The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Wanyan Wu's blue flag armor terrified the Green Standard Army soldiers, who turned and ran away, with some even surrendering with their heads in their hands and begging for mercy.

At this time, most of the Green Standard Army soldiers had experienced the war to pacify the southwest, and their combat effectiveness was not bad. They could easily be compared with the elite troops of past dynasties, and even privates were no problem.

But when faced with Wanyan Wu, who was wearing the Manchu armor, they didn't dare to fight back at all. It was a fear etched into their bones, like a mouse fearing a cat.

"Our mighty Han army of 100,000 has breached the city!"

"If you don't surrender now, when will you?"

Seeing that the remaining few hundred Green Standard Army soldiers were not in high spirits, Wanyan Wu took the initiative to approach them and persuade them to surrender.

That authentic Manchu accent completely shattered the Green Standard Army soldiers' last psychological defenses, and the clanging of weapons hitting the ground echoed incessantly.

Meanwhile, the city gates had been opened, and Liu Weiqing led his light cavalry into the city. Merchants along the way kept their doors locked and trembled in fear at home.

Although Galdan repeatedly rectified military discipline, some people still couldn't resist looting the bustling shops, with many small merchants and vendors being the first to suffer.

When Galdan entered the city, many shops had already started to catch fire. He couldn't stop this, so he could only order the entire army to assemble.

"Taiji, Galdan Taiji!"

"I am Fan Li!"

Just as Galdan was about to go to the county government office, Fan Li was shouting outside the army. If Liu Xin hadn't recognized him, he probably would have been killed by the guards.

Upon approaching Galdan, Fan Li discovered the great banner, which was adorned with Han Chinese figures and a five-clawed golden dragon. Due to the border blockade, he was unaware that Galdan had declared himself emperor and khan. Puzzled, he stepped forward and paid his respects.

"A big sweater?"

Galdan revealed a dangerous smile.

"Can't I be the emperor?"

Fan Li was quick-witted; he clearly connected the dots between the Chinese characters on the banner and the imperial edict, and immediately performed the full kowtow.

"This humble subject, Fan Li, pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty!"

"My Fan family has already found the best craftsmen from the former Ming Dynasty's Datong Firearms Bureau, but due to His Majesty's army's arrival and the Qing court's border blockade, the weapons could not be delivered in time!"

Upon hearing that Fan Li had found a firearms master, Galdan immediately perked up, for this was the key to his military achievements.

"Quickly, take me there now!"

Fan Li dared not delay and immediately took the lead. Soon they arrived at the Fan family's villa. Without Galdan's instructions, Liu Xin led his personal guards inside.

Their mission is to eliminate all dangers.

It took half an incense stick's time before Liu Xin led his men out.

"Your Majesty, all members of the Fan family have gathered together, including the craftsman Fan Li mentioned."

Fan Li knew this was all part of the procedure, so he took the lead and entered. Even though it was the Fan family's villa, it was still a three-courtyard complex, and it took half an hour to walk to the central courtyard.

A group of about thirty ordinary-looking people gathered together, and Fan Li immediately stepped forward to explain.

"Your Majesty, these are all servants of the Fan family. As for my master, he is unwell and has gone to Taiyuan for treatment. However, to express our apologies, we have left 50,000 shi of grain."

Fan Li then pointed to an elderly man who was nearly sixty years old. "Your Majesty, this is the former supervisor of the Datong Firearms Bureau of the Ming Dynasty, who was the best at manufacturing cannons and muskets."

The old man also hurriedly stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I am Wei Cheng!"

Old fox, what kind of recuperation? He's just afraid of being wiped out. But none of that matters. Galdan is only cooperating with and using the Fan family. If he can rise to the top, this kind of family is destined to die by the sword.

As for provisions?

That's all hard-earned money from the people, okay?

Turning to look at Wei Cheng, Galdan could tell from the burns on his neck and face, and the calluses on the web of his right hand, that he was very experienced. He then pulled out a blueprint from his chest.

"I have always been fair in my rewards and punishments. Zhangjiakou will soon be under martial law. I will provide you with enough craftsmen. Once you produce the finished product, the position of Director of the Firearms Department, a fifth-rank official, will be yours!"

This blueprint was drawn by Galdan based on his memories in the Western Regions, but none of the blacksmiths knew how to do it, and instead they wasted a lot of time and fine iron.

The gun was still a flintlock musket, but the barrel length was increased to 1.5 meters, and with the stock it reached 1.8 meters. The muzzle had a groove for attaching and detaching the bayonet, and the whole gun had to be made of fine iron.

In his previous life, Liu Mu had a friend abroad make one. The inspiration was the Ming Dynasty's Lumi Cannon, which had a longer barrel. This increased the amount of gunpowder and allowed it to burn more fully, increasing its power and accuracy. However, to prevent the barrel from exploding, it had to be made of fine iron.

Its effective range is over 200 meters. It cannot penetrate iron-plated cotton armor, but it can cause internal injuries or even death. It has a high probability of penetrating iron-plated cotton armor at 150 meters, and it can penetrate armor 100% within 100 meters.

The downsides are slow reloading and height requirements for soldiers; a 1.5-meter-tall short person definitely can't use it. But Galdan preferred effective range, and the slow reloading was just a matter of loading ammunition. As for short people, there was no shortage of tall men.

Just when Galdan thought that Wei Cheng would need some time to study before he could get a useful answer, he actually showed a confident look.

"Your Majesty, this musket only requires the production of shrapnel to allow the trigger to return to its original position. After that, all that's needed is to replace the match cord with flint and install a flint gate."

"The only obstacle is the length. The previous method of hammering with iron was not tough enough to make the gun barrel. It needs to be formed in one go with a stable drilling tool. Therefore, I suggest that we build a dam on the Qingshui River and use water power to make it possible."

Galdan doubted he had heard correctly.

Didn't the Ming Dynasty only have the technology of drilling holes in bowstrings?

Why do you have water-powered drilling machines?

Thinking of this, Galdan quickly asked!

"Is the device you're talking about a large horizontal box that holds an iron rod at one end and a drill bit at the other, then uses water power to drive gears to rotate the drill bit and continuously drill deep holes?"

In contrast to Galdan's shock, Wei Cheng showed little reaction, appearing rather bewildered.

"Isn't this how it's always been done? For example, after the red-coated cannon was cast, didn't it also need to be polished inside? Without continuous water power, how long would it take to polish it by hand? We had this in the Wanli era of our Great Ming Dynasty!"

Upon hearing the words "Wanli Era of the Ming Dynasty," Wei Cheng instinctively knelt and kowtowed. "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I shouldn't have brought up matters of the previous dynasty; I deserve to die!"

This embarrassed Galdan greatly, so he could only help him up and pat him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'm not the Manchu emperor. You can bring home the memorial tablets of the Wanli Emperor, or even all the emperors of the Ming Dynasty!"

"You will now study this drilling machine and the musket I gave you. Put everything else aside for now. Just tell the soldiers stationed here what you need."

After Galdan finished speaking, he left with his personal guards.

With an army of 100,000 marching south and so many horses, the daily consumption of provisions was astronomical. The most urgent task was to take stock of the harvest before continuing south to Beijing.

Galdan had barely arrived at the government office when Ouyang Jing rushed in, shouting, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, we've struck it rich!"