbed the ladder to heaven.

At this time, the Hong family had three innates, two people with the resonance between heaven and man, and two earthly divine weapons. They were already top-level powerful families in the full sense of the word, enough to compete with the weaker second-rate families.

(End of this chapter)