Chapter Nine: Fully Armed

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Zhenhua Gu grabbed Wang Zhuo by the neck like catching a chick and carried him to the front of the warehouse.

“Th-this is the place,” Wang Zhuo stammered, pointing nervously. Gu threw him aside and strode to the door without hesitation. Drawing a dagger, he swiftly severed the lock with a sharp clang.

Though the fear of the Duke had lessened by now, his authority remained, so no one dared step forward. As for Gu, he felt no fear at all.

Pushing open the door, he entered without hesitation. The warehouse was vast, filled densely with all manner of armor and weapons. Roughly estimating, there were over forty sets of armor, more than two hundred swords and blades, as well as spears and broadswords, a dazzling array.

Gu casually picked up a waist sword and drew it from its sheath. A cold gleam flashed before his eyes. Flicking the blade lightly, a crisp metallic ring echoed. Having served in the military, Gu was familiar with cold weapons.

Qi Jiguang’s “New Book of Effective Discipline” recorded the making of waist swords: the iron must be repeatedly forged, the blade made of pure steel, the back flattened and sharpened with a chisel, the edge finely ground to a sharp point…

Without a doubt, this waist sword before him was crafted with the laminated steel technique, representing the pinnacle of Ming dynasty cold weapon forging. During Qi Jiguang’s campaigns against the Japanese pirates, Ming swords and blades were noticeably inferior in sharpness, leading some to mistakenly believe the Ming’s weapon technology lagged behind. This was a serious error. Corruption was rampant in the Ming bureaucracy, and craftsmen were held in low esteem, resulting in mass-produced, poorly maintained standard-issue weapons.

Water-soaked, discounted weapons would never suffice. But the weapons hidden by Duke Zhu were all exquisite pieces from a special workshop. The mass troops could be fooled with inferior arms, but the Duke’s guards absolutely could not accept anything less than perfection; rather, they demanded the finest craftsmanship.

Gu inspected the arsenal and immediately smiled with satisfaction. With these, he could fully arm the guards, greatly enhancing their chances of survival.

“Everyone, come in and see which weapons suit you best.”

At Gu’s invitation, the others finally snapped out of their daze. Embarrassed, they had not followed him immediately. Leading the way was Lu Yong, with Luan Hu and Tang Zhankong among others trailing behind.

Seeing the weapons, Tang Zhankong let out a shout of delight. He rushed over to a large broadsword, gripping it tightly, saliva nearly spilling from his mouth. Murmuring, “Good stuff, really good stuff!” he excitedly said, “Brothers, do I look like Brother Guan from the operas? Shall we show off some spring and autumn blade techniques again?”

“If you want to play around, take it outside,” Lu Yong said bluntly. “We don’t want to get sliced up in here.”

Tang Zhankong chuckled. “No offense, Brother Lu. I’ll step outside right away.”

Not just Tang Zhankong, but the other guards were equally thrilled, especially those with military backgrounds. They couldn’t help but shake their heads and sigh in admiration.

At that moment, Sun Cheng arrived. He had been nursing an arrow wound to his arm and had been resting to recover, avoiding unnecessary exertion.

“Big brother, your arm’s fine now. We’re still waiting on your all-out spirit!” Lu Yong joked.

Sun waved his arm and laughed heartily. “Thanks to Fourth Brother’s remedy, I’ve saved this arm.”

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Gu smiled too. “Big brother, that medicine only prevents infection. Ultimately, it’s your strong constitution that healed quickly. I don’t deserve praise.”

Sun laughed immediately. “Fourth Brother, don’t be modest. We all trust you. You’re capable and knowledgeable. If we want to survive leaving the capital, it all depends on you. Right, everyone?”

“That’s right!”

“Exactly!”

“We all follow Brother Gu!”

The guards answered enthusiastically. They weren’t fools—at a time like this, they needed someone bold and resourceful to lead. Take these weapons as an example; if Gu hadn’t dared to act decisively, they would never have gotten them. His role as the team’s core was gradually cementing.

While everyone was busy, Lu Shun squinted his eyes searching around. The larger weapons were a bit unwieldy for him, so he tried to find ones that suited him better.

“Fourth Uncle, come look at this!”

Gu had just found a suit of armor when Lu Shun’s excited voice rang out. He hurried a few steps over.

“Shunzi, what did you find?”

“Fourth Uncle, look inside these wooden boxes.” Lu Shun pointed to a corner where a dozen or so dusty wooden crates sat, each over a meter long.

Gu’s eyes lit up. He hurried over, used his dagger to chop the locks, and lifted a crate lid.

Matchlock guns!

Just as Gu had expected, all the crates were filled with matchlock firearms. His interest in firearms far exceeded that in cold weapons. He casually grabbed a matchlock, the cold steel evoking a powerful sense of security.

“Rumi guns!” Sun Cheng exclaimed upon noticing them. He hurried over in three quick steps.

Gu was by no means unfamiliar with these. The Rumi gun was a type of firearm copied during the Wanli era, powerful and finely crafted. A good Rumi gun could shoot over 150 paces, far surpassing bows and arrows. It represented the pinnacle of Ming firearms and was the ideal weapon against the Manchu cavalry. To have these powerful firearms was a cause for Gu’s ecstatic joy.

“Big brother, are these really Rumi guns?”

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“Of course,” Sun Cheng smiled. “Fourth Brother, I served long in the frontier army. Three-eyed guns, bird guns, Rumi guns, self-igniting guns—I’ve handled them all. I know them well.”

As he spoke, Sun Cheng held a gun in his hands, examining it carefully and praising, “Good stuff, truly good stuff!”

“Uncle Sun, didn’t you say matchlocks are unreliable? They blow up easily, many soldiers got injured, and they don’t shoot far!” Lu Shun asked.

“Heh,” Sun laughed, patting his head. “You naive boy. The frontier troops’ matchlocks are crudely made junk. These, however, are the Duke’s fine pieces. How could they compare? If our frontier army had these matchlocks, the Tartars would have been wiped out long ago!”

Listening to Sun, Gu felt deeply moved. The Ming dynasty was not without good weapons nor loyal warriors, but the whole nation was rotten. Even the best arms couldn’t be utilized effectively.

“Everyone, stop gawking. Move the crates out and count the weapons. Arm yourselves fully!”

The guards eagerly pitched in, hauling the arsenal out. Gu, Lu Yong, and Sun Cheng counted them together.

One hundred and fifty waist swords, twenty spears, forty horse-chopping broadswords and large blades, sixty sets of armor. Aside from these cold weapons, the most exciting find was one hundred Rumi guns, and next to their crates, another forty self-igniting guns!

Self-igniting guns were early flintlocks. According to historical records, in the eighth year of Chongzhen’s reign, Bi Maokang of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue crafted China’s earliest flintlock firearm.

Compared to matchlocks, flintlocks were a major revolution. Unfortunately, these sharp firearms were never widely used to kill enemies or defend the realm but were left to gather dust in the Duke’s armory, becoming toys for the powerful.

Suppressing his fury, Gu addressed everyone: “Brothers, line up. Each take a waist sword and a firearm. Choose any other weapons you need.”

At his command, everyone busied themselves. They discarded their old, inferior weapons and donned new armor. With sharp waist swords in hand, the guards suddenly exuded a fierce, formidable aura.

Gu donned thick armor himself, armed with a waist sword, spear, and firearm. His already sturdy frame looked even more heroic, like a great general.

“Fourth Brother, no doubt you’re more imposing than any general at the frontier!” Sun Cheng laughed, with others echoing.

As they chatted and laughed, a sudden rush of footsteps approached. Over a dozen men hurried in, led by Duke Zhu Chunchen, with Wang Zhuo at his side.

With their master arrived, Wang’s previous arrogance vanished, replaced by furious rage. “You thieves, prepare for the Duke’s justice!” he shouted fiercely.