Chapter 875: Repeating Design
Sun Chuanting's brows furrowed in a deep frown.
Lao Nanfeng watched alongside him: "Mr. Sun, how do you think this can be countered?"
Sun Chuanting pondered for a few careful seconds, then shook his head: "Using only flintlock rifles and hand grenades, the enemy's defenses are insurmountable. However, we don't *only* have flintlock rifles and hand grenades. Paired with cannons, we can blast through these wooden barricades. In future operations, we must prioritize artillery, and prepare more heavy artillery..."
Lao Nanfeng chuckled: "Precisely. The Dao Xuan Tian Zun sent us this video, surely to remind us of this very point."
Sun Chuanting nodded: "This video is very instructive. I must make it into a dedicated lesson for the students, so they never forget. Weapons are inert; people are adaptable. The enemy will devise all sorts of strange methods to counter our arms. Underestimate them, and lives will be lost."
Meanwhile...
Back in Gao Family Village itself.
Bai Yuan, his white robes flowing, leapt down from the train.
Having not visited Gao Family Village in quite some time, Bai Yuan felt a surge of emotion.
The village population seemed to have grown even larger, and the villagers' morale was visibly higher, with an air of joyous prosperity everywhere.
He had barely walked a short distance from the train station when someone greeted him with a bow: "Mr. Bai! Long time no see."
Bai Yuan turned, a familiar face meeting his gaze. He couldn't help but chuckle: "Oh, Gao... Gao... Gao who now?"
Gao Laba: "I'm Gao Laba! Gao Laba, the rice noodle shop owner."
Bai Yuan: "Ah, yes, yes, yes, you're Gao Laba. I remember clearly now."
He smiled, exchanged pleasantries with Gao Laba, and continued on his way.
From time to time, others bowed to him: "Mr. Bai!"
"Mr. Bai!"
"Oh, you're..."
"I'm Li Da."
"Ah! Yes, yes, yes, you're Li Da. I remember clearly now."
Bai Yuan's memory received a thorough workout. It took him quite some effort to finally reach the school.
Even the gate guard recognized Bai Yuan: "Mr. Bai, are you here to see Young Master Bai?"
Bai Yuan chuckled: "Indeed! I haven't seen my son in ages. I need to challenge him to a math duel."
The guard immediately put on a strange expression: "Mr. Bai, perhaps you should challenge him to a shooting contest instead. As for mathematics... it's best not to challenge the Three Scientific Titans of Gao Family Village."
If the guard hadn't said that, it would have been fine, but those words were more than Bai Yuan could tolerate: "Hmph! Mathematics is one of a gentleman's six arts, and I hold it in high regard. Why shouldn't I challenge my son? Don't look down on me!"
Puffing indignantly, he stormed directly toward the research lab...
The guard watched his retreating figure, shaking his head: "The waves behind push the waves ahead; the front waves die on the beach, Mr. Bai. Take care."
Soon, Bai Yuan arrived at the most profound, most enigmatic, and most baffling department in the school—the research lab.
The moment he stepped inside, he nearly tripped over a waist-high cannon barrel, startled, he quickly maneuvered around it.
As he delved deeper, he saw half-built steam engines, peculiar axles, a mechanical leg from a mass-produced Dao Xuan Tian Zun...
After much searching, he finally spotted Young Master Bai, who was huddled with two other somewhat familiar faces. The three of them were tinkering with a palm-sized metal disc...
The disc had six holes.
Bai Yuan recognized at a glance that the six holes were perfectly sized to hold six bullets.
That single sight made him forget why he had come. He quickly scurried closer: "What are you researching?"
Young Master Bai heard someone speak but didn't turn to look, not even recognizing his own father's voice. Without looking up, he replied, "Repeating flintlock rifles!"
Bai Yuan: "What?"
Young Master Bai explained: "Look, this disc has six holes. Load six bullets into them, then attach the disc to the flintlock rifle. Fire a shot, then rotate the disc to align the next bullet's hole with the firing pin."
Bai Yuan exclaimed: "Wow! That's incredible... Brilliant! Quick, make me one."
Young Master Bai didn't reply, his brows simply furrowed deeper.
But another middle-aged man spoke up: "It won't be ready that quickly. The current problem is this rotating disc. Once it's added to the gun, the barrel's airtightness will be compromised. The moment it fires, gas will escape through the gap between the revolving cylinder and the chamber, weakening the bullet's forward propulsion."
Bai Yuan: "Ah, and this gentleman is..."
The man replied: "Song Yingxing."
Bai Yuan: "Yes, yes, yes, you're Song Yingxing. I remember clearly now."
Another man nearby added: "The mechanical design of the revolving cylinder is also an issue. The recoil when firing is significant, putting immense stress on the gun barrel, and the revolving cylinder's mechanism could easily be damaged, unless we can further improve the quality of the steel."
Bai Yuan: "And you are..."
The man stated: "Wang Zheng."
"Ah, yes, yes, yes, you're Wang Zheng. I remember clearly now."
The three scientists gazed at the disc, lost in thought.
Bai Yuan offered: "Well, why not abandon the disc then? Use a magazine instead, with a spring at the bottom to push the bullets up into the chamber. Each time a shot is fired, the spent bullet is gone, and the spring pushes a new one up. Such a mechanical design should be simpler than a revolving disc, right? It would be easier to maintain airtightness and less prone to damage."
"Hmm?"
The three scientists simultaneously turned to stare at Bai Yuan.
Only then did Young Master Bai recognize his father, hastily bowing deeply: "Father, you've arrived."
Bai Yuan snorted: "Hmph, you unfilial son! I've been standing here for ages; is this truly the first you've noticed your father?"
Young Master Bai broke into a cold sweat.
The other two, however, didn't dwell on that issue. Wang Zheng, highly skilled in mechanical structures, mused for a moment: "Mr. Bai's suggestion is excellent. However, at this stage, we are using paper cartridges. With continuous firing, the incompletely burned paper casing could easily jam the gun barrel. Therefore, we could integrate a hinged mechanism at the rear of the barrel. A manual push would open the flap, expelling gunpowder residue and paper scraps, while simultaneously, a new bullet would be loaded into the chamber..."
He grew more excited as he spoke, immediately beginning to sketch out designs.
The hanging portrait of the Dao Xuan Tian Zun on the wall suddenly grinned. He realized that after some discussion, these scientists from Gao Family Village had unwittingly embarked on the development path of the "Kalthoff Repeating Rifle"...
Indeed, human technological advancement, once the foundational principles are in place, is a natural and inevitable progression.
At that moment, Bai Yuan declared: "Right, I came to see you all, not to discuss this business of repeating bullets. I almost forgot the main point!"
Young Master Bai responded: "Please, Father, speak."
Bai Yuan explained: "A few days ago, Lao Huihui's heavy cavalry launched a swift assault on Luoyang. Since the Dao Xuan Tian Zun was absent at the time, we couldn't deploy the Heavenly Lord's reconnaissance hot air balloons. As a result, the enemy forces and our scouts arrived almost simultaneously, one right after the other... This simply won't do!"
His expression instantly turned serious: "We need reconnaissance methods that don't rely on the Dao Xuan Tian Zun."
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