In the Ming Dynasty, I became invincible simply by extracting memories!

Two weeks later, a test firing took place at the training ground.

The three improved breech-loading cannons were lined up in a row, each equipped with six rounds. Old Lu was in charge of the first cannon, his apprentice Old Wang was in charge of the second, and Shen Lian was in charge of the third.

Yu Dayou was still bedridden and unable to attend. Tang Kekuan and Deng Cheng led a dozen or so captains and lieutenants to watch from a distance. Deng Cheng simply squatted down, took out a handful of roasted beans from his pocket, and chewed them with a loud crunch, looking every bit the part of a "front-row melon eater".

"Begin," Tang Ke-kuan ordered.

Old Lu acted immediately. He opened the breech cap of the main gun, inserted the cartridge, closed the cap, and fired. A deafening roar followed, and the iron bullet whistled out, striking the earthen wall fifty paces away, scattering dirt and creating a hole the size of a washbasin. Immediately afterward, with a hook and pull, the empty cartridge popped out, he replaced it with a new one, closed the cap, and fired. Boom! Another hole.

Six bullets were fired in one go, without a single jam or leak. The whole process took no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The drill ground fell silent for a moment.

Deng Cheng's hand trembled, and the fried beans in his palm scattered all over the ground. He was so excited that his face was shaking and filled with disbelief. Tang Kekuan was equally stunned, and the group of captains and lieutenants behind him were also horrified.

Immediately, cheers erupted.

The soldiers watching clapped and cheered, punched each other, and rushed to the cannon to touch its scorching hot barrel, wincing in pain but refusing to let go. Old Lu stood beside the cannon, his white hair disheveled by the gunpowder smoke, his face full of smiles. His two apprentices hugged each other, jumping and shouting.

Tang Kekuan strode forward, personally touched the cannon barrel, and then looked at the earthen wall riddled with holes. Fifty paces, six shots, six hits, each hole bigger than the last; the last shot, using improved gunpowder, directly blasted a corner of the wall down.

"Mr. Shen," Tang Kekuan bowed deeply, "I thank you for your great talent, Mr. Shen, on behalf of the two thousand soldiers of Xuanzhong City."

"General Tang, you flatter me. This is all thanks to Master Lu and his team; I merely offered my advice."

Old Lu chuckled, "Sir, you're too modest. I've seen plenty of people who just talk, but you're the first one who gets to the point."

Deng Cheng rushed over and grabbed Shen Lian's shoulder, slapping his back with a loud thud: "Brother Shen, your skills are amazing! With these three cannons, if we encounter a Japanese pirate ship on the water, we can easily take on three at once! From now on, you're my brother, Deng Cheng's brother. If anyone dares to bully you, I'll be the first to object!"

Shen Lian was both amused and exasperated by his enthusiasm. His shoulder ached from the pats; any harder and it might have dislocated it. Yet, a warmth also welled up inside him. This army, from top to bottom, was all straightforward. If you were truly capable, they would truly respect you. This was true for Yu Dayou, Deng Cheng, Tang Kekuan, and even for the ordinary soldiers.

That night, Tang Kekuan hosted a banquet in the council hall. Yu Dayou was helped to sit in the main seat. His face was sallow and his eyes were sunken, but his eyes were much clearer than they had been a few days ago.

After several rounds of drinks, Yu Dayou raised his cup to Shen Lian with tea instead of wine: "Shen Lian, I heard General Tang talk about your method of improving cannons while I was on my sickbed. Although I did not see it with my own eyes, I heard the cannon fire on the training ground very clearly from inside the room. Six shots fired in one go, without a single pause. It is clear that this is a good cannon."

"Commander Yu, I have only done my best. The real skill belongs to Master Lu and his team."

Yu Dayou waved his hand: "You don't need to be modest. Master Lu's skills are excellent, but he has spent most of his life in the ordnance institute. Why didn't anyone ask him to change it before? Because you saw the problem, you came up with a solution, and you pushed this matter forward. That is your contribution."

He then said seriously, "Mr. Shen, I have a request to make."

"Please speak, Commander Yu."

"Could your method of improving artillery be written into regulations and implemented throughout the army? We have at least several hundred breech-loading cannons along the southeast coast. If we could improve them all according to your method, we could take down any number of Japanese pirate fleets that come our way. And that gunpowder made from alcohol—I've never seen gunpowder that shoots so far and so accurately. If it could be widely adopted, how many fewer soldiers would die in the southeast?"

All eyes turned to Shen Lian.

Shen Lian pondered, "It's not difficult to promote it throughout the entire army, but it will take time and money. Just those reamers and grinding tools alone will have to be custom-made. The granulation of gunpowder will also require a large workforce and the finest rice wine. I've roughly calculated that the cost of materials and labor for improving one breech-loading cannon is about two taels of silver. There are about five or six hundred breech-loading cannons currently in use along the southeast coast; improving them all would require at least twelve hundred taels. Adding the manpower and materials needed for gunpowder granulation, the total cost would be approximately two thousand taels of silver."

"Two thousand taels..." Tang Kekuan looked troubled. "This amount isn't much, but it's not little either. But the imperial court can't even allocate funds for salaries, so where will we get the money to improve firearms?"

Deng Cheng slammed his wine cup on the table: "If you don't have money, borrow it! Borrow from the Provincial Treasurer, borrow from the Prefect, borrow from those salt merchants! They're all so fat and bloated, it's not unreasonable for them to take out two thousand taels of silver to protect the people, is it?"

Yu Dayou remained silent, only looking at Shen Lian.

Shen Lian pondered for a moment and said, "General, I have an idea about the silver."

"Speaking."

"This humble general has an idea. The embezzled silver that I recovered from corrupt officials in Shexian was used to pay military expenses last time, and there are still some treasures and artifacts left over. Given the current urgent military situation, this humble general dares to suggest that these items be pawned and used to improve firearms. The remainder can be used to pay military expenses and provide relief to the families of fallen soldiers."

Yu Dayou's gaze sharpened slightly. "This is the money your Embroidered Uniform Guard uses to handle cases. I'm sure there's some of your own money involved as well."

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Commander Yu, you can't take money with you when you're born, and you can't take it with you when you die. The best use of it is to spend it wisely. I will report to Lord Zhu myself." He thought that it was probably fate that Zhou Changshun and Qian Dehou found out that the embezzled silver was being used wisely. It was indeed true that they had saved very little after several trips.

Deng Cheng couldn't help but interject, "Brother Shen, you're spending that money way too fast. Two thousand taels is enough to buy a modest house in the capital, and you didn't even blink. Do you think the salary of a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is very high?"

"General Deng, to be honest, the salary isn't high at all. A seventh-rank centurion only gets forty-five taels of silver a year. To save up two thousand taels, you'd have to save for over forty years without eating or drinking. But silver is like burning paper money for the dead, it's like accumulating good karma for the living, and it's like saving lives for artillery. Which do you think is more worthwhile?"

Deng Cheng laughed heartily, "What a brilliant idea to spend money on artillery! I've heard plenty of people spout grand theories in my life, but yours is the most practical." He raised his glass to Shen Lian, "Brother Shen, you're a wise man. I admire you."

Tang Kekuan stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Commander Yu, I believe that although Mr. Shen's money can be used for the time being, it should be returned to Mr. Shen in its original form once the court allocates subsequent funds, so that he can focus on his duties."

"Shen Lian is such a young, promising, and exceptionally capable minister; we cannot allow him to suffer unjust impeachment and bear such a false accusation. Since Shen Lian is willing to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to my Yu Family Army, then my Yu Family Army must not let him suffer in vain and bear such a heavy burden!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Dayou's gaze towards Shen Lian became increasingly complex and unfathomable, its meaning swirling and inexplicable. He picked up his cup of tea and drank it down in one gulp, saying in a deep voice, "Well said. I will act as you say." He then became emotional, "Shen Lian, I have served in the military my entire life and have seen all sorts of people. Some are cowards, some are greedy and profit-driven, some are ambitious and eager to climb the ranks, and some are truly devoted to their country. Which one do you belong to? Today, I understand."

"This cup of tea is a toast to you, Mr. Yu."

Shen Lian quickly stood up and returned the greeting with a cupped hand: "It is only right that I, as a junior, respect Commander Yu! In times of national crisis, we are in dire need of capable generals. In the perilous situation on the southeastern coast, it is entirely thanks to Commander Yu's noble character and sense of responsibility that we have been able to protect the peace and stability of the people in this region."

Upon hearing this, Yu Dayou laughed heartily, waving his hand to dismiss the formalities: "There's no need for such formalities between us. Let's just drink heartily and drink until we're completely drunk!"

The banquet ended when the moon was high in the sky. Shen Lian returned to the courtyard. The autumn night in the south was still warm. The banana leaves shimmered with a pale green in the moonlight, swaying gently in the breeze and rustling softly. Yi Dong sat on the veranda, sharpening a dagger. The blade slid across the whetstone, producing a fine, rhythmic grinding sound. The moonlight outlined the soft contours of her profile.

Seeing Shen Lian return, she smiled slyly: "Young Master Shen was quite the hero today. The whole army is praising you. General Deng Cheng is telling everyone that you're his brother, and he'll fight anyone who dares to bully you."

Shen Lian sat down next to her and took the hangover tea she offered. It had a slightly bitter taste, which was just right for relieving hangovers.

"What's so impressive about it? It's just some manual labor."

"Can your craftsmanship really earn you the respect of people like Yu Dayou and Deng Cheng?" Yi Dong sheathed his dagger. "Young Master Shen, I've noticed that you always manage to find a way in the most unlikely places. I've heard it's the same in the Imperial Prison, in Shexian, in Dacheng, and here too."

"That's because I have no way out," Shen Lian pondered.

Yi Dong gave a soft "hmm" and continued sharpening the dagger. The sound of the whetstone rubbing against the blade was particularly clear in the night. After a while, she recalled the day she went to Wu Ping's camp, the casual hand-holding, the slight warmth in her palm, and looked at Shen Lian.

"Young Master Shen, you said you have an... acquaintance in Shexian County?"

Shen Lian was taken aback, then nodded.

"What kind of person is she?"

"She...is a very stubborn person. Once she's made up her mind about something, nothing can change it. She could have lived a peaceful life, but she insists on going against the grain. She knows there's a wall ahead, but she insists on hitting it before she'll turn back..."

He realized that the last sentence wasn't from the original owner's memory, but from his own; he simply couldn't distinguish between the two. In another timeline, before he became "Shen Lian," someone had said the same thing to him: "He's clearly facing a wall, but he insists on hitting it before turning back." After hitting the wall too many times, he ended up transmigrating. He wondered if this was some kind of special favor from heaven for stubborn people.

Yi Dong responded softly, "A person like that must live a very tiring life."

"Yes," Shen Lian said, gazing at the moon. "She must be very tired. I wonder where she is?"

Yi Dong sheathed his sharpened dagger at his waist, casually brushed the stone dust off his clothes, and spoke softly, "Eh, Young Master Shen? If one day I were to wander aimlessly, lost and nowhere to be found, would you... come looking for me?"

"Of course."

Shen Lian nodded emphatically without the slightest hesitation, "The three of us have long been bound together by life and death. No matter where you are in the world, I will definitely find you and bring you back."

The clear moonlight fell into Yi Dong's eyes, reflecting two delicate, gentle ripples. Her eyes were filled with deep affection as she softly said, "It's late, you should rest early. You don't need to bother looking for me. My sister and I will follow you for the rest of our lives, through thick and thin, never to be separated."

Shen Lian was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to respond. He only felt that the moonlight in the south was ultimately different from that in the north, exceptionally bright and clear.

A gentle sea breeze from Shaohan Bay outside Xunzhong City blows in, carrying a faint salty dampness, drifting through the willow-lined lanes of the city, causing the banana leaves in the courtyards to sway gently and rustle softly.

He thought of many people. Liu Rushi, the woman who waved her handkerchief to see him off at the gate of Shexian County. Fang Xuejian, the unfortunate fellow who had spent time with him in the imperial prison, his mind filled with strange and unusual knowledge. Zhu Xixiao, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had pulled him out of the imperial prison in the capital and pointed him to a road heading south.

Just then, Yi Xia suddenly rushed in, interrupting Shen Lian's thoughts.

"Young Master Shen, a letter from the capital. Sent by Fang Xuejian."

Shen Lian opened the seal. The letter contained several pages of densely written, meticulously written in his distinctive tiny handwriting. The first large sections were suggestions for improving the gunpowder formulation, such as "saltpeter needs repeated purification to remove its bitterness," "sulfur should ideally be from overseas, as it contains fewer impurities than that from China," and "willow wood is the best for charcoal, followed by poplar." All of this was practical information he had gathered from his experiments in his previous life. Shen Lian read line by line, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his lips.

The letter also included a handwritten copy of the "Casting Specifications for the Portuguese Cannon," which meticulously detailed the tolerance range for the fit between the main gun and the cannon, the operation steps for finishing the reamer, the material ratio for gunpowder granulation, and the key technological points, all written in easy-to-understand language. Next to it were numerous crookedly drawn diagrams, with small notes indicating "Tolerance here must not exceed one millimeter" and "Reamer angle is best at fifteen degrees." It's clear that while this guy's drawing skills weren't great, his attitude was absolutely serious.

At the end of the letter, Fang Xuejian wrote a line in extremely small print: "The glass is now translucent, though it is slightly green and the bubbles are still there. However, when viewing objects through it, they can be magnified several times. If you do not return soon, by the time you do, I will already be able to see the moon through this mirror."

After reading it, Shen Lian couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Peeping at the moon? Why don't you say peeping at Chang'e?" He chuckled to himself, thinking to himself. This guy, even though he's a modern person like him, has only been in the Ming Dynasty for less than half a year, yet his letters still have a semi-classical, semi-traditional style. But that's just how Fang Xuejian is; the longer he spends with those old scholars at the Imperial Observatory, the more his serious writing sounds like that of an ancient person.

"Magnified several times? No, wait, you're actually working on something big, almost made a telescope?" Shen Lian was both surprised and delighted. Fang Xuejian had mentioned to him in prison that if glass could be made transparent enough, a telescope could be made by grinding two lenses. At the time, Shen Lian thought this guy was just making empty promises, but he didn't expect him to actually make something of it.

Yi Xia leaned closer curiously: "What did Young Master Fang write that made you laugh like that?"

Shen Lian folded the letter, put it in his pocket, and laughed, "He's in the capital messing around with glass, saying he can magnify things several times over. This guy never hesitates to brag, but I believe him this time."

Xia nodded as if she understood, but she was happy as long as Shen Lian was smiling so heartily, which was a rare occurrence for him.

Shen Lian gazed at the deep night, a warm feeling welling up inside him. Fang Xuejian, that fellow, wasn't quiet even in the capital. Making the glass transparent was already a crucial step; he knew the principle of a telescope: two lenses, a tube, and by adjusting the focus, distant objects could be brought closer. If Fang Xuejian could grind a suitable lens, a telescope would be within reach. Perhaps future almanacs would record that China invented the astronomical telescope centuries earlier than Europe, detailing the alignment of the nine planets and other celestial anomalies.

However, Fang Xuejian rarely mentioned his time at the Imperial Observatory in his letters. Shen Lian could sense that Fang Xuejian always reported good news and never bad news. He just didn't know what specific difficulties Fang Xuejian had encountered. He was inevitably ostracized and made a laborer by the old scholars at the Imperial Observatory, just as he had experienced several life-or-death situations when he came to the Southeast.

"Old Fang, wait. After I finish settling things here, I'll come back to the capital to have a drink with you. We need to settle the loan shark interest in person."