Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Mo Xiaohu also chimed in, urging, "Exactly! Exactly! You've already come all this way! Don't rush to leave, sir. I'll go get you some good stuff right away!"

Having said that, he hurried off to fetch something, returning shortly with a small box in his arms.

Opening the box, there were only three items besides some dry grass.

Mo Xiaohu took out the first item, proudly declaring, "This is the hand cannon Zhao Lie mentioned, called the Three-Shot Hand Cannon! It can fire three shots in quick succession!"

"While its power isn't as great as a flintlock pistol, its advantage lies in its convenience and concealability, making it perfect for self-defense!"

Zhao Lie's eyes gleamed with excitement: "That's right! This is the one!"

"Last time I came, you said it wasn't finished yet. The one you're showing me now should be the finished product, right?"

Mo Xiaohu shook his head: "How should I put it? This one still doesn't meet the master's requirements. It still has significant flaws, like an extremely slow reload time. But fortunately, as long as you load three rounds of ammunition beforehand, it can be used to prevent unexpected situations."

"Actually, it can hold more than three rounds, but the more rounds you load, the more likely it is to jam or explode. We haven't solved that problem yet."

"There aren't many people in our workshop, and making a stable three-shot burst is already our limit. Moreover, each of these guns costs over six hundred taels!"

Six hundred taels? Xie Xian felt much more at ease looking at the hand cannon. This thing looked shorter and thicker, so it shouldn't explode and kill someone...

"This thing... shouldn't explode, right?"

"We can't completely guarantee that any piece of machinery is problem-free, but this gun is relatively safe. The barrel has been thickened, so the possibility of it exploding is extremely low, but it still might jam," Mo Xiaohu explained. "But that's not a problem! Just bring two! If one breaks, just switch to the other!"

Zhao Lie clearly admired the hand cannon, exclaiming, "Great! Today it can fire three shots in a row, who knows, in a few years, you might be able to make one that fires thirty shots in a row? Wouldn't that be invincible!"

"Let's fire a shot and see how powerful it is? If it's good, I'll take all you have!"

Mo Xiaohu sighed: "We only have four. If you want them, just take them all."

"The underground uses open flames, so the remaining ammunition and gunpowder are stored in the research institute on the surface."

"Also, we don't have any funds here right now, so we can only be responsible for drawing the designs."

"Oh, right, when you take the gunpowder and test fire the gun, be careful to avoid the people from the capital. But they usually stay at the Snow Moon Tower, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

"The gun is very simple to use. Just pull the trigger, aim at your opponent, and shoot. As for reloading, the people above will teach you."

Xie Xian took the gun and fiddled with it for a moment, nodding.

Then, Mo Xiaohu carefully lifted a large wooden box from the box.

Seeing this, Zhao Lie asked curiously, "What is this thing? I've never seen it before?"

Mo Xiaohu smiled triumphantly: "This is called a landmine! It has a mechanism inside that triggers an explosion when stepped on! Anyone who steps on it is sure to die!"

"There aren't any gunpowder packs inside either. It's a bit more troublesome than using a gun, and it can only be used for defense, not offense."

"Besides stepping on it, you can also use a tripwire to trigger it!"

"Even the master hasn't seen this treasure yet!"

Hearing this, Zhao Lie immediately perked up: "Good! Good! This is truly practical!"

"If we had this when hunting tigers in the mountains, it would save a lot of trouble. Why didn't you take it out earlier?"

Mo Xiaohu smiled wryly: "We only made it recently. The structure of this thing isn't complicated, and it's easy to make."

"The main thing is that it saves money... We found two carpenters and made it. Except for the flint and gunpowder, it's basically all made of wood."

"But when loading the explosives, you can add some gravel or iron shards to increase the power!"

Zhao Lie picked up the wooden box and fiddled with it, smiling: "It hasn't been easy for you guys. But I don't think the foot-activated one is necessary."

"It's too troublesome to set up such a big thing. We mostly operate in the city, so we can't bury it anywhere. What short-sighted idiot would step on it?"

Mo Xiaohu turned around silently and grabbed a pen, writing a line of large characters on the landmine box: [Dare you try stepping on this].

"Do you want to step on it now?"

Zhao Lie: "........"

Xie Xian: "........"

Both of them were speechless for a moment.

They actually wanted to step on it... But this trick can only be used once, and you have to set it up in advance...

"Even in the city, it can still be used. When the time comes, you can lengthen the tripwire, throw it directly into someone's yard, and then pull the tripwire to detonate it."

Zhao Lie thoughtfully said: "Hmm, not bad! Detonating it after throwing it is interesting! That's a good way to use it!"

Finally, Mo Xiaohu bent down and took out the last item, a dagger with a slightly peculiar design.

"This appears to be a dagger, but it's actually also a gun!"

"There's a small trigger here. As long as you pull it, a bullet can be fired from the bottom of the dagger's hilt. Although the power isn't lethal, it can be surprisingly effective in close combat!"

"With the hand cannon and the dagger, an untrained ordinary person can withstand three or four trained soldiers in close combat!"

"Adding the landmine, you can attack and defend! Unless the other side far outnumbers you, guaranteeing your safety shouldn't be a problem!"

Xie Xian nodded with admiration.

It seems that the guys at the armory are still very useful. I can consider going back and asking the master to apply for some funding for them.

"That's all the items. Sir, what do you think?" Mo Xiaohu's eyes were full of hope.

For the past two years, the armory has been constantly suppressed by the steam workshop. Whether or not they can get funding depends on this time!

"Excellent! Excellent! After I've used them, I'll report this matter to the master!"

Mo Xiaohu immediately beamed with joy: "Good! Good! Good! Once the funding is approved, I'll treat you to a night at the Snow Moon Tower!"

"I want to go too," Zhao Lie said.

"Then you're included."

"Sir, all the items are ready. What else do we need to prepare? If there's nothing else, we can set off at any time."

Setting off now seems a bit rushed. The master gave me a month to prepare, so we definitely can't just set off in such a hurry.

I still need to find Zhou Tie and Qian Desheng to learn about the situation in the old territory of the Qian Kingdom in the South, and find some manpower to make some preparations.

Otherwise, acting rashly might lead to unexpected situations, and it might be troublesome to seek supplies at that time!

Xie Xian pondered for a moment and said, "No rush. The master gave me a month. I need to practice with this gun first. I also need to carefully understand the situation in the salt-producing areas of the South. This trip won't be short, so you should also go home and make some preparations."

"Moreover... there may be many places we need to go, and we also need to go to the printing house to prepare some travel permits. In the future, if our people are traveling outside and make too much noise, just claim to be members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"What's the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just remember that you're members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"Got it!"

.........