Chapter 347 — Five Sparrows, Six Swallows
Gao Yiye arrived at the Workshop.
Before she even stepped inside, the heat hit her like a physical force. The forge roared, bellows howled, and waves of scorching air rolled out through the doorway. The place was alive—loud, violent, and unapologetically industrial.
She didn't dare barge in recklessly. This wasn't a market stall; this was molten metal and bad decisions waiting to happen.
Standing at the entrance, she called inside,
"Li Da! Gao Yiyi! Are you in there?"
A moment later, the two men squeezed their way out, faces streaked with soot and sweat.
Gao Yiye said calmly, "Dao Xuan Tianzun asked me to check on your progress with the Red Barbarian Cannons."
Gao Yiyi immediately looked awkward.
"Well… about that… cough."
Li Daoxuan already knew what that meant. "Something went wrong?"
Gao Yiyi sighed. "The process is too complicated. We've been at it for days and still haven't produced even one cannon."
Li Daoxuan nodded.
"Oh."
That explained everything.
Casting a cannon was never something you could just handcraft in an afternoon. The cannon barrel alone involved an absurd number of steps.
Iron barrels cracked. Blew up. Killed people.
So according to the technical notes left by Song Yingxing, the material had to be a mixture of iron and copper—essentially an early alloy.
Early-modern alloy production, with late-imperial tools.
Just melting iron and copper together already took enormous time and fuel.
Then came the molds. Sand molds, clay molds—made from clay pounded until fully refined, shaped carefully, then dried slowly in the shade or baked gently over charcoal. Just preparing a single mold could take anywhere from one to three months.
And one mold could cast exactly one cannon.
Hearing the production cycle alone was enough to cause migraines.
Li Daoxuan thought silently:
If they worked like this, one cannon every few months.
My ship needs twelve.
Cai Xinzi is already building ship models.
Soon I'll need hundreds.
At this rate, I'll still be waiting when the monkeys evolve again.
He made a decision.
The blacksmiths only needed to understand the assembly and operation of cannons. There was no reason to make them personally suffer through the slowest, dumbest part of the process.
He would provide the barrels himself.
Obviously, you couldn't just buy cannon barrels online.
But substitutes?
He opened an online marketplace and searched.
Did not expect results.
Turns out there was something called precision steel micro-tubing. Made from stainless steel. Customizable sizes.
Outer diameter down to 0.2 mm. Wall thickness as low as 0.08 mm. Larger sizes could be customized freely—up to a point. If you went too thick, it crossed into "potential firearm barrel" territory.
At that point, both buyer and seller would be sentenced to quality time with sewing machines.
But thin tubing? Totally fine.
Li Daoxuan immediately messaged a vendor.
"I want to order micro steel tubes. You have stock?"
Vendor replied instantly.
"Yes, in-stock and custom orders both accepted."
"Great. I want a batch: length 15 mm, inner diameter 0.6 mm. One end open, one end sealed. The sealed end should have a small vent hole. Basically the structure of an ancient cannon barrel."
He paused, then added,
"This might sound abstract. Look up Red Barbarian Cannons and copy the structure. Shape doesn't matter, only function."
The vendor hesitated.
"Making micro tubing in the structure of ancient cannons? That's… unusual. May I ask what this is used for?"
"I'll pay double."
Instant reply.
"My friend, you are not strange at all. You are extremely handsome. I completely understand your request and guarantee delivery."
The next day at noon.
The Workshop well.
Gao Yiye returned with her two assistants.
The blacksmiths were nervous. Yesterday, they had failed to give the Tianzun satisfactory progress. They half-expected today to be a pressure inspection.
Instead, Gao Yiye smiled.
"By the Tianzun's decree: stop working on cannon barrels for now. The Tianzun will bestow upon you a batch of Immortal Realm cannon barrels."
"Immortal… cannon barrels?"
The blacksmiths froze.
"Do immortals also fight wars with cannons?"
Li Daoxuan: "…"
Gao Yiye paused, then burst out laughing.
"Immortals use immortal arts, of course. But the heavens also have heavenly soldiers. Soldiers still need weapons."
The logic clicked instantly.
"Right! Heavenly soldiers still fight wars!"
Gao Yiye raised her head. "Watch closely."
Li Daoxuan reached down and released a handful of freshly delivered micro steel tubes into the workshop well.
Each tube was exactly 15 mm long, inner diameter 0.6 mm—perfectly scaled Red Barbarian Cannon barrels.
The moment they landed, the craftsmen went silent.
"So smooth…"
"So bright… shinier than a bronze mirror."
"What beautiful barrels."
"Truly worthy of the Immortal Realm."
"Quick! Get these into the Workshop! With these, we can start assembling cannons immediately!"
The entire workshop erupted.
The Tianzun had dropped what looked like a small mountain of Immortal Realm barrels.
How many cannons was that?
Nobody bothered counting. This was pure happiness.
Li Daoxuan thought to himself:
Good. My ship's gun decks will finally fill up.
Just then—
A group entered Gaojia Village at high speed.
At the front was Sir Bai, followed by household guards. Behind them walked over a dozen ragged men wearing worn clothes and bamboo hats, heads lowered.
From above, Li Daoxuan couldn't see their faces.
So he activated Focus.
The viewpoint shifted—no longer limited to a top-down view, now able to rotate freely at close range.
Two familiar faces emerged.
One was Bashui Wang Er.
The other was his trusted lieutenant, Bai Mo.
The remaining faces were unfamiliar—likely villagers who had once left Wangjia Village with Wang Er.
Li Daoxuan was surprised.
Wang Er… came back?
Then it clicked.
Ah.
Wang Jiayin must be arriving soon.
As Bai yuan group marched toward the main fortress, Wang Er and his men stared around like tourists dropped into another world.
They looked at Gaojia Village the way a country bumpkin looked at a royal garden. Everything felt unreal.
In just over two years, Chengcheng County had transformed beyond recognition.
Wang Er couldn't help sighing.
"How… how did this even happen?"
Bai yuan replied calmly,
"There's much more that will shock you. Now isn't the time. We're going to the main hall to meet Shansier and the Saintess."
Li Daoxuan leaned down toward the workshop well.
"Yiye. Go to the council hall. Bring Shansier. Big things are about to happen."
trivia
Red Barbarian Cannons
A Ming-era term for European-style artillery introduced through maritime trade. Despite the dismissive name, these cannons were technologically superior to traditional designs, featuring reinforced barrels and standardized gunpowder charges. Once battlefield results proved decisive, ideology quietly stepped aside.
Why Cannon Barrels Were the Bottleneck
In pre-industrial metallurgy, casting thick, pressure-resistant barrels was harder than assembling the rest of the weapon combined. One failed cast could waste months. Supplying ready-made barrels instantly multiplied production speed—a classic case of eliminating the true constraint in a system.
Workshop Wells
Large workshops often used central pits or wells for receiving materials, cooling metal, or symbolic ritual placement. Dropping materials from above wasn't just practical—it reinforced hierarchy. When something came from the heavens, nobody questioned its authority.
Wang Er's Return
In late-imperial society, returning to one's original village after years away often marked a shift in political alignment or survival strategy. People rarely came back unless the balance of power had clearly changed.