Chapter Fifty-Seven: Bird Gun

  As for horse riding, let's not mention those sheep-like horses in the stables. Lao Bai grew up in a non-pastoral area, but had many opportunities to come into contact with cavalry and draft horses. The neighbors even raised three horses. I'm just saying that horse riding isn't that simple.

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  Kuang Dong looked at the opponent's cold gaze and the hand pressed on the knife handle, suddenly scared out a cold sweat, fortunately at this time Li Meng Yang shouted in the house:

  "Is it Guo Dong? I called him, let him in!"

  At this time, the two salt dings finally let him pass by sidestepping. Before entering the house, Guo Dong couldn't help but stop and take a deep breath, thinking that Li Meng's salt dings had such a strong killing aura. When Guo Dong was in Liaodong, he also saw many border soldiers of Liaozhen, and the border soldiers of Liaozhen were known as the best in the world. Even the personal bodyguards of those general officers didn't have this kind of atmosphere, how did they train to achieve this?

  As soon as he entered the house, Guo Dong was about to kneel down and ask for peace, but was stopped by Li Meng. Li Meng's usual calm expression also became somewhat urgent, and he asked:

  "Can it be made?"

  Kuang Dong hastily handed over the long strip package, Li Meng took it and opened the package skin, revealing the instrument inside - a fire gun. This was the first time Li Meng had come into contact with firearms since arriving in this era, and he felt his heart beating violently.

  But after the fire spear in the bundle of cloth was exposed, Li Meng suddenly became less excited, and looked up and down, always feeling that it didn't quite match his impression. Were ancient firearms all like this?

  The overall shape of this fire gun is not much different from that of a rifle, but the barrel is too thin and long. The caliber at the muzzle is so small that even a little finger can't be inserted, looking at Li Meng furrowing his brow, Guo Song asked nervously:

  "Old master, is there something wrong with this fire lance?"

  "Isn't this barrel too thin?"

  "Not refined, not refined, it was like this when I was in Liao Town too. A small person has also been tempered, how could they not know?"

  Li Meng shook his head and shouted outwards:

  "You two go out of the yard and close the gate, remember not to stand by the door but go behind the wall."

  The salt guard outside responded with a sound, and after hearing the courtyard door close, Li Meng walked into the yard. Guo Tong took out a small bag, pulled out lead pellets and gunpowder from inside, and loaded the fire lance there. The rod was a bamboo branch, presumably another makeshift one, as it would be difficult for an iron rod to produce such a thin rod.

  After loading the fire gun, Guo Dong ignited the fuse with a flint, Li Meng put the fuse to the end of the fire gun and ignited the propellant in the chamber, taking aim in the usual shooting posture...

  "With a 'bang' sound, Li Meng aimed at the thick wooden door in the courtyard, within thirty steps distance, such a big target, naturally hit."

  Li Meng surprisingly didn't feel much recoil, just a slight tremble on his shoulder, far inferior to modern rifles and submachine guns. The key issue is that compared to the high-pressure * he had played with before, this recoil was still quite small. He looked up at the thick wooden door and could still find where the bullet was lodged.

  The lead bullet shot from the fire gun was just deeply trapped and did not penetrate, Li Meng's face suddenly turned black. What kind of power is this? The lead bullet was less than a third of the size of a small finger, light and fluttering, even if it hit, what could it do? This was still within thirty steps.

  Guo Dong on the side looked at Li Meng's face and explained with some anxiety:

  "Old master, this thing wasn't very useful in Liaodong, the soldiers were all unwilling to use it, saying that even the Mongolian cavalry's quilted armor couldn't be penetrated, and it would often explode. To be honest with you, old master, bows and arrows are still the most effective, among the artisans who came with me, there are also those who know how to make bows and arrows..."

  "How did you make it so delicate?"

  Guo Dong's words were immediately interrupted by Li Meng, Guo Dong smiled and said:

  "Old master, you don't know that this fire lance can only be shot far if it's both thin and long. If there were suitable tools, it could be made even thinner."

  Li Meng furrowed his brow, desperately recalling the European smoothbore guns he had seen in the military museum in his previous life. He then looked at the fire lance in his hand and finally understood where the problem lay. This long-barreled firearm should be called a bird gun, although it was a lightweight firearm for the Ming army, it could only shoot birds.

  "Slender is useless, thick is substantial."

  Li Meng placed his fingers on the gun barrel at a position about two-thirds of its length, according to his vague memory, and ordered:

  "For this length, increase the caliber a few times for me. This barrel is almost as long as half of a rifle. What's the use of something so long? Just forge it according to what I said."

  Guo Dong also wanted to say that this didn't match the rules they had established before, but he was someone else's servant, and looking at Li Meng's anxious expression, he didn't dare argue about it. He could only think to himself: if the barrel were thicker, it would be easier; compared to a thinner caliber, it would take fewer days of work.

  In the tenth month of Chongzhen's sixth year, Li Jia Zhuang in Fengmeng Town was almost completed. It was said to be a manor, but there were no scenic spots like pavilions or waterside pavilions, only a circle of walls surrounding a group of houses. The wall wasn't high either. The residents were just dozens of Liaoning civilians who had been relocated and 150 salt workers stationed here.

  Yan Ding trained under Li Meng's supervision every day, while the Liaoning people were either farming in the nearby fields or working in the salt pans. Those with skills worked for their respective shops.

  Nowadays, all salt transactions are conducted in Fengmeng Town. Compared to last year, Fengmeng Town has also become more prosperous, after all, so many salt merchants and peddlers come here to solve their food and lodging problems, spend money and consume goods. In modern terms, it can be said that they have driven the local economy, and the market in Fengmeng Town is gradually becoming more prosperous.

  There are also shops in Jiaozhou City that have opened branches here, after all, there is also a Jiao River here, which leads to Qingzhou and Yanzhou, and the transportation is still relatively convenient. Everything is convenient here.

  Li Meng found that although he now controlled nearly two provinces' private salt smuggling operations and his income was substantial, the silver coins that flowed into his pockets were spent like flowing water. The living expenses of these 750 people were really too extravagant, and Li Meng felt that the standards he set for his subordinates were not high enough.

  He sent someone to the Lai State camp to inquire, and the military salary was fixed at one tael and five mace of silver per month, one picul of rice flour, plus equipment and other expenses, which would be around 25 taels of silver per year. With 750 people, it would be nearly 20,000 taels of white silver per year. According to the income from controlling private salt in the two prefectures after July, Li Meng's annual income would be around 30,000 taels.

  After deducting the salt tax and other expenses, Li Meng calculated that he could have a net income of 7,000 taels per year. However, some of this money had to be invested in the ironwork shops. Although these two ironwork shops only took on orders for farm tools and simple weapons from outsiders, their expenses were much higher than usual. Several times, Ning Shifu and the accountant felt that the Liao people's ironworkers were embezzling funds, but Li Meng had stopped them.