"Your Majesty, you are still worried about the matter of the continuous pearl gun!"

"Oh, Master Zhou has arrived!" Zhao Bing, who was sighing, heard someone talking and looked up. It was Zhou Xiang who was here, but he knew the rules and stood at the door and did not dare to take any further. He said in a little surprised.

"Your Majesty is summoned, of course I am here!" Zhou Xiang said, and raised his sleeves to wipe the sweat from his face and bowed his waist.

"Okay, go to the front hall to talk!" Zhao Bing waved his hand and went out.

"Your Majesty is really a god. You have already made such a powerful firearm. You don't have to be anxious if you even have a bead gun." Zhou Xiang was half a step behind His Majesty and still leaned his waist to persuade him.

"Oh, if we can make it, why don't we worry about not be able to defeat the Tartars!" Zhao Bing sighed again.

Of course, the beaded gun they mentioned was not a modern semi-automatic or fully automatic gun, but a mechanical beaded gun invented by Dai Zi, a folk inventor in the early Qing Dynasty. The gunpowder and projectiles of this beaded gun were stored on the back of the gun, with a total of 28 rounds. When the first machine was opened and closed, the gunpowder and lead projectiles automatically fell into the barrel. The second machine rotated randomly, rubbed flint, and ignited gunpowder to fire lead projectiles. It was a century earlier than the mechanical machine gun that the American Gatlin later invented. However, it is said that the Qing government was extremely conservative and did not trust the Han people, which led to this major invention not being promoted and adopted.

However, since this kind of beaded firearm was not passed down in real life, nor was it seen in official history, it was only recorded in unofficial history as a legendary story. There are no graphics or detailed descriptions in the book, but only a few words. Later people have imitated it based on it, but none of them succeeded, so it is considered a legend and it is impossible to create it. However, many people still believe this matter, especially the angry young people often mention it as a weapon to criticize the corruption and ignorance of the Qing government.

After Zhao Bing got out the flintlock, he remembered this. If he could copy the continuous firing gun, even if the rate of firing cannot reach the machine gun and reach the "38th" big pole, it would increase the fire density and achieve the goal of winning the more with less. However, he racked his brains and spent a lot of sketches that failed to achieve the legendary result of the continuous firing of the flintlock gun with just machinery.

"With Your Majesty's ability, it won't take long to do it. At that time, my subordinates are still willing to fire the first shot!" Zhou Xiang said with a charming smile on his face.

"Okay, no matter how loud the flattery sounds, I can't do it. Let's talk about serious business!" When he arrived at the small hall, Zhao Bing patted his fat face that reached the front.

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty just give orders if you have something to do!" Zhou Xiang immediately polite.

"Okay, don't be too polite, your waist is almost broken!" Zhao Bing saw him bow to the end, his face was almost pressed to the ground. It was so fat that he was really difficult for him, so he quickly mixed it up with him.

"I will be crushed to pieces by Your Majesty, and I will never refuse!" Zhou Xiang immediately said with gratitude and tears in his eyes.

"This is what you said. If you can't complete this mission, you'll probably not just be crushed to pieces!" Zhao Bing sat down on the cold couch, pointed to the cushion placed opposite him and asked him to sit down.

"Your Majesty... Please give me instructions!" Zhou Xiang was stunned for hearing this, then sat down and said seriously after saluting.

"Well, I want you to produce 300 muskets every month in two months, and by the end of next year, I will hand over at least 2,000 muskets and 200,000 bullets!" Zhao Bing said.

"Your Majesty, there are only a hundred people in the newly established musket workshop, but they are all new players. Even if you work day and night, you are afraid that you can only guarantee the production of six pieces every day. The main reason is that the time for the barrel is too long!" Zhou Xiang did not answer immediately, but replied silently for a moment.

"That's right, the barrel is the most labor-intensive!" Zhao Bing nodded and admitted that what he said was not false. The manufacturing of a barrel was forged from a cooked iron into an iron bar, and it also required drilling. Drilling was not achieved overnight. It had to be divided into at least five times, with boring knives of different diameters to gradually expand the hole diameter to meet the design requirements. Then, the tail of the tube must be closed, the fire-induced holes were drilled on the barrel, and the door and sight were installed. It took seven days to complete a barrel. Even if the division of labor and cooperation and assembly line production were used to improve productivity, a gun could be produced in fifteen days.

"Your Majesty, it takes at least five people to operate a water conservancy boring machine, and it takes ten people to divide it into two shifts. If you ensure that you can produce ten barrels a day, as long as you add ten boring machines to your subordinates, one hundred craftsmen can complete it. After you are proficient, you should have improved! But..." Zhou Xiang thought for a while and said.

"Haha, you are worried that you will need more startup funds to increase equipment and manpower!" Zhao Bing finally became vague when he saw that he said, and immediately guessed his thoughts.

"Hehe, what Your Majesty is saying!" Zhou Xiang said with a smile. He knew that the younger emperor's character was, the more serious and scheming he was, the more annoying he was.

"I am adding 400 people to you to ensure the supply of materials and allocate 200,000 guan, but in three months, the fund will be allocated according to the production quantity. How much you produce and how much I want, the higher the output, the more money you get. If the task fails to complete, the craftsmen will ask you for salary, no matter whether you sell houses and land or your wife to fill it, I will not give you an extra penny." Zhao Bing said with a smile.

"Your Majesty takes care of his subordinates so much. If he can't finish it, he will really die!" Zhou Xiang said with gritted his teeth and stamped his feet.

"I suggest you further refine each process so that everyone only needs to master the production of one part, and even a rivet can be further subdivided into several processes. In this way, even a novice will be quick and skillful, and can ensure quality and improve yield." Zhao Bing saw that his appearance was very funny, and reminded him again.

"Well, I understand." Everyone said that listening to the gong and listening to the sound, the insider understood it as soon as he heard it. Zhou Xiang was excited and said, "As Your Majesty said, why should I work hard to find a skilled craftsman? In this way, even if a person with no experience is not too stupid, he can quickly learn a job."

"Master Zhou really understands it at one point. You must understand that our army will grow stronger and stronger, and more firearms will be needed, and those swords and guns will be gradually eliminated. Even if a hundred thousand a year is not enough, we must improve the process as soon as possible, expand the scale, and increase the output!" Zhao Bing praised him and said again.

"I will follow the teachings and will definitely increase the output. But..." Zhou Xiang was stunned when he heard this and slowly said, he did not expect that His Majesty had such great ambitions.

"Don't hesitate, say something bluntly, don't always ask me to guess!" Zhao Bing knew that there were still difficulties when he looked at Qi, frowned and reproached.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Zhou Xiang quickly said, "Your Majesty also knows that the paper buns used in the musket need to be applied butter on the outside to prevent moisture, and the gun may be lubricated with grease to prevent rust. Therefore, the grease needs huge, so how much butter can you find in Qiongzhou?"

"Yes, this matter must be resolved." Zhao Bing nodded. Applying butter to bullets is not only to prevent moisture, but also to lubricate the barrel of the gun for easy loading. However, although cattle are not rare, cattle are the most important animal power in farming society, the most important property of a farmer, and the important military supplies. The random slaughter of plowing oxen will be punished, and even if they die of illness, they must report to the government. For example, the Liangshan heroes in Water Margin often put a cow on their turn and 2 kilograms of beef when they eat in a restaurant, which is simply impossible.

"Your Majesty..." Zhou Xiang was very embarrassed when he saw the little emperor silent. He was about to comfort him but was interrupted.

"I have an idea. We have few cattle, but there are thousands of whales in the sea. Just catch a large one and you can get tens of thousands of pounds of fish oil!" Zhao Bing pondered for a moment. The whales they caught were eaten at Yashan and the fish oil they cooked were used for the entire mountain to light the lamp. Besides, whales and cattle are both mammals, so there should be no difference in fat. It is not necessary to replace each other!

"Ah?!Yes!" Zhou Xiang was surprised and clenched for a moment. He had also heard of His Majesty's whale hunting in Yashan, which was a good idea.

"When I have free time, go out and grab ten heads, and you can use eight heads first!" Zhao Bing said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, there is another thing. It is very time-consuming and laborious to make the bayonet into a triangular shape. It is better to use each person to give him a long sword, and you can fight to the death!" Zhou Xiang made another opinion.

"It's impossible!" Zhao Bing said flatly without thinking. He knew that the biggest tactical obstacle to the musketeers dominating infantry after the emergence of musketeers in history was when facing cavalry attacks. Therefore, musketeers also need the escort of spearmen. To maintain a formation, more troops are needed, which is contrary to his current actual situation and the idea of ​​elite soldiers. The solution is - bayonets.

In fact, this problem was not until the late seventeenth century that someone finally thought of a solution. The Malays could be mentioned at the earliest. After they got the musket, they placed the corrugated sword of their nation at the muzzle and used the musket like a short spear, so that the muskets could also play the spearmen temporarily. Not to mention this, there was a dilemma. When the cavalry approached, if the muskets failed to repel the cavalry in the last volley, they might face the risk of not being able to install bayonets in time. However, when the bayonets were put in advance, they gave up the opportunity to promote firepower of the muskets.

After the bayonet appeared for about a generation, the real socket-type bayonet solved this problem. It could be fixed to the head of the musket, which did not hinder the musket shooting, but also effectively played the role of an old-style spear. In fact, infantry with bayonets is equivalent to a spearman. Although this "spear" is shorter and less powerful than spears, it is enough to charge against the cavalry's saber. If you shoot from a long distance, the cavalry's bows and arrows are not as good as infantry's muskets.

In fact, it was from the fact that the spearmen completely lost the need to exist on the battlefield, and the power of the cavalry was greatly reduced in front of the infantry. However, the application of this cavalry also led to the fact that each gun must be carefully manufactured according to the standard size before it can be equipped with a standard bayonet, which increased the difficulty of manufacturing, making Zhou Xiang deterred and wanted to give up, Zhao Bing could of course not go back. Now that the formation has not been trained, he didn't have much to say anything, so he could only refuse.

"Your Majesty, can you change the bayonet to the sword type? In this way, you can be installed on a musket to fight the enemy, or you can be used as a sword to chop. The sword courtyard of our craftsman workshop can also be produced, thereby reducing the pressure on the firearm courtyard." Although he received guidance from His Majesty and thought of a way to increase production, Zhou Xiang knew that this task was extraordinary. The manufacturing of muskets was more complicated and more precise than previous crossbows, rockets, etc., and the requirements were higher. And His Majesty was anxious, and he was guaranteed by his head, so the pressure was very high, so he wanted to seek some tricks.

"Master Zhou, do you know about armor?" Zhao Bing shook his head after hearing this. He thought about "speculation" repeatedly and why he couldn't see his thoughts, but he did not answer, but asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"Your Majesty, my subordinates have been in the Great Song Military Arts Shop for more than 20 years. Although they are not proficient, they know a little." Zhou Xiang said with confidence when he heard this.

"Do you know what are the characteristics of the Jurchen armor?" Zhao Bing asked.

"Your Majesty, the Jurchens were all barbarians who ate raw meat and drank blood back then. It would be nice to have leather armor. After they destroyed the Khitan and captured Jiangbei, they seized a lot of iron armor, which was no different from our dynasty. They used more fish scale armor to prevent sharp blades from being chopped and slashed, and the bow and crossbow were difficult to shoot through!" Zhou Xiang replied immediately without thinking.

"Well, it's not bad. How can I break the heavy armor?" Zhao Bing nodded and asked again after hearing this.

"Fish scales, armor, swords and guns are difficult to break, and bows and crossbows are difficult to break. Therefore, military generals often use heavy weapons such as bones, whips, maces, etc. In this way, even if they cannot break the armor, they can still damage the internal organs and destroy their muscles and bones in order to break the enemy." Zhou Xiang said.

"Then why do our infantry now use swords, shields, spears, halberds and crossbows?" Zhao Bing asked again.

"Your Majesty doesn't know that the Tartars' armor is willow-leaf armor and iron-rock armor. Although they also use fish-scale armor, only a few heavy riders use it. Most of them are iron-rock armor." Seeing that the little emperor was serious about listening, Zhou Xiang asked him repeatedly for advice. He also excitedly stood up and gestured and said.

"Because the Tartars are mostly light cavalry, they often use iron ring armor to maintain horsepower. The armor is mainly covered with animal skin, covered with iron mesh, and only inlaid with iron leaves at the vital points of the chest and crotch. This armor is light and can prevent bows, arrows, light crossbows, and knife cuts. Because there are animal skins as mats, whips, maces, and big sticks that hit it, it is difficult to hurt the internal organs, so all the troops abandoned it, and often use guns and spears, and use heavy crossbows and strong bows to kill the enemy... Your Majesty, I understand!" As he said that, Zhou Xiang's tone suddenly became much lower, and the person wilted like an eggplant from frost, saying to the little emperor.

"Haha, just understand!" Zhao Bing raised his hand and asked him to bow to him, "We should do things according to the times and not stick to common laws. The same is true for treating Tartars!"
Chapter completed!