Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 124 Armed Debt Collection

"Could a matchlock musket be used to sweep away all the forces at the end of the Ming Dynasty?"

Faced with the bounty post, many online experts expressed their opinions.

"Matchstick guns? Musketeers need to be physically strong. When they go to the battlefield, they have to carry a matchstick that is a mile long on their backs."

"This thing has an extremely slow rate of fire. On the battlefield, if it can fire one shot per minute, it's considered elite."

"Short range, insufficient lethality, and accuracy relies heavily on luck, with a fire rate of only a pitiful 50%."

"This thing can't be used in wind or rain. The wind blows out the fuse, and the rain soaks the gunpowder, so it's just a fire poker."

"Matchstick guns are prone to accidental discharge, and the matchlocks carried by musketeers can easily cause fires."

"If you don't have to use this thing, use something better."

The barrage of criticism from online gurus left Lin Dao scratching his head.

He originally thought that the matchlock gun was a firearm and should have an overwhelming advantage over cold weapons.

Unexpectedly, this matchlock gun was so unreliable.

"It's a technical matter."

Lin Dao shook his neck. "I'll still need to consult professionals in the future."

After taking a sip of water, he posted a new thread.

"Seek firearms that are more powerful than the matchlock gun."

The replies were quick and plentiful.

His account frequently posts bounty inquiries, so he's become somewhat well-known.

Skip the parts that don't need to be read, such as advertisements or filler text.

Useful information, such as suggestions for modern firearms, rocket launchers, missiles, and even Miss Qiu, was all omitted.

The most satisfying item was the Charleville Model 1777 flintlock musket provided by a certain technical expert.

Using paper-packaged bullets and black powder, the loading speed was more than twice that of a matchlock musket.

'Effective range of fifty to one hundred meters, using a flintlock musket.'

Equipped with a socket-type bayonet, it can be converted into a melee weapon in close combat.

'Napoleon's main equipment that swept across Europe.'

Lin Dao was very satisfied and took the initiative to contact the technical expert, putting forward some of his ideas and hoping that the expert could help optimize it.

Once we received the optimized blueprints and parameters from DaNeng, we immediately sent them to Yonghe Time and Space.

'boom! '

A large plume of white smoke billowed from the barrel of the gun, which was made of seamless steel pipe.

A lead bullet whistled out of the gun barrel and struck a wooden target forty paces away at supersonic speed.

On the wooden target, which was five feet high, three feet wide, and more than an inch thick, wood chips flew everywhere, and a large hole was punched through it.

This is the drill ground outside Luoyang City in Yonghe Time and Space, where muskets are being tested at this moment.

Liu Hu, who had been testing the gun, put it away, inspected it, and then handed it to Lin Dao.

Lin Dao carefully examined the genuine item in his hand.

"Hardwood gun barrel, 1.5 meters long."

"The barrel is 1.2 meters long and is cut from a seamless steel pipe."

He reached out and took the ammunition to examine it.

This is a paper cartridge that connects the warhead, propellant, and primer together.

Compared to pouring gunpowder from the muzzle and then using a ramrod to compact it before firing, this method is much more efficient.

The advent of paper-cased bullets greatly simplified the cumbersome loading process and increased the rate of fire.

He held the flintlock pistol upright and examined the muzzle.

There is a hook at the muzzle of the gun.

Lin Dao took a triangular military dagger with a latch and hooked it into the hook.

I tried thrusting the gun forward with both hands, and it felt pretty good after a few tries.

Including the length of the gun barrel, the total length exceeds 1.8 meters and is close to 2 meters.

This is an extremely sharp spear.

Lin Dao, holding guns in both hands, closed his eyes.

He imagined the scenes on the battlefield.

The enemy infantry, clad in three layers of heavy armor, braved a dense hail of bullets and painstakingly broke through barbed wire to get closer.

Once in close combat, the musketeers would attach triangular bayonets and engage in melee fighting.

With a single thrust, the enemy heavy infantry wielding broadswords and axes were immediately blasted with horrific, irreparable wounds.

He opened his eyes and exclaimed, "Awesome!"

He took off his triangular bayonet and hung it at his waist, then held his musket level to observe the firing mechanism.

The success rate of firing a matchlock gun is usually only 50%.

In other words, under normal circumstances, you need to click twice to fire one shot.

The flintlock pistol was better, but it still had a 20-30% chance of failing to fire.

The expert who provided the blueprints offered a creative option.

An electronic ignition core is used instead of flint.

The firing probability of this thing is close to 100%.

The heavily modified flintlock musket has seen significant improvements in range, power, ease of use, and reduced failure rate.

"very good."

Lin Dao handed the flintlock pistol to Liu Hu, then asked the master craftsman, "How's the production?"

"Reply to Master Lang."

The master craftsman respectfully replied, "I can make three to five pieces every day."

"The main problem is that the craftsmen are not yet skilled enough. Once everyone becomes more proficient, we expect to increase the number to more than ten per day next month."

Lin Dao frowned slightly.

This production volume is far too low.

"We have all the tools and materials, so why is it taking so long to make?"

The master craftsman quickly explained, "The main problem is that we don't have enough manpower."

"There aren't many craftsmen who can make this; it takes one person several days to make one."

Upon hearing this, something immediately came to Lin Dao's mind.

"Assembly line operation method".

"You break down the production steps."

"Instead of having one craftsman make one gun, we can have craftsmen work in batches on one step at a time, with multiple steps being carried out simultaneously, and finally, the guns are assembled."

"In this way, production will inevitably increase significantly."

What he didn't say was that doing so also eliminated the risk of craftsmen leaking secrets at the source.

A craftsman who can do everything will immediately have his weapon, which is a thousand years ahead of its time, leaked if he runs away or is captured.

If it's just one step, Lin Dao doesn't believe that anyone in this Yonghe Time and Space, besides the Beggar Army, could manufacture a musket with just one component.

"While increasing production, we must also strengthen quality supervision." Although the quality of seamless steel pipes is excellent, Lin Dao still won't be careless.

"All the craftsmen involved must have their names engraved on the gun. If any problems arise, no one involved at any stage will be held accountable!"

On the way back to Luoyang.

Lin Dao instructed Liu Hu, "Make the first batch, train a group of musketeers, and send them to the Jingzhou front for actual combat."

"You will be in command of this force from now on."

Liu Hu, on horseback, bowed in greeting.

"promise!"

The Chongzhen era, Nanjing.

"Boss~"

Tian Wen, the manager of Jubaolou, rushed over, his forehead covered in sweat.

"Don't worry."

In a good mood, Lin Dao gestured for him to sit down and talk, saying, "Take your time, the sky isn't going to fall."

My career has been progressing smoothly recently, and my financial crisis has also been resolved.

Lin Dao was in a really good mood.

"Master." Taking the teacup from Chen Yuanyuan, Tian Wen put it down without even drinking from it.

He spoke urgently, "There's been a problem in the building."

"Okay." Lin Dao nodded. "Explain clearly."

"Yes." Tian Wen hurriedly explained, "Last month, merchants from Luzhou Prefecture came to the building to place an order."

"The order was for a full forty thousand taels of silver."

"At the time, I paid a deposit of one thousand taels of gold, two pearls, and a hundred-year-old ginseng."

"We agreed that I would pay the balance three days in advance."

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao understood: "Didn't come?"

"Yes."

Tian Wen was filled with anxiety, "It's all small mistakes that have caused such a huge deficit~~~"

It's not that there's a deficit or anything like that.

The deposit alone has already yielded many times the return.

After all, the cheapest things in the industrial age were industrial products.

However, it's so blatant to smear their own products!
Lin Dao asked again, "Who is the guarantor?"

"It's the heir of the Ningjin Marquis's mansion." Tian Wen's tears were about to fall. "I went to the Ningjin Marquis's mansion to look for the heir, but I was kicked out."

For a wholesale business worth tens of millions, it's impossible to take all the goods after paying a deposit.

There must be a guarantor of sufficient standing.

Merchants from various places who came to buy goods in the past all had guarantors, and nothing like this had ever happened.

"Emperor Ning Jin?"

Lin Dao stroked his chin. "They're coming for me."

A few tens of thousands of taels of goods is nothing.

But if we swallow our anger and keep quiet, countless people will immediately pounce on us and tear us apart.

Taking the goods without paying the final payment is just the beginning; all sorts of tricks will emerge one after another.

There was no way around it; Jubaolou's business was just too booming.

Which of the powerful and wealthy in Jinling City wouldn't be envious of such a large piece of meat?

"I know this."

Lin Dao reassured Tian Wen, "From now on, whoever comes to pick up goods must pay in full."

"You don't need to give face to anyone."

After Tian Wen left with trepidation, Lin Dao first returned to the modern world and looked up information about Ning Jinbo.

"I thought it was something important, but it turns out it's just a worthless piece of trash with wild boar skin."

Lin Dao calculated the time: "The summer tax has already been levied, but the autumn grain will have to wait until after the autumn harvest."

The most important taxes collected during the Ming Dynasty were summer taxes and autumn grain taxes, which constituted the bulk of the revenue.

According to custom, summer taxes and autumn grains from all over Jiangnan must be collected in Yingtian Prefecture.

Lin Dao would certainly not let such a large sum of money and grain go to waste.

His plan was to wait for the money and supplies to arrive, and then send troops to seize Nanjing.

With money and supplies in hand, we can immediately expand our ranks.

Moreover, without money and provisions, it would be difficult for local areas to organize troops to fight back.

"We must not start a major conflict before that."

"The Ningjin Marquis's mansion, then we'll level it in a few months."

"Our target is that prince."

Given Lin Dao's personality, he would immediately resort to armed debt collection when faced with such a situation.

The entire Ningjin Marquis's mansion will have to be demolished.

For the sake of the greater good, we can endure this for a while.

The heir of the Ningjin Marquis's mansion, who acted as guarantor, must die!
He set off for the East Courtyard and gathered a dozen or so young guards.

"I need you to do something!"

The group of young guards stepped forward in unison, their eyes burning with fervor as they looked at Lin Dao.

A boy in his late teens is at the most passionate and fearless age.

"We eat the teacher's food, use the teacher's things, and take from the teacher's things!"

"Our lives belong to the instructors!"

"Through fire and water, no matter what!"

They were treated very well, with a can of meat every day—something even landlords couldn't afford.

Moreover, their families were all taken care of and lived a good life.

Even sick family members received the teacher's miraculous medicine, and their health improved as a result.

Compared to the tragic days when they were refugees, constantly facing the possibility of collapsing on the street, the kindness of their teachers can never be repaid.

Now that they have the opportunity to repay their teachers, everyone is striving to be the best.

This is the true master of raising death warriors.

Those who are paid a few thousand yuan a month are called long-term workers.

"very good."

Lin Dao nodded in satisfaction. "First, we'll investigate the Ningjin Earl's son's daily routine and travel routes."

"I will demand repayment from him by force!"

"When the time is right, pack the explosives on his carriage!"

(End of this chapter)