Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

Following Li Qiang's instructions, a figure emerged from among the craftsmen behind him, holding two long, tubular objects in his hands.

"This humble one is Li Mu, greetings to the young master." The man presented the item with both hands and respectfully handed it to Lin Hao, bowing deeply to him at the same time.

"Oh, I remember you. You came to the island with Li Neng, right? How are you doing? Are you settling in well?" Lin Hao asked with a smile.

"Reporting to the young master, I am eating and sleeping well on the island. This is all thanks to your kindness," Li Mu replied respectfully. This was no exaggeration. He used to be a craftsman in the Ming Dynasty. Although his skills were superb, he was exploited by all sides and it was a miracle he didn't starve. Now, he could even afford to eat meat from time to time.

Li Neng's current treatment, which is said to be a monthly salary of 4 taels of silver, has really spurred him on.

He turned back and worked overtime, staying up all night to finish what Lin Hao had instructed him to do, and finally got it done today.

Lin Hao naturally recognized what he was holding.

The two items are of different lengths. The shorter one is a little over a meter long and is a standard musket. The longer one is about 1.8 meters long and is probably the legendary Lumi musket.

Lin Hao reached out and took the two muskets, then put the bird gun aside. He had seen many bird guns before, but this was the first time he had seen a Lumi gun.

The Rumi musket was a copy of the Ottoman Turkish matchlock musket, while the arquebus commonly used by the Ming Dynasty was an improvement on the Portuguese Goa-style light matchlock musket.

The biggest difference between the two lies in their length.

The barrel of the musket was only three feet long, or about ninety centimeters, and with the wooden handle at the bottom, it was only a little over one meter long.

However, the barrel of this Lumi gun alone was four feet five inches (145cm) long, and its total length was nearly six feet. When Lin Hao stood it up, he found that it was even taller than himself, and its length had exceeded 1.8 meters.

Aside from being a bit longer, the Rumi gun is largely similar to a matchlock musket, possessing all the necessary features such as the front sight, rear sight, touchpad, matchlock clip, and flintlock pistol. The only significant difference lies in the trigger mechanism.

The trigger of the musket was similar in form to that of later firearms, consisting of a lever that could be pulled back, with an iron ring around the outside to prevent accidental triggering. Pressing the trigger would cause the matchlock head to snap down rapidly, after which it needed to be manually reset.

The trigger of this Lumi gun is a metal strip protruding from inside the gun. Pressing it inward will cause the head of the matchlock cable on the barrel to move forward, and releasing it will return it to its original position.

Lin Hao fired the Lumi gun several times and found that its mechanism was much more convenient than that of a musket trigger, and the firing force was also much lighter.

You can press the match cord into the gunpowder pool by pressing it in gently. The key is to press it halfway in and then release it to cancel the firing.

Lin Hao had actually seen this trigger design in a book before and knew a little about it, but this was the first time he had seen the real thing.

Seeing Lin Hao's interest, Li Mu stepped forward with a smile and said, "Young Master, the firing mechanism of this Lumi gun is exceptionally easy to use, and it's also very simple to manufacture, much easier than the firing mechanism of a musket. This is completely opposite to the manufacturing of the gun barrel."

"Indeed, it's good, concise and effective." Lin Hao nodded lightly, but didn't continue.

The trigger design of later firearms was the same as that of arquebuses, so Lin Hao was too lazy to make any changes.

Moreover, once you switch to a flintlock musket in the future, this trigger will be completely useless. On the contrary, the trigger structure on the musket can be seamlessly transferred to the flintlock musket, and you only need to replace it with a more flexible U-shaped steel strip.

"Is the ammunition used in this Lumi gun the same as that used in the musket?" Lin Hao then asked.

"Reporting to the young master, the lead bullets used in the Lumi gun are the same as those used in the arquebus, both costing three qian (approximately 15 grams). However, the gunpowder used in the Lumi gun is four qian (approximately 15 grams), while that used in the arquebus is three qian (approximately 15 grams)."

"How much more materials and time does it take to make this Lumi gun compared to a matchlock gun?" Lin Hao asked, holding the Lumi gun.

"Replying to the young master, the barrel of the Lumi gun is longer than that of the musket, requiring 30% more pig iron and 50% more manpower. This is mainly because the Lumi gun requires two layers of iron pipes rolled together, which is more difficult. Moreover, the longer the barrel, the more difficult it is to drill the hole," Lin Mu replied, bowing.

Lin Hao frowned upon hearing this. A 30% increase in materials wasn't too bad. But a 50% increase in manpower was not good news. It meant that with the same number of craftsmen, the number of muskets that could be produced would be halved.

Moreover, since forging is more difficult, the skill level required of the craftsmen is naturally higher. This is extremely disadvantageous for future mass production.

At this point, Lin Hao understood a little why the Lumi gun wasn't among the popular firearms of later generations. It was simply because while its performance might be good, its manufacturing difficulty was considerable. However, it was too early to say for sure; ultimately, they would have to see how well it actually performed.

Lin Hao then turned to Li Mu and asked, "Have you tested the performance of this Lumi gun?"

"Young Master, we are preparing to conduct the test today. Please give us your instructions," Li Qiang replied as he stepped forward.

Lin Hao thought for a moment and said to Li Qiang, "Go and get those six suits of armor we captured last time, and find two government soldiers who can use muskets among the prisoners of war."

A moment later, personnel and supplies were ready. Lin Hao said to the two prisoners, "You two will take turns using these two muskets to shoot at the targets I give you. The one who performs best will be released from prisoner status and will be recruited into our gang's fighting force."

Upon hearing this, the two were overjoyed. Having toiled on Dongluo Island for so long, they had long envied the treatment of the Dongluo Four Seas Gang's soldiers. Moreover, escaping the misery of being prisoners was something they couldn't ask for more. So the two quickly kowtowed repeatedly, promising to do their best.

Lin Hao was naturally reluctant to use his own men to test this new type of musket, so using two prisoners was making the best use of them. If the two could successfully complete the test, then what was wrong with letting them join the team?

Soon, under Lin Hao's instructions, two wooden dummy figures were set up, and then each dummy was covered with three layers of armor.

First, in the initial test, two dummies were placed 100 paces away. Then, the two dummies were each asked to fire 10 shots each with a musket and a rifle, respectively.

Once everything was ready, the two captured government soldiers began to nervously load their weapons. A moment later, the musketeer was the first to finish loading and then fired at the target.

With a snap, thick white smoke billowed from the muzzle of the musket, and a lead bullet was fired.

Disappointingly, the dummy it was aiming at remained motionless, clearly indicating that it was not hit.

Seeing this, the gunman breathed a sigh of relief. He then finished loading his gun, immediately raised it, aimed, and fired.

After a sharp crack, thick smoke billowed out, and the dummy it was on remained motionless. Clearly, it hadn't hit either.

"It's alright, you can continue with your test shots," Lin Hao said softly from behind the two of them.

"Yes," the two immediately accepted the order and began reloading and firing.