The early winter sky was already a bit cold.
Yet, sitting in the courtyard, I was sweating profusely from eating.
Hua Niang quickly brought over a jar of Zui Xian Niang.
There was wine and meat.
Fang Er was also having a great time eating.
Your Majesty, it’s not that I’m bragging! When it comes to food, no one in the Great Tang understands it better than me!
Look, this lamb we’re eating, it’s only a month old, see how tender the texture is!
Later, I’ll have someone find some cumin, then we’ll make a whole roasted lamb, paired with beer, that taste, one bite and your mouth is full of oil, no worse than this hot pot!
What? What is cumin?
Cumin! It’s a spice from the Western Regions, most suitable for preparing lamb!
Roasted lamb without cumin has no soul!
Oh? Then when you get it, don’t forget to invite me to try it too.
Li Er also became interested.
No worse than this hot pot?
Then we must try it.
He believed his self-control was not bad.
This hot pot is really enjoyable!
The couple ate heartily and were very satisfied.
In the workshop.
Fang Er brought the sniper rifle to Li Er.
A rifle barrel of one point five meters!
It was a full fifty centimeters longer than ordinary firearms.
Demonstrate it for me.
Li Er looked at the sniper rifle curiously.
He had someone set up a target.
Fang Er lay down on the ground and raised the rifle.
After thinking, he went to put on the plate armor.
The recoil of this thing was too strong.
Without protection, he feared his shoulder blade would be shattered.
Li Er looked at Fang Er’s attire in surprise.
He was of military background, so he paid special attention to armor.
He understood even more how important good armor was to a military commander.
Eh? This armor of yours is no simple matter!
Li Er stepped forward and touched the plate armor with his hand.
It was a single piece of plate armor, with only two slits on the inner side of the arms.
It looked exceptionally protective.
I made this myself, it’s relatively easy to make, using a hydraulic forging bed, it’s formed in one go.
Fang Er patted the plate armor on his body and said proudly.
Come, take it off first and let me try it!
Fang Er untied the leather straps and helped Li Er put on the plate armor.
Once the plate armor was on, Li Er felt the benefits of this armor.
Light!
This was his first impression.
The weight of the entire set of plate armor was less than twenty jin!
He knew that his own Ming Guang Kai weighed a full seventy jin!
Then he looked at the edges of the plate armor.
He recognized at a glance that this was definitely tempered steel!
Did you really make this armor yourself?
Li Er couldn’t believe it.
Is there any reason to lie? I’ll take you to see how it’s made later.
Quick, try the rifle.
Li Er took off the armor and handed it to Fang Er.
After Fang Er put it on, he lay down on the ground.
He propped up the sniper rifle and aimed at the bullseye two hundred paces away.
The red bullseye in the four-times scope was particularly conspicuous.
After slightly adjusting his breathing, Fang Er pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Clang!
The first sound was the bullet being propelled by gunpowder, passing through the rifling at an invisible speed, directly creating a hole in the bullseye.
The second sound was the sniper rifle hitting the plate armor heavily.
Right on the bullseye!
Zhu Zi stood by the target and shouted the shooting results.
Li Er was stunned!
It was one thing to hear it in the report.
It was another feeling to see it with his own eyes!
Two hundred paces!
It pierced through the wooden target!
Come! Let me try!
Li Er was excited.
This thing was too powerful!
Fang Er helped him put on the armor.
Li Er, imitating him, lay down on the ground.
Your Majesty, look at the target through that round tube.
Fang Er reminded him from the side.
Without the four-times scope, looking at a target two hundred paces away.
You can't even see it clearly!
Let alone aiming to hit it.
Li Er brought his eye closer to look.
The target that he could barely see before, in this round tube, looked like it was only fifty paces away!
It’s so clear!
He felt that this trip to Fang Family Village today was truly worthwhile!
The hot pot and everything else were secondary.
A firearm that could shoot two hundred paces!
One-piece plate armor!
And this round tube that could see targets two hundred paces away so clearly!
He suppressed his excitement.
Aiming at the target, he pulled the trigger.
Thump!
The rifle body hit the plate armor heavily, and his shoulder hurt.
Now he understood why Fang Er had to wear plate armor to use this rifle.
Then he looked at the target on the other side.
Before Zhu Zi could report the result, he had already seen through the four-times scope that there was a new hole on the target.
It was far from the bullseye.
It was almost off the target!
This did not diminish his excitement in the least.
An Zhi, what is this round tube? It has such miraculous effects!
This is called a telescope, it’s made by grinding two pieces of glass into special shapes, the explanation is a bit complicated.
Fang Er scratched his head.
This thing can’t be explained in a sentence or two.
Glass?
Li Er was a bit confused. What is glass?
Uh, it’s liuli.
Fang Er could only switch to the term liuli.
Hiss!
Such transparent liuli.
And to grind it into special shapes!
The value of this!
Li Er dared not imagine.
As the ruler of a nation, he had never seen such transparent liuli!
This alone, he mentally elevated the value of the sniper rifle to an inestimable level.
Let’s go, take me to see how your plate armor is made.
Reluctantly, he handed the rifle back to Fang Er.
He prided himself on his benevolent governance and love for his people.
Therefore, even though he liked it, he did not ask for it.
Fang Er took the rifle and removed the four-times scope.
Your Majesty, you won’t be using the rifle, so I’ll give you this round tube. It can also be used by the Empress for amusement.
Li Er was a little surprised, but he was still very happy to accept the four-times scope.
Alright, I’ll accept it!
He casually handed the scope to Empress Zhangsun.
Guanyin Bi, try it, it’s very magical.
Empress Zhangsun took it curiously, brought it to her eyes, and looked.
Instantly, she was petrified.
Li Er, magnified several times in the four-times scope.
It was like the surface of the moon!
And those eyes!
They were bigger than ox eyes!
She then turned her gaze to the distance.
A bird's nest in a tree in the distance, the feathers inside were clearly visible.
Your Majesty! This item is too precious, how can I possibly play with it.
Empress Zhangsun quickly handed the scope to a随行的侍卫 (accompanying guard).
Keep it well, not a single scratch allowed!
Yes, Your Highness!
The guard carefully tucked the four-times scope into his embrace.
Fang Er smiled and said nothing.
He turned around and led Li Er towards the hydraulic forging bed.
He arranged for a blacksmith to take out a piece of plate armor blank.
A whole piece of steel plate.
It was placed on the forging bed.
The forging bed and the forging hammer were not the same set used for forging steel before.
Instead, it was a set specifically made for plate armor.
As the forging hammer struck down.
The entire steel plate was directly hammered into half a piece of plate armor.
It was removed, and the excess parts were cut off.
The second piece was also smoothly made.
The two pieces were put together.
A complete set of plate armor was thus easily produced!
Li Er touched the still warm plate armor in astonishment.
It was made so easily?