As soon as Song Yingxing finished speaking, everyone present could not help but smile.
Strong financial backing, he said?
Heh.
This newly arrived scholar clearly still had no idea what "blessed by Dao Xuan Tianzun" truly meant. Material shortages were the last thing anyone here worried about. What they lacked was not supplies, but manpower. Specifically, blacksmiths. Give them enough smiths, and they could pile flintlock muskets into mountains.
Of course, the shortage of blacksmiths was no small issue. It was a real bottleneck.
The number of flintlock muskets could not increase quickly, and Dao Xuan Tianzun strictly limited the size of the militia. Too many able-bodied men could not be pulled away from production just to fight. That meant the number of musket soldiers was capped. Gao Village had to find other ways to compensate for gaps in firepower.
Right at this moment, Xu Dafu raised his hand again.
"You've finished testing your new muskets, right? Then it's time to test my new toy."
The blacksmiths turned toward him, puzzled.
"You've got something new again?"
Xu Dafu grinned. "Remember those little iron shells and iron beads I asked you to make last time?"
Gao Yiyi immediately recalled it. Xu Dafu had indeed commissioned a small iron casing shaped like a jar, along with a pile of iron pellets. Back then, when asked what it was for, Xu Dafu had only smiled mysteriously and refused to explain.
Now that the finished product was out, the secret was finally about to be revealed.
The blacksmiths had all heard about this strange request before. Their curiosity had been simmering ever since. Now every pair of eyes was locked onto Xu Dafu, waiting to see what kind of thing he would pull out.
Xu Dafu opened a box and carefully took out an odd object.
It looked like a small club.
The upper half was cylindrical, exactly the little iron canister they had forged. The lower half was a wooden handle, clearly designed for gripping.
Li DaoXuan took one glance and immediately burst into silent laughter. This thing looked exactly like a classic grenade from early modern warfare. The internal structure might be different, but the silhouette was unmistakable.
Gao Yiyi frowned. "A small hammer? No… that cannot be right. The iron shell is hollow. You cannot use this to strike anyone."
Everyone else was already thinking along a different line.
Xu Dafu specialized in gunpowder. So whatever this was, it had to involve explosives. Could it be that the iron shell was filled with powder?
Cheng Xu suddenly remembered the crude paper-wrapped bombs they had used against the Guyuan rebels before. His eyes lit up.
"This… could it be something you throw to explode? But it looks quite different from the last one."
Xu Dafu chuckled. "Exactly. It is meant to be thrown and explode. But this time, I added a wooden handle. With it, you can throw much farther."
Cheng Xu's face brightened instantly. "That makes sense. The farther, the better."
Xu Dafu continued, clearly enjoying the moment. "The previous bombs also had another flaw. Their power was limited. When they landed in enemy formations, only those right at the center were blasted away. The ones nearby would at most be knocked down. It disrupted formation, yes, but did not cause widespread damage."
He paused, then tapped the iron casing.
"But this time, it is different."
"Under Dao Xuan Tianzun's guidance, I packed many small iron beads inside. When it explodes, the beads will scatter in all directions."
He grinned wider.
"And the iron casing itself will shatter into fragments. Those fragments will fly out together with the beads."
The moment he said that, everyone present imagined the scene.
A cold chill crept up their spines.
For someone like Cheng Xu, who fought on the front lines, the thought alone was enough to make him feel like ghosts were dancing in front of his eyes.
Xu Dafu clapped his hands. "Alright, introduction over. Dao Xuan Tianzun has given it a name. It is called a fuse grenade. Now let's test it."
The instant he finished speaking, everyone retreated in perfect unison, backing away as fast as possible.
"Do not set that thing off near us!"
Xu Dafu turned his head. "Gao Chuwu, come try it."
Gao Chuwu strode forward without hesitation. He took the grenade, weighed it in his hand, and broke into a grin.
"With this thing, I can throw at least twenty zhang."
"Please do," Xu Dafu replied seriously. "If you throw it any shorter, the shrapnel may hit our own people."
He pulled out a fire striker and lit the fuse with a sharp flick.
The crowd immediately retreated even farther.
Gao Chuwu laughed, took two quick steps forward, swung his arm, and hurled the grenade with full force.
The grenade flew through the air, the fuse burning as it arced forward, traveling a great distance before finally landing far ahead.
Then came a thunderous boom.
The explosion rippled across the test field. The straw dummies set up in the area shook violently.
Everyone cautiously approached to inspect the results.
The sight was shocking.
Several straw dummies nearby were riddled with holes. Their clothing was torn apart, shredded by iron beads and jagged fragments.
Cheng Xu placed his hands on his hips and burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha! Incredible! This thing is incredible! It is more powerful than any weapon I have ever seen. Xu Dafu, make more, as many as you can. Give each of my men twenty of these and I can fight my way all the way to the capital!"
Xu Dafu rolled his eyes. "Stop dreaming. One good rainstorm and your entire force will be wiped out."
Cheng Xu froze.
"…Fair point."
Meanwhile, Song Yingxing had already pulled out paper and brush.
"This object is excellent. I must record it. I must record it immediately. Heh, another strange and marvelous invention to include in my Tiangong Kaiwu."
Without caring about his surroundings, he dropped to the ground, sprawled flat, and began sketching with intense focus. His posture was completely undignified, but his concentration was absolute. Before long, the outline of the grenade was complete, accompanied by a dense block of annotations.
He lifted the paper and smiled, utterly delighted.
Li DaoXuan watched all this unfold with satisfaction. Another technological leap had just been achieved. The militia's combat strength had just climbed another level.
The last battle against the border army had been dangerously close. He had intervened repeatedly with his giant hand, yet many of his little people were still injured.
But as Gao Village's weapons continued to advance, they would eventually be able to strike enemies from beyond effective range, reducing casualties to a minimum.
After all, the lives of his little people were extremely precious.
At this moment, Bai Yuan finished watching the demonstration. He was supposed to continue on to the county city, but instead he lingered, unwilling to leave. He reached out and grabbed Gao Yiyi.
"Master Gao, once your new flintlock muskets are ready, could you spare one for me? I would like to try it out myself."
Gao Yiyi laughed. "Master Bai, what are you saying? You and Gao Village are practically one family. Dao Xuan Tianzun will certainly equip Bai Family Fort's militia as well. How could you not have your share of flintlock muskets and grenades?"
Bai Yuan's face lit up with joy. "Good, good! The grenades are one thing, but I must master the firing technique of the flintlock musket. Heh, among the Six Arts of a gentleman, archery is one I take very seriously. I intend to become the finest musketeer."
The others stared at him, speechless.
"You are the lord of Bai Family Fort. Why are you so determined to become a musketeer?"
Ming Context:
Early Ming grenades were recorded as huozi dan (fire bullets) or zha yao, crude black-powder bombs made of paper, bamboo, or iron. Adding metal fragments to enhance lethality foreshadowed modern fragmentation grenades centuries ahead.
Trivia:
The "matchcord grenade" mirrors the German Model 24 Stielhandgranate from WWI—same stick handle, same satisfying BOOM. The name may be ancient, but the vibe? Straight-up action movie.