Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Details of the Bandits

Granular gunpowder was a step up from powdered gunpowder. Powdered gunpowder was prone to absorbing moisture, and during storage and transportation, it would gradually separate due to shaking, resulting in more charcoal powder on the top and more sulfur powder on the bottom. This caused uneven mixing, which was detrimental to the power and safety of the gunpowder.

Li Modao watched the craftsmen’s granulation with great interest and inquired about the details. It turned out that this technology was also introduced by the Westerners. The craftsmen said that this kind of gunpowder not only had a reliable explosion, but was also not easily affected by moisture, and was much better than the powdered gunpowder used before.

“This is another idea from the Westerners!” Li Modao had a kind of expectation in his heart, hoping that he could meet a Westerner and ask him about the use of these Western firearms in person.

“How much gunpowder has been made?” he asked.

The manager of the gunpowder bureau reported: “To answer your question, my lord, ten thousand jin have been made so far. Most of it is for firing, and there is also a small amount of explosives. There are also poisonous gunpowder and powder cakes.”

“This is too little. Ten thousand jin is not enough.”

“Yes, but the hemp stalk charcoal we need is hard to find, so we are switching to willow charcoal,” the manager said. “Making gunpowder now is different from before. Both saltpeter and sulfur must be purified before they can be used. Just refining the raw sulfur requires beef tallow and lard. Ten jin will cost two or three jin, and it takes a lot of time to raise.”

Coming out of the earthen enclosure of the gunpowder bureau, black smoke billowed into the sky three or four li away. This was the location of the blacksmith camp. Most of the weapons in the army were made of iron. Although the government had a special bureau to manufacture weapons, the army still carried some blacksmith tools, iron materials, and charcoal to repair weapons at any time. When necessary, they could also rush to make some weapons that were consumed in large quantities, such as arrowheads and iron pellets. Now the blacksmith camp was working day and night to rush to make cannonballs and projectiles.

In the camp, in one shed, swords and spears were being forged and repaired with a clanging sound, while in the open, there were seven or eight iron melting furnaces, with the furnace fires roaring and melting pig iron to cast cannonballs. The ground was full of large and small clay molds.

Li Modao saw that the material yard on one side was piled high with various iron materials, including iron bricks and iron rods bought from the ironworks, as well as various weapons and objects replaced from the army. Used crucibles and broken clay molds were piled into a small hill several feet high. The newly cast various cannonballs and projectiles were placed in rattan baskets, which had already been piled up to the size of several mu. Li Modao knew that the small baskets contained large cannonballs, and the large baskets contained canister shot.

The battalion’s thousand-household commander hurried out to greet him when he saw him coming. Like gunpowder, Li Modao had an urgent need to make more cannonballs and projectiles as soon as possible. Cannonballs were consumed in large quantities during war, and this time they were preparing for a long siege. If the firearms battalion ran out of cannonballs and projectiles and missed the opportunity for battle, his head would not be safe.

He looked at the large cannonballs in the basket. The quality of the cannonballs was uneven. Some were very round, while others had a large difference in diameter. The smoothness of the body was also different. The surface of some large cannonballs was very rough, almost like a honeycomb. What was even more fatal was that the same five-jin cannonballs actually had slightly different sizes. Some had a very large difference, and the size was clearly very inaccurate.

“These large cannonballs have to be sorted,” he said to the thousand-household commander in charge of the blacksmith camp who was greeting him. “Only the roundest and smoothest can be used for the Hongyi cannon. The others can only be used as canister shot. And also the size, some are big and some are small. They also have to be sorted.”

Li Modao knew that it was not a big problem to use such large cannonballs as canister shot for old-style firearms such as the tiger-squatting cannon, but if they were used in firearms such as the Frankish cannon or the Hongyi cannon, there would be problems with sluggish firing, and in serious cases, it could even cause the barrel to burst.

Years of experience in firing firearms told him that if the projectile was not smooth and round enough, even the best-cast firearm would leak air, and the cannonball would not travel far or even more terrifyingly, the barrel would burst.

The next day, while He Rubin was talking with his staff in his tent, someone suddenly came to report that someone from Qiongshan had responded to the recruitment notice, claiming to be a native of Lingao, had fought with the bandits, knew the details of the bandits very well, and was willing to serve in the army.

“Good, send a letter to Guangzhou and have this person sent over quickly,” He Rubin’s spirits were lifted. So far, he had not recruited a single native of Lingao, let alone someone who claimed to have fought with the bandits.

“According to the report from the prefect of Qiongzhou, this person is named Gou Chengxuan. He was once stripped of his scholar title by the province for ‘associating with bandits’ and was also wanted by the county. I’m afraid he is not a good person.”

“Associating with bandits?” He Rubin thought, could this person have worked for the bandits? If so, he would be even easier to control. If he was a scholar, he would have to be polite. Since he was a fugitive who had associated with bandits, he could be made to do whatever he wanted. “Have the Qiongzhou prefecture send him over as soon as possible.”

Gou Chengxuan had escaped from Lingao a few months ago. During the autumn tax collection, he had originally been waiting for the gentry and landlords to cause trouble so that he could fish in troubled waters and cause a great disturbance to make the bandits suffer. Unexpectedly, Huang Bingkun disdained to form an alliance with him and did it himself. As a result, he was utterly defeated, and the bandits’ land survey plan succeeded.

Having failed to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble, he could no longer stay in Lingao County town. As the Transmigration Group took over the county yamen, a large-scale clean-up and rectification of Lingao County town also began. The beggars and vagrants who had been living in the city were all arrested. Gou Chengxuan knew that it was impossible to continue to stay in the city disguised as a beggar. If he was caught by the bandits, even if his identity was not exposed, he would be sent to quarry stones and dig sand and be whipped by Fu Youdi. He immediately took out his clothes and a small amount of silver from his hiding place and escaped from the county town under the cover of the Lai brothers.

Seeing that he could not stay in Lingao, Gou Chengxuan could only prepare to escape. He let Lai Xiao, who worked in the county school, continue to hide in the city, while he took Lai Da to Qiongshan County town to settle down temporarily. But there was still no news of his sworn brother Gou Xunli, who had gone to Mount Pang to seek refuge. Having lost news of his father, lost all his family property, and had no way to take revenge, Gou Chengxuan was so desperate that he almost wanted to drown himself. Fortunately, Lai Da was by his side to comfort him from time to time.

Hearing in Qiongshan that the court was going to suppress Lingao, Gou Chengxuan, who had already been in despair, finally felt that heaven had opened its eyes. Seeing that they were recruiting people who knew the inside story of the bandits, he immediately responded.

After being questioned for a while in Qiongshan, Gou Chengxuan and Lai Da were sent to the main camp in Guangzhou by the magistrate of Qiongshan.

He was sent to the Humen main camp in shackles like a prisoner. After he got off the boat, his shackles were removed, and he was told to wait in a tent.

Gou Chengxuan’s heart was in a turmoil. It seemed that the government was not very polite to him. He wondered if it was because the government already knew about his crime of “associating with bandits.” This matter had to be cleared up no matter what.

Before he could catch his breath, a personal guard came to announce:

“The general-in-chief has ordered: bring in Gou Chengxuan!”

“Yes, please lead the way, sir,” Gou Chengxuan couldn’t help but feel nervous—this was the first time he had seen such a high-ranking official.

He couldn’t help but tremble all over. He hastily tidied up his clothes and followed the personal guard to the central army. A group of personal guards standing at the gate of the camp blocked him with their swords. A small leader of the personal guards looked him up and down and asked:

“Are you Gou Chengxuan?”

“Yes, I am Gou Chengxuan,” he replied in a low voice, his voice trembling slightly.

“Are you carrying a sword?”

“I am a scholar…”

“Cut the crap. Do you have one or not?” the leader of the personal guards at the gate said impatiently.

“No, I really don’t,” Gou Chengxuan quickly explained.

The leader of the personal guards was still not at ease. He searched his body before letting him enter the gate. The central army led him to kneel before He Rubin’s desk. His heart was beating like a drum. He did not dare to raise his head and said:

“Your humble servant Gou Chengxuan pays his respects to the garrison commander!”

“It was you who answered the recruitment notice, saying that you knew the inside story of the bandits?”

“It is I.”

“You say you know the inside story of the bandits. You must serve the court faithfully, and the court will naturally give you an important position,” He Rubin sized him up and felt that this person had a cunning face and was not a good person. He did not ask Gou Chengxuan to get up, but just slowly drank his tea. After a long time, he asked:

“You claim to know all the details of the bandits. Who are you yourself?”

“To answer your question, my lord, my surname is Gou…” Gou Chengxuan first told his life story, of course, he did not dare to say the glorious history of the Gou family in Lingao—a pirate’s nest, a local tyrant. He didn’t even dare to say that he was once a scholar, for fear of being asked about the matter of being stripped of his title—he was still a wanted criminal by the government. He only said that the Gou family was an ordinary local tyrant. When the bandits first landed, they had no grain and no men, so they set their sights on the Gou family village. They gathered their men and broke the village, killed his uncle’s whole family, robbed their grain and property, and coerced all the villagers. Only he and his father escaped alone.

When he spoke of the painful part, Gou Chengxuan secretly shed tears. But in this central army camp, he did not dare to cry. He just recounted the whole story.

He Rubin saw him gnashing his teeth and his eyes were red. He knew that what he said was not false, and it was unlikely that he was a spy sent by the bandits to go undercover. Only then did he ask:

“You and your father are both wanted criminals for ‘associating with bandits’ by Lingao County. What do you have to say? Tell the truth!”

Gou Chengxuan’s mind went blank. This was what he was most afraid of. He calmed himself down and then kowtowed and cried:

“I am truly wronged!” As he said this, countless thoughts flashed through his mind. The first was whether to tell the story of Wu Mingjin’s collusion with the bandits. In his heart, he wanted to bite this county magistrate hard, but he did not dare. As the saying goes, officials protect each other. Who knew what kind of backing this Wu Mingjin had? If he made an accusation, it would be easier for the officials to silence him than to crush an ant.

For now, he could only push all the blame onto the bandits. After he could win the full trust of the government, it would not be too late to take revenge.

“I was framed by the bandits,” Gou Chengxuan tearfully fabricated a story, saying that after the bandits broke his family’s village, they were afraid that the government would investigate, so they bribed the corrupt officials in the county and deliberately planted the pirate’s flag, documents, and seals on him.

As for who this corrupt official was, it didn’t matter. Anyway, the clerks in the county were either killed by the bandits or had completely defected to them, so he was not afraid that they would bite back.

“Master Wu mistakenly listened to the words of the vile people and thought that my whole family was colluding with the pirates. I am truly wronged. I beg your lordship to see clearly!” he said, kowtowing repeatedly.

He Rubin didn’t care if he was wronged or not. He was just using this to knock him down a peg and make him obedient. Seeing him kowtowing like pounding garlic, he said:

“Whether you are wronged or not, after we have defeated the bandits, we will definitely give you an explanation! As long as you do your best, even if you are a criminal, you can atone for your crime with meritorious service. If you have great merit, it is not difficult to get a position.”

“Thank you, General, for your great kindness!” Gou Chengxuan heard that not only would his crime not be pursued, but he could also get a title if he had merit. He couldn’t help but be moved to tears and kowtowed his head on the ground with a bang. “I will definitely do my best to repay your lordship’s kindness, which is as high as the sky and as deep as the earth!”

“The bandits’ firearms are said to be sharp. Have you seen them?”

“To answer your question, my lord,” Gou Chengxuan said cautiously, “the bandits’ firearms are indeed sharp. The sharpest are their muskets and volley guns.”

He then said that these muskets were divided into two types, one for the fake bandits who had defected, and the other for the real bandits themselves. Regardless of whether they were real or fake bandits, the muskets they were equipped with did not require a fuse and could be fired at will.

“The guns used by the fake bandits are called ‘Minie.’ They are similar to the muskets used by the government troops, but they do not use a fuse or an ignition stick when firing. They only need to place a copper piece on the touch-hole to fire, and they can be fired even in heavy wind and rain. Each gun only uses one bullet, but its power is extremely great. Not only can it penetrate iron armor, but its range is also more than four hundred paces.”

Everyone in the central army tent showed an expression of disbelief. A musket that could shoot more than four hundred paces, could that still be called a musket? Even a medium-sized Frankish cannon could not shoot that far.

Then Gou Chengxuan said that the muskets used by the real bandits were even more powerful. They did not need to be loaded one at a time. All the bullets and powder were stored in an iron box on the gun, and the soldiers could fire them at will. They were called “repeating muskets.”

Now everyone believed it even less. Gou Chengxuan knew that everyone did not believe what he said, so he quickly explained:

“A few days after the bandits landed, Magistrate Wu led several thousand village braves to attack the enemy camp fiercely. However, the enemy’s musket bullets rained down, and most of the village braves were killed or wounded before they could get close. This matter is known to everyone in Lingao, and I am not deceiving you, my lords.”

“What is a volley gun?”

“A volley gun is more than ten musket barrels connected together. When the gunner pulls the trigger, the muskets can fire in succession, either three or four shots in a row, or seven or eight shots in a row, or all at once. The power of the projectiles is no different from that of the Minie—it can penetrate iron armor at a distance of four hundred paces.”

A burst of astonished sighs sounded in the tent. Although the Ming people had not seen a repeating gun, they were still aware of the power of a rapid-fire weapon.

Chang Qingyun, who was sitting on the side, couldn’t help but say: “What nonsense! All the firearms in the world, without a fuse or an ignition stick, and without using a stick of incense to light the touch-hole, how can the gunpowder be ignited? To be able to fire with just a copper piece, isn’t that a demon!”

The other staff members were also very skeptical. After all, this was too far beyond the common sense of the people of that time. Lu Yizhong was more cautious and said: “There are many strange things overseas, such as crystal mirrors, self-igniting lighters, and fast iron ships. The bandits are also known for their strange and obscene skills, so it is not surprising that they have such firearms.”

He Rubin saw that Gou Chengxuan did not dare to speak, so he said: “You don’t have to be afraid, just speak your mind.”

“Yes, yes,” Gou Chengxuan, seeing that someone was defending him and the general-in-chief did not refute his words, became bolder again. “The bandits’… no, the bandits’ firearms, in fact, use the same powder as the Ming, but their gunpowder is made more finely, and they have several secret medicines that are used on their guns and cannons, which are specially designed to not be afraid of wind and rain and to self-ignite.”

“Do you know how to make this secret medicine?”

“The secret medicine is all made in the bandits’ Bairen Fortress. All the manufacturing is handled by the real bandits, and the fake bandits can only do some menial work. Therefore, I do not know the method of making it.”

Then Gou Chengxuan said that all the soldiers of the bandits’ land army did not wear armor, only cloth short clothes and rattan helmets. No one used swords, spears, or shields. They all used Minie fast guns, and the guns were equipped with three-edged short spears, which were very sharp.

“…The bandits use guns for long-range shooting and three-edged short spears for close-range stabbing.”

Hearing that the bandits did not wear armor, only cloth clothes and rattan helmets, several generals couldn’t help but laugh contemptuously. Because it had long been rumored that the bandits’ troops did not wear armor—not even cotton armor. As for wearing rattan helmets, it was even more strange. Could it be that they were imitating the rattan armor soldiers in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

“The bandits all use muskets. Don’t they practice with swords and spears?”

“Yes, I have only seen the bandits fire muskets and occasionally practice stabbing techniques. As for the common people they have coerced, some of them are used to using long spears.”

“I heard that the bandits have a huge cannon on the beacon tower in Bopu, which can fire up to ten li. Do you know about this?”

“I know. There is one on the beacon tower, and there is also one on the deck of the large iron ship.”

“A cannon that can fire ten li, is this true?”

Gou Chengxuan had seen these two cannons test-fired. The naval fortress artillery in Bopu had a live-fire exercise once a month. He had personally witnessed the amazing range of the cannonballs, but the reaction of the officials just now made him a little hesitant about whether to say the range was smaller to please them. However, if he said it was smaller, and the bandits opened fire, his lie would be immediately exposed, and he might even be “pushed out and beheaded” by the government army. He thought for a moment and said, “I have not seen it with my own eyes, but every time it is fired, the sound shakes for ten li. According to people, it can indeed shoot a cannonball more than ten li away.”

He Rubin then asked: “How many troops do the bandits have in their land and naval forces? How many of them are real bandits?”

“To answer your question, my lord, the bandits’ land army has more than ten thousand men,” Gou Chengxuan of course knew that the Australians did not have so many troops, but he decided to exaggerate a little, lest he anger the officials by saying too little. “The navy also has ten thousand men.” He quickly added, “Among them, there are very few real bandits, only a little over a thousand. They are all traitors from the sea in Fujian and Guangdong and the common people coerced from various places.”

“How many cannons do the bandits have?”

“As far as I have seen, there are almost everywhere,” Gou Chengxuan said. He had seen the Australians’ cannons everywhere in Lingao—many of the blockhouses along the road had a small cannon. As for the cannons used in field battles, he had seen more than ten. He also told He Rubin and others that the bandits’ cannons were lighter than the Hongyi cannons. The barrels were not thick, and the gun carriages were also very light, and could be easily pulled by horses. The smallest small gun carriage could be pulled by a single Sichuan horse and run like flying.

“The bandits have no mules or horses, and only use civilian laborers and fake bandits to pull the cannons. One cannon requires dozens of people, so they only use light cannons in field battles, not heavy cannons.”

“So, the bandits don’t have Hongyi cannons?”

“As far as I have seen, they really don’t,” Gou Chengxuan said with some hesitation.

“How powerful are the bandits’ cannons?”