I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 90 Have you read Journey to the West?
...

In the giant agricultural research base that Zhao Ya prepared for Yuan Qingcheng, it was located in a corner farthest from the residential area.

Zhao Ya brought Li Lin, Ma Xiaojiao, Huang Jingchen, Liang Shicheng, Tong Guan, Li Yan, as well as a group of R&D personnel and personal guards to test the tiger squat cannon and sky bomb here.

The "Tiger Crouching Cannon" is a distinctive artillery piece from the Ming Dynasty. While fighting Japanese pirates along the southeastern coast, Qi Jiguang discovered that the bird gun, while accurate, lacked power, making it ineffective against large enemy groups. Meanwhile, the falconet was too heavy to carry and difficult to move. He therefore sought to create a firearm that was more powerful than the bird gun, lighter than the falconet, and easier to carry. The "Tiger Crouching Cannon" was the result.

This kind of cannon is not difficult to make, especially for Ma Xiaojiao, who is very familiar with casting and forging methods.

What's more, Ma Xiaojiao has a large number of skilled craftsmen of all kinds.

The key is that Li Lin, who is familiar with various weapons from ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, helps to fill in the gaps.

It can even be said that the tiger squat cannon made by Ma Xiaojiao and Li Lin should be stronger than the tiger squat cannon in history.

Overall, the Tiger Crouching Cannon has a body two feet long from head to tail, with seven iron hoops around it. The cannon head is supported by two iron claws and has an iron tripod. It weighs thirty-six pounds (about 21.5 kilograms in modern times) and looks like a crouching tiger, majestic and awe-inspiring.

This cannon is made of wrought iron. Each time it is fired, it can be loaded with 100 small lead bullets or small stones weighing five cents, and topped with a large lead bullet or large stone bullet weighing thirty taels. Its range is not far, only about three or four hundred steps, but it is far beyond the range of a bow and crossbow. When fired, large and small bullets fly together, making a thunderous sound. The lethality and radiation range are large, which can effectively suppress the enemy's intensive offensive.

Historically, during Qi Jiguang's campaigns against the Japanese pirates in the south, the Ming army equipped every 500 officers and soldiers with three Tiger Squat Cannons, effectively countering the concentrated attacks of the pirates. During his campaigns against the Mongol nobles in the north, Qi Jiguang's cavalry battalions, each consisting of 2,700 men, were typically equipped with 60 Tiger Squat Cannons. When the Mongol cavalry approached, they would first fire firearms such as bird guns, followed by the Tiger Squat Cannons. In close combat, the Ming army deployed the "Mandarin Duck Formation" to meet the enemy, allowing them to pursue and bombard the enemy as they retreated.

Some tiger squat cannons with superior performance can also be used to attack strongholds. When the Ming army was fighting against Japanese invaders and aiding Korea, they used tiger squat cannons to fire stone balls or iron balls, which had a certain destructive effect on the enemy's city walls and other fortifications.

Of course, the biggest advantage of the Tiger Crouching Cannon is its lightness and flexibility. Due to its thin barrel, it can be fired at a large elevation angle and is easy to maneuver in complex terrains such as mountains, forests and paddy fields. It can be equipped in large quantities in grassroots troops, basically equivalent to the role of a mortar.

As for the thunder bomb, it is actually a grenade.

This era already had the prototype of a bomb, called a "fireball" (also known as a "cannon"). It was made by wrapping gunpowder in multiple layers of paper, cloth, or other materials, igniting it and throwing it manually, using the flames from the explosion to injure the enemy.

The Wujing Zongyao, an official military manual compiled by the Northern Song Dynasty, recorded in detail the methods of making eight types of fireballs, including "fire balls" and "poison smoke balls", which were used for burning, smoke or poison gas attacks.

Although these fireballs are mainly burning, they already have the characteristics of hand-thrown ammunition.

By the late Southern Song Dynasty, the Song army had begun using explosive firearms wrapped in iron shells.

For example: the outer shell of the thunder bomb is made of cast iron, and it is filled with gunpowder and detonated by a fuse. When it explodes, the iron shell shatters into fragments, and its lethality is significantly increased, making it a powerful weapon for attacking and defending cities. It is often used to blow up city walls during sieges, or thrown into enemy formations in field battles to cause mass casualties.

Li Lin and Ma Xiaojiao made a thunder bomb by directly turning paper, cloth and other materials into cast iron, and installed a wooden handle on it. They used the principle of leverage to extend the throwing distance, making it directly evolved into a grenade.

It is worth mentioning that in order to amplify the power of the thunder bomb and the tiger squat cannon, Li Lin directly developed the best ratio of granular black gunpowder and maroon gunpowder for propellant.

In other words, the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Sky Bomb are already real powerful weapons.

However, before this, since the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Sky Bomb were developed separately from gunpowder and the two had never been combined, no one knew how powerful they were.

But then again, Zhao Ya could see that Li Lin was very confident. She calmly directed the craftsmen to load gunpowder into the tiger squat cannon and the thunder bomb according to her instructions.

After loading the gunpowder, placing a hundred small lead bullets, and pressing the top with a large lead bullet, Li Lin skillfully adjusted the shooting angle of the Tiger Crouching Cannon with a pair of thumbs.

Afterwards, Li Lin told Tong Guan, who was testing the artillery, the precautions to take and how to evacuate safely, to ensure that if an accident occurred, Tong Guan could evacuate to a safe area quickly and orderly.

Tong Guan listened to Li Lin's explanation, his eyes flashing with excitement and anticipation.

Tong Guan had already heard Li Lin and Zhao Ya describe the power of the Tiger Crouching Cannon.

Tong Guan was very skeptical about what Li Lin said, "Can this tiger squat cannon be so powerful?"

After Li Lin finished speaking, Tong Guan took a deep breath, calmed his excitement, and walked steadily towards the Tiger Crouching Cannon. He gripped the ignition torch tightly, his eyes revealing a hint of nervousness, but more of it was anticipation of witnessing the power of the new weapon.

Everyone around held their breath, their eyes fixed on Tong Guan and the tiger-crouching cannon. Zhao Ya even hugged Ma Xiaojiao in his arms and helped her cover her ears to prevent her from being scared.

As the torch in Tong Guan's hand touched the fuse, the "hissing" sound of burning broke the silence, and sparks quickly spread along the fuse.

Many people subconsciously took a few steps back. Zhao Ya also retreated with Ma Xiaojiao. Even Tong Guan, who was lighting the cannon, ran away in a hurry. Only Li Lin did not move and stood firmly in place.

"Boom!" A resounding explosion, like thunder, echoed across the empty testing ground. The Tiger Crouching Cannon jerked back, its powerful recoil causing the ground to tremble slightly. Immediately, a cloud of smoke and flames erupted from the muzzle, and the shells plummeted towards the distant target like a meteor shower.

The moment the shell hit the target, a cloud of dust and rubble rose in the distance, and the huge impact force blew a simulated enemy formation that had been built in advance into pieces.

Everyone was stunned by the scene before them, and after a while, they burst into exclamations.

Even Tong Guan, who had previously doubted the power of the Tiger Crouching Cannon, now widened his eyes with an expression of disbelief.

Only Li Lin frowned slightly, as if he was still dissatisfied with the power of the Tiger Crouching Cannon.

Li Lin thought, "The ratio is fine, the airtightness is fine, there's no moisture. Hmm... maybe the nitrate they used is impure?"

At this time, Zhao Ya came to Li Lin and praised her generously: "My beloved concubine, this magical tool is indeed extraordinary."

Li Lin couldn't help but complain in her heart, "It's really useful to call her my beloved concubine instead of my nickname."

However, Li Lin didn't care about Zhao Ya's attitude at this time. She hurriedly asked, "May I ask Your Majesty, with such a magical weapon, can those ten thousand brave men be established as a new army?"

Zhao Ya said without hesitation, "As my beloved concubine suggests, I believe that with the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Divine Arm Bow, this army will be invincible. Hmm... these two new armies, one the Divine Machine Left Army and the other the Divine Machine Right Army, if they are useful, can be incorporated into my personal army. The rest can be discussed later."

Li Lin was overjoyed and thanked him quickly: "Your Majesty is wise!" Next, Tong Guan personally operated and tested the power of the thunder bomb.

This thunderbolt also gave Tong Guan a huge shock.

After experiments and summarizing, Tong Guan discovered that the explosion of this thunder bomb would produce a powerful impact, which could cause damage to enemies within a certain range and destroy all nearby defense measures. The key is that it is simple to operate and easy to use. It is also small in size, easy for soldiers to carry, and silent when thrown. If used properly, it may improve combat effectiveness better than the tiger squat cannon.

Tong Guan was a man of discernment. He discovered that by using these two weapons, supplemented by weapons such as the Shenbi bow, it was indeed possible to build an invincible and powerful army.

Tong Guan looked at Li Lin without leaving any trace, "Where did the emperor get this girl from? She could actually create such a magical artifact!"

After the experiment, Zhao Ya asked someone to send the pregnant Ma Xiaojiao back to rest, and he took Li Lin and Tong Guan to Funing Palace.

The Funing Hall was Zhao Ya's bedroom, located behind the Chuigong Hall. Sometimes, after finishing his duties in the front hall, Zhao Ya would return to the Funing Hall to continue handling less urgent or more private affairs, such as meeting with close ministers or handling documents related to the inner court.

After returning to Funing Palace, Zhao Ya began to review the memorials with his head down. He neither talked about the tiger squat cannon and the sky-thunder bomb, nor did he say why he brought Li Lin and Tong Guan to Funing Palace. It seemed that he was just leaving them alone.

Li Lin was very confused and anxious.

She came back with Zhao Ya with great anticipation, just to discuss with him how to establish the Shen Ji Left Army and the Shen Ji Right Army. However, after Zhao Ya came back, he kept reviewing memorials and had no intention of discussing with her.

Li Lin looked at Zhao Ya anxiously. She wanted to ask, but she was afraid of causing Zhao Ya's disgust, and then losing his favor, or even being banished to the cold palace. Not only would all her previous efforts be wasted, but she would also never have the chance to realize her own value and dreams again, and would end up spending her whole life in mediocrity in the harem.

Therefore, Li Lin could only wait patiently for Zhao Ya to remember her and discuss with her the establishment of the Shen Ji Left Army and the Shen Ji Right Army.

Who would have thought that Li Lin waited until it was completely dark.

At this time, Zhao Ya finally finished reviewing the memorials. Not to mention discussing the establishment of the Shenji Left Army and the Shenji Right Army with Li Lin, he didn't even look at Li Lin. It seemed that he had forgotten that Li Lin was here. He turned around and went back to rest.

Li Lin was really puzzled. She felt that Zhao Ya seemed to have some deeper meaning, but she couldn't get it for a moment.

Tong Guan glanced at Li Lin and left.

Zhao Ya left, even Tong Guan left, so Li Lin couldn't stay here alone, so she could only go back alone.

"What exactly is Zhao Ya's intention?"

"What did Tong Guan mean by that look?"

Li Lin did not return to her own home, but went to Zhang Chun's residence. She wanted Zhang Chun to help her analyze what Zhao Ya was up to.

To Li Lin's surprise, Ye Shiyun, Ma Xiaojiao and Yuan Qingcheng were all with Zhang Chun.

Seeing Li Lin coming back, the four girls were a little surprised. Ma Xiaojiao even asked bluntly, "Sister Lin, you didn't go to the bed?"

"She must not have thought it through yet and was unwilling to sleep with him. Zhao Ya didn't want to force her, so he let her come back," said Ye Shiyun.

"Zhao Ya is really good in this regard. He didn't force me. After I took over the agricultural base, he would never come to me unless I went to find him. If there is anything, I just need to talk to Liang Shicheng and it will be done quickly." Yuan Qingcheng also had a good impression of Zhao Ya.

"The emperor can have as many women as beautiful as us as he wants. There are many who are prettier than us. They all wish they could live on his body. Does he still need to force himself on us?" said Ma Xiaojiao.

"The reason why the emperor is so good to us is because he knows we are useful and he respects our abilities. As for whether you want to sleep with him or not, it all depends on personal choice. So, Qingcheng, you don't have to hide from him. He won't touch you unless you don't want to. Look at Sister Lin, she's with him every day, isn't it okay, right, Sister Lin?" Ma Xiaojiao asked Li Lin.

The four girls looked at Li Lin, who had been silent since entering.

To the four girls' surprise, Li Lin didn't even mention whether or not to sleep with him. Instead, she blurted out, "Help me analyze what Zhao Ya meant."

"???"

The four girls were all confused.

"Tell me about it," said Zhang Chun.

Li Lin recounted in detail what had happened before.

After listening to this, Zhang Chun looked at Li Lin and said, "Are you stupid?"

Li Lin was puzzled: "What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Chun rolled his eyes. "Have you read Journey to the West? When Patriarch Bodhi was about to teach Sun Wukong the 72 transformations, he hit him on the head three times with 'bang bang bang', then closed the front door and left. Sun Wukong went to find Patriarch Bodhi through the back door in the middle of the night, and only then did he learn the true Dharma. Some things require enlightenment."

Li Lin frowned: "Enlightenment?"

Seeing that Li Lin still hadn't figured it out, Zhang Chunzhen didn't want to say another word to Li Lin, a straight-laced woman who hadn't understood at all: "Who among you has the patience to explain it to her?"

Yuan Qingcheng, who had the best relationship with Li Lin, said, "Sister Lin, have you ever wondered why Zhao Ya only took you and Tong Guan back?"

After hearing Yuan Qingcheng's words and recalling the look Tong Guan had given her before he left, Li Lin suddenly understood: "You mean Zhao Ya wants me to discuss the establishment of a new army with Tong Guan? No, Zhao Ya probably wants me to teach Tong Guan the tactics of the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Thunder Bomb, right?"

……

(End of this chapter)