Ming Zuo

Chapter 78 Gunpowder
If a workman wants to be good, he must first sharpen his weapon.

Although Zuo Menggeng was very eager for his army to be equipped with weapons as soon as possible, he was not in a hurry.

The manufacture of weapons is important, but it is even more meaningful to establish a complete industrial system through the opportunity of manufacturing weapons.

The new weights and measures promotion is the first step.

In the musket manufacturing of the Ming Dynasty, after the barrel was forged, it was necessary to widen the inner diameter of the barrel with a drill before it could be used.

Some people may have said that since the barrel needs to be widened after casting, why not use a larger iron stile to support the inner diameter of the barrel during casting?

Sorry, can't do it.

The stiles must be made of steel, and the rest of the iron will not work.

Otherwise, when forging the barrel, it is hard to say whether the barrel can be formed under vigorous beating, but the iron stile may be deformed first.

Steel is hard to come by, and the material is precious. I occasionally get some iron stiles that can't be made too big.

In addition, the hand-forged barrel, even if the craftsman's craftsmanship is exquisite, it is difficult to ensure that the inner wall is completely in line with the iron stile, that is, the inner wall will definitely be uneven.

Anyway, in the end, the inner wall of the barrel must be reprocessed with a drill, so naturally there is no need to make a fuss about the iron stile.

When I got to Zuo Menggeng, this step was omitted.

Because the barrel caliber of the arquebus he was going to make was not as big as the arquebus.

In addition, the steel in the iron smelter is easy to obtain, so you can make as much as you want on the iron stile.

According to Zuo Menggeng's request, the diameter of the iron stile required for the casting of the new musket is slightly larger than that of the original iron stile, but slightly smaller than that of the arquebus.

After the hydraulic hammer forging machine can be used, it can be ensured that the inner and outer walls of the hammered barrel are sufficiently straight.

The hydraulically driven forging hammer can reach a width of more than one meter, and each hammer can cover the entire barrel.

A one-meter-wide hammer weighs hundreds of kilograms, and it is impossible to move it manually.

This is also the reason why the inner wall of the barrel that is hammered by humans cannot be guaranteed to be smooth and straight.

In addition to iron stiles and forging hammers, drill bits are also made of steel.

It's a pity that there is no tungsten ore in Shandong, otherwise, you can get a tungsten alloy drill bit, and drilling a steel barrel and rifling is not a dream.

Another thing that needs to be made according to the standard, naturally, is the bullet.

It is unreasonable not to get Mignet with a flasher.

It is not difficult to manufacture the Miguel bullet, which is also what Zuo Menggeng did with the confidence to rifling the barrel.

Like the arquebus projectiles, the Minet shells are made of lead.

Lead has a low melting point and is soft, and can be shaped with little force.

The manufacture of Minet bombs only needs to make a mold, and then pour molten lead water, and the finished product can be finished.

Of course, such Mignet shells cannot be put into practical use, because the surface is very rough and needs to be polished smooth.

In addition, there will definitely be products that do not meet the standard in the Mignet made by the mold, and quality inspection and compensation are also required.

If it is a copper or steel shell, the defective product can only be discarded.As for lead Mignet bullets, as long as they are not damaged, they can be adjusted with tools when the size is wrong.

The tools are also simple.

It is just a few sets of iron, and there is a very standard iron ring in the middle.

The Mignet can be stuck in it, and after putting it in the case, the outer part can be tapped vigorously, and the Mignet can be shaped into a qualified standard.

Not to mention grown men, even women can do this job.

At the bullet factory, Zuo Menggeng recruited many women to work.

Male workers are used to boil lead water and cast bullets, while female workers are used for grinding and quality inspection.

For this job, female workers can get ten cents a day.One month is three hundred cents, which is equivalent to [-] silver.

In terms of prices at this time, this wage is no different from exploitation.

But Zuo Menggeng has limited funds, so he can only use his conscience when he should.

This is Shandong, and prices cannot be compared with Jiangnan.This salary is small, but it is also income.

What's more, Zuo Menggeng's factories provide lunch and dinner, which saves a lot of money for the female workers.

Besides, they don't go out to work and stay at home with no income.It can subsidize households, and the enthusiasm is very high.

Being in the company of lead will lead to lead poisoning.

Zuo Menggeng couldn't treat human life like a must, so Wang Xiuqin made a lot of gloves and masks for these workers to use.

Even if the protection standard cannot be compared with later generations, it is better than nothing.

Compared to steel, lead is much easier to get.

Zuo Menggeng handed over the supply channels to the Zhang family, and he could get two thousand catties per month.It's quite enough for making mignons.

In addition to the Miguel bomb, Zuo Menggeng was in place in one step, and the concept of the paper shell fixed charge was also taken out.

In his regulations, the Mignet bullets are loaded with the paper shell bullets.

When using it, as long as the Minet warhead is pulled out, the gunpowder in the cardboard shell can be poured into the barrel, killing two birds with one stone.

The cork in the Miguel bomb is also loaded in advance, which greatly simplifies the soldier's use process.

The best ratio of black gunpowder, Zuo Menggeng is thoroughly familiar with his chest.

The gunpowder factory was arranged farthest away by him, even more remote than his laboratory.The production process and management are even more critical.

Whoever dares to violate the law will be directly executed.

Strict rules and regulations make all pharmacists dare not neglect, and they are very serious when working.

"Okay, the production of gunpowder must be done this way. You can only wait to know the production method. Whoever dares to say it will kill Wushe."

This warning did not frighten the pharmacists.

Confidentiality was also required when they used to work elsewhere.

To their surprise, Zuo Menggeng actually wanted to teach these old craftsmen how to make gunpowder.

But after Zuo Menggeng started to work, these talents discovered that there were so many differences.

Zuo Menggeng showed the means and technology of gunpowder raw material purification, completely beyond their imagination.

The craftsmen carefully hold various raw materials in their hands, and even put the daring bobbins into their mouths to taste.

"It's so pure!"

"Have you seen it?"

After the demonstration, Zuo Menggeng asked.

The craftsmen nodded one after another, and then began to work under Zuo Menggeng's guidance.

Skilled craftsmen are good at this, and their hands-on ability is very strong.After only three attempts, their purified gunpowder raw materials were already comparable to Zuo Menggeng.

In terms of gunpowder ratio, Zuo Menggeng did not do it himself.

"Mix these in a ratio of one to five to seven to five."

The gunpowder factory also got a balance scale, and after carefully weighing it, the craftsmen completed the mixing.

The craftsmen thought they were done, but there were still steps to come.

Zuo Menggeng asked the craftsmen to add water to the mixed gunpowder, and the dosage was 8% of the gunpowder.

After thoroughly stirring the gunpowder with water, dry it in the sun.Next, is the key link to let the black powder exert its maximum power.

That is the granulation of gunpowder.

Everyone knows that this procedure can be done with a sieve, but what size sieve and how big is the best granulated gunpowder?

In addition to the expert Zuo Menggeng, even many commoners in later generations may not know.

The sieve was also specially made by the blacksmith, and the particles of gunpowder that were screened were exactly the same and of equal size.

The pharmacists were amazed at such gunpowder.

"Qianzuo, can such gunpowder have miraculous effects?"

Zuo Menggeng was full of confidence.

"Is there any miraculous effect, you will know if you try it?"

Experimentation is very simple.

The pharmacists got a clay pot, filled it with two kilograms of black powder, and then added a match.

In order to let the pharmacists feel the power of the new gunpowder more intuitively, Zuo Menggeng also asked them to set up a lot of wood around the explosion point.

As the match rope was lit, with a deafening loud noise, dust and debris rose into the sky, the ground shook violently, and everyone was stunned, as if they had been bombed.

After the smoke cleared and the dust subsided, the horror of the explosion made everyone shudder.

I saw that there was nothing intact within a radius of [-] meters. The wood had long been broken into countless pieces, and the furthest one was even scattered a hundred meters away.

"Liaodong's gunpowder is not so strong."

Zuo Rong held the hilt of the knife with one hand and looked at him, as if he wanted to guard some peerless treasure.

The pharmacist Gu Wuzheng said: "The gunpowder in the world is not so powerful."

He's an apothecary, and he's been doing it for decades.He said so, and that is the best proof.

Travel thoughtfully.

"This kind of gunpowder, even if it's not used for guns, is just as powerful as it is in a clay pot."

Landmines were not unusual in the Ming Dynasty. People in the Ming Dynasty also had many ideas about the use of gunpowder.From Zhouyou's point of view, the gunpowder made by Zuo Menggeng will greatly enhance the combat power.

Zuo Menggeng was also very satisfied with the effect of gunpowder, and said to the pharmacists: "It will be made like this in the future. The recipe is only known to you and should not be leaked."

Thinking that this kind of gunpowder leaked out, others would use it on themselves, the big guys shuddered, and looked at the pharmacists with dangerous and warning eyes.

The ancient five is decisive.

"From now on, those of us are not allowed to leave Zhuangzi. You are not allowed to take a single piece of paper out of this place. And keep your mouth shut, and your daughter-in-law and children are not allowed to say anything."

The rest of the pharmacists said yes, knowing that this matter was extremely important.If you don't want to die, you can't be too careful.

(End of this chapter)