Chapter 90

In my spare time, apart from assigning tasks to everyone, gathering information, and monitoring progress, I diligently wrote plans and took notes, while also doing some manual experiments on the side.

In front of me lay a package of scorched yellow, thread-like material. The wrapping paper was inscribed with the origin, variety, and merchant's name in tiny characters, serving as one of the earliest commercial brands and the most premium tobacco product available on the market.

Thanks to the all-powerful time traveler who preceded me, items like tobacco, which are clearly from the New World, such as cocoa beans, had already appeared in this timeline.

However, it was clear that he had little interest in further improving and developing this product line. Therefore, the tobacco products passed down through generations were still simple cut tobacco leaves, which were placed in pipes or smoking tubes and lit. The more sophisticated versions included using metal, glass, or jade water pipes for filtration, or grinding the tobacco into powder and placing it in snuff bottles for inhalation, which were considered high-end.

But for me, further improvements posed no significant technical challenge.

Using the leftover scraps from processing kapok, it was easy to create something similar to a filter tip. Then, by rolling the tobacco in wrapping paper into a thin, long strip, a prototype of a modern cigarette was born. Adding other ingredients and components to the tobacco, such as jasmine and mint for flavoring, resulted in a variety of products with different tastes and characteristics.

The sources of raw materials were also extremely diverse. Not to mention the mainland regions like Guangnan and Annam, even the distant South India and the eastern islands, including the various vassal territories, widely cultivated tobacco. Even in the fields and gardens of ordinary households, some tobacco was grown for personal use to refresh and invigorate the mind. I just needed to select suitable varieties and package them.

Moreover, this timeline had already discovered the nitration ice-making method, which uses the reverse heat transfer of a double container. The chemical reaction of saltpeter and water in the outer container absorbs a large amount of heat, cooling the inner container's juice into ice or slush.

Based on this, I added cream and edible gelatin as thickening agents, creating a more delicate and smooth ice cream.

Additionally, Yuwen Luoluo provided some samples, mainly to get my input from a modern male perspective to improve and refine them, thereby uncovering more value-added opportunities for further processing.

For example, this era already had crude distilled medicinal alcohol, though it was still quite impure. After sedimentation and filtration, adding rose water and essential oils created a unique product with vaporizing effects.

I also added sulfur powder to the soaps she produced, turning them into sulfur soaps for treating skin diseases. This product had potential markets in the hot and humid regions of Lingnan and the Indochinese Peninsula, as well as various overseas vassal territories.

Furthermore, there was the deep processing of seasonings. For instance, extracting the seafood flavor from sun-dried and processed marine catches to make refined oyster sauce, shrimp paste, and fish sauce, or combining the spices and seasonings already known or discovered in this era according to my modern knowledge. Thanks to the maritime and trade boom brought about by the Tang Dynasty's geographical expansion, I had a wide variety of options and choices.

To be honest, I felt somewhat ashamed. Due to the high level of development and mature systems in this world, the innovative ideas and projects I, as a time traveler, could come up with were not many. After much brainstorming, I could only think of these few improvements based on existing technologies.

Unlike other time travelers who could suddenly burst forth with groundbreaking technological achievements and industrial systems, I had to focus more on the improvement of firearms.

Although firearms were widely used in the Southern Dynasty, with large amounts of sulfur and saltpeter imported from both the mainland and overseas, the development level was uneven. The Southern Dynasty's military placed more emphasis on explosive and incendiary weapons, but paid little attention to the research and development of barrelled weapons, almost adopting a laissez-faire attitude.

Therefore, the regulation of civilian firearms, such as matchlock guns, was relatively loose. These cumbersome and complex devices required a certain level of wealth and specialized skills to operate, effectively raising the threshold and limiting their widespread use.

This had both advantages and disadvantages for me.

My modified flintlock pistol, which was unrecognizable, had been completely disassembled and handed over to the master craftsmen in the Tian Gong workshop to create molds and attempt small-scale production of the components. If successful, I would have them try to use similar principles to develop long-barreled rifles.

To be honest, the more advanced copper percussion caps and paper cartridges, which I, a frequent visitor to military history forums, knew about, had already been experimentally developed and documented by many enthusiasts and tech enthusiasts. The only challenge was the fulminate of mercury used as the primer.

Therefore, for now, I could only focus on reducing the weight, increasing the rate of fire, and improving the accuracy of flintlock guns. Advanced rifling was not considered for the time being.

The corresponding tactical procedures and maintenance processes were also being developed.

As long as I could form a sufficient number of fireteams to suppress individual combat prowess, it would address the last lingering concern regarding the arrest warrant.

The relevant training had already begun, though it felt a bit like cramming at the last minute. However, it was better to have some preparation than none.

The abandoned warehouse near the small ferry on the left side of the city, which I had purchased, was once a coal storage area for a bankrupt merchant. It had a large cargo yard and corresponding storage buildings that could be repaired and reused. It was also conveniently located near the Pearl River tributary for the transportation of supplies and personnel, and had high walls to prevent unnecessary prying and curiosity.

Inside, wooden stakes, sandbags, and trenches had been used to create a simple indoor and outdoor training ground. Han Liangchen, with the assistance of Feng Juanqi, had already taken on the role of a drill instructor. The mounted guards from Lady Chen's side would also provide guidance based on their experience before returning to their duties, such as tactics for horse and foot combat and group formations.

The personnel mainly came from the sons of the lower-class households within the Luo family's vassal territory. Because of the high birth rate and limited resources, these children were often sold into the family to serve as servants or, if lucky, as personal attendants, which was a common path. Though they had not received much education, they were hardworking and obedient.

When "I" left Borneo, I also brought a group of young people as a potential foundation. Over time, more batches were recruited, and the group had grown to a considerable size. This was the most valuable personal legacy left by my predecessor, as "I" had initially provided them with basic education in reading and arithmetic to serve as low-level personnel and informants in the industries.

Before this, I had already hired some martial arts instructors and experienced veterans to train them in combat and martial arts, mainly selecting those from the mountainous or remote areas within the vassal territory, where the living conditions were harsh and the people were tough. After being transported to Guangzhou by sea, their fate and future were closely tied to mine.

This time, after returning, it was just a matter of adding new training programs. According to the initial training guidelines, they would be divided into small teams for competitive and adversarial training. The training outline was still being developed, as the only reference I had was modern militia training manuals or military education materials, which were not entirely applicable to traditional cold weapon combat. I had to rely on experienced former soldiers like Han Liangchen and Feng Juanqi to continue exploring and refining the training methods.

In a typical sense, as a major city with a concentration of powerful merchants and vassal territories, Guangzhou naturally had a number of private security guards and bodyguards.

As the dark side of a major city, the shantytowns and slums in the outer city and suburbs, as well as various black markets and gray areas, provided a large number of low-level laborers for the city's daily operations.

Among the powerful merchants and vassal territories, there was not always harmony. Various potential competitors and actual enemies existed, so it was common for those who traveled frequently or lived in foreign lands to have private guards, which in turn led to the proliferation of various martial arts schools and mercenary groups.

However, as the political and economic center of the Southern Dynasty, the capital had its own rules and order. Unless one deliberately ventured into poorly regulated areas on the outskirts of the city, Guangzhou remained a city full of opportunities and enjoyment for most prepared and hopeful newcomers.

The military mutiny in Qingyuan provided me with an opportunity to strengthen my own armed forces.

Now, the citizens and merchants of the five cities and twelve districts, who had some property, were beginning to form armed groups and hire mercenaries on a district-by-district basis. This was not to resist rebels but to protect against the potential looting and chaos that might arise if the city was besieged by external forces.

As an important member of a vassal territory, the restrictions that applied to ordinary people were more relaxed for me. I could legally purchase weapons to equip my hired workers and guards to protect my shops and workshops.

The Southern Dynasty followed the Tang Dynasty's legal code, which had a "three prohibitions and three non-prohibitions" policy regarding civilian possession of weapons: prohibiting armor but not weapons, prohibiting long weapons but not short ones, and prohibiting crossbows but not bows. This meant that private possession of armor was forbidden, but personal defense weapons were allowed; ordinary people could not possess spears or halberds, but knives and swords were permitted; crossbows were military-controlled weapons, but bows and arrows were widely available for daily use.

Therefore, some things had to be handled discreetly.

For example, the Tian Gong workshop had previously ordered a batch of old cowhide from a leather workshop for use in belts and various leather goods. Now, it was repurposed to cut into the shapes of a vest, shoulder guards, and knee guards, with thin iron plates inserted in key areas to form a basic composite armor.

Other pieces of cowhide were cut into strips and nailed to curved wooden boards to create hand shields that could block arrows and protect against slashing and stabbing. Personal defense weapons like swords and knives could be custom-made from licensed iron forging workshops in the city, but the supply was limited and could not meet immediate needs.

Thus, Yuwen Luoluo, or rather, the Yuwen family's local connections, came into play again. Upon learning of my requirements, she visited me again, bringing a fat man in a lake-green silk robe.

This man, resembling a plump mole with curly hair and a Mediterranean-like mixed appearance, was left in the front hall to drink tea, looking harmless.

"My reputation," she complained, "Do you know how much pressure and inconvenience it is for a noble young lady to visit a man at night?"

"This time, I'm really at a loss," she said, "Let me introduce you to an unscrupulous arms dealer... Little Contornaria."

After listening to her complaints with a smile, she introduced him in a low voice, "He has many connections, and it's said he can even get his hands on firearms from the Western Xia..."

"His ancestor was a great archbishop..."

"The descendant of a great archbishop, can you be any less principled..." I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Doesn't this timeline allow the shepherds of God to marry and have children without molesting boys?"

"His ancestor was the famous Contornaria I, the Archbishop of Jerusalem and Antioch," she said, her expression full of gossip and mystery.

"The founder of the Eastern Orthodox movement, the leader of the Eastern Church, and the uncrowned pope standing alongside Rome..."

"The only living saint recognized by Constantinople and Rome..."

"A walking miracle who survived being roasted in an oven..."

"During Liang Gong's western campaign in the Mediterranean, he discovered and translated the Dead Sea Scrolls, facilitating the reconciliation and unity of the Kopt, Axumite, and Armenian ancient churches..."

"So what, did God suddenly show his grace and allow him to have children with men?"

I interrupted her again, "Hey, don't be so impure..."

She looked at me with a mix of frustration and amusement, "This great archbishop, of course, never married..."

"But he left behind a single goddaughter, known as the Pure Nicole, who married the military genius of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Assyrian Governor Set."

"One of their descendants, according to Contornaria I's will, inherited his surname and formed a secular commercial family."

"A maritime merchant clan as famous as the legendary Sinbad family, said to have the bloodline of a holy man from the Middle East..."

At this point, her eyes sparkled with a strange longing.

"Hey, that's enough," I interrupted her again, "Are you trying to bully me for not having read 'Clouds and Mountains Beyond' and 'One Thousand and One Nights'?"

"The mysterious Baghdad war god is one thing, but the famous Sinbad family with the bloodline of a holy man from the Middle East, what kind of crossover is this?"

"The world believes it, you can believe it or not," she shrugged, her chest flat as a board.

"Speaking of which, this Governor Set had a connection with our Yuwen family," she continued, "When he came to China, he was recognized by Liang Gong, who traced his roots."

"His Chinese surname was Yuwen Set, and it was said he was a descendant of the Northern Dynasty's Grand Tutor Yuwen Tu."

"Do you understand now?"

Well, this was like a five-hit combo. I was thoroughly defeated by the malicious and whimsical manipulation of history by the time traveler who preceded me.