The end of the Ming Dynasty swept the world

Chapter 28

"Return to your lord." A craftsman was about to kneel down to answer, but when he thought of the money he had just received, he quickly stood up again: "We mainly use knives and guns--"

It turned out that Zhang Cheng didn't pay much attention to firearms. Like most Ming army officers, he also felt that firearms were useless.

Over the years, the Ming army fought against Hou Jin, and that time it wasn't that they had countless weapons, and that time it wasn't that they were beaten and defeated.

Back then when Juehua Island was defeated, the Ming army had a lot of firearms on board and suffered countless losses, but when Zhang Cheng was defeated, he brought a batch of firearms with him.

But he only believed in cannons and didn't trust guns. Later, he recruited several craftsmen from Dengzhou, mainly to repair cannons and strengthen Xu Dabao's defense.

Now on the wall of Xu Dabao, there are three thousand-jin bronze cannons (Second General Cannon), four two-hundred-jin thousand-legged iron cannons, and four thousand-jin Frang machine guns, all of which are maintained and repaired by these craftsmen.

As for the various guns in the castle, as long as they are worn out, they are basically ignored.

In fact, Zhang Cheng also felt that the guns were not good enough in actual combat. After firing a round, it took a while to load the medicine. The Tartars shot several rounds of arrows, and the gunmen were killed or injured. Naturally, he felt that the guns were not effective. It is better to shoot at the opponent with a bow and arrow.

"My lord." Li Zhongyi spoke from the side at this time: "This Lumi gun is actually quite powerful, as long as it is used well, it is very powerful."

"Do you know Lumi Gun?" Ding Yi was overjoyed.

Of course he knew that the most powerful gun in the late Ming Dynasty was the Lumi gun. (Self-generated guns, that is, flintlock guns, are not counted, and they have not been promoted)
The Lumi gun is a kind of matchlock gun improved by Zhao Shizhen, a firearms developer.

In the 26th year of Wanli, Zhao Shizhen asked Duo Sima, the envoy of the Lumi Kingdom, for advice on the structure and production methods of the Lumi Kingdom muskets. After improvement, it was made into a Lumi gun.

Li Zhongyi picked up a scrapped Lumi gun on the ground and said, "When our Li family was in Zhejiang, we specialized in making Lumi guns."

Among the Zhejiang craftsmen's records, there are six very powerful blunderbuss manufacturers, and the Li family is one of them.

In the first year of Tianqi, Sun Chengzong presided over the defense of Liaodong. In the second year of Tianqi, Sun Chengzong supervised Ji Liao. After taking office, he asked Yuan Chonghuan to build barracks, and Li Bingcheng trained firearms and equipment.

It was during this period that the Li family was transferred from Zhejiang to Liaodong to be responsible for the manufacture and repair of firearms. However, after Sun Chengzong left, the higher-ups no longer paid attention to firearms, and the members of the Li family were sent to various military forts.

While holding the Lumi gun, Li Zhongyi explained to Ding Yi: "The Lumi gun weighs seven or eight catties, and there are also six catties. The mouth, the rear mouth, the door, the star and other devices are composed--"

"The launching mechanism is in the bed, it will fall off when you pinch it, and the fire will rekindle—"

Ding Yi listened carefully. He is proficient in Ming history and has also studied firearms at this time, but Li Zhongyi is an expert, and he is willing to study hard.

Li Zhongyi was very interested in seeing Ding Yi, and he also got excited. He explained to Ding Yi in detail how to launch and operate. Ding Yi only saw it on the Internet before. Seeing the real thing with his own eyes, he found that Zhao Shizhen was really powerful. , there are many small parts to build the city, among which the trigger and the machine rail are respectively made of copper and steel sheets, which are as thick as copper coins and hidden in the gun bed. A small steel plate with a length of more than 1 inch is placed at the trigger to increase the elasticity, so that the trigger can be squeezed and then fall, and it will bounce back by itself after shooting, with good mechanical resilience.

This blunderbuss used multiple steel sheets and steel parts, which was very rare in the late Ming Dynasty.

In short, this Lumi blunderbuss has a long range and great power. It is superior and stronger than the bird blunderbuss, and its structure is also improved.

Ding Yi was overjoyed after hearing this, and asked the craftsmen, "Can you all know how to do it?"

Three craftsmen nodded one after another: "I can do it, but it's slow to make this stuff."

"The main reason is that the gun barrel is difficult to control." Li Zhongyi said, "There are two ways."

"Tell me about it." Ding Yi was a little excited, because Li Zhongyi is still a talent, so he shouldn't be promoted to a hundred households, and let him concentrate on making guns.

Li Zhongyi knew that Ding Yi didn't want to promote him anymore, so he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

There are three main methods for making gun barrels. One is the oldest strip rolling method, in which refined steel sheets are rolled into tubes, and two tubes, large and small, fit snugly together.

The second is to use the gun bed to drill the gun out, but this gun bed is rare now. It is said that Zhao Shizhen had it in his hand before, but it has disappeared outside.

"In the case of the rolling method, it takes half a month to make and wash the gun barrel, plus other parts and structures. A skilled worker like me can make a gun at least two months."

"If you have a gun bed in hand, you can make several shots in about a month."

All the craftsmen nodded, meaning that it would take about this long.

A blacksmith said: "If we shoot swords and guns, we can hit one in two days. My lord, the swords and guns come faster."

"In the future, we will reduce knives and guns, and focus on making firearms." Ding Yi said without hesitation: "Just shoot Lumi guns."

Everyone froze for a moment, but nodded.

A few craftsmen who don't know how to look blank.

But they are all masters, as long as Li Zhongyi is willing to teach, they will definitely get started quickly.

"Look at Zhongyi yourself, allocate manpower, find three people who specialize in making gun barrels, and another three who specialize in making parts, each person is responsible for making several parts, all parts and gun barrels, the standard should be exactly the same as possible, seven catties of gun barrels is seven Jin, eight catties is eight catties, there is no such thing as six catties, seven catties or eight catties."

Li Zhongyi's expression changed, and he suddenly said in shock: "Sir, this method may shorten the time for making guns."

And the standard is the same, and it will be much simpler to rotate and maintain in the future.

A few craftsmen thought about it, and suddenly realized that in the past, everyone was thinking of making their own, but Ding Yi made only a few kinds of each according to the arrangement, and the speed was much faster, especially the speed of making parts. There may be three gun barrels, and dozens of parts. Even if they are worn out, they can be replaced in time.

"What if we don't know how?" A blacksmith asked.

"If you don't know how to do it, learn to make parts first, and start with simple parts."

Li Zhongyi and the others looked at each other in blank dismay. This is a unique family skill, how can it be passed on to the outside world?

"You have to teach them well. Every time you teach an apprentice, and the apprentice makes a qualified part or gun barrel, I will reward you with money."

"The more apprentices, the more made, the more money."

"That's it." Li Zhongyi and others' eyes lit up.

"In short, the quality must be good, and you can't cut corners. If there is a gun that explodes, you will be severely punished."

"Every time a gun barrel is made, I will reward you with two coins of silver."

"For every five parts, one penny will be rewarded."

"The apprentices who have been taught are finished products, and they will be calculated as [-]% of the reward, and I will give you a commission."

Li Zhongyi immediately calculated: "I want to teach ten apprentices, and they each make a gun barrel, so I can get two money?"

"Is such that."

"Then I want to teach a hundred apprentices? Isn't it two liang?" Li Zhongyi said happily.

"Yes."

The faces of the craftsmen were glowing, and they were all extremely excited. Everyone turned their heads and looked at the young apprentices in the room. This is all money.

The dozen or so young apprentices felt terrified at the sight of them.

(End of this chapter)