Wang Huadu waited at the shipyard for several days without ever catching sight of Third Young Master Zheng Guozhen. Having no other choice, he returned to the Shao residence first.
On the tenth, Shao Shuyi came back from Liujiagang to practice his archery.
Cheng Ji arrived right on schedule, bringing along that bronze hand cannon. His intention was obvious.
Shao Shuyi remained genuinely fond of this "toy." Seeing that a wooden handle had been fitted into the hollow socket at its rear, he gripped it with one hand and gave it two test swings.
"It's a bit heavy," he said with a smile. "I couldn't hold it like this for long."
"Use both hands," Cheng Ji said. "In the army, it usually takes one man to light the fuse while another holds it with both hands."
Shao Shuyi was momentarily dumbfounded. A little "handgun" like this actually required two men to operate? Yet thinking it through carefully, it made complete sense.
He weighed it in his grip and estimated that the bronze piece weighed around seven jin, with a bore diameter of roughly two to three centimeters—closer to three.
The front section was the barrel, which looked to be less than twenty centimeters long by eye.
The bore connected to the powder chamber, an ellipsoidal bulge with a small touchhole on top for igniting the propelling charge.
At the rear was the stock-like socket used for gripping.
Both the muzzle and the powder chamber had reinforcing bands around them. Their purpose was simple: to keep it from bursting.
To tell the truth, it was quite fascinating.
As someone from the modern era, Shao Shuyi took an immense liking to this little contraption. After all, it was a firearm, which gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
"Twenty-five guan, not a coin less," Cheng Ji said, looking slightly abashed. "I'll also throw in an ember pot, a bit of powder, some shot, and a few touch cords."
"What's an ember pot?" Shao Shuyi asked.
Cheng Ji took a small iron pot from his bundle and said, "You keep hot coals inside it to ignite the powder when facing battle. The Jurchens used these back in the day, though in those times they were lighting fire lances, which could only scare people with bursts of flame."
So it was a way to carry a spark. Understanding now, Shao Shuyi asked again, "What about the shot?"
"Mostly iron, though there are stone balls too, just fewer of them. I've heard they have bronze shot up in Dadu, but it's too expensive, so they must use it even less." Cheng Ji fished out several iron balls and handed them over.
Shao Shuyi took them and looked them over. They were ellipsoidal pellets, all roughly the same size, though he had no idea how they were cast. Fortunately, the surfaces had been polished relatively smooth; they ought to fit down the barrel.
"When loading, keep the muzzle pointing up and pour the powder down inside," Cheng Ji said, pointing at the firearm in Shao Shuyi's hands. "Then insert the iron shot. It's best to put in only one, though putting in more won't hurt."
Shao Shuyi was slightly stunned by what he heard.
In the era of the matchlock, any soldier who rammed more than a single lead ball down the barrel would probably have been hauled up before his officers. How could this hand cannon take more than one? Was the seal that terrible?
Still, he soon made his peace with it.
In this era, firearms were far from mature, and there was no developed tactical doctrine to speak of. Everyone simply used this novelty on instinct. Watching the fire, listening to the bang, and blasting it straight into an enemy's face at point-blank range during sieges—that was likely the mainstream tactic.
"Sold. Twenty-five guan it is. But you have to teach me how to use it," Shao Shuyi said, counting out a stack of paper money with inward reluctance.
"Naturally, I'll teach you," Cheng Ji said, looking slightly sheepish.
He had an honest, upright nature, and he felt a bit guilty about selling the man a bronze piece of such limited practical use.
"Come on, let's test it in the backyard," Cheng Ji said, gathering up the ember pot, powder, and iron shot.
***
Darkness gradually fell, and plumes of cooking smoke rose across the village.
First one plume, then two, then three…
Earlier on his way back, Shao Shuyi had bought a cured chicken, picked up a few extra pots and bowls, and had Wang Huadu call Yu Yuan over so the four of them could sit down to eat and drink together.
Having eaten at the Shao house many times now, Cheng Ji was no longer reserved. Like a sweeping wind driving away clouds, he emptied two bowls of rice in the blink of an eye.
There was no helping it; after a full day of lessons, he was thoroughly worn out and needed to replenish his strength.
Wang Huadu talked about what he had seen and heard at the docks, his spit flying as he described the exotic spices and treasures brought by foreign merchants. Toward the end, he laughed at how stubborn certain foreign traders were, actually shipping a massive cargo of timber from across the seas. Even though people had bought it all in the end, doing such a thing was plainly a thankless slog.
Yu Yuan cautiously mentioned that his elder brother had confined him to the house to study lately, and he had sneaked out tonight. During the recent crackdown on defaulting households, many boat households had been dragged into the mess. The Transport Office was at its wit's end and had no choice but to petition the Provincial Branch Secretariat for a delay.
Hangzhou refused, but they agreed to conscript a batch of wealthy commoners as boat households, deploying troops from three Myriad Household Offices to keep things under control: the Central Myriad Household Office of Jiaxing and Pizhou, the Lower Myriad Household Office of Songjiang, and the Lower Myriad Household Office of Han Troops and Interpreters of Jiangyin and Xupu. This was a combined amphibious force whose origins traced back to northern tribal forces that had fled south to join the Southern Song, mostly people from Liaodong within the former Jin territory who understood different languages.
At the mention of this, everyone sighed. Boat households were never a permanent caste. Disasters regularly struck—boats overturned at sea, families went bankrupt and fled, rebels were executed, or entire lines died out from disease. Because of this, the authorities conscripted a fresh batch of commoner households as boat households every few years or decades.
In recent years, those conscripted were mostly prosperous families, the intention being to have them procure vessels and shoulder grain transport duties—some people were even willing to give them boats for free. Meanwhile, boat households that had fled in ruin or fallen into wretched poverty were pardoned or stricken from the registry to return to ordinary commoner status.
Cheng Ji mentioned that after his unit helped collect the tax arrears last time, the army had gained almost nothing from it. Complaints were rampant, and next time, the men probably would not obey orders.
Hearing that, Shao and Wang both said, "Serves them right," while Yu Yuan chuckled secretly beside them.
The meal went on merrily and took a long time to wind down before they finally dispersed to rest.
No one knew how much time had passed when Shao Shuyi, who was writing out draft contract clauses in preparation for the future, heard a rustling sound by the window and instantly looked up.
Under the hazy moonlight, a dark silhouette was pressed against the tattered window paper, peering inside.
A jolt went through him. Grabbing a boot from beneath the bed, he flung it straight at the window.
With a thud, the boot hit the ground, and a faint gasp came from outside the window.
Yu Yuan was startled awake as well, rubbing his eyes in a daze.
Shao Shuyi yanked him hard and barked, "Get up, there's a thief!"
Yu Yuan gave an "Ah!" and turned deathly pale. Seeing Shao Shuyi glaring at him, he scrambled off the bed, stumbling and knocking over several objects in his panic before finally locating a kitchen cleaver wedged into a crack in the wall.
Footsteps echoed outside. A moment later, a massive figure appeared beyond the frame. Saying nothing, he brought raw brute force to bear, battering the window.
Unable to withstand such violent blows, the dilapidated window groaned and teetered on the verge of collapse.
"Xiaohu, what's happening?" Wang Huadu's shout came from the west room.
"Intruders! Watch out!" Shao Shuyi roared.
A flurry of thumps and cries of pain erupted in the west room, showing that Wang Huadu and Cheng Ji had already gotten up.
"What are you standing there for? Get up there and hold him off!" Shao Shuyi snapped, turning to Yu Yuan.
Yu Yuan stumbled forward blankly and hacked at the window with the cleaver.
Clang! The dull blade struck the window lattice, sending two wood splinters flying.
Plainly, Yu Yuan had no idea what he was doing; his head was completely spun around. Yet it was precisely this wild action that startled the hulking brute outside, causing him to instinctively step back several paces.
Shao Shuyi found his tinder stick and tried to light the oil lamp. But in the frantic rush, the usually reliable stick threw a fit, taking several agonizing moments to catch fire.
When the pea-sized flame finally sputtered to life, he let out a long breath. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, face, and back, and even his hands were trembling slightly.
The pounding resumed, and sharp cries broke out not only in his east room, but also from the west room.
Shao Shuyi could no longer worry about anyone else.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he reached under the foot of the bed and pulled out the hand cannon, ember pot, touch cords, powder pot, and shot.
"Brother Shao, he's back!" Yu Yuan cried from behind the window, his voice thick with tears.
"Hold the line!" Shao Shuyi roared. He brought the ember pot toward the lamp, only to freeze halfway through the motion.
Damn it! This wasn't an open battlefield where he needed to preserve an ember for hours—wasn't the oil lamp itself a flame?
He tossed the ember pot aside, clamped the hand cannon tightly between his thighs with the muzzle pointed straight up, picked up the powder pot, and poured gunpowder down the barrel.
Crash! The cleaver was knocked flying from Yu Yuan's hand with a sharp ring.
Like a madman, he seized a chair and shoved it hard against the window to keep it from giving way.
Beneath the moonlight, an axe blade gleamed with cold silver. The burly man outside wore a savage scowl, swinging his heavy axe with ferocious force to smash what remained of the window frame to kindling.
He was growing slightly anxious; breaking through the window had already dragged on too long. Had he known, he would have been better off forcing the door.
Shouts of fury, the clashing of blades, and muffled groans of pain were already echoing from the west room.
Shao Shuyi felt as if his head were about to explode.
Sweat dripped from his brow one drop after another, soaking strands of his hair and stinging his eyes as it blurred his vision.
His legs were truly failing him, trembling uncontrollably and shaking the barrel along with them, spilling gunpowder all over the floor.
He ground his teeth, his eyesight wavering, and poured every ounce of strength into keeping his legs steady as he continued dumping in the powder.
With a resounding crash, the battered window lattice gave way and tumbled outward to the ground.
Covered head to toe in splintered wood, fluttering scraps of paper, and thick dust, the brute cursed through clenched teeth and prepared to climb through the opening.
Yu Yuan wiped away his tears and let out a desperate yell!
His voice carried fear, trembling, and weakness, yet his movement was utterly resolute as he seized a folding stool and hurled it across the gap.
The brute had just crouched to climb over the sill when he saw the stool flying straight at his face. He ducked instinctively. Once the stool whistled past, fury twisted his features further, and he hauled himself up even faster.
Shao Shuyi had already cast the powder pot aside. He genuinely could not tell how much powder he had poured into the chamber, or whether the gun might burst; powder was spilled everywhere across the barrel and bedside anyway.
He heard every commotion in front of him, yet he could not spare a single thought for it. Having poured the powder, he swallowed hard, produced an iron ball, rammed it into the barrel, and used a wooden rod to drive it home with all his might.
The enemy was climbing over the sill a second time.
Yu Yuan hurled an earthenware pot, but the man swung his axe and contemptuously smashed it to shards.
Under the pallid moonlight, his frame seemed monstrously huge, his coiled muscles resembling a mountain of flesh. No one could doubt the explosive power coiled within him—power enough to easily snap a weak weakling like Yu Yuan and cleave Shao Shuyi's skull open with a single blow.
Shao Shuyi had just picked up a touch cord and touched it to the lamp to catch fire.
The brute virtually ignored Yu Yuan, charging straight toward Shao Shuyi.
The man across from him was sitting on the bed, looking as if he wanted to stand and run, yet his trembling legs could not support his weight. In sheer desperation, he could only raise the "short club" in his hands, seemingly trying in vain to shield himself.
The brute flashed a cruel grin. Just as he closed in, Yu Yuan grabbed hold of the hem of his robe.
Annoyed, he drove an elbow backward, sending Yu Yuan crashing to the floor with a scream of agony.
The brute turned back toward Shao Shuyi, only to see him holding a glowing cord toward the "short club."
He felt a flicker of confusion, but couldn't be bothered to think about it, lunging straight forward.
The other man was deathly pale, his eyes wide with frantic desperation, seemingly too terrified to move.
The brute hesitated no longer. Just as he raised his great axe, an orange-red flash burst violently before his eyes, followed by a deafening boom.
A searing agony tore through the brute's chest. Before he could even register what had happened, he felt all his strength melting away like ice under the sun.
He tried to steady his footing, but could not.
He tried to raise his axe, but no longer had the strength.
The agony in his chest ravaged his nerves until his vision went black, and he collapsed heavily to the floor, twitching without consciousness.
Another figure appeared at the window, short blade in hand, staring in shock at what had just transpired.
Without a second thought, Shao Shuyi fought through the pain and leveled the empty hand cannon straight at the window.
The man let out a terrified screech and fled in panic.
A heavy stench of blood gradually drifted through the air, and silence returned to the room.
Chapter 29