"Sir, there are some new products out of the arsenal, but there are still some problems that need to be solved." Ergou saw Shang Wu and Jia Xu coming to inspect, and took the initiative to report some recent situations.

"Let's go, let's go to the arsenal to have a look, and the female workers should pay attention to safety, especially the ** factory. Be as error-free as possible. Shang Wu said to Ergou.

"Yes, sir." Ergou agreed to come down.

The charge work was all left to the female workers. They are paid twice as much as ordinary female workers, but they have to be careful and focused, because they produce something different, which is the best weapon, and if something goes wrong, disaster will befall immediately. Shangwu is well aware of this. Therefore, in addition to improving the salary, they will always focus on safe production.

The women's unions working in the munitions factories were given an additional set of new overalls, which were free of iron to prevent sparks from friction, and the amount of charge was strictly controlled. Open flames are strictly prohibited. After the production of ***, as well as pyrotechnics, all should be packed and stored in a timely manner, in order to prevent large-scale explosions. And all of this is subject to rules and regulations. If it is violated, it is necessary to find out the responsibility of the person responsible. There are only two words in the whole factory, responsibility. Everyone must manage their own affairs accurately and stick to their posts.

"What's wrong? Lao Tie, is there any problem? Shang Wu asked.

"Oh. Sir, we've developed a new weapon, so let's take a look at it, sir. Lao Tie said. He was a blacksmith and a foundryman, and his craft was not bad, and the weapons he made were of good quality.

"Oh. I'd like to see what kind of weapon it is. Shang Wu looked at Jia Xu, and both of them were looking forward to it.

"Sir, wait a minute, bring it up." Lao Tie shouted like this, as soon as he heard it come up, Shang Wu chuckled in his heart, he knew that this thing must be big. As he spoke, the two craftsmen lifted up a large iron pipe. When Shang Wu looked at it, he didn't know how to describe it. He didn't know if it was a cannon or a gun. Shang Wu remembered that the blueprint he handed to the other party was a gun, not a cannon. He knew that the cast iron technology of this era was not very bad. However, if you want to ***, the problem of the barrel becomes more difficult. He didn't know how to explain it for a moment.

"What is this?" Shangwu asked.

"Muskets. Sir, this is what you call a musket. It took us several days to make the barrel of the musket too thin, and many craftsmen have already tried to do it. Only the finest craftsmen can make such a barrel, and in desperation, I can only adopt the method of casting. Lao Tie said.

"Hmm. Not bad, not bad. Shang Wu encouraged. It's just that this is too far from my expectations. It's not a musket at all, it's an artillery.

"I think this thing can be called a spear. It can be used by two people, one person carried, and one person operated in the back, so that it can also produce a lot of force. But some of the people who were in front of them were sinned. Jia Xu saw the power of this weapon, because Shang Wu and Jia Xu explained the principle of artillery, the production speed is relatively slow, and the musket is the main weapon of the infantry in the future, and the artillery is an extremely important supporting weapon.

"Pick up a gun?" Shang Wu looked at Jia Xu in surprise.

"Our technology can only achieve this, if we want to continue processing, I'm afraid it will take some time, I think this thing has a large caliber, if it is filled with a large number of real iron nails, iron balls. If you release it before the enemy gets closer, it will inevitably cause a lot of damage to the enemy. They are mainly support weapons. Jia Xu said.

"Okay." Shangwu can only accept this cruel reality because he is too demanding of technology. That's what led to something like this.

"By the way, how about Power?" Shangwu asked.

"You should give it a try, and with such a weapon, it would be better to come up with something that makes us feel convinced." Shang Wu said.

"Sir, let's go to the shooting range together." Lao Tie said with a smile, as if he was very confident in this iron cannon, or should it be called a gun. Raising the gun, the caliber turned out to be more than two and a half inches, nearly three inches. This is already the equivalent of an artillery. The length is about five feet, which is a relatively appropriate distance, and the back has been greatly strengthened, and it looks very heavy. The front is relatively light. This is because when casting, it is cast upright, and the lower half of the gun is cast first. The craftsmen quickly got to know the problem because of gravity. As a result, the molten iron first strengthens the bottom, and the bottom, which is where the launch ** is under the most pressure. This is the key point of the whole artillery technology, if it is too thin, it will not be able to withstand the pressure, and finally lead to the appearance of the bore.

"Boom." There was a loud bang. Raising the gun and directly taking a large target ship eighty paces away, the thickness of the plank was more than half a man's finger thick, and the most terrifying thing was that Shang Wu saw a large round ball inside. This is not raising a gun at all, this is artillery. And it weighs an astonishing hundred catties, which is heavier than Guan Erye's Qinglong Yanyue Knife. Two people lifted. He felt that the soldiers were tired.

"How? Sir, this weapon is awesome, isn't it? Lao Tie said excitedly. To be honest, he had never seen such a powerful weapon himself. It's the kind of car crossbow that is officially made. None of them have such power.

"It's amazing. It's quite powerful, and with such a weapon, a break in the formation is just around the corner. Jia Xu said excitedly.

"I feel like there are still some questions. If you carry a gun, the ears of the people in front of you will have to be deaf, and when I am fighting, I can't find too many deaf people at once. Again. Shangwu looked at it.

Shang Wu looked left and right, and felt that this was not raising a gun at all, this was artillery.

"It's too loud, two people to operate, it's too heavy, and it's quite difficult for the soldiers to run. I have to go to what level of such a weapon. Shang Wu said as he looked at the gun raised. Lao Tie's face was a little unbearable.

"Sir, I think such a weapon is still useful, the infantry needs such a support weapon, after all, ***, too expensive." Jia Xu said.

"Hmm. Such a weapon, produce it first, how to use it, is not something that you Lao Tie considers, but. Lao Tie. I don't think this should be called raising a gun, it should be called a small-caliber artillery, and I think you should think of a way to reduce this a little, and it is better to be able to use it alone. Shang Wu said.

"This. It's hard. Sir, we've already done something like this. Following the drilling technique you did, we also tried. However, the efficiency is too low, and the success rate is also very low, mainly because the speed is difficult to control, and we can't make it at all, but some special craftsmen make it. However, the yield is too low. Lao Tie said in embarrassment.

Shangwu directly borrowed from the later technology, the first generation of the barrel production was built by iron-striking technology, but the problem of the barrel produced is still very big, for example, the thickness of the barrel is different, and the output of the production is difficult to increase, Shangwu directly chose to use the production of blank tubes, and then use the method of drilling for production, this way is fast, and if necessary, rifling can be produced. It's a foundation. However, the machine equipment required for this basis is too high. This is beyond the current state of the art. Even if it is produced by hand, it takes enough time. Even with some machinery, in reality, it is still human power that provides the power. It is still difficult to rely on this method to produce.

"Hmm. You're right, I'm a little ill-conceived. Shang Wu said.

"After the technology reaches a certain level, it is the machine that produces the machine, and at the moment we are still producing the machine by manpower, which is still too demanding for us." Shang Wu self-examined.

"It would be nice if the steam engine could be invented." Shang Wu said. He has no shortage of coal, and every day a large amount of coal is dug out from the villages near Handan, which is not only sent to Lijiazhuang, but also to other villages. Coal has replaced wood. It has become an important fuel, and even the recent city of Handan has started to use coal as an important fuel for cooking.

"Steam engine?" Lao Tie asked puzzled. Jia Xu was also surprised, he felt that this must be something more powerful than **.

"Oh. Well, I'll give you a rough idea, that is, using water vapor, if in a narrow sealed environment, for example, a teapot, a teapot, you have seen it, that is, when the hot water is boiling, the teapot lid is lifted. That's the power of steam, and if we use that power, for example, a cauldron, sealed, and then it is pressed against the piston, and the piston is the lid, and the lid is a force. After reaching a certain level, the hot gas expands, the water vapor condenses into water droplets, and the force dissipates, and then goes back, forming a stroke, so that a force is completed, and then the steam gathers again, so that the processing is completed one by one, and the speed can be accelerated so that we can complete such processing. Of course. You can also use animal power to accomplish such things, but manpower, animal power, is not stable enough, and water flow is also a source, but water flow, with current conditions, is not realistic enough. Shang Wu said. Lao Tie was eye-opening, he didn't know that there was such a way in the world.