The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 274 - 240, Form of firearms that appeared centuries earlier

Before long, a group of people entered the Heavenly Master Mansion and followed a side path to arrive at Gongshu Tianyuan’s residence.

That day, Zhao Douan gave a lecture there.

However, this time, they did not meet in that cluttered room, but in a relatively clean small hall.

"Lord," he said, "since our last parting, I have repeatedly pondered over your lecture from that day. The more I think about it, the deeper and more profound it seems..."

Gongshu Tianyuan adopted an eager-to-learn stance.

Zhao Douan cleared his throat and smiled,

"Brother Gongshu, we can discuss these matters some other time."

"Oh! Yes, yes, let’s talk about formal matters first," Gongshu Tianyuan said awkwardly, scratching his head:

"You said you had something to discuss with me?"

Zhao Douan hummed in affirmation, and in a calm and unhurried manner, briefly described the situation.

"Firearms?" the short and plump priest blinked in confusion, then suddenly realized:

"The court did indeed seek me out for this, but firearms are mundane items, not my specialty... Of course, if Lord personally requests, I will assist with all my might."

He then turned to the thin goat-bearded official:

"Explain in detail what specific difficulties you are facing."

Chen Huoshen had barely dared to breathe since he entered, having an instinctive reverence for the priest.

Hearing this inquiry, he could hardly contain his excitement.

He had not expected Zhao Douan’s influence to be so effective, and he promptly spilled out all the technical challenges one by one.

Gongshu Tianyuan listened quietly, pondered for a moment, and then said:

"The issues you mention, I can indeed solve some of them. Many of the tasks that mundane craftsmen cannot manage, I can accomplish with magic.

However... many of your ideas are too fanciful.

The Artisan God, although divine, is not like a temple statue that grants wishes anytime, nowhere near that miraculous, and cannot directly help you perfect the designs of firearms...

Heh, I won’t lie to you; the more creative the field, the less I can help.

The more specific... like, if you want me to control the fire temperature, perfectly cast copper and iron into the desired shapes... those, I can do quite effortlessly..."

Chen Huoshen’s eyes had initially lit up.

But upon hearing the latter part, he couldn’t help but show a look of disappointment.

In short, if the research on firearms is divided into "design" and "casting" parts,

then Gongshu Tianyuan, using the methods of a Magician, can nearly perfectly achieve the "casting."

The accuracy that ordinary craftsmen, constrained by many technical limitations, find difficult to control is just a matter of casting a spell for the priest.

Just like a humanoid machine tool... or rather, a humanoid 3D printer...

But for "design," Gongshu Tianyuan himself also had concerns... otherwise, he wouldn’t have created so many bizarre contraptions.

Unfortunately, what Chen Huoshen most desired was "design" strategies... such as resolving the cumbersome loading of the Fire Gun,

how to ensure the power after making the Fire Gun smaller,

how to maintain accuracy when it’s enlarged, and so on...

This requires not just a flash of brilliance in the mind, a stroke of genius, but also a considerable amount of experimentation to determine the optimal solution.

He had initially pinned his hopes on the "Artisan God" Magician but now felt suddenly disheartened and disappointed.

After all, without a sound design plan, even if the Magician intervened, it would only somewhat improve the casting of the "Fire Gun."

However, the next words of Gongshu Tianyuan made the head of the Firearms Bureau look up in astonishment:

"However... although I can’t help you in this regard, Lord Zhao might be able to."

Gongshu Tianyuan rubbed his hands, looking at Zhao Douan with eager eyes:

"Lord, since you brought him here, you must already have some strategies in mind, right?"

Chen Huoshen stood frozen, not understanding why the other party was asking Master Zhao for advice.

In his eyes, although Zhao Douan knew something about firearms, his knowledge was limited to that.

Zhao Douan, calm and composed, nodded with a smile:

"I indeed have some ideas."

This was his intention all along.

To use the two men present to bring the new firearm designs in his mind into reality.

Chen Gui had extensive experience in firearm manufacture, Gongshu Tianyuan had a genius mind and comprehension, enhancing with Magic.

Together with his own knowledge, verified in another world and the crystallization of countless craftsmen’s wisdom in design schemes, it was perfect.

He might not understand firearms, but that was okay. He just needed to copy the key designs, and the rest would be completed by the two.

"That’s wonderful, I’ll start preparing right away!"

Gongshu Tianyuan, overjoyed, spun around and dashed out like a whirlwind.

Shortly, he returned carrying the small whiteboard from last time, along with the four treasures of the study.

Zhao Douan stood up familiarly, ready to explain.

Chen Huoshen, Qian Kerou, and Hou Renmeng looked on bewildered at this scene.

The latter two were sent out to guard the door.

But Chen Gui, known as the "Firearm God of Great Yu," soon realized what was happening.

Zhao Douan stood in front of the "blackboard" and said:

"As Chen Gui mentioned, the future of firearms should develop in two directions, ’guns’ and ’canons.’ What should their designs be specifically? I have some speculations, and I will share two concepts today."

He wrote two terms on the board:

Matchlock Gun

Red Cannon

Then, Zhao Douan simply hung a large piece of paper on the wall and used a brush to sketch the structure of the "Matchlock Gun" on-site:

The gun, two to three feet long, exterior straight, interior tubed, made of metal;

Interior hollow, sealed at the bottom end;

A curved rod on one side for the ignition path.

It belonged to a type of fire gun, which, in his estimate, was the most suitable small firearm for Great Yu’s current situation.

In his previous life, when he had observed it in a museum, he had been greatly surprised because the "matchlock gun" already resembled a rifle in appearance.

The key structure was a metal hook, one end affixed to the gun, able to rotate around an axis.

The other end held the match cord, and soldiers only needed to push the metal hook into the fire pan with their hands, igniting the black powder to then fire the bullet loaded in the gun barrel.

To kill the enemy.

As for the fire-inducing match cord, it was made from hemp rope or fabric strips treated with a salt solution, essentially serving as a fuse, thus solving the problem of firing speed.

As Zhao Douan explained, Gongshu Tianyuan was alright.

As for Chen Huoshen, he was completely bewildered.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

A short quarter-hour explanation.

This "God of Firearms," who had been obsessed with firearms for most of his life, felt as if his mind had undergone a series of gunpowder bombings.

A casual remark from Zhao Douan, a "structure" sketched on paper at his wrist, fell on his ears like thunderbolts.

It completely overturned the old beliefs of this great national craftsman.

His eyes were nearly bulging out, and he stood up involuntarily.

He didn’t dare blink, fearing he would miss any detail.

In his mind, with his vast experience, he assessed the feasibility of what Zhao Douan had said.

His veins were throbbing, his face flushed.

Feasible.

Feasible.

Still… feasible!

Though untested, the firearm on the white paper closely resembled the design he had envisioned for half his life.

Zhao Douan’s words were like a giant hand parting the fog that shrouded his vision,

Allowing him to polish his eyes and prematurely glimpse the form of firearms that would have developed hundreds of years later in Great Yu’s original timeline.

"Sir, I dare to ask… If this matchlock gun truly works, although it can greatly enhance the firing effect, I fear it still cannot match the ease of bows and arrows on the battlefield…" Chen Huoshen couldn’t help but ask excitedly.

This was the argument Zhao Douan had used to criticize his fire gun before.

Now, it came back like a boomerang.

Zhao Douan just smiled slightly, calmly saying,

"You are right, it’s still too slow, so I designed a method for infantry to use fire guns, called ’three-volley fire.’

It involves dividing the soldiers into three rows, after one row fires, it moves to the back, the second row becomes the first... and so it cycles...

Moreover, if quick bursts of powerful firepower are needed, it could slightly change, making one row kneel on one knee, the second row crouch, the third row stand... this could solve it."

Three-stage rotation... three rows firing together...

Chen Huoshen just visualized it in his mind, then clenched his fists tightly, uncontrollably excited, mumbling:

"Yes, this could work, this could indeed work..."

Zhao Douan smiled slightly, removed the white paper, and replaced it with another.

He began sketching the structure of Red Clothing Cannon while speaking:

"As for cannons, the focuses are different..."

"For cannons, the range is much farther, but precision in landing becomes difficult."

"For this, we need to use some arithmetic methods, to pre-calculate how to adjust the cannon’s muzzle..."

While speaking, he naturally sketched out a coordinate system and a parabola on the paper.

Zhao Douan didn’t know much about this part.

But it didn’t matter; he believed that with Gongshu Tianyuan’s intelligence, he would fill in the gaps himself.

As expected.

When explaining the fire gun, Gongshu Tianyuan was somewhat uninterested.

But upon seeing that parabola, he was startled, his large eyes burning with greed.

He sensed a scent similar to "light."

And Zhao Douan’s following narrative indeed confirmed that this too belonged to the realm of "physics."

…

At the room’s entrance.

Qian Kerou and Hou Renmeng stood with their arms crossed, one on the left and one on the right, like two guardian gods outside.

The round-faced secretary yawned, turning to look at the tightly closed door, vaguely hearing the discussions inside.

Her expression was dejected:

"What do you think the lord is talking about? I can’t understand it."

With a defiant look, Hou Renmeng responded indifferently, chin lifted, justifiably:

"I had less education, do you think I would understand?"

Qian Kerou looked up in admiration:

"How does the lord know so much? Being a scholar in Xiuwen Pavilion and coming to Divine Mechanism Camp, even making ’Chen Huoshen’ his student."

Hou Renmeng thought for a moment, then shook his head:

"Perhaps, that’s just genius."

At that moment, both suddenly looked up, vigilantly surveying ahead.

In the courtyard, the air twisted.

Outlining a petite figure wearing a black priest robe, unfocused eyes, hair splayed behind her head.

Jin Jian cocked her head, somewhat puzzled:

"Has Zhao Douan arrived?"

…

Inside the room.

"The general idea is this; do you have any more questions?"

Zhao Douan dropped the brush, splattering ink.

He asked the two people listening below.