Transmigration: A Farm Girl’s Brocade
Chapter 416 - 232 Brother Qian_2

Chapter 416: Chapter 232 Brother Qian_2

He said he bought this Three-Eyed Fire Musket from a hunter named Jiao Fa six months ago. Jiao Fa’s older brother could manufacture fire muskets, and upon seeing it, he became extremely interested. Not only did he learn how to make fire muskets, but he also improved them.

Prince Ning excitedly stood up, took the Three-Eyed Fire Musket, and walked outside. As he walked, he said, "Come, let’s see if it’s really as magical as they say."

They arrived at an open space, where Prince Ning handed the Three-Eyed Fire Musket to Liang Jinzhao, pointing to an artificial hillock eighty meters away and said, "Hit that willow tree."

Liang Jinzhao ignited the gunpowder to fire the lead bullets and with three loud bangs, a branch of the willow tree snapped off completely. It was indeed far more powerful and had a longer range than a regular fire musket.

Liang Jinzhao added, "It’s best used by cavalry. When the enemy is far away, it can be used to shoot them. When they are close, it serves as a ’Wolf Fang Club’ for melee combat. Moreover, I have also thought of a three-stage firing formation, combining infantry and cavalry tactics..."

Prince Ning, more and more pleased as he listened, said to Liang Zechong and Liang Yiqian, "The tiger’s whelp of a general’s family, the tiger’s whelp indeed."

Liang Yiqian modestly smiled and said, "My son has been learning from Master Beikong since he was young. His different way of thinking is also largely thanks to the master’s teachings."

Prince Ning nodded and said, "Great students often come from great teachers, indeed."

Suddenly, Liang Jinzhao lifted his robe and knelt on the ground, saying to Prince Ning, "Your Highness, I have another matter to report, and I ask for your permission to speak."

Seeing his solemnity, Prince Ning paused, then said, "Please speak, Junior General Liang."

Liang Jinzhao said, "Dayuan Country mainly relies on cavalry, known for their swift and fierce attacks. Our army is primarily infantry, and our cavalry is not very impressive. In previous battles, we could only hold our cities, retreating whenever the enemy advanced and not pursuing when they retreated. How can we continue like this? Defense alone is far from sufficient. The only way to completely defeat the powerful cavalry of Dayuan Country is to establish a stronger army equipped with new weapons. Currently, our military has no advantages; we need to forge a new path. I suggest creating an army specializing in firearms, concentrating on using firearms to fight the enemy. Just the Three-Eyed Fire Musket is not enough, we need to make even more powerful firearms. I have already set Jiao Fa up securely and invested a considerable sum to have him and his brother focus on inventing firearms. Currently, they are working on something called a fire cannon, which is a hundred times more powerful than the Three-Eyed Fire Musket..."

Prince Ning bent over to help Liang Jinzhao up, saying, "Let’s continue this discussion in the study." Then, taking Liang Jinzhao by the hand, he headed towards his study.

Looking back and seeing Liang Zechong and his son, as well as Qian Manjiang following, he said to them, "Junior General Liang and I have much to discuss into the night; you all go and see to your own matters."

Qian Manjiang found an inn to stay in. Now that it was nearly dark, and since the military camp was in the suburbs of the capital, he had taken two days off; he would return tomorrow afternoon.

He planned to visit Prince Consort Pan at the Rongen Earl Mansion. Although Prince Consort Pan had previously been indifferent to his wife and daughter, he was Yueyue’s father and Qian’s elder after all. Moreover, by a fortunate coincidence, he had once saved Qian’s life. It seemed both reasonable and proper to visit him before leaving for the border.

Besides, he wanted to buy some more things for his family. Especially since Yueyue was pregnant again, he planned to buy her some donkey-hide gelatin. He had heard that the gelatin from the north was much better than that from the south.

The next day, after breakfast, Qian Manjiang got himself ready and went to Wuxi Teahouse to purchase a jar of Wuxi Peak encased in a glazed fine porcelain bottle. The half-pound jar of tea cost two hundred and fifty taels of silver. He came from a farming family, and spending more than a year’s salary on half a pound of tea made him wince with distress. But he knew Prince Consort Pan’s tastes were well-known, and he couldn’t offer anything of poor quality.

Upon reaching the Rongen Earl Mansion, it so happened that Prince Consort Pan was in residence. Qian Manjiang was led by a servant to Prince Consort Pan’s inner study. Along the way, pavilions and towers, colorful carvings and lush greenery, and the trickling sound of water surrounded him. The fragrance of plum blossoms was everywhere. The place was both extravagantly luxurious and exquisitely elegant, far surpassing the Prince Ning Mansion.

Yueyue had grown up in such a rich and luxurious environment!

And why not? Her grandmother was the current Empress Dowager, her uncle was His Majesty the Emperor, her mother was the Elder Princess, her father was the Earl of Rongen as well as the most esteemed dignitary of the realm, her grandfather was a First Rank Secondary Assistant, and the Pan family was one of the Five Hundred-Year-Old Aristocratic Families...

Qian Manjiang recalled his own family’s shabby little courtyard, with Yueyue wearing his mother’s patched clothes and a wooden hairpin in her hair, managing to live there for almost a decade.