Chapter 287: Fuse Hand Grenade

Hearing Song Yingxing’s words, everyone present couldn’t help but smile.

Need immense financial support?

Hah!

Well, this new scientist still doesn’t understand what “Deity’s protection” means. Mere supplies are no issue at all. What we truly lack is a sufficient number of blacksmiths. With enough blacksmiths, we could pile flintlock firearms into mountains.

Naturally, the shortage of blacksmiths remains a critical problem.

Flintlock firearms can’t be quickly mass-produced. Moreover, the Deity strictly controls militia troop levels, prohibiting too many able-bodied men from being drafted for battle. Consequently, firearm soldiers remain scarce. Gaojia Village must find other methods to compensate for the firepower gap.

Just then, Xu Dafu raised his hand again. “You’ve finished testing your new firearms, right? Now it’s time to test my new creation.”

The blacksmiths asked curiously, “What new thing do you have now?”

Xu Dafu replied, “Remember those small iron shells and iron pellets I asked you to forge last time?”

Gao Yiyi recalled it. Xu Dafu had him forge a small, hollow iron shell resembling a jar and a pile of iron pellets. But when asked about their purpose, Xu Dafu had refused to reveal it.

Now the final product was complete. Could the mystery finally be unveiled?

All the blacksmiths had heard of this and were brimming with curiosity. They stared wide-eyed at Xu Dafu, eager to see what he would produce.

Xu Dafu pulled out a box, opened the lid, and carefully took out a peculiar little hammer. Its upper half was cylindrical—precisely the small iron container the blacksmiths had made. The lower half had a wooden handle for gripping.

Li Daoxuan instantly beamed upon seeing this thing. This was a quintessential WWI/WWII-style hand grenade! Though the interior differed, its shape perfectly matched those grenades. Any war movie depicting my forces showed them using this exact device in large numbers.

Gao Yiyi muttered, “A little hammer? No… impossible… This jar is hollow. It couldn’t be used to hit anyone.”

Everyone else thought: Xu Dafu works with gunpowder. So this thing must be related to explosions, right? Could this iron container be filled with gunpowder?

Cheng Xu remembered the paper-wrapped black powder bombs he’d thrown during the fight against the rebel band in Guyuan. He had a sudden insight. “Isn’t this a bomb meant to be thrown for exploding enemies? Though it has many differences from the last one.”

Xu Dafu chuckled. “Correct! It’s for throwing and exploding enemies. But unlike last time, it has a wooden handle. This lets you throw it much farther.”

Delight surged in Cheng Xu’s heart. “Makes sense! The farther the throw, the more useful it is.”

Xu Dafu continued, “The last bombs also lacked sufficient power. When landing amidst the rebels, only those at the explosion point got blasted away. Others nearby just stumbled. They only disrupted formations. But this one’s different…”

“The Deity also instructed me to pack it with many small iron balls. When it explodes, those balls will scatter everywhere… heh heh heh… Plus the iron shell itself shatters upon ignition, creating deadly shrapnel that flies everywhere with the small steel balls…”

Even imagining this scene made everyone present shudder.

For someone like Cheng Xu who actually fought on battlefields, just picturing the enemy having this weapon felt like seeing grandmothers dancing before his eyes.

Xu Dafu declared, “Alright, I’ve explained it. The Deity named this thing ‘Fuse Hand Grenade’. Let’s test it now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone scrambled backwards in unison, putting significant distance between themselves and the grenade. “Don’t detonate that thing near us!”

Xu Dafu called out, “Gao Chuwu, come try it.”

Gao Chuwu quickly walked over and took the Fuse Hand Grenade. He weighed it in his hand, grinned broadly, and declared, “I can throw this at least twenty zhang far.”

“Good. Please throw it at least that far. Otherwise, the explosion might wound our own people with the steel balls.” Xu Dafu pulled out a tinder box, striking it swiftly. The grenade’s fuse ignited instantly.

The onlookers scurried even further away…

Gao Chuwu flashed a wide grin, took two running steps forward, swung his arm, and launched the grenade forcefully…

The grenade, trailing burning fuse, soared far, far away. It truly flew over twenty zhang before landing. A reverberating “Boom!” echoed as the grenade detonated. Instantly, nearby scarecrows in the testing field rattled violently.

Walking closer, the group saw multiple scarecrows riddled with countless tiny holes in their clothing—holes punched entirely by the scattering steel balls and iron fragments.

Witnessing this, Cheng Xu planted his hands on his hips and roared with laughter. “HAHAHA! Incredible! This thing is simply incredible! More potent than any firearm I’ve ever seen!” He turned to Xu Dafu. “HAHAHA! Xu Dafu, produce them! Produce them like mad! Stock twenty for every one of my men! With these, I could carve a path straight to the capital!”

Xu Dafu rolled his eyes. “Stop dreaming. One rainy day on the road, and your whole force would be wiped out.”

Cheng Xu froze mid-laugh…

Meanwhile, Song Yingxing swiftly pulled out paper and pen. “Magnificent! I must sketch this! Sketch it immediately! Heh… Another wondrous device for ‘Heavenly Mechanisms and Fabrics’…” Ignoring surroundings, he plopped down right there, sketching furiously on his stomach. In seemingly no time, he drew the grenade’s outline and added lengthy notes. Holding up the paper, Song Yingxing was utterly delighted.

Watching his little people achieve another technological breakthrough also pleased Li Daoxuan greatly. Their militia troops’ combat power just surged significantly! Fighting the border army previously proved perilous. Despite his continuous intervention, many militiamen still got wounded.

But as Gaojia Village’s firearms continued advancing, future strategy should focus on destroying the enemy within their firing range, before they close in. Only then could the little people’s casualties be minimized.

After all, those little lives were extremely precious!

Having witnessed the spectacle, Bai Yuan prepared to continue towards the county town. Yet he lingered, tugging Gao Yiyi’s sleeve. “Artisan Master Gao, once your new-style flintlocks are finished, could I have one? Let me practice with it too!”

Gao Yiyi smiled reassuringly. “Mr. Bai, how could you say that? You and Gaojia Village are practically family! The Deity will surely equip Bai Family Fortress’ militia troops with new weapons too. Are you implying the Deity would forget you? Flintlock firearms and grenades? You’ll definitely get yours!”

Bai Yuan was ecstatic. “Splendid! Though I can overlook grenades for now, mastering the flintlock firearm’s firing technique matters deeply to me. Heh heh heh… In the Six Arts of Gentlemen, I take the ‘archery’ discipline very seriously. I aspire to become the most formidable firearm soldier!”

Everyone stared at him incredulously. “You? The esteemed Bai Family Fortress lord? Why on earth do you want to be a mere firearm soldier?”