Back to Ming Dynasty as Zhu Biao

Chapter 77 Firearms First Step

After basically dealing with all aspects, Zhu Biao went to the Ministry of Industry, intending to indoctrinate them with some ideas, including Jiao Zan and a few people from Shenjitang.

He has already sent a letter to Lao Zhu. According to what Lao Zhu said before, he also attaches great importance to firearms.

It just requires tight control of the most critical gunpowder technology.Gunpowder recipes and gunpowder crafting are completely sealed.

Mu Ying took several outstanding firearms researchers from Shenji Hall with him.

Zhu Biao felt that there was no need to create the world's top firearms, as long as it was suitable for the Ming Dynasty to lead the first within a hundred years.

The most important thing is to cultivate their thinking about firearms and technology institutes, so as to make technological improvements.

Talent needs to be cultivated and accumulated slowly.

It was already noon when we arrived at the Ministry of Industry.

The Minister of the Ministry of Industry took the staff of the Ministry of Industry, the ambassador and deputy envoy of the Military Weapons Bureau to welcome His Royal Highness.

"See His Royal Highness."

"See His Royal Highness."

Then Zhu Biao was surrounded and entered the Military Weapons Bureau.

When the people inside saw Zhu Biao coming in, they immediately fell to the ground and said in unison: "Welcome Your Highness the Prince."

"Get up." Zhu Biao glanced at them and said.

The Minister of the Ministry of Industry has been following Zhu Biao, and gave orders after listening.The ambassadors and deputy envoys of the Military Weapons Bureau came up to salute Zhu Biao one after another.

"His Royal Highness, this is Li Anyong, the ambassador of the Armament Bureau."

Zhu Biao nodded, and after looking around a few times, he found that everything that should be prepared had been prepared, and the place where he was standing should be the place where they handled official business.

He asked directly: "Show Gu the firearms you produced before."

Ambassador Li Anyong hurriedly stepped forward and replied: "Reporting to His Royal Highness, the firearms are manufactured at the firearms factory in the north of the west city of the Ministry of Industry."

"Arrange these people, they are brought from the Shenji Hall alone, responsible for guiding and inspecting firearms." Zhu Biao pointed to Jiao Zan and the others behind Mu Ying.

Except for the officials, here are all craftsmen who make firearms.Since the implementation of the Daming Resident Book, their status has been improved.

The deputy envoy of the Military Weapons Bureau smiled and said: "Report to Your Highness, it will be arranged."

The types of firearms in the Ming Dynasty were rich and powerful, and the emphasis on such firearms was unprecedented.

The production management of firearms is very important.

It is closely related to the society in which the Ming Dynasty lived. Both the manufacture of firearms and the distribution of firearms have a relatively complete management system.

Not long after Lao Zhu founded the country, he had a preliminary outline for the construction of this military system.

Zhu Biao slowly established a more complete firearms management system.

During the Tianqi period, the explosion at Wang Gong Factory had a great impact, with tens of thousands of casualties. Regarding gunpowder, Zhu Biao asked Li Anyong to be cautious.

"Ambassador Li, you must manage Gu well. If you don't manage properly and any problems arise, Gu will ask you."

"Reporting to His Royal Highness, Li Anyong will firmly remember His Highness's instructions."

"Don't be careless." Zhu Biao told them again.

"Reporting to Your Highness, as long as there are gunpowder and firecrackers, there are no people living around, not even a fly, and they are guarded by heavy soldiers."

Before discussing what Zhu Biao told them, Jiao Zan and a few other people said that the Sharps rifle reloads quickly and is easy to manufacture, such as miniguns, flintlock guns and so on.

After Zhu Biao looked back at them, he said, "Jiao Zan, you have been studying for a few days, and you are just preaching here?"

"Your Highness, we dare not." Jiao Zan and the others shut up and stopped discussing.

Handmade firearms are not good, it is better to mass-produce them, but I don't have mass-produced things now, so I am not good at it.

On the way, Li Anyong talked to Zhu Biao in detail about the hand guns used by individual soldiers, as well as the large bowl muzzle guns, cup muzzle guns and multi-barreled guns used in city defense and water warfare.

At first it was made of copper, called "copper fire blunderbuss", and later it was cast with pig iron, which was called iron fire blunderbuss.

"Ambassador Li, if the firecracker is made of pig iron, it is easy to burst, and it is also very heavy. The material is not good enough, and the accuracy is not good. Remember the material."

Ancient Chinese craftsmen invented the new process of "hundred steelmaking" since the middle of the Western Han Dynasty. Shen Kuo, a famous scientist in the Northern Song Dynasty, described Cizhou hundred steelmaking in "Mengxi Bi Tan", although it cannot be compared with modern ones.

But Zhu Biao still told Li Anyong and Jiang Huanhai to try new materials and show him after they were made.

The name of the craftsman, the place of use to ensure the quality of production and the institutionalization of use.

During the Yongle period, firecrackers were continuously improved and strengthened in terms of structure, variety, quality, and performance, forming the Yongle series of standard copper blunderbusses combining large, medium and small.

This firearm also depends on the technology used.It can be simply described as a show operation between Ming army gunners and infantry in coordinated operations.

A gun's performance depends on the quality of the barrel, but its reliability is determined by the action, which is the most delicate mechanical part and, with a few exceptions, the most advanced.

All early muskets were muzzle-loaded, and the powder was ignited by direct ignition.

Unstable ones often explode violently with a slight knock.

Zhu Biao wanted to go in, but Li Anyong and Jiang Shangshu from the Military Weapons Bureau immediately stopped him.

"His Royal Highness has orders and ministers will do so, but His Highness cannot go in, it is too dangerous."

"This..." Zhu Biao was in a dilemma.

During the reign of Tianqi, the Wanggong factory exploded, and those people lost even their clothes.

"That's right, Your Highness. It's better not to go in. Usually, when they shovel the gunpowder, they would be terrified." Li Anyong said awkwardly.

Everyone in the court knows that His Majesty loves His Highness the Crown Prince the most. If something goes wrong, they dare not think about the consequences.

Mu Ying also said beside him: "If Your Highness is worried about the manufacture of firearms, I will go in."

"No." Zhu Biao stopped, and said to Li Anyong and the others: "Those craftsmen are also inside. You are worried about being alone, so you might as well reduce hidden dangers and make them less dangerous. They are all talents."

Then he waved to Jiao Zan, who was standing in the distance with the officials, and motioned him to come over.

Zhu Biao ordered Jiao Zan to take notes.

The firearm must have a small fire hole drilled near the permanently closed end of the barrel to ignite the powder from the outside, and a small fine primer is placed on the powder pool connected to the fire hole to ensure reliability.

Let him think about improving according to what he said.

"The blunderbuss are fully equipped... There will be no technical problems if they are transformed into flintlocks... Have you written down what Gu said?"

Jiao Zan nodded: "Don't worry, Your Highness, I have written it all down."

Zhu Biao turned his head and said to Ambassador Li and the two deputy envoys: How about the production cost and labor of the firearms? "

Li Anyong replied truthfully: "Reporting to Your Highness, a blunderbuss needs 170 catties of iron, and 34 cents of silver. Charcoal is [-] catties, and [-] cents of silver are used. There are six jobs for refining embryos and boards... a total of [-] jobs are needed, and the cost of materials is silver." It's two, two, three cents."

If [-] muskets are made by hand, [-] labors are needed, and about [-] craftsmen are needed.Among them, the gun barrel includes refining and punching boards, reels, and drill cores... how to mass produce is the most important thing to consider.

Zhu Biao nodded. If he wanted to continue to manufacture better products, he had to transfer people from Shenjitang, and he had to participate in production inspections.

After asking the Weapons Bureau to arrange Jiao Zan and the others, Zhu Biao left the firearms factory and returned to the palace in peace.

Note what should be said, Zhu Biao has already told Jiao Zan and the others everything.

Back in the East Palace that day, Zhu Biao thought for a long time, and felt that it was still a little difficult to achieve mass production, after all, it was not easy to talk about it.

He didn't have time to worry about this right now, Lao Zhu and Xu Da were about to return from the Northern Expedition, and making firearms also needed silver.

Research on pesticides and fertilizers cannot be slackened. To regain the north, we need to start thinking about appropriate methods for the recovery and development of the north.

There are a lot of things waiting for him to do. If Shen knows about the deceased grandfather, he has to study it carefully and ask her when he has time.

　Ask for a ticket, collect it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)