PFC Chapter 616: Just a Lock
Chapter 616: Just a Lock
Another old man flicked the ball with his finger.
"It's made of iron, so it's naturally heavy."
"How do I open it?"
"Lao Cang, what do you think is inside..."
"Of course it's gunpowder. Otherwise, how could it blow up this tin can?"
"Yeah, that's what I thought too. Move the candle away."
The two men carefully made preparations and began to study the sphere.
In just half a day, the two old men had a disagreement.
One person believes that the pull ring on the black ball is the switch to open the tin can.
Another person thought that it would be better not to move the mechanism above and to find another place to open it.
What they didn't know was that the iron ball invented by Lin Feng had a steel lid that was screwed on using threads.
This technology was only understood by a few technicians in the catapult camp, such as Xi Niang, and the iron smelting technicians who made the steel covers.
How could two old men who made firecrackers know this?
They worked on it for a whole day but were unable to open the iron ball.
It is definitely impossible to open it by brute force. The outer shell is made of steel and there is gunpowder inside.
They all knew this, and if any one of them didn't handle it properly, they would all be blown to pieces.
After nightfall, Mrs. Bai came back from outside. As soon as she entered the house, she saw two old men sitting there in a daze.
The iron ball on the table was still there, neatly placed.
"you..."
An old man smiled bitterly and said, "Madam, we can't open this thing."
Hongxiao and Goulian also followed in. Several people gathered in front of the table and looked the iron ball up and down.
"It's been a whole day, and you haven't done anything?"
"Madam, it's not that I won't move. This iron ball must be filled with gunpowder. Don't dare to move it."
Mrs. Bai sneered: "I asked you to come here to find out what's going on, not to ask me how to open it."
The two old men could only shake their heads and sigh.
They have all been playing with gunpowder for half their lives, and they know how powerful it is, so they dare not act rashly.
Mrs. Bai was angry for a while, but seeing that the two old men were still in a daze, she could only wave her hand.
"Dog Face, notify Lao Miao and find someone who understands mechanical engineering."
Dog Face turned around and went out to deliver the message.
"You two stay here honestly and are not allowed to go out at will."
After Mrs. Bai finished speaking, she took Hong Xiao and left.
Miao Changfeng was very capable and in less than a day he found a craftsman who specialized in making mechanical locks.
On the evening of the third day, we entered Shanglin Prefecture.
This is a man in his thirties, the fourth generation of a family of lock makers.
Everyone gathered in the room, and Mrs. Bai looked at the man for a moment.
"Just open the iron ball, and the mission is complete. You don't have to worry about anything else."
The man nodded and bowed, then moved closer to the iron ball to observe it.
Then he pointed at the pull ring on the iron ball.
"The switch is this pull ring. Just pull it open."
An old man quickly said, "There's gunpowder inside this ball. Once it catches fire, we're all finished."
Another old man shook his head: "Gunpowder needs to be ignited with an open flame. How can a switch ignite gunpowder?"
"What if it can be ignited?"
"What if it doesn't catch fire?"
The two old men stared at each other, neither willing to give in.
Mrs. Bai had no choice but to turn her head to look at the expert locksmith.
"what do you say?"
The man shook his head. "The switch is only here, or we'd have to break it open."
"That's even more impossible. When iron hits iron, gunpowder will explode."
"You're just a coward. You can't do this or that."
"You're so brave, how did you lose two fingers on your hand?"
Mrs. Bai waved her hand: "Shut up, you, open it."
The timid old man quickly shouted, "No, madam! This gunpowder is too dangerous. Let's seek help from someone else."
The man who opened the lock laughed and said, "It's just a lock, where did the open fire come from?"
Madam Bai nodded and said, "Those who are scared should go out and stay. You just need to open the door."
The timid old man was the first to leave the room.
When the locksmith reached out to grab the pull ring, Mrs. Bai frowned.
"Wait a minute..."
She turned her head and glanced at him: "Let's get out of here too, so that nothing unexpected happens."
After saying that, he turned around and walked out of the room.
In an instant, the only people left in the room were the man who opened the lock and another brave old man.
The two looked at each other and snorted coldly.
The locksmith reached out, grabbed the pull ring, and pulled it out hard.
"It's just a switch, you guys are so timid..."
As the pull ring was pulled out of the iron ball, a puff of green smoke came out of the keyhole.
The old man was very anxious when he saw this: "Oh no, it's on fire!"
As he spoke, he stepped back, turned around and ran out of the house.
The man who opened the lock was still in a daze. He didn't know the power of gunpowder and thought, what's wrong with a little smoke?
It's nothing.
Mrs. Bai and others were still standing in the courtyard, waiting for the results in the house.
Who knew that in a moment, the old man would be seen rushing out of the house in panic, staggering and shouting loudly.
“It’s on fire, it’s on fire…”
At this time, Lin Feng was in the lobby of the government office, discussing the current war situation with several senior military generals.
He believed that since the rebels had adjusted their strategy, they could no longer be allowed to live in peace.
What's more, the Zhenxi Army has almost completed its war preparations in recent days.
It's time to give the rebels another surprise.
Several senior generals strongly agreed. They had been training these days and had not been on the battlefield, so they felt very depressed.
Lin Feng has asked Wei Bao to make a huge sand table showing the terrain of the entire battlefield.
The terrain and city are rendered in proportion and look very lifelike.
He used a thin bamboo pole to point to the location on the sand table and explained to several generals.
"Currently, the rebel army has a total of 160,000 troops, divided into four parts. Thirty thousand elite troops are stationed in Lindu City, 60,000 troops are stationed in a camp near Kan County, 40,000 Black Turban troops are stationed in Kuncheng, one of the capital's defense cities, and 30,000 troops from Prince Fu's Palace are stationed in Zhencheng."
After saying that, he looked at everyone's reactions and continued.
"Although they have placed a large force in front of us, and it's clear that Prince Fu still doesn't want to give up his plan to blockade Kyoto City, the number of people in their rear has decreased, which gives us an opportunity."
Everyone's eyes lit up, and they looked at the sand table expectantly, each pondering their own ideas.
Lin Feng laughed and said, "The Black Turban Army is frightened by our attack, so we are going to attack them. I want to use warships to deploy our forces to Kyoto City, and from Gen City, suddenly strike Kun City where the Black Turban Army is stationed."
Hu Jincai frowned and said, "Boss, there's a bit of a void here."
"We don't need too many people to go there. There are still the Imperial Guards in Kyoto City. Is it possible that no one listens to me, the deputy commander?"
Everyone immediately shouted, "The boss is so powerful, whoever dares not to obey will be punished!"
"Hahaha..."
"They must obey the deputy commander."
Only Lin Qiaomei didn't think about anything else. She just asked excitedly: "Brother, how do we fight?"
Lin Feng made a flower-shaped gesture with his hands.
"Of course...bang..."
As soon as he uttered the word "bang", he heard a deafening roar in the distance.