Chapter 107: The Year of Jisi

On the firearms team training ground, a series of "bang bang" gunshots rang out, and several puffs of wood splinters burst from the long wooden targets seventy paces away. The twelve firearms soldiers loaded and fired two more volleys in unison.

After they finished shooting and raised their muzzles upright, Chen Xin led the group of officers to the wooden targets. A firearms instructor went up and counted the bullet holes one by one, marking each spot with a brush. Where armor was fixed onto the wooden targets, he lifted it to inspect underneath. After a moment, he returned and reported: "My lord, a total of thirty-three shots were fired, with twenty-four hits. The hit rate exceeds seventy percent."

Chen Xin walked over and lifted a piece of iron scale armor. One scale had been struck, the hole splitting backward into many sharp iron fragments. The lead bullet was embedded in the wooden board behind the armor. Nie Hong handed over a newly delivered dagger, and Chen Xin dug out the lead bullet. It had flattened into a thin disc, parts of it already separating from the main body. If it struck a human torso, the soft lead bullet would fragment into many small pieces, creating a cavitation effect — in this era, no one could be saved from such a wound. Chen Xin muttered under his breath: "Let's see you bastards block this."

Chen Xin then turned and praised Tang Zuoxiang, who had delivered the goods: "Impressive power."

Tang Zuoxiang hurriedly demurred: "It is all thanks to Mr. Liu's excellent management. Nowadays, everything in this workshop follows a standard, starting with this very firelock from my humble self. Though it is tedious, defective products are almost nonexistent. I cannot help but admire Mr. Liu."

Dai Zhenggang also picked up an unloaded gun and pulled the trigger toward the open ground. The sear spring inside gave a light "ding," the sear moved, the flash pan opened immediately, and the cock followed by snapping forward.

Zhu Guobin watched and exclaimed in admiration: "This gun is excellent, so convenient to use. I just wonder how it fares against shields."

Shi Pingli, the person in charge of testing, respectfully told Zhu Guobin: "My lord, within fifty paces, no shield can stop it, unless one uses an iron shield."

Lu Chuanzong burst out with a laugh: "Who the hell carries an iron shield into battle? Can you even lug that thing around?"

Shi Pingli also laughed: "Lord Lu is right. If they really brought iron shields, our banjiu guns fired at close range would still punch right through them."

Zhu Daichun, Wang Changfu, and others who had come to observe came forward one after another to try the guns. One was a training officer, the other a company commander — both had to carry firearms as well as melee weapons, so they themselves needed to learn multiple skills. The two men grabbed guns and began operating them together, loading almost simultaneously. They glanced sideways at each other, rolled their eyes, and each fired a shot into the open ground.

This was the first batch of one hundred combined-trigger guns, weighing nine jin, four cun and one fen long, with a barrel three chi and four cun long, a bore of six fen, a bullet weight of eight qian, and a powder charge of seven qian.

Shi Pingli, who had participated in the entire testing process, said to Chen Xin: "My lord, we originally planned to make them five chi long, but after testing, the four-chi guns load faster. After the firearms team tried them, everyone agreed four chi is better. In the end, Mr. Liu settled on this four-chi-one-cun model."

Chen Xin nodded: "Exactly as it should be — let the users decide. And the gunpowder?"

Tang Zuoxiang stepped forward eagerly and said: "According to the method recorded by Qi Shaobao: forty liang of saltpeter, five liang and six qian of sulfur, seven liang and two qian of willow charcoal. Add two cups of water and grind together, then dry into granules. Use a sieve to select granules the size of rice grains for use."

It was still granulated gunpowder. Chen Xin picked up a paper cartridge and felt it with his hand — the lead bullet was on top, the powder charge below, thus eliminating the need for a separate bullet pouch. Shi Pingli quickly gave Chen Xin pointers. Chen Xin bit open the paper tube from the bottom, poured the powder into the barrel, then rammed the lead bullet in, and finally used the empty paper tube to plug the muzzle. After tamping it firm, he primed the pan and attached the match cord. He fired a shot into the open ground. Compared to the original bird gun, this saved the steps of the bullet pouch and the flash pan. Through rigorous drill with paper cartridges, it was easier to condition soldiers into reflexive proficiency. On the battlefield, the phenomenon of loading the bullet first and then the powder, or loading several bullets in a row, would be greatly reduced.

Chen Xin said to Song Wenxian, who had come along: "Mr. Song, would you like to give it a try?"

Song Wenxian smiled and awkwardly took the firelock. Shi Pingli helped him load it. Song Wenxian held his head far back, and after firing a shot, his shoulder was slammed painfully. He hurriedly returned the gun to Shi Pingli, rubbing his shoulder while repeatedly waving his hand at Chen Xin.

Chen Xin smiled briefly, then picked up two combined-trigger guns to compare. The bore diameters were basically identical — it seemed they had truly achieved uniformity in the mandrel. However, the outer shape of the barrel walls was still irregular, with some spots slightly protruding. Still, he was already very satisfied that they could achieve this much.

"Mr. Tang, how is the barrel-boring speed now?"

"Reporting to my lord, still one cun per day. We truly cannot increase it further."

Chen Xin thought for a moment. For now, with few firearms soldiers, the production rate could barely keep up, but he simply could not tolerate having several dozen men dedicated solely to boring barrels.

"Can we skip boring the barrels?"

Tang Zuoxiang jumped in alarm and hurriedly said: "My lord, that absolutely cannot be done. That wrought iron sheet is extremely rough, especially at the forge-welded seams. If you don't smooth it out, not only will gas leak, but it won't shoot accurately either. Also, if the bullet strikes a protrusion inside, it will very easily damage the barrel..."

"If everyone fires together, they're bound to hit a few. Just tell me — can it shoot or not?"

"Well, well, it could still shoot, but this..." Tang Zuoxiang was starting to sweat and wanted to explain further. Chen Xin waved his hand and laughed: "I'm just asking. As long as it can shoot, that's enough. For now, we don't use many guns, so you keep boring them. If we have more troops later, we'll discuss it then. From now on, stop making bird guns. For the banjiu guns, change the ignition mechanism to the combined-trigger style, but keep the barrels as they were and continue production."

After speaking, Chen Xin's eyes shifted, and he added to Tang Zuoxiang: "This combined-trigger gun is approved. Before the end of the year, distribute the bonuses to everyone involved. I also have two new tasks for you."

Tang Zuoxiang's heart tightened. This superior's ideas were truly unconstrained — demanding both quality and quantity, and who knew what the new tasks would require. He steeled himself and said: "Please give your orders, my lord."

"First, post a notice in the workshop. All craftsmen may participate. Whoever can shorten the barrel-boring time — for every day reduced, raise their craftsman wage by one grade. No upper limit."

Tang Zuoxiang's eyes widened. One wage grade was five qian of silver a month. Under normal circumstances, it took two or three years of passing evaluations to advance one grade. If someone could reduce the barrel-boring time by ten days, that would be a monthly wage of five taels, for life. He couldn't help licking his lips.

Chen Xin continued: "The one who reduces it the most gets a one-time reward of fifty taels."

A great deal of saliva welled up in Tang Zuoxiang's mouth. He swallowed hard. "Then, may this humble one also give it a try?"

"Of course. I said everyone — but you can't delay your current work. If those craftsmen's ideas require any tools, don't be afraid to spend some silver." Chen Xin said this as a matter of course. He thought the Soviet method was quite good, especially since the technological threshold of this era was not high and professional specialization had not yet become refined. As long as these people were willing to use their brains, they would surely tinker something out. In the Ming dynasty, technology was generally studied by officials and scholars as a hobby, and they held craftsmen in extreme contempt. Most craftsmen were illiterate, so even if they had ideas, they could not be passed down through the ages. The people who actually made and used things were disconnected from those who worked on theory — actually, contemporary Europe was much the same. He would provide a platform and see what these craftsmen, who had learned some characters from Liu Minyou, could achieve.

Tang Zuoxiang secretly resolved to try it himself. He couldn't wait to ask about the next task.

"The next task — also post a notice. Whoever can make a gun that fires using a flint, reward: a six-grade wage increase, and a one-time reward of one hundred taels of silver." Chen Xin paused, recalling the image of Liu Minyou buying a house, and added: "Also, a three-courtyard mansion."

A drop of saliva finally trickled from the corner of Tang Zuoxiang's mouth.

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

Song Wenxian stayed two days, then returned from Weihai to Dengzhou. The task Chen Xin gave him was to first bribe Wang Tingshi, and after the new year, to go to Shanhai Pass.

Chen Xin himself sent men to nearby Laiyang, Ninghai, and other places to continue recruiting refugees. The vast tracts of wasteland in Wendeng became his military farms. The bankrupt peasants of Shandong provided an ample resource. Chen Xin, whose finances were not ample, was not willing to build them tiled houses, but he did provide food. When word spread, the beggars in the area around Wendeng, including the three guard towns, vanished overnight. The refugees, now with hope, put their minds to work and built all manner of bizarre shacks. They soon exceeded two thousand people. Xu Yuanhua organized them and divided them into five military farm settlements.

They were organized into groups of fifty per jia, registered as farm households, and set to digging irrigation canals and wells. Labor tasks were assigned daily. The farming expert Wen Xianming was also transferred over to prepare the supplies needed for spring plowing. The two thousand mu of land at Weihai had insufficient fertility that year and yielded only a little over a thousand dan of grain. The farm settlement at Mazidun already had over three Company Commander, more than a thousand people. Adding the sailors on the ships and the one remaining banner team of combat soldiers, Chen Xin calculated that the food would only last them until the first half of the following year, so he did not transfer grain from Weihai. The ten thousand mu of military fields and several thousand mu of civilian fields in Wendeng were all better than those in Weihai. When the grain was harvested at the end of next year, the military rations problem would be solved.

In the eleventh month, five hundred new soldiers completed training and, led by the original infantry units, continued bandit suppression. The one hundred cavalry were also divided into eight squads, with two squads deployed each time to coordinate and practice scouting. After watching these new cavalrymen set out, Chen Xin once again confirmed that for now, they could only do scouting and odd jobs. But cavalry could not go untrained, so he had no choice but to count on Zhu Guobin to improve them.

By the twelfth month, the bandits near Wendeng County town had basically been wiped out. The remaining small bands, having heard how lethal the Wendeng Battalion was, shifted one after another to remote areas, some even fleeing to neighboring Laiyang and Ninghai Department. In the twelfth month, Chen Xin's bandit suppression netted over ten thousand taels of silver and more than three thousand dan of grain. He estimated that the bandit resources would soon be exhausted. From now on, if he wanted to fight bandits, he would have to look in other people's territories.

Chen Xin did not intend to let those two thousand-plus farm households eat for free either. He selected over three hundred of the stronger ones and had the training team give them basic drill and weapons training in their spare time, paying them only three qian of silver per month as a training stipend. They would serve as replacement troops for combat soldier losses. Those who trained well could directly replace existing combat soldiers, which also put greater pressure on the combat soldiers.

Within Magistrate Yu's jurisdiction, the skies were clear and the seas calm — bandits and beggars were both gone. Chen Xin and Zhou Hongmo also repeatedly sent him gifts of respect. His impression of the Wendeng Battalion greatly improved. Even though Chen Xin had already occupied several thousand mu of civilian fields, he only calculated it as one thousand mu. Moreover, he reported to the Deng-Lai Circuit that Wenxiang Sect activity had been discovered within his territory, and the Wendeng Battalion subsequently reported battle achievements of several hundred severed heads.

Zhou Hongmo had his eye on the position of Linqing Assistant Regional Commander, but someone was already sitting in that post. His meager battle achievements might not be enough to pry it loose. In the twelfth month, Chen Xin gave him another two thousand taels of silver, and Zhou Hongmo prepared to send someone to Jingshi after spring to assess the situation.

In the blink of an eye, it was the Little New Year festival on the twenty-fourth of the twelfth month. All combat soldiers stopped training for a rare rotation of leave. Chen Xin gave them a holiday. Some who lived nearby went home for the new year; those from farther away bought the three sacrificial animals, incense, and candles from Wendeng County or nearby, and outside the camp they offered sacrifices to their ancestors and paid homage to Heaven. Some of the surrounding farm households also pooled money to buy firecrackers and set them off nearby. People from Wendeng County and the original Wendeng Camp saw the business opportunities here and rented houses inside the old Wendeng Camp, opening cloth shops, candy shops, grain stores, ironware shops, and the like. Another small town began to take embryonic form.

On the twenty-eighth of the twelfth month, Chen Xin paid his early New Year visits to Zhou Hongmo and Magistrate Yu. That same day, he also dined with the officers and soldiers in the military camp. On the twenty-ninth, he set out with some Weihai soldiers to return to Mazidun, resting one night at Wenquan Town. On the afternoon of the thirtieth, he finally rushed back to the home he had not seen for several months.

Song Wenxian also returned from Dengzhou to Weihai that same day. His family had also moved here. Seeing Chen Xin's power growing ever stronger, he harbored thoughts of formally pledging his allegiance, and his family would also be safer in Weihai.

That evening, Song Wenxian did not spend it at his own home. He joined the bachelors like Liu Minyou and Dai Zhenggang, and they all came to Chen Xin's home to see in the new year together.

As the hour of Zi approached, Lady Zhao and Chen Xin each distributed New Year's money to the household servants. Old Woman Zhang brought out fireworks and firecrackers and handed them out to everyone. Juxiang happily set off fireworks in the outer courtyard. Lu Chuanzong also joined in the fun, setting off several in a row. Xiao Jiahua, feeling somewhat ostracized, asked Old Woman Zhang several times for fireworks but got none. Outside, sporadic firecracker sounds came from the fortified settlement. Everywhere was laughter and cheerful voices. Children carrying lanterns chased each other through the streets and alleys. Liu Minyou stood by the door, a smile on his face as he watched the ever-growing fortified settlement, finding it hard to imagine that at the beginning of the year, this place had still been a wilderness.

Liu Minyou sighed with emotion and said to Chen Xin: "I wonder what this place will be like next year."

Chen Xin did not answer. By this time next year, the Later Jin would surely already be at Jingshi. He only knew that the Later Jin troops would come in winter, but exactly when, he was not clear. How he would gain benefit from it — there was still a hard road ahead.

Song Wenxian laughed heartily: "Need you even ask? It will certainly be even better than this year. Lord Chen is accomplished in both civil and martial affairs, and with a great talent like Mr. Liu to assist him, being enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed Grand Secretary in the future is not impossible."

Liu Minyou's impression of Song Wenxian was average — he could only say he was a bit better than Deng Keshan. Now, Deng Keshan was usually nowhere to be seen, and sometimes when Liu Minyou thought of him, he felt a kind of fondness. This Song Wenxian, though polite to people, always gave off a hypocritical feeling. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Liu Minyou moved aside to watch the fireworks.

Song Wenxian was not embarrassed. He changed the subject and said to Chen Xin: "Just days ago I was telling you, who knows what that Ji-Liao Grand Coordinator is still up to. The words had barely left my lips, and now something has happened."

"What happened?"

"I heard it from a clerk at the Coastal Defense Circuit. All grain ships for Dongjiang must now be inspected at Ningyuan before they can be sent on to Pi Island."

"Mr. Song, do you mean the grain ships from Tianjin?"

"If it were only Jinmen, that would be one thing, but now even those from Dengzhou are the same. Pi Island is frozen over now. I reckon Mao Wenlong doesn't know yet."

Chen Xin said in astonishment: "From Dengzhou, they have to make a trip all the way to Ningyuan, and then from Ningyuan send it on to Pi Island? How much more time and effort will that waste?"

Song Wenxian sighed and said, "The Ministry of War has already sent a dispatch. I don't know why His Majesty agreed — it's clearly meant to control Dongjiang. Dongjiang and Ningyuan are far apart; without favorable winds, a round trip could take over a month. Can one really devise strategies from afar and win victories a thousand li away?"

Chen Xin frowned in thought for a moment. He knew Yuan Chonghuan had killed Mao Wenlong, but he wasn't clear on this grain matter. It happened to remind him that this was also an opportunity to profit. "Mr. Song, after the new year, help me with a few things. First, buy more ships — no need for warships, ordinary cargo-carrying ocean-going junks will do. Second, purchase the sea-trade goods early and have the ships set sail sooner."

Song Wenxian agreed, then asked, "We only ship twice from Tianjin. Why buy so many ocean-going junks? Those ships that run the Liao Sea may not be able to make the voyage to Japan."

Chen Xin smiled. "Lord Yuan wants to control Dongjiang, so Dongjiang will certainly run short of grain. Here, the Dengzhou naval fleet won't come — we'll sell grain from Weihai to Pi Island."

"Dongjiang probably has no silver to buy goods with."

Chen Xin watched Zhao Xiang and Juxiang light a firework in the middle of the courtyard. The firework shot into the sky with a whoosh. The two women cried out softly and dodged the trailing smoke, then looked up to watch the firework burst open. The brilliant firework cast shifting, bright shadows across their smiling faces.

Chen Xin knew that once Mao Wenlong was killed, Dongjiang Town would lose all cohesion. Those Liaodong refugees were excellent manpower. He folded his arms across his chest. "I don't want their silver. I want people — the veterans of Dongjiang Town."

Song Wenxian hesitated and said, "The soldiers of Dongjiang are indeed not bad — after all, they fight the Tatars every year. But we don't have many troop quotas, and you've already filled the Wendeng Camp to capacity. Besides, Shandong isn't one of the Nine Frontier Garrisons — what's the point of keeping so many soldiers?"

"The new arrivals will all be village braves from the fortified settlements. They just won't wear military uniforms."

Song Wenxian didn't think they needed so many troops, but the greater Chen Xin's power, the better it was for him. He was about to ask more when a dense burst of firecrackers suddenly rang out from the fortified tower. The courtyard erupted in joyful shouts, and everywhere was the sound of people exchanging New Year's greetings.

Song Wenxian hurriedly cupped his hands toward Chen Xin and said, "A fine jisi year to you, Lord Chen."

Chen Xin also smiled and cupped his hands in return. After everyone had come one by one to offer their congratulations and then dispersed to amuse themselves, Chen Xin said softly under his breath, "The jisi year — it has finally arrived." ———————————————— Please recommend and bookmark. End of Volume Two.