Chapter 159

"Hmm, this device is incredibly ingenious—using gunpowder to fire bullets over a distance of fifteen hundred steps; truly a marvel of craftsmanship." The chief artisan of the Imperial Workshop, after disassembling the wu liu ban, could not help but sigh.

Had he not taken apart the bullet and discovered the gunpowder inside, he would never have known what enabled this little device to shoot beyond fifteen hundred steps.

"Now that we understand its principle, can we mass-produce this device?" Shi Miyuan asked urgently.

He was truly desperate—this opponent was not only absurdly powerful but refused to accept surrender, determined solely to exterminate his entire family.

During this time, he dispatched heavy troops to exterminate Wang Daoqian's nine clans; though he failed to find Duan Tiande, he located Duan Tiande's nine clans, even finding the temple where Duan Tiande's uncle lived, and without exception, he killed them all.

Even after learning that Guo Jing's ancestors were heroes of Liangshan, he specially ordered the execution of descendants of Cai Jing and Gao Qiu, sending their severed heads to Wang Dan with the message: Your father's murderer and your ancestor's murderer—I've exterminated their nine clans; here are their heads, mailed to you. Has your anger subsided yet?

If your anger has cooled, let's talk properly—money, land, women, even let the Emperor call you Grandfather—just don't exterminate my nine clans.

Soon, a reply came from Zhongdu: You don't realize you're wrong—you realize you're going to die.

Upon hearing the letter from Zhongdu, he fell into despair—his opponent was absurdly powerful, victory was nearly impossible, and worst of all, the enemy wanted nothing but to kill his entire family and refused to accept surrender.

Either win, or be exterminated—there is no third path.

The chief artisan stared blankly at Shi Miyuan and sighed: "My lord, forgive me for speaking pessimistically, but not only can we not replicate this firearm—even replicating the bullet itself is beyond our ability."

Shi Miyuan involuntarily drew in a sharp breath, his brow furrowing in distress—how could he fight if they couldn't even replicate the bullets?

"My lord, envoys from the Jin have arrived," a servant reported at that moment.

"What do they want? The Jin emperor is missing, and their local commander is about to be wiped out by the Revolutionary Army—what is there to discuss with them?" Shi Miyuan waved his hand, signaling the servant to dismiss the Jin envoy immediately.

"They say that against the Revolutionary Army, a giant beast, it's better to have one more ally than one more enemy—and besides, they possess the firearms we need," the servant quickly replied.

"Then see them," Shi Miyuan said, ordering the servant to lead him to the Jin envoys. After meeting them, Shi Miyuan wasted no time and asked bluntly: "Where are the firearms?"

"My lord, these firearms are the result of enormous expense and research. For your nation to take them without paying a single coin—isn't that a bit...?" The envoy looked at Shi Miyuan, his gaze clear: You must pay.

Seeing the envoy's meaning, Shi Miyuan's temper flared instantly.

"Hah! Since the Jingkang Humiliation, how much gold and silver have we given the Jin? Precisely because we sought peace with you, the leader of the Revolutionary Army hates us with a burning fury and seeks to exterminate our entire families—and now you dare ask us for money?"

"Lord Shi, since you know the Revolutionary Army will never accept your peace, you have no choice but to ally with us—if the Revolutionary Army comes, not even your ten clans will survive," the envoy said in a flat tone, making Shi Miyuan even angrier.

"Fine! What demands do you have? Name them! All of them!" Shi Miyuan roared in fury.

"Though our Jin possess the method to manufacture firearms, we lack the raw materials and the manpower. We require you to supply these, and in return, we will give you ten percent of our firearms," the envoy said, then fell silent, watching Shi Miyuan.

"Agreed," Shi Miyuan said after a moment's thought. Internally, he sneered: "Truly barbarians—these craftsmen, if put to work on firearms, will one day forge countless weapons for me."

"Once we return, buy estates in Jiangnan for these artisans—this will allow us to control their families."

Shi Miyuan had once considered forcing the northern craftsmen to return by holding their families hostage, but the northern craftsmen had already moved their families away—leaving him no opportunity to act.

In Dongjing Bianliang, the former capital of the Northern Song, Wanyan Gang now held temporary rule; upon learning that most of the Jin emperor and his generals still lived and had successfully established a base in Huanglongfu, he was overjoyed.

His pressure had been immense—when the Jin fell, he was still at war with the Song and had forced Song Guo to sign an unequal treaty.

If the northern rebel armies advanced, he would surely face attack from both front and rear.

Worse still, the Jin had not fallen—they had brought him a firearm called the matchlock.

This firearm, once loaded with gunpowder, could strike targets one to two hundred steps away; though accuracy was unreliable, when fired in ranks, its power was astonishing.

Moreover, the envoy had devised a tactic perfectly suited to this weapon: three-rank volleys—the first rank fires, the second rank steps forward to replace them, the third rank reloads, enabling continuous assault.

"General Wanyan Gang, do you think I'm leaking the method of firearm production by trading them for supplies and manpower?" Temujin asked gently.

"Yes, I find it somewhat incomprehensible, General—if they learn how to make firearms, our cavalry will no longer hold its former advantage. The Song are richer than we imagined, and their skilled artisans far outnumber ours," Wanyan Gang replied solemnly.

"General Wanyan Gang, your thinking proves you are a competent commander—one must account for all potential threats," Temujin praised him, then asked: "Tell me, do you believe the Song could equip all six hundred thousand troops in their entire empire with such firearms?"

"Impossible! Didn't you say yourselves that even after gathering all resources and artisans from Liaodong, you only produced two hundred? The Song may be richer, and their artisans far more numerous than the barren lands of Liaodong—but they could at most produce twenty or thirty thousand such muskets," Wanyan Gang quickly denied.

Temujin sighed: "Yes, even with the full strength of the Song, they could produce only twenty to thirty thousand such muskets—but the Western Theater, composed of Mongols and Xi Xia, has equipped its three hundred fifty thousand troops with muskets; the North China Theater, formed from former Central Plains territories, has equipped its six hundred thousand troops with muskets; and if you count the guerrillas converted into police forces, they have at least one million."

Wanyan Gang was speechless with shock.

"More critically, their muskets are not comparable to ours—ours can only reach one to two hundred steps; theirs can reach four hundred, piercing iron armor—the standard iron armor of the Tie Futu cavalry—and they don't reload after one shot—they can fire ten shots in succession."

Only now did Wanyan Gang realize how foolish his earlier words had been—the Song could never produce six hundred thousand muskets, and even if they could, they'd still be utterly outmatched in both quantity and quality.