Chapter 3

The pirates' hideout is called Flying Fish Island. The island is densely forested, not very large, but mostly flat except for the western side, which is a cliff. Long Yufei found that many people on the island were growing vegetables and grains.

As a new member, Long Yufei was given a small wooden cabin at the foot of the mountain. Not far from his cabin was Li Hu's cabin. All the pirates who were not married mostly lived there.

The furnishings inside the small cabin were very simple, with no bed, just a few stones with a wooden board laid on top to serve as a hard bed. However, the island provided meals, two a day, and the food was quite simple: steamed buns and salted fish in the morning, and millet rice and salted fish in the evening, with occasionally some vegetable soup. For Long Yufei, having something to eat was already quite good, and he did not complain much. However, having only two meals a day was a bit hard for him, as he was used to three meals a day. Often, his stomach would start growling before mealtime.

Gradually, he got to know the pirates on the island. Although they still had some reservations about him as an outsider, overall, he slowly integrated into the group. Li Hu, in particular, was very admiring of him. In the past few days, Li Hu had taken him around the entire island. There were over a thousand people on the island, but most were the elderly, women, and children. Only about three hundred were able-bodied men who could go to sea. Even so, Flying Fish Island was one of the more famous pirate groups in the South China Sea.

However, since arriving on the island, Long Yufei had not seen Luo Sangu again. According to Li Hu, the leader was planning a big deal. If it succeeded, the island would not have to worry about living for the next two years.

Long Yufei was somewhat excited about this. Since he had officially joined the group, he would eventually have to participate in their activities. For a homebody like him, the pirates' life was very novel.

"Li Hu, what's on the mountain? Can we go up and take a look?" Long Yufei asked.

"The mountain? That's where Uncle Zhao and his family live. They have a workshop for repairing damaged muskets!" Li Hu answered honestly. Through their interactions over the past few days, he had completely regarded Long Yufei as a brother on the island.

"Musket workshop? Can Uncle Zhao and his family make muskets?" Long Yufei asked with some experience.

"Of course! Uncle Zhao and his son are very capable! Their family has been making muskets for generations!" Li Hu said, then led Long Yufei up the mountain.

The small mountain was not very high, only a few dozen meters. However, the path was rugged and difficult to walk.

Uncle Zhao and his family lived on the hillside. Even before they entered, they could hear the sound of hammering.

"Uncle Zhao, we've come to see you!" Li Hu shouted as soon as they reached the door.

"Li Hu, what are you shouting for? Can't you see we're working?" a strong voice replied from inside.

Entering the yard, Long Yufei saw several furnaces burning brightly. A few young men were forging iron, and another muscular man was hammering a piece of iron, apparently making a knife.

"Mr. Long, this is Zhao Xingkai, Uncle Zhao's eldest son! Brother Zhao, this is Mr. Long, the new member!" Li Hu introduced.

Zhao Xingkai looked up at Long Yufei, nodded, and then focused on the unfinished knife in his hands.

"Brother Zhao, where is Uncle Zhao?" Li Hu asked.

"He's inside!" Zhao Xingkai said.

So, Li Hu led Long Yufei into the house. Inside, Zhao Yi was polishing a musket with a young man.

"Uncle Zhao!" Li Hu called out, and Long Yufei followed suit.

"What are you two here for?" Zhao Yi put down the musket and asked.

"Uncle Zhao, we just came to take a look! The leader asked me to show Mr. Long around the island," Li Hu said with a smile.

"Long Yufei, right? I remember you studied mechanics in England. Do you know about muskets?" Zhao Yi asked.

"Uncle Zhao, muskets are not my major, but I have studied them a bit!" Long Yufei replied.

"Oh? Then what do you think of these muskets? They are the ones we captured from those foreigners. Many were damaged, and it took a lot of effort for us to repair them!" Zhao Yi said, his face full of pride. It was clear he was very satisfied with his skills.

"Not bad. This is the British Army's standard rifle, the Snider-Enfield. Its maximum range is 200 meters, effective range is 100 meters, but the distance at which it can truly threaten a person is about 80 meters," Long Yufei said.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to be an expert!" Zhao Yi was greatly surprised. In China, there were few people who understood muskets, especially young people. However, thinking that Long Yufei had studied abroad, he was not surprised.

"Uncle Zhao, besides repairing muskets, can you also manufacture them?" Long Yufei asked.

"Of course! My family and the apprentices can make five muskets a month!" Zhao Yi said proudly.

Well, for a small workshop with only a few people, this production rate was not low, considering everything was handmade. However, compared to the factories in the West, it was negligible.

"If we had a steam engine, the efficiency could be increased by more than ten times!" Long Yufei said softly.

"Steam engine? We don't have one here! Manila does, but even if we had a steam engine, our production would not increase because we lack materials!" Zhao Yi said.

To manufacture muskets, besides wood and iron, they also needed copper, and the bullets were made of lead, along with gunpowder. These were all in short supply for the pirates.

"Uncle Zhao, this is a rifle I designed. Can you manufacture it?" Long Yufei took out a piece of paper and showed it to Zhao Yi. He had spent a lot of effort to find paper and a pen, and it was Li Hu who helped him find a piece of white paper.

"You can design a rifle?" Zhao Yi said, somewhat surprised. However, when he saw the rifle on the white paper, he was stunned.

This was a design based on the Mauser 71 rifle, with a total length of 1344 millimeters and a barrel length of 852 millimeters. It used a breech-loading mechanism and a firing pin instead of a flintlock.

"Father, this gun is different from the ones we've seen before, but it looks good!" Zhao Yi's younger son, Zhao Xingchuan, said.

"Kid, what's the deal with this gun? It doesn't have a flint, how does it fire?" Zhao Yi asked.

"Uncle Zhao, this gun is not a flintlock but a percussion lock. In Europe, they developed mercury fulminate decades ago and are using it to design a new type of rifle. This rifle uses a breech-loading mechanism. The bullets have a metal casing filled with gunpowder and a bullet head. The firing pin strikes the primer at the base of the bullet, igniting the gunpowder and firing the bullet!" Long Yufei explained.

Although Zhao Yi and his son did not fully understand everything Long Yufei said, it did not prevent them from grasping the principle. As experts in firearms, they quickly understood the general idea. Often, a new invention is just a step away from the old one. Once that step is taken, a new era can begin. Zhao Yi and his son were in that state. Long Yufei's design pointed them in a new direction.

"Ha! Kid, this design is good! If we can make it, the firing rate of this rifle will be greatly increased!" Zhao Yi said. The current rifles, even in the hands of skilled soldiers, could only fire four to five shots per minute. In battle, it was usually only two to three shots. Long Yufei's design could triple the firing rate!

"Uncle Zhao, manufacturing this rifle is not easy! First, the barrel must be made of high-quality steel. Additionally, the barrel needs rifling. This rifle requires four grooves to ensure the bullet's power. Also, the bullet casings and heads need to be made of copper!" Long Yufei said. Rifling is key to the new rifle, and without advanced machinery, it is impossible to achieve. Additionally, copper for the bullets is in short supply. Without solving these issues, his design would be nothing more than a mirage.

Zhao Yi and his son frowned. Seeing a good design but being unable to manufacture it due to a lack of tools was like seeing a beautiful woman undressed but being unable to perform.

"Uncle Zhao, without a steam engine, we can use water-powered machinery for processing. However, the island has no river, so the water-powered machinery cannot operate!" Long Yufei said helplessly.

"Kid, let's keep this design for now. We'll think of a way!" Zhao Yi said.

Long Yufei nodded. It was just a design, and he could always draw a better one if he wanted to. Over the past few days, Long Yufei had developed a thought. Since fate had brought him to this era, it would be a waste not to accomplish something. Flying Fish Island, being in a remote location, was fine as a pirate hideout, but it had no future for development. Luzon, though backward, was rich in resources. If they could occupy it, it could become a military base. However, Long Yufei was currently a lone commander, with no one but himself to follow. Zhao Yi and his son were experts in firearms manufacturing, and winning them over would be beneficial for establishing his own military industry.

PS: Thank you to reader PLA-1234 for the tip and evaluation vote! Thank you to readers TianxiaGNHK and LonelyXiaoyao for the tips! During the new book period, there will be two updates daily, at 11 AM and 9 PM! Please support my new book, you can start by adding it to your collection and waiting for it to fatten up before reading!

[AD Start]

[AD End]