Chapter 253: This Research Isn't Yours to Do
As the Gao Family Village Militia honed their skills against Li Ying, far away at the Vaxi Archway in Fengxin County, Jiangxi...
Song Yingxing stared at a peculiar "stone" in his hand, deep in contemplation.
This was the substance that peculiar Daoist priest, Ma Tianzheng, had given him just days before, a "gray mud" that had transformed into this.
Following the instructions the Daoist priest had provided, he had mixed the gray mud with river sand, stirred it thoroughly, and then left it to settle.
Once it had solidified, it transformed into the odd "stone" he now held.
The "stone" was remarkably firm and durable.
Song Yingxing instinctively knew this material was far superior to Sanhetu, a traditional mix of lime, sand, and clay.
Then, he picked up the other gift from the Daoist priest—a coiled spring—pressed it down, and watched.
As it sprang back with a satisfying snap, Song Yingxing's expression grew even more solemn.
Song Yingxing approached him, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, and began, "Reverend Daoist, I have meticulously examined both items you bestowed upon me. I must ask... what precisely are these wonders?
From where do they originate? I am currently compiling a tome titled *Tiangong Kaiwu*, dedicated to cataloging the production methods of such extraordinary objects. If you would not deem it beneath you, Reverend Daoist, might you impart the secrets of these two wondrous creations? I vow to immortalize your name within its pages, ensuring it resounds through a hundred generations."
Ma Tianzheng sprang upright, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Ah, I don't know the methods myself," he drawled. "If you truly seek to master the creation of these items, you must travel to Gao Family Village in Chengcheng County, Shaanxi...."
Song Yingxing blinked. "Such a journey?" he murmured, surprised.
Ma Tianzheng flashed a wide, knowing grin. "There are far more peculiar marvels awaiting you there. Should you but glimpse them... heheh..."
Song Yingxing’s heart began to pound with a frantic rhythm. Shaanxi, he recalled, his elder brother had described it as a region rife with unrest. Yet, the crafting methods for these two extraordinary items before him... he *craved* to understand them. He *ached* to know. The desire was overwhelming, an insatiable hunger.
It was as if an invisible hand ceaselessly scratched at the very core of his being, urging him onward.
After a long moment of internal struggle, Song Yingxing finally gritted his teeth, his resolve hardening. "Very well," he declared, "I shall go!"
Ma Tianzheng was ecstatic. "Hah! This is superb!" he chortled. "I've finally completed the greater portion of the Heavenly Lord's divine decree. All that remains is to escort this middle-aged scholar into Gao Family Village."
With a backhanded slap to his sword's scabbard, his three-foot blade sprang forth.
He snatched the hilt from the air, then executed a flurry of dazzling sword flourishes before settling into a grin. "Since Master Song's resolve is firm," he declared with a hearty laugh, "this humble Daoist shall be your escort on this expedition! Hahahahaha, rest assured, no mere ruffian or petty thief will dare approach my person!"
While Li Ying had been successfully expelled from Chengcheng County, the threat to the county itself had by no means receded.
The rebel forces from Guyuan remained a looming menace, poised to strike again!
Upon their return to Gao Family Village, the militia were compelled to remain in a constant state of combat readiness.
Still, their recent engagement with Li Ying had granted the militia soldiers valuable practical experience, particularly the ten musketeers tasked with wielding the Three-Eyed Arquebuses.
That very evening, Li Daoxuan was thoroughly enjoying a hearty bowl of tomato and meatball soup with rice when he observed the ten arquebusiers, their Three-Eyed Arquebuses slung over their shoulders, filing into the Craftsman Well.
All ten soldiers wore distinctly somber expressions. Upon entering the Craftsman Well, they silently formed a line before the blacksmith's forge, appearing like a row of ten peculiar wax figures.
The sudden, silent arrival startled the assembled artisans. Master Artisan Gao Yiyi quickly emerged to greet them. "Gentlemen," he inquired, "what is the meaning of this solemn assembly?"
The captain of the arquebusiers stepped forward with a powerful, decisive motion that made Gao Yiyi jump. Yet, the captain's voice was surprisingly meek as he pleaded, "Master Artisan... could you perhaps devise a method to... make these arquebuses... more potent?"
Gao Yiyi looked utterly bewildered. "But aren't these arquebuses incredibly powerful?" he countered. "When we conducted test firings, they roared, and blasted a hole straight through the mountain face!"
The captain's face fell, a long sigh escaping him. "They *would* be incredibly potent if they could actually *hit* an enemy," he lamented, "but the critical issue is, they simply don't!"
Gao Yiyi frowned, genuinely confused. "How could they possibly miss?" he challenged. "If an arrow can strike its target, these surely should be even more accurate, shouldn't they?"
The captain, looking utterly dejected, then began to recount, in a piteous tone, the harrowing events of their recent engagement.
Gao Yiyi listened with rapt attention, and when the captain finished, he let out a soft gasp. "I see..."
"Too close range, a complete lack of accuracy... The enemy soldiers would simply drop to the ground the moment they spotted the match cord glowing... and our own forces couldn't capitalize on that brief moment to close in..."
The captain nodded emphatically. "Precisely! Can you possibly craft us some genuinely more effective firearms? As it stands, all ten of us arquebusiers have become a complete joke! We carry the 'most formidable' weapons, yet they are utterly useless in battle! Once we've fired our arquebuses, we're left clumsily gripping these two-handed long-handled hammers, unable to even free our hands for bows, crossbows, or any other weapon. We just look absurd, wielding a hammer!" he complained bitterly.
Gao Yiyi scratched his head, a perplexed frown on his face. "But... the Three-Eyed Arquebus is the only firearm we know how to forge, you see. Perhaps I could go and consult Li Da on your behalf?"
Li Da was summoned shortly thereafter. After listening to the captains' lament, a flush of embarrassment spread across his face. "Ah, well, you see..." he began, clearing his throat. "The Three-Eyed Arquebus is indeed a rather substandard firearm. Even the Heavenly Lord himself mentioned last time that it was merely for experimentation, and that our future would rely on advanced models. The thing is, I've encountered a rather stubborn bottleneck with my new design."
Just recently, Li Da had managed to resolve the intricate mechanism concerning the firing pin and spring for the Chassepot Rifle.
With the spring's complexities conquered, the firing pin's operation had become remarkably simple: insert the spring into a small tube, secure it with a delicate mechanism, and then, with a simple flick, the spring would launch, propelling the firing pin forward....
His most perplexing conundrum now was this: how, precisely, did the bullet fire when the mechanism merely struck it? There was no visible igniter! How could the gunpowder ignite? And if the gunpowder failed to detonate, how on earth did the bullet achieve flight?
It defied all logic.
The Heavenly Lord *had* furnished him with a detailed diagram of the bullet, on which, at its very base, the character for "primer cap" was clearly visible. He had pored over it endlessly, yet remained utterly baffled. Consequently, this single, mysterious component had proven to be his insurmountable obstacle.
By nature, he was a rather timid man, too embarrassed to approach Gao Yiye and ask her to consult the Heavenly Lord. Instead, he stubbornly wrestled with the problem himself, indulging in wild theories, but no matter how relentlessly he pondered, the solution remained elusive.
It wasn't until the ten arquebusiers arrived at his doorstep that he finally, in a rambling stream of words, poured out all his accumulated frustrations and queries.
Only then did Li Daoxuan grasp the root of the problem: this earnest fellow's progress had utterly stalled at the "primer cap." He couldn't help but feel a touch of amusement. *Oh, Li Da,* he mused, *you've clearly ventured into an area of research beyond your primary expertise. The matter of the "primer cap" is unequivocally not yours to pursue; it rightly belongs to Xu Dafu, the head of the Gao Family Village Ordnance Bureau. You should have voiced your confusion far sooner!*
Swiftly, he summoned Gao Yiye to deliver his message.
Li Da, his eyes widening in surprise, could only manage, "Oh? Is this truly a task for Xu Dafu?"
"Precisely!" Li Daoxuan conveyed gently. "As the era progresses, the development of any novel weapon necessitates an increasing array of specialized techniques, often spanning multiple distinct industries.
Such endeavors can no longer be solely accomplished by a single blacksmith. They demand the synchronized efforts of diverse artisans, a meticulous blending of various specialized techniques. You must rigorously discard any notion of 'I alone can complete everything.' Should you encounter an aspect you cannot comprehend, you are to immediately seek out an artisan from that particular field to address it."
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