Colonial Era: From Remnants to European Dominator

"This gun is usable, but the barrel is a bit worn and needs to be re-sharpened."

"And this one also has a problem. Based on my twenty years of experience repairing artillery, I'm afraid the powder bath and anvil are broken, which is why the gunpowder got damp and it won't ignite no matter how I fire it."

"Of these forty guns, at most twenty can be repaired. The rest will probably need to be melted down and recast, or at the very least, the barrels will need to be replaced."

Wang Jingui, his hair turning gray, looked at the muskets in front of him and said to Li Yuanheng with some difficulty:

"The workers in this workshop are all cannon repairmen. If you want to repair them all, you need to practice for a while longer, otherwise it won't be that fast."

Li Yuanheng picked up a pre-repaired musket and examined it closely. When he saw the "Rakshasa script" on it, he asked Wang Jingui with some curiosity:

"The guns were originally bought from the Dzungar Khanate, so how come they're Russian-made? Does that mean the Dzungar Khanate can't manufacture firearms either?"

"Young Master, when we bought these guns, it wasn't that the Dzungars didn't have guns, but rather that they didn't have enough for themselves. That's why they used some connections with itinerant merchants to get these Russian goods. Even among the cannons in our manor, there are three Russian cannons, but the quality was really too poor, so a few years ago we simply melted them all down and made them into new cannons."

When Wang Jingui mentioned "the cannons of the Rakshasa Kingdom," his face was full of disdain. After all, among the dozen or so cannons hidden in Jinshan Prefecture that were usually used for city defense, the cannons from the Rakshasa Kingdom were of the worst quality. When used for training, the number of shots fired was at least one-third less than other cannons, and the barrels were prone to cracking. Not to mention, he had repaired them at least seven times in the past twenty years. In the end, he had no choice but to melt them down and recast them himself. Otherwise, Jinshan Prefecture would hardly need cannons now, and it would not need to add even one cannon for decades.

Li Yuanheng looked down at the musket in his hand with the Rakshasa script written on it, and suddenly remembered that this batch of muskets was placed at the very bottom. At the time, he wondered why this batch was placed so deep, but he hadn't had time to check it before it was sent to the newly formed Eagle Division Third Team. It wasn't until he came to inspect the repair work today that he discovered the reason behind it.

"Master Wang is diligently guiding these apprentices in learning and researching the repair and even forging methods of firearms. Tomorrow I will have someone send some more silver ingots. After purchasing materials and distributing rewards, I hope to use the rest to recruit more apprentices and expand the scale of the entire fire workshop."

When Wang Jingui heard about the expansion plan, he felt a headache coming on.

"Young master, raising an apprentice is not like growing vegetables or flowers; it requires years of dedicated effort—"

"It won't take years, just two or three months at most."

"Two or three months, young sir, don't joke with this old man. I'm not very clear about making guns yet, but the process of casting cannons involves everything from smelting iron, casting molds, engraving rifling, to the final casting, and even air drying. Each step is easy, just like learning carpentry in the countryside. You definitely can't become a master without three years of practice."

Wang Jingui felt that Li Yuanheng in front of him was joking with him. After all, where in this world is there a skill that can be learned in two or three months? If there were, it would probably be a rough job like making shoes or weaving baskets.

Such delicate work is completely out of their league!

Feeling the distrustful yet slightly angry gaze from across the room, Li Yuanheng not only didn't get angry, but instead pointed at the workers who were still working and laughed:

"How did Master Wang initially teach his apprentices, and how did they graduate?"

Although Wang Jingui didn't understand what this meant, he still answered:

"Naturally, it starts with the simplest blacksmithing, then pouring, engraving rifling, and finally casting and air drying. Each of these steps takes several months to learn."

Perhaps fearing that Li Yuanheng still harbored those somewhat wishful thoughts, Wang Jingui explained again what the trouble and hardship of casting cannons meant:

"These apprentices have to get up before dawn to break stones and hone their strength. Then they have to learn how to draw and carve. It's really exhausting!"

Seeing Wang Jingui's rambling admonitions, Li Yuanheng became even more enthusiastic, grasping the other's rough, old hand and feeling the surprise in his eyes as he spoke:

"Master Wang, since there are so many steps involved, wouldn't it be much easier to just separate them into a single, clean process?"

"Let's divide it cleanly----"

Wang Jingui was taken aback at first, then his right hand, which was being held, suddenly trembled. His gaze, which met Li Yuanheng's, suddenly turned into an unprecedented mix of "fear" and "enlightenment." Even his tone of voice became respectful and surprised.

"Young master wants to divide this enormous process into multiple batches of apprentices, so that the final batch can finish casting. No, even the air-drying step can be separated. In this way, how can we worry about speed? How can we worry about the flourishing of firearms?!"

At this moment, Wang Jingui looked at Li Yuanheng with even more admiration. Others might not understand the power of this simple process of streamlining, but as a veteran craftsman with decades of experience and dozens of apprentices under his supervision, he saw its power at a glance.

This simple diversion alone can increase efficiency by three to five times. If the number of people is expanded in the future, or even to an unimaginable extent, the whole world will probably have to use the firearms made by their fire workshop.

Thinking of this, Wang Jingui's gaze towards Li Yuanheng gradually changed from admiration to a mentor-student relationship, and even to worship.

The more Wang Jingui looked at him like that, the more embarrassed Li Yuanheng became. After all, "assembly line" was something that almost every factory in the future had. He was just imitating it and, after transmigrating to this day, he was doing the work of a "clerk" for the first time.

"Master Wang, don't forget, this method is good, but the quality of the equipment and the apprentices is what really matters. If there's only speed but no quality—"

As the saying goes, a wise man only speaks half of what he means. Wang Jingui, who has stood firm in this fire-making workshop for decades and has managed to gather so many apprentices and followers, is naturally a wise man. Before Li Yuanheng could finish speaking, he interrupted him with a heavy tone and a resolute expression:

"Starting with me, every step of the production process has a register of craftsmen. If anything goes wrong, the craftsman will be executed, and I will also be guilty of condoning negligence!!"

"Now, young master, can you rest assured?"

Meeting that intense gaze, Li Yuanheng could clearly feel the dignity emanating from the other man's chest, a dignity called "craftsmanship."

"Upon returning, I reported to the Prefect, who immediately allocated funds to expand the workshop, construct new facilities, research new machinery, and even recruit apprentices."

"As for my money, that's included too. The extra amount can be considered a reward for Master Wang and his colleagues. We can use it to buy some wine and meat to celebrate, or take it home to our parents."

Wang Jingui took a deep breath and bowed to Li Yuanheng:

"Young Master is kind and righteous, we will work hard to build a better future for you and will never let down Lord Prefect and Young Master's good intentions and affection."