On that day, the three of them drank a lot of wine in the fields.

Song Tongyin staggered goodbye and went back to the governor of Taiyuan Mansion.

Wei Yunzhong was drunk, and Wang Zezhi took him back to Datong Mansion with him.

Wei Yunzhong was arranged by him to sleep in a room, but Wang Zezhi couldn't sleep.

He had too much to do, so he went back to the office hall to watch the work reported by Wang Shan.

Wang Shan is a capable man, he not only runs the industry in the hands of the seventy-four gentry.

He also arranged for people to cultivate the land in Datong Mansion, Shouyang, Fangshan guerrilla camp, and Yuxian.

The most important thing for Wang Zezhi at the moment is to find out how many troops he has.

For military meritorious soldiers, Wang Zezhi didn't want to give them too much control.

As long as they don't make trouble and can be summoned back at the critical moment, he is very satisfied.

Because, a soldier with military merits means that he does not have to spend money to provide for him.

According to the data reported by the battalions, Wang Zezhi now has 42,300 soldiers in his hands.

The rest of them have become military meritorious soldiers, not only Tartar soldiers, but also border soldiers in the Datong Mansion.

After all, some people's homes are in Datong Mansion, and they can't give up their family members, so they exchange their military exploits for fields and take their families to farm.

Of the 42,300 men, 8,400 had only weapons and no armor.

Even if Wang Zezhi captured a lot of armor, it was still not enough to equip all the sergeants.

The main reason is that the production process of armor is cumbersome, time-consuming and laborious, and even if the Foundry Bureau does its best, it cannot produce enough armor in a short time.

Fortunately, Wang Zezhi captured a lot of leather armor and iron armor in several battles, in addition, there was also the armor that Emperor Chongzhen rewarded Wang Zezhi, otherwise Wang Zezhi would not even be able to equip these more than 30,000 people.

As for the strange weapons that Emperor Yu Chongzhen rewarded him, Wang Zezhi also distributed them.

Originally, I thought that no one would use these weapons, but who would have thought that these weapons would be used by sergeants.

In particular, the palladium is shaped like a horse fork, with a sharp blade on the top, a front on both sides, two horizontal strands under the blade, bent upward, which can be stabbed and defended, and is used as a spear and shield.

Palladium is a weapon evolved from agricultural tools, which was created in the middle of the Ming Dynasty in the Imperial War.

The palladium is seven feet six inches long and weighs five pounds.

The front is like a spearhead, with two strands of two inches, a horizontal strand on each side, a quadrangular blade, and every two palladium bearers are equipped with thirty rockets, and when the enemy is far away, the two strands can be used as rocket mounts to launch rockets; When the enemy is approaching, persist in killing the enemy; When fighting with the enemy, he can hold the enemy's weapon, and is called "the best man in the army".

Wang Zezhi didn't expect these weapons to be used, and he originally thought of sending these weapons back to the Foundry Bureau to rebuild them.

Now it's a lot of savings.

Among the weapons and equipment sent by Chongzhen, the most satisfying thing for Wang Zezhi was gunpowder.

According to Ma Huai and Zhao Can of the Foundry Bureau, the gunpowder made by the craftsmen of the capital was the best in the entire Ming Dynasty.

Because these gunpowders are made of the highest quality raw materials and the most reasonable proportions.

The gunpowder produced in this way also has the highest performance.

The most important point is that the method used to test the quality of gunpowder in the capital is the most demanding and strict.

The method they used to detect it was to put gunpowder on paper and ignite it.

Only when the gunpowder is burned out and the paper is not damaged, can it be considered qualified.

Originally, Wang Zezhi didn't believe it, he thought the two were bragging, and he didn't believe it until he personally brought a piece of tissue paper to do the test.

Wang Zezhi took an A4-sized piece of paper, and piled gunpowder the size of a fist in the middle, and after he lit it, the fire flashed, and the gunpowder burned out, but the paper was not ignited.

Wang Zezhi shook off the gunpowder ash on the paper, only to find that there was not even a hole in the paper.

At this time, Wang Zezhi had to believe that the gunpowder made in the Ming Dynasty was already so advanced.

At this time, Wang Zezhi remembered another test method that Zhao Can said, that is, put gunpowder in the palm of his hand and ignite it. Let's have a book

Only one penny of medicine will be burned in people's hands, and the palms of the hands are not hot, that is, they are qualified.

Wang Zezhi looked at the undamaged paper and was eager to try, but Luo Cong knelt on the ground and begged Wang Zezhi not to risk his life, he wanted to test for Wang Zezhi.

There was no way, so Wang Zezhi asked Luo Cong to do it.

Wang Zezhi took a penny of gunpowder, put it in Luo Cong's palm, and carefully lit it.

The firelight flashed, and Wang Zezhi immediately wiped it with a cloth, he wanted to see if Luo Cong's palm was burned.

As a result, he was shocked, and Luo Cong's palms didn't even fall off.

Luo Cong rubbed his hands and said, except for feeling warm, he didn't feel anything.

Luo Cong tried it himself, and Wang Zezhi wanted to try it himself.

This time Luo Cong didn't stop it, and Wang Zezhi added the gunpowder to two coins and tried it.

As a result, like Luo Cong, except for feeling the warmth in the palm of his hand, there was no burning sensation.

What does this mean, this shows that the batch of gunpowder that Chongzhen gave him is of high quality and burns extremely fast.

Wang Zezhi couldn't help but be curious, and after he watched carefully

Only then did it be discovered that the batch of gunpowder that Chongzhen rewarded him was in the form of granules.

Wang Zezhi had been a soldier, so he naturally knew that after the granular black powder was piled up, there were gaps.

This kind of gunpowder, after ignition, can be quickly transmitted between the gaps, so as to achieve the purpose of rapid burning of gunpowder.

In this way, whether it is a firearm or an artillery, after using these gunpowders, they can have a very fast reaction speed and great power.

Wang Zezhi couldn't help but think that it would be nice if he could make this gunpowder.

After asking Ma Huai and Zhao Can of the Foundry Bureau, he learned that the two of them did not know the formula of this gunpowder.

Without knowing the recipe, without knowing the mixing ratio, it is difficult to make the same gunpowder.

They didn't know the recipe for black powder, but Wang Zezhi knew.

As for the mixing ratio, you can always try it out by constantly experimenting.

The remaining difficult thing is the problem of raw materials, the raw materials for making black powder are in the hands of the imperial court, even if Wang Zezhi wants to buy it, he has to go through the imperial court.

After Wang Zezhi thought about it again, he made a compromiser to Song Tongyin on the grounds that the border wall needed to be placed with artillery to strengthen the border defense.

He wanted to procure a batch of raw materials to make gunpowder.

Wang Zezhi felt that Song Tongyin was not so reliable, and he also found his cheap brother, Wei Yunzhong.

When Wei Yunzhong heard that he was going to strengthen the border defense and place artillery, a green light appeared in his eyes.

He had long wanted to buy artillery for the border passes, but the cost of artillery was expensive and the imperial treasury was empty, so he never planned to do this.

At this moment, as soon as he heard that Wang Zezhi was going to do this, he immediately became active, sent a letter to the officials in the court, and went to do this matter.

As for Song Tongyin's side, there will definitely be no reply for a while, so Wang Zezhi put more hopes on Wei Yunzhong's side.

In the second year of Chongzhen, on March 25, Song Tongyin's excerpt arrived, he said that gunpowder is the important weapon of the country, and this matter is a big matter, and he has to ask the court before he can give him an answer.

But the hard work paid off, and Wei Yunzhong had news here.

Wei Yunzhong not only handled the road guide for purchasing gunpowder raw materials, but also contacted the workshop in Beizhili.

Wang Zezhi can directly send someone to Beizhili to buy raw materials and come back, without having to run around to find it.

Wang Zezhi was overjoyed and took Wei Yunzhong to Kuixing Tower for a big meal.

Originally, Wei Yunzhong was reluctant to let Wang Zezhi break the bank, you must know that the current Kuixing Building is the best restaurant in Datong Mansion.

The average person can't afford it.

When Wang Zezhi told Wei Yunzhong that Kui Xinglou was now an industry under his name, Wei Yunzhong no longer insisted.