Chapter 30: Shock

They saw Li Maosen leading those craftsmen, each holding a fowling gun in hand. He walked up to Wang Dou and, joy written all over his face, said to him: "My lord, your humble servant is fortunate not to have failed his mission. After a month of forging, six fowling guns have finally been completed. I have come specially to report back to you, my lord."

"Oh."

Wang Dou was also very delighted. He had not expected Li Maosen to actually forge the fowling guns. He took one handed over by a craftsman and examined it closely. The fowling gun was jet-black and solid, made entirely of fine iron. The barrel was long and straight, with front and rear sights and a flash pan cover. The breech was sealed with a bolt, and the wooden stock curved slightly downward.

He estimated the weight — about six or seven jin.

Wang Dou looked it over left and right, from time to time aiming here and there. Han Zhong and the others also crowded around, discussing it animatedly.

Li Maosen said: "The fowling gun is over three chi long, weighs six jin, the muzzle can hold a three-qian lead ball, with a four-qian powder charge. Each consumed over forty jin of iron."

His voice was rather emotional; forging these few fowling guns must have cost him enormous effort.

Wang Dou toyed with it for a long time. The fowling gun looked fine in appearance, but he did not know how it would perform when fired. He said: "Test fire it."

At once, everyone found a wooden board and set it up eighty paces away. Wang Dou had long since purchased a batch of lead balls, gunpowder, and match cord from Dongjiazhuang Fort. They were brought out one by one for Li Maosen to test fire.

Li Maosen skillfully took gunpowder from the powder flask, estimated the charge, loaded the powder into the barrel, and rammed it firm with the ramrod. Then he took out a lead ball and likewise seated it with the ramrod. After that, he opened the flash pan at the breech, poured in some priming powder, and finally took out the match cord, fitted it into the serpentine, and lit it.

Everyone kept their distance from him — clearly the fowling gun's "fine reputation" for bursting barrels was known far and wide. Wang Dou also stepped farther away. Only Li Maosen remained composed. He supported the barrel with one hand, his eye fixed on the front sight. After aiming for a moment, Li Maosen pulled the trigger. With a crack, white smoke billowed, and the distant wooden board was already shattered and splintered.

"Good."

Wang Dou praised, and the crowd roared with cheers.

Li Maosen's face was full of pride. He personally fetched the wooden board for Wang Dou to inspect. Wang Dou turned it over and examined it for a long time. By his and Han Chao's estimates, this type of fowling gun at eighty paces had enormous killing power against unarmored enemies. Against armored enemies, if they were allowed to close to fifty paces before firing, it still possessed considerable lethality.

Next, they test fired the remaining fowling guns, and indeed every one was of excellent quality. Wang Dou was overjoyed. He laughed heartily and said: "Good, Craftsman Head Li, you have indeed not disappointed my hopes. I have decided to reward you. Each of you is awarded one dou of rice, and Craftsman Head Li, you get an extra two jin of meat."

The several craftsmen were all delighted. Li Maosen, his face wreathed in smiles, cupped his fists and said: "Many thanks, my lord."

……

Wang Dou told Li Maosen and the others to keep up the good work. The six fowling guns they had forged would be assigned to the remaining blade-wielders in each squad. From now on, they would serve as both fowling gunners and long-blade wielders.

The New Year was approaching in a little while. Starting from this twelfth month, the Ming army on the frontier would begin their routine annual burning of the grasslands beyond the passes. But here in Jingbian Fort, Wang Dou still had the three squads of combat troops training every day. Those who trained well got extra meals; those who trained poorly got beaten.

Watching his army take shape day by day, Wang Dou would be lying if he said he was not happy inside. Yet as the year-end drew near, another worry arose in his heart: the silver he had left was running low. He had bought rice several times, and soon there would be no rice again. He heard that prices everywhere in Baoan remained stubbornly high — grain and rice were still over four taels of silver per dan.

Feeding over two hundred people was a considerable daily expense. The little money in hand might get them through the New Year, but what would they do after spring began next year? Without food, morale in the fort would surely collapse. To stay alive, these military households might go out and become refugees again. Wang Dou could not afford any loss of population. Right now, every household in the fort was a precious resource to him.

In front of the military households, Wang Dou was optimistic and steady — the pillar of everyone's confidence. Only Han Chao and a few others understood the fort's affairs. Their interests were all bound to Wang Dou's. Only if Wang Dou prospered and succeeded would they have a future of wealth and rank. So when Wang Dou was anxious, they were equally anxious.

That day, Wang Dou discussed fort affairs with Han Chao, Han Zhong, Yang Tong, Qi Tianliang, and Zhong Rong.

Their Jingbian Fort, aside from the military household barracks, also had a roughly built Company Commander's hall. Of course, everything inside was very crude. At this moment, everyone was in the hall deliberating.

As they talked, Han Chao had been very silent the whole time. Suddenly, he stood up, cupped his fists to Wang Dou, and said: "Chief Wang, I intend to make a trip to the department city. I will return tomorrow."

Wang Dou found it very strange. What was Han Chao going to Baoan Department City for? He looked at Han Chao, but found Han Chao was avoiding his gaze the whole time. Wang Dou stared at him blankly for a long while, then suddenly said: "Brother Han, you wouldn't be..."

Wang Dou shook his head and said: "That day was only a joke with you. You took it seriously?"

Qi Tianliang also understood. He hurriedly stood up and said: "Brother Han, Chief Wang and I truly did not mean it that way. You must not take it to heart."

Han Chao said: "How could I overthink it? I only wish to contribute what little I can to the fort."

Wang Dou said calmly: "I, Wang Dou, know Brother Han's intentions. But how can a true man do such a thing? The cart will find its way to the mountain pass — there will always be a way. You need not worry too much."

As for what Wang Dou and the others were saying, Han Zhong, Yang Tong, and Zhong Rong could not understand. Naturally, they could not very well ask Han Chao what had happened that day. Only Han Zhong quietly asked Han Chao one question. Han Chao glared at him: "Loose tongue."

Han Zhong rubbed his head sheepishly and did not dare ask further.

As everyone was talking, suddenly a military household member came in to report that Gao Shiyin, the Squad Leader of Jilu Watchtower, had arrived.

……

Since Wang Dou and the others had gone with Gao Shiyin to Dongjiazhuang to receive their commissions back in September, Wang Dou had not seen Gao Shiyin again in these several months. He heard that Gao Shiyin had now been promoted to Squad Leader of Jilu Watchtower and was passionately entangled with a brothel girl from the department city — one could say he was utterly enraptured in a nest of soft delight.

This Gao Shiyin could be said to have shared life and death with Wang Dou and the others. Now that he had come to Jingbian Fort, to show welcome, Wang Dou specially ordered a pot of mutton to be boiled and two flasks of fine wine to be heated to entertain him.

At this moment, everyone was seated in the hall. On the table was a pot of mutton soup boiling vigorously, constantly steaming with fragrant heat. Beside it was a stove fire burning bright red, with hot wine sizzling on top. Everyone sat casually. In this freezing, bone-chilling devil of a weather, eating hot soup indoors and slurping scalding fine wine was exceptionally comfortable.

"Damn, this devil weather, so bitterly cold. It's comfortable here."

Gao Shiyin gulped the hot soup in great mouthfuls, pouring the wine straight into his mouth, while his chopsticks kept darting into the pot to pick out meat. He was wrapped in a thick leather coat, with a thick leather cap on his head. Originally, his neck was also wrapped in fur, but after drinking some wine and warming up, he simply tore the neck fur off.

Han Zhong looked at Gao Shiyin and said: "Gao Manzi, how have you been lately? I hear you hooked up with a fresh, pretty little thing? You've been riding high, you dog."

Gao Shiyin suddenly slammed his bowl onto the table, spilling the meat soup inside. He shouted: "Don't mention that woman. People say harlots have no feelings and actors have no loyalty — those words are truly not wrong. The moment I ran out of silver, her face turned faster than flipping a book."

The coarse flesh on his face was twitching, as if recalling something that made him hate to the extreme.

Han Zhong was dumbfounded. He cried out: "You're out of silver? I remember that day you got a share of over a hundred taels of silver. Over a hundred taels! You spent it all so quickly?"

He said incredulously: "Could it be you spent all that silver on that woman? Is she that good at spending money? Or is her lower half inlaid with gold?"

Gao Shiyin let out a long sigh and slumped dejectedly into his chair.

Wang Dou cupped his soup bowl in both hands to warm them. Hearing the two men's words, he only shook his head. The others likewise shook their heads.

Han Chao said: "Gao Manzi, you're out of silver. What do you plan to do?"

Gao Shiyin glanced somewhat sheepishly at Wang Dou and just lowered his head without speaking. His relationship with Wang Dou was rather peculiar. He seemed to want to bow his head to Wang Dou, but could not bring himself to swallow his pride.

Wang Dou smiled, lifted the wine flask, and refilled the cup in front of him to the brim. He said: "Brother Gao, if you don't mind how crude my fort is, then stay here for a while. But what about your smoke tower? You are the head of a tower, after all."

Gao Shiyin was overjoyed. He rubbed his hands and thanked Wang Dou profusely. He said: "Chief Wang, don't worry. There are men watching the tower. Besides, in this freezing weather, nothing can happen."

He tried his best to put on a smile for Wang Dou, but with his face full of coarse flesh, that smile could not look gentle no matter how hard he tried.

After a moment, he seemed to remember something. He said ingratiatingly to Wang Dou: "Chief Wang, have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

Wang Dou said flatly. He took a small sip of wine, then picked up a piece of mutton with his chopsticks, tossed it into his mouth, and chewed slowly.

Gao Shiyin said mysteriously: "Last night, Fangjiagou was massacred. I hear it was the work of that gang of bandits from Xishan. Not one of the old, weak, women, or children in the entire village was spared. Truly tragic."

"What?"

Everyone was shaken, and Wang Dou was even more shocked. Fangjiagou, along with Yizhuang and Xinzhuang, was one of the villages in Sangganli. But unlike Xinzhuang, Fangjiagou and Yizhuang were only two tiny hamlets with few households, and the walls outside the villages were rather low. He had not expected that as the year-end approached, they would suffer bandit calamity.