The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 526 Firearms Development Guide
Although it is a pleasant thing to accompany Daiyu and others to visit the garden, but Jia Lian knows that he is far from the point of chasing after the wind with peace of mind.

He was able to have today's status and achievements, and he was able to keep his word in the family. The biggest reason and confidence was that he was appreciated by Emperor Ningkang and he was able to serve Emperor Ningkang.

If you forget this point and indulge in the romance of the Grand View Garden like Jia Baoyu, then everything will be a castle in the air, and it is not surprising that it ends up like Jia Baoyu.

Therefore, he must put Emperor Ningkang's affairs first. For example, the matter of firearms in Haikou, which he boasted in front of Emperor Ningkang, had to be put on the agenda.

The Shenji Battalion, as the only established army in the capital, has a low status.

There were not many fighters. According to the data obtained by Jia Lian, the actual number of officers and soldiers in the entire Shenji Battalion was only 3000 to [-], which was equivalent to the number of officers and soldiers in a military division!
You know, strictly speaking, the Bing Ma Si is not considered an army. After all, what it does is not much different from the government servants in Shuntian Mansion, and there are five Bing Ma Si.

With such a comparison, one can imagine the status of the Shenji Camp.

Bian Hong, the commander of the Shenji Battalion, is a veteran general who has no future, and most likely will be nourished by Shenji.

At first, knowing that the emperor had parachuted a deputy commander into his territory, he was still a little worried that the court was dissatisfied with him and wanted to seize his military power and so on.However, after several times of contact with Jia Lian, especially after hearing Jia Lian say that he was only ordered to modify firearms, Bian Hong was relieved a lot.

With a wave of his hand, he directly declared that Jia Lian would take care of all the firearms battalion, and if you had any requests, just ask him, and he would obey and obey.

Moreover, someone was sent to assist in the whole process, so that Jia Lian could get acquainted with the affairs in the Shenji camp faster.

Jia Lian was naturally happy with Bian Hong's attitude.Because he didn't want to think about the original soldiers and horses, fighting with his colleagues after taking office, it was meaningless except wasting time and energy.

In fact, for him now, a Shenji camp like this really doesn't appeal to him.Although according to the rank of the yamen, the Shenji Battalion is one level higher than the Bingma Division, but in terms of importance and merit, the Shenji Battalion is far inferior to the Bingma Division.

Therefore, he naturally disdained to compete with Bian Hong for the territory.

As for the future development of the Shenji Camp according to his vision and becoming important, that's another story.

But that is probably not something that should be considered for a while. If there is a day, as long as this Bian Hong is wise and does not play tricks on him in the process, then on the day when he succeeds, Jia Lian does not mind sending him a fortune to promote him. The way to send him another place to retire.

This is not Jia Lian's big talk. According to his speculation, the era of great voyages had begun long ago, and Western powers gradually appeared on the territory of Great Wei, and appeared in the ears of those in power in Great Wei.This is also the reason why Emperor Ningkang was able to be moved by Jia Lian as soon as he talked about it, because Emperor Ningkang was not ignorant of foreign countries.

Therefore, if Jia Lian can really make great progress in Wei's firearms and be able to exert their effectiveness on the battlefield, this credit can be distributed to others casually, and others will benefit endlessly.

"My lord, this area is where our firearm camp is located. I don't know what my lord wants to see today. Do I need to let them gather to listen to my lord's lecture?"

According to Bian Hong's instructions, a deputy commander of the Shenji camp, named Su Keguang, led Jia Lian to patrol around the Shenji camp with a few people and was familiar with the affairs of the camp.

Hearing that Jia Lian cared about firearms, he naturally took Jia Lian to inspect the area where firearms were kept and manufactured.

"No need, just take me around the barracks and give me a detailed introduction to the general types and power of the current firearms in our Shenji camp."

"Okay."

Accompanying the chief on inspections is an easy job, especially since everyone knows that Jia Lian is a celebrity around the emperor. As long as Jia Lian is well served, he will be promoted by others casually in the future, and his qualifications will be promoted much faster than their own hard work.

So one by one, they tried their best to introduce to Jia Lian the firearms currently kept in the Shenji Camp.

"Look, my lord, these artillery are the most powerful artillery existing in our Shenji Battalion, and many of them are equipped in the army.

For example, this Franc cannon was passed from the Far West, and its power is much greater than the earth cannon of the previous dynasty. "

When he came to a warehouse, Su Keguang pointed to the four cannons placed inside, and introduced with a red face.Obviously, what is placed in it is a kind of artillery worth promoting.

Jia Lian stopped, walked in and took a look, and found that the toy was really tall and powerful, and it looked really good, so he asked how powerful it was.

"It's very powerful. I heard that one cannon can blast half of the city wall!"

"It is said that?"

"Uh, this, I haven't seen it with my own eyes. Commander Bian once took this thing out of the city to demonstrate it to the adults in the military department. The newly built earthen wall can indeed be easily knocked down with a single shot."

Seeing Su Keguang's embarrassing expression, Jia Lian also knew that according to Wei's contempt for artillery, it would be really embarrassing for an official to know all the firearms.

After learning about the loading of ammunition, Jia Lian was disappointed.

The operation is complicated, the ignition method is primitive, and the most important thing is that the shell is just a huge iron ball. Presumably, the destructive power depends entirely on the inertial impact force.

It seems that there is a long way to go to improve artillery.

So for the time being, he lowered his attention to the guns, and asked other people: "How about the muskets in our Shenji camp?"

"Fire guns? Your Excellency is talking about firecrackers. Yes, there are many styles. Do you want to see them?"

"have a look."

Su Keguang was a little suspicious in his heart, wondering why Jia Lian had a soft spot for firearms.You must know that their Shenji Battalion has all kinds of weapons, especially the newly developed bed crossbow, which is not only easier to operate than the previous bed crossbow, but also surprisingly powerful.

A shot of a crossbow is enough to pierce seven or eight enemies into a string. Isn't that thing more powerful than these dark, stupid guys?
He also wanted to preach about bed crossbows to Jia Lian, who knew that Jia Lian was not interested in those things at all.

"My lord, this is the Fireball Bureau. In our Shenji camp, the best fireballs can basically be found here."

Su Keguang and others brought Jia Lian to a huge barracks, where there were still a dozen or so craftsmen busy, the lights of the fire interspersed with the sound of iron forging, and the look of enthusiasm made Jia Lian's eyes light up when he just walked over.

This kind of atmosphere is good, maybe there will be surprises.

With such a mood, Jia Lian walked in, his eyes naturally focused on the various firecrackers hanging on the wall.

Suddenly Jia Lian took down a polished firecracker from the wall to play with, and Su Keguang and the others were so frightened that they exclaimed, "My lord, be careful!"

They only looked at Jia Lian's posture, and they knew that Jia Lian had never played with firecrackers. If they jumped out of fire, who would they call for grievances.

It is true that Jia Lian has never played with firecrackers.Several times on the battlefield, the soldiers below did not use firearms, which shows that firearms are not welcomed.

Seeing himself playing with the gun, several of his subordinates turned pale with fright. Jia Lian didn't deliberately tease them, but handed the two-foot long gun to Su Keguang, and ordered him to find someone to demonstrate to him.

"Why don't you next time, my lord, it's not very easy to use here, and it won't be good if you frighten my lord..."

Su Keguang and the others wanted to persuade them, but when they saw Jia Lian's eyes sinking, they didn't dare to say any more, and they found the most skilled gunners to test their guns in a dilapidated shooting range outside.

"Bang~!"

The musketeers completed the rehearsal of the firing process with the most standard procedures, and looked back at Jia Lian expectantly, trying to get the superior's praise.

But Jia Lian's brows were frowned into the word "Chuan", and his face was full of disappointment.

Su Keguang and others wondered, "My lord, what's wrong?"

"Does the firecrackers in the Shenji Camp require three people to operate?"

Jia Lian asked about his doubts. Although he knew that firing the guns would not be easy after looking at the shapes of those firecrackers, Jia Lian was still inexplicably disappointed when he saw the demonstration of the soldiers.

Not to mention anything else, just for this launch, one person needs to hold the gun, one person loads the gunpowder and fuse, and the third person holds the torch to light it...

Damn, it's almost the same as the firing process of the artillery.

It is conceivable that on the battlefield, waiting for you to operate this way, the enemy will be killed in front of you!Hearing Jia Lian's complaint, Su Keguang slapped his forehead and said with a smile, "Your Excellency dislikes the need for three people to operate this firecracker. We also have ones that are easy to operate."

After finishing speaking, Su Keguang immediately turned around and said to his subordinates: "Go quickly and get the 'Fire Snake Gun' that can be used by that one person!"

Jia Lian was a little relieved to hear that there was one that could be used by one person.

It's just that after Su Keguang and others took the gun to demonstrate, Jia Lian sighed heavily.

It turns out that the so-called "Fire Snake Gun" is to tie a burning matchlock near the ignition hole, and in the way of a mechanism, when the trigger is pulled, the burning matchlock ignites the gunpowder in the gun chamber to complete the firing. process!

This thing seems to be simpler than the long gun operated by three people before, and it can be operated by one person.

However, the launch speed was slower than that of the previous three people. The only advantage was that it saved two people!

The point is, this "Fire Snake Spear" has too many disadvantages even from the perspective of Jia Lian, a layman.

Not to mention the most critical firing speed and power of the musket, let's talk about the matchlock, although it is specially made, it is still a rope.Once the weather is bad, it rains or something, and the matchlock is extinguished, what is the difference between the firecracker and the fire stick?
Therefore, Jia Lian couldn't help but have a question: "In our Shenji camp, are there only these things. There are no...for example, flintlock guns?"

Su Keguang and the others looked at each other, obviously not understanding the meaning of "fusil".

"The flintlock you are talking about is a kind of firecracker? I don't know where you heard about this kind of firecracker. How fast is this kind of firecracker? How powerful is it? Is it possible to imitate it?"

Seeing Su Keguang and others asking him back, Jia Lian was silent.

Although his understanding of firearms is very limited, and he only knows the concept of flintlock guns, he is definitely much more advanced than Lao Shizi's "Fire Snake Gun".

And in his impression, flintlock guns shouldn't be difficult to manufacture. He didn't expect that Wei's firearms development didn't even reach this step!

"Forget it, call all the craftsmen of the Fire Gun Bureau, I want to give a lecture."

Since the ready-made firearms looked like this, Jia Lian could only abandon the idea of ​​taking shortcuts and start from scratch.

At the same time, Jia Lian couldn't help feeling a real sense of urgency.

Although he has never dealt with Western powers, and he doesn't know how their firearms have developed, but according to his intuition, the firearms of those potential enemies are definitely more advanced than Wei's existing ones!

This is a very serious problem.

There are no eggs under the nest, Jia Lian doesn't want to travel through it once, but also to feel the process of being bullied by the big powers!

At this moment, there is no such thing as romanticism, any thought of asking Ningkang Emperor for credit.What Jia Lian has in mind is to raise the research and development of Wei's firearms to a new level, at least not to lag behind the enemy!Fortunately, although he doesn't know much about guns or cannons, at least he has some simple concepts that are very advanced compared to this world!

He also believes that a great country has never been short of talents.

As long as he is given time, and he gives enough support and guidance to the craftsmen below, he will surely be able to produce firearms that are more advanced and powerful than the "arquebus" and "Franco cannon"!
The top priority is to get the gun out before the gun.

But to make a gun, the easiest thing is to first figure out the concept of "flintlock gun".

"The flintlock gun that your excellency mentioned, does it mean that something like a flint is used to strike sparks through impact, thereby igniting the gunpowder and launching it?"

In the Fireball Bureau, there are still many craftsmen who have done a lot of research on fireballs.

Jia Lian just introduced the principle of the flintlock gun, and some old craftsmen asked back.

Jia Lian thought for a while and felt that what he said was not bad, so she nodded.

Unexpectedly, the old craftsman laughed and said: "Before we had a young man in the Fireball Bureau, who proposed to use a flint to mount the fireball on the fireball. He also assembled a short gun by himself. It's just that the flint is always It can’t be hit, the barrel is not strong, and it falls apart after a few times of use, so it’s not taken seriously by the people above…”

Jia Lian was overjoyed when he heard this, and asked where he was.

Doing research requires talent and energy.

Jia Lian thought he didn't have enough energy to study these things himself. At this time, it was most important for Jia Lian to have a few talented people who love firearms to help him.

"That young man's name is Wu Youquan. As for his whereabouts...Let Master Su tell."

Seeing that Jia Lian was interested in a craftsman, Su Ke didn't dare to hide it. He quickly replied, "There was indeed a young craftsman named Wu Youquan here before. Because he was smart and thoughtful, he was transferred away by the Bow and Crossbow Bureau."

Of course Jia Lian knew that there was a Bow and Crossbow Bureau in the Shenji Camp, and it was his own son, at least he was much more popular than the Fire Gun Bureau!
I was very speechless.Even the inside of the Shenji Battalion was like this. Under such circumstances, it's no surprise that Da Wei's firearms can be used.

So he immediately ordered that the person be transferred back to him!Regardless of Jia Lian's other identities, Jia Lian is also the deputy commander of the Shenji Battalion, so it is very easy to transfer someone, no one dares to say anything.

So Jia Lian soon met this young craftsman named Wu Youquan.

When he heard Jia Lian's concept of the flintlock gun, he looked very excited, especially after knowing Jia Lian's identity and purpose, he became even more excited.

"My lord's words have solved many doubts and concerns of the villain. As long as I give the villain time, the villain is sure, and according to the adults, I can make a firecracker without any fuse!" Wu Youquan promised very generously.

Jia Lian was even more generous.

"Okay, as long as you can figure it out, I will not only reward you with 100 taels of silver. And if you do a good job, I can even invite your Majesty to reward you with an official position!"

Wei's firearms research has been rotten for too long, and Jia Lian just wanted to arouse the enthusiasm and fighting spirit of these low-level craftsmen with a big reward.

"Except for Wu Youquan, the same is true for all of you. Starting tomorrow, I will come to the Fire Gun Bureau at least once every three days to inspect your research progress. Anyone who can make achievements in the development of the Fire Gun , or put forward useful suggestions, I will reward you!"

Encouraging all the craftsmen, Jia Lian recruited Su Keguang, pointed to Wu Youquan and said: "From now on, arrange a separate barracks for him. Not only will all the facilities be equipped according to the best, but also everyone in the firearms camp will work together. Within ten people, as long as he needs it, he can choose it at will, and the others are not allowed to refuse. I will trouble Master Su to handle this matter."

Su Keguang originally wanted to curry favor with Jia Lian, but now that he was able to do things for Jia Lian, there was nothing wrong with him.

On the contrary, Wu Youquan, who was next to him, was a little uneasy when he heard that Jia Lian had given him such a high standard and treatment, and hurriedly knelt down to thank him.

In this regard, Jia Lian just said to him: "As long as you can create useful things, you deserve them, and you can get more in the future. So, don't let me down."

"Yes, the villain must not dare to live up to the high expectations of the adults!"

……

(End of this chapter)