Chief Armaments Master of the Ming Dynasty

This gradually earned him a small reputation within the unit, especially among the wounded and lower-ranking soldiers; at least, no one regarded him as a spy anymore.

But he spends most of his time observing and learning.

He took note of the team's organizational structure:

The leader, Wang Ziyong, was a dark-skinned, burly man in his forties. He was said to be exceptionally brave, but he had a violent temper and often made decisions based on his momentary likes and dislikes.

There were several minor leaders, each with their own group of fellow villagers or former subordinates, and there were also disagreements among them.

He observed their weapons and equipment:

Most of the knives and spears were crude, and the arrowheads were mostly forged from pig iron, making them rough and easily broken.

Leather armor was scarce and worn out;

There were almost no firearms. I only saw a few old, worn-out muskets that I don’t know which garrison warehouse they came from. They were treated like treasures, but nobody knew how to use them.

He also secretly inquired about the news of Li Zicheng's "Chuangjiang" troops.

He gradually gleaned fragmented information from some veteran soldiers and scouts who relayed messages:

After the Yinchuan post station incident, Li Zicheng, known as the "Rebel General," gathered his post station soldiers and others in the mountains and forests. He gradually amassed two to three hundred outlaws who were active in the mountains of Ansai and Bao'an in the northwest of Yan'an Prefecture.

They acted more cautiously than Wang Jiayin's troops, avoiding direct confrontations and instead targeting small groups of government troops, tax collectors, and powerful clans with weak defenses. Once they obtained grain and valuables, they distributed them among the poor, thus gaining the secret support of some impoverished people and gradually building their reputation.

However, its scale is still small, and compared with "Kings" like Wang Jiayin who already have thousands of followers and have conquered cities and territories, it is still just a small force.

On this day, the team set up camp in a sheltered mountain hollow.

They had just robbed a small landlord's estate, seizing some grain and pigs and sheep, and the atmosphere was unusually lively.

The campfire flickered, and the aroma of meat mingled with the stench of sweat and blood.

Lin Fan was changing the dressing on a wounded soldier whose wound was infected when he suddenly heard a commotion and shouts coming from the direction of the main tent of the camp.

A moment later, two henchmen stormed out, carrying several broken bows and dulled knives, cursing under their breath:

"...Damn it! This piece of junk could break a door bolt if you cut it! Those blacksmiths are bastards, they must have tried to fool me with pig iron!"

"Absolutely! The arrowheads too, they're so weak they can't even pierce leather armor! They cost me several brothers!"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers also began to complain about the poor quality of their weapons, and a sense of resentment filled the air.

Lin Fan's heart stirred.

He had already taken note of the condition of the weapons in the camp over the past few days; the materials were inferior, the workmanship was rough, and heat treatment was out of the question.

He recalled his assessment of the stirrups at the post station, as well as his later experiences repairing the woodcutter's knife and attempting to process gunpowder.

Perhaps... this is an opportunity?

An opportunity that can both improve one's situation and bring one closer to certain goals?

After treating the wounded, he walked to the pile of discarded, broken weapons, picked up a broken saber and several deformed arrowheads, and carefully examined the breaks and materials.

It is indeed low-quality pig iron, with high carbon content, many impurities, and high brittleness.

"What are you looking at, Physician Lin? Is there any hope for this wrecked thing?" A wounded soldier who recognized him leaned against the side and asked weakly.

Lin Fan shook his head: "The materials are too poor to be salvaged. But if we had paid more attention during the preparation and controlled the heat better, it wouldn't be like this."

"Easy for you to say, where are we going to find a good blacksmith?" another veteran muttered.

Lin Fan didn't say anything more, but he was making plans in his mind.

He knew some folk methods to improve the properties of ironware, such as localized hardening by covering the blade with clay, increasing surface hardness by carburizing, and reducing impurities by improving forging methods.

These methods are insignificant compared to modern chemical engineering, but in this era, they may bring about considerable improvement.

But he cannot rashly step forward.

Here, revealing one's "extraordinary abilities" may not bring appreciation, but rather suspicion or even death.

He needed an opportunity, a way to demonstrate his value without drawing attention to himself.

The opportunity came quickly.

A few days later, the group wandered to an abandoned mountain village near the mining area, where it was said that there were small furnaces for smelting iron using rudimentary methods in the past.

Wang Ziyong ordered a short rest there and sent people to search for usable items.

Lin Fan volunteered and followed the search team into the village.

In the ruins of an abandoned blacksmith shop in the village, he found several items:

Some scattered, reasonably good quality iron ore, a damaged but repairable sheepskin bellows, a few broken hammers and anvils, and most importantly, some leftover charcoal and waste oil used for quenching.

The search team showed little interest in the "junk" and only took some usable iron pots and knives.

Lin Fan, however, regarded it as a treasure.

He carefully cleaned the small, half-collapsed furnace, repaired the bellows, and collected the ore and charcoal.

Back at camp, he found an old supply officer in charge of logistics and pointed to the pile of "junk" and several weapons in dire need of repair, saying:

"Hey Wu, I see an old stove over there. Maybe we can try to repair these appliances and make them more durable. I can't say it will be perfect, but it'll be better than it is now."

Wu Tou'er, a skinny, seasoned veteran, was already worried about the large number of damaged weapons affecting their combat effectiveness. Hearing this, he was skeptical: "You? Doctor Lin, you can even forge iron?"

Before fleeing the famine, my family ran a blacksmith shop, and I worked as an assistant there, so I knew a little bit about blacksmithing.

Lin Fan said, half-jokingly, "Anyway, the furnace is already there, and the scrap is worthless. Let me give it a try? If I can't fix it, I won't lose anything."

Wu the foreman glanced at the junk, then at Lin Fan, and clicked his tongue. "Alright, fine. We're just sitting around doing nothing anyway. Tell me what you need, but don't even think about touching the food!"

That's exactly what Lin Fan wanted to hear.

He, along with Han Jinhu and two other relatively quick-witted recovered soldiers, began tinkering with the small forge.

Without good fuel, they could only use a mixture of collected charcoal and low-quality coal.

Without modern instruments, temperature was judged entirely by experience and observation of the flame color.

Lin Fan gave instructions, Han Jinhu provided the work, and the other two assisted.

They first tried to repair the chipped blades.

The blade is partially heated to a bright red color, then forged and stretched using rudimentary tools to repair the edge. Finally, the most crucial step—clay tempering and quenching—is performed.

The blade edge is coated with a mixture of clay and carbon powder, while the back of the blade is left uncoated or coated only thinly. The entire blade is then heated and quenched, followed by low-temperature tempering using the residual heat of the furnace to relieve stress.

The process was crude and the conditions were rudimentary, but the results were remarkable.

The repaired knife has regained its sharpness, and its hardness and toughness have been significantly improved compared to before; at least it no longer bends with a single cut.

They also reheated and forged those spearheads, corrected their shapes, and subjected them to similar heat treatment.

When Lin Fan handed several newly repaired knives and spearheads to Wu Tou'er, the veteran's eyes lit up.

He personally tested the knife, striking a piece of hardwood. The blade went deep into the wood without being damaged.

"Hey! Amazing! Doctor Lin, no, Master Lin! You've got it!"

Wu, the head of the gang, patted Lin Fan on the shoulder, overjoyed. "From now on, the repair of the camp's weapons will be your responsibility! If you need anything, as long as it's not excessive, just tell me!"

The news spread quickly.

Wang Ziyong also learned of this matter and made a special trip to see it.

He picked up a repaired knife, swung it a few times, and then tested the blade with his finger. A rare smile appeared on his dark face.

"Great job! You're a capable person! Keep up the good work, and you'll definitely get your share of the rewards!"

Lin Fan lowered his head humbly, indicating that he had only done his duty.

He knew that he finally had a relatively stable position in the team where he could play a role.

A craftsman who can heal wounds and repair weapons.

This identity may seem inconspicuous, but it is crucial, as it allows access to core military forces while also providing a relatively safe way to conceal more of one's knowledge.

In the stillness of the night, Lin Fan lay in his simple tent, listening to the footsteps of the night patrol soldiers outside and the faint howls of wolves in the distance, while gazing at the starlight filtering through the tent ceiling.

Li Zicheng, a rebel general, from the Ansai and Bao'an area...

The blade he repaired seemed to gleam faintly in the darkness.

The road ahead is still long, but he has already found the first rock to stand on in this turbulent current.