Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The next day, early morning.

Fang Zheng Yi and Li Yuan Zhao appeared together on the campus of Dongjiao University. At this hour, the campus was mostly deserted, as most students were likely attending their early morning classes.

The two didn't linger, Fang Zheng Yi leading him directly towards the Ordnance Workshop.

Inside the Ordnance Workshop office, Mo Xiao Hu was hunched over a desk, studying blueprints.

Suddenly, the door creaked open.

Mo Xiao Hu frowned and couldn't help but look up.

Upon seeing who it was, he immediately stood up, flustered, and said, "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince! Greetings, Master!"

Fang Zheng Yi waved his hand, getting straight to the point: "No need to be nervous. How's the development of the new cannon coming along?"

"Cannon? So a new cannon has been produced?" Li Yuan Zhao exclaimed with delight.

He hadn't expected the Ordnance Workshop to produce new results so quickly, especially a cannon!

Fang Zheng Yi nodded.

Any significant achievements within Dongjiao University would be reported to him immediately.

News of the impending successful manufacture of this new cannon had reached his desk a month prior.

Now, if he wanted to achieve merit, there was probably no better starting point than with firearms, especially since they had recently achieved extraordinary success.

The entire court was full of interest in it, considering it a national treasure in everyone's mind.

"The cannon... the cannon is ready! It's set up in the backyard. Would Master like to see it?" Mo Xiao Hu asked, a bead of sweat forming in his palm.

"No need to be nervous, we're just here to take a look. Lead the way."

...

In the backyard of the Ordnance Workshop, there was an extremely open testing ground.

Many targets were erected on the field, presumably for gun testing.

Before long, Mo Xiao Hu found two artisans who pushed the cannon into the open space.

Without a word, they lifted the waterproof cover, revealing the menacing cannon barrel inside.

Li Yuan Zhao asked in surprise, "Why is this cannon two sizes smaller than the previous ones? And it looks so strange. Can its power keep up?"

Mo Xiao Hu said proudly, "Your Highness is right, this cannon is indeed much smaller than before, but in terms of power, it far exceeds the old cannons!"

"How is that possible? Can such a thing exist?" Li Yuan Zhao asked, full of curiosity.

"Of course, it's possible, as long as the materials and structure are right!" Mo Xiao Hu explained, "Your Highness should have seen the old cannons. The barrel walls were extremely thick, but the muzzle was small. It weighed eight thousand catties but could only fire projectiles of about eleven catties."

"The reason is that the previous casting level was not up to par. The iron mold casting of the cannons cooled from the outside in, generating a large amount of white cast iron. Although this cast iron was hard, it was extremely brittle, so they could only continuously pile on materials and thicken the barrel to ensure normal firing."

"Now, the Metallurgical Institute has adopted a new process, using a new double-layer method to cool from the center outwards, producing gray cast iron, which is of excellent quality, so it can completely reduce the amount of material used. On the other hand, the bore of the old cannon was the same thickness from beginning to end. We borrowed the pressure gauge developed by the Steam Institute and, after measurement, the pressure should gradually decrease from the combustion chamber to the muzzle. Therefore, the cannon body is now changed to a spindle shape, with the material used from thick to thin, which saves a lot of material again."

"Now, the casting material for one cannon can save a full three thousand catties of iron! The projectiles fired can also exceed twenty catties. It can be said that whether it is the range or the power, it is completely different from the original old cannon!"

Li Yuan Zhao listened in a daze and couldn't help but applaud, "Amazing... I originally thought that weapons like cannons were developed independently, but I didn't expect it to involve so many research institutes. The Ministry of Works is far behind you."

Fang Zheng Yi smiled slightly, "Your Highness, when it comes to research, interdisciplinary cooperation is more likely to produce results."

After speaking, he turned to ask Mo Xiao Hu: "The report you submitted earlier said that the cannon casting problem had not been resolved. Who solved this problem now? Award each person who made the first contribution one thousand taels."

Mo Xiao Hu was first delighted, then hesitated: "Master, the problem of cannon casting is a coincidence... We originally thought it would take three months to solve it. Later, someone thought that there were two foreigners in our capital, so we wondered if we could ask the foreigners about any crafts."

"Unexpectedly, we really asked! Although they don't understand the specific process, they did give the metallurgy a lot of inspiration. Should this reward be counted for the foreigners?"

Foreigners? Isn't that Fobert and Da Zhuang? I didn't expect these two foreign wastes to have some special skills!

Fang Zheng Yi thought for a while and said, "Where are these two people now? I want to see them."

"They are in the Metallurgical Institute. They were fired by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and are now working as assistants in the Metallurgical Institute. They are tall and strong and have a lot of strength."

"Hmm, what's going on?"

Mo Xiao Hu said: "I heard that the new official took office and thought the two were ugly, which affected the image of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so they found an excuse to directly dismiss them."

It seems that foreigners are still not welcome.

Fang Zheng Yi smiled and waved his hand, "Go and call these two people to me."

Seeing Mo Xiao Hu leave, Li Yuan Zhao whispered, "Lao Fang, why don't we fire a shot to try it out?"

"Don't mess around, this is a school! How much noise would it make? If you want to fire, find a place where no one is around. There will be opportunities in the future."

"Tsk, that's right, but what's the name of this cannon?"

"Well... I've already named it, you'll know in a moment."

Before long, the foreigners were brought in.

The two foreigners hadn't seen Fang Zheng Yi for a long time, and the grievances that had accumulated in their hearts suddenly erupted.

Da Zhuang said with tears in his eyes: "Lord Fang! You've finally come to find us. The new commander is unreasonable. Because we are foreigners, he wants to drive us away. We have all joined the nationality, how can we still be treated differently? You have to stand up for us!"

Seeing the two with tears in their eyes, Fang Zheng Yi smiled and pointed to the cannon: "Don't be afraid, today this official is here to compensate you."

"Your contribution to the manufacture of this cannon is great, and this official will greatly reward you."

"What is this, Lord Fang?" Da Zhuang asked puzzled.

Fang Zheng Yi looked puzzled, and Mo Xiao Hu quickly explained in a low voice: "Master, the new cannon is our secret. These two people only participated in the metallurgical process and have not seen the new cannon."

"Oh, you don't need to worry about what this is, just know that you have made a contribution and should receive a reward."

The two were overjoyed and looked hopefully at Fang Zheng Yi.

Fang Zheng Yi smiled and said: "In view of your contribution, this official has decided to give it a foreign name, so that when the world knows that foreigners participated in the manufacture, they will no longer treat you differently."

Fobert and Da Zhuang looked at each other, both feeling a little disappointed.

They don't even know what this iron tube is for, what's the use of giving it a foreign name? They thought they could get some silver.

"This official has decided, it will be called the Italian cannon, and in addition, you will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver each."

Fobert and Da Zhuang looked at each other.

What does that mean, they don't understand!

Although they didn't understand, they were still a little excited, after all, they earned one hundred taels for nothing!

Seeing this, Li Yuan Zhao whispered: "Lao Fang, look at their reaction? Do you really understand foreign languages, don't pretend if you don't? I'm embarrassed for you."

"Interesting!" Fang Zheng Yi said angrily, "Your Highness, I have been studying foreign languages for more than ten years, and you are the first one to say that I'm pretending! It's ridiculous! How delicious!"

......