The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

After the hustle and bustle of the morning of the fourth day of the third lunar month, the courtyard where Yang Zhen lived returned to quiet.

Zhang Degui and Yang Shen led all the gunners and artillerymen on the left and right flanks of the artillery unit to gather on the small drill ground to familiarize themselves with the loading, ignition, and firing of the two types of cannons, and to agree on the maximum propellant charge of the breech-loading cannon and the tiger crouching cannon in order to distribute the ammunition.

Zhang Chen, along with the musketeers on the left and right flanks of the musket team, were in the small courtyard next to Yang Zhen's, diligently familiarizing themselves with the structure of the "Rumi musket" and figuring out how to dispense ammunition in fixed quantities.

Yang Zhen, who finally had a moment to lie down and rest, was still awakened from time to time by the banging gunshots coming from the neighboring courtyard.

Meanwhile, Li Lu, along with Pan happy, the adjutant of the grenadier squad, led his men around a large pile of jars and canisters, figuring out how Yang Zhen had taught them to make hand grenades and the safe length of the delayed fuse made with tinder.

That night, Yang Zhen's words seemed to open up a new world for Li Lu. He realized that nails, bullets, gravel, and iron pieces—all these things—could be mixed with gunpowder, placed in a sealed jar, and lit to create such great power.

Their task as grenadiers was to throw these jars filled with gunpowder and lethal materials into the crowd of Tartars.

After a few experiments, the young Li Lu quickly and astutely discovered that Yang Zhen's so-called "hand grenade" was actually not difficult to make. The key to whether the grenadiers could play an important role was the burning speed and safe length of the time-delay fuse made of ignition cord.

A morning passed in the blink of an eye.

For Yang Zhen, it felt like only a blink of an eye; he hadn't even had time to dream before he was shaken awake.

"My lord! Young master! Wake up! Wake up!"

Yang Zhen was forcibly woken up. He was a little dazed and didn't know where he was. After a long while, he saw the ugly face in front of him and gradually realized that he was still in ancient times.

Seeing that ugly face right in front of him, spewing stench, the anger from being forcibly woken up instantly erupted, and he raised his hand and slapped it across the face.

With a "smack," Yang Zhen's right hand struck the left side of the ugly face. The man cried out "Ouch!" and quickly stepped back.

"My lord! Young master! It's me! It's Zhang Guogan! The flintlock gun you mentioned, I've made it! I really made it!"

After arriving in this time and space, every time Yang Zhen woke up from his slumber, it took him a long time to realize where he was. Moreover, he always had a sense of absurdity from the disorientation of time and space, not knowing whether he was Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou.

However, Zhang Guogan's shout this time brought him to his senses instantly; he was still in the twelfth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign!

"What are you yelling about! What are you yelling about?! I just fell asleep and then I heard you making a racket right next to my ear!"

After a few days, Yang Zhen became more and more accustomed to this era, and he became more and more free and unrestrained in dealing with the people around him.

Being too polite to these people around you can make them feel distant, uncomfortable, and unaccustomed to it.

Zhang Guogan was slapped and scolded, but he wasn't angry at all. Instead, he grinned and came over again.

"My lord! Take a look! This thing I made, isn't it what you call a flintlock pistol? I've tested it, it can produce sparks, and I've tested it, it can be lit! — Although it doesn't always light, it always produces sparks!"

As soon as Yang Zhen woke up and sat up on the kang (a heated brick bed), Zhang Guogan handed him the Lumi gun that had been given to him.

"What do you mean by 'not being able to light a fire every time'?!"

Zhang Guogan's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, which Yang Zhen immediately understood. He took the Lumi gun from Zhang Guogan and casually asked, "What do you mean by that?!"

"My lord! Here's the thing! After hearing what you said yesterday, I suddenly understood. I immediately went to the blacksmith's shop and experimented repeatedly, but I found that what you said was incorrect!"

As soon as Zhang Guogan finished speaking, he noticed that Yang Zhen was angry again, and Yang Zhan'ao, who was standing to the side, was also staring at him with wide eyes. He immediately realized that he had let something slip and quickly added:

"What you said, sir, isn't entirely wrong! At the very least, the Lumi gun can be modified into a flintlock breech-loading gun. I've tried it, and it's definitely correct!"

"However, the method of modification is different from what the adults said, and it is exactly the opposite! Striking the dragon head iron on the flint is not as effective as striking the iron block with the flint!"

"When you strike a piece of iron with a dragon's head against a flint, it doesn't always produce sparks! But if you turn it around, it's a different story! The flint is hard, but not as hard as pig iron!"

In fact, while Zhang Guogan was speaking, Yang Zhen had already seen his method of reformation, which was indeed different from what he had described.

Instead of fixing a flint above the fire gate so that the "dragon head iron" could strike the flint directly, an iron block was installed in front of the fire gate.

This piece of cast iron has a unique shape, with two legs at the bottom, like a person riding a horse on the breech of a "Rumi gun". The two large iron plates "embrace" the breech, and are connected by several rivets at the bottom.

"Sir! Look here! Make the mouth of the dragon head iron bigger! Just stuff the flint into the dragon's mouth! Pull the trigger below, and the flint on the dragon head iron will strike the cast iron in front of the fire gate. Sparks will fly every time! But—"

"But what?!"

Yang Zhen looked at the modifications Zhang Guogan had made. Compared to his own method, although there was one more modification required, it was actually simpler and easier to implement.

Once the three-pronged iron plate that sits on the breech is mass-produced, other Lumi guns, and even other matchlock guns, can be quickly converted into simple flintlock muskets without much effort.

Yang Zheng was just fantasizing about large-scale modifications when he heard Zhang Guogan finish his sentence, as if there was something amiss. He immediately asked, "But what!?"

"However, even after this modification, although sparks can be generated every time, it doesn't always ignite the ignition powder inside the fuse box! And, and—"

"Zhang Guogan, can you just say what you mean clearly? Weren't you usually so eloquent? Why have you become so hesitant and rambling?!"

"It's like this, sir! Last night, after figuring out the modification method with the two blacksmiths, I made the modifications. Then this morning, I repeatedly tested it—although I could produce sparks every time, I couldn't ignite the ignition powder six or seven times out of ten! The number of times it lit was too few! So, I don't know whether it's a success or a failure!"

"So where do you think the problem lies?! Didn't you claim to be the best in the advance unit when it comes to firearms expertise?!"

Yang Zhen spoke to Zhang Guogan without holding back at all.

Because he knew that Zhang Guogan was the kind of person who would take advantage of anyone who showed him the slightest disrespect.

"In my opinion, the problem lies with the ignition source! We need to develop ignition sources that can be ignited by the slightest spark! Otherwise, after this modification, it would be safer to use a matchlock!"

"So, do you think we should prepare some more easily ignitable kindling, or simply stick with the old matchlock?"

Yang Zhen already knew that Zhang Guogan's reform method was feasible.

As for the new ignition source, he already had plans and arrangements, so he looked at Zhang Guogan with a half-smile, wanting to see what his judgment was like.

"My lord! Young master! Could you please stop testing me? I need to go back and think this over carefully before making a decision!"

Zhang Guogan seemed to realize Yang Zhen's intentions, and with a mournful expression on his half-disfigured face, he said, "This humble servant didn't know that you, sir, were also proficient in firearms, so I liked to boast and exaggerate in front of you. However, this humble servant will never dare to do so again!"

"I've already arranged for someone to handle the preparation of the new type of ignition powder! You don't need to worry about it!"

Yang Zhen's mood improved considerably, and he didn't want to further criticize Zhang Guogan, lest he hurt his pride and arrogance. Therefore, after saying that, he continued:

"As for the modifications you made this time, I think they were successful! Go to that blacksmith shop now and have them make a batch of these three-headed iron horses in the riding style according to your method! Don't worry about the cost, I'll make the replacements for you later!"

"Also, take a look at that blacksmith shop. If they have any shovels ready-made, buy them all! If not, have them find someone to forge them today! We still have some warhorses in our camp, right? If we really don't have enough silver, sell them all! You can even exchange them directly for them!"

At this point, Yang Zhen paused for a moment, then dipped his finger in saliva and drew the shape of a modern-day pointed flat shovel on the kang table. Pointing at it, he said to Zhang Guogan, "If they don't have one ready-made, draw it for them and make one quickly, just like this!"

Although Zhang Guogan didn't know what Yang Zhen was up to, seeing that Yang Zhen didn't even want the few warhorses in the camp, but instead wanted this, he didn't dare to ask any more questions, readily agreed, and turned to leave.

At this moment, Yang Zhen called him back, stared at him, and said to him, word by word, "We must set off at dusk today! If there's not enough time—take those two blacksmiths with you!"

Hearing Yang Zhen casually say such a thing, even Zhang Guogan, who was born with a carefree personality, felt a jolt in his heart, but he still didn't say anything.

In his opinion, the only one to blame was those two blacksmiths who were too capable; they deserved their bad luck.

Zhang Guogan thought this to himself, but replied aloud, "I understand! I understand!"