Chapter 153: Gu Lie is dumbfounded—how come you two seem like a married couple?!

Mortars are considered the most practical weapons.

This kind of thing is lightweight and practical.

Especially, it is extremely suitable for this kind of mountain warfare.

Because this mortar has no maximum elevation limit.

Give a slightly more open space ahead, and a single parabolic arc can hit it!

Moreover, most importantly, the cost of mortars is not high, and they are easy to manufacture!

Given the current industrial capacity of the Great Zhou Dynasty, as long as we go full throttle, producing several hundred thousand a month is no problem!

Moreover, the cost of mortars can be wildly compressed in some places.

If Lu Yuan remembers correctly, they even produced extremely cheap mortars during the Republic of China era.

For example, the mortar's mount changed from iron to wood, and the steel base became a cast iron base.

Many things can be done to cut costs.

Of course, the reduced-cost mortar is inferior in performance and durability compared to a normal one.

But right now, the bandit trouble in the south is urgent.

First, just get something usable out.

Moreover, for the southern bandits, mortars constitute a dimensional strike.

Simply put, they are still at WWI level over there, while the Great Zhou Dynasty here has jumped directly to WWII intensity.

It can be said that with mortars, the southern bandits will definitely not need much time to be resolved.

Three months of preparation, two months of offensive, one month to wrap up.

This thing, if you mount it on a pig, even the pig would fire.

If Gu Lie were to bring the mortar he himself crafted, and it took an extra day to finish off the bandits, Gu Lie would feel unworthy of his 【War God】 label!

Gu Qingwan and Gu Lie immediately gathered to examine the mortar design drawings Lu Yuan had placed on the table.

However, unfortunately, these two are not artisans.

Nor do they know how to read design drawings.

Looking at so many design drawings, the two of them were just bewildered.

Of course, although they couldn't understand the drawings, at least they could make out what the cannon looked like.

Gu Qingwan looked at Lu Yuan in disbelief and said:

"This is…… a…… mortar…… it looks just like a little tube…… can it actually fire?"

Lu Yuan put another cigarette in his mouth, glanced at Gu Qingwan, and smiled.

Gu Qingwan paused, then pursed her lips, picked up the matchbox from the table, and lit another cigarette for Lu Yuan.

Immediately, after Lu Yuan took a puff of smoke, he said somewhat proudly:

"Don't worry, although the range isn't too far, a distance of one or two kilometers is definitely there~"

Actually, the range of a real mortar can reach over three kilometers.

But limited by materials, and limited by the gunpowder quality here.

Lu Yuan gave a compromise figure.

And a distance of one or two kilometers is sufficient.

At this moment, Gu Lie was already engrossed, even though he couldn't understand it, but that didn't matter.

What matters is……

Isn't this…… for myself……

able to go suppress the bandits?!

After Gu Qingwan finished lighting Lu Yuan's cigarette, she then lifted the papers again, looked at Lu Yuan curiously and said:

"How much does this thing cost?"

This……

Lu Yuan really hasn't calculated it in detail.

After Lu Yuan blinked, he said:

"I haven't calculated it in detail, but it will definitely save a ton of money compared to the plan you previously drafted.

At the very least, just from the military aspect, we can save a lot, a lot.

With this, the army doesn't need to charge; they just need to fire from outside.

Then drive these people out of their lairs, and have the elite forces outside finish them off."

Gu Qingwan heard this and kept nodding; this is indeed true.

Although Gu Qingwan doesn't know much about military matters, at the very least, the size of this thing alone guarantees it will be very cheap.

Most importantly, with this mortar, the Great Zhou Dynasty's army will no longer need large-scale charges.

That would save many lives.

Just this point alone is enough.

While Gu Qingwan was looking at the papers in her hand, feeling extremely happy, Lu Yuan sat beside her, smoking, and said:

"How about we go to the Forging Bureau today, and I'll make one for you to see?"

Although this design drawing was made by Lu Yuan, he also wants to personally design it to see the effect.

Otherwise, he would really feel a bit uneasy.

Eh?

After Lu Yuan finished speaking, Gu Qingwan and Gu Lie were both startled, then immediately nodded excitedly.

This is certainly good!

Even though Gu Qingwan still had plenty to do this afternoon, she also wanted to go and see.

After all, what Lu Yuan said sounded so amazing that the two of them could hardly believe it.

However…

Gu Qingwan raised her eyebrows slightly, looked at Lu Yuan, and said:

"Can you make it this afternoon?"

Lu Yuan nodded confidently and said:

"Of course, this thing is actually very simple to make—just add a firing pin under the barrel; the slightly troublesome part is the impact fuze at the front of the shell."

"But that's fine too; if we really can't, we can just install the propulsion device on the tail fins first, so you can see how far this thing can fly."

"But can you get the gunpowder? That stuff seems to be controlled, and the Forging Bureau doesn't have any."

Gu Qingwan blinked, then immediately nodded and said:

"No problem—I'll have someone send it to the Forging Bureau right away!"

Lu Yuan nodded and then said directly:

"Send it to the Bing Jia Chang workshop; we'll go there after we finish eating."

"But… this map and such should be confidential, right? Is it okay for you to just take it out and show me?"

Gu Qingwan blinked, then looked at Lu Yuan and smiled, saying:

"Don't worry, no one will cause trouble for me."

Holding the mortar's blueprint, Gu Qingwan was overjoyed.

Just think of how much money this will save!

The plan previously drafted by the Cabinet said that suppressing the bandits would take at least two years.

Since a direct assault won't work, the Cabinet and the Ministry of War's plan is to advance step by step, encircling those bandits in the mountains.

Guard the mountain passes, cut off the bandits' food and water.

Wait until those people have no way out, then they'll come out to surrender.

But how many mountains are there in the south?

There's food and drink in those mountains too.

Just by living off the land, those people won't be able to come out anytime soon.

The army surrounds the mountain ranges, and it takes two years.

Just sending supplies to the troops stationed in those mountains for two years would be an astronomical sum.

This war would last at least two years, and just the figure the Cabinet gave earlier is close to twenty million.

That amount of money would be a death blow to the Great Zhou Dynasty, which has just escaped war and is facing countless tasks awaiting revival.

After all, those bandits are trivial; what matters is the Gilded Gold Dynasty.

The Gilded Gold Dynasty is now clinging to life; we must exterminate it completely within these few years!

Otherwise, once the Gilded Gold Dynasty catches its breath, it'll be like weeds that can't be burned away.

Letting this southern bandit trouble drag on, frankly, would really drag down the nation's fortune.

Perhaps that's why the bandits in the south act so recklessly.

Knowing the Imperial Court has no time to deal with them.

So they're probably thinking of looting as much as they can these few years, just to survive later.

But now…

Now we have Lu Yuan's mortar!

All we need is to prepare enough up front, and then we can push forward all the way.

Lu Yuan's invention is truly on par with bicycles and threshers!

No, this is what the Great Zhou Dynasty needs most right now!

Originally the war would take at least two years, but now it could be settled in half a year—how could Gu Qingwan not be happy?

Originally, because of past events, Gu Qingwan had taken a dislike to Lu Yuan.

But now…

Even if Gu Qingwan tried to keep a straight face, when speaking with Lu Yuan she'd still involuntarily show a hint of a smile.

Moreover… this guy really does know how to care for people.

Come to think of it, I was still wondering about whether to leak secrets or not.

But… it's obvious that Gu Qingwan overthought it.

Because after Gu Qingwan said no one would cause her trouble,

Lu Yuan then, with a straight face, raised his eyebrows and said:

"I didn't say you'd be in trouble; I meant whether I'd be in trouble—won't they end up gouging out my eyes and cutting off my tongue?"

Gu Qingwan blinked, and the faint smile on her face vanished instantly; the next second she glared at Lu Yuan and said:

"No way!"

Lu Yuan nodded, feeling that he himself was fine.

Just in case, he asked casually.

After saying that, Gu Qingwan glanced at Gu Lie, who was holding the blueprint and snickering foolishly to the side, and said with a pursed lip:

"Stop laughing—go tell the Ministry of War right now to send the gunpowder listed on this paper straight to the Bing Jia Chang workshop; we'll head over after we finish eating."

Gu Qingwan said this while standing up, taking the draft paper from Gu Lie's hands and carefully straightening it out.

Afraid that her younger brother's saliva would get on it and ruin it.

Gu Lie immediately exclaimed excitedly:

"I'm not eating, I'll personally bring the stuff to Bing Jia Chang, you guys hurry up and eat, after eating go straight to Bing Jia Chang."

"I'll also have the people at Bing Jia Chang prepare a workshop, and have materials ready."

"After saying that, Gu Lie left directly."

"With such a happy thing, what's there to eat?"

"Gu Lie really isn't hungry at all."

"After Gu Lie left, only Lu Yuan and Gu Qingwan remained in the room."

"What do you think will happen?"

"Not at all!"

"As soon as Gu Lie left, he lost his appetite; Lu Yuan just bowed his head and ate rice, completely ignoring Gu Qingwan."

"Although Gu Qingwan is beautiful, her looks are on par with my wife."

"But..."

"Her temperament is far worse."

"Lu Yuan isn't interested at all."

"Of course, Lu Yuan originally wasn't interested in other women either."

"My wife is so beautiful, my wife is so gentle, she's so good at taking care of people."

"And now she's even pregnant with my child; Lu Yuan now truly loves his wife, who is gorgeous and mature in appearance but pure-hearted like a little white rabbit."

"If Gu Qingwan had the temperament of Wang Yulan and Chen Taohua..."

"Lu Yuan would be willing to say a few more words, just be friends."

"But with such a temperament, Lu Yuan feels that becoming friends with such a person is still quite tiring."

"So, Lu Yuan bowed his head and ate voraciously, completely ignoring Gu Qingwan."

"Meanwhile, Gu Qingwan wasn't very hungry; she just sat aside, looking at the draft paper in her hands with eyes full of joy."

"Although Gu Qingwan didn't really understand it, she was just happy."

"She also sighed inwardly, wondering what's in Lu Yuan's head—how can he know everything?!!"

"Thinking this, Gu Qingwan put down the draft paper in her hand, glanced at the bowing-head, voraciously eating Lu Yuan, and couldn't help but shake her head and say:"

""Just eat slowly, I'm not competing with you.""

"Lu Yuan raised his head, glanced at Gu Qingwan, and then didn't speak either."

"Instead, he continued to bow his head and eat voraciously."

"After eating and drinking his fill,"

"Lu Yuan and Gu Qingwan went downstairs."

"Before leaving, Gu Lie settled the bill."

"After the two went out, Lu Yuan looked at Gu Qingwan curiously and said:"

""How are you going?""

"Lu Yuan would definitely not take Gu Qingwan with him."

"Lu Yuan rides a horse; if he took Gu Qingwan along, wouldn't she have to sit in front of him?"

"That won't do!"

"The front of a man's horse is like the passenger seat of a car on Earth."

"It can only be left for the wife to sit."

"Meanwhile, Gu Qingwan waved her hand and said:"

""You don't need to worry about me; my home is just nearby, I'll go home by carriage.""

"Lu Yuan nodded:"

""Okay.""

"Having said that, Lu Yuan galloped his horse toward Bing Jia Chang."

".........."

"In the afternoon, there wasn't much to say."

"Just like before, Lu Yuan tinkered by himself, while Gu Qingwan and Gu Lie watched from the side."

"Gu Lie even had the War Ministry's soldiers come, standing guard at the door, not letting anyone in."

"This made the people at Bing Jia Chang curious—how is Lu Yuan now connected with the War Ministry?"

"Around three in the afternoon."

"Lu Yuan finished."

"Taking the soldiers and the equipment, they went to the wasteland outside Bing Jia Chang to test."

"The mortar Lu Yuan is currently working on has no explosive loaded; he just placed gunpowder in the tail device."

"Just to see how far the mortar can shoot."

"As for wanting to see the mortar's true power, that would be when it can explode."

"For that, one needs to go to a proper professional testing site."

"Otherwise, although this is the suburbs of the imperial city, there are still civilians; if it veered off and exploded, hurting someone, that would be bad."

"Lu Yuan set up the cannon barrel, holding a shell and placing it at the mortar's muzzle, looking at the curious Gu Lie beside him, he said:"

""When placing this at the muzzle, you must remember to just let go; absolutely do not throw it in.""

"Otherwise, adding that extra force could cause the shell's own ejection to collide, possibly bursting the barrel."

"Gu Lie nodded repeatedly; then Lu Yuan let go."

"A muffled boom sounded."

This mortar shell, after falling into the barrel and striking the primer, fired instantly.

That shell flew off target; Lu Yuan and the two others certainly couldn't see where it went.

But there were soldiers.

Immediately, the soldiers went to look for it, and a few minutes later they found that shell in the blast zone Lu Yuan had designated.

Finally, they measured the distance.

1800 meters!

Lu Yuan looked at Gu Lie, who was excited about knowing the distance measured, smiled and raised his head, saying:

"This isn't the maximum range, and the mortar's greatest strength lies in its being a perfect parabola—meaning it can hit targets behind cover."

"So if you ever see someone hiding or crouching behind a hill, you can blast them directly with that parabolic trajectory!"

At this moment, the overjoyed Gu Lie immediately turned to look at Gu Qingwan, who also showed a faint smile beside him, and said:

"Sis, see? Now I can go suppress the bandits, right?"

Gu Qingwan startled, almost forgetting there was still this matter.

Gu Qingwan stood there, somewhat silent.

She truly didn't want to let her brother go suppress the bandits...

But... Gu Qingwan also didn't want her brother to accomplish nothing.

Gu Qingwan was really torn...

But this matter had already been promised; in the end, Gu Qingwan looked at Gu Lie and said:

"Since it's already been promised, big sis won't go back on her word—you'll be a deputy general in the army."

Deputy general?!

Gu Lie startled, wanted to quit on the spot, and gritted his teeth, saying:

"What deputy general? With this thing, it's a straight push—no need to command; as long as your head works, you know how to fight!"

"I scorn even the commander-in-chief; I want to lead elite troops deep behind enemy lines!!"

"Lead elite troops deep behind enemy lines?!"

"Can Gu Qingwan agree to that?!"

"Of course she can't agree!"

Almost instantly, Gu Qingwan gritted her teeth and said:

"Impossible!!"

"Absolutely impossible to let you go deep behind enemy lines—don't even think about it!"

Gu Lie saw that asking his sister was hopeless, immediately turned his head to look at Lu Yuan, who had just taken a cigarette out of his pocket.

"Bro, hurry up and say it—you said to let me join the elite troops; my sis personally said before that if she lost, whatever you say goes!!"

Gu Lie nearly wanted to blow his top.

But this is his own sister; Gu Lie didn't dare, so he could only hope Lu Yuan would speak up.

This Lu Yuan bro is practically his savior!

At that moment, Gu Qingwan also looked toward Lu Yuan, who stood beside her with a cigarette in his mouth, fumbling all over for a matchbox.

Hmm?

Lu Yuan heard Gu Lie calling him, and, somewhat dazed, raised his head to look at the brother and sister.

He almost forgot about that.

At this moment, Gu Qingwan and Gu Lie's gazes toward Lu Yuan were somewhat different.

Gu Lie was full of hope, hoping that his bro Lu Yuan would quickly say to let him lead the elite troops.

And Gu Qingwan's gaze remained as cold and unfeeling as ever.

But... it also carried a hint of pleading...

Lu Yuan caught that hint in her eyes, and after a moment of silence,

Lu Yuan then suddenly broke into a grin, looking at Gu Lie and said:

"Go to hell with elite troops; being a deputy general is fine—just listen to your sister."

At this moment, Gu Qingwan really hadn't expected Lu Yuan to suddenly side with her.

After all...

From the start, Lu Yuan has always been opposing her.

Almost instantly, Gu Qingwan's stern, cold, beautiful face—like ten-thousand-year ice melting—broke into a hint of immense joy.

Her eyes lit up.

Immediately, Gu Qingwan stepped forward, struck a match, held it up, and lit Lu Yuan's cigarette.

Afterwards, Gu Qingwan stood beside Lu Yuan, slightly raised her head, and, full of pride, looked at her brother and said:

"Heard that? This matter, listen to your bro~"

Gu Lie saw this scene and was dumbfounded.

No...

"You two act like a married couple!!"

Thanks to book friend 2020090 old bro for the 100 book coins tip, really appreciate it~

Today's three chapters are done~

(End of chapter)