Chapter 849: I Don't Want This Car Anymore
Battles along the northern frontier raged relentlessly, never ceasing for a single day.
Gao Chuwu, by holding Yanmen Pass, had managed to protect the common folk within its walls. Yet, the vast expanse north of the pass was plunged into a relentless maelstrom of guerrilla warfare and counter-insurgency.
The entire Xuan-Da Command bristled with small-scale skirmishes.
The arrival of the Gao Family Village Militia decisively shifted the tide. The Ming army officers and soldiers, who had initially hunkered down within the walls of Xuanfu and Datong, finally mustered their courage after receiving several consecutive reports of victory. They ventured out of their cities, beginning to actively engage the Manchu reconnaissance cavalry patrols in the open.
Consequently, small-scale battles erupted with even greater frequency and ferocity.
The guerrilla warfare scenario grew even more intricate.
If a true deity were to chart the troop movements with arrows across the sky, they would find the entire Xuan-Da region a dizzying tapestry of red, blue, and multicolored arrows, interweaving to form an incredibly intricate spectacle that could induce trypophobia.
Whenever the Manchu clashed with the Gao Family Village Militia, they were routed every time.
But when they faced the Ming army regulars, they often emerged victorious.
Huang Taiji couldn't help but frown. "The Great Ming is still formidable," he mused. "It's not yet time for us to conquer the Central Plains. Enough. We've plundered sufficient spoils. Retreat! Return to the Northeast."
In the seventh year of Chongzhen, the Manchu invasion of Xuanfu and Datong finally drew to a close.
Back in Gao Family Village proper!
Bai Gongzi's Experimental Car No. 3 had just slowly emerged from the Gao Family Village Military Factory.
Gao Yiyi, the Senior Chief Technical Engineer, was excitedly pointing at the brand-new Experimental Car No. 3, introducing it to Bai Gongzi with great animation: "Bai Gongzi, look... this is the No. 3 car, built exactly to your specifications. To prevent the front from getting smashed again, I've added an iron plate to its front, and even two ramming horns!"
Bai Gongzi fixed his gaze on it. The front of Experimental Car No. 3 was so ugly it was almost laughable. Gao Yiyi, with his questionable aesthetic sense, had directly bolted a massive, shield-like iron plate to the car's front, complete with two sharp, conical protrusions.
Bai Gongzi stared, a mixture of exasperation and amusement on his face. "You call these 'ramming horns'?"
Gao Yiyi replied, "Aren't they?"
Bai Gongzi countered, "Those are just two iron cones stuck on the front, aren't they?"
Gao Yiyi declared, "True killing machines prioritize simplicity and practicality."
Bai Gongzi argued, "With a vehicle this massive, if it rams into an enemy, how could they possibly survive? Do these 'ramming horns' truly make a significant difference?"
Gao Yiyi shot back, "Isn't there a significant difference between piercing damage and blunt force trauma?"
Bai Gongzi was speechless.
For a moment, he had no words.
After a long, strained silence, Bai Gongzi finally spoke, his voice tinged with exhaustion. "If you're so intent on piercing damage, wouldn't it be better to mount two firearms here instead? What do you think?"
A metaphorical lightbulb flickered on above Gao Yiyi's head. "Oh, you're absolutely right! Two firearms are much better than two cones! Bai Gongzi, you truly are a genius!"
Bai Gongzi tilted his head back, staring at the sky. "Couldn't anyone figure something like this out, even without being a genius?"
Gao Yiyi continued, "After installing firearms, the driver can't both drive and operate them, right? We'd need a dedicated soldier on the car to use the firearms... so we'd have to install a co-driver's seat next to the driver's."
Bai Gongzi pondered. "Hmm, that makes sense. With only one co-driver, they can't operate two firearms at once, so one would be enough. Reloading bullets in a moving vehicle is cumbersome. Is there any convenient way to load them? For example... something that rotates and feeds bullets into the chamber one by one? This is a mechanical issue, and Wang Zheng is very skilled at such things. I'll have to ask him."
Inspiration struck! It truly struck!
Bai Gongzi cheered. "I need to go back and redraw the blueprints!"
Gao Yiyi gasped, "Ah? So, you don't want this Experimental Car No. 3 anymore?"
Bai Gongzi laughed heartily. "No! This Experimental Car No. 3 is useless to me now; you can have it to play with."
Gao Yiyi exclaimed, "Wow, how can you just—
—do this? This was built with funds from the village treasury! Many artisans toiled for days to craft it, at enormous expense. Don't just abandon it on a whim!"
Bai Gongzi, however, paid him no mind. He ran off quickly, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Gao Yiyi was caught between exasperation and amusement. This child was truly as fickle as the wind and rain.
He turned to look at Experimental Car No. 3. What was he to do?
Well, he'd better go report to Manager Tan Liwen.
Chief Manager San Shier had already taken a large number of technical personnel to Shanxi, to assist with its construction. Now, Gao Family Village proper was overseen by its second-in-command, Tan Liwen.
Gao Yiyi quickly found Tan Liwen, who was currently frowning. "Damn it," Tan Liwen muttered, "Qingcaogou needs a steam pump, but it's been overcast these past two days, and the solar cars can't run. Hauling this thing with horse or ox carts is too much trouble. What should we do?"
Gao Yiyi happened to enter at this moment. "Manager Tan," he began, "Bai Gongzi just..."
He rattled on, recounting everything that had just happened.
Tan Liwen's eyes lit up. "Experimental Car No. 3," he exclaimed, "it's currently with you?"
Gao Yiyi confirmed, "Yes, it is!"
Tan Liwen asked, "It can pull a steam pump, right?"
Gao Yiyi smiled. "Of course, it can! It's a steam engine, just like the ones used in the large trains. It's a bit smaller, but the power it generates is immense."
Tan Liwen was overjoyed. "Excellent!" he declared. "Strip all the useless armor from this vehicle, and send it out lightly equipped. Attach a trailer to the back, load the steam pump into it, and haul it to Qingcaogou."
Gao Yiyi repeated, "A trailer?"
Tan Liwen gestured with his hands. "Yes, a trailer, like this... hmm, like the large shallow baskets we use for washing vegetables. If you make an oversized iron one and attach it to the back of the vehicle, won't it be able to transport goods?"
Gao Yiyi fretted, "If we 'play' with Experimental Car No. 3 like this, won't Bai Gongzi be furious enough to kill us?"
Tan Liwen scoffed, "He said he didn't want it himself! Experimental Car No. 3 was originally built with funds from the village treasury. Now that he's abandoned it, we'll reclaim it for the treasury. Using it to deliver goods for the village—isn't that perfectly fine?"
Gao Yiyi thought it over carefully. "It seems reasonable," he conceded.
So, before long, Experimental Car No. 3—stripped of its armor and fitted with a large cargo bed—set off for Qingcaogou.
Everyone was surprised to discover that the vehicle proved remarkably effective for transporting goods.
It was unaffected by the sun and could depart at any time; as long as there was coal to burn, it could even travel at night. It perfectly filled the gap left by the Heavenly Lord's solar cars, which, for all their wonder, required sunlight to operate.
Tan Liwen was overjoyed. With a grand stroke of his brush, he approved: "The village treasury will fund the mass production of Experimental Car No. 3! From now on, all such vehicles will be fitted with large cargo beds, used for transport, and named 'cargo trucks.'"
Free reading.
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