We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

Several people walked into the building and the heavy alloy door closed behind them.

Inside the door was a wide corridor with snow-white walls, and the air was filled with a complex smell:

There is a pungent smell of chemical solvents, a faint metallic fishy smell, a faint smell of burnt sulfur, and a cold metallic fragrance like newly minted copper coins.

On both sides of the passage are huge laboratories with thick glass observation windows.

Through the glass, you can see people in gray research suits busy shuttling between complex instruments and bubbling crucibles.

Not to mention Yang Zhongsi, even Li Che felt a little dazed, as if he had returned to the laboratory building of his previous school.

He smiled silently and pointed to different areas to introduce them to Yang Zhongsi:

"Uncle Yang, look, that smoky area over there is the 'Pharmaceutical Area', which specializes in the extraction and refining of allicin and penicillin."

"You should have seen the effects of this substance. It is truly life-saving. On the battlefield, a dose of good medicine can sometimes save more lives than a hundred bullets."

Yang Zhongsi looked at the glass window and saw researchers carefully filtering the turbid liquid, and he couldn't help but feel curious.

He knew that penicillin had only been distributed in very small quantities to each military region and was exclusively for use by officers.

The production has increased over the past year and soldiers can now use it. The effect is very good. After using it, the number of soldiers who died from wound infections has dropped by at least 90%.

I didn't expect that such a magical object could be produced in this way.

"Further on, it's the 'Materials Area'." Li Che pointed to another area. "That's where they're responsible for formulating tougher steel and researching smokeless gunpowder that can make bullets shoot farther and more accurately."

"There's also a strange substance called 'rubber' that we got from Southeast Asia. It's very effective at sealing and cushioning."

However, Yang Zhongsi didn't understand this and wasn't very interested in it.

Li Che pointed to the tallest gate at the end of the passage, from which a huge hissing sound of steam could be faintly heard.

His tone involuntarily became more serious, with a strong sense of praise:

"Over there is the 'Steam Engine Area'. This thing is incredible."

"Although it's too large and cumbersome to be used directly on the battlefield, its power can move mountains and seas, drive giant ships, and turn thousands of textile machines!"

"Uncle Yang, it's no exaggeration to say that this item is the fulcrum that can move the entire world. It is the most precious item in the entire experimental area."

"The fate of my country for the next thousand years may depend on this thing!"

Yang Zhongsi's face also turned gloomy when he heard this. In his opinion, penicillin and hot air balloons were already extraordinary things.

And His Highness's admiration for this chicken is far higher than the previous two!

It can be seen that this chicken is definitely not simple, perhaps it is some kind of mythical beast?

Li Che smiled and asked, "Uncle Yang, do you want to go and take a look?"

Yang Zhongsi's curiosity was indeed piqued, but he still clasped his fists and said solemnly, "Your Highness, I truly yearn for the power of this chicken."

"But first, let me see something good that can be used immediately on the battlefield to smash the enemy's head. Otherwise, I will feel uneasy."

Li Che was slightly startled, then smiled: "Uncle Yang is concerned about the war, he is the pillar of the country!"

"Well, it's not too late to look at the steam engine later."

He turned to look at Chen Gui, who was already unable to contain himself, his eyes shining:

"Old Chen, it seems Yang Shuai appreciates treasures that can explode more. Could you please open his eyes for us?"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Chen Gui's voice rose several degrees due to excitement: "Yang Shuai, you really have a keen eye for talent!"

"What's the point of those bottles, jars, and iron lumps? They're nothing like something that can explode!"

"This way, please! This way, please!"

After saying that, he took Yang Zhongsi's arm and walked to another place.

He looked more like a child eager to show off his new toy to others, without any trace of the reserved demeanor of a great scholar.

Wang Chongjian smiled helplessly and shook his head, obviously accustomed to his colleague's craze for explosives.

Chen Gui pulled Yang Zhongsi and walked quickly through the passage, pushing open a heavy iron door marked "Light Projectile Weapons Assembly Room".

The door opens up into a factory building with extremely high ceilings.

Yang Zhongsi just took a look and immediately gasped.

On the metal rack on one side of the factory building, hundreds of short and thick metal pipes were densely and neatly stacked!

These tubes are pitch black with a cold, hard metallic luster. They are only waist-high in length and their diameter is only slightly larger than an adult man's fist.

They are fixed on the shelves in rows and columns, and at first glance, they look like a steel jungle.

"This...what is this?" Yang Zhongsi looked at the short tubes, his face full of confusion. "Master Chen, is this some kind of specially made musket?"

"So short, yet so thick, I'm afraid the range..."

He really couldn't connect these short and thick guys in front of him with the heavy artillery that he had in mind, which required several people to serve and weighed thousands of pounds.

Chen Gui laughed heartily: "Yang Shuai, you underestimate it!"

"This is the latest masterpiece of our Fengguo University's Military Engineering Institute, a groundbreaking infantry weapon—the mortar!"

"Mortar?"

Yang Zhongsi chewed on this unfamiliar word.

"Exactly!"

Chen Gui walked to a row of shelves, picked up a gun barrel, and pointed to the simple bipod and round base next to it.

"Look, the complete set only has three parts: the barrel, the bracket, and the base."

"If it's disassembled, a strong soldier can carry it while running. It's even easier to assemble, and it only takes a few breaths."

"Compared to those bulky artillery pieces in your camp, this cannon is more than ten times lighter and more flexible!"

In the human military technology tree, it is difficult to find a simple weapon like the mortar that is easy to make, cheap to produce, and has such a high efficiency-to-waste ratio.

During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, despite its weak industrial strength, China was able to produce tens of thousands of mortars, which shows how simple their production was.

This thing requires very little gun barrel. Not to mention that the "unscrupulous cannon" can be fired with a gasoline barrel, even wooden gun barrels have appeared in history.

The difficulty in making mortars lies in the shells, but it is also very simple compared to the shells of other artillery. At least the current Feng State can make it easily.

Therefore, in the future, the mortar will become a standard weapon that can be deployed to company-level and even squad-level combat units.

Yang Zhongsi took the cold gun barrel. It felt heavy in his hand, but it was indeed much lighter than the artillery of the same caliber.

"So light...how powerful is it? What's its range? Is it complicated to reload?"

A series of questions were raised again.

The glint in Chen Gui's eyes grew even brighter: "General Yang, hearing is believing, seeing is believing!"

"Talk is useless. Let's go to the test site and let you fire a few shots yourself! Listen to the blast, see the pit, and you'll understand everything!"