"Payne is back!" said Touron's face was filled with joy and excitement when he reported the news to Rand after nightfall.

Touron knew very well where Payne was going, and the news that Ziluo's convoy had been attacked on the road had already been transmitted back to the Kongdu Territory, so there was a rumor among the people that there was a group of bandits who had come and gone without a trace and were wandering on the route between the Kongdu Territory and Lindong City, and their movements were very fast and extremely powerful, and even the hundreds of people of the Ziluo family could not resist them.

But how could Tourang, who was a close minister of Rand, be deceived by these rumors, he knew very well whose hands the treasure of the Ziluo family was.

When the creaking sound of the heavy wheels crushing against the bluestone brick pavement drilled into Rand's ears, he was completely sure that Payne had actually brought back Ziluo's treasure completely.

Even though it was late at night, Rand still felt a little dizzy when he looked at the array of jewels and silver coins in the wooden box.

Hold on! Hold on! You're the duke's son, don't be so unproductive!

Rand held back the excitement in his heart, more than 600,000 silver coins are just a number in his mouth, and when it is filled with a dozen large boxes and placed in front of you, the visual impact is absolutely indescribable.

"My lord, I'm glad I didn't lose my life!" Payne's face was covered with wind and frost, and he looked very haggard after several days of running around and sleeping in the open.

"Hundreds of thousands of silver coins! I have never seen so much money in my life!" Touron swallowed in great discouragement, unable to take his eyes off the glittering wooden crate for a moment.

"With this money, we can form our own cavalry regiment, and we no longer need to passively wait for the onslaught of beasts and barbarians, we can fight them to the death on the plains and completely solve the threat from the outside!" Rand looked at Payne with excitement on his face and said, "What do you think of my proposal, Commander Payne?"

"Your lord, you ......" Payne's face was full of disbelief, he could hear the meaning of Lante's words, "you mean ......"

"You'll be the commander of the cavalry regiment!Penn, your performance proves that you have this ability!" Rand replied with a smile, "It's the honor you've earned for yourself." ”

......

"When I was about to make a move on Ziluo, his convoy was already very close to Lindong City. After taking a shower, Payne recounted his experience with Touron in Rand's office, "The battle is over quickly, and the new weapon is useful!"

Rand's main purpose was to hear about Payne's use of the firecracker, so that he could note its shortcomings when recording its shortcomings for future improvements, this primitive firearm was not powerful enough to have a place in the early stages of the war because of its novelty, but over time, its shortcomings would soon be revealed, and Rand had to improve it before the enemy could find a way to restrain it.

"The power of the firearm is most powerful within five meters, with the help of * and projectiles can break through leather and chain mail, and a frontal hit within three meters can completely inflict fatal wounds. Payne recalled the battle that night, and was still extremely satisfied with the power of the firebolt, "But the damage ability from five meters away will be greatly reduced, the air will bring resistance, and the weight of the projectile itself will also be weakened* potential energy, I roughly estimated that the maximum range it can deal damage is about twelve meters." ”

"Twelve meters is also a staggering distance, compared to the close combat of the knight's sword and spear, this weapon can kill the enemy from a long distance and avoid being attacked by the opponent. "Touron was of the opinion that the cavalry on the continent was barely equipped with long-range weapons, that the longbow could not pierce through plate armor, and that the heavy body could not be used by the cavalry.

The appearance of the firearm just filled the shortcomings of the cavalry's lack of long-range strike strength.

But Rand shook his head, the distance of twelve meters is not far or close, in the case of two cavalry charging at the same time, the fire gun is almost enough to fire once, the two sides will collide, and in the melee there is no way to fill the ammunition, the fire gun will turn into a heavy iron rod and lose its effect.

To change this, Rand will have to increase the range and accuracy of the firebolt.

Accuracy is always paramount for ranged weapons, and increasing the range of the firebolt can only be done with a small amount of change.

The longer the barrel, the higher the kinetic energy and accuracy of the projectile when fired, Rand has seen the first generation of firearms with a barrel length of two meters, and as the first generation of weapons developed in the initial stage, this gun called the Lumi gun has no worse range than the rifles of later generations.

"I'd like to change it to make it stronger, more armor-piercing, easier to handle, even women and children can master it, and make it more accessible to the air realm. Rand gestured with his hand to shape it, "Use flint instead of fire rope as a trigger, the seal is better, and the pointed bullet is used instead of the round bullet." ”

Throughout the evolutionary history of weapons, they have been simplified by cumbersome ways to operate and easier to operate.

The barrel of the musket is thick and short, which is suitable for firing scattered bullets for covering the blow at short distances, and Rand plans to improve the flintlock gun with a long and thin barrel, which can compress the air more thoroughly in a small space, but requires a higher quality of the barrel.

"Its muzzle velocity should be around 140 meters per second, which is more than twice the rate of fire of the ballista, and this speed brings more powerful armor-piercing force and potential energy, even if the opponent's armor is too thick to be pierced by bullets, the impact will drive his armor to break his ribs. Rand drew a rudimentary figure with pen and paper, "If this weapon can be mass-produced and fired by three teams in turn, we can effectively restrain cavalry tactics." ”

Muzzle velocity above 100 meters, what is this concept?

Payne calculated in his mind that the cavalry's charging speed was about 15 m/s, and the musket could inflict a fatal blow on the cavalry from two hundred meters away, and in the more than ten seconds of the cavalry's charge, the musket could fire at least two rounds, and the knocked out horses in the front row would effectively hinder the marching speed of the cavalry behind, so that if you want to break through the defense line of the musket, you must pay an extremely heavy price.

Rand also prepared to engrave a spiral pattern on the inside of the barrel, a guide that would later become known as rifling to allow the fired warhead to rotate forward, thereby improving the stability of the bullet's flight, as well as its range and penetration.

This is an extremely complex process, for which Rand needs to manufacture finely scaled boring tools for grinding and engraving the inside of the tube.

Hiring Oak was the best decision I've ever made.

Rand was complacent about his foresight, and in a world of low productivity, a clerk who could freely manipulate the flames could be of great help.

Just as Rand was describing his improvement plans to his two generals, there was a knock on the office door and Rand's personal servant walked in.

"Sorry to bother. After saluting respectfully, the servant stepped forward and presented to Rand a parchment scroll bearing the papal insignia, "There is a letter from the Holy See, which the messenger has instructed you to inform you at the first time!"

Rand and Payne glanced at each other, and they were both a little surprised in their hearts, what would make the Holy See so nervous, and he did not hesitate to inform himself as soon as possible in the middle of the night.

Could it be that Oak is exposed?