The substitute prince: Reported the emperor's brother at the beginning

Ning Yi reloaded the gun. He hadn't fired it properly just now because Yang Ziqin had messed it up.

After reloading, he raised his aim again, and with a "pop", a small hole appeared on the wooden board about ten steps ahead.

Qin Haifeng frowned beside him: "Your Highness, this thing is useless."

This is something the prince had people make. It's a small tube, less than a foot long, with a fuse attached and ignited with black medicine.

The sound seemed scary at first, but then it was just like that.

Now look at it, it’s such a shallow little bullet hitting a wooden board, can it kill people?

It feels like just a toy.

Ning Yi shook his head slightly, looking at the rough object in his hand.

He threw it back to an old craftsman who was following him. This old blacksmith had inherited the craft from many generations of his ancestors.

Ning Yi hired him specifically at a high price. After giving him the blueprints, he worked on it for several days and finally developed this thing.

"Your Highness, are you dissatisfied with this?" the old blacksmith asked cautiously with concern.

Craftsmen in this era had a very low status. Although his blacksmith skills were well-known, he was nothing in front of the real nobles.

Ning Yi explained in detail: "I am a little dissatisfied."

"The connection direction of this is not strong, and the quality is not the best. How about you make a new one?"

"Also, try the direction of the crater without the fuse."

The old blacksmith looked at the lump of iron in his hand and asked in confusion, "Your Highness, how can you light your gunpowder without a fuse?"

Ning Yi thought about it and asked someone to find two flints. When the two flints were rubbed together, sparks immediately flew.

"If we put two small flints in this joint and pull the trigger, the flints will collide and sparks will enter the powder tank, and the projectile will be fired immediately, right?"

The old blacksmith suddenly realized and immediately said respectfully, "Your Highness is indeed very clever. I will go back and study this carefully."

Ning Yi praised him a lot, saying that the workmanship was good this time and he hoped that it would be even better next time. He also hoped that the handle of the musket should be replaced with a wooden one so that it would not be so rough and would be easier to hold.

Ning Yi also looked at the other two blacksmiths who were watching. They were also hired at a high price. "You all saw it too, right?"

"This is exactly what the prince wants to create. Is that okay?"

The two looked at each other and bowed together: "Your Highness, such an item is not difficult to obtain."

"But if it is made of fine iron, I am afraid the cost will be quite high. After all, the cost of fine iron is not low."

"Cost is not a problem." Ning Yi said immediately: "This prince will give you enough silver."

"But this time, in addition to making short ones, you are also making a long musket for this prince."

He took out the already-drawn musket and had the three blacksmiths gather around to examine it. "This is a long one, with a wooden handle for stability. Just be careful about the length of the barrel. Other aspects are similar, but the quality must be good."

The three blacksmiths were all veterans and they understood what was going on after just a quick look at the drawings.

The old blacksmith frowned and said, "Your Highness, everything else is easy. This iron pipe is too long and difficult to make. It will take a long time."

Ning Yi doesn't care about this. You just need to do it. As long as you can do it well and the quality is good, you will be rewarded handsomely.

He also reminded them: "You must keep it secret. This prince uses this thing for himself and doesn't want others to know about it."

"Old man, I will keep this a secret and will never reveal it."

After the three of them expressed their opinions together, Ning Yi asked someone to give each of them some silver.

Qin Haifeng didn't even know what to say.

"Your Highness, forget about the small one, but what's the use of the long one?"

"If that's the case, it's better to use a bow and arrow."

Looking at the wooden board in front of him, Qin Haifeng felt that if it was a bow and arrow, he could easily shoot a hundred steps away, and his archery skills would be steady, accurate and powerful, so there would not be just such a small hole.

Ning Yi chuckled and said, "Haifeng, don't underestimate these fire guns."

"Let me tell you this. If this prince organized a thousand-man army, all of which were trained with these muskets for only three months, they could easily defeat a thousand imperial guards."

"How is that possible?" Qin Haifeng widened his eyes, his dark face wrinkled.

"Your Highness, you think too simply." Qin Haifeng said seriously: "As far as I know, the Imperial Guards are the elite of the army. Each of them has participated in bloody battles on the battlefield. Their combat effectiveness is the true elite of the Great Wu Kingdom. No army can compare."

"You don't believe it?" Ning Yi asked with a smile.

Qin Haifeng smiled bitterly: "It's hard for me to believe. It's too much, too much of a joke."

Although it is indeed inappropriate to say this, Your Highness.

But Qin Haifeng still advised Ning Yi not to have too much hope.

Ning Yi was very confident: "The Imperial Guards are indeed elite, but facing this prince's new army, they can only passively take the beating."

"One thousand can defeat one thousand, five thousand can defeat ten thousand, and ten thousand can sweep away thirty thousand elite troops."

Ning Yi looked at two teams of young men training in the distance under Qin Haifeng's incredulous gaze.

He said leisurely, "Within a year, this prince's army of ten thousand will be complete. When that day comes, when we truly unleash our swords, I will let you know what a truly elite army is."

Ning Yi can afford to wait for a year. At least within this year, the immortal old guy Wu Huang will not die.

But Ning Yi couldn't just rely on the old and confused Emperor Wu to pass the throne to him.

Instead of expecting him to give you alms, it is better to take it yourself.

"By the way, are the armors of these servants ready?" Ning Yi asked worriedly.

Because there are about a hundred new servants, and each of them has been raised for a few days, they are now officially starting military training.

They are all small in stature, so their armor, weapons, clothes and shoes all need to be tailor-made.

Qin Haifeng bowed and said, "Your Highness, I have already asked many blacksmith shops in the city to make orders, and I expect a batch to be delivered in a few days."

Ning Yi frowned: "Why not let the Ministry of Industry make it?"

Everyone knows that the Ministry of Industry is the base camp for producing weapons, armor, and various military supplies.

Of course, the Ministry of War also has a production workshop, but it is small in scale.

Qin Haifeng smiled bitterly, "Your Highness, the Ministry of Works has rejected our order for armor and weapons from the Prince's Mansion, citing the busy military equipment duties."

"Besides, the quality of the ones made by the Ministry of Industry for the army is not very good."

Qin Haifeng moved closer and whispered, "Your Highness, we can go to the Armory Bureau to make them. You only have a hundred sets of armor and weapons, and they're for the guards at the Prince's Palace. They're just young boys, so it's nothing."

Everyone knows this. The Armoury Bureau in the palace produces equipment for the Imperial Guards, the emperor's personal guards. They hang around in front of Emperor Wu every day, so how could they dare to cut corners?

Ning Yi understood what Qin Haifeng meant. It was not excessive for a prince's mansion to have a hundred guards, and they were all a bunch of teenagers. Even if Emperor Wu knew about it, he would not take it seriously.

He just thought about it and shook his head slightly: "Forget it, I won't bother the Military Affairs Bureau anymore. It's better to have less trouble than more."

"How's the search for a good craftsman for the Armory Bureau going?"