Announcement! Discord! Synopsis! Author’s Note!
Hey everyone,
I have picked up the Mandarin novel titled [Steel, Guns, and the Industrial Party in Another World/鋼鐵，槍炮與穿越異界的工業黨] by [Xiao Musheng/晓木生].
I will publish daily releases on 27 November 2023.
Thank you! ✌
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For announcements or to report mistakes, please join my Discord: https://discord.gg/2sZy2YcYSB
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Magical beasts trample, dragons roar, wizards curse, and the dazzling light of magic illuminates the beacon of knowledge!
Emperor Gabella: The Imperial Legion is invincible on land.
Orc Chieftain: Each of our tribal warriors is worth ten of any other.
Elven King of the Emerald Realm: Our forest rangers never miss their mark.
President of the Horn Bay Alliance: The Alliance fleet reigns supreme over the seas.
A Mysterious Organization: The prophesied era will eventually arrive.
Paul Glayman: I’m not singling anyone out, but everyone here is trash.
Embark on a journey with firearms and cannons, crushing the low-magic planes…
(This story is similar to ‘Release That Witch’ or ‘Tyranny of Steel’.)
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(Unnecessary + Spoilers! Just skip this part below)
(Unnecessary + Spoilers! Just skip this part below)
Author’s Note: Explanation of Some “Unreasonable” Content
Recently, some readers in the comment section have expressed concerns about certain contents in the story being unreasonable. Here, I’d like to provide a unified explanation.
1. A reader asked: “What’s the use of military uniforms and marching in step?”
Answer: Uniform attire helps in identifying friend from foe and boosts soldiers’ sense of belonging. It also plays a role in maintaining military discipline and deterring the enemy. Throughout history, in both the East and the West, regular armies with the means have always had uniform attire. One significant aspect of Gustav II’s military reforms was the standardization of army colors and attire. As mentioned in the story, newly conscripted militia dressed in tattered clothes can severely affect morale. Commanding a group of ragged individuals in battle is demoralizing.
Marching in step strengthens discipline and coordination in collective actions. Saying that ancient armies marching in step is unrealistic is incorrect. The ability to march in step is not linked to social or educational levels, nor has human genetics mutated. If modern humans can kick their legs straight forward, so could ancient people. The transition from ancient to modern armies had to start with someone, and it didn’t need to wait for the natives of another world to invent it first before the protagonist could follow suit.
2. A reader said: “Medieval peasants had no sense of belonging. Your talk of military uniforms is nonsense. Without long-term ideological education, how could they have a sense of belonging? What do you think political commissars in our army are for?”
Answer: The author doesn’t understand what the era has to do with the ability to foster a sense of belonging. They’re all thinking, feeling people. It’s normal to develop a certain dependency and emotional bond with people or organizations that provide sustenance, or with companions who live and work together within the same organization. As long as ancient people had basic moral values and a minimum sense of gratitude, a sense of belonging could arise without the need for prolonged education in advanced ideas.
3. A reader said: “A squad of 10 and a platoon of 30 are completely impractical.”
Answer: Small-scale formations like squads and platoons have existed since ancient times. For example, in ancient China, the “Zhou Li” (Rites of Zhou) states, “Five men make a squad, five squads make a company.” This structure was in place 2000 years ago in a slave society. The protagonist, out of habit, used a name closer to modern terminology to avoid the hassle of changing it later when firearms become widespread.
Moreover, the squad and platoon organization here is for ease of management. Before the invention of breech-loading and bolt-action rifles, the protagonist’s army would conduct operations at least at a company level (over 100 men), except when clearing remnants of the enemy.
4. A reader said: “Using six rounds from an old bronze cannon, you claim to kill or injure 120 people. If 400 bandits charge at your militia, you can annihilate them?”
Answer: The story never stated that the bronze cannons could kill or injure 120 people with just six rounds. If referring to the battle for the recapture of Franport, this reader might not have paid close attention. At that time, the cannons were mainly used to breach the city gates. It took several rounds from two cannons to break open the gates. The casualties inflicted on the pirates by the cannons were actually not significant. The elimination of 120 enemies was mainly due to the soldiers storming the city and engaging in close combat.
As for whether the pirates could reach the protagonist’s army, they were already at a numerical disadvantage and had previously suffered a defeat. Those who dared to stay and defend the city were already taking a desperate stand. This is not like playing an RTS game like Red Alert, where a sweep of the mouse sends soldiers charging forward to their death.
5. A reader said: “Frankly, the author hasn’t thoroughly researched medieval productivity. That level of productivity couldn’t support such reforms. Industry isn’t something you can just start on a whim.”
Answer: This comment was made after “Chapter 77: Language Advisors and Flag Communications” was published. However, up to Chapter 77, the story has not developed any substantial industrial construction or social transformation. What has been done is simply the following:
1) Several military reforms, whose reasonableness has already been described in the previous answers, mainly referencing Gustav II’s military reforms;
2) The manufacture of gunpowder, matchlock guns, and bronze cannons. As long as the raw materials and ideas are available, these early firearms can be crafted by hand. Historically, these items appeared in the late Middle Ages. The story also mentions that the protagonist originally wanted to jump directly to flintlock guns, but was stumped by something as simple as a trigger mechanism.
3) The creation of two models of sailing warships. The story states that his territory’s shipyards are currently unable to build the actual ships. Full-rigged warships will definitely be developed eventually, and soon. As soon as the highly skilled craftsmen recruited from the south arrive, construction will begin, starting small and progressing gradually. It’s impossible to immediately build something like the “HMS Victory”;
4) Subtly instilling anti-slavery ideas. The protagonist has neither risked offending the ruling class by overtly freeing slaves nor has he promoted his own flag. Instead, he has utilized clergy who covertly support him, borrowing the church’s name. The church in the story is modeled after the real-world Christian church. Regardless of its real-world status, Christianity has advocated equality since its inception, even during the time of the slave-based Roman Empire. The church in the story also adopted this stance, attracting followers with the slogan of equality. Although over time, the church’s hierarchy gradually colluded with the nobility, the slogan has always remained. Up to Chapter 77, the protagonist has only shouted a few slogans and done a bit of propaganda. In this world, this is neither novel nor abrupt. Of course, when conditions are ripe, the protagonist will take more substantial actions.
5) Consolidating fragmented farmlands, promoting crop rotation, and digging irrigation canals are measures that do not conflict with “medieval productivity”;
6) Manufacturing a horse-drawn reaper, modeled after the real-life McCormick reaper. Interested readers can search online for images of the early models of this reaper. The first reaper was assembled by McCormick in his father’s blacksmith shop. Unlike steam engines, which require precise machining of cylinders on a lathe, this invention doesn’t rely on many preceding technological advancements.
7) Establishing a political affairs bureau also does not conflict with “medieval productivity.” Administrative systems similar to this have existed in various eras.
8) Developing a new flag signaling system. Flag signaling has been in use since ancient times. The protagonist simply made it capable of conveying more information.
9) Inventing the telescope. Knowing the principles of a telescope and recruiting skilled lens-grinding craftsmen makes the production of early telescopes not difficult. In 1608, Hans Lippershey, a spectacle-maker from Middelburg, Netherlands, created the world’s first telescope.
10) Papermaking and porcelain firing, both of which were present in ancient China, need no further elaboration.
The above activities should not conflict with the productivity levels of the time. There was no rush to develop steam engines or to aggressively produce steel (though “small-scale steel production” is coming soon). I’m not sure where the statement “that level of productivity couldn’t support such reforms” comes from.
If it’s about the future plot involving industrialization, I can confidently say that the Industrial Revolution is definitely going to be a part of the story, otherwise, the book’s title would be meaningless.
Some “golden fingers” (advantages) are definitely needed. I’m aware that it’s far-fetched to think a single person could initiate an industrial revolution, and there will inevitably be some aspects of the development process that don’t stand up to scrutiny. I can only ensure that this process appears “relatively” reasonable within my range of knowledge.
The efforts made by the protagonist in the early stages are all about paving the way for real changes later. The industrial era on Earth also evolved from the agricultural era, and the conditions for industrialization were accumulated during the previous agricultural period.
If there are no “reform” conditions in terms of productivity, then the goal is to make the best use of existing resources to create conditions, aiming to shorten this “accumulation” process as much as possible. It’s unnecessary to wait for this world to develop these conditions on its own, as that would render the protagonist’s transmigration and the knowledge in his head meaningless.
Is it reasonable for the protagonist to support a standing army of over 1,000 people?
Answer: I must admit that this was not thoroughly researched when written.
However, it should be noted that in the setting of this book, the protagonist is an earl who initially governs a standard earldom of the late medieval period, with various villages and towns in his territory and a total population of around 60,000 to 70,000 people, not just a single village or town. Moreover, his family has been operating in this area for several generations.
At the time, I wanted to write based on the militia ratio of the feudal era, but the information I found (including settings from other novels) was varied. Some sources said 20 people could support one professional soldier, some said 50, and others said 100, so I chose a middle value: 40-50 people supporting one professional soldier.
In the Middle Ages, I found several posts that stated: In 1333, during the reign of Edward III of England, Cheshire could provide a force of 4,000 men, and Yorkshire could provide 5,000. In the 14th century, Yorkshire and several other northern counties could mobilize over 3,000 men against the Scottish army (I couldn’t find specific sources for these numbers).
The figures mentioned in these posts are probably not all professional soldiers; most were likely temporary militia. However, up to the annexation of Beyerding in the book, the protagonist’s army was maintained for no more than six months.
Due to incomplete information and uncertainty, I’ve been vague about the protagonist’s family wealth and how much tax the territory can collect.
Later, I arranged plots like seizing pirate treasure, papermaking, and porcelain selling as ways to “generate revenue.” This was to maintain the army of over 1,000 people with somewhat reasonable conditions before real productivity improvements. The profits from historical porcelain trade, especially under monopoly conditions, were staggering.
If readers still find this too exaggerated, consider it as the protagonist having to resort to “extreme militarization” in response to a complex starting situation. Haha. ^_^
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