Lord: My Shop Connects to Modern Times

Back at the lord's manor, Lynn looked at the shop in front of him.

[Popularity score: 23627]

Since replacing all those massive amounts of consumables with domestically produced goods, public opinion has been steadily increasing almost every day.

In just about a month, the public opinion poll has exceeded 2!

If it weren't for medicines and some irreplaceable supplies (such as ice cream and textbooks) that Lynn needed to constantly replenish with the exchange shop, he estimated that the number could be even higher.

But Lynn doesn't regret paying for the residents' daily necessities, because the higher the residents' happiness index, the faster the public opinion value increases.

Most importantly, seeing his people eating well, dressing well, and using good things filled Lynn with a great sense of accomplishment.

After confirming the large sum of money once again, Lynn composed himself and began to carefully browse the items in the store.

The most urgent task is to prepare a backup plan in case Count Karl suddenly launches an attack; Lynn feels that this timeframe won't be too long.

Lynn quickly browsed the store's dazzling array of items, her gaze sweeping over the familiar options.

[Thompson submachine gun: 6200 public opinion rating]

[Maxim Heavy Machine Gun: 28500 Popularity Points]

Finished weapons are still ridiculously expensive.

A single rifle from World War II costs seven or eight thousand points, enough to support his entire musketeer squad for half a year.

Heavy machine guns are great stuff, but the price...

Lynn glanced at her balance of 23,000, twitched her lips, and silently looked away.

Oh well, I'll just watch it to satisfy my craving.

He continued flipping through the pages, skipping over the expensive items.

What he's looking for now is something that can overwhelmingly change the course of the battle without requiring too many people.

It can't be too expensive! It can't be too high-tech! Otherwise, we can't manufacture it!

Following this standard, Lynn carefully browsed through the materials and finally found what she was looking for.

Light Field Gun (6 lb) Design Blueprints: 4200 Popularity Points

[Complete set of blueprints for light field gun carriage, ammunition box, and towing device: 5800 public opinion points]

[Shrapnel Grenade Manufacturing Process: 3100 Public Opinion Points]

Standardized production process for solid shot/shotgun shells: 1900 public opinion points

artillery!

This is it!

Lynn nodded secretly.

No matter how powerful a musket is, it is still a weapon used by individual soldiers.

Killing dozens of people in a single volley is already considered a brilliant achievement.

The key issue is the limitations of flintlock muskets, an ancient weapon. They are not as easy to use as fully automatic rifles, which allow for a "mowing down enemies" experience.

But artillery is different.

One cannon, one shot, can mow down a whole swath. One solid shot can penetrate an entire formation. If equipped with shrapnel, it can explode above the enemy's heads, raining down steel balls and fragments.

While the triple-bow ballista could break through enemy lines, in terms of practicality and power, it was like a grandson meeting his grandfather compared to this field artillery.

This thing is the real "battlefield bulldozer".

Lynn's finger hovered over the [Light Field Artillery Design Blueprint], but he didn't click on it immediately.

He calmed down and thought about it for a moment.

6-pounder gun – what does this caliber mean?

The cannon weighs approximately four to five hundred kilograms, and with the carriage included, it would probably require two horses to pull it.

Its mobility isn't great, but it's much better than a fixed turret.

Range? Solid shot should be able to reach 800 to 1000 meters, while shotgun shells have an effective range of about 300 meters.

These are all data points compared to modern rifles from his previous life. As a man on Earth in his previous life, Lynn had read quite a bit of military-related online knowledge.

"That's good enough," Lynn concluded.

He was familiar with the terrain around Gray Rock Town; there were no steep mountains, only gentle slopes and plains.

Even the entire Southern Territory, except for the mountainous area around Rock Fortress, is mostly plains.

In this terrain, artillery can exert its maximum power.

Lynn even considered that, if conditions allowed, he planned to push the front line forward and take the initiative to attack.

He had no intention of having a proper talk with this enemy who was keeping a close eye on him.

Truth is range, caliber is justice!

Lynn still vividly remembered this famous quote from his past life.

When the time comes, set up the artillery on the position, and wait for them to enter range—one volley, and the cavalry will collapse; two volleys, and the infantry will scatter; three volleys…

Lynn imagined the scene and a slight smile appeared on her lips.

But he quickly suppressed his smile, after all, ideals are lofty but reality is harsh, and he had quite a few practical issues to consider.

First of all, artillery is not something that can be built simply by having blueprints.

The cannon barrel needs to be made of cast iron or bronze. The iron ore in Ironstone Fortress is of average grade. Will the iron produced be hard enough? Tough enough? Will it explode?

The gun carriage requires the cooperation of carpenters and ironworkers; the wheels must be able to withstand bumps; and the traction device must be simple and reliable.

Hal and Thorin can do these things, but it will take time.

There is still ammunition.

Solid bullets are simple; cast iron balls will suffice.

Shotgun shells are a bit more complicated—the tin can is filled with lead pellets, black powder is used as the propellant, and the fuse must be timed carefully.

Shrapnel grenades are more complex; they need to explode in mid-air...

Lynn took a deep breath.

There are many problems, but they are not unsolvable.

He ran his finger over the options: light field gun (6-pounder) design drawings, standardized production process for solid shot/shot cannons, and simple gun carriage and towing device design drawings.

Total price: 7300 public opinion points.

Lynn hesitated for a moment, then added another item:

[Artillery Safety Operation and Maintenance Manual: 800 Public Opinion Points]

8100 points.

He gritted his teeth and chose to redeem.

A flash of white light appeared before my eyes, and four thick booklets and a stack of drawings appeared on the desk.

Lynn picked up the top book, "Design Blueprints for Light Field Guns"—the cover was made of cardboard and the binding was exquisite. The first page contained a cross-sectional view of the gun barrel, with each dimension clearly marked.

Barrel length: 1.2 meters

Caliber: 92mm

Cannon weight: 450 kg

Material requirements: High-strength cast iron or bronze

Chamber pressure upper limit:......

Lynn turned the pages one by one, growing more and more alarmed with each reading.

This thing is more complicated than he imagined.

The cannon barrel is not a simple iron pipe, but has a strict internal bore shape.

The gun body has trunnions for connecting to the gun carriage. It has a front sight at the muzzle and a sighting device at the breech.

There are also design drawings for the gun carriage: two large wheels, a tow bar, and the gun body can be adjusted up and down, and the gun carriage can be pushed and pulled by manpower to turn left and right.

After reading it, Lynn remained silent for a few seconds. He wasn't sure if the current technology level of Grayrock Town was sufficient to build it for him, but he had to give it a try.

Lynn closed the blueprints and got up to walk towards the workshop area.

He was making plans the whole way.

Artillery sounds simple, but building it is a completely different story.

In those time-travel novels from my past life, the protagonists would casually unleash dozens of cannons to sweep across the land, as if cannons were free.

But Lynn knew that with the current technology level in Grayrock Town, being able to build even one cannon that actually works would be considered a stroke of good luck.

However, everything is difficult at the beginning, and once you start, you'll start again, so the first shot is the most crucial.

He went to Evan's lab first.

Pushing open the door, a mixture of smells of saltpeter and sulfur hit me. Ivan was hunched over the table, scribbling and drawing on a pile of bottles and jars, and only looked up when he heard footsteps.

"grown ups?"

Lynn placed the "Standardized Production Process for Solid Shot/Shotgun Shells" in his hand on his desk.

Evan looked down at the cover, then looked up at Lynn, his eyes filled with doubt.

"This is... an ammunition formula?"

"Yes." Lynn sat down opposite him. "But not for muskets."

Evan turned to the first page, read a few lines, and his eyes slowly widened.

"Sir, this... a metal shell filled with lead pellets? Propelled by gunpowder? Exploding in mid-air? How big of a weapon is that?"

Evan was a little stunned. What new thing had the lord come up with this time?

"Can it be built?"

Ivan was silent for a few seconds, his fingers gently stroking the paper.

"Lead pellets are easy to make; just cast a few molds." He slowed his speech, frowned, and turned to the next few pages.

The following section details the shotgun shell manufacturing process, including aspects such as sealing, sheet metal thickness, and fuse...

The lord's request is a bit more difficult than I imagined, but it's not impossible.

"The iron casing is a bit more troublesome; we'll have Hal help with forging it. It needs to be thin and airtight. The fuse... I know how to make the fuse by soaking paper wicks in gunpowder and coating them with gunpowder powder. But the timing has to be precise; if the gunpowder explodes too early, it'll blow up our own people; if it explodes too late, it won't be effective..."

Ivan muttered to himself as he pondered.

"My lord, there shouldn't be any problems with building it." In the end, Ivan nodded.

"Okay," Lynn said. "You can ask the city for anything you need. Just ask Martha directly."

Evan nodded and carefully placed the booklet into the drawer.

"Also," Lynn stood up, "we need to double our gunpowder reserves. We'll need them soon."

Evan paused for a moment, wanting to ask something, but seeing Lynn's expression, he swallowed his words.

"Understood."

Lynn left the laboratory, walked through the artisan district, and entered Hal's blacksmith shop.

The blacksmith shop has since been expanded, and the place is now bustling with activity. Seven or eight apprentices are taking turns operating the huge bellows, and the furnace fire is burning white.

Hal stood in front of the anvil, holding a hammer, and struck a red-hot iron bar again and again.

"Hal".

Hal looked up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, put down the hammer, and walked over.

"grown ups."

Lynn handed him the "Design Drawings of Light Field Gun" and the "Design Drawings of Simple Gun Mount and Towing Device".

Hal took it, turned to the first page, looked at it for a few seconds, and then frowned.

"What...what is this?"

"This is called a cannon," Lynn said.

Hal raised his eyebrows even higher, using words he had never heard before.

He flipped through a few pages and saw the complex cross-sectional diagrams and densely packed dimensions. His expression changed from puzzled to serious.

"Sir, this thing..."

He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts.

"I can work with the carpenter on the gun carriage at the back, but the gun barrel you requested..." He pointed to the long pipe on the drawing:

"It has to be cast as a whole, and there can't be any air bubbles or sand holes in the middle, otherwise it will explode when blasted."

Lynn nodded. Of course he knew that.

"Can you do it?"

Hal was silent for a few seconds.

"I can do it," he said, but his tone lacked confidence.

"However, we can't guarantee success on the first try. Let's cast a smaller one first, with less explosive material to test it. If it explodes, we'll see if the problem is with the iron or the casting method."

He paused, then looked up at Lynn: "Is this thing in a hurry?"

Lynn thought for a moment: "It's not urgent, but it should be done as soon as possible."

Hal nodded, then looked down at the blueprints again.

"Alright, sir, I understand. I'll go talk to the carpenter in town tomorrow and have the cannon mount made first."

"Okay, you take care of these two things. Come find me when you've finished the first version."

"Yes, sir."

After giving his instructions, Lynn left Hal's blacksmith shop, leaving behind the cannon's safety manual before he left.

……

By the time Lynn turned back, it was almost dark.

His mind was still racing—Ivan's ammunition, Hal's cannon barrels, the gun carriage.

Problems can occur at any stage, and each stage requires repeated trial and error.

But at least it has begun.

Lynn suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

A few months ago, most people in the territory were still struggling to survive in their own corners, but now, they have already started building cannons.

He suddenly remembered the heavy machine gun in the exchange shop, which cost him a whopping 28500 public opinion points.

If this artillery trial production goes smoothly, perhaps next time...

Forget it, I won't think that far ahead.

We must take things one step at a time, and climb the tree of technology one step at a time.

Lynn withdrew his gaze and walked towards the lord's manor.