Sending Zhou Fu away, everyone dispersed. At this time, Zhou Fuliu came over and said to He Zhiyuan: "Today is the tenth day of the lunar month, and the matter of student enrollment in vocational and technical colleges needs to be hurried." ”

"It's up to you to take the exam admissions. I'm still busy casting cannons all this time ago? He Zhiyuan replied.

"Cast cannons? Now that the equipment of the Thousand Households of Ma Qishan is good enough, why are they in such a hurry to cast cannons? Zhou Fuliu asked suspiciously.

"How can you not be in a hurry, there are still eight months to go until the autumn of next year, and there is still more than half a year to go after the New Year and the time on the road. Immediately after the autumn season, it will be the spring of the year after tomorrow, and I don't have much time in Juzhou, and if I don't take advantage of this time to build the army well, I won't have a chance in the future. He Zhiyuan said.

"Humph!" Zhou Fuliu snorted coldly and said: "I think you are making excuses, you men like to dance with knives and sticks, and how rewarding it is to cast cannons!" ”

He Zhiyuan smiled lewdly at her and said, "We men not only like to cast cannons, but also like to fight & cannon......"

Zhou Fuliu glanced at him with that smile, and turned to leave!

At present, the equipment of the Thousand Households of Ma Qi Mountain is indeed excellent compared with the armies of other guards. But this army also has an obvious weakness, that is, the lack of heavy firepower and weak offensive and defensive forces. Like the bandits who attacked Heishi Mountain last time, if it weren't for Wang Jinkui's crooked attack and ignited the gunpowder in the village, he wouldn't know how many rockets he could fire to blow open the wooden door.

Therefore, after the flintlock pistol met the current need, the casting of the cannon was put on the agenda.

After Zhou Fulai left, Zhou Fuliu went back to Zhoucheng with his family, and He Zhiyuan went directly to the firearms factory. After finding Ding Kui, He Zhiyuan asked him: "Have you found a craftsman here who can cast cannons?" ”

"Five were found, but they only forged small cannons. And I haven't cast it for a long time, and I have some raw hands. Ding Kui replied truthfully.

He Zhiyuan said: "Where are they? Take me to see it. ”

Ding Kui said: "I have arranged them in a separate workshop, and I will take you over to see them now." ”

After speaking, Ding Kui took He Zhiyuan to a spacious room. He Zhiyuan found that they had already built the furnace, and the five craftsmen were busy making the clay molds of the cannon casters.

When the five craftsmen saw He Zhiyuan coming, they hurriedly saluted: "I've seen He Gongzi!" ”

He Zhiyuan returned the salute and said, "How is your progress?" ”

The five craftsmen replied, "The tools and furnace have been built, and the clay molds are being made in preparation for the first bronze cannon." It has been a long time since a cannon has been made, and the first cannon is ready to cast a small one. ”

He Zhiyuan thought for a while and asked, "You use clay molds to cast cannons, what about the water vapor in the soil?" As soon as the copper water at a high temperature is poured into it, as long as there is a trace of moisture in the mud mold, it will immediately steam and form bubbles in the copper pipe cannon. This bubble is a big harm to the artillery, and it can easily lead to the fragility of the cannon wall and the explosion of the chamber! ”

The five craftsmen didn't expect He Zhiyuan to know such a professional problem, they glanced at each other, and one of the older craftsmen said: "Gongzi He knows a lot, and he knows all the knowledge of casting cannons. The clay mold is indeed easy to hide water, so we have to air dry it for a month before using it. However, even so, it is inevitable that some slight moisture will make the copper cannons form a hornet's nest, and an average of ten guns will be cast

Only one cannon can be used! ”

"Only one out of ten cannons can be used? How much useless work does that have to do? He Zhiyuan smiled, remembered the method of casting cannons he had learned in his previous life, and said: "What if you don't use clay molds, but use cast iron to make casting molds?" There is no water in the cast iron, no bubbles will be formed, and the yield will be greatly improved! Moreover, the inner and outer walls of the copper cannon made by casting iron casting molds will be relatively smooth, which can reduce the workload of surface cleaning and milling the inner chamber! ”

Hearing He Zhiyuan's words, the five gunsmiths were stunned, they had made cannons with clay molds for ten years, but they had never thought of using cast iron to make casting molds.

However, after all, they are all experienced casting craftsmen, and after He Zhiyuan pulled them out so much, they immediately reacted, and they all felt that it was indeed a great benefit to use cast iron to make casting molds.

Without the bubble, wouldn't every cast cannon work? There won't be so much waste again! Moreover, the time for manufacturing cast iron molds has been greatly shortened, and the efficiency of casting cannons has been greatly improved?

The slightly older craftsman touched the back of his head and asked a little embarrassedly: "He Gongzi, if you use cast iron as a casting mold, how will this casting mold and the copper cannon be separated at that time?" ”

He Zhiyuan knew that they would ask such a question, so he recalled a little about the casting knowledge he had learned in his previous life, and then said: "When casting a cannon with an iron mold, first brush the inner surface of the mold with a coating made of fine rice husk ash and fine sand mud and water, and then paint the second layer of paint prepared by extremely fine coal powder, and then clamp the iron mold, bake it, and pour copper water. After solidification, immediately take off the iron mold, while the gun body is still red-hot, remove the burr, and get the result. ”

Hearing He Zhiyuan's words, the five cannon casting craftsmen all fell silent, thinking carefully about He Zhiyuan's words.

China was the first country in the world to use metal mold casting, and as early as the Warring States Period, iron fans were used to cast pig iron farm tools and tools in batches. The use of iron molds for casting, such as the use of double coating, is also a common technique of traditional casting, and the five craftsmen have heard of it before. At this time, He Zhiyuan pulled it out, and they immediately figured it out.

After thinking for a while, the slightly older craftsman said, "He Gongzi is clever! This casting method is really high! ”

He Zhiyuan accepted the craftsman's compliment with a smile, and continued to explain to them: "First of all, according to the size of the copper cannon, make a clay cannon in five sections. Then according to the number of mud cannon sections, the iron mold mud type is divided, each section of the mud type is divided into two petals, and the inner surface is rotated with the car plate to make the surface light hao shape regular, and then dried for later use. A prefabricated handle is placed in the clay mold, and it is cast into one piece with the iron mold when poured. ”

"When turning the cast iron mold with a clay mold, first put the section of the muzzle upside down on the clay plate, fill one of the petals with mud, after drying, cover the clay plate, tighten the mold, and get a petal of the first iron mold after pouring. Then remove the filling mud, and cast another iron mold in the same way. In this way, the section by section pouring can be cast into a complete set of iron molds with layers of tenons. ”

After listening to He Zhiyuan's explanation, the five craftsmen also figured it out. Their way of meeting He Zhiyuan was shocking, and the gaze that looked at He Zhiyuan was not only respectful, but also with a hint of worship.

I still have such an all-round talent.

He Zhiyuan then said: "You first build a copper cannon according to the method I said, and after success, we will build an iron-core copper cannon." The cannon with an iron core copper body is stronger and lighter! ”

And better technology?

Hearing this, several of them worked

The craftsman's eyes are shining, revealing the craftsman's worship and desire for technology!

After explaining to these craftsmen, the rest of the work is for the craftsmen to slowly explore. He Zhiyuan gave them plenty of time to experiment and explore. After all, it's easy to talk about it, but when you actually do it, you will encounter all kinds of difficulties, which still depend on their experience and ingenuity to solve slowly.

After that, He Zhiyuan, accompanied by Ding Kui, walked around the factory again, and found that all the work was being carried out in an orderly manner, so he left the firearms factory and went to the barracks.

Now the artillery is being made, but the artillery has not yet been landed. The artillery of this era can be regarded as a technical branch, and the uneducated soldiers have no way to learn the ranging and the firing angle of the artillery, so they can only waste the gunpowder of the shell, especially when projectile, if they don't know what a parabola is, if they don't understand the point of impact, don't think about hitting accurately.

Even a soldier who has studied for two years may not be able to quickly learn to use tools such as rulers, rulers, and rectangular meters that can make artillery more accurate.

Therefore, He Zhiyuan has to select literate soldiers from among them now, and let them learn some simple mathematical knowledge in advance, so that they can become proficient in using artillery in the near future.

When I arrived at the barracks, it was noon time for dinner. When Xu Tangyi saw He Zhiyuan coming, he wanted the chefs in the canteen to cook good dishes alone, but He Zhiyuan refused. He said to Xu Dangyi: "This is the first time I have come to the barracks to eat, so if you can open a small stove, you can eat with ordinary soldiers." ”

So, accompanied by Xu Tangyi, the two came to the room, He Zhiyuan asked for two steamed buns and a bowl of cabbage, and ate them on the table in the canteen.

Almost half of these soldiers knew He Zhiyuan. When they first entered the cafeteria, the soldiers who knew him kept greeting them, but few of them came to their tables. After all, for these ordinary soldiers, He Zhiyuan and Xu Tangyi are both high-ranking existences. Especially He Zhiyuan, this is the first time to eat here, and they feel even more rusty.

Sitting at the table, He Zhiyuan asked Xu Tangyi while eating: "Uncle Xu, I want to ask how many literate soldiers there are in our team?" How are they doing? ”

Xu Tangyi replied: "I know this too well, and now literate soldiers are baby bumps here." They learn anything fast. As long as you train hard, you can improve quickly. It's a pity that there are too few, and among the more than 1,000 people, only 36 are literate soldiers. ”

He Zhiyuan couldn't help but be a little disappointed when he heard that there were only thirty-six people, this was too little to even make up a general flag. He then asked, "Are there any soldiers in that team who are flexible and willing to learn to read?" ”

"That's too much, everyone sees that literate soldiers improve quickly, who doesn't want to learn?" Xu Tangyi replied while eating, and then he asked rhetorically: "Virtuous nephew, do you want to set up a school in the barracks to teach everyone to read and write?" ”

He Zhiyuan replied: "There is such a plan. This morning I went to the firearms factory, and I asked the craftsmen to start casting artillery. To strengthen the firepower, it is necessary to form at least one artillery team. In future battles, the infantry and artillery will work together, and the combat effectiveness will be greatly improved. ”

Xu Tangyi's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he said in a loud voice: "Great, this is a good idea!" ”

(End of chapter)

The little people of the Ming Dynasty

Still looking for "Ming Little People" for free?

Baidu direct search: "easy" is very simple!

( = )