Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 409: Red Coat Cannon

When mentioning the Red Coat Cannon, Chen Mo couldn’t help but recall a post he had seen online before his time travel. From the comments under that post, he learned about the Red Coat Cannon.

The post was like this: during the Ming Dynasty, the Red Coat Cannon displayed its impressive power, leading the West by two hundred years. Why, then, did it become ineffective by the Qing Dynasty?

There are various opinions in the comment section, for instance, some say the Qing Dynasty didn’t prioritize cannon development.

But this was quickly refuted with the claim that Nuerhachi reportedly died at the hands of a cannon, so how could the Qing Dynasty not prioritize cannon development? They even provided an example, mentioning that Huang Taiji seized a "Red Coat Cannon" in Zhuozhou, ordered it to be dragged back to Liaodong, and then recruited a group of Han craftsmen at a high price to earnestly study this cannon.

They also said that the name "Red Coat Cannon" was a change made by the Qing Dynasty, due to the term "Yi" (barbarian) being a derogatory term used by the Ming Dynasty for surrounding ethnic minorities, thus changing "Yi" to "Coat".

Later, Huang Taiji further regarded the Red Coat Cannon as a magical treasure to defeat the Ming Army, calling the Red Coat Cannon the "Red-clothed General", and personally ordered the establishment of the Cannon Bureau.

However, this comment was again refuted by others.

Thus, the post became increasingly heated, attracting more and more people to participate in the discussion, gradually skewing the topic.

Some enthusiasts even talked about the production of the Red Coat Cannon.

Chen Mo glanced at it for fun at the time, and now recalling it, those few glances are still vividly remembered.

The production of the Red Coat Cannon wasn’t considered difficult. After all, this cannon wasn’t initially made in China. It was a Flamethrower bought by the Ming Government from the Portuguese, later copied on the basis of the Flamethrower.

Since the Ming Dynasty could replicate it, the iron casting technology of the Great Song Dynasty was not inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty, and might even be more advanced.

Now that gunpowder has been developed by Chen Mo, then the Red Coat Cannon is also something that could be developed.

Historical records have documented the power of the Red Coat Cannon: "Each shot causes devastation for several miles. The spark touches, and nothing isn’t destroyed."

Thinking of this, Chen Mo already felt a bit enthusiastic inside.

Logically speaking, the craftsmen who make Pottery Bombs are all in Yu State. Chen Mo first needs to transfer the craftsmen from Yu State to Linzhou.

But Chen Mo couldn’t wait any longer and immediately took action.

He had Sun Meng gather all the blacksmiths in Xiangyang City and assembled them together.

In October, the sun was bright, and the autumn wind was refreshing.

In the large yard, Chen Mo looked at the dozen or so nervous blacksmiths in front of him and smiled, "Everyone, relax. I have a matter to trouble all of you. I want all of you to help me create an item. If successful, I will give generous rewards."

Seeing this, the blacksmiths breathed a slight sigh of relief. After all, when they were brought here, the people who brought them didn’t explain the reason, so how could they not be worried?

One courageous blacksmith said, "Marquis, do you want us commoners to create armor? If it’s armor, commoners can’t do it, only farm tools."

Chen Mo shook his head but did not explain in detail. Instead, he took out a drawing he had made from his pocket, unfolded it for all the blacksmiths to see, and then said, "I will tell you the method later. I will also provide the materials, and my requirement of you is that in the shortest time possible, you create this item."

And during this period, you will stay in this yard. Your families will be taken care of by me, so don’t worry."

The drawing depicted the cannon barrel of the Red Coat Cannon.

Wanting it to take shape is simple; the difficulty lies in making its bore wall sturdy enough to avoid bursting.

All the blacksmiths looked at the iron pipe in the drawing, each staring at it in confusion, really unable to understand what it was.

However, they did feel a slight relief, at least looking at the drawing, creating such an item did not seem difficult.

Under the powerful execution, one by one iron furnaces began to be constructed in Xiangyang City.

...

Under Chen Mo’s strict governance, supported by strong execution and finances, a small military workshop was established in Xiangyang City in less than three days.

Chen Mo, along with Wei Linchun, Sun Meng, and officials in charge of equipment manufacturing and management in Linzhou, all went to this military workshop.

Outside the military workshop, soldiers of the Divine Brave Guard were stationed for security and patrolled day and night.

Inside, a dozen blacksmiths and nearly a hundred apprentices were going back and forth; because it was quickly established, the interior space of the workshop was not large, with only two furnaces inside, smoke rolling, and the sound of hammering almost drowned out the chatter.

"Follow the Marquis’s steps: first heat the steel rods red, then wrap them around the logs, repeat adding and wrapping steel rods up, gradually forming a steel tube, then continue adding and wrapping steel rods until thick enough, finally it’s quenching and tempering throughout." The blacksmith named Tian Sheng, appointed chief engineer by Chen Mo, instructed the apprentices below.

"Master, this will consume too much steel, and we don’t even know the specific form of the result. There will surely be some defective products; if you convert it, it might cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. Creating something like this, it’s... could it be that Master you misunderstood the Marquis’s words?" An apprentice couldn’t help but say.

It’s not surprising the apprentice was so worried, because this was creating something for the Marquis of Pingting County. If tens of thousands of taels of silver were wasted and the result wasn’t what the Marquis wanted, and he blamed them out of anger, they wouldn’t be able to handle it.

"Stop talking nonsense. Just do as you’re told. Even if I misunderstood, could all the dozen blacksmiths have misheard too?" Tian Sheng glared at the apprentice and said.

Although he said so, Tian Sheng also felt worried inside.

Because following Chen Mo’s steps as said, even excluding potential defects during production, the amount spent is astronomical to him.

And according to Chen Mo’s requirements, when the final product is made, the weight might exceed two thousand pounds, even a newly Entry Grade Martial Artist couldn’t lift it.

He couldn’t think clearly what such a heavy thing could be used for.

Looking at the drawing’s description, it even mentioned adding a sight and rear sight, which is for aiming.

At this moment, he heard a series of respectful voices.

"Marquis."

"Marquis."

"Marquis."

...

Tian Sheng turned to look; Chen Mo and his group had already arrived before him.

Tian Sheng was startled and hurriedly said, "Marquis."

"No need for formalities. I heard it’s already completed. I’ve come to take a look. Is everything going smoothly?" Chen Mo said, looking at the smoke coming from the top of the furnace.

"It is going smoothly, but according to your requirements, Marquis, creating such a cannon, preliminary estimation suggests it will cost tens of thousands of taels or more." Tian Sheng responded.

He didn’t know what a cannon was or its purpose; Chen Mo just called the black steel pipe a cannon.