Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 109 Making a Flintlock
Tang Ruowang has been involved in the casting, storage, transportation, gunpowder manufacturing and shell manufacturing of Daming artillery since the seventh year of Chongzhen.

However, now that Bi Maokang is ill, Zhu Youjian can't let him take charge of the Artillery Bureau for the time being.

"Tang Qing is considered a veteran minister in this court, and he has made many contributions to Ming Dynasty. It is a shame for me to let you stay in Qintian Supervisor. From now on, you will develop firearms for me in the ordnance station. In the future, I will definitely allow you A high-ranking official with a generous salary is even higher than the third-rank military rank of Chadley just now, and it can even be a hereditary title. How can a baron in Chadley compare to my Duke Duke of Ming Dynasty."

After Qu Shisi returned to the city with Chadli and other Portuguese soldiers, Zhu Youjian walked up to Tang Ruowang and gave Tang Ruowang a seat on his head.

Tang Ruowang half-sat on the twig brought by Wang Chengen, with his neck curled up, his thick white beard reflected more and more brightly against the fiery red charcoal fire.

It was snowing outside the house at this time.

Tang Ruowang glanced back at the snowflakes that had melted on the ground baked by the charcoal fire, and said: "Your Majesty, I am over fifty years old, and I don't want to waste my time on these guns. I implore Your Majesty to see that I am a great Ming minister." For the sake of doing things for so many years, Zhunchen has traveled around to preach, if His Majesty is willing to build a church in Nanjing, I will be even more grateful."

Zhu Youjian didn't expect that Tang Ruowang was still thinking about his missionary career.

"I have no objection to my people's belief in religions, including foreign religions, but they must also obey my rules. Now that the Great Ming Dynasty is in jeopardy, it is not the time when Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are preaching teachings. At this time, Daming can only have one belief. That's me!"

Zhu Youjian went to Qufu specially to let the officials who followed him collapse his belief in Confucianism and only listen to his own national and ethnic ideals. Now he expresses the same in front of Tang Ruowang.

"Of course, I can promise you that as long as Aiqing helps me destroy the Tartars, when Daming is unified, I will allow you to teach apprentices in Daming, and even build a church, but now you have to develop firearms for me honestly. , if you do not agree, not only will I not allow you to preach, but I will kill you, because I am not sure whether you will serve the Tartars in the future!"

Tang Ruowang showed surprise on his face. He didn't expect His Majesty the Emperor of Ming Dynasty to say that Daming can only have one belief, and let himself, a missionary, continue to make guns and cannons for Daming. This made him inexplicably angry: "You are too overbearing. No! This is not what a civilized country should have!"

At this time, Li Ruolian's Xiuchun knife had appeared between Tang Ruowang's neck at some point, if not for Zhu Youjian's wave of his hand just now, Tang Ruowang's head would have already rolled to the ground.

Tang Ruowang also broke out in a cold sweat, he didn't know why he suddenly said such a rebellious sentence just now.

Zhu Youjian smiled coldly: "Yes, I am the overbearing emperor!"

Tang Ruowang reluctantly chose to obey: "Your Majesty the Emperor, I can choose to agree to you, but I hope that you can fulfill your promise in the future and allow me to preach freely when the Ming Dynasty is unified."

"Why did I ever joke!"

After Zhu Youjian said that, he got up and took Tang Ruowang to the Fire Gun Bureau, pointing to the craftsmen in several Nuoda bungalows: "I know you are better at casting cannons, but the worst thing in Ming Dynasty is not cannons, but guns. The four thousand craftsmen in front of you, some make three-eyed guns, some make bird guns, and some make Lumi guns. Now I want you to take them to make me a firearm like the Portuguese soldiers just now. Come."

Zhu Youjian asked Wang Chengen to go to Chadri immediately to borrow a flintlock gun without matchlock.

And here, Zhu Youjian told Tang Ruowang the specific requirements and prospects for the manufacture of Daming Fire Guns.

Zhu Youjian is not very clear about the structure of firearms, but he still knows the basic evolution direction of firearms.

At present, it is basically the world of fire door guns and matchlock guns. The so-called fire door guns and matchlock guns are distinguished according to the different gunpowder firing methods.

Firearms are an era behind matchlock guns. At present, most of Europe should be equipped with matchlock guns. The flintlock guns fired by flint impact should not have reached the popularization stage. According to the observation of the Portuguese soldiers' firearms, Zhu Youjian can also Summed up.

But now Daming has firelock guns, as well as matchlock guns. The bird gun is a matchlock gun, but it is not as advanced as the heavy matchlock guns of the Portuguese soldiers. Zhu Youjian has no plan to let Daming continue to improve the matchlock gun.

Although flintlock guns have not been fully popularized yet, historical experience tells him that the future will be dominated by flintlock guns.

Moreover, as long as the flintlock is successfully popularized, future firearm improvements are nothing more than loading methods, the appearance of rifling, and gunpowder improvements.

It means that once the Ming Dynasty successfully manufactures and popularizes the flintlock gun, and forms a combat effect, then the firearms manufacturing of the Ming Dynasty will directly enter another milestone.

Bi Maokang is the originator of the flintlock guns of the Ming Dynasty. Although the flintlock guns he made may have defects or may be related to the financial shortage of the government at the end of the Ming Dynasty, so that the flintlock guns did not become popular quickly, but Zhu Youjian felt that Bi Maokang should participate in the flintlock guns. The production of guns can make the popularization of Ming Dynasty flintlock guns develop rapidly.

However, the fly in the ointment is that Bi Maokang is still ill.

Now that Tang Ruowang is asked to make a flintlock gun, Zhu Youjian is not sure if Tang Ruowang can make it, but fortunately the Portuguese soldiers brought the real thing, which can be used as a reference at that time, and with the addition of Bi Maokang's "Illustration of Military Weapons", there is no need to worry. Create a flintlock gun that can replace the matchlock gun and be used on the battlefield.

"Your Majesty, I have stayed in the Middle Earth for too long, and I don't know much about this kind of firearm. This gun has no matchlock, so I don't know how to ignite it. How strange!"

Tang Ruowang held the flintlock gun and looked at it for a long time, but finally said such a sentence to Zhu Youjian, which made Zhu Youjian very disappointed, so he had to hand over the blueprint drawn by himself based on the impression he had made when he learned about flintlock guns on the Internet in his previous life. To Tang Ruowang:

"This is called a flintlock, and the key lies in the flint and the iron cover. The sparks from the impact of the iron cover and the flint ignite the gunpowder, and the iron cover can prevent rain, so this gun is more efficient than the arquebus at first glance. Faster and more adaptable to bad weather.”

Tang Ruowang heard what Zhu Youjian said, and then he looked at it carefully for a while: "Since there are such high-level people in your majesty's court, why bother to let a humble minister and a white person bother to study this way, according to the drawings made by this person, the flintlock is not difficult. Manufactured, and the scale and length and caliber are marked on it, my God, what the hell is the ammunition granulation!"

"What's the matter, now I just have one request. Immediately, according to the blueprint provided to you, this Portuguese soldier's flintlock gun and Bi Maokang's "Illustration of Military Weapons", I will make a flintlock gun for me that is better than this Portuguese soldier's flintlock gun." A flintlock gun needs to be a sophisticated flintlock gun, and what I want is that each component must have clear specifications, and an ordinary person can also assemble a flintlock gun according to the drawings.”

When Zhu Youjian said this to Tang Ruowang, Tang Ruowang couldn't help being in trouble, but he had to grit his teeth and agree.

(End of this chapter)