I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 102 Flintlock guns and explosive bullets
The flintlock gun, originally named the self-generating gun, was first made by Bi Maokang, a firearms expert in the Ming Dynasty (China).

Of course, Zhu Yijiong did not understand the structural drawings of flintlock guns. What he described to the craftsmen of the Ordnance Bureau and Old Man Li was a firegun that could be ignited with flints instead of match ropes.

Well, it has to be an impact ignition.

This description cannot be said to be abstract, it can only be said that it provides little useful information. Zhu Yijiong was also prepared to spend a long time on this, but he did not expect that the Ordnance Bureau would come up with it so quickly.

Looking at the sample flintlock gun built by the Bureau of Ordnance in his hand, the weight alone is no different from the matchlock gun currently equipped as standard by the Ming Army. The test results are also not much different from the matchlock gun.

The only advantage is that it is a percussion ignition, so there is no need for a matchlock. The rate of fire is much faster than that of a matchlock gun. It is also airtight and has no exposed matchlock powder. It will not be affected by strong winds, heavy rains or moisture on the matchlock gun. Unable to ignite.

The person who made this sample flintlock gun was a craftsman named Chen San. However, according to what he said, he did not figure out this flintlock gun by himself, but he was lucky enough to get a gun used by the Nanyang Yi people. There was no match rope in the fire gun, so I took it apart and took a look out of curiosity.

As for why the people around me never knew about this, it was simply because flintlock guns were not valuable in the Qing Dynasty. It’s not that they weren’t powerful, but that the Qing Dynasty never paid much attention to flintlock guns. The development and application of firearms.

What's ridiculous is that there are actually many people who vindicated the Qing Dynasty, saying that at least Kangxi and Yongzheng still attached great importance to firearms, and even Kangxi's personal expedition to Mongolia used artillery bombardment.

Well, yes, that's right.

The artillery that Kangxi used to attack Mongolia was not only against Mongolia, but also used a new type of firecrackers such as the Lianzhu Gun when he attacked San Francisco. However, Dai Zi, the inventor behind the Lianzhu Gun, only got a sinecure in the Hanlin Academy and had no job at all. Provide qualifications and opportunities for subsequent research and development of firecrackers.

Moreover, he was subsequently framed by the speed of light, and then exiled to the army. He was not pardoned until a few years after Yongzheng ascended the throne in his later years. He died of illness on the way back, and a generation of firearms experts died like this.

Not only this one, but also craftsman Wu Liandeng developed a new type of artillery cannon, which can greatly save loading time. In the end, he was only rewarded with double wages.

Not to mention titles and official awards, there is no encouragement for the subsequent development of firearms.

The great Emperor Kangxi even said that to hold a military position, one must be skilled in riding and shooting and have strong personnel. He also said that a well-trained army should be in high spirits and be good at riding and shooting.

Later Yongzheng also said when he was in his fifth year: "Manchuria attaches great importance to riding and shooting. You cannot focus on fowling and abandoning bows and arrows."

The most interesting thing was Emperor Qianlong. At that time, China had begun to lag behind the West in terms of firearms. At this time, a British man came to celebrate Qianlong's birthday and donated many new fire guns.

As a result, Qianlong felt that the British firecrackers were just like that. His favorite minister Fukangan also said that these Western firearms could be seen or not, and they must be just that.

Being stubborn and short-sighted, these eight words were most vividly expressed in the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong.

Zhu Yijiong is not Kangxi, let alone Qianlong. Although the overall craftsmanship of the flintlock gun in his hand is still a bit rough, and the range power is not at all better than the existing matchlock guns. At best, it can only be regarded as an imitation of the Western flintlock gun, but at any rate It's a good start.

Zhu Yijiong first decreed a generous reward to Chen San, the craftsman who made the flintlock gun. Promotion and wealth were necessary. Not only did he receive a reward personally, but the entire Ordnance Bureau craftsmen also benefited from the reward and were given rewards.

After the reward, Zhu Yijiong turned around and asked Old Man Li, the Director of Ordnance, about the feasibility of large-scale mass production of flintlock guns and actual combat.

Hearing Zhu Yijiong's question, Old Man Li was stunned. This matchlock gun was working well, so why was it suddenly necessary to replace it with a flintlock gun?But since the Supervisor was asking questions, Old Man Li still answered honestly: "Reporting to the Supervisor, our craftsmen at the Ordnance Bureau are not very familiar with the current manufacturing process of this flintlock gun. Its structure is not only different from the original bird gun. , and it is even more complicated. If we use the existing craftsmen and manpower of our Arms Bureau to take into account the production of armor and firearms for the original army, and also want to mass-produce flintlock guns on a large scale, I am afraid it will be a little difficult."

Here, Old Man Li was in a dilemma. Zhu Chengxun, the privy envoy who also came to visit, also tried to persuade him: "I have reported to the Supervisor, and I also thought that although the so-called flintlock gun does not need to be ignited compared to the matchlock gun, there is not much difference in the end." , and our army is currently at war, so I am afraid that it is inevitable that there will be some discomfort in replacing new fire guns on such a large scale."

Zhu Yijiong, however, did not pay much attention to it and said: "The development of this firearm must go on. The Ordnance Bureau does not have enough manpower, so we will continue to recruit from outside. The process is complicated, so we will use assembly lines and only teach apprentices how to make accessories. Finally, it is assembled and produced.”

"As for the large army that is currently in combat and large-scale mass production is not possible, we can also produce in small batches first and equip the new army first. In this way, while training and familiarizing ourselves, we can also test the practicality of this flintlock gun."

"Moreover, since you are ministers of the Ming Dynasty, you should also take a long-term view. The production of flintlock guns is not just for the sake of the Qing Dynasty now. When the Ming Dynasty regains control of the world in the future, what will greet us will be The tide of the times and the challenges of the world.”

At the end of Zhu Yijiong's words, he became a little impassioned.

Of course, not only the uneducated Old Man Li, but also Zhu Chengxun also failed to understand what Zhu Yijiong said.

Isn't this flintlock gun used to deal with the puppet Qing Dynasty? What are the torrent of the times, the challenges of the world, and what are the supervisors talking about?
However, he did not understand what he heard, but Zhu Chengxun still showed the qualities that a senior intellectual of this era should have.

Zhu Chengxun raised his hand and said: "The sage who supervises the country, the humble minister has learned a lesson!"

When Old Man Li saw this, he quickly shouted: "It is wise to supervise the country!"

Professional support finally did not embarrass Zhu Yijiong.

After talking about the muskets, Zhu Yijiong struck while the iron was hot and thought about artillery. As for improving artillery, making rifled cannons, breech-loaded rifled cannons, etc., these not only have high technical requirements, but also high process requirements. The current Ming Dynasty cannot do it for the time being.

But we can’t make artillery, but we can make explosives!
This thing appeared in the late Ming Dynasty, and even the rumor that Yuan Chonghuan, who was once prosperous in later generations, killed Nurhachi with a cannon was talking about explosive ammunition (actually it was not).

The actual manufacturing process of blooming bombs is not difficult. The difficulty lies in how the blooming bombs you make can be shot out instead of exploding in the barrel.

This is not urgent at the moment and can be left to the craftsmen to figure out slowly.

Zhu Yijiong encouraged the craftsmen of the Ordnance Bureau and Old Man Li again, and this was the end of the inspection.

The Ordnance Bureau received encouragement and praise from Zhu Jianguo, and there was another example of Chen San getting promoted and making a fortune just because he made a flintlock gun, and they also benefited from it.

For a time, the entire Ordnance Bureau became very motivated, and the director, Old Man Li, was also not idle. While taking care of the New Army's firearms and armor production, he also expanded the recruitment of craftsman apprentices.

In short, we must first find a way to set up the production line of flintlock guns, perfect them and put them into production as soon as possible.

　Flintlock guns and blooming bullets have actually been around for a long time, but the Qing Dynasty did not pay attention to it or even looked down upon it. This led to China using matchlock guns for more than 200 years until they were completely eliminated by the West.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)