Wuhun City, Engineering Department.
After leaving the Papal Palace, Murong Huai was led by Tu Zhen and the other two to the Engineering Department. The Engineering Department of the Spirit Hall was very large, with thousands of craftsmen involved in construction, blacksmithing, carpentry, stonemasonry, and so on. It included Yongzhen, and Star Dome Valley was built by its subordinates.
The Spirit Hall Engineering Department stands silently in a solemn place. Its outer walls are constructed of dark, hard black iron stone, cold and heavy, with runes engraved on them faintly glowing, as if guarding against external intrusion. The tall archway is like the mouth of a giant beast, solemn and awe-inspiring, inspiring reverence in those who enter.
Stepping inside, the courtyard is spacious and tidy. The ground is paved with smooth bluestone, which has been polished by time and has a warm luster.
Passing through the courtyard, one arrives at the engineering hall, the heart of the engineering department. Inside, the hall is brightly lit by furnaces, and the intense heat is palpable. In the enormous furnaces, molten metal flows like a golden stream.
The craftsmen, dressed in special costumes and holding tools, are focused intently on forging various weapons, the clanging sounds of their hammering weaving together into a stirring symphony.
The surrounding walls are covered with all sorts of weapon prototypes and architectural design drawings, some simple and some exquisite, all showcasing the craftsmen's superb skills and boundless creativity.
In a corner of the hall, some rare materials are piled up, radiating a unique light and aura.
Murong Huai and his two companions arrived at the front desk of the hall, where a burly man wearing short leather armor stepped forward.
"My lords, this is the Engineering Department of the Spirit Hall. I am Zhang Wu, a craftsman. What are your instructions?"
Zhang Wu didn't question the other party's identity immediately, since those who could enter this place were all of high rank.
Upon hearing this, Murong Huai immediately produced the papal decree.
"I need to take twenty people with me: fifteen craftsmen, four master craftsmen, and one grandmaster craftsman."
Craftsmen are also all-encompassing, and blacksmiths are one type of craftsman. The levels of craftsmen are the same as those of blacksmiths in the original work, divided into junior craftsmen, intermediate craftsmen, senior craftsmen, master craftsmen, grandmaster craftsmen, and divine craftsmen.
Upon hearing Murong Huai's words, Zhang Wu was taken aback. The Grand Elder had ordered the construction of dozens of warships within six months, and the engineering department was currently working diligently to build them, so manpower was not very abundant. However, seeing the Papal decree, he knew that the person before him was at least an elder.
"Please forgive me, Elder, but the Engineering Department is currently focused on building warships and cannot spare much manpower."
The main reason was that Murong Huai needed people who were all above the level of master craftsmen, and it was indeed difficult to gather them all. Hearing Zhang Wu's words, Murong Huai did not blame him, as he had already understood the whole story.
"How many people can you gather?"
Zhang Wu calculated carefully and said:
"Reporting to the elder, we are currently short of manpower. We can gather twenty people, but a large number of master craftsmen and grandmasters have been sent to build warships. We can only gather three master craftsmen and ten craftsmen. The rest can only be high-level craftsmen."
Upon hearing this, Murong Huai nodded.
"That works too, but we should also pair some blacksmiths with these people and have them bring their tools to the Murong residence tomorrow."
"Yes, Elder." Zhang Wu was somewhat surprised that the other party was actually from the Murong family, and he quickly bowed.
Afterwards, Murong Huai and the other two turned and left the Engineering Department.
…,
Murong Mansion.
"Mother, could you please transfer some people from the Spirit Temple? I need them."
"Hey, what's the big deal? How many people do you need?" Upon hearing Murong Huai's words, Wu Qianyun didn't ask what it was for, but directly asked how many people were needed.
"Hmm... a hundred men should be enough, just ordinary guards will do," Murong Huai said after thinking for a moment.
Although Murong Huai is the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall, he currently has no real power or a strong team.
Upon hearing this, Wu Qianyun beckoned, and a maidservant beside her bowed.
"Yes, Madam." After saying that, the maid quickly left the Murong residence.
Before an incense stick's time had passed, the maid returned and said to Murong Huai:
"Young Master, everyone is already at the door."
"Okay, I understand." Murong Huai nodded. At this moment, Tu Zhen also walked in, first bowing to Wu Qianyun.
"Palace Master of Dance."
The latter nodded, and then Tu Zhen took out a map and handed it to Murong Huai.
"My Lord, the information you asked me to gather has been confirmed. I have already ordered the saltpeter and sulfur you mentioned... about a thousand catties."
"Oh, saltpeter? Huai'er, isn't that gunpowder? Are you going to make fireworks?" Wu Qianyun asked, somewhat puzzled by Tu Zhen's words.
"Yes, it's gunpowder, but not for fireworks; it's for firearms."
That's right. If we want to quickly and significantly improve the strength of the army, we can only rely on external forces. Although Murong Huai can't make soul tools, he is proficient in firearms, isn't he?
He didn't think firearms were weaker than soul tools. No matter how powerful a soul tool was, how far could its attack range be? How strong could its power be?
Think about global coverage, think about world nuclear peace... Moreover, firearms don't require soul power to activate, so there's huge potential for development.
What Murong Huai wanted to do was develop firearms based on gunpowder. In fact, the Douluo Continent has gunpowder, but it hasn't been developed much and has only reached the stage of fireworks and firecrackers.
Only later, when Tang San established the Tang Clan, it seems that some of their hidden weapons used gunpowder, but that was still considered part of the cold weapon era.
Moreover, the industrial sector is really chaotic. The Great Soul Arena has electronic screens, but long-distance communication still requires carrier pigeons. The roads have been built, but people still travel by horse-drawn carriages. He just can't understand this society that develops so fast yet so slowly.
Although Murong Huai was a 996 office worker in his previous life, he was also a science genius, the top science student in the country, a prospective researcher at a research institute, and had in-depth research on firearms. He had practical experience with artillery, firearms, and even missiles.
The technology in Douluo Continent is not advanced enough to produce any powerful weapons, but it is still good to make some simple firearms. Since we are going overseas, we can load firearms onto the warships.
"Firearms? What are those?" Wu Qianyun asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Hmm... I guess they're some kind of powerful fireworks..." Murong Huai thought for a moment.
"Alright, do whatever you want... just don't hurt yourself." Wu Qianyun waved her hand; as long as Murong Huai was willing, she would do whatever he wanted.
"Alright, Mother, I'll be going now." Murong Huai smiled upon hearing this and left with Tu Zhen.
Outside the Murong residence, a hundred fully equipped guards from the Martial Soul Temple stood in neat rows. Seeing this, Murong Huai nodded in satisfaction.
"That's right. Tu Zhen, lead them to move all the ordered saltpeter, sulfur, etc., into the Murong residence."
"Yes, Holy Son."
After finishing all this, Murong Huai entered the mansion. Once in his room, he took out a pen and began to draw on the paper. The pen tip moved with great skill in Murong Huai's hand; he could draw straight lines with ease, and even the curves were perfectly accurate. This was the experience Murong Huai had gained in his previous life; his eyes were the ruler, and his hands were the machine tool.
After a while, a series of drawings were laid out on the table, showing gun carriages, parts sizes, and so on. The drawing in the middle showed a cannon with the annotation "Hongyi Cannon."
Indeed, what Murong Huai drew was the Hongyi Cannon, which has a long range, great power, and can be mounted on warships, greatly enhancing the naval combat capabilities of the Spirit Hall army.
Moreover, the Hongyi cannon is not too difficult to manufacture, and its specific power still needs to be tested, but it will definitely live up to expectations.
The reason for not telling Qian Daoliu and the others directly is that the Douluo Continent currently has little concept of firearms; it's better to create a physical example and let the facts speak for themselves.
Moreover, Murong Huai was very confident in it, believing that firearms with a thousand-year history would definitely shine in the Douluo Continent.