"Assault rifle!" Pan Xiaogu blurted out the name of the tube-mounted weapon in an excited mood

Worst! As soon as the words came out, Pan Xiaogu knew that it was not good, and sure enough, as soon as he raised his head, he met Cheng Yun's surprised gaze.

"Pan Tingshi actually recognizes this?"

Cheng Yun's tone was very surprised, not long after the assault rifle appeared, even in the Central Plains, few people recognized it, and even fewer people circulated in Anxi, but he didn't expect it to be broken by a Han man who claimed to be in Persia.

"I have indeed seen this object in a military book, and this book says that this musket battle array artifact can fire dozens of feet, and its power can destroy mountains and lands, which left a deep impression on me." Pan Xiaogu hurriedly threw the pot to the military books he had read, and he had asked Song Jiang to collect all kinds of books for him, and these books were given to him by Cheng Yun.

And in order to dispel Cheng Yun's doubts, he deliberately pretended not to know anything about the assault rifle and talked nonsense.

These words really worked, and the look of surprise in Cheng Yun's eyes dissipated, revealing a hint of suddenness, obviously thinking that Pan Xiaogu knew about the assault rifle from some unreliable military book.

Then this honest child patiently gave Pan Xiaogu the weapon performance of the assault gun.

"This thing is not as powerful as the war book boasts, although I haven't used it, but I heard my uncle say it. He said that this assault musket uses gunpowder to ignite, can fire stone bullets and iron bullets from one end, the range is less than 20 paces, and the accuracy is very poor, the power is only improvised, it can penetrate the leather armor within 10 steps, and barely penetrate the iron armor within 5 steps, and the enemy can only fire one shot, and even the burning stick is not as good as the fire stick after firing. ”

Of course, firearms are not as powerful as I blow now, but it will be difficult to say in the future. Pan Xiaogu pretended to be humbly seeking advice on the surface, but his heart was full of a sense of superiority.

In addition, Pan Xiaogu was also curious about the opinions of the senior generals of this era on the emerging firearms.

"Captain Cheng, I don't know what the military marquis thinks of this firearm."

"Hehe, my uncle said that this thing is good for bluffing, but you have to rely on a bow and crossbow and a knife in your hand to kill people." Cheng Yun glanced at the assault rifle in his hand with disdain, and then proudly patted the saber hanging from his waist.

Pan Xiaogu sighed secretly, no wonder gunpowder and most firearms were obviously invented by Chinese, but it is indeed Westerners who really carry it forward.

It's not because of any aggressiveness, innovative spirit and other nonsense. Pan Xiaogu feels that the real reason is that only Chinese have seen the immaturity and various states of firearms in the early stage, so there is a contemptuous cognition of firearms in the subconscious, and the firearms that Westerners saw for the first time have been relatively mature and perfect, so they are very surprised and subconsciously attach more importance to them.

Therefore, this first impression is very important and can often affect people's subconscious cognition.

Cheng Yun then opened other wooden boxes, which contained not only assault rifles, but also many other firearms, some of which Pan Xiaogu could recognize, such as rockets like monkeys and poisonous fireballs that set fire to smoke.

Some of them he had seen for the first time, such as a fireworks-like arson gun that could shoot sparks, was specially designed to set fires.

According to Cheng Yun, although Cheng Huanzhang despises the performance of firearms, he has always believed that firearms are an important means to make up for the increasingly inferior high-end combat power of the Tang Army.

These various firearms were bought by him from the Central Plains one after another, trying to find the most suitable one, but unfortunately these early firearms were too uncompetitive, and a lot of money was spent, but none of them suited his heart.

In the end, Cheng Huanzhang was also sued to the Dadu Protectorate, saying that he bought a lot of unusable rags in the name of purchasing ordnance, so as to embezzle public funds, and as a result, he was removed from the position of the governor of the Yue clan.

"I didn't expect that fierce general like Zhang Fei to have such a gaze." Listening to Cheng Yun talk about these secrets, Pan Xiaogu couldn't help but glance at Cheng Huanzhang even more.

Hehe, General Cheng, let me realize your dream of firearms for you.

Pan Xiaogu had long wanted to develop gunpowder, but there were neither saltpeter mines nor sulfur mines near his territory, and no caravans from other places came to trade.

Since the Cheng family can buy firearms, they must also be able to buy gunpowder, and they can even recruit some craftsmen who can make gunpowder through the channels of the Cheng family.

"Brother Cheng, where did your uncle's firearms come from?" Pan Xiaogu's abrupt question interrupted Cheng Yun, who was gushing about the uses of various firearms for him.

Cheng Yun was stunned for a moment, and then quickly became stunned

"Pan Tingshi is interested in this firearm and wants to buy some more?"

"Don't hide it from Brother Cheng, Zai Xia is really interested in this firearm, and I want to buy a batch, and I think this thing is very useful." Pan Xiaogu admitted calmly

Cheng Yun laughed dumbly

"Thorn Shi will definitely be able to talk to my uncle."

After teasing, Cheng Yun said

"It's not difficult to buy this firearm, my Cheng family knows many big businesses in the Central Plains, and they can buy firearms, and they can buy them for the assassin Shidai."

"But there is one thing that Yun wants to make clear in advance, this gunpowder is difficult to preserve, and it is a long way from the Central Plains to Anxi, and it is not easy to transport it, so the price of firearms is not cheap, and Pan Tingshi had better prepare in advance."

Pan Xiaogu had long guessed that the price of firearms was not cheap, otherwise it would not have made a fuss to the point of letting Cheng Huanzhang step down, but his main purpose was not to buy firearms but to make gunpowder craftsmen.

"I wonder if the Cheng family can recruit craftsmen who know how to make gunpowder?" Pan Xiaogu asked again

Cheng Yun shook his head and gave a piece of news that surprised Pan Xiaogu

"The craftsmen who make gunpowder have to make a register in the government, and it is impossible to leave their state or county without an order from the government."

Cheng Yun looked at Pan Xiaogu with a puzzled expression, so he explained

"Not only the craftsmen who make and issue gunpowder, but also the blacksmiths who make weapons and armor, and the shipwrights who make warships, etc., all have to be registered in the government."

Pan Xiaogu understood that this was the imperial court's attempt to prevent the spread of weapons and technology.

Unable to recruit craftsmen directly, Pan Xiaogu could only settle for the next best thing, first get the raw materials for the production of gunpowder, and then research it himself.

"Then the Cheng family may buy saltpeter and sulfur, and I am willing to exchange a part of the transaction share?"

Pan Xiaogu remembers that there are many salt lakes in Central Asia and Xinjiang, and the production of saltpeter should not be low, but the sulfur is not clear.

"Thorn Shi wants to buy saltpeter and sulfur? Do you want to make your own gunpowder? Could it be that Thorn Shi still knows the secret recipe for that gunpowder? Cheng Yun looked at Pan Xiaogu in surprise, and he was quite uncomfortable.

"Ahem... Well, the recipe for gunpowder was mentioned in the military book I saw, so I wanted to buy some ingredients and try it myself. ”

"Can Lord Assassin Shi lend that military book to Yun Yiguan?"

"I accidentally lost the book." Pan Xiaogu lied without blushing

Cheng Yun: ......