mtl008 Chapter 29 Great Victory
Chapter 29 Great Victory
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This brief pause gave the guards time to reload. While the matchlock muskets might not be able to prepare for a second firing in those few dozen seconds, the flintlock muskets certainly could.
Upon hearing General Lin's order, the soldiers who had halted had no choice but to continue their charge into the smoke. A clear command came from ahead: "Aim, target fifty paces!"
The soldiers didn't understand the meaning of the command. They stepped over the corpses on the ground and continued to charge forward. After passing through the smoke, their vision suddenly became clear.
At this moment, the soldiers at the forefront were less than fifty meters away from the enemy's formation. To their horror, they discovered two rows of dark gun barrels pointed at them. These were the very weapons that had taken the lives of many people before, and now it was their turn.
"Fire!" Liu Ye's voice rang out, like a death knell.
Before they could react, the soldiers were struck by a hail of lead bullets as gunfire resumed. The powerful kinetic energy caused the bullets to tumble and swell within their chests and abdomens, tearing open gaping wounds, with many spilling their intestines. The momentum of the charge was halted once more. The wounded, still alive, writhed among the corpses of their people, screaming in agony, their blood staining the soil crimson.
Those soldiers who weren't hit by the second volley lost their courage upon witnessing the carnage before them. One or two began to run back, and then more and more followed. They could accept face-to-face combat and death, but to be hit twice at a distance of less than a hundred paces, without even seeing the enemy's face clearly, and to be left only to be beaten without being able to retaliate, instilled in them immense fear.
The smoke was slowly dispersed by the wind. Lin San stared dumbfounded at the corpses scattered on the ground in front of him, unable to react for a moment, and even forgot about suppressing the fleeing soldiers.
In the last battle, although the enemy won, they suffered considerable casualties, and he even had a chance to break through their lines. Such a battle was still within his comprehension. However, in this battle, the enemy's arquebuses could fire continuously in a short period of time with such immense power. Just two volleys had taken the lives of dozens of his men, while he hadn't even managed to touch a hair on their heads. This fighting style and the casualty exchange ratio were beyond his understanding.
He stared blankly at Mr. Yan, only to find Mr. Yan also gaping, his face filled with disbelief. He asked dazedly, "Mr. Yan, the enemy's muskets are so sharp, how are we supposed to fight them?"
Mr. Yan snapped out of his daze and hurriedly replied, "General Lin, the firearms used by this private army are definitely not the matchlock guns of the government troops; they are several times more sophisticated and powerful. The enemy has only a hundred firearms, yet they have already prevented our advance and caused us heavy losses. If they have more, we will have no choice but to flee!" He paused briefly to think, "Right now, we certainly cannot defeat them. Before we are severely weakened, we must regroup our troops and quickly withdraw from here to avoid their advance."
Lin San asked unwillingly, "I've accumulated strength and endured humiliation for so many years. Chengmai County is right in front of me. Is it all going to be for nothing, just because of this inexplicable team?"
Mr. Yan advised, "As long as we preserve our strength, we'll have a chance to fight another day. Besides, a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. Let's avoid their sharp edge for now and make plans after they return to their stronghold."
Although Lin San was unwilling, he was not a simple-minded, reckless, or impulsive person. He adopted Mr. Yan's suggestion, gathered up the defeated soldiers, abandoned the attack on Chengmai County, and hurriedly retreated to the mountain stronghold, bypassing the city wall.
Watching the bandits flee faster than rabbits, Liu Ye laughed heartily: "With firearms in hand, I rule the world. A bunch of barbarians trying to stop a chariot!"
In this battle, the guards suffered no casualties, while the enemy fled in panic, leaving behind hundreds of corpses, making it a complete victory.
After quickly filling their stomachs and resting for half an hour to regain their strength, the guard team set off on their return journey. For Liu Ye, the biggest gain from this trip was the successful defeat of the bandit army; it was estimated that for a long time to come, he would flee at the mere sight of the guard team.
Back in Lingao, Liu Ye and Liang Xiaoming were overjoyed, firing the first shot in their quest for world domination.
At this moment, Li Fu stepped forward to report that news had come from Bofu that the shipyard project was nearing completion.
Having just returned victorious from a battle, Liu Ye was overjoyed to hear this wonderful news. Despite the fatigue of the journey, he didn't even bother to tease Tang Yu, and immediately dragged Liang Xiaoming to Bofu.
Bofu has now become a huge construction site, with more than 2,000 people working tirelessly, a sea of people.
When Liu Ye arrived at the construction site, he saw that the five docks were basically completed, neatly lined up in a row, with the keel piers laid. Each dock was about the size of a football field, albeit a long and narrow rectangle. Xia Tiannan estimated it to be approximately 100 meters by 30 meters, and about 10 meters deep. Without modern machinery, the excavation was entirely done by hand, making the earthwork a massive undertaking. Roughly estimating at 1 ton of earth per cubic meter, each dock would have required 30,000 tons of earth, and the five docks would have required 150,000 tons!
Liu Ye looked at Liang Xiaoming and encouraged him, "Liang Xiaoming, you've worked hard!"
Liang Xiaoming looked much more haggard. He had been in charge of the entire project, which had been incredibly demanding. However, he was in high spirits. As an engineer from a military industrial enterprise in the future, the sense of accomplishment he felt at personally overseeing the construction of a shipyard that was among the largest at the time was irreplaceable.
He turned to Liu Ye and said, "It's been hard work, but I've accepted your arrangement, so I have to do my job well. The shipyard is finished, and we have enough materials. We can start building the first batch of ships before the new year. Should we build transport ships first, or galleons?"
Without a second thought, Liu Ye said, "Let's build the galleon first, not too big for now. Our shipwrights aren't familiar with the structure of galleons, so let's build smaller ones first, and then build larger ones once they've become more skilled."
Liang Xiaoming nodded, "Yes, it's your shipyard, you're in charge."
After the design of the 500-ton galleon was finalized, the next step was to train and integrate the shipwrights of Diaolou Village. Following the model of steel mills and arsenals, a craftsman grading system and a quality control system were introduced. More than 100 shipwrights were assigned to different positions according to their areas of expertise. Previously, these shipwrights would work individually with a few apprentices, limited by manpower and technology, only able to build fishing boats of a few dozen tons. Now, they were divided into positions such as keel, mast, deck, and planks, each doing their own job, while Liang Xiaoming oversaw the overall structure and progress. This construction method was several times more efficient than the individual, small-workshop approach.