Chapter 198: Sending Guns to Liaodong

Hearing Wei Chao's words, Xiong Tingbi also grew interested.

In fact, Xiong Tingbi was quite curious about what Wei Chao was waiting for, so he smiled and followed Wei Chao down from the city gate.

Wei Chao had rested in Liaodong for a while; his illness had healed, and his mind had also found clarity. His steps were light, and a smile graced his face.

After this affair was over, he could finally return to the capital, go do what he wanted to do, rather than waste time in this place called Liaodong. He believed he had a better future ahead.

Soon the two arrived at the drill ground, where quite a crowd had already gathered. Seeing Xiong Tingbi and his companion, the Liaodong officers and soldiers parted, clearing a path.

Soon Xiong Tingbi spotted a group of people who looked different from those around them. These people were all dressed in black, their uniforms perfectly uniform. Xiong Tingbi swore he had never seen anything like them, which made him hesitate slightly, and he turned to look at Wei Chao.

Wei Chao knew what Xiong Tingbi wanted to ask, and smiled: "They are from the Hundred Crafts Institute; their clothes are all like this."

Xiong Tingbi nodded, silently noting it in his heart.

As the two walked over together, a man from the Hundred Crafts Institute side also smiled and came forward to greet them.

He was a man in his fifties, looking very capable, carrying an air of shrewd competence about him.

Seeing Xiong Tingbi and Wei Chao, the man smiled, cupped his hands, and said: "Your subordinate Zhao Yan of the Hundred Crafts Institute, greetings to Eunuch Wei, greetings to Lord Xiong."

Wei Chao and Xiong Tingbi quickly returned the courtesy.

The two did have some understanding of the Hundred Crafts Institute as an office—though they had never seen it, they had certainly heard of it. It was His Majesty's treasured office, one that no one was allowed to touch.

Many said His Majesty produced many things within it; some said it was for the Great Ming and its people, others said it was for His Majesty's amusement.

This time, the Hundred Crafts Institute people coming to Liaodong was rather unexpected. Looking at the rows of large horse-drawn carts behind them, they had clearly come to deliver something. Only, they didn't know what things they had brought here.

"Lord Xiong, these were sent by His Majesty's order." After a few pleasantries, Zhao Yan waved behind him.

Soon someone carried up a wooden chest.

Zhao Yan nodded,

and the two men carrying the chest, seeing this, took crowbars and pried the lid right off.

Once the lid was pried open, what was inside was revealed.

Rows upon rows of brand-new matchlock muskets lay quietly on the velvet cloth inside the wooden chest.

These were precisely the test pieces produced by the Hundred Crafts Institute using the new process.

The improved matchlock was actually not much different from the flintlock about to go into production—only the ignition system differed.

The Hundred Crafts Institute had produced these things merely to test the improved new process, but since they had already been made, they naturally couldn't be wasted. So Zhu Youxiao had the Hundred Crafts Institute make five thousand improved matchlocks and send them to Xiong Tingbi.

"Lord Xiong, these are the new-style matchlocks produced by the Hundred Crafts Institute, graced with a name by His Majesty: the Tianqi Model One Matchlock. There are five thousand of them here, sent by His Majesty's order for Lord Xiong. Lord Xiong may take a look."

Hearing these words, Xiong Tingbi's face immediately lit up with joy.

In fact, the moment he saw the Tianqi Model One Matchlock, Xiong Tingbi had already realized these things were extraordinary.

Having served in the military for many years, Xiong Tingbi had seen quite a few matchlocks, but most were crudely made, with few being finely crafted.

Many soldiers were unwilling to use matchlocks, because so many were of poor quality—they would clog up mid-firing, and the result was a direct barrel burst.

Such incidents happened from time to time, so naturally the soldiers didn't want to use them. Only, those who produced these things weren't under the local generals' command, and no one dared to speak up about such matters, so the situation only got worse.

Xiong Tingbi hadn't expected that this time His Majesty would have the Hundred Crafts Institute send five thousand Tianqi Model One Matchlocks.

The moment he saw the Tianqi Model One Matchlock, Xiong Tingbi realized one thing: this was the finest matchlock he had seen in his entire life—nothing could be better than this.

Under such circumstances, how could Xiong Tingbi not be excited?

One had to know there were fully five thousand of them here!

At this moment, Xiong Tingbi couldn't care about much else. He quickly walked up and reached out to pick up the Tianqi Model One Matchlock.

The weighty feel in his hand, the cold gun barrel—all heralded this as an instrument of slaughter.

"Someone, load it for me. I want to try it!" Xiong Tingbi said excitedly.

Seeing Xiong Tingbi say this, Zhao Yan smiled and waved behind him, saying: "Bring Lord Xiong a box of bullets, let Lord Xiong try our newest bullets."

Soon someone brought over a small wooden box. Zhao Yan handed the small wooden box to Xiong Tingbi and said with a smile: "The Tianqi Model One Matchlock uses the newest style of bullets. The old bullets absolutely must not be used with the Tianqi Model One—Lord Xiong, do remember this."

As he spoke, Zhao Yan opened the box.

Inside the box lay neat rows of small paper cylinders.

"These are the new paper-cased cartridges, containing gunpowder and the bullet inside. That's all that's needed." As he spoke, Zhao Yan picked up one of the paper cartridges, quickly tore open an opening, and poured it directly into the barrel of the Tianqi Model One Matchlock.

While pouring the gunpowder in, Zhao Yan explained to Xiong Tingbi: "Although the Tianqi Model One Matchlock is new-style, the gunpowder and bullet must still be loaded from the front, so the old problems still exist."

"Adding gunpowder from the muzzle, then loading the bullet—the operation is slow, and the amount of powder loaded each time is uncertain, so the shooting results are also unstable. Load too much powder and it easily bursts the barrel, and it also easily clogs the barrel. But if not enough powder is loaded, then the power isn't enough either."

"So when researching the Tianqi Model One Matchlock, our Hundred Crafts Institute thought of a method: making all the gunpowder and bullets into this form. This way, loading is convenient, and at the same time the amount is fixed—there's no case of loading too much or too little."

After pouring in the gunpowder and tamping down the bullet, Zhao Yan smiled and handed the gun to Xiong Tingbi, saying: "We've loaded newly developed gunpowder into the gun, so the power will be somewhat greater. Lord Xiong, be careful."

Xiong Tingbi's face was full of excitement. For him, this gun was absolutely an extremely, extremely good thing—

not only did it increase the rate of fire, it also increased the power, and the key point was that the quality was top-notch—no worry about it bursting mid-use.

Reaching out to take the matchlock, Xiong Tingbi expertly pressed down on the match cord, then pulled the trigger.

With a boom, a plume of white smoke shot straight up into the air.

Feeling the recoil coming from the matchlock, Xiong Tingbi laughed heartily and said: "Truly a fine thing indeed! With these matchlocks, we'll surely give the Jianzhou barbarians a good taste of their own medicine!"

As he spoke, Xiong Tingbi kept stroking the matchlock, looking as if he couldn't bear to put it down.

"By the way, Lord Zhao, I have a question for you—how many Tianqi Model One Matchlocks can your Hundred Crafts Institute produce?" Xiong Tingbi asked with a seemingly casual smile.

But no one present was a fool; everyone knew Xiong Tingbi was absolutely not asking casually. He was probing for information about the Hundred Crafts Institute, wanting to know how many Tianqi Model One Matchlocks it still had.

As for what came after knowing—that was even easier. This Xiong Tingbi would certainly go back and immediately write a routine memorial to the Emperor, requesting the Tianqi Model One Matchlocks in stock.

Zhao Yan looked at Xiong Tingbi, and said with a half-smile: "I don't oversee casting at the Hundred Crafts Institute, so I don't know how many there are. But one thing is certain: there should be none left at the Hundred Crafts Institute."

"Why? How can there be none left?" Xiong Tingbi said somewhat agitatedly: "Such a fine thing should be made in greater numbers."

"Because this type of gun has already been phased out at the Hundred Crafts Institute. This was only the first batch—and naturally also the last—sent by His Majesty's order to Lord Xiong for emergency use."

"The Hundred Crafts Institute is already producing new-style guns without match cords, with self-generated fire. I believe that given how highly His Majesty regards Lord Xiong, Liaodong should be able to use them very soon."

"Also, the Hundred Crafts Institute is currently producing artillery—all newly developed. Lord Xiong should be able to see them very soon as well."

Upon hearing this news, Xiong Tingbi was suddenly overcome with mixed emotions. He looked at the several people, his expression solemn, and spoke with gratitude in his tone: "His Majesty thinks so highly of Liaodong and thinks so highly of Xiong, this is truly Heaven's grace vast and boundless! I must return at once to write a routine memorial of thanks. Gentlemen, Xiong takes his leave!"

With that, Xiong Tingbi clasped his hands in a salute toward the group, wearing an expression of being deeply apologetic.

Since Xiong Tingbi had said as much, naturally no one would stop him.

The man was going back to write a routine memorial of thanks to His Majesty — of course he couldn't be stopped. If you blocked him, what would that make you?

So the several people hastily said: "Lord Xiong, please, please go!"

Xiong Tingbi did not stand on ceremony either, and simply turned around and left.

Watching Xiong Tingbi's hurriedly departing figure, Zhao Yan smiled and said: "Lord Xiong has a very straightforward temperament."

Wei Chao glanced at Zhao Yan and said with amusement: "It's precisely this straightforward temperament of his that has offended who knows how many people. Besides, he may not be all that straightforward — I expect that when he returns to submit his memorial to His Majesty, the thanks will be genuine, but what he'll really be asking for is more muskets and cannons."

With that, Wei Chao glanced at Zhao Yan and asked half-jokingly: "You told him this news — aren't you afraid of getting a scolding when you go back?"

"Not afraid!" Zhao Yan shook his head and said with an air of utter certainty: "The things produced by the Hundred Crafts Institute are naturally meant to be used on the battlefield — otherwise, what use is there in producing them? Eunuch Wei, I'll be staying in Liaodong for some time, so Xiong Tingbi's memorial will have to be taken back by you."

Hearing Zhao Yan's words, the smile on Wei Chao's face instantly froze. He looked at Zhao Yan with some embarrassment and asked awkwardly: "Lord Zhao, what do you mean by that?"

"Originally, Lord Xiong's memorial of thanks should have been taken back by me. But I need to stay here to test these matchlock muskets, to see how they perform in the army, to understand how the soldiers use them, and to see where there's room for improvement. So I can't return to Beijing for the time being."

Zhao Yan wore a look of pure innocence and said with perfect reasonableness: "Since Eunuch Wei is returning anyway, it's only fitting that this memorial be carried back by you."

After a long silence, Wei Chao looked at Zhao Yan and said hesitantly: "My body seems to be unwell — I think I've caught a chill. I'm afraid I won't be able to leave Liaodong for a while."

This move left Zhao Yan's mouth hanging wide open.