I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

After Emperor Chongzhen left, the Academy of Sciences immediately conducted a secret screening.

The result was unexpected; despite Song Yingxing's thorough screening, he found absolutely nothing.

Those artisans and students who have access to all or most of the production process are all clearly known, regardless of their family background, interpersonal relationships, or sources of income.

Song Yingxing was filled with trepidation, but he still reported the result truthfully.

After listening attentively, Zhu Youjian pondered for a long time before saying, "I trust you. Let's stop the investigation here for now."

Song Yingxing stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, I have a suggestion. Since the Japanese have already mastered flintlock musket technology, why not just fight them directly, capture some prisoners, and seize some flintlock muskets? We can then reverse engineer them and perhaps find some clues."

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly upon hearing this: "Minister Song and I have the same idea! I have already issued an order to the Warriors Battalion, ordering them to go out to sea to investigate. According to the timeline, they should be back in the next few days."

As the emperor and his minister were talking, hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.

Wang Chengen strode in, bowed, and reported, "Your Majesty, Li Ruolian, commander of the Warriors Battalion, has returned to the capital and is waiting for an audience outside the palace."

Zhu Youjian was overjoyed upon hearing this, and slammed his hand on the table, exclaiming, "Speak of the devil, and he appears! Summon him immediately!"

Shortly after, Li Ruolian, dressed in military attire, strode into the hall, knelt on one knee, and bowed: "Your subject Li Ruolian pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"No need for formalities!" Zhu Youjian asked impatiently, "Did you gain anything from this trip?"

Li Ruolian rose and reported: "Your Majesty, we were ordered to patrol the Korean coast. Near Jeju Island, we encountered a small force of Japanese soldiers. They opened fire first, and we immediately returned fire, annihilating the enemy and capturing thirteen Japanese soldiers. We also seized two hundred and seven flintlock muskets and a quantity of ammunition."

"Excellent!" Zhu Youjian was overjoyed. "Minister Li has indeed lived up to my expectations! Where are those prisoners and captured weapons now?"

"Your Majesty, the prisoners and their weapons and ammunition are temporarily held at the Xishan encampment, awaiting further orders."

Zhu Youjian turned to Song Yingxing: "Minister Song, I'm counting on you this time."

Song Yingxing excitedly cupped his hands in greeting: "Your subject will certainly do everything in his power to find out the origin of these flintlock muskets!"

Song Yingxing followed Li Ruolian to the Xishan garrison and carefully inspected the workmanship of several guns, his brows gradually furrowing.

"These guns look similar to our flintlock muskets, but..."

Song Yingxing stroked the barrel, feeling its rough texture against his fingertips, and continued, "The materials and workmanship are far inferior to those produced in my Great Ming Dynasty."

Li Ruolian nodded: "Indeed, although these guns can fire, their accuracy and durability are not as good as the equipment of the Warrior Battalion."

After a moment's thought, Song Yingxing said, "I request that the General hand over all these firearms to the Academy of Sciences so that we can study them carefully."

"no problem!"

Li Ruolian readily agreed and immediately ordered people to load more than two hundred flintlock muskets onto a vehicle and transport them to the Academy of Sciences.

Song Yingxing immediately summoned Yang Tingjian and other core members to begin reverse engineering the weapon. The group sat around the workbench, carefully disassembling the firearm and inspecting each component one by one.

"Please take a look, everyone."

Song Yingxing picked up a disassembled flintlock musket, pointed to the inside of the barrel, and said, "The rifling on these muskets is rough and uneven; it's clearly not made using the boring techniques of our Great Ming Dynasty."

Starting with the second generation, the Academy of Sciences' flintlock muskets incorporated rifling. Although these muskets also had rifling, their workmanship was far inferior.

Yang Tingjian took the barrel, examined it closely by candlelight, and then nodded: "Indeed, our boring machines can ensure uniform rifling, while the rifling on these guns is clearly hand-carved, lacking precision."

Other craftsmen picked up the bolt assembly, and one frowned, saying, "The flint firing mechanism is rather rudimentary, and the spring steel lacks sufficient toughness; it's prone to breakage after prolonged use."

Song Yingxing picked up another captured ammunition, peeled off the casing, poured out the gunpowder, and rubbed it between his fingertips: "The gunpowder particles are coarse, and the combustion efficiency is very poor. Obviously, there's a problem with the granulation process."

Everyone was recording these differences when suddenly, an older craftsman surnamed Liu picked up the gun barrel, scraped it with a file, and then gently tapped it with a hammer, listening intently to the metallic echo.

Immediately afterward, the man muttered to himself, "Strange..."

Song Yingxing turned to ask, "Master Liu, have you found anything?"

The old craftsman Liu looked up, his expression grave: "The steel used for this gun barrel... something's not right."

"Oh?" Song Yingxing leaned closer. "What's the difference?"

The old craftsman Liu explained, "The gun barrel steel developed by our Ming Academy of Sciences uses low-carbon steel refined in a blast furnace, and after repeated forging, it has a uniform texture and excellent toughness. But the steel used for these gun barrels..."

As he spoke, he picked up a file and scraped some metal powder directly from the barrel wall, placing it on a piece of white paper: "Gentlemen, please look, this metal powder is dark in color and contains many impurities, clearly indicating poor smelting process."

Yang Tingjian took the examination and nodded, saying, "Indeed, this is more like a primitive iron smelting method than the refined refining process of our Great Ming Dynasty."

At this point, Song Yingxing frowned slightly, because he had determined from the beginning that the steel used in these gun barrels was of inferior quality to that of the Ming Dynasty.

Then, the old craftsman Liu added, "What's strange is that the texture of this steel is completely different from the Japanese swords they wear."

Song Yingxing raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean by that?"

The old craftsman Liu took out a Japanese sword, also captured by the Warriors' Camp, and explained, "The tamahagane used in Japanese swords, although smelted using traditional methods, has a fine internal texture and excellent hardness and toughness due to its unique folding and forging process. But the steel used for these gun barrels..."

He picked up the gun barrel and tapped it; the sound was crisp. "Listen," he said, "it's too brittle; it's completely unsuitable for making gun barrels!"

Song Yingxing's gaze sharpened: "So, these guns... weren't made in Japan?"

The old craftsman Liu nodded: "At least the steel for the gun barrels definitely didn't come from Japan."

Yang Tingjian pondered, "Then these firearms might have been purchased by Japan from elsewhere. In other words, the flintlock musket technology didn't reach Japan, but was sold to Japan by someone else?"

Song Yingxing's expression was grave: "This matter is strange; we must report it to His Majesty immediately!"

When he rushed to the Fengtian Hall, he happened to meet Li Ruolian waiting for the imperial decree outside the hall.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing a serious expression in each other's eyes.

"Scholar Song has come too?" Li Ruolian asked, clasping her hands in greeting. "Has there been a new discovery?"

Song Yingxing wiped the sweat from his brow: "Indeed, has there been any progress in Commander Li's interrogation?"

Just as Li Ruolian was about to answer, Wang Chengen's shrill voice rang out from inside the hall: "Summon Song Yingxing and Li Ruolian to an audience!"

The two men straightened their clothes and hurried into the hall. Zhu Youjian was reviewing memorials at his desk when he saw them enter. He put down his vermilion brush and said, "My two dear ministers have come together; have you made any progress?"

Song Yingxing stepped forward and reported the research results of the Academy of Sciences in detail.

When it was mentioned that the steel used for gun barrels was completely different from that used for Japanese swords, Zhu Youjian's brows furrowed noticeably.

"Your Majesty," Song Yingxing concluded, "we can confirm that these flintlock muskets were not produced in Japan, but rather originated from elsewhere."

Zhu Youjian nodded thoughtfully, then turned his gaze to Li Ruolian: "Minister Li, have you made any progress in the interrogation?"

Li Ruolian cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the Japanese prisoners have finally spoken. They confessed that these flintlock muskets were indeed purchased from the red-haired barbarians."

"Red-haired barbarians?" A glint flashed in Zhu Youjian's eyes. "What nationality exactly?"

"this……"

Li Ruolian looked troubled and said, "Those prisoners are of too low rank. They only say they are foreigners with red hair, but they don't know which country's merchants they are."

"Red-haired foreigner..."

Zhu Youjian muttered to himself, "The British, the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Spanish... all are possible."

Suddenly remembering something, Song Yingxing stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have just remembered something! Although these flintlock muskets are crudely made, the design of their firing mechanism is extremely similar to that of the first-generation flintlock muskets developed by the Academy of Sciences in its early days."

"Oh?" Zhu Youjian's gaze sharpened. "What does Minister Song mean..."

"I suspect," Song Yingxing said cautiously, "that the early blueprints may have been copied. After all, the blueprints for the first-generation flintlock musket risked being leaked when they were improved into the second generation."

"The first generation, um..."

Zhu Youjian muttered to himself, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.