[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-iron-dynasty":3,"chapter-iron-dynasty-iron-dynasty-chapter-397":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Iron Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},93052,126,"Chapter 397: The Test","iron-dynasty-chapter-397",397,"\u003Cp>Our Discord Server: .gg\u002FPazjBDkTmW\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https:\u002F\u002Fgravitytales.com\u002Fcoins-purchase-page\u002F\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the square in front of Chengqing Hall, the ministers formed a crescent shape around Luo Xin and his group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emperor Xiao Wenxuan and Xiao Ming stood in the middle of the formation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Wenxuan looked surprised as Luo Xin took out one long stick-like weapon after another from wooden boxes. He asked Xiao Ming, “Ming’er, are these the firearms?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Father. These are the firearms used in the Jizhou battle. Actually, it’s quite simple — just a smaller version of a cannon,” Xiao Ming explained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All ten firearms brought were matchlock muskets, which had a slow-burning cord called a matchlock at the firing mechanism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To fire, the soldier had to light the matchlock, which was also a disadvantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since firing required the matchlock, musketeers had to carry several meters of cord on themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another drawback was the burning cord gave away their position at night, making night raids difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of all these problems, the matchlock musket was quickly replaced by the flintlock musket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Ming was confident in the advantages of the matchlock over the flintlock, which was why he wanted to sell these weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Wenxuan laughed happily, “Hmm, it does look like a small cannon. Ming’er, you’re clever. This means every soldier now can carry a cannon, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Yu Empire had struggled against the tribes because it lacked horses. This new weapon gave Xiao Wenxuan hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been paying close attention to the firearms unit, and now a new weapon was ready — he was very excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Ming added with a smile, “Though it’s a smaller cannon, the power is much weaker.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Xin handed all ten muskets to the soldiers. These soldiers had already practiced loading and firing in Qingzhou, so they loaded quickly and waited for the command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Ming gave Luo Xin a signal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fire!” Luo Xin shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At once, the soldiers lit their matchlocks, igniting the gunpowder and firing. A loud bang echoed, followed by white smoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though prepared, Xiao Wenxuan was still startled by the noise. Some ministers even trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wow, these firearms are loud,” someone said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, but why didn’t a single target get hit?” another asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the muskets fired, the ministers whispered among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one dared criticize Xiao Ming in court — partly because of his great merits, and partly because he held Shanhai Pass, the key to the north.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More importantly, the new firearms represented the interests of many noble clans. No one wanted to offend Xiao Ming, since they all wanted this weapon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Wenxuan heard their whispers and felt a bit awkward. He asked Xiao Ming, “Ming’er, why didn’t any bullet hit the target?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Ming said calmly, “Father, the musket works with volley fire. It’s very different from archery. In fact, muskets aren’t as accurate as bows.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time when cold and hot weapons were exchanging dominance, muskets were criticized for being unreliable. The famous Ming general Qi Jiguang once described soldiers fumbling with muskets — forgetting to load bullets, accidentally swallowing bullets, or dropping ammunition. Even when fired, the accuracy was poor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of these problems, Qi’s troops only equipped two muskets per squad; the rest used cold weapons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So even though Xiao Ming brought the muskets for demonstration, it was still uncertain if the commanders would accept them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If muskets are worse than bows, then what use are they?” one general suddenly asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other ministers shared this doubt. Without Xiao Ming’s victories over the tribes using firearms, they would have been even more disdainful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Luo Quan spoke loudly, “Your Majesty, a single musket isn’t as useful as a bow on the battlefield. But I’ve seen Prince Qi’s musket squad — thousands formed in ranks, firing while riding. The power is huge. A skilled archer needs years of training, but even a common man with a musket can kill tribal cavalry. The tribes have many horses, but the Great Yu Empire has many soldiers.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Wenxuan looked at the empty targets and the muskets again. Luo Quan spoke exactly what he was thinking: the tribes’ advantage was cavalry and skilled archers — which was the Empire’s weakness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Muskets could make up for that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He asked again, “Ming’er, how about the musket’s power and range?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The range is less than a bow, but the power is much stronger. It can pierce tribal armor from ninety paces away,” Xiao Ming said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Xiao Ming, bringing the muskets was all about selling weapons and making military profits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now the north was stable, and the blood oath signed. Whether or not it worked, the princes should behave for now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After marrying Feiyue’er, Xiao Ming wouldn’t come to Chang’an often. He would focus on building up his lands and closing the technology gap with the west.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This trip to Chang’an was about money — trade agreements and military sales.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as these two succeeded, he could profit and upgrade his territory’s industry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Wenxuan was tempted by Xiao Ming’s words about the musket’s power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought for a moment and said, “In that case, like cannons, equip a batch for testing. Let’s give the firearms unit five thousand muskets.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last cannon purchase cost millions of taels of silver, and buying muskets would also be expensive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Xiao Wenxuan didn’t want to buy too many at once — ministers might complain. After all, the firearms unit was still new, with no real battlefield experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, the muskets’ accuracy made him doubt their effectiveness in battle.\u003C\u002Fp>",929,"2026-05-28T19:09:36.483Z","2026-06-01T04:28:47.632Z",1,"novelbin.me","6b8f39d585ac444ddf4b99b781bccb05161ca8a59088ef2417f28ca06a713943","iron-dynasty-chapter-398","iron-dynasty-chapter-396",1094,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Firon-dynasty-cover.jpg"]