Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

Li Shimin was not kept waiting long when the voice from the sky rang out again.

The invention of gunpowder completely changed the rules of warfare.

Even heavily armored knights fear a barrage of musket fire; fortified castles are no match for red-coated cannons.

Firearms underwent a long development process, from the earliest matchlock guns to the modern breech-loading guns, marking the rapid end of the era of cold weapons.

The scene shifts to a vast plain where two armies stand in distinct formations.

Countless soldiers in red uniforms, lined up in neat rows, slowly approached the enemy.

As the commander swung his saber, the front-line soldiers pulled their triggers in unison.

The gun muzzle spat out dazzling flames, and thick white smoke billowed up, obscuring half the battlefield.

On the open ground between the two armies, corpses piled up higher and higher, and blood stained the entire grassland red.

Zoom out and get a direct view of the rolling waves of the ocean.

The massive sailing warships were linked end to end, resembling mobile sea fortresses.

Hundreds of cannons on the sides fired in unison, the enormous recoil causing the entire warship to tremble violently.

Amidst a deafening roar, solid iron projectiles blasted the sea surface, sending towering columns of water shooting into the sky.

Wow!

Throughout the land, from emperors and generals to commoners and laborers, everyone was stunned into silence.

It's not unusual for people to die; there were plenty of dead people in ancient times.

What's truly chilling is the change in the mode of warfare.

Can a person be killed from a hundred paces away?

Is the martial arts skill that you painstakingly honed, and even the strength that you were so proud of, still of any use?

Many emperors and generals immediately realized this and felt the oppressive atmosphere of an impending storm.

Among them, Emperor Qianlong's reaction was the most intense.

While others were still in awe of the cannon's power, he had already recognized the ship's design!

This is clearly a ship belonging to Western barbarians!

The sailing warships on the sky looked exactly like the foreign ships docked at the port of Guangzhou.

Thinking back to the red-clad soldiers he had just seen, Qianlong's expression turned extremely ugly.

Emperor Qianlong was not an ignorant monarch; he vigorously promoted the Zanbarak firearm in order to enhance the army's combat effectiveness.

But he never expected that the Westerners had developed firearms to such an extent!

If one day, these warships sail to Dagu Port in Tianjin...

"Wait a minute, why are these Westerners so rich?"

"How much money would it cost to maintain so many soldiers and build so many ships?"

When Emperor Qianlong saw the densely packed warships, he suddenly noticed a problem.

How much silver would it cost to build a warship like this?

A ship with hundreds of cannons would require an astronomical amount of copper and iron just to cast the cannons.

They not only built one ship, but also filled the sky with them!

The Qing Dynasty had a population of 400 million, and taxes increased year by year, but building such a fleet was still something they dared not even dream of.

What right do those tiny Western barbarians have?

"Heshen".

Heshen trembled and knelt down with a thud: "This servant is here."

"By imperial decree, the Thirteen Factories of Guangzhou shall immediately collect and compile reports on trade, taxation, and public sentiment from Western countries."

"Find a few more merchants who have done business with Westerners and bring them to the capital immediately. I want to question them personally!"

"Yes, sir!"

Emperor Qianlong sat down again, gripping the armrests of the dragon throne tightly, his eyes fixed on the sky.

He wanted to figure out exactly how these Westerners made their money!

The development of firearms took a very long time. The world's first rod-type firearm appeared in the Southern Song Dynasty and was officially called a bamboo tube fire lance.

[By placing gunpowder and pebbles inside a bamboo tube, igniting it, and then firing it to kill or wound the enemy, this was the first recorded use of a firearm in human history.]

"Is it finally my Song Dynasty's turn?"

Inside the Bianjing Imperial Palace, Zhao Kuangyin suddenly stood up, his face beaming with barely suppressed joy.

Since the appearance of the celestial curtain, the Qin, Han, Tang, Ming, and Qing dynasties have been named one by one, with both praise and criticism, making for quite a lively scene.

Song was the only exception, and he hardly mentioned her at all, which made Zhao Kuangyin feel very bitter.

The act of being forced to wear the imperial robe was indeed somewhat dishonorable, but at least no blood was shed.

But if Tianmu were to bring this up again, where would Zhao Kuangyin's face be?

But now—

Firearms! The world's first firearm was invented in my Song Dynasty!

Even if the Han and Tang dynasties were powerful and their martial arts were superb, they still couldn't come up with this thing, right?

Looking at the simple bamboo tube in the sky, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but curl his lip: "Made of bamboo? What good is that? Don't you see that immortals use iron?"

"Zhao Pu, write this down and have the Ordnance Bureau forge it into iron pipes using refined steel."

Zhao Pu quickly pulled out a charcoal pencil to take notes, and then added, "Your Majesty is wise, but this gunpowder formula..."

"Since it appeared in the Song Dynasty, it means that the formula must have already been developed, and the Imperial Arsenal must have been working on it day and night."

"If they can't figure it out, I'll cut off their heads!"

Zhao Kuangyin was in a very good mood, pacing around the main hall with his hands behind his back.

As long as the Song Dynasty possesses such a divine weapon, it will be able to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun sooner or later, and it is not impossible for them to wipe out the Khitans!

But as he was laughing, a sudden thought struck him.

He was so excited that he overlooked a word: Tianmu had said "Southern Song Dynasty".

He founded the Song Dynasty, with its capital in Kaifeng.

Southern Song Dynasty—where is "south"? Did they move the capital?

If we move the capital south, wouldn't we lose the north?

The land that Shi Jingtang, that spineless bastard, ceded away, he still hasn't taken back.

If future generations can't even defend Kaifeng...

Zhao Kuangyin's face fell as he pondered what exactly went wrong.

The large-scale use of firearms did not begin until the late Yuan Dynasty, during the great battle between Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang.

Historical records state: "Cannon fire filled the sky, and the river boiled. This was the first large-scale use of firearms in human history."

However, the drawbacks of firearms during this period were also obvious: slow reloading and limited range, meaning they were not entirely superior to cavalry.

Qi Jiguang of the Ming Dynasty once said in his "True Records of Military Training": "The arquebus is far superior to the bow and crossbow. However, it takes longer to load than the bow and arrow."

"snort!"

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his head away, still wearing that sour face, but he couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth.

That sky screen does have some sense!

For the first time in human history—what weight does this statement carry? What does it mean?

The Han Dynasty had its cavalry at its peak, while the Tang Dynasty had the Xuanjia armored cavalry.

But when it comes to firearms—I'm sorry, everyone, the Ming Dynasty was the true pioneer!

Old Zhu felt much better and his tone became more casual.

"Biao'er, did you hear me?"

Zhu Biao suppressed a laugh and bowed respectfully: "Your subject heard you."

"Hmm." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and then put it down heavily.

"In that battle, we had 600,000 against 200,000, and we won."

He said it casually, but none of his sons could tell that Old Zhu was deliberately showing off.

Zhu Gang whispered to Zhu Di, "Look at Father, he's practically strutting around like a madman."

"Third brother, keep your voice down, Father can hear you." Zhu Di nudged him with his elbow.

Zhu Yuanzhang heard it, but unusually, he did not react.

While Pig Trotter's previous schemes were certainly despicable, he has finally turned the tables—letting the whole world know about his achievements!

The value of a divine certification is far greater than what historians write in books!

"Fine, let's pretend we didn't hear about that mess with the pig's trotters!"