Chapter Twenty-Four: Armor

  Yang Meng's sigh, however, brought a smile from Wei Zhui Zi. This family's Third Master could kill people without batting an eye, but when it came to his own people, he had a soft spot. Why did he need to care about these poor mountain villagers?

  "Third Master, why the sigh? We're not sad, what's hurting your heart? We mountain folk are many, as long as the Yang family needs us, we're willing to die for the Yangs. Not to mention the silver eagles in our hands, just the name of Yang Buddha is worth dying for."

  Wei Luosi spoke from the heart, he was also a recipient of Yang Shiqin's kindness. If it wasn't for Yang Shiqin's food back then, his whole family would have died in the mountains long ago.

  "What nonsense are you talking about! Go back and practice your sword skills, think about how to defend against a chest stab. Sixteen brothers died, only one was stabbed in the neck, the rest were all injured in the chest and abdomen. Take a good rest, I'll give you three days off, deal with family matters, come back and figure out how to block that one knife."

  Three days is not bad, most brothers don't have a wife yet, with this gain, it's just the right time to go home and marry a wife, He Wei also has no girlfriend, this time going home must get married.

  Regardless of the enthusiastic camel, Yang Meng found a shoemaker and a copper worker.

  "Make a leather armor that can protect the chest and abdomen, not too heavy, but at least able to withstand iron knife stabs. Go back and try to make it! If you succeed, I'll reward each of you with 50 silver coins."

  Yang Meng brought three iron knives from the Yang family, which could withstand the Yang family's iron knives. Other knives would also be able to withstand them. From now on, such deals won't be rare. Being able to save one life is worth it. How much silver can leather armor be worth? It's not worth risking one's life for a few hundred eagle coins.

  After finishing all this, Yang Meng went to find Old Man Yang Shi Qian and told him about the casualties of this trip and the matter of making leather armor.

  "Lao San, these mountain people are not bad, it's good to treat them well. I'm thinking, can we gather some more knife hands? After all, I still have the title of Kunming Tuan Zong, it would be a waste if we don't use it."

  Yang Shi-qin also had his own ideas, the officials of the Qing dynasty were too greedy for wealth, and the Yang family's money might be targeted. As long as he had a sharp knife in his hand, they wouldn't dare to bully the Yang family at will.

  "Alright! Buy up all the farmland around Wuzhuang, and let the mountain people of various ethnic groups cultivate it nearby without collecting land rent from them. However, they must accept training from the Yang family to protect Wuzhuang. In case the imperial court wants to deal with us, we should also consider these surrounding mountain people. With your reputation in Yunnan, lend them some courage!"

  No matter which dynasty was in power, the thing that officials feared most was a peasant uprising. With the existence of these mountain people, the Yang family could blackmail government officials. Once they were driven to desperation, the Yang family would be destroyed and no one would have a good ending. As long as this balance was maintained, the Yang family would be safe and sound.

  "Hmm! This idea is not bad, I heard you got three foreign guns, can you use them?"

  Foreign guns, Yang Shiqin had seen them before, but hadn't used one. People said they were extremely sharp and deadly, and out of curiosity, Yang Shiqin wanted to try playing with a foreign gun.

  "No, let's give it a try."

  The two of them brought three foreign-made guns, which were well-crafted. The barrels were made of steel, and Yang Meng could tell that much. However, when it came to loading the gunpowder, he was completely clueless - he had no idea how much to load or how to do it properly.

  Old man Yang Shiqin is not much better than himself, holding a foreign gun, and doesn't even know how to use it.

  "Let Bao Jun take a look! He used to play with bird guns, this should be no problem for him."

  The father and son were both unable to move, and then they found Ding Baojun. Ding, the big steward, also fumbled around and fired a shot, which had considerable force. The lead bullet hit the green brick wall, creating a hole as large as a bowl.

  "It's really sharp, if it hits the body, even a master of kung fu can't withstand it! In the past, during the Guangdong war, the Qing soldiers were defeated without being unjust, this thing is so sharp that it surpasses bows and arrows."

  Yang Shi-qin saw the power of foreign guns and couldn't help but sigh in admiration. These foreign guns were indeed as sharp as legend had it.

  Yang Meng thought it was nothing special, having seen modern firearms before, this musket was just so-so, but in this era, its lethality was absolutely sufficient.

  Following Ding Baojun, Yang Meng learned the usage of the foreign rifle. He began to test the power of this gun, with a range of about 70-80 meters, having rifling, low rate of fire, and troublesome loading process. As a newcomer, Yang Meng took about two or three minutes to load one round, but in a large-scale battle, the lethality of this thing should not be underestimated. Without bulletproof clothing, getting hit would mean certain death.

  Adding to the fact that medical standards were not high in this era, the lethality of this thing is absolutely enormous. Unlike injuries from knives or arrows, the wounds caused by this thing are very difficult to treat and can easily become infected, which often proves fatal.

  Although this musket in hand is complicated to operate, compared to swords and knives, it's stronger by more than a little bit. One or two of them may not be threatening, but what about thousands or tens of thousands?

  Holding the fire gun in his hand, Yang Meng was also silently calculating that this thing would make the Qing dynasty suffer a loss. If things went wrong, the Qing dynasty would slowly equip itself and walk down this path, making it impossible for him to reunite with the imperial court. The outbreak of contradictions was only a matter of time.

  Once Yang's knife-wielding men encountered firearms and cannons, they were doomed to be slaughtered. It seems that I also need to introduce these foreign guns and cannons.

  Since that horse caravan was able to get three fire guns, I should be able to too. As long as the poisonous goods I manufacture have a sales route, the first thing I'll import will be foreign guns and cannons.

  If we could introduce the technology and produce it ourselves, that would be the best, but for now, these are just ideas, whether or not they can be realized depends on whether our homemade poison has a market.

  Since there are no foreign guns, we can only work on the armor. Yang Meng tried it out and found that although the effective range of this fire gun is only 70-80 meters, the lead bullet has a considerable killing power at around 200 meters. To defend against such bullets, the leather and copper armors made by the craftsmen may not be up to the task.

  Kai Fa thought for a moment, the steel plate bulletproof vest can be tried now, but there is no specialized steel plant in the Qing Dynasty, so we have to wait until later. The material is not a problem, and we can make copper skin armor first. As long as it can block knives and swords, it's fine. In the future, when we have steel plates, we can replace them with bulletproof vests.

  Now that I have this idea, I'll hurry up and try to make it. I've just asked the leather craftsman and copper craftsman to try making armor. It's just right to let them solve this problem together. If they succeed, the casualties among my men will be greatly reduced.

  One operation resulted in 30% casualties, not to mention the cost of compensation. The cost of training these people alone is not a small sum. If the drug factory operates normally, there will be no shortage of such tasks in the future. One death and injury is also a burden for the Yang family.

  He summoned the leather craftsmen and coppersmiths, and Yang Meng expressed his idea. A group of craftsmen were all stunned, blocking the rifle bullets with armor, they really had no way to make it, nor did they have a clue, wasn't this making things difficult for them?

  "Third Master, we can barely make this leather armor, maybe it can block musket fire, but we really don't know how to do it?"

  As the chief craftsman of the shoe factory, Zhang Pijiang complained about his difficulties. The fire gun was also seen for the first time, and no one knew how to resist it!

  "Find a coppersmith, get a copper plate, see how thick it can block bullets, then you'll embed the copper plate on top of your leather armor and that's it! It's so simple, how could you not think of it? Hurry up and do it!"

  These fools, they're really not creative at all. They can't even think of such a simple method. What a pity for the wages I paid them. Watching the workers scatter away, Yang Meng was also worried.

  These people, you give them ideas and give them drafts, they can complete them quite well, but if you want them to create something on their own, it's harder than killing them.

  "Qin Yu'ying! Qin Yu'ying!"

  Thinking of this, Yang Meng thought of Cen Yu Ying again, wondering if he had any good ideas.

  "Third Master, what business do you have with me?"

  Cen Yu Ying, this kid, although thin and weak, has also practiced a few moves, his body is not bad, running speed is also very fast, as soon as he heard Yang Meng's shout, this little guy rushed over in a hurry.

  "Our shoe factory's craftsmen are all idiots, San Ye can't get along with them. What kind of person should we find to help us do something new?"

  The shoemakers and blacksmiths in the shoe factory are among the best workers, but asking them to do technical work is not as good as killing them.

  "Bookworm!"

  Yang Meng was somewhat perplexed by Cen Yu Ying's response. What does being a bookworm have to do with anything? Just because you've read a few books, can you really be an engineer?

  "What can bookworms do? Can they design military boots for the Third Uncle?"

  "Our great Qing dynasty has a vast and profound miscellaneous knowledge. 'Meng Xi Bi Tan' and 'Tian Gong Kai Wu' were all written by scholars. What San Ye needs are those ingenious and clever scholars who can read books. Whatever ideas San Ye has, if he entrusts them to these people, it will definitely save him a lot of trouble."

  As for the familiarity with the Qing Dynasty, Xun Yu Ying was far superior to Yang Meng. This was also why Yang Meng wanted to stay behind, although he verbally disagreed, in his heart, he had already agreed with Xun Yu Ying's words.

  "Can such a person be of use to me?"

  "Third Master, don't worry. Most scholars are poor and struggling. Those with exceptional skills like this one are mostly scholars who didn't do well in the imperial exams. Except for a few from wealthy families, most of them are also struggling to make ends meet. As long as the monthly stipend you offer is reasonable, students think they can still be recruited."

  One's own affairs are clear to oneself, Xun Yuqing is just a scholar, naturally understanding the poverty and loneliness of studying abroad. Once failing in the examination hall, it's hard for scholars to even get a full meal.

  "Alright! You're in charge of this matter, manage the monthly allowance as you see fit, use the least amount of money to do as many things as possible, grasp the extent yourself, and withdraw the silver from Uncle Ding. The more people like that, the better."

  I've been busy with poisonous affairs recently, so I left these things to Shen Yuying to handle. This kid is getting more and more handy, which might not be a good thing.

  Yang Meng gazed at Xun Yu'ying as she slowly walked away, his mind pondering how to tame this clever little scamp. If used well, he would be a trusted aide, but if not, the young man would be a deadly poison.

  Not much effort, the copper worker also hammered out a one-inch thick copper plate. Yang Meng took one look at this thing and was enraged. Something so thick could block bullets and be made into a breastplate. Without mentioning the price, just the weight alone would be enough to kill the wearer.

  "Make it thinner, this thing is too heavy! One-tenth of the thickness, hurry up and get it done!"

  These stupid things are too much trouble, who can use such thick copper armor, isn't this nonsense?

  The ironworker, in a hurry, finally forged a copper plate, which was about three or four millimeters thick. Yang Meng had someone nail the copper plate to the wall and tried shooting at it with a fire gun several times. Within 70-80 meters, it could barely block lead bullets occasionally.

  "Considering this thickness, the armor made from it should be as light as possible, especially for the chest and abdomen areas."

  Yang Meng was gesticulating and explaining, finally managing to make himself clear, but he was sweating profusely from the effort of making these workers understand, it was harder than killing someone.

  It seems that Cen Yu Ying's words are correct, I really need to find some bookworms to help me.