Chapter 159

“Hmm, this device is truly ingenious—using gunpowder to fire bullets over a distance of fifteen hundred steps; it is a marvel of craftsmanship.” The chief artisan of the Workshop Supervision, after disassembling the firearm, could not help but sigh.

Had he not taken apart the bullet and discovered the gunpowder inside, he would never have guessed what enabled this small 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—his opponent was not only absurdly powerful but refused to accept surrender, determined to exterminate his entire family.

During this time, he dispatched heavy troops to exterminate the nine clans of Wang Daoqian; though he failed to find Duan Tiande, he located Duan Tiande’s nine clans and even found the temple where his uncle resided—all of them, without exception, he had killed.

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 grandfather’s murderer—I’ve exterminated their nine clans; here are their heads, delivered to you. Has your rage subsided yet?

If your anger has cooled, let’s talk properly—money, land, women—call the Emperor your grandfather if you wish, but please 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 message from Zhongdu, he fell into despair; the opponent was absurdly powerful, victory was nearly impossible, and worst of all, the enemy sought only to kill his entire family and would not permit surrender.

Either win the battle, or face extermination of the nine clans—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 capability.”

Shi Miyuan drew in a sharp breath, his worries deepening—how could he fight if they couldn’t even copy 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 regional 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 facing the Revolutionary Army as a colossal force, it’s better to have one more ally than one more enemy, especially since they possess the firearms we need,” the servant quickly replied.

“Then receive 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; your country expects to take them without paying a single coin—is that not excessive?” The envoy looked at Shi Miyuan, clearly implying: You must pay.

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

“Ha! Since the Jingkang Humiliation, how much money has my great Song given to your 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?”

“Master Shi, since you know the Revolutionary Army will never accept your peace overtures, you have no choice but to ally with us—if the Revolutionary Army comes, not even your ten clans will survive.” The envoy’s calm tone only made Shi Miyuan 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 manpower. We require you to supply these, and in return, we will give you ten percent of our firearms.” The envoy fell silent, watching Shi Miyuan.

“Agreed.” Shi Miyuan paused, then accepted. Internally, he sneered: “Truly barbarians—these craftsmen, if employed in firearm production, will one day forge countless firearms for me.”

“Once we return, purchase estates in Jiangnan and gift them to these artisans—this will allow us to control their families.”

Shi Miyuan had considered forcing 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 ruled temporarily; upon learning that most of the Jin emperor and his generals still lived and had successfully established a new base in Huanglongfu, he was overjoyed.

His pressure had been immense—when the Jin fell, he was still fighting the Song and forcing Song Guo to sign an unequal treaty.

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

Worse still, the Jin had not fallen—they had brought him a new weapon: the matchlock.

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

Moreover, the envoy had devised an ideal tactic: three-rank volley fire—the first rank fires, the second rank steps forward to replace them, the third rank reloads—enabling continuous assault.

“General Wanyan Gang, do you believe I am leaking the method of firearm production by trading them for supplies and manpower?” Temujin asked gently.

“Yes, I find it difficult to understand, 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 possess far more skilled artisans,” Wanyan Gang replied solemnly.

“General Wanyan Gang, your thinking proves you are a competent commander—one who accounts 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 military with such firearms?”

“Impossible! General, 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 have more artisans than Liaodong’s barren lands, but they could at most produce twenty or thirty thousand such muskets,” Wanyan Gang quickly denied.

Temujin sighed: “Indeed, even with the full strength of the Song, they could produce only twenty to thirty thousand such muskets. Yet the Western Theater, composed of Mongol and Xi Xia forces totaling 350,000, is equipped with muskets. The North China Theater, formed from former Central Plains territories and numbering 600,000, is also equipped with muskets. Add the police forces converted from guerrillas, and they possess 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—enough to pierce iron armor, even 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 not produce six hundred thousand muskets, and even if they could, they would still be utterly outmatched in both quantity and quality.