Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 68 Gun Barrel
Wu Hua estimated that as long as the blacksmith could provide forged parts, his family could make two to three rifles for Chen Gu a day. The difficulty lies in the rifling inside the barrel, which must be carved bit by bit, otherwise four to five rifles can be processed.

Two rifles a day are enough for the time being. As for the blacksmiths forging accessories, there is no problem at all. After all, there are twenty blacksmiths. But after Chen Gu really asked, he found out that there was no problem with other accessories, but they could not make the gun barrel.

To put it bluntly, these blacksmiths are all rural blacksmiths. They are good at making farm tools and cold weapons, but their technology in forging seamless steel pipes is beyond their level.

Fortunately, it was just a gun barrel. If it really didn't work, Chen Gu didn't force it. At worst, he could ask Bian Shichun and others to purchase it. As long as he had money, he could buy things on the market.

During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, who was fond of ostentation and fame, corruption was already rampant in the imperial court, and it got worse with each generation. There was nothing that could not be bought or sold. Not to mention an iron pipe, even official positions and land could be sold as long as you could afford the money.

Although Jiaqing cracked down on corruption severely in the early years of his reign, it had already become a common practice. Given Jiaqing's personality, he could not stop the trend at all, unless Yongzheng was resurrected.

Chen Gu returned to the city and found Bian Shichun to ask about it. Bian Shichun said without hesitation that he could buy it, and that he could also buy a better barrel than the rifle in Chen Gu's hand.

"Is there a better one?" Chen Gu was somewhat surprised. After all, the rifle Zhang Haomin got him was already the best, and Chen Gu believed that Zhang Haomin would not lie to him.

Moreover, the muskets seized from Addis's men on the Tongan warship were actually the same as the muskets given to him by Zhang Haomin. Chen Gu even speculated that they were from the same batch of equipment.

You have to know that they are the personal guards that Addis brought with him to protect him, and they must be equipped with the best equipment of that era.

But if you want to move against the local big families, before you have overwhelming strength, I advise you to put away that idea. The emperor can take turns, but the family cannot be changed, otherwise you will be attacked by everyone! "

Seeing Chen Ju's doubts, Bian Shichun smiled and explained, "More than 20 years ago, during the battle of Jinchuan, because the battle was lost and the siege was unsuccessful, the late emperor not only formed a Jianrui Battalion, but also moved the arsenal to the front line, which is the place of Dajianlu.

"How about we work together?"

"Does your family have those craftsmen from that time?" Chen Gu asked Bian Shichun with a burning gaze.

Unfortunately, more than 20 years have passed, and there are not many elite soldiers left in the Jianrui Battalion. Most of the weapons and equipment from that time have been scattered outside, and even the craftsmen who forged that batch of weapons have also been scattered to various places. "

"We can do it quietly!" Chen Gu said with a frown.

"Of course not!" Bian Shichun smiled bitterly and said, "The Bian family is not qualified yet, but we do know that there is one."

This batch of muskets were forged at that time. They could be said to be the most sophisticated equipment in the Qing Dynasty. The Jianrui Battalion was also the most valiant army. Addis's personal guards were from the Jianrui Battalion.

"No matter what, I advise you to put away your bandit mentality!" Bian Shichun refused without hesitation, and before Chen Gu finished speaking, "Officials appointed by the court like Addis are naturally in opposition to the local clans, so it's better to kill him.

"Is it in that place?" Chen Gu asked immediately.

“We have them in Chengdu, Yibin and Chongqing.”

Bian Shichun glanced at Chen Jue with a half-smile and asked, "Do you think there is really an impenetrable wall in this world?"

Chen Gu couldn't help but curl his lips. Ordinary people would never be able to hide their actions from these local big families, unless you are the only one who knows about it.

They have been operating in the area for hundreds of years, and their power is intertwined. From officials to peddlers, there are many of their people. This is almost like a people's war. If you want to overthrow them, you must have overwhelming power. But if you have overwhelming power, they will surrender at the first opportunity, or you can wait for them to cause public outrage.

It is obviously not the right time yet. Ordinary people who still have stutters will not fight to the death as long as they are not at the point where they can no longer survive.

"Okay, then spend the money to buy it. How much does the best gun barrel cost?" Chen Gu asked.

"Ten taels of silver. If it's a regular shotgun barrel, the same as the rifle you have now, it only costs eight taels of silver each!" said Bian Shichun.

"Did you know about it in advance?" Chen Gu asked.

"Of course, your rifle is so powerful, we naturally have to know about it." Bian Shichun admitted.

"Are you trying to find a way to imitate it?" Chen Gu asked again.

"Of course!" Bian Shichun nodded. It was impossible for him not to want to have such a powerful firearm. Since Chen Gu was unwilling to share, Bian Shichun and his friends could only find a way to get it themselves.

Originally, the Bian family thought that if Chen Gu could do it, there was no reason why he couldn't do it with the family's background. But in the end, he really couldn't do it, and now there is no sign of anything.

However, the Bian family still had no intention of robbing. The principle that the big families have always adhered to is family survival first. Countless experiences have told them that family wealth can be accumulated slowly, and there is no need to take too many risks.

Perhaps one adventure could lead to the destruction of the entire clan.

People like Chen Gu, who dared to kill a provincial governor with just a rifle and a group of mountain bandits, were exactly the kind of people that a big family like the Bian family was most reluctant to provoke.

There is nothing perfect in the world. If it fails, or Chen Gu escapes, or even if only one person escapes from the entire village, it may bring disaster to the Bian family.

Although cooperating with Chen Gu would also carry the risk of being purged by the imperial court, the Bian family believed that this risk was worth taking.

Because the current imperial court is no longer the imperial court that would massacre cities and exterminate clans at will like in the early days of the founding of the country. Instead, it has become the situation they are most familiar with, where everything can be discussed.

Even if the incident happened and the court was held responsible, as long as the Bian family was willing to pay enough to smooth things over, they could get away with it.

Chen Gu couldn't help but smile when he looked at Bian Shichun. The reason why he was able to imitate the rifle was because he was very familiar with the structure of the rifle and knew the specific parameters and functions of each accessory by heart.

Just let the blacksmith forge the required parts of rough size, and then slowly polish them to make them refined, and you can assemble a rifle.

In contrast, the Bian family wanted to copy a rifle based only on its appearance, so one can imagine how difficult it would be.

Seeing Chen Jue laughing, Bian Shichun also laughed and asked, "Have you heard that Tao gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth to three, and three gave birth to all things?"

"What do you mean?" Chen Gu asked with a frown.

(End of this chapter)