tens of thousands of border soldiers, the heart-wrenching screams of countless civilians, echo ceaselessly through the empire's skies. Until this case is solved, the spirits of the departed will find...Chapter 699: Rifling

Although he hadn't used it in a long time, the artisan was clearly a true master craftsman, his movements smooth and practiced.

Just as Li Chen was waiting, Guan Zhiwei asked with a puzzled expression, "Your Highness, why are you suddenly interested in these extraordinary skills and clever tricks"

Li Chen said to Guan Zhiwei: "This thing has great potential. You have made a treasure gather dust."

Guan Zhiwei had a wry smile on his face, but obviously, he didn't want to believe it.

He grumbled to himself that the prince wasn't behaving like a proper heir, actually taking time to ponder these kinds of things.

Even if Your Highness is wise and powerful, can you possibly be all-knowing

By the time words were spoken, the artisan had finished loading the ammunition.

Li Chen walked out of the Xizheng Hall and came to a courtyard. He raised his hand and aimed at a tree about ten steps away.

After all, this thing is gunpowder, it has a certain degree of danger. Besides, it hasn't been maintained for years, who knows if it might just explode

If anything goes wrong, everyone here will be in trouble.

Guan Zhiwei's heart pounded with fear, and he quickly said, "Your Highness, please be careful..."

He hadn't finished speaking when a deafening explosion interrupted him.

The deafening roar, accompanied by the pungent smell of gunpowder igniting, billowed in a cloud of green smoke.

Li Chen raised his hand to brush away the pungent green smoke and looked at the tree trunk he had aimed at.

Yet, though the shot hit, it was far off from where he aimed.

This is still over ten steps away, converted to meters, it's probably only about twelve or thirteen meters.

Looking at the round bullet that hadn't even penetrated the tree trunk, Li Chen felt that this thing was still a long way from being truly usable, especially when it came to threatening those so-called land immortals in the martial arts world.

No one else knew how many thoughts Li Chen had. When they saw him staring at the bullet hole without saying a word, they thought he was unhappy.

Guan Zhiwei, terrified, pulled several craftsmen to kneel on the ground.

"We, your humble servants, have erred. Please, Your Highness, punish us as you see fit."

Li Chen came back to his senses and waved his hand, saying: "You have committed no crime. The fact that this thing can even fire is already very good. I was just thinking about something. All of you, get up."

Li Chen beckoned to the artisan who had first spoken to him, and after he came forward, said: "There's still much room for improvement in this."

After pondering for a while about the little knowledge of firearms passed down through the ages, Li Chen said, “For example, this barrel, although pure iron can ensure its stability, it also increases its weight and maintenance difficulty. Over time, it will rust and is not conducive to heat dissipation after the gunpowder ignites. We can consider adding some steel water to it. This way, we can reduce the weight without lowering the strength and prevent rusting.”

A master can be recognized at a glance.

The artisan originally thought that the prince was just playing around, but he was surprised when Li Chen's first suggestion made his eyes light up.

"However, he also seemed hesitant and said: 'I had thought about joining the steel water proposal before, but the cost of steel water is too high...' "

"It's alright."

Li Chen waved his hand and said, "The Ministry of Industry will fully support this matter. Don't be afraid of the high cost. First, make a batch that is usable, and then consider how to reduce the cost."

"Did you hear that" Li Chen said to Guan Zhiwei.

Guan Zhiwei couldn't understand why Li Chen was so interested in such a useless burning stick, but since the Crown Prince had spoken, he naturally didn't dare to object.

"The humble minister understands."

"And also."

Li Chen looked at the still-hot barrel in his hand. How could he explain these rifling marksr he had served the congee, Li Chen instructed the maid to retire. Then, holding the medicine bowl, he entered the bedroom.Hearing the sound, Su Jinpa looked up and saw it was Li Chen. She froze for a...