The prince is more stable

Chapter 710 Shocking Weapon

Inside the valley, the blacksmiths gathered together, their eyes fixed on Zhao Xiaoqian.

No self-introduction was needed; they all knew who Zhao Xiaoqian was.

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at the blacksmiths' expressions, but his thoughts couldn't help but drift away.

The Living Father has spies, assassins, and craftsmen under his command, clearly indicating a well-organized force with a clear division of labor. So, what else is there besides that?
Are there any high-ranking officials in the court who have been bribed and won over by him? Or even, is there an army?

Zhao Xiaoqian dared not think about it, but estimated that it was very likely to exist.

Since they've already done so many lawless things, once they're caught, their whole family will surely lose their heads. Since they're going to lose their heads anyway, why not make it as thorough as possible?
Therefore, Zhao Hao likely had a secret armed force under his command. It wasn't composed of dozens or hundreds of elite soldiers, but rather existed in units of a thousand, organized into military formations. Like the Dragon Guard Battalion, they advanced at the sound of the drum and retreated at the sound of the gong.

The number of people is estimated to be not large, but they will definitely appear in time at critical moments and play a role in turning the tide.

Zhao Xiaoqian even wondered if this clandestine army was also equipped with firearms.

When Zhao Xiaoqian was developing flintlock muskets and gunpowder, he did not hide it from Zhao Hao. He knew the manufacturing process and the secret formula, so it would not have been difficult to secretly replicate them on a large scale.

As his thoughts drifted further and further away, Zhao Xiaoqian, based solely on speculation, gradually pieced together the basic structure of Zhao Hao's forces in his mind.

The more he thought about it, the more horrified he became. He didn't know when his father had started doing these treasonous things. Judging from the timeline, it should have been around the time of Emperor Shenzong's death. At that time, Zhao Hao might have already had designs on the throne.

Calming himself, Zhao Xiaoqian temporarily put aside the increasingly chaotic thoughts in his mind and looked at the dozens of blacksmiths in front of him.

Smelting pig iron is a very simple task, a basic skill for blacksmiths, and Zhao Xiaoqian does not get involved.

Pig iron is quickly melted into molten iron, and the impurities in the pig iron are burned and volatilized during the smelting process.

After cooling, Zhao Xiaoqian ordered it to be smelted again.

After repeated smelting and refining several times, once the impurities in the pig iron had been basically removed, Zhao Xiaoqian ordered the molten iron to be poured into the mold.

The blacksmiths remained silent, doing whatever Zhao Xiaoqian said without raising any questions, which made Zhao Xiaoqian even happier to have some peace and quiet.

After casting, once the molten iron cooled, a black cannon barrel weighing several thousand kilograms appeared before everyone.

The inside of the cannon barrel is hollow, and the mold has been pre-made with hollow parts.

Next, a hole was drilled above the bottom of the cannon barrel, and tung oil was wrapped around an iron rod to clear the internal hollow.

With the hardware nearly complete, Zhao Xiaoqian had a box of gunpowder brought in and began his independent research and development. He also ordered the blacksmith to forge several solid and hollow iron balls that matched the inner diameter of the cannon barrel.

Gunpowder is readily available; all that's needed is to sieve it finer for use as a primer propellant.

It was a meticulous task, after all, a box of gunpowder was a deadly contraption, and Zhao Xiaoqian handled it with utmost care.

After a while, a disc-shaped primer propellant was ready.

Meanwhile, the blacksmiths also made several solid iron balls.

Now that the cannon barrel, iron ball, and propellant were all available, Zhao Xiaoqian gazed at the pile of things in front of him with a complicated expression.

The Hongyi cannon, also known as the Hongyi cannon, actually appeared during the Ming Dynasty. It was introduced from Europe, so it is also called the Franco cannon.

Now, Zhao Xiaoqian has brought it to fruition ahead of schedule.

Without manufacturing more advanced firearms, from flintlock muskets to swarms of bees, and now to the red-coated cannons, the firearms made by Zhao Xiaoqian were all from the 16th and 17th centuries. Compared with modern firearms, they were certainly far behind, but even by today's standards, they were already several centuries ahead.

More importantly, the process of creating what he did is barely feasible with today's industrial capabilities.

If he had a precision stamping machine or something, Zhao Xiaoqian could certainly build a Maxim machine gun and spray bullets at the enemy—how satisfying!

I don't know how history books record the significance of this cannon's appearance. It marked the beginning of a certain era for China and rewrote the history of Chinese military warfare...

In any case, the content that later generations would emphasize and test was not important to Zhao Xiaoqian.

He was just trying to protect himself.

The cannon in front of us is a bit crudely made because of the inferior materials.

The best cannons should be cast in copper, but unfortunately, China has always been short of copper, so for now we can only use pig iron. As for copper-iron alloys, sorry, Zhao Xiaoqian wasn't a top student in his previous life, so he simply doesn't know how.

"Give it a try. If it fails, we can revise it again." Zhao Xiaoqian stretched and got up.

The propellant is loaded into the gun barrel, then a solid iron ball is inserted, and the fuse is pulled in from the top of the bottom of the gun barrel...

After doing all this, Zhao Xiaoqian resolutely retreated to a completely safe position, where even if all the gunpowder in the cannon exploded, it would not affect his safety.

The crowd, not understanding his meaning, blindly followed Zhao Xiaoqian back a long distance, then stared at him in astonishment.

Zhao Xiaoqian was also taken aback. He looked around and asked in confusion, "You've all retreated so far, who's going to light the fuse?"

"Do you need a fuse?" Chen Shou asked blankly.

"Actually, no need. I know Taoist magic. With a few hand gestures, I can summon divine lightning from the heavens. One bolt will strike the fuse, igniting it," Zhao Xiaoqian said earnestly. The crowd behind Chen Shouhe was filled with awe: "Your Highness actually knows this? This humble general has underestimated your abilities!"

"Get the hell back, watch me cast my spell!" Zhao Xiaoqian roared.

The crowd immediately took several steps back, staring at him with anticipation and excitement.

After a long while, Zhao Xiaoqian turned around and kicked Chen Shou hard in the buttocks, kicking him again and again while cursing.

"If I could really attract lightning, you'd be the first one struck. You actually believe that kind of nonsense? How stupid are you?!"

"I retreated so far because I was afraid of dying, don't you understand that?"

As Zhao Xiaoqian kicked Chen Shou repeatedly, he became more and more aware, and soon his clear eyes were filled with wisdom.

"Understood! Your Highness, this humble general understands!"

Zhao Xiaoqian, a little tired from kicking, said breathlessly, "I'll offer a reward of one hundred taels. Find someone who isn't afraid of death and light the fuse for me. Remember to run away as soon as it's lit. Don't be stupid enough to stay in one place and watch the effect. It'll blow you up."

There was no need for a reward; many people present raised their hands to volunteer.

Jia Jiu and his group of skilled men directly stated that they did not want a reward, but Zhao Xiaoqian did not agree.

He has his own principles in doing things, and he always keeps his word.

He selected a man with a broad forehead, a large nose, and long ears from Jia Jiu's skilled subordinates; one could tell from his appearance that he was not destined for a short life.

This guy seemed to know he wouldn't die young, and he was very fierce. He grabbed a torch and ran to the cannon barrel, lit the fuse, threw the torch on the spot, and flew into the air, leaping several meters away.

Everyone stared at the burning fuse. In the blink of an eye, the fuse burned out, followed by a deafening roar. The ground of the entire valley seemed to tremble, and countless small pebbles above the valley were shaken and fell down. The effect was simply earth-shattering.

Everyone's expression changed drastically. Looking into the distance of the valley, they saw the ground suddenly explode about two miles away, and a plume of black smoke rose into the air.

After a brief explosion, the surroundings fell silent again.

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes widened in surprise; he hadn't expected his first test shot to be a success.

While everyone was still in shock and silence, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately mounted his horse and galloped away into the distance.

Chen Shou and Jia Jiu, as if waking from a dream, also mounted their horses and followed.

Zhao Xiaoqian rode a Ferghana horse, which was very fast, and arrived at the bomb crater in no time.

Black smoke was still billowing from inside and outside the crater. A huge pit, about half a zhang in diameter and two chi deep, appeared on the ground. The iron ball was twisted and deformed, and remained quietly at the bottom of the crater.

Zhao Xiaoqian measured the diameter of the crater with his footsteps, estimated the range, and nodded with satisfaction.

"This thing is pretty good, it's quite powerful..." Zhao Xiaoqian murmured.

Chen Shou and Jia Jiu, who caught up, stared dumbfounded at the shell crater on the ground, then looked back in disbelief at the location of the cannon barrel, staring even more shocked at Zhao Xiaoqian's calm face.

"This, this could be a celestial artifact left behind by the heavens?" Chen Shou's face flushed with excitement.

"What an idiot! What does something I made myself have to do with a celestial artifact?" Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at him.

"Your Highness, this thing has a range of at least two miles! If we could build a hundred or so for use in battle, what enemy in the world could stand against us?" Chen Shou said, becoming increasingly excited.

As a military officer in the Palace Guard, he naturally understood the significance of cannons in military warfare.

Before this, there had never been a long-range strike weapon with such a long range; it was simply unheard of.

If we had this on the battlefield in the future, wouldn't it be easy to destroy the Liao Kingdom?
Zhao Xiaoqian stared at the bomb crater in front of him, the joy on his face gradually fading.

If he could, he wouldn't want to create such a powerful weapon. Sometimes he had to revere the will of Heaven, after all, it was already incredible that he had transmigrated to this era.

If it weren't for self-preservation, he probably wouldn't have created these firearms, fearing it would disrupt the original course of history.

However, the situation in Bianjing is somewhat urgent now, and his existence has already caused history to take a sharp turn. Whether the Red Cannon appears or not is probably no longer important.

Turning to Jia Jiu, Zhao Xiaoqian asked, "Did the blacksmiths remember the manufacturing process of the cannon just now?"

Jia Jiu nodded vigorously: "I've remembered every detail, I'll never forget it."

Zhao Xiaoqian said, "Alright, the rest is up to you. Have the blacksmiths work day and night to build one or two hundred cannons within a few months. Each cannon barrel should be equipped with wheels for easy transport. Any questions?"

Jia Jiu shook his head: "No problem, I will immediately instruct the blacksmiths to work day and night, and I guarantee that two hundred cannons can be made within two months."

Zhao Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment, then said, "Once the cannons are built, give them all to my father. He knows when they will be needed."

"Strengthen security in this valley. This matter is top secret. No one is allowed to know about it, especially not the people of the imperial court."

(End of this chapter)