The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 271 - 237, "Fabricated Charges" and the Era of Obsolete Firearms (Two in One)_3

"However, remember not to get involved in this matter in any way, and don’t even think about doing anything."

Li Yinglong let out a long sigh of relief and smiled:

"Father instructed me well. I will be sure to keep a close eye on him."

...

Unlike the top ministers in the court, who were curious and attentive to Zhao Douan’s actions,

they each speculated and conjectured about the purpose behind Zhao Douan’s actions, and whether there was any conspiracy.

The majority of ordinary officials, not knowing the inside story, seemed to take pleasure in others’ misfortune and watched the drama unfold.

They attributed Zhao Douan’s actions to him getting carried away!

Some officials, considering themselves clever, confidently concluded in private:

"Zhao Douan has been used by the Empress as a pawn to clean up the military officer group.

However, a favored minister, when compared to the entirety of the military officers, which is more important, could not be more obvious.

"That Zhao guy is riding high now, daring to offend anyone, but he will pay for it sooner or later... Those martial artists are not easy to deal with, different from the civil officials. If you offend them to death, there will be trouble ahead for him."

Yet, these discussions coming from the group of civil officials weren’t given any mind by the person involved.

...

A night without words.

The following day.

When Zhao Douan once again arrived at the Divine Mechanism Camp, he distinctly felt the change in the atmosphere within the camp.

The military officers and soldiers he passed along the way looked at him sideways, their eyes filled with respect, and... an indescribable resistance.

"My lord, we have investigated the situation in the camp."

In the office belonging to Zhao Douan, shortly after he sat down, Qian Kerou and Hou Renmeng reported with anxious expressions,

"Oh? What’s the situation?" Zhao Douan sat relaxed in the large chair, hands folded, and asked.

Qian Kerou said with worry:

"The dismissal of Tang Ping and the others initially caused some turbulence, but it was quickly suppressed by Shi Meng.

Now, there doesn’t seem to be any trouble. The dismissed officers were replaced by their deputies, but... it’s being rumored in the ranks that they lost their positions because they offended you."

Hou Renmeng, crossing his arms, said:

"To be precise, it’s not just the Divine Mechanism Camp, but also other parts of the Capital Camp.

However, in the Divine Mechanism Camp, there is still more fear and respect for you than other sentiments... Originally, your archery demonstration in the training ground yesterday changed the impression of many soldiers. But... now, I’m afraid..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear:

The entirety of the Divine Mechanism Camp held widespread dissatisfaction with the newly appointed Commander.

Yet, they smiled through gritted teeth out of respect for authority.

"Understood, I know,"

Zhao Douan’s expression showed no surprise, as if every change was within his expectations.

After briefly inquiring about the situation, he also didn’t continue on this topic, but instead said:

"Go and get all the documents pertaining to firearms in the Divine Mechanism Camp for me to see. I want specific details."

The two looked at each other and, after confirming, turned to retrieve the documents.

Soon after, a pile of documents was delivered to Zhao Douan’s desk.

With his high-ranking position, second only to Shi Meng, he could nearly review any document of the Divine Mechanism Camp.

Zhao Douan certainly didn’t forget that his task was to investigate the case.

On his first day at the Divine Mechanism Camp, he eliminated those who tried to intimidate him, establishing authority through a display of force, securing his position.

Then, on the second day, he should start the investigation.

Since the core of the original case involved firearm documents, as well as the disappearance of the associated craftsmen, naturally... he ought to start there.

The Imperial Court and the Privy Council had checked several times, and Zhao Douan wasn’t so arrogant as to assume that he would discover any clues upon his first attempt.

His desire to see the firearm documents was merely to understand the situation in the camp first.

However, when he had roughly flipped through the documents once, Zhao Douan slowly raised a question mark above his head.

He lifted his head, staring seriously at his two subordinates:

"Is this all?"

The secretary, taken aback, shook his head:

"The key details about the camp are all here. Does the lord want more trivial matters?"

"No," Zhao Douan said with a serious expression, pointing to the paper on the table,

"what I mean is, are these the only kinds of firearms in the camp?"

The two became even more perplexed. Hou Renmeng nodded and said:

"Yes, I’ve also seen them, indeed that’s all there is. Is there a problem?"

Zhao Douan was silent.

A problem? Of course, there was a big problem!

Previously, his imagination of the Divine Mechanism Camp had been roughly aligned with the historical conditions of the Ming and Qing periods.

However, through the review of the camp’s documents, he was shocked to find that the Great Yu Dynasty’s firearms were embarrassingly primitive!

Were there firearms? Yes.

But, they were only up to the level of "rockets" and "cannons"!

Do not misunderstand.

The so-called "rockets" involved strapping gunpowder onto arrows and shooting them to cause damage—this was also why in the Divine Mechanism Camp’s military exercises, archery was valued.

And the "cannons", though the name sounded intimidating, were essentially catapults, only they launched "explosive packs" instead of stones.

The most advanced firearm of the Divine Mechanism Camp had finally come close to the edge of the Ming and Qing era.

It was named the "Fire Gun".

But it wasn’t the prototype of future firearms that Zhao Douan had imagined; rather, it was a type of barrel-like object that had to be hoisted on the shoulder, with gunpowder at the bottom and "bullets" stuffed in front.

The so-called bullets could be a bundle of arrows, utilizing the propulsion of gunpowder to launch ten arrows at once.

Or, they could simply be iron pellets.

What Prince Jing Mansion had stolen were the design drawings of the "Fire Gun" and the craftsman who manufactured it.

And this "Fire Gun" was a "new style firearm" that Great Yu had perfected and produced only in recent years.

This also finally explained why the soldiers of the Divine Mechanism Camp were seen practicing with spears instead of firearms.

It explained why Commander Shi didn’t immediately catch on when Zhao Douan mentioned "firearms".

Because this "Divine Mechanism Camp" was, in essence, a garrison that focused primarily on infantry and cavalry, with firearms as a supplementary force.

The firearms of the Great Yu Dynasty were not absent, but they were far from "developed", roughly equivalent to the level of the Song Dynasty.

The "fire lances" that Zhao Douan was familiar with—the kind that was a precursor to the musket...did not appear!

The famed Divine Fire Flying Crow... did not appear!

The even more renowned red-clothed cannon... did not appear!

As for the reason, it was quite simple—too long a period of peace!

Great Yu had a dynasty that lasted six hundred years, and although there were small-scale battles from time to time, there were virtually no large-scale wars.

This led to a lack of any strong demand to develop firearms... resulting in slow progress in the entire technology tree.

...

"My lord?"

In the room, Qian Kerou and Hou Renmeng saw him lost in thought for a long time.

Unable to help themselves, they called out softly.

Zhao Douan suddenly snapped back to reality, his eyes slightly bright, his heartbeat thundering in his chest, and he abruptly said:

"Please ask Commander Shi to come over, I have something to discuss with him."

The two didn’t understand why, but Hou Renmeng nodded and went out.

Qian Kerou stayed behind, her curiosity getting the better of her, and she asked:

"My lord, have you found a clue?"

Zhao Douan remained silent, his expression odd.

Clues? None.

Th𝓮 most uptodate nov𝑒ls are publish𝒆d on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

But...

He suddenly realized that the clues were no longer important.

Because he had something more important to do.

If Prince Jing Mansion went to great lengths to steal nothing more than the "Fire Gun", which was a primitive contraption... then...

What if I introduced more advanced firearms? What would you do?

...

ps: The author went out to run errands today, returned late, and encountered some writer’s block, hence the late update. Scrambling away with my tail between my legs. This chapter is five thousand words.