Chapter 38

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After four days of arduous trekking, Long Yufei finally saw the tall walls of Feiyu City again, which made him very excited. After this battle, he finally realized that he was not a person who could endure hardship. He wanted to show that he could share the same hardships as the soldiers, but his frail body simply couldn't handle it.

The journey back to Feiyu City from Mount Mangabang was relatively smooth. During this period, some of the natives tried to escape. However, these natives were tied together in groups of dozens, which greatly restricted their movements. Any native who tried to escape was caught and beheaded in front of the other native captives, effectively intimidating the rest. Once they returned to Feiyu City, they would be shackled and sent to work in the mines or on the farms. Once the natives were separated, it would be even more impossible for them to cause trouble or escape.

As soon as Long Yufei and his group emerged from the forest, Feiyu Company's people immediately ran back to report the news. Therefore, when Long Yufei and his group arrived at the foot of Feiyu City, the area was already crowded with Feiyu Company's people. Almost all the Chinese people had come out of the city to welcome the victorious Feiyu Army. In particular, the long line of bound native captives caused a lot of excitement. These Chinese people who had joined Feiyu Company had almost all been bullied by the natives before. Now, seeing the countless captured natives, they once again witnessed the power of Feiyu Company, and their loyalty to it grew even stronger!

"Yufei, you're finally back!" Luo Sangu said with concern. Only after confirming that Long Yufei was indeed unharmed did her heart finally settle. Long Yufei's military campaign lasted about ten days, which made her very worried.

"Haha! Yuhua, I'm fine, nothing at all! Don't worry!" Long Yufei said with a smile. He had been under the heavy protection of the guard, and if anything had happened, it would have been his own fault!

"Congratulations on your victorious return, Commander!" Minister of Civil Affairs Li Decheng also led a group of officials to welcome Long Yufei's return.

"It's all thanks to the soldiers! We finally lived up to everyone's expectations and achieved victory!" Long Yufei said with a smile. This time, he was just an observer. The victory of the Feiyu Army was inseparable from their rigorous training and advanced weapons.

"Commander, why is only one infantry battalion returning? What about the others?" Minister of Logistics Zhao Yi asked.

"The other three infantry battalions are still in the forest, continuing to eliminate the natives in the northern part of Mindanao. It will probably take some time before they return! I have some good news to share. We discovered a gold mine in Mount Mangabang, and the reserves seem substantial. We will need to send people to survey it and start mining as soon as possible!" Long Yufei said.

"Discovered a gold mine? That's great news!" Liu Mingde, who was in charge of finance, immediately perked up. Recently, Feiyu Company had almost no income and was constantly spending money, which made him very anxious. If they could discover a gold mine, this problem could be well resolved.

"I left an infantry company there to guard it, and there are also 2,000 native slaves responsible for mining! By the way, when we eliminated the Mangabang tribe, we found over a thousand kilograms of gold nuggets in their stronghold, which are of good quality. After smelting, we can probably get at least 200 kilograms of gold!" Long Yufei said.

Another piece of good news made the high-ranking officials of Feiyu Company very pleased. Everyone had joined Feiyu Company and was now on the same boat. Only by making Feiyu Company stronger would they all be better off!

"These young and strong natives, along with the children, number about 30,000! The specific arrangements will be handled by the Civil Affairs Department and the Logistics Department! That's all for today. The march has really exhausted me!" Long Yufei said.

"Haha, good. Commander, go back and rest, and we'll handle the rest! But, Commander, you must attend the celebration banquet tonight!" Li Decheng laughed heartily.

"Sure, I'll be there on time!" Long Yufei did not decline. Feiyu Company was rapidly developing, and it needed one victory after another to promote unity. This was very useful for uniting all the Chinese people. If the Chinese overseas could not form a cohesive whole, they would not be able to resist the local natives and Western colonizers! The rapid decline of the Lanfang Company was a cautionary tale!

After handing over the other matters to the Civil Affairs Department and the Logistics Department, Long Yufei and Luo Yuhua returned home. After ten days apart, Long Yufei was very eager. As soon as the door was closed, he couldn't resist starting to get frisky.

"Stop it, it's broad daylight!" Luo Yuhua pleaded, trying to resist Long Yufei's advances.

"Who says we can't do it in broad daylight?" Long Yufei ignored her protests and carried Luo Yuhua to the bed.

In the evening, Feiyu City held a grand banquet to celebrate the great victory of the Feiyu Army. All the Chinese people attended the banquet, and their faces were filled with joy, as if it were a New Year's celebration! The great victory of the Feiyu Army boosted their confidence and made them realize that the Feiyu Army's strength ensured their safety!

At the banquet, Long Yufei announced that the elimination of the Mangabang tribe was just the first step. The Feiyu Army would continue to make progress, eliminating all the natives on Mindanao to atone for the sins of the past two hundred years! Mindanao would become a paradise for the Chinese!

If before, the Chinese people had some doubts about Long Yufei's words, now they unconditionally believed him. The nearly 30,000 native slaves brought back by the Feiyu Army gave them a great shock, demonstrating the strength of the Feiyu Army.

The elimination of the Mangabang tribe caused a sensation throughout Mindanao, especially among the native tribes, who were now in a state of constant fear. The Mangabang tribe was one of the top five strongest tribes, and it was easily eliminated by the Feiyu Army, which made the other tribes feel a real sense of crisis. Moreover, the Feiyu Army was still continuing to eliminate native tribes, making the natives realize that the Feiyu Army would not stop. Some powerful natives began to think of ways to curb the development of the Feiyu Army and protect their own tribes!

Initially, the Chinese on Mindanao did not believe it, but once the news was confirmed, they were沸腾了. Some villages immediately rushed to Feiyu City, hoping to receive protection from Feiyu City. At first, they were worried that Feiyu Company would be like other Chinese forces, which were short-lived. But now, it was clear that Feiyu Company was strong enough to resist the native forces! By joining Feiyu Company, they could live a stable life!

More and more Chinese people flooded into Feiyu City, increasing its population. However, Long Yufei handed over these affairs to the Civil Affairs Department, and the recruitment of new soldiers was handled by the Feiyu Army headquarters. He himself focused on military research and development. In the battle against the Mangabang tribe, the Feiyu Army performed well, especially the thunderbolt mortar, which showed excellent performance. However, Long Yufei knew that the Feiyu Army still lacked a powerful cannon that could be used on warships and could suppress the cannons of Western powers!

Previously, the quality of steel had limited the development of the Feiyu Army's military industry. But with the improvement in steel manufacturing technology and the successful testing of new alloy formulas, these constraints no longer existed. Once the steel plant produced suitable gun steel, Long Yufei could finally develop the cannon according to his requirements!

Unlike the current mainstream front-loading cannons, Long Yufei developed a rear-loading cannon. Compared to front-loading cannons, rear-loading cannons have a simpler firing process, greater power, and longer range, making them more suitable for the Feiyu Army, which had weak industrial capabilities. Western powers' warships had up to 140 cannons, and the Feiyu Army could not compare, so they had to find other ways.

In the following two months, Long Yufei spent almost all his time at the armory. After numerous tests, he finally produced the first cannon, a 75mm field gun!

On April 6, 1836, the Feiyu Army's armory secretly tested this field gun on the beach. To maintain secrecy, only a few people, including the armory personnel and high-ranking officers of the Feiyu Army, participated in the test.

The field gun designed by Long Yufei had a 75mm caliber, a 20-caliber barrel, weighed 800 kilograms, fired a 5-kilogram shell, had a range of 4,500 meters, and used a rear-loading mechanism with a firing rate of one shot per minute. Initially, the barrel was 14 calibers long, but this limited the range to less than 3,000 meters. To increase the range, Long Yufei extended the barrel, which increased the weight of the cannon but extended the range to 4,500 meters, which was worth it!

"Commander, everything is ready!" The artilleryman reported to Long Yufei.

"Begin!" Long Yufei nodded.

Several gunners skillfully pulled back the breech, inserted the shell into the barrel, loaded the propellant, and closed the breech.

"Boom!" A burst of fire from the muzzle, and the shell flew out at high speed!

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