Chapter 28: What Weapons Could Ming Dynasty Blacksmiths Forge?
A large group of villagers was having their meal when they suddenly saw a strange, large white paper descend from the sky. They quickly grabbed their rice bowls and scattered, laughing as they ran, "What strange gift has the Heavenly Lord sent us now? This one doesn't look edible."
The A5 paper lay flat on the ground. It was covered with a host of peculiar diagrams. Looking at it obliquely, it seemed to depict a firearm.
Gao Yiye pointed at the paper and said, "Li Da, that paper shows what you need to forge. Go take a look."
Li Da was utterly bewildered to see a large paper suddenly materialize from the empty sky. He was completely stunned and for a long moment, he couldn't react. It wasn't until San Shier gripped his shoulders and shook him twice that he abruptly snapped out of it.
The paper was as large as a pond. From where he stood on the flat ground, looking obliquely, Li Da could only make out what appeared to be a firearm and a jumble of parts. He couldn't grasp the full picture, so he had no choice but to climb the nearby two-zhang-high city wall to get a top-down view of the paper.
"Hmm? In the very center, is that some novel kind of firearm? The diagrams beside it seem to be detailed illustrations of each component of this firearm."
Li Daoxuan chuckled. "That's right! It's the Chassepot Rifle, an excellent example of an early breech-loading rifle. This is its design blueprint."
As it turned out, Li Daoxuan hadn't been idle these past few days. He had been pondering what kind of weapons Ming Dynasty craftsmen could possibly create, given modern materials and their existing skill level.
He had even posted anonymously on a historical military forum he frequented, asking, "Hey everyone, if you were to travel back to the Ming Dynasty, with Ming-era blacksmiths' skill level and access to modern raw materials, what's the most advanced weapon you could produce?"
Reply 2: Bury the guy above alive! Of course, an AK-47. Any random household workshop can make one nowadays. A Ming blacksmith could probably hammer one out.
Reply 3: Don't be silly. What's the point of just hammering out a casing? The precision wouldn't be enough, every shot would blow up in your face. Plus, you wouldn't solve the ammunition problem. A rifled gun is the most reliable bet. All the time-traveling experts use rifled guns.
Reply 4: The guy above seems to have forgotten the OP said "with modern raw materials." If you have modern materials, you've got rubber, which can solve the gas seal issue. Why not skip rifled guns and go straight for breech-loading rifles? The Chassepot Rifle is an excellent choice. Its precision requirements aren't as high as an automatic rifle. Ming blacksmiths could definitely hammer one out by hand.
Reply 5: Are you all missing the point? If you travel back to the Ming Dynasty, of course you'd buy a few servant girls, then lift their skirts and peek at them bathing. After all, bought servant girls can't resist their masters. I could make them do all sorts of things.
Li Daoxuan: "Damn it, it's you again!"
All replies collectively cursed: "Get out of the historical military forum, you creep!"
After that commotion, Li Daoxuan made a note of the Chassepot Rifle. With the help of the old veterans on the forum, he actually managed to get photos of the rifle, its design blueprints, and real images of all its parts. He printed them onto an A5 sheet, ready to present them once the blacksmith arrived.
Li Da stood on the city wall, intently studying the A5 paper below.
He looked left, then right, then tilted his head, examining it from every angle. After scrutinizing it, sweat poured down his face. "This... this firearm... your humble servant... cannot promise to forge it successfully."
Li Daoxuan said, "Don't feel pressured. Try your best to make it happen. I can give you a very, very long time—a few years, even. If you truly succeed, I will make your dream come true."
For Li Da, that dream was to become a commoner, free from his artisan registration.
This matter was no simple feat. Hearing it from Gao Yiye's mouth, he couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of unease.
He couldn't help but exclaim loudly, "Miss, and Master San Shier, it's not that I don't trust you. It's just that the task you ask of me is no ordinary undertaking. I... I don't even know who this 'Great Master' is. My heart feels a bit..."
"Didn't you understand after that large paper descended from the sky just now?" Gao Yiye declared loudly, "Try jumping down from the city wall, and you'll immediately know who the Great Master is."
Li Da jumped in surprise. "Jump down?"
San Shier chuckled along. "Go on, try jumping."
Li Da looked down.
This was a city wall two zhang high!
What did they mean by telling him to jump? Was it to test his courage?
He had been blacksmithing for years, so his body was quite robust. Jumping from this height, if he landed carefully, he might not necessarily get hurt. Even if he was injured, it would probably only be a broken leg. If doing this meant the Great Master would help him escape his artisan registration, then it wasn't... impossible to take the risk.
Li Da gritted his teeth. He imagined the wall he stood on as his artisan status. Escaping artisan registration was always a life-threatening endeavor. "I'll risk it all!" With a determined clench of his jaw, he leaped.
The moment he jumped, he braced himself to squat upon landing and roll to dissipate the force.
But just as he cleared the wall, before he even began to fall, he felt himself being caught by something. What were his feet landing on? The surprise was so absolute that he couldn't maintain his balance. He tumbled forward, bracing himself with his hands on an invisible "surface." What he felt, though, was the distinct sensation of touching someone's palm.
"Huh? Wh-wh-what?"
Li Da was terrified, frozen stiff with fright.
Gao Yiye exclaimed loudly, "You're in the palm of the Heavenly Lord's hand right now!"
Li Da: "!!!"
Li Daoxuan deliberately shifted his palm, carrying Li Da slowly through the air.
Li Da felt as if he were flying through the sky. It was just that his posture was highly undignified. Lying prostrate like this, it certainly didn't look like a proper way to fly.
Before entering the village, San Shier had told him that the Great Master of this village was the Heavenly Lord. At the time, Li Da had been utterly confused, not understanding a word San Shier said. But now, he seemed to, somehow, understand a little.
Li Daoxuan's hand slowly descended, lowering Li Da to the ground. With a slight tilt, Li Da slid off. He sat on the yellow earth, his face a mixture of shock and panic, yet also with a hint of burgeoning joy.
The joy, of course, stemmed from the newfound certainty of his dream!
Once his mind cleared, he quickly flipped over. From sitting, he shifted to kneeling prostrate on the ground. He cried out, "Your humble servant, your humble servant guarantees to put forth his utmost effort to forge the firearm you have entrusted him with. However, this item seems rather complex, and your humble servant might require a long time—as you said, perhaps one or two years."
If Li Da could swing a hammer for a few days and produce a Chassepot Rifle, he'd certainly be a time-traveler with a cheat system. Li Daoxuan, of course, knew that was impossible. "Alright, take your time, there's no rush. You can teach Gao Yiyi how to forge armor while you slowly research this firearm! If you need any materials, just have Gao Yiye report it to me. In short, once you succeed in forging it, your dream will come true."
At this point, his tone shifted. "Gao Yiye, are there any empty houses left in the village?"
Gao Yiye said with a slight embarrassment, "No, there aren't. The only habitable empty house has been assigned to San Shier's family."
Li Daoxuan: "Oh! Then wait a moment."
He pulled a can of Pepsi from the fridge. He guzzled it down in a few gulps, then let out a satisfying burp. Next, he took scissors and cut the can in half, forming a small cylindrical cup. He then cut out a tiny door and two small windows. Finally, he inverted this half-can onto an empty spot in the village...
"THUMP!"
The villagers heard a colossal thud, and the ground seemed to tremble. Then, a peculiarly shaped, brightly colored blue circular house simply appeared in a corner of the village. The four simplified characters for "Pepsi" on its side were reversed, giving it a rather comical appearance.
Li Daoxuan: "Li Da, you can temporarily live in this makeshift hut. In a while, I'll arrange better houses for everyone."
Although the villagers had been awestruck by "divine miracles" several times before, today's event once again shocked them so much they nearly dropped their bowls. The Heavenly Lord's method of constructing houses truly filled them with an inexplicable admiration.
Mrs. San, who had been secretly watching from the side, was kowtowing like a pestle pounding garlic, unable to stop.
.
Comments