Chapter 98: Manufacturing Department

"That is excellent, Master Wang. I have now assembled an army of one thousand men and am in urgent need of firearms. What kind of firearms can you manufacture?" Meng Yifan asked.

"My Lord, this old man can make Bird Guns, Shenwu Great General Cannons, Beehive Rockets, Fire Dragon Out of Water, Divine Fire Flying Crows, Explosive Shells, and so on. It is not that I am boasting, but apart from the special firearms engraved with Dharma arrays by Immortal Masters, I can manufacture any of the conventional firearms found in the Dongchuan Prefecture Divine Machine Battalion."

Wang Dachui was full of confidence when speaking of his cannon-making abilities. He had joined the Military Equipment Bureau of the Dongchuan Prefecture Divine Machine Battalion at the age of eighteen, followed his master to learn how to manufacture firearms, and did not retire from the Divine Machine Battalion until he was over fifty. He had spent the better part of his life casting firearms, so naturally, he was clear on the manufacturing of firearms.

"Good, that is truly excellent." Meng Yifan was incredibly excited; looking at Wang Dachui was like looking at a pile of gold ingots.

What is the most expensive thing in the twenty-first century? Naturally, it is talent. Not only is talent the most expensive in the twenty-first century, but in any era, talent is the most precious thing.

Since Meng Yifan had embarked on this road of no return—rebellion—he also realized that talent was too important to him.

"Master Wang, I appoint you as Minister of Manufacturing, with full responsibility for the manufacturing of firearms," Meng Yifan said.

"Manufacturing Department? Minister?" Wang Dachui was stunned for a moment. He had never heard of a Manufacturing Department, nor had he heard of such a strange official title as Minister. However, he understood that Meng Yifan was asking him to preside over the making of cannons, which was his old trade, and Meng Yifan was a benefactor to his Wang family. He did not hesitate and said, "This subordinate will do his utmost to manufacture excellent firearms."

Meng Yifan checked his Game Panel and discovered that after Wang Dachui accepted the appointment, his name also appeared on the list of subjects, and his Loyalty had reached 82 points immediately. This was already a very high value; he was a trustworthy subordinate.

Since they were now on the same side, Meng Yifan did not hold anything back. He took a stack of blueprints out of a drawer, handed them to Wang Dachui, and said, "Minister Wang, take a look. These are the manufacturing blueprints for the Elm Cannon, and these are the design blueprints for the Congreve Rocket Launcher?"

"Elm Cannon? Can elm wood also be used to make cannons?"

"Congreve Rocket Launcher? What kind of rocket launcher is this?"

Wang Dachui felt the name of this rocket launcher was a bit of a mouthful, but the name was not important; the most important thing was the structure and performance of the rocket launcher. He took the blueprints and opened them to look. He first looked at the blueprints for the Elm Cannon.

There was no difficulty in this; it was just replacing the bronze barrel of the Shenwu Great General Cannon with one made of elm wood. However, this design also made his eyes light up.

The Elm Cannon might not have the range or power of a bronze cannon, but its advantages were obvious: it was lighter, more convenient, more flexible, and more mobile than a bronze cannon. A single person could carry it and run; firing a shot and moving to another location was no problem at all.

Additionally, the production cost of the Elm Cannon was much cheaper, and the manufacturing was simple; anyone who understood carpentry could make one.

"Wonderful! Why hadn't I thought of using elm wood to make cannons?" After looking at the blueprints for the Elm Cannon, Wang Dachui felt enlightened. He felt that his previous approach to making cannons had been too rigid, only knowing how to follow the step-by-step manufacturing taught by old masters, never thinking about making improvements. The person who thought of using elm wood to make cannons was a talent.

Wang Dachui then went to look at the design blueprints for the Congreve Rocket Launcher. At first, he did not take it seriously, but after looking for a while, he was stunned by the genius design within.

Wang Dachui had spent the better part of his life making firearms and had assumed that within the entire Dongchuan Prefecture, when it came to manufacturing firearms, no one could surpass him. However, this stack of blueprints completely shattered his self-confidence.

He was a professional and knew his stuff. For this Congreve Rocket Launcher, the barrel was nothing special; it was similar to the barrel of the Fire Dragon Out of Water. The most important part was the spiral tail fin behind the rocket.

Although Wang Dachui did not understand what aerodynamics was, his many years of manufacturing firearms allowed him to instantly realize that the spiral tail fin could stabilize the flight direction of the rocket during flight, which greatly improved the launch accuracy of the rocket.

"Wonderful! Truly a brilliant idea. Lord Meng, I wonder who designed the Congreve Rocket? He is truly a genius. This design completely improves the flaw of our Fire Dragon Out of Water flying around randomly in the sky after being launched. I wonder if you could let this subordinate meet this master craftsman? This subordinate wishes to ask him for advice."

Wang Dachui's eyes shone, and he was incredibly excited, just like those star-struck fans on Earth who wanted to go and see the celebrities they dreamed of day and night.

Wang Dachui wanted to ask Congreve for advice, not to mention that Congreve was not from this world at all, and this foreigner had already died hundreds of years ago; it was certainly impossible to meet him.

Meng Yifan said, "The designer of the Congreve Rocket is named Congreve. He is a foreigner, living ten thousand miles away. I also obtained the design blueprints for the rocket by chance."

"Minister Wang, according to these blueprints, can you manufacture the Congreve Rocket Launcher?" Meng Yifan asked.

"The most important part of this rocket is the spiral tail fin at the rear. According to the dimensions on the blueprints, any blacksmith can make it. However, the blueprints require the shell to explode instantly after hitting the target. This method of explosion is similar to an Explosive Shell. Ordinary blacksmiths cannot make it, but this old man has the confidence to make it," Wang Dachui said.

"That is excellent, Minister Wang. Time is urgent. You should start leading people to manufacture the Elm Cannon and the Congreve Rocket Launcher as soon as possible. Whatever people or supplies you need, you can ask for them, and I will do my best to satisfy you."

"I only have one requirement for you. The situation we are currently facing is very dangerous, and battle could break out at any time. Your manufacturing speed must be increased. The sooner you make the rocket launcher, the more confident I will feel," Meng Yifan said.

Wang Dachui was not a procrastinator either. After accepting the order, he took up his post, became the Minister of Manufacturing, and took full charge of manufacturing the Elm Cannon and the Congreve Rocket Launcher.

Professional matters should be left to professionals. Meng Yifan no longer worried about the cannon manufacturing side, but the shortage of gunpowder was huge, which was also a big problem.

That battle with Lv Dazhi and his men had already almost exhausted Meng Yifan's gunpowder; it was simply not enough to launch another large-scale cannon barrage.

"Go and invite Xu Dafu over," Meng Yifan said.

Not long after, Xu Dafu walked into the county office, trembling. The pile of human heads outside the main gate terrified him so much that his whole body shook.

Xu Dafu also had not expected that the youth who used to buy White Powder would suddenly transform into a great king who killed officials and rebelled.

Now the residents in the city all knew that Meng Yifan was a great demon who killed people like hemp, with a prestigious reputation that could stop children from crying at night.

When Xu Dafu heard that Meng Yifan wanted to see him, he felt as if the King of Hell had sent a ghost to summon him for a meeting. He really did not want to come, but he did not dare to refuse, so he could only follow along, trembling with fear.

"My Lord, this small one pays his respects to you." After Xu Dafu entered, he knelt on the ground with a thud and kowtowed three times with a loud bang.

This made Meng Yifan feel a bit uncomfortable. He hurriedly helped him up and said, "Get up quickly. You are being too much of a stranger. Old Xu, we are old acquaintances and old friends. You don't need to kowtow when you come in from now on. Sit, sit down and let's talk."

Xu Dafu sat down cautiously, his hands so nervous he did not know where to put them, appearing very reserved.