gnovel Chapter 017 This is a gun, not a cannon
Chapter 017 This is a gun, not a cannon
Chapter 017
In the second hall of Yongcheng County Government, Sun Chuanting sat behind his desk, with Li Yuanzhen standing beside him, as well as He Zhishu, the clerk in charge of the county's security.
"Greetings, Your Excellency! Greetings, Lord He!"
Looking at Sun Chuanting's demeanor, which seemed more like a case investigation than a routine interrogation, Chen Ying glanced at Li Xiaojie beside him and instantly realized that this guy had filed a false accusation against him.
"Chen Boying, Clerk Li has accused you of seven major crimes at the Bureau of Manufacturing, including abusing public resources for personal gain, falsifying wages and food allowances, employing child laborers, and keeping unauthorized servants. What do you have to say about this?"
Sun Chuanting stared blankly at Li Xiaojie, speechless, as if looking at a dead man.
Although Sun Chuanting appointed Li Xiaojie as the supervisor of the construction bureau.
Sun Chuanting appointed Chen Boying as the Consul General of the Construction Bureau because he was worried that Li Xiaojie, a veteran official, would cause trouble under Chen Boying's nose.
He sent Sun Jian to keep an eye on the Bureau of Construction, just in case Chen Boying was sabotaged by Li Xiaojie. Unfortunately, he overestimated Li Xiaojie and underestimated Chen Boying.
Li Xiaojie not only failed to sideline Chen Boying, but was instead sidelined by Chen Boying.
Chen Ying took the document, which was three long pages long, listing seven crimes committed by Chen Ying, including abusing public power for private gain, falsifying wages and food, keeping private servants, and embezzling iron materials.
"Your Excellency, everything that Governor Li said is both true and false."
"Oh?"
"If this is true, the Bureau of Construction did indeed take in 123 displaced teenagers, providing them with food and provisions."
Chen Ying raised his head, his eyes clear and his face calm: "The falsehoods are false. These people are not private servants, but orphans and widows who have nowhere else to turn. Sixty-two of them lost both their parents to epidemics and floods and have no relatives to raise them. Thirty-nine of them lost their fathers and only their widows survived. Twelve of them were abandoned by their mothers and remarried. Six of them had their family property seized by their relatives and had no way to make a living. All one hundred and twenty-three of them have neighbors as guarantors and the village head has signed the document."
As he spoke, Chen Ying handed the prepared roster to Sun Chuanting.
Sun Chuanting took the booklet and flipped through it page by page.
Name, age, place of origin, cause of death, guarantor, signature... all clearly stated.
Li Xiaojie said urgently, "Your Honor, even if they are truly orphans, they should be resettled by the county government. How can a mere military household take them in on his own? Moreover, 123 people consume over 30 shi of grain per month. How can the Construction Bureau sustain itself in this long run? Chen Boying is clearly using the guise of relief to form a faction!"
"Forming a clique? What a huge accusation! My head is too small to bear such a heavy burden!"
Sun Chuanting closed the booklet and slowly said, "Li Xiaojie, Chen Boying took in the orphans and reported it to the county government long ago!"
Seeing Sun Chuanting openly protecting Chen Boying, Li Xiaojie became anxious: "Your Honor, even if the orphan and widow are pitiful, this grain register..."
"Regarding the grain register, the county will allocate a separate disaster relief fund to make up for it."
Li Xiaojie lowered his voice, gritting his teeth: "Chen Boying, don't be so smug. You got lucky this time, but next time..."
"There won't be a next time."
Chen Ying looked at Sun Chuanting and said, "Your Excellency, there is another matter I wish to report."
As he spoke, Chen Ying handed another booklet to Sun Chuanting.
Sun Chuanting opened the booklet, his brows furrowing more and more as he read.
The book meticulously records every penny of money and grain that Li Xiaojie embezzled during his tenure as the supervisor of the construction bureau. Most appallingly, the last page records the names and hometowns of seven women, as well as the details of how they were forcibly abducted by Li Xiaojie. Three of the women, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide by jumping into a well, two were sold to other places, and the rest are still imprisoned in the villa in the south of the city.
The more than one thousand craftsmen and refugees at the Yongcheng Agricultural Implements Manufacturing Bureau knew very well that they would have starved to death if it weren't for Chen Ying. Moreover, the iron plows and seeders produced by the bureau greatly improved farming efficiency, benefiting countless people.
In the Construction Bureau, Chen Yingcai was the most powerful figure. Although Chen Yingcai did not have close relationships with most of the displaced people and commoners, most of the management personnel of the Construction Bureau were military households drawn from the Ma Mu Bai Hu.
These military households not only had a good relationship with Chen Ying, but they also knew that Chen Ying was giving them a way to make a living. It was precisely because of the military households' help that Chen Ying easily sidelined Li Xiaojie, a veteran official who had been in power for many years.
Ever since Chen Ying adopted Chen Yongren and other adopted sons, Li Xiaojie has sent his trusted men to keep an eye on them. Chen Ying knew that Li Xiaojie was up to no good, and that all of Chen Ying's adopted sons, daughters, and artisans were his spies.
Chen Ying had a keen eye on Li Xiaojie's every move at the Bureau of Construction.
"Is there any evidence for this?"
"have!"
Chen Ying continued, "Zhao Baofu, a blacksmith at the Construction Bureau, had his son, Zhao Honggui, offend Li Xiaojie, who then beat him to death on the pretext of 'slacking off.' Secondly, there's Wang Tianshi, a peasant woman whose daughter was conscripted as a factory worker a month ago and has since disappeared without a trace. Thirdly, there's Old Zhou, Li Xiaojie's former groom, who witnessed Li Xiaojie's brutal murder of the virtuous Wang Xihua. All three witnesses are currently at the Construction Bureau, and you, sir, can summon them at any time!"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiaojie broke out in a cold sweat: "Lord Sun, this is all a frame-up. Chen Boying held a grudge because I exposed his misuse of public resources, and he fabricated these things to frame me..."
Sun Chuanting coldly said, "Whether it's a frame-up or not, an investigation will tell. Men, immediately seal off Li Xiaojie's residence and the villa in the south of the city!"
"You dare!"
Li Xiaojie suddenly erupted: "Sun Chuanting, do you know who's behind me? If you mess with me today, someone will impeach you tomorrow!"
Li Xiaojie wasn't just bluffing, because Yongcheng had many officials from the capital and many scholars. It might not be easy for them to offend a high-ranking official, but it wouldn't be difficult to impeach Sun Chuanting, who had no powerful backers or connections.
It was thanks to Sun Chuanting's expertise in administrative affairs that he was able to avoid being sidelined by his subordinates and become a puppet magistrate. Nowadays, most magistrates don't even have a year or two to sort out the intricate relationships in their localities.
Sun Chuanting remained unmoved: "Take him away."
As Li Xiaojie was being led away, he stared intently at Chen Ying, his eyes filled with venom: "Chen Ying, you wait, you're finished. You and those little bastards, none of you will escape!"
That night, in the office of the Bureau of Construction.
Du Changshun lowered his voice and said, "Commander Chen, you shouldn't have..."
"You mean the person behind Li Xiaojie?"
"Commander-in-Chief Chen is unaware of this!"
Du Changshun said, "Li Xiaojie's second daughter married Liu Qi, the second son of the Liu family of Wolong..."
"The Liu family?"
"The Liu family was originally a wealthy merchant family. Their eldest son, Liu Chao, achieved the highest rank in the Henan military examinations in both the 40th and 46th years of the Wanli reign. The Henan governor, Wang Sanshan, recognized his martial prowess and recruited him as a military advisor. He is now the commander-in-chief of Sichuan."
Du Changshun said earnestly, "The county magistrate will be taking office this year. He can just pack up and leave. But what about you? Your home is in Yongcheng. All General Liu needs to do is send someone to deliver a message to Commander Liu of Guide Guard, and they'll make things difficult for you!"
Chen Ying smiled faintly: "Thank you, Chief Du. I understand. May I meet Li Xiaojie?"
"this……"
Chen Ying took out ten taels of silver: "I would appreciate it if Chief Du could help me with this!"
"Of course, of course!"
The next morning, Chen Ying, led by Du Changshun, arrived at Yongcheng Prison.
In the dimly lit cell, Li Xiaojie was dressed in rags, his former imposing manner long gone.
Upon seeing Chen Ying, Li Xiaojie suddenly burst into laughter: "Chen Boying, you think you've won?"
"Isn't it obvious? You're in jail, and I'm outside!"
"Hmph, Lord Sun will be leaving office by the end of the year at the latest. Once he's gone, who will protect you?"
Li Xiaojie said confidently, "I'm related to General Liu by marriage. If you offend me, you'll be the Liu family's enemy. At that time, General Liu only needs to say one word to make you wish you were dead... What's the use of protecting those brats? They'll all die!"
Chen Ying didn't actually want to offend Liu Chao, who was behind Li Xiaojie, because historically, after Wang Sanshan's defeat and return home, Liu Chao was also dismissed from his post and returned home with Wang Sanshan.
In the eighth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, Li Zicheng led an army of over 50,000 to attack Guide Prefecture. It was Liu Chao who recruited local militia and defended Yongcheng.
The problem is that Li Xiaojie has falsely accused him of forming cliques for personal gain, which is not a minor crime of embezzlement and bribery, but a serious crime that could cost him his head. Even if Wei Zhongxian were standing behind him, let alone a mere General Liu, he would not sit idly by and wait to die.
Faced with Li Xiaojie's threat, Chen Ying smiled faintly and said, "I hope you can still smile..."
Chen Ying didn't waste any words with Li Xiaojie. The moment he turned around, a silver ingot fell to the ground. The jailer hurriedly picked it up: "Chief Chen... your silver..."
"No, this is your money!"
The jailer was shrewd and immediately understood Chen Ying's meaning.
He put away the fifty-tael silver ingot, then grinned maliciously at Li Xiaojie: "Secretary Li, forgive me!"
"You dare...you dare touch me, aren't you afraid..."
"If you take someone's money, you're obligated to solve their problems!"
The jailer lowered his voice and said, "You've offended too many people. I've taken this money today, and they all want you dead. If the magistrate holds court after dawn, and you say anything out of line..."
"what……"
As Chen Ying walked to the prison gate, he could still clearly hear Li Xiaojie's screams from inside. Li Xiaojie was screaming like a pig being slaughtered, clearly indicating that he had been receiving special treatment.
Li Xiaojie overestimated himself and underestimated Chen Ying.
During this period, Chen Ying used the Yongcheng Agricultural Implements Manufacturing Bureau to make money by taking advantage of the desire of large households to quickly obtain iron plows and seeders, earning a total of more than eight thousand taels of silver.
He only took less than eight hundred taels of silver; the rest was with Sun Jian, and Sun Chuanting also took it. It wasn't that Sun Chuanting didn't like money; it's just that he only took what he was entitled to.
Upon returning to the Bureau of Construction, Chen Ying began to consider countermeasures. He could not place his future on the enemy's mercy; Sun Chuanting was leaving, and this was an inevitable outcome.
He was still unsure of the future attitude of the magistrate of Yongcheng County.
Chen Ying was very clear that he had to become strong quickly, strong enough that even a local tyrant like Liu Chao wouldn't dare to provoke him easily.
Chen Ying sat in the fortification room and did not go to the site. The supervising bureau was now on the right track, and the production of iron plows and seeders was almost the same whether he was there or not.
He took a charcoal pencil and began to draw on the paper the multi-barreled matchlock gun invented by Zhao Shizhen, a weapons expert of the Ming Dynasty, in the 26th year of the Wanli reign (1598), which he named Xunlei Gun.
The early version of the Xunlei gun could fire five rounds in a row, while later improved versions could fire 28-30 or even more than 40 rounds in a row. When Zhao Shizhen demonstrated it outside Xuanwu Gate in Beijing, he combined several Xunlei guns into a repeating impact gun, which could be used as a short gun in close combat by pulling out the barrel.
Although the range and accuracy were improved, the complex structure made loading time-consuming, making it difficult to quickly form battle formations in actual combat. Despite being an outstanding invention, it also had shortcomings that it could not overcome as a matchlock musket.
The Thunderclap Gun had a complex structure and was time-consuming to operate, making it difficult to form a battle formation in a short time during combat. Furthermore, reloading after firing multiple barrels was quite troublesome.
Chen Ying naturally thought of revolvers, and could even be understood as the Thunder Gun being based on the principle of revolvers. With this in mind, he immediately came up with a plan.
Although the technical difficulties in casting cannons were not completely overcome, he couldn't really help much. He was a master of theory, but his practical skills were not as good as those of the skilled craftsmen of this era.
He assembled a task force of over fifty skilled craftsmen, which should enable him to achieve a breakthrough.
However, launching the Xunlei Gun project is something he must do. Wang Sanshan and Liu Chao will return to Yongcheng early next year, and he doesn't have much time left.
As long as he has a repeating musket, he will have a certain ability to resist anyone who wants to deal with him.
Moreover, the Tianqi Emperor was fond of craftsmanship, so this might attract his attention and allow him to rise to power.
Combining a revolver with a Thundergun was the best solution Chen Ying could think of. Casting a revolver directly wouldn't be difficult; it would simply require modifying the technical parameters.
The manufacturing bureau has now cast the driving wheels for the seeder multiple times. These can actually be considered rotors, but they were too large, so they have been scaled down...
After repeated revisions by Chen Ying, the design was finally finalized. This Thunder Gun, produced by the Bureau of Manufacturing, adopted eleven barrels, each with a caliber of thirty millimeters, and the cylinder was also thirty millimeters.
It wasn't that Chen Ying wanted to play a prank by directly providing some parameters of the 1130 close-in weapon system; rather, it was because the smaller the caliber of the cold-cast barrel, the greater the difficulty.
With an inner diameter of 30 millimeters and an outer diameter of 45 millimeters, this was no longer considered a musket, but rather a cannon. In the end, Chen Ying did not present the 30-millimeter design parameter, but instead directly presented the standard inner diameter of one inch, or 31.1 millimeters, and the outer diameter was no longer the 45 millimeters initially considered, but increased to 46.65 millimeters.
Once the design parameters are determined, we can get started.
When problems arise, then solve them.
Because Chen Ying was eager to see results, he did not rest, and the other craftsmen worked hard except for eating and sleeping. In just two days, the first batch of experimental molds was completed.
They were forced to dry directly, and once the drying was complete, they were immediately put on the production line for cold casting of molten steel. Just half an hour later, Chen Ying had six rotating wheels, eighty cannon barrels, and other components produced in one go in front of him.
Chen Yongren asked, puzzled, "Godfather, what is this?"
"Study hard, this is a skill that will keep you from going hungry!"
Chen Ying carefully inspected all the parts. Thanks to the fact that the Manufacturing Bureau had adapted to standardized operations, once all the parts were assembled, a cannon was formed. This cannon had two wheels that could rotate 360 degrees, two shovels, and consisted of eleven 30mm caliber barrels, making it a behemoth with a length of 1.8 meters.
Once assembled, even a fool would know what it is.
Chen Jide stared in disbelief and said, "This is a cannon..."
"This is a musket, my improved version of the Swift Thunder Musket!"
Cold sweat poured down Chen Jide's forehead: "One inch caliber, is this still a cannon?"
"yes!"
Chen Ying said in a serious tone, "This is an improved version of the Swift Thunder Gun manufactured by Lord Zhao Shizhen. It's a gun, not a cannon!"
"Yes, yes, the commander is right, this is a gun, not a cannon!"