Kays Translations

Chapter 60: The Gathering

Five days later, the first matchlock gun was born; though it was crude and even ugly, everyone was still excited. The barrel was made using a boring process, which was time-consuming but very precise. 

Additionally, having magic was indeed convenient—no need for flint or cigarettes. With a simple rub of the fingers, a small spark appeared, igniting the gunpowder-filled match cord. The bullet inside the barrel could also be slightly modified with magic to better fit the gun.

“Bang!” The sound was crisp and fierce, and using yellow gunpowder in the matchlock gun yielded surprisingly good results. Moreover, the explosives in this world seemed to have particularly strong power, and the bullet instantly hit the stone wall ahead.

A fist-sized dent suddenly appeared on the stone wall, debris scattered, and a deformed metal bullet was embedded in the granite.

“Tsk…” Li Xian was 100% certain that the power of the explosives here was at least double that of those on Earth!  

“What caused this? Can it be increased further?” Greed knows no bounds, and Li Xian was no exception.

While Li Xian was lost in thought, the others were having a blast, with all the top members of Brilliant Stars Group fighting over the “new toy,” even Xia Qingqing was eager to try it out.

Li Xian quickly pulled Xia Qingqing back. Ever since she left the palace, it seemed her emotional knots had untangled, and the princess’s slight haughtiness seemed to be resurfacing. This was something Li Xian couldn’t allow, and he had to keep it in check.

Xia Qingqing, although at the Foundation Establishment stage, tugged a few times but found that Li Xian’s grip was tight. She let out a coquettish snort but ultimately stood beside him.

“Petty!” Xia Qingqing bit Li Xian’s ear.

Li Xian ignored everything around him, his eyes fixed solely on the gun being tested ahead.

The first gun’s performance was unexpectedly good, and the armory was greatly encouraged, immediately working overtime to develop a real firearm.

Springs were made, triggers appeared, and even cartridges finally emerged. Simple cast bullets were created, and pressed copper bullets were also developed… having cultivation really was advantageous!

Twenty days after the success of the explosive research, the first real gun appeared—a wooden-stock, single-shot gun without sights. But even such a simple gun still gave everyone a massive shock.

At a distance of 300 meters, one shot pierced a two-centimeter-thick stainless steel plate!

“Wow, it’s even more powerful than the legendary flying swords! At least you can see flying swords, but bullets are invisible. Plus, flying swords need to be retrieved, while bullets don’t! Even a Golden Core stage expert would suffer!” Yang Qianjiang laughed heartily with pride; after all, he was the head of the armory, and in the future, these weapons would be produced in his factory!

Seeing this, Li Xian immediately admonished Director Yang, “Yang Qianjiang, the day you produce a rapid-fire machine gun is the day worth celebrating. My requirement is that the finalized rapid-fire machine gun must fire no fewer than 100 bullets per minute, so that we can create a bullet screen for attack.

“Also, the warehouse must always stockpile at least 100 million bullets as a precaution.

“In addition, produce miniature guns, handguns in three sizes (large, medium, and small), portable submachine guns, semi-automatic rifles, fully automatic rifles, sniper rifles, and rapid-fire cannons as soon as possible.

“And cannons, they must be developed quickly too.

“During this time, you all need to establish ballistic models and data calculations. I’ve given you the foundation; as for how to develop and research further, that’s up to you.

“For mathematical, geometric, and physical knowledge, just ask the people from the research department.”

“Ah…” Yang Qianjiang immediately deflated; learning these things was too much of a headache.

Li Xian understood this clearly in his heart—he himself didn’t like these things either. But Li Xian still patted Yang Qianjiang on the shoulder, “encouraging” him, “Don’t you want to prove the value of your life? Don’t you want to pursue the Nascent Soul stage? Don’t you want everyone to fear you? Think about it: the weapons you create can protect us, prevent our warriors from being maimed!

Work hard, you can do it. The future is glorious, but right now you must overcome difficulties.”

Yang Qianjiang, stirred up by Li Xian’s words, roared, “Yes!”

“Very good. First, arm a team of a dozen people to handle any trouble that might arise during this bidding.”

Xu Ren, standing nearby, curled his lip—Young Master’s ability to talk people into things was getting better and better. Hmm, had he himself ever been talked into something? It seems, possibly, maybe, perhaps… he’d been convinced several times already!

————

Setting aside Li Xian’s smooth progress here, laying a solid foundation; on the other hand, after Song Xing conveyed the concepts of “bidding” and “exclusive agent,” many major merchants, especially some regional governors and officials like state prefects and censors, began to take action. Regional exclusive agents—who could be more suitable than these people!

To be precise, Li Xian was targeting these individuals! Only they had the capability and the need to purchase large quantities of goods, and pay in cash. Only in this way could Li Xian quickly gather funds and revitalize the group. Moreover, this approach would also allow him to quickly seize the market.

In commerce and industry, seizing the market is a crucial thing! And once the market is seized, it naturally suppresses the rise of other factories and competitors—without a market, a business loses its foothold.

However, everyone was indeed attracted by the high-quality, affordable products from Li Xian’s group! The starting price was a 21% discount.

So, many who aspired to become agents had already arrived in advance. On one hand, they sought opportunities to get to know someone within the Brilliant Star Group. On the other hand, they tried their best to gather any scrap of information they could find.

Believe it or not, they actually managed to gather quite a bit of information. After all, with so many people here in the Qingyun Valley, people need to live and carry out daily activities, so it’s inevitable that some casual conversations would unintentionally reveal certain details.

Outside the Qingyun Valley, a temporary cluster of houses had been built. Thanks to the convenience of magic, these temporary houses were quite luxurious and served as the location for this round of agency bidding.

Guo Youcai from the Guo family, Liu Shuren from the Liu family, and Huang Youquan from the Huang family had gathered together. The three had gotten to know each other after being nominated at the industrial expo earlier this year.

At this moment, the three were exchanging the information their respective subordinates had gathered.

“Recently, the Brilliant Star Trading Company completed its reorganization and restructuring, and its official name is now ‘Brilliant Star Group.'”

“The Brilliant Star Group has a Commercial Planning Department, a Scientific Research Department, a Mechanical Branch, a Textile Branch, a Smelting Branch, a Glass and Colored Lanterns Branch, and a Concrete Branch. There are also many smaller workshops…”

“Currently, the products that Brilliant Star Group is preparing to sell include fabrics, steel plates, stainless steel weapons and general weapons, glassware, colored lanterns, bearings and main shafts, some standardized parts like screws and nuts, and something called a ‘Big Ben clock.'”

“I’ve heard there’s a machine in the Brilliant Star Trading Company that can produce other machines.”

……

After verifying their information, the three began to discuss, even planning to collaborate on securing one or two projects. Their intentions were clear: while their three families were doing well, they were still far behind compared to the local powerful warlords and the influential aristocratic families who held control over the imperial court.

“Fabrics, especially high-grade silks and low-grade hemp cloth, are the most popular. The mid-range cotton fabric market is performing the worst.”

“Then we should focus on bidding for the silks and hemp cloth.”

“Besides fabrics, there’s also steel and weapons. With the chaos already starting in Great Xia, stockpiling some steel and weapons definitely won’t be a losing bet.”

Thus, the three finalized their decisions on which products to prioritize.

Not only were these three collaborating, but many other merchants were also forming alliances. Meanwhile, the regional governors, state prefects, and representatives of powerful families were also discussing and exploring their own “product ranges.”

However, with so many people gathered, naturally, some began to have crooked thoughts—could they make a quick, risk-free profit? Many were eyeing the engines that Brilliant Star used internally, their stainless steel secrets, and the machine that could produce other machines with envy!

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