As the situation is developing increasingly better, Zhao Bing's intention to launch the Northern Expedition again is also ready to move. But he did not move lightly, and the reason why he suppressed his desire was not without excuses, but that the new weapons are still in the stage of research and development and improvement, and have not been finalized to mass production.

As the flintlock rifle with the largest number of infantry equipment, when he was first equipped, Zhao Bing knew clearly that there were many defects, such as slow firing speed, low hit rate, low firing rate, etc. In actual combat, many problems were exposed. When soldiers on the battlefield used the front loading gun, they usually aimed carefully in the first few shots. After that, they would be upset and deformed by the complex loading movements and the officer's continuous volley orders.

In addition, after being exposed to rain or crossing the river, the black gunpowder inside is prone to absorb moisture and accumulate, and there are also many inconveniences to carry it. This problem is prone to silence in rainy and humid environments in the south of the Yangtze River, especially in the performance of the navy. As a result, ammunition production is currently produced on demand, and we dare not have too much reserves to prevent ammunition from being damaged by damp plates, which seriously affects combat readiness.

In the development of firearms, there is not a gun first and then a bullet, but a gun after an existing bullet. Now the synthesis of gunpowder is successful and can be put into industrial production, which not only makes ammunition improvement a reality, but also makes breakthroughs in the development of weapons. As the most massive rifle, it has also become the focus of research and development. Zhao Bing chose to manufacture it based on Spencer's continuous guns as a model.

Spencer continuous gun is a revolutionary weapon in the history of rifle development. It uses a rotary locking bolt. When the trigger guard ring is pulled down, the locking machine retreats and opens the chamber and pulls out the empty shell. At the same time, the spring in the buttstock automatically pushes the next round of bullet out of the supply tube; when pulling the guard ring, the locking machine advances and pushes the bullet into the chamber and locks the chamber. The firing action is: pull down the hammer, aim, pull the trigger, pull down the trigger guard ring, pull up the guard ring, pull down the hammer, aim...

In terms of manufacturing, the Spin Racing Gun seems to have complex structures, but in fact there are not many parts and are easy to manufacture. And the cost is relatively low, of course, this is only relatively speaking. In addition, Zhao Bing knew that it was designed as a military rifle from the beginning, which is better in reliability and maintenance than in the contemporary gun type, and there is a lot of room for improvement as a basic gun type.

However, even so, it took a long time to go from "research and development" to practicality, and the difficulty was mainly on the bullets. Due to the current materials and processing technology, it is difficult to create a metal shell. Even though it has many advantages, Zhao Bing had to give up and instead seek other solutions. After several experiments, he finally chose the shell shell with two composite materials, including linen cloth and mulberry paper.

Compared with metal shells, this composite material shell has obvious disadvantages, such as small strength, large smoke during launch, inconvenient transportation and storage, etc., but it also has the advantages of low cost, good waterproofness, and easy processing. The final balance is a flat-top lead-rolled bullet flange paper shell bullet. The flat-top bullet is used to prevent accidental triggering. In addition to reducing the dumbness rate, the flange bottom fire can also be used to heat expansion of copper during launch to increase airtightness.

The gun is also changed in a balance between retaining advantages, ensuring functions and facilitating processing. In the end, the octagonal barrel, wooden stock, lever locking bolt and bullet supply were still used. The spiral rifle of the barrel was changed to straight rifle, which directly sacrificed accuracy, but it was also helpless. The spiral rifle was difficult to process and low productivity, which was not conducive to large-scale production. Although the hit rate of the straight rifle decreased, it was much stronger than the smoothbore rifle, and it also reduced the maintenance frequency...

On this day, Zhao Bing led the Ministry of War and Privy Councilors to the military weapon surveillance outside Lin'an City. After several years of construction, various military weapon surveillance workshops have formed several small towns covering dozens of miles on the bank of the Qiantang River. This is not only the largest weapons production base in the Song Dynasty, but also has more than 50,000 craftsmen, and can produce artillery as large as thousands of kilograms of cannons, as well as a complete living facility, a medical institute and a school were built, and the guards of the front guards were always in charge of the guards.

Everyone visited the new workshops, guns and gunshops, gunpowder workshops and mattress workshops for all-metal machinery powered by steam engines. They personally tested the fire of continuous guns at the shooting range, watched the launch of new mortars, and then came to a small town in the central area. This is not only the office space of military weapons supervisors, but also a weapon research and development base.

"Everyone just saw it and tried it with his own hands. I thought which kind of continuous gun is suitable for the troops?" Everyone sat down in the Military Weapon Supervision Conference Hall. After a while, Zhao Bing took a sip of tea and looked at everyone and asked.

"Your Majesty, I think the Type B rifle is more suitable. This rifle can penetrate iron armor within a hundred steps, has a high lethality, and has a few times faster fire speed than the flintlock rifle, and is easy to operate. It can suppress the dense charges of the enemy infantry and cavalry. At the same time, the overall weight is only 12 kilograms and is easy to carry. After long-distance marching, it can also gain the upper hand in close combat after installing bayonets." Chen Fenglin, head of the Infantry Department of the Privy Council, said first, "But I think the capacity of the bullet barrel is smaller and can only load six bullets. It would be better if I thank you!"

"Mr. Chen said very well, but if you want to load more bullets, you need to reduce the charge and reduce the bullet diameter. Then the power of the bullet will be much lower, making it difficult to penetrate the iron armor commonly installed by the Yuan army. Therefore, you can only try to ensure lethality and increase the maximum possible amount of bullet capacity. This is the best solution after more than ten designs." Chen Xun, the military weapon supervisor, explained.

"So that's it!" Chen Fenglin nodded, then turned his face and asked, "Tong Ni, what kind of gun is more satisfied with after the trial!"

"Relatively speaking, I am satisfied with the B-type gun!" Ni Liang replied, "After trying out the five gun types, the soldiers thought that the gun was designed well, with the best hit rate and fire rate, and were easy to use when fighting with the piercing. In a row, more than 200 bullets were designed without cleaning the gun chamber, and they could still shoot. The failure rate was low, and the frequency of maintenance was reduced. Although the bullet capacity was small, it could also be solved by training and quickly replacing the bullet barrel."

"What is the dissatisfaction with Mr. Ni? You can just mention it, don't care!" Zhou Xiang saw that he was hesitant at the end of his speech, and quickly said.

"Yeah!" Ni Liang pondered for a moment, "The soldiers are not satisfied with the bullet cargo box you designed. There are ten bullet barrels in it, which are relatively large. Whether it is carried or hung on the belt, it is very inconvenient. It not only affects tactical movements, but also easily feels tired when marching, and it is difficult to take it, especially when wearing gloves."

"This is indeed the case!" Hou Tao, the head of the cavalry department, also said, "I have been to the troops who tried the troops that fired guns in the infantry and cavalry. They also had reactions in this regard. This magazine is round and difficult to carry. I have also tried it myself, and it is indeed the case!"

"Okay, we have ignored it, and we will make improvements soon!" Zhou Xiang nodded and asked someone to remember it.

"What about the navy?" Zhao Bing asked Dong Yichengdao, the head of the navy department.

"Your Majesty, the navy is also quite satisfied with the B-type gun during the trial. Even after a short period of soaking in the sea, it can still be fired. The bullet can still be used normally after being stored on the ship for a year and does not need to be replaced frequently." Dong Yicheng said, "But I also have a suggestion that the ship is narrow and the long gun is inconvenient to carry. Can sailors be equipped with a rifle, and the Marines use rifles."

"Well, this proposal is good. The sailors mainly use guns to defend themselves. There is no place to fight for bayonets!" Zhao Bing nodded and smiled.

"Your Majesty, our imperial guards now have fifteen infantry troops, with a 400,000 army troop, more than 20,000 cavalry divisions, and nearly 60,000 naval troops; 50,000 guards and expeditionary troops; and nearly 100,000 local and provincial troops. If they are fully equipped, at least 500,000 new-style continuous guns are needed. The military weapon monitoring is unlikely to be difficult to meet the needs in a short time, so how can they be allocated?" Chen Renweng, Secretary of the Ministry of War, understood that His Majesty summoned everyone to inspect, and actually planned to determine which type of gun to choose, but all departments are definitely willing to use new guns, which made him, the Minister of War, who was in charge of the provision of materials and guns, embarrassed him.

"Shangshu Zhou, Shaojian Chen, how many guns can you produce in a year?" Zhao Bing nodded after hearing this, and then asked the two.

"Your Majesty, I can guarantee that I can produce 100,000 new rifles and corresponding ammunition consumed each year!" Zhou Xiang said without hesitation.

"No, the difference is too far. Tell me the truth!" Zhao Bing saw that he answered quickly, and knew that he was talking about the production volume under normal circumstances. Another meaning was to sell it for himself. He also said with a stern face.

"Your Majesty, I have tried my best. If I work harder, I can produce 150,000 pieces!" Zhou Xiang pondered for a moment and gritted his teeth.

As soon as Zhou Xiang finished speaking, everyone immediately shook their heads and said that it was too few. Zhao Bing suppressed his hands and silenced everyone and said: "No, you must produce 200,000 new-style continuous guns by July next year, and strive for 250,000!"

"Your Majesty, even if I have worked hard, I will find it difficult to complete the annual output of 250,000 pieces. Besides, the copper and iron materials needed are difficult to satisfy!" Zhou Xiang's face turned green immediately after hearing this, and waved his hands repeatedly.

"You don't need to worry about the materials you need. I will try to raise them for you. In addition, I need money and people to give them. If I can't do it, I will give up your official position and confiscate your home!" Zhao Bing said with a calm face.

"This... this is hard to die. Your Majesty might as well be my official now!" Zhou Xiang said with a bitter face and winked at Chen Xun.

"Your Majesty, this task is really too great. What should I do with Shangshu Zhou discussing?" Chen Xun stood up and said with politeness.

"Yeah!" Zhao Bing nodded and asked them to discuss.

Zhou Xiang and the others then stood up and went out. Zhao Bing knew that they had summoned the heads of various workshops to discuss. After waiting for about half an hour, the two returned to the conference hall. Zhou Xiang said ruthlessly: "Your Majesty, I will strive to ensure the production of 200,000 new-style continuous guns and strive for 300,000!"
Chapter completed!