Li Jing left the drawings of the new loom, took the four maids of Meilan Zhuju and the two scholars of Bai Yu and Shijian, as well as two guards, Li Bao and Li An, under the escort of more than ten family members, took a small river boat down the river and went to the capital of Chaozhou. For a lecturer at a technical university like Li Jing, designing a loom in the late Ming Dynasty is not too simple.

The new looms were made of cast iron parts, driven by foot pedals and by hand, and each cost as much as 100 taels of silver. Wang Laosan and his two apprentices also happily became the members of the Li family, and the old lady found dozens of half-grown sons from the family to be his apprentices, and worked day and night with the carpenters in the house to start making looms.

There is a tailwind along the water, and when he got on the boat in the early morning, Li Jing pillowed Xiaomei's soft long legs and made up for sleep, just woke up, and arrived outside Chaozhou at noon. Looking at the majestic city tower, Li Jing walked off the springboard, the city is very lively, the street is also very wide, first do not rush to see the second uncle, first take four beautiful maids to play, Xiangqiao Chunsheng, Han Temple oak, Jinshan ancient pine, Phoenix Shiyu, Longchuan Pagoda, crocodile autumn wind, West Lake fish raft one by one, it was dark to find Tongsheng Grain Store in the east of the city, found the second uncle, because they came suddenly, the family did not notify the second uncle, so no one went to pick up.

The second uncle is of medium height, looks like he is older than his father, his skin is bronzed by people who often go to sea, there is a scar on his face, from the bottom of his left eye to the corner of his right mouth, he looks extremely hideous, the second uncle was in the yard with bare shoulders, scrubbing his upper body in a basin, with knotted muscles and many scars on his body, it seems that this bowl of rice is really not delicious.

This grain store opened a store on the street. It occupies a whole short street, opposite is the carriage and horse shop, more than a dozen shops such as boat shops, cloth shops, and seafood stores are also the property of the Li family, and behind the grain store is a set of three-entry houses with many cross-courtyards, which is the residence of the Li family, as well as many sailors and men. The second uncle and second aunt and two daughters all live here.

The second uncle was very happy to see Li Jing, and Li Jing was also close to the second and third uncles. When I was a child, every time my second uncle came home, I would tell him stories about overseas, and bring some fun conch shells or something. Li Jing and the two sisters of the second uncle's family, Li Weier and Li Yueer are also very familiar with each other, and they were all in the old house when they were children. After eating, the two sisters had to pull him to kick the shuttlecock. was blown away by the second uncle.

I went into the study with the second uncle, and the second aunt brought tea and went out. Li Jing and the second uncle talked about this period of time and his grandfather's decision. The second and third uncles are in charge of the family's armed family, the second uncle is in charge of the sea and runs the fleet part-time, and the third uncle is in charge of the family's various places and the horse caravan on land. The guards in the town and the old mansion were personally managed by Li Jing's father.

"Second uncle, how many people does our family have in this Chaozhou capital city, this time I went to Nanjing by sea, there are a lot of pirates in Fujian, I have a good preparation"

"There are not many goods, one boat is enough, the sailors need thirty people, and sixty escorts, after modifying the kind of sail you said, other hard sailing ships can't keep up, and they can't form a formation, I have three tiger squat cannons in my hand, and twenty-three Lumi guns are all for you."

"Second uncle, is there a lot of gunpowder, if there are raw materials for gunpowder, I will make it best."

"It's no problem, you write a list, and I'll send someone to your yard tomorrow night."

"Okay, I'll go see the ship tomorrow, and I'll pick a suitable one."

"No problem, now the wind is not good, the ships are repaired on the shore, our three boats are in the dry dock, just scraped the barnacles at the bottom of the boat, and re-maintained with tung oil and lime, which one you fancy will be refitted, tomorrow I will let Boss Zhang accompany you, he is a thirty-year old shipowner, familiar with waterways, hydrology, climate. Then he will come with you. Leave it to him. ”

After talking to the second uncle, I went to talk to the second aunt and two sisters, and then went back to rest.

Early the next morning, Xiaomei came in to report, the owner of the ship arrived, Li Jing hurriedly let in, sat down and chatted for a while, this person gave Li Jing a good impression, and it looked like he was begging for a living at sea all year round. I can rest assured. Then the group rode off to the dock by the Han River. Li Jing carefully inspected the three boats, and finally chose a slender one. The boat has a length-to-width ratio of 6.5 and is fast with a schooner. When I arrived home in the evening, the raw materials for gunpowder were also delivered, and the sulfur and saltpeter were of very good quality. The charcoal powder is also very finely ground.

Early the next morning, the four maids and the two sisters were called to help, and the best proportion of gunpowder was configured, this formula should be kept strictly secret, and it was absolutely impossible to fake outsiders and let the two guards guard the door.

First of all, the three raw materials are selected and refined according to the best ratio of later generations, and then they are milled into powder, and the specific operation method is to weigh the amount according to the proportion and put them into a stone mortar or wooden trough for repeated stirring to become fine.

The second is to mix the three ingredients, the method is to mix the three ingredients into the mortar in proportion, add a little water or shochu, mix the three powders into a wet mud state, and use a wooden pestle to stir continuously, in this process Li Jing repeatedly told us to put an end to the entry of impurities such as sand and stones, so as to avoid bumps and fires during the mixing process; When the mixture is about to dry, add water and pound again to make the mixture fully and evenly mixed, and then take it out and dry it in the sun.

When Li Jing carried out quality inspection of the finished product, he first selected a part of the finished gunpowder dried and burned it on paper. If the sample is burned in the palm of the hand, the gunpowder burns out and the palm does not feel hot. On the contrary, if there are black stars and white dots left on the paper, or there is a burning sensation in the palms of the hands, it is still unqualified and needs to be reworked and re-milled until it is qualified. After the powdered cake mallet is crushed, the coarse and fine grains are first separated through a round eye sieve, and then the particles are put into the cylinder and rolled repeatedly, and the rounded particles are taken out and put for later use.

Black drugs must be made into granules, because the weight of the three ingredients is not the same, and in the process of transportation, the large weight will sink to the bottom, resulting in the change of the mixed state of the three ingredients, and it may be dumb when used.

While waiting for the arrival of the new canvas, Li Jing made granular gunpowder and lead bullets into silk-wrapped fixed bullets, and directly used a strip to the chamber of the gun, and the fire rope could directly ignite a thin layer of tail silk to fire. Silk can be completely burned in the chamber of a gun.

In the remaining ten days, they took a boat to the Phoenix Mountain wilderness across the river from Fucheng, and practiced Lu Mi Gong, and the six little beauties were very happy, Bai Yu and the sword and the two guards, as well as the local guards who went to sea together this time, each of them shot dozens of shots.

Li Jing is waiting for the arrival of new canvas and rigging. There are more than 3,000 catties of vegetable oil every day, and it is transported to the Tongsheng grain store for storage, and it is about to reach 100,000 catties.