The new army began training in full swing, and Zhu Cihong was not idle, and began to worry about the equipment that Ying Longjun was about to equip.

Now that the Firearms Bureau led by Chen Xin has been planning for nearly a month, most of the originally dismissed skilled workers have been recalled, and the Firearms Bureau has begun to produce weapons.

On this day, Zhu Cihong came to the Firearms Bureau again to inspect, and by the way, he asked about the progress, and Chen Xin's Ji Niansheng came out to greet him.

"Old Chen, how is the situation in the Firearms Bureau now?" While walking into the Firearms Bureau, Zhu Cihong asked.

"Back to the emperor, the Firearms Bureau has already started production three days ago, and according to the emperor's orders, it is making every effort to produce new flintlock pistols." Chen Xin replied. With Zhu Cihong's full allocation, the Firearms Bureau has sufficient raw materials and is working at full capacity.

"At the current pace, how many flintlock pistols can be produced in an average day?" Zhu Cihong asked.

"Back to the emperor, the flintlock pistol can produce about one hundred and twenty pieces a day."

"So little?" Zhu Cihong frowned.

One hundred and twenty in a day, three thousand six hundred in a month, it will take almost a year to assemble all the Ying Long army, which is too long. Although the Qing soldiers are fighting with Li Zicheng in Shanxi now, they will not go south for a while and a half, but don't forget, there is still a Zuo Liangyu in Hubei, this girl is a rebel in history, who knows when the rebellion will begin, if the Ying Long army can't assemble enough weapons, it can't exert its powerful power at all, how to resist Zuo Liangyu's hundreds of thousands of troops.

"Back to the emperor, the flintlock pistol has a precise structure, and there are more than a dozen parts in it, and there must be no mistakes in the slightest, so the progress is extremely slow, and one hundred and twenty pieces a day is already the result of nearly three thousand craftsmen rushing to work." Chen Xin explained.

Zhu Cihong was speechless, nearly 3,000 craftsmen could only produce 120 flintlock pistols a day, this is not only a matter of progress, but also related to the cost, no wonder the cost of a flintlock pistol is more than 30 silver, and the labor cost alone accounts for nearly half of the cost.

"What if we recruit thousands more craftsmen to work day and night?" Zhu Cihong thought that since 3,000 craftsmen could only produce 120 guns a day, if there were 9,000 craftsmen, it would be 360 guns a day and more than 10,000 guns a month, and the Ying Long army should be able to be equipped in three months.

But it's not that easy.

Chen Xin shook his head: "Your Majesty, firearms are precision instruments, craftsmen are extremely difficult to train, if you want a newcomer to make a gun that can be used, it must be a year's work, and it takes more than five years of experience to be proficient. ”

"Why is it taking so long?" Zhu Cihong looked at the craftsmen produced on the production line, and found that they were all one gun per person, and he was stunned, these craftsmen actually made a gun for each person, and after learning these dozens of processes, it is no wonder that it takes at least a year to learn and five years to be proficient.

Zhu Cihong's heart moved, he thought of the assembly line operation, and said in surprise: "Old Chen, do you see if every part in the flintlock pistol can be made in advance according to a certain standard, and then assembled in the line, if you do this, there is almost no experience, and the output will be greatly improved, do you think it is feasible?" ”

"Your Majesty, I think it's feasible." Before Chen Xin could speak, Ji Niansheng's eyes lit up and said.

Chen Xin thought about it, nodded, and felt that he could give it a try, but for the sake of safety, he still suggested that some people try it first, if it is really feasible, it will be implemented in full swing, Zhu Cihong readily agreed.

When he came to the place where the cannon was produced, looking at a huge cannon in the middle of the workshop that was almost one person high, Zhu Cihong was stunned.

"Is this a redcoat cannon?"

Zhu Cihong once went to see the ready-made red-coated cannon in Beijing, but he didn't expect to see it in the Firearms Bureau, and it seems to be a half-finished product, Daming can make this thing himself?

"Back to the emperor, this is the red-clothed cannon, more than 20 years of red-clothed cannons were introduced to the Ming Dynasty, more than 10 years ago the Ming Dynasty has been able to imitate, the power is almost the same, Weichen participated in the imitation back then, a little experience, I want to try to see if I can do something to improve." Chen Xin said.

During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, it was indeed able to produce red-coated cannons by itself, and the reason why the Qing army was able to destroy Li Zicheng and Nanming so quickly in history was also because of the power of the red-clothed artillery.

Dolgon is undoubtedly very discerning, the first thing Li Zicheng thought of occupying the city of Beijing was to claim the emperor and loot gold and silver beauties, but Dolgon was always thinking about the powerful red-coated cannon, and the day after leading the Qing troops into the city, he began to recall the craftsmen who produced the red-coated cannon according to the list left in the Ministry of Industry, and finally succeeded in producing the red-coated cannon. Historically, when Dolgon attacked the city of Nanjing, the reason why he was able to mobilize hundreds of red-coated cannons was because of this.

Zhu Cihong touched the thick barrel of the red-clothed cannon, and the barrel was about three meters long, with a diameter of more than 20 to 30 centimeters.

"Old Chen, this red-clothed cannon is very powerful, but it is too heavy, you see if there is a way to shorten the size and reduce the thickness of the cannon wall, if you can get hundreds of catties and this power." Zhu Cihong sighed.

The red-coated cannon is too heavy, it can only be used to defend or siege the city, in Zhu Cihong's vision, he wants to establish an artillery battalion that can fight in the field, and the cannon must not be too heavy.

Chen Xin smiled dumbly, shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, the reason why the red-clothed cannon can have this power is precisely because the barrel is thick and long, and it can be filled with enough gunpowder. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Xin suddenly said with pity: "The red-coated cannon is already made of 100 steel, unless it can make better steel and can withstand the stamping of a large amount of gunpowder, only in this way can the thickness of the cannon wall be reduced without reducing its power." ”

In modern times, diamond is known as the hardest substance, but the strength of some alloy steels can almost catch up with diamonds, as long as the right synthetic metal is selected, the proportion is correct, and the alloy steel can theoretically be infinitely strong.

As soon as Zhu Cihong said it, Chen Xin and Ji Niansheng were taken aback.

"Your Majesty, what is alloy steel." Chen Xin asked.

"It is steel that is synthesized together with two or several metals, and as long as the ratio is correct, its strength can reach several times or even more than ten times the strength of 100 steels." Zhu Cihong said. As for what kind of metal is synthesized and what the proportion is, he can only provide a correct direction, let Chen Xin and them continue to experiment, and they will always succeed.

Chen Xin dreamed of improving a cannon that was more powerful than the red-coated cannon, so that it would go down in history like Ji Niansheng made a flintlock pistol, and now that he heard the theory of alloy steel, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was possible, and he decided to get it out no matter what.

In the end, Zhu Cihong also thought of paper shell bullets, etc., and also said some theories he knew, and asked Chen Xin and others to try to figure it out.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cihong simply ordered Chen Xin to select experienced craftsmen in all aspects to set up several R&D departments, specializing in R&D work, he always believes that anything, as long as you know the theory, find the right direction, and are willing to continue to experiment, you will inevitably be able to get it out, and only continuous innovation can make continuous progress.

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