Chapter 213: Beyond seven steps, the gun is fast

Entering the capital again, Qi Jiguang found that the atmosphere in the capital had changed slightly compared to when he came last time. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that there was a bit more solemnity on the faces of every commoner.

If he weren't busy entering the palace to see the Emperor, Qi Jiguang would definitely have inquired everywhere.

He only brought a few craftsmen and Array Masters, while the rest of his trusted subordinates stayed on the building ship, not disturbing the commoners, and quietly entered the Forbidden City.

Even without Chu Yang's order, Cao Zhengchun was still waiting at the palace gate in person, running errands skillfully, seemingly accustomed to his current identity.

"Eunuch Cao, long time no see."

"General Qi, your style remains the same."

The two exchanged a few casual words, and Cao Zhengchun led the group into the palace, his eyes constantly sizing up the group of craftsmen behind Qi Jiguang along the way.

Unlike ordinary craftsmen, they all held their heads high, appearing very confident, walking with vigor, which made Cao Zhengchun have to wonder how Qi Jiguang usually cultivated them.

You must know that in this era, craftsmen were of lowly status, belonging to one of the lower nine classes. If it weren't for making a living, most commoners would not be willing to touch this profession.

Not long after, Cao Zhengchun led them to the Imperial Study, and Chu Yang was currently discussing with Zhuge Zhengwo the specific details of sending Array Masters to various prefectural cities.

How to deploy the personnel of the Divine Marquis Mansion and the Six Doors, and what attitude the local garrison should take to contact the sect disciples who were about to come down the mountain—these all needed to be considered.

Zhuge Zhengwo advocated for a soft approach, cooperating well with those large sects, and even sacrificing some interests appropriately until they couldn't do without the imperial court's alchemists.

Once they left the pills, the speed of martial arts cultivation would plummet, and no one could stand that.

Chu Yang felt that a purely soft approach was not a good strategy. Sects with a bottom line were fine; they would probably cooperate honestly with the imperial court. But some sects without a bottom line might harbor crooked thoughts.

There must be no shortage of forces that wanted to take alchemy as their own. If they targeted the alchemists themselves, the manpower cost required to ensure the safety of the alchemists would rise significantly.

The manpower of the Divine Marquis Mansion and the Six Doors was not abundant, especially the Divine Marquis Mansion, where the number of casualties every year exceeded the fresh blood absorbed.

"Give them a bit of a hard time first, then consider giving them the sweet stuff."

The carrot and the stick had always been the best tools for a superior to domesticate others, and this was even more true for dealing with those who had rebellious bones.

Zhuge Zhengwo had a feeling that the dear Emperor actually agreed with Yu Huatian's idea, but just didn't want to make the situation more chaotic.

If he could, he believed that this young Emperor would personally lead a million iron cavalry to trample the jianghu, but unfortunately, both the North and South had constraints, consuming 90% of the military strength.

The two were about to continue the discussion when they suddenly heard Cao Zhengchun's voice from outside.

"Your Majesty, General Qi has arrived."

A smile rose at the corner of Chu Yang's mouth.

Zhuge Zhengwo stroked his beard and smiled, "I heard that the new firearms developed by the Qi Family Army have made progress. Last time it was rushed, and I couldn't get a good look. Today, I can finally feast my eyes."

Subsequently, Cao Zhengchun led Qi Jiguang and others into the Imperial Study.

"This subordinate pays respects to Your Majesty!"

Qi Jiguang knelt on one knee and saluted with his fists, and the others followed suit, kneeling on the ground, messily saying some auspicious words. They were seeing the Emperor for the first time and were nervous and at a loss.

"Everyone, please rise. I don't have so many rules here; just be casual."

Chu Yang pulled Qi Jiguang up with a smile and said, "I know you've encountered trouble. I'll take you to see the solution later."

Qi Jiguang came at just the right time; last night, Chu Yang had just received a batch of machine tools from the Soul Palace.

Hearing that there was a solution, Qi Jiguang couldn't help but be a bit excited, but he was the only one who was excited.

The craftsmen and Array Masters were looking around, sizing up the luxuriously furnished Imperial Study, each showing amazement in their eyes. They had spent most of their lives in the Firearm Battalion and had never seen these things.

Cao Zhengchun subconsciously wanted to scold them.

The Emperor was right in front of them, and they were acting so frivolous—what kind of decorum was this? But soon he felt Chu Yang's stern gaze.

Cao Zhengchun shuddered, immediately looking at his nose and heart, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

In the end, it was the sweating Qi Jiguang who scolded them, "You guys restrain yourselves! This is the Imperial Study, not the Firearm Battalion!"

Only then did the few people come back to their senses, cold sweat instantly soaking their backs, and they knelt down again in panic.

Chu Yang seemed to have expected this, quickly raising his hand, and spiritual power supported the knees of the few.

The craftsmen looked at each other, finding that they couldn't kneel down no matter what.

The Array Masters reacted a bit faster, thanking in unison, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You look too nervous. Let's change places to talk." Chu Yang smiled helplessly, then led them away from the Imperial Study to a side hall closest to the bedroom.

Last night, he had placed all the machine tools in the side hall. Over a hundred machine tools lay quietly inside. The moment the door opened, everyone was stunned.

The shock of modern industry! Cao Zhengchun and Zhuge Zhengwo might only be impacted by the scene and didn't know how powerful the things in front of them were, but Qi Jiguang, under the influence of subtle influence, understood a little more than them, and his whole body was trembling with excitement.

The craftsmen were completely crazy, swarming into the side hall, gently stroking the cold machine tools with their hands. They couldn't feel the cold, only feeling their palms burning hot.

The Array Masters were more rational, circling the machine tools, seemingly thinking about where to add some auxiliary arrays.

Chu Yang walked to one of the machine tools and demonstrated how to operate it for them. The experienced craftsmen quickly became familiar with it, just like old masters who had operated on assembly lines for many years.

Chu Yang, who had been watching from the side for a long time, couldn't help but sigh, "Don't say, you really are born with the body of a screw-tightener. It's a pity not to go to the factory to work."

The craftsmen looked at him in confusion.

Qi Jiguang asked, "Your Majesty had long expected that the new firearms could not be mass-produced, so you prepared these?"

Chu Yang smiled without saying a word and nodded.

Zhuge Zhengwo sighed, "Your Majesty has been busy cultivating alchemists during this time, and still has to take time to help General Qi. Isn't it too tiring?"

Qi Jiguang hurriedly clasped his fists, "Your Majesty, please take care of your health."

Chu Yang laughed, "I'm not a scholar; I'm not that delicate."

Qi Jiguang suddenly frowned and asked, "What's the matter with the alchemists? Your Majesty wants to refine pills? This subordinate dares to say one thing: Your Majesty must never pursue the ethereal Immortal Dao. Every emperor in history who has touched this matter has had a bad end."

"What are you thinking about?" Chu Yang explained the matter of alchemy to Qi Jiguang with a wry smile, and the latter showed a shocked expression after hearing it.

Compared to machine tools, the matter of refining pills with the flesh and blood of the Demon Race was even more unbelievable.

But at this moment, it had become a fact.

Qi Jiguang came back to his senses and immediately thought about how much impact the alchemy matter would have on the world. He said in a deep voice, "In this way, the demon people lurking in the marketplace are probably going to be unable to sit still."

Zhuge Zhengwo nodded with a serious expression, "Most of those people who chose to lean toward the Demon Race wanted to use the power of the Demon Race's techniques or bloodlines to break through, and for this, they didn't hesitate to become traitors to the Human Race. And now, a pill has turned their hard-earned efforts into a joke."

Qi Jiguang sighed, "The demon people will be crazy, and may even go to any lengths to snatch the pills and the alchemists."

Zhuge Zhengwo explained, "This is also why His Majesty is only doing this in the Northern Central Plains. At present, the South has not been pacified, and the promotion of pills has to be postponed."

Qi Jiguang said sternly, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, this subordinate will immediately start suppressing the rebellion when I return."

Chu Yang shook his head, "Don't be in a hurry. General Qi's words reminded me that before dealing with the Demon Race, we must deal with the traitors first. Those demon people hiding within the Ming Empire must be exterminated."

Traitors who betray the country and the nation must never be allowed to live at large.

Zhuge Zhengwo seemed to have guessed Chu Yang's idea and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to use pills to fish them out?"

Chu Yang nodded and said meaningfully, "I'm just afraid that other things will be fished out by then."

During the time the two were playing riddles, the craftsmen were wholeheartedly devoted to the machine tools, and the fanaticism in their eyes did not fade with the passage of time.

Someone excitedly reminded Qi Jiguang, "General, we haven't shown His Majesty the new firearms yet. If there are any shortcomings, we should ask His Majesty quickly, otherwise we'll have to make another trip later."

Qi Jiguang hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, we have made some new weapons. If you want to see them, I will send someone to bring them to you immediately."

"Of course."

Ever since he saw the punk firearms of the Qi Family Army last time, Chu Yang had been curious about what kind of firearms they could tinker with.

"Everything is on the building ship, I'll have someone bring it over right now."

"No need, we'll go over and see, and by the way, have someone move the machine tools over. Your craftsmen are probably already waiting anxiously."

Subsequently, Chu Yang prepared to go to the port with them, but when passing by the alchemy room, the Array Masters brought by Qi Jiguang couldn't move their feet.

Just like the craftsmen's love for machine tools, the Array Masters were equally unable to extricate themselves from the arrays in the alchemy room.

"General, let us take a look!"

The Array Masters couldn't help but beg bitterly.

Qi Jiguang was a bit embarrassed and could understand them, but now was not the time for this.

Chu Yang smiled, "It's fine, let them look for a while. Moving the machine tools isn't something that can be completed in a moment."

Strictly speaking, whether it was the arrays in the alchemy room or the arrays carved on the alchemy furnaces, they were actually not difficult, not particularly profound arrays. The true essence lay in the mutual generation of the five elements between the arrays. Once they understood this point, their application of arrays would be on a higher level.

Cao Zhengchun took the Array Masters away.

Chu Yang and Zhuge Zhengwo followed Qi Jiguang to the port shore and boarded the building ship. Chu Yang, who was here for the second time, appeared familiar with the road and headed straight for the storage room in the cabin.

Unlike last time, this time only a lonely box was placed.

Qi Jiguang opened the box and took out the punk revolver they had worked so hard to manufacture. It was so large that Chu Yang was stunned, and Zhuge Zhengwo's eyes were also widened.

This thing is a firearm? Zhuge Zhengwo's impression of firearms was still stuck on the most primitive flintlock, with a slender barrel as thin as a hemp stalk, not this thick and large guy in front of him.

Chu Yang was also a bit confused. This thing looked like a revolver, but in reality, it had nothing to do with a revolver. Who plays with a revolver and needs to hold it with two hands?

In contrast, the copper pipes around the gun body and the air valve with a dashboard near the trigger gave Chu Yang a sense of familiarity.

Good heavens, this modification is too violent!

"Your Majesty, the power of the new firearm is not bad. We have tested it with spirit demons. Many spirit demons can only take one shot, and some scaled spirit demons can take two more shots. Even if they can survive, they will completely lose their combat capability."

Qi Jiguang held the large revolver, smiling so kindly that it looked like Yama had come.

Zhuge Zhengwo felt his scalp tingle as he listened. The power of firearms in his impression was not this great. If spirit demons could only take two or three shots, then if it were replaced by a warrior of the same level, the outcome would be chilling just to think about.

"Your Majesty, these firearms must never flow into the folk, otherwise it will cause very serious problems, and the result may be even more troublesome than the rebellion in the South. This old man says one thing, don't take it to heart, Qi Family Army, those craftsmen must also be strictly supervised."

Zhuge Zhengwo's face was extremely heavy.

Qi Jiguang immediately said sternly, "Please rest assured, Divine Marquis, every craftsman in the Firearm Battalion knows their responsibility and can be trusted. They have handed their lives over to me."

Chu Yang said, "The structure of this thing is very complex, requiring precision machining, and it has been modified by the craftsmen in various aspects. It is very difficult for ordinary people to learn, not to mention that there are a bunch of arrays waiting. Divine Marquis, don't be nervous."

Zhuge Zhengwo sighed, "Such a sharp weapon developed to a certain extent is definitely beneficial to our Human Race, but it will make the situation of warriors awkward."

Chu Yang understood completely. As the saying goes, beyond seven steps, the gun is fast; within seven steps, the gun is accurate and fast. The development of firearms had no great impact on experts above the Grandmaster level, but it was undoubtedly a devastating blow to warriors within nine blood exchanges in the jianghu.

Chu Yang said softly, "The times are changing, and people are changing. If you can't keep up with the times, then it is only right for people to be eliminated. It has been like this for thousands of years."

"Yes." Zhuge Zhengwo was lost in thought.

Chu Yang took the revolver from Qi Jiguang's hand and weighed it. It was about ten pounds. Ordinary people would find it very difficult to lift it, let alone aim. The sight didn't know where it had drifted.

From this perspective, Zhuge Zhengwo's worry seemed a bit redundant, unless the Firearm Battalion could make a few light models.

After playing for a while and watching for a while, Qi Jiguang put the revolver back. Zhuge Zhengwo's wish was satisfied, and he showed an expression of wanting more.

Sure enough, men, no matter what age they are, like to play with guns.

After seeing the new firearms, the rest was to move the machine tools to the ship. This time, without bringing firearms, it was possible to fit all the machine tools.

Before leaving, Chu Yang stuffed another blueprint to Qi Jiguang and told him that this was a great killing weapon on the battlefield.

Qi Jiguang took a look, and the words on the blueprint were a bit unclear due to ink stains, so he could only read slowly.

"Horse... what... machine gun?" (End of this chapter) ===== CHAPTER 214 =====