Chapter 1166

Hu Xiaotian said: "Originally I still planned to observe propriety before using force, but now it seems there is no longer any need for that." The only remaining possibility was to use troops. Hu Xiaotian certainly would not just give away food and gold to these pirates for nothing; he smiled and said: "When facing Da Yong we did not yield, when facing Dakang we were not afraid—could it be that this time, facing these pirates' extortion, we will retreat?" He recalled his earlier conversation with Zhuge Guanqi, the future Lan plan they had sketched; a loss may turn out to be a gain, and precisely because of this pirate raid incident, his plan has been moved up onto the agenda. Originally he had planned to postpone maritime expansion until after controlling Yunze, but now he must reverse the order of the two.

Zhao Wusheng nodded firmly, he voluntarily requested to go to battle, saying: "My lord, Zhao Wusheng, though lacking talent, is willing to lead the army to Mangjiao Island, to wipe out the bandits and rescue our troops!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Zhao Wusheng, this time I intend to go myself; we still need someone to hold the fort here. Speaking of influence in the navy, you are foremost, so you must stay."

Zhao Wusheng understood; now Li Yongfu was escorting a hundred thousand shi of grain to Kangdu. If he left as well, the Yong River navy would lack a commander capable of holding the situation, so he nodded and said: "Zhao Wusheng is willing to obey my lord's orders."

After learning of this, Zhuge Guanqi calmly analyzed: "This matter seems not so simple."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Brother Guanqi, are you suspecting Hu Zhongyang?"

Zhuge Guanqi said: "Since my lord asks this way, you must also have doubts about him."

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "Hu Zhongyang's sources of wealth are unknown; I have heard some rumors that he once had contact with pirates, but he has helped me greatly in both battles, and I really do not want to think ill of him."

Zhuge Guanqi said: "Perhaps he bears no ill will toward my lord; earlier he sought my lord's aid for escort. He must have feared being robbed by pirates en route. What exactly is the incendiary material he is escorting? What is its value? Judging from the sea area where they met with disaster, it is not a region where Mangjiao Island pirates usually operate; why would Yan Tianlu go to the trouble of raiding this area?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Two possibilities: one, the cargo Hu Zhongyang is escorting is of great value; two, he and Hu Zhongyang already have a grudge."

Zhuge Guanqi nodded and said: "Exactly! Judging from the route taken by the merchant ship, the likelihood of Hu Zhongyang colluding with Yan Tianlu is small; otherwise he would have no need to choose this route far from Mangjiao Island."

Hu Xiaotian said: "No matter the cause, Mangjiao Island has now provoked me; I cannot simply hide like a turtle."

Zhuge Guanqi laughed and said: "My lord seems determined to attack Mangjiao Island, but how well do you know the situation there? How many pirates are on the island? How many ships do they have, and what exactly is their armament?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "I know nothing about this."

Zhuge Guanqi said: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles. My lord, are you really going to use troops blindly in such a situation?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "I will certainly be able to clarify the situation, and I have devised a weapon to secure victory." He took out a sheet of paper from his pocket; to stand out in this chaotic era of warlords, he must devise a weapon to secure victory. Hu Xiaotian is not lacking in knowledge in this regard. However, he is not a weapons specialist; after thinking it over, he simply sketched a relatively primitive cannon, the drawing based on his impression of the red-coated cannon.

Red-coated cannon: the barrel is long. The barrel wall is thick, gradually thickening from the muzzle to the breech. It conforms to the principle that gunpowder combustion produces bore pressure decreasing from high to low; on either side of the cannon's center of gravity there are cylindrical trunnions, allowing the cannon to adjust its elevation as a pivot, and changing the amount of gunpowder alters the range. It is equipped with sights and a notch; because the projectile's trajectory is parabolic, using this to calculate the trajectory yields high accuracy.

Even with Zhuge Guanqi's broad knowledge, he did not know what Hu Xiaotian had drawn; after Hu Xiaotian explained it to him, he said: "This thing I call it Heaven-shaking Thunder; in fact, last year I already found a blacksmith to make a model, and the prototype has now been completed—only actual combat remains."

Zhuge Guanqi, being exceptionally wise, although he did not know how Hu Xiaotian came up with this thing, could sense that it should have enormous power, and he exclaimed: "It seems to have boundless power; my lord, how did you think of it?"

Hu Xiaotian blurted out: "I also dreamed of this thing one night, so I found a craftsman to make it; it's almost been a month now, Brother Guanqi, why don't we go take a look and test-fire it today?"

When Zhuge Guanqi actually saw the prototype of Heaven-shaking Thunder, he was still shocked; this device is about one zhang long, with a caliber of about half a chi, and weighs over three thousand jin. Hu Xiaotian had secretly begun developing the cannon last year; this work has always been directed by Liang Yinghao. They specially set up an ironworks in the remote hills west of Dongliang Jun. Originally Hu Xiaotian most hoped to have Zong Tang's help, but unfortunately Zong Tang is now in Da Yong, his father seriously ill and unable to come; even if Zong Tang could free himself, Hu Xiaotian could not guarantee he would serve him.

The ironworks now has gathered the finest smiths of Wuxing Jun; Hu Xiaotian's reason for not using the local artisans of Dongliang Jun is still out of consideration for loyalty.

The formula was also given by Hu Xiaotian: six dou of nitre, twelve liang of sulfur, one dou four liang of charcoal.

Although one only regrets lack of knowledge when needed, Hu Xiaotian's knowledge of weapons is indeed pitifully scarce; fortunately he happened to have seen the method of making the red-coated cannon, and he still remembers it clearly. Adding a small carriage beneath the cannon allows it to move freely; nevertheless, moving this huge Heaven-shaking Thunder requires six sturdy men to push the carriage simultaneously.

The cannon has already been placed at the designated spot; Liang Yinghao said: "My lord, everything is ready according to your orders!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Load the gunpowder, insert the shot!"

Six men secured the carriage; two sturdy workers skillfully began pouring gunpowder into the bore, then rammed a solid black lead ball into the bore.

Hu Xiaotian took the torch from Liang Yinghao's hand, personally walked up to the cannon, and before lighting the fuse, turned to the crowd and said: "Everyone step back and plug your ears!"

The crowd hurriedly moved aside and plugged their ears.

Hu Xiaotian then lit the fuse; after lighting it, he also threw down the torch and—whoosh—leapt behind a temporary shelter, after all this was the first test; it might blow up the barrel.

Boom! Accompanied by a earth-shaking explosion, the large lead ball was shot out at high speed, aimed at a hill half a li ahead. In an instant smoke filled the air; when the smoke cleared, the crowd hurried to the hill and saw that the previously intact hill had been blasted into a large crater, scattered with stone fragments; along the projectile's path, trees were all snapped, showing how powerful this cannon is.

Even Zhuge Guanqi was stunned speechless, let alone Liang Yinghao and those workers.

Liang Yinghao's tongue lolled out halfway, and after a long while he could not retract it, muttering: "Good heavens! This Heaven-shaking Thunder is too powerful!"

The workers chattered on beside him, having been shocked by what they saw to the point of being unable to describe it.

Hu Xiaotian also told them the trick for a second shot: first pour cold water into the barrel to extinguish sparks, then wipe the bore dry with a dry cloth, then load gunpowder, accelerator, and finally the projectile. Frankly speaking, this cannon is really outdated; each shot requires re-aiming, accuracy is poor, but its power is enormous, comparable to the deterrent force of an atomic bomb in modern society.

Zhuge Guanqi is now completely convinced of Hu Xiaotian; he himself had thought that having read widely, he knew astronomy, geography, astrology, and numerology inside out, but the things Hu Xiaotian has devised are unheard of by him—no wonder Hu Xiaotian has the confidence to pacify Mangjiao Island; possessing such a powerful weapon, who in the world could rival him?

Three shots, three successes.

Hu Xiaotian laughed heartily and ordered Liang Yinghao to organize the workers to immediately begin production; they must produce fifty cannons within ten days, and he wants to mount all of them on the warships heading for Mangjiao Island.

Hu Xiaotian instructed Liang Yinghao: you must strictly keep it secret, monitor all the workers' daily activities; although the red-coated cannon looks primitive, in this era it is still a major military secret—if others were to learn it, that would be disastrous.

The success of developing Heaven-shaking Thunder boosted Hu Xiaotian's confidence; on one hand he had the ironworks rush production, on the other he began preparations for ransoming personnel. Twenty thousand shi of grain is no problem; although he had sunk a hundred thousand shi of grain into Yunze to deal with Jiang Zhengyang, and earlier sent a hundred thousand shi of grain to the old emperor, besides supplying his own army's needs and civilian use, there remained a surplus of a hundred thousand shi of grain. According to the old emperor's decree, that hundred thousand shi is to be given to Su Yuchi to receive as military rations. In fact, even if twenty thousand shi were diverted from it for ransom, it would be no issue, but Hu Xiaotian only had people draw fifty thousand jin from it; these fifty thousand jin are not for ransom but for the military rations of this expedition.

Hu Xiaotian had no intention of yielding at all; this time it is not for exchanging hostages, but to give Mangjiao Island a harsh lesson.

Regarding the troops, he had Zhao Wusheng select eight thousand elite soldiers from the navy, forming a fleet of twenty large warships, with Zhao Wusheng's capable assistant Yang Yuanqing in charge of overall command and dispatch. On these twenty warships, Heaven-shaking Thunder was mounted in advance, focusing on three battleships each equipped with ten cannons; the remaining twenty cannons were distributed separately on another four warships.

Because Heaven-shaking Thunder is clumsy and heavy, operating such a piece requires each gun to be manned by twenty artillerymen, in teams of ten; after each round of firing they must immediately rotate, and Hu Xiaotian specially selected a thousand artillerymen.

Negotiating with those pirates, gaining an extra ten days was extremely important for Hu Xiaotian; it is precisely this additional ten days that made it possible to accomplish all of this. (To be continued~^~)