Chapter 37 Technological upgrade of Ming weapons(1/2)
Chapter 37 Technological Upgrading of Ming Dynasty Weapons
The sunshine in winter is a little dim and fails to give the earth more warmth.
Li Yunze, who led his entourage out of the city, braved the cold winter wind and waded across a river full of ice to arrive at an imperial village on the outskirts.
The people here have already been moved away, and there are strict sentries all around. Anyone who dares to approach will be immediately arrested and interrogated.
Li Yunze, who was still thinking about the spring breeze and several rounds of rain last night, was so agitated by the cold winter wind that he woke up instantly with a jolt.
Riding his horse through the gate, Li Yunze dismounted, took off his white cloak and threw it to the saluting steward, "Go to the warehouse."
The warehouse was built in an open space. It was built with high-grade cement he transported and was extremely solid.
The wall is painted with large fonts 'Beware of fire candles!'
Only the steward had the key to the warehouse. After opening the door, Li Yunze walked in cautiously.
The reason for being so cautious is because all the newly manufactured gunpowder is stored here.
Li Yunze destroyed Wei Zhongxian at the beginning in order to buy time and get rid of his main energy from the battle of wits and courage with the Nine Thousand Years Old.
The purpose of going to Jiangnan was to rectify the rear and solve our worries.
The purpose of rebuilding the three major battalions is to build the strength for a decisive battle, clenching your fists and holding the handle of the knife.
After finishing these tasks, Li Yunze, who was determined to fight the Tartars, had to find ways to increase his combat effectiveness.
The easiest way to fight against those Tartars who are skilled with bows and horses and have superb fighting skills in battle formations is to use firearms.
In this regard, he used the power of modern technology.
The first change is gunpowder.
The optimized formula comes from the modern world. After the salary of the master craftsmen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Industry has been greatly improved, they can knead high-purity gunpowder with their own hands.
Then use egg whites to knead the new formula gunpowder into granules.
Granular gunpowder, which greatly enhanced the power of black gunpowder, appeared in the Ming Dynasty.
Li Yunze inspected it carefully and even picked it up to smell it to confirm whether it was really egg white.
There was no way, he had already lost confidence in the subordinate officials of the Ming Dynasty.
"Take a box and go out." He asked Cao Bianjiao, who was accompanying the escort, "Go to the shooting range and try it."
Arriving at the shooting range, Cao Bianjiao personally carried a new musket, poured the granular gunpowder into a fixed amount of cardboard, inserted the lead head into the musket.
After compacting, take up the musket and aim at the target fifty steps away.
When the trigger was pulled, the flint gear rotated and hit the fire door, igniting the fixed gunpowder.
With a bang, the lead bullet whizzed out under the impetus of huge force and hit the target hard.
A large hole was directly punched through the wooden target.
Li Yunze didn't know much about this aspect, so he directly asked the professional, "Cao Qing, how do you feel?"
"Okay, great!"
Overjoyed, Cao Bianjiao nodded repeatedly, "Everything from the medicine to the fire gun is good. It is much better than before. It's like heaven and earth."
"This is an advancement in materials technology."
He took the firegun and stroked the warm barrel with his hand.
Li Yunze looked at the words "Zhou Zhiwu, the great craftsman of the inner palace, made on the twenty-ninth day of the first month of the second year of Chongzhen" engraved on the wooden support.
"And then there's the skillful hands of the master craftsmen."
It is said that the craftsmen of Ming Dynasty were really miserable.
His status was very low and he belonged to a lowly craftsman family.
Life was miserable, with no food to eat.
The Ming army popularized firearms very early, but their quality has declined year after year.
By the Chongzhen period, it even reached the point where sergeants did not dare to use it.
Because the quality of the firearms was so poor, they often exploded.
The reason why the quality is poor is because the craftsmen are precarious and are regarded as inferior to horses. Of course, they have no intention to improve the quality. If they can produce something good, they still want quality?
Li Yunze directly merged all the craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry and the inner government, abolished the low status and greatly improved the treatment of the craftsmen.
The basic salary is enough to support the family, ensure the quality of the finished product, and also receive generous bonuses.
The enthusiasm for labor was stimulated at once.
In order to ensure quality, in addition to special inspections before leaving the factory, the manufacturer's name is engraved on the gun.
Once there is a problem, it is right to go directly to the master.
"Bring me a pair of armor."
The wooden target was taken away and replaced with a pair of thick iron armor.
Li Yunze loaded the weapon according to the steps, took aim and pulled the trigger.
There was a roaring sound, smoke was rising, and the noise was very loud.
Looking carefully, I saw that the armor was intact. It was a miss.
Li Yunze's face turned a little red.
This is definitely not because of embarrassment, it’s just that the weather was too cold and windy, so he didn’t apply any skin care cream on his skin when he went out!
A mere fifty steps, a distance of more than eighty to less than a hundred meters, and he still couldn't hit it.
Everyone around, from Cao Bianjiao to the handymen at the shooting range, all looked at their noses and noses, just like an old monk in meditation. They had lost their eyesight at the same time and saw nothing.
After reloading was completed, Li Yunze took a deep breath and picked up the gun again.
I have used the concentration I had when practicing archery these days, and I no longer shoot casually like I did during Landlords.
After aiming carefully for a while, he pulled the trigger again.
This time it hit, the lead bullet directly hit Zhajia's abdomen, making a hole in the front and a bowl mouth directly in the back.
If it were on the battlefield, the abdominal cavity would be emptied immediately.
Cao Bianjiao, an old monk who had entered meditation before, suddenly came to life.
"Long live the power~~~"
Everyone around cheered and cheered vigorously.
With his excited heart and trembling hands, it seemed as if Li Yunze had killed a dragon instead of Zhajia.
Li Yunze, who is self-aware, will not get lost in these flattery.
He knew very well what was the reason for the sudden increase in the power of the firecrackers.
In addition to the improved version of granular gunpowder that can fully burn and release explosive power.
He ordered the barrels and flintlock parts, including springs, from factories in the modern world in the name of exporting to Africa.
Because the quantity is small, it is not uncommon for big manufacturers to do it. It is still a small factory found through a certain platform to get the business.
Except for some small parts and wooden parts, it is basically a product of the modern world.
In addition, the work enthusiasm and efficiency of the craftsmen have increased, and quality supervision has also been guaranteed.
The improvement in power and practicality is natural.
"You must be careful about the flames in the warehouse." Before leaving, Li Yunze told the steward, "When the army comes to pick up the goods, it is the same during transportation."
After leaving the imperial village, Cao Bianjiao asked, "Long live, do you want to return to the city?"
"No rush, let's go to the artillery factory and have a look."
The group of people rode their horses again, heading straight through the wind and snow to another imperial village more than ten miles away.
The security is the same, but the difference is that the shooting range here is huge.
When the new general cannon was launched, Li Yunze himself laughed.
There is no doubt that the gun barrel is also a seamless tube ordered in the name of exporting to Africa in the modern world, and it is specifically requested to be thickened.
Because of this, he had to explain to the factory that these items were matching pipes ordered from a factory in Africa, and he had to have all kinds of information.
In addition, all the gun mounts have been replaced with rubber tires.
During the test firing at the shooting range, when a shell passed by, half of the hillside exploded with fire and flames flying into the sky.
Everyone around cheered loudly for Long Live who lit the fire himself, but Li Yunze's expression was very strange.
"Are you insulting my intelligence or looking down on me?"
Pointing to the hillside in the distance, "The bullets fired were solid lead bullets. Can they hit half of the hillside? You have buried gunpowder and kerosene in advance. You are looking down on me."
The steward who originally wanted to curry favor with the emperor was dumbfounded.
How did the emperor know about these little tricks?
To be continued...