The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Amid the roar of the machine, the drill bit slowly drilled into the barrel, and the iron filings were drilled out bit by bit.
Accompanied by the eunuch in charge of the Military Equipment Bureau and a group of craftsmen, Li Hu inspected the production of firearms everywhere.

In a blink of an eye, Li Hu hadn't been to the Ordnance Bureau for almost four years. Although he had always been paying attention and knew a lot of things, he was still shocked when he saw it with his own eyes. The development of the Ordnance Bureau far exceeded his expectations.

What surprised him most was that several veteran craftsmen from the Ordnance Bureau accidentally developed a high-pressure steam engine. Although its initial horsepower was only 5, its size was reduced a lot. This high-pressure steam engine could be modified and directly used in trains and armored ships. This gave him a huge surprise.

Listening to the introduction of several old craftsmen in charge of gun barrel manufacturing, Li Hu smiled and nodded.

According to the development of history, the development of muskets underwent revolutionary changes after the Western barbarians entered the 19th century. Rifled muskets replaced smoothbore muskets, breech-loading muskets replaced muzzle-loading muskets, shooting distance and accuracy increased dramatically, and the power of muskets became increasingly greater.

But now something unexpected happened. After Niu Ben surrendered to the Prince of Nan'an, the breech-loading self-fired musket fell into the hands of the Western barbarians.

After the battle, only old William was captured, and young William ran away.

Li Hu had already thought of a countermeasure. He used cheats and manually manipulated the technology tree to allow the striker-loading rifle to be introduced ahead of time.

However, there are still many problems with striker-loaded rifles.

First, there was the problem of gunpowder. Thanks to his solid knowledge and professional skills in his previous life, he managed to remember the method of making high explosives and used diatomaceous earth as a stabilizer to make nitroglycerin a safe explosive. As for nitroglycerin, he could think of a way to make it with lard.

There is also fulminate of mercury for impact ignition. The solid spherical marble is changed into a long conical bullet, and the flash, conical bullet and cartridge case are integrated into one, which is ignited by needle impact.

Current technology is not yet capable of producing metal cartridge cases, which is a big problem.

The eunuch in charge of the Armament Bureau smiled and said, "Your Majesty, as long as there is enough material, the Armament Bureau can produce 500 breech-loading self-propelled muskets a day. The casting cycle of the cannon is a bit long."

Li Hu raised his hand and asked, "How many breech-loading self-fired muskets are there in the warehouse?"

The eunuch in charge hurriedly took out the account book from his bosom and looked through it: "In reply to the emperor, on the seventh day of September, the cabinet drafted an edict, and the Empress Dowager approved it. The Military Equipment Bureau allocated 3,000 breech-loading muskets to Shengjing City. The Military Equipment Bureau has 17,800 breech-loading muskets in stock." As he said this, he presented the account book with both hands.

Li Hu waved his hand and turned his gaze to the little fat man, motioning him to take out the things.

The fat man took out a drawing from the brown paper tube and unfolded it. It was the striker-breech-loading rifle that Li Hu drew based on his memory. This type of gun had a locking mechanism that tightly connected the gun head with the rear of the barrel so that gunpowder gas would not leak during shooting. This increased the gun speed while also improving the accuracy of the shot.

Current technology is not yet capable of changing the linear rifling into a spiral type, so let's take our time.

Li Hu: "Show it to some masters."

The little fat man said, "Yes." He then walked in front of the craftsmen holding the blueprint.

The craftsmen all gathered around, and soon there was a commotion and discussion among the crowd.

Li Hu smiled. This striker-breech-loading rifle was at least half a century ahead of the West. It was enough!

The army also needs to be reformed, the size of the cavalry should be gradually reduced, and they should not be used for frontal attacks. This striker-loaded rifle equipped with metal shell ammunition not only completely solves the problems of airtightness and firing rate, but also greatly improves the range, power and accuracy. For the cavalry, the barrage fired by this gun cannot completely stop their rapid assault, but it will increase their casualties, which is not worth the loss.

Of course, it was just a moderate reduction, and cavalry still played a decisive role on the battlefield. What really eliminated traditional cavalry were the machine guns, rapid-fire cannons, barbed wire, trenches and bunkers during World War I.

Li Hu coughed and immediately quieted down.

Li Hu turned his gaze towards the craftsmen and said with a smile, "I have a task for you."

All the craftsmen knelt down and waited quietly for Li Hu to speak.

Li Hu: "Each person should have ten apprentices and should spare no effort to pass on all their skills and experience to their apprentices."

When these words came out, the craftsmen were startled at first, and then looked at each other. They were all craftsmen in the Military Equipment Bureau, and their skills were passed down from generation to generation and never passed on to outsiders.

Li Hu laughed: "Why, are you afraid that teaching your apprentice will starve you to death?"

The craftsmen's faces turned pale with fright and they were about to speak.

Li Hu continued, "I have decided to open the Royal Academy, and you and your apprentices will be the first teachers and students of the Royal Academy."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then started talking at once.

Li Hu smiled. Although there was no such thing as a "caste system", in the eyes of the common people, "artisan households" were of low status. All family members, young and old, had to participate in production, and this continued from generation to generation. They had a low status and it was difficult to escape from the artisan status. Special approval from the emperor was required.

At this time, an old man with gray hair and beard mustered up the courage and asked in a trembling voice: "The emperor allows us, the 'lowly people', to be teachers." Li Hu smiled and nodded.

A commotion immediately broke out in the crowd. A lowly person becoming a teacher? And a Royal Academy! Although they didn't know what the Royal Academy was, as long as it was related to the word "Royal", it was an infinite honor.

Li Hu glanced at the little fat man at this time.

The little fat man understood and waved towards the distance.

A red-robed eunuch from the Imperial Household Department hurried over holding a tray covered with yellow silk.

The little fat boy took the tray, picked it up and handed it over.

Li Hu lifted the yellow silk, and an official hat and a set of official uniforms appeared.

The crowd immediately quieted down, all eyes turned to the tray.

Li Hu coughed and said loudly: "The Imperial Academy is at the same level as the Imperial College. You have everything they have, and you also have the same treatment they enjoy. You are able to stand in front of me and talk to me today, so I don't need to say more about your abilities. Therefore, I have decided to reward you with the official uniforms of the sixth rank as a reward!"

As he said this, he held up the official hat and walked up to the old man who had just spoken: "Old man, put it on."

The old man was shocked: "Your Majesty, this is a famous instrument of the imperial court. How can a lowly person like us afford it?"

Li Hu: "You deserve it! You developed new firearms for the Tang Dynasty, which means you are protecting the Tang Dynasty and its people. This is a great contribution!" He solemnly put the official hat on his head, and then he looked at the others and said, "I grant you permission to leave your country."

All the craftsmen were stunned and knelt there, forgetting to give thanks.

The little fat man gently reminded: "Thank you."

The craftsmen woke up and kowtowed repeatedly, saying in a trembling voice: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Hu smiled and said, "Get up, everyone, get up and talk."

All the craftsmen got up in a hurry.

Li Hu: "The sixth rank is just the beginning. If anyone can develop more advanced weapons and equipment, improve the equipment of the Military Equipment Bureau, design new equipment, etc., as long as you dare to make contributions, I will definitely reward you generously! Some people may say, 'Your Majesty, my brain is not so flexible and I can't think of any creative ideas'.
Then take on apprentices. If the apprentices you bring up make great contributions, you will also have a share of the credit and can also be promoted. Of course, you can forget about becoming the dean, because you can't compete with me!" After saying this, he laughed first.

The little fat man also laughed.

The eunuch in charge and the craftsmen all laughed.

At this time, a sound of hurried running was heard, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

Wang Daniu shouted, "Your Majesty!" and ran towards Li Hufei.

Li Hu's eyes flashed, and Wang Daniu had already run to him and knelt down, excitedly saying: "The Emperor is very happy! The Empress is very happy, very happy."

Li Hu was overjoyed and grabbed his arm: "What did you say? The Queen diagnosed a pregnancy?!"

Wang Daniu: "The people from the Imperial Hospital are just outside the forbidden gate. They said it's been almost two months!"

The little fat man immediately knelt down and said loudly: "Your servant congratulates the emperor!"

The eunuch in charge and all the craftsmen knelt down immediately and said, "Your servants and ministers congratulate the emperor!"

"Good! Good! Good!" Li Hu said "good" three times in a row. He was trembling with excitement while speaking.

The little fat man stood up and said, "Your Majesty, it's getting late, and the three old men in the cabinet are still waiting in the study."

Li Hu immediately gave him an admiring look, then coughed and spoke: "As I said before, as long as you dare to make contributions, I will definitely reward you generously!" He then said to the eunuch in charge: "The craftsmen will be rewarded with half a year's wages, and the other servants will be rewarded with two months' wages each."

The eunuch in charge said, “Yes.”

All the craftsmen knelt down one after another and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace."

Li Hu smiled and nodded, then turned around and strode away. (End of this chapter)