Chapter 43: Suddenness, Severity, and Destruction

  "Master, this... is... the power of the fire gun you spoke of..." He Taizhen stuttered and asked Li Jiancheng.

  "That's right, although it's not perfect yet! But it's still passable." Li Jiancheng said excitedly.

  "What?" The people around were about to faint, and this power was not enough? Of course, they didn't understand how far the firearms of their previous lives had gone, so when they saw the current power, they felt shocked.

  "After the power of the fire gun reaches its peak, it can take a person's life in an instant from hundreds of meters away." Li Jiancheng said with emotion. He was talking about sniper rifles, and those people would not understand, so they were even more shocked. Hundreds of meters away exceeded one kilometer, how could people not be amazed? It's like what the storyteller said, that flying swords can take lives from afar, it's just like that.

  "Alright, remember to keep what you saw today deep in your hearts and don't leak it out. The consequences are obvious, I'm sure you all understand!" Li Jiancheng said with a sinister tone, of course maybe he wouldn't do that, but for now he had to resort to some tricks, otherwise how could he control people? This was the trouble with being in a higher position, therefore compared to those things, he hoped for a more peaceful life.

  "Yes, young master!" The people around him quickly guaranteed. Of course, there were only a few people who could do it, Li Jiancheng didn't know, but the management of them must be strengthened, if these were exposed, it would be fatal to him.

  Then Li Jiancheng called He Taichong and Wang Tizhu over, while also having someone go fetch Qin Hu. After a while, Qin Hu arrived, and Li Jiancheng gestured for him to sit down before beginning to speak: "Tizhu, uncle, I suppose you both saw the power of firearms just now?"

  "Yes, yes! This power is like the power of ghosts and gods, it's really hard to guess!" Wang Tiezhu exclaimed. The things they made didn't know what kind of effect they would have, but now they knew, the power was truly frightening. Meanwhile, Qin Hu was puzzled, how could the power of firearms be so great that it would make them so afraid?

  "Now that you all know the power of firearms, shouldn't you also know how important these things are?" Li Jiancheng asked slowly.

  "We know, we must guarantee with our lives that it will not be leaked out," said Wang Tiejun.

  "Very good, it's great that you have such determination." I first praised them, then said: "But it's hard to guarantee that all these people can do it, so I let Qin Hu send someone to assist in management and also play a supervisory role. I hope you understand and don't harbor any resentment."

  "Understood! Although I, Wang Tiezhu, don't understand worldly affairs, I also understand the principle of 'carrying a jade tablet and committing a crime', so I will definitely explain it to them carefully." Wang Tiezhu guaranteed.

  "You have the heart, that's good! But as I said earlier, the current firearms are not very powerful. So I'll give you some advice, hoping you can strengthen them. Of course, if anyone makes a discovery, they will be heavily rewarded." Li Jiancheng launched another gold coin attack, although it was old-fashioned, but the effect was also obvious.

  "Firstly, we can slightly modify the firing mechanism, like this." He drew a simple diagram of the revolver and added a spring device and a flint. Li Jiancheng knew they didn't quite understand, so he explained on the diagram: "The trigger can be connected to this thing called a spring, which can be made from refined iron, that is, steel. Then the trigger connects to the flint, making it more convenient and simple to use, as long as you train for a bit."

  When Li Jiancheng finished explaining, Wang Tiezhu nodded straight away, while He Taichong and Qin Hu, two outsiders, didn't quite get it.

  "Secondly, we can strengthen the ammunition with steel. We can shape the steel into a conical shape, then put explosive powder inside, leaving a small hole at the back. When you pull the trigger, the flint will ignite the explosive powder." Li Jiancheng looked at Wang Tiezhu's puzzled expression and knew this wasn't something that could be solved in one day. So he didn't say much more, letting them create on their own, not wanting to make them dependent. He gave them space to work on it themselves.

  As the saying goes: "Those who use their brains rule others, those who use their strength are ruled by others." This is exactly what happened with Zhuge Liang, who died so young because he always wanted to do everything himself.

  "Uncle He, there are still too few orphans now. You continue to search and pay attention to what needs attention, then send a message to Daxing City and let Auntie He continue to find orphans. Qin Hu, selecting 20 excellent orphans is up to you, and also strengthen their training. At the same time, the protection work here will be hard on you too." Li Jiancheng assigned tasks one by one, wanting them to feel that they were valuable, otherwise when they thought there was nothing to do, other thoughts would arise. Human hearts are unpredictable, no one can guarantee eternal changelessness.

  After discussing with them for a while, it was already afternoon, so he didn't linger and hurried back home to think about it. When he returned home, Dou Yi was still directing some servants to tidy up the house, while Li Shimin and others were helping on the side. Seeing Li Jiancheng arrive, Li Yuanji and Li Xiuning ran over to complain: "Big brother, you went out to play by yourself and didn't take us with you."

  "Big brother is going to do something serious, which one is going to play!" Li Jiancheng said with a serious face.

  "Cut it out! Who are you kidding? What kind of proper business could you possibly have?" Li Xiuning said with a disdainful tone.

  Li Jiancheng didn't want to explain it to her either, so he ignored him and went back to his room. Li Xiuning was left alone, stamping her foot in frustration, while Li Yuangui couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the sight of her. When Li Xiuning looked over at him, he quickly put on a serious face. Duan Yin watched the children playing together with a warm smile. Now that they were grown up, she didn't have much to worry about anymore.

  Back in his room, Li Jiancheng was thinking about what kind of martial arts Qin Hu and the others would use. After a moment's thought, he checked to see if there were any omissions, then began to continue practicing. Now, the "Longevity Secret" had been practiced to the sixth level, but the time it took was getting longer and longer. From the fifth level to the sixth level, he spent three years, and now four years have passed since he started practicing the sixth level, but there has been no progress. However, he is not anxious, as he is still young and has plenty of time to practice. After a while, he stopped practicing and went out to eat, but Li Yuan had not returned yet, it seemed that things were busy now. After dinner, he returned to his room, and another night passed without incident.

  The next morning, Li Jiancheng arrived at the training ground early. Perhaps because he had shocked them yesterday, they all recognized him and hurriedly saluted him: "Young Master!"

  "Alright! You guys have worked hard!" Li Jiancheng said to them, and then walked in. But he didn't know how excited the two orphans were inside, how many people could treat them with such kindness? So they worked even harder, but didn't say anything when he arrived at the training ground, the orphans had already started training, today's enthusiasm was more than yesterday's, it seemed that they really had a change of heart.

  "Master! These 20 are the ones you want." By the time Li Jiancheng walked over to Qin Hu, he had already made the selected 20 people stand out.

  Li Jiancheng took a look at these 20 people and found that they all had an extraordinary temperament, and their eyes were also rolling around, it seemed that they were all clever people.

  Looking at them, Li Jiancheng slowly said: "Selecting you from so many people means that you have a better place than them, but it doesn't mean you are the best. I hope you don't have a proud heart, only by keeping a calm heart can you achieve something." After hearing Li Jiancheng's words, several orphans had already started thinking with their heads down, while the others didn't understand anything.

  "You, you, and you, come out." Li Jiancheng pointed at the three people who had been bowing their heads in thought, making them think they had done something wrong, so they stood up with a mixture of fear and trepidation. After they all stood up, Li Jiancheng pointed to one of them and said: "I will divide you 20 people into two groups. You will temporarily lead one group. From now on, this group will be called the 'Ji' squad, and you will be called 'Jifeng'. The others will be called 'Ji One', 'Ji Two'... Of course, the team leader will be someone with ability. Whoever can surpass him can become the team leader. I will teach you the secret recipe 'Shenxing Jue', which can strengthen your leg strength after cultivation. After practicing to a high level, even opening mountains and cracking rocks is not a problem." Then he pointed to the other two and said: "You two will be the captains of the 'Sha' and 'Mie' squads. One will be called 'Shalüe', and the other will be called 'Miejue'. The others will be called 'Sha One', 'Mie One', 'Sha Two', 'Mie Two'... You will cultivate the secret recipe 'Anying Jue', which can merge your body into the environment after practicing to a high level." Seeing their eager and enthusiastic expressions, Li Jiancheng felt very satisfied. Young people need motivation.

  "I suppose you all want to know your responsibilities, right?" Li Jiancheng asked slowly, seeing them nod in unison. He continued, "Firstly, the 'Disease' squad's role is to serve as the vanguard, scouting ahead of the army whenever war breaks out. With your cultivation of the 'Divine Movement Technique', your speed will be much faster than ordinary people, making you perfect for reconnaissance. As for the 'Kill' and 'Destroy' squads, your tasks are to infiltrate various places, gather intelligence, and report back in a timely manner. The 'Kill' squad is responsible for domestic affairs, mainly focusing on Luoyang, Lingnan, Daxing, Yangzhou, and Xinyang. Once more people join, we will strengthen our efforts. The 'Destroy' squad, on the other hand, is responsible for foreign affairs, primarily targeting Goguryeo, Tianzhu, Japan, Silla, and Baekje. With five members in each squad, if you discover any anomalies in these places, report back immediately. If you find suitable candidates, use your discretion to recruit them. Remember not to expose yourselves, prioritize preserving your lives while completing your missions. Even if the mission fails, save your life, for as long as you have life, there is still hope. Do you have anything else you don't understand?"

  "No!" The 20 elite teams shouted in unison. Especially Li Jiancheng's last sentence made them even more excited, how many people can think of the lives of their subordinates like this?

  "Alright! Next, have the craftsmen create three tokens with 'Speed', 'Kill' and 'Destroy' engraved on them. These three tokens will represent the captain, only the captain can possess them, and all other team members must listen to the captain's orders. Once the captain steps down, they must hand over the tokens to their successor. Except when it contradicts my commands, you must obey the captain's orders completely, got it?"

  "Yes!" The 20 people shouted back loudly again.

  "Alright, you take the secret recipe and cultivate it yourself." After finishing speaking, Li Jiancheng took out two copies of the secret recipe that he had hastily copied yesterday and gave them to them. Next, he was going to enhance the abilities of these five generals.