Early the next morning, Li Yan went to the blacksmith's workshop.

Now the scale of the blacksmith workshop has been expanded, and the production of chain mail has been carried out, and a armor-making workshop has been built next to it. Even so, the production of chain mail was grossly insufficient, and there were many pikemen who were not dispensed, let alone crossbowmen.

He found Blacksmith Zhou and asked, "That flowering bullet, haven't you done it yet?" ”

Blacksmith Zhou said dejectedly: "Childe, it's not easy to get flowering." It is necessary to increase or decrease the thickness of the iron ball little by little, and then take it to the launch test, to detect the explosion effect, and then to touch it again, which is really not something that can be done in a while. ”

Li Yan nodded and said, "Okay, you guys continue to work hard." In any case, the quality must be guaranteed. ”

"Don't worry, Childe, we'll take care of it." Blacksmith Zhou assured.

Li Yan asked again: "How is the flowering shell of the tiger squat cannon?" ”

"This one is almost done, and it can fight more than two hundred steps." Blacksmith Zhou replied: "However, the lethality of shrapnel does not seem to be much improved compared to lead bullets. ”

Li Yan knew that the lethality of this was for armor. Whether it is the lead pellet in the paper shell bullet or the prefabricated fragment exploded by the iron shell bullet, it is enough to kill a person who does not wear armor within five or six steps. However, after putting on the armor, unless you hit the exposed head and face, you generally do not have to worry about your life.

"It's good to scare them." Li Yan said helplessly.

"By the way," Blacksmith Zhou said suddenly, "we have come up with a new way to make the musket hit a target one hundred and twenty paces away." ”

Li Yan happily ordered: "Really? Come, take it out and I'll see. "The muskets they used, though powerful enough, could penetrate heavy armor at sixty paces. However, the range was not very far, more than 80 paces, and it was difficult for the soldiers to hit the projectile at the target.

Blacksmith Zhou gave an order to his apprentice, and after a while, his apprentice brought a musket, almost indistinguishable from a standard musket.

Li Yan took the musket and looked at it carefully, but found that there was no difference. Puzzled, he said, "I don't see any difference." ”

Blacksmith Zhou proudly took out the projectile and said: "Wrap a thin linen soaked in oil on the outside of the projectile, which can not only increase the air tightness, but also reduce the resistance when loading the projectile. ”

Li Yan looked at it and found that the projectile and gunpowder were separated, and it might be more troublesome to reload. He commanded, "Demonstrate." ”

Blacksmith Zhou picked up the musket and ammunition and skillfully loaded it. However, no matter how skilled he is, he is slower than Li Yan's soldiers, because after he finishes loading the gunpowder, he has to take the projectile again, and then poke it into it with a tong.

Li Yan took the musket and looked around the courtyard, and found that there was a poplar tree forty paces away from the courtyard, and there was a sparrow on the tree. He aimed at the sparrow through the door and the crosshair, and then shot it decisively.

There was a "click", but the gunpowder was not ignited.

He pulled the strike iron again and pulled the trigger again. Fortunately, it was far enough away that the bird was not scared away. With a "bang", the projectile shot out. But the little bird fluttered away, but the branch on which it was standing was broken.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then the craftsmen of the blacksmith shop praised loudly: "Handsome and good marksmanship!" ”

Li Yan waved his hand and asked everyone to stop praising him. smiled and said: "You people are not qualified, there is one to say, and there are two to say." It's all going to be a sycophant, who's going to do things?! ”

Blacksmith Zhou smiled awkwardly, waved to his craftsmen, and ordered: "Go, go, all work!" ”

Li Yan said: "This does improve the range and accuracy, but it is not of great use, and hunting is okay." Two hundred steps is within striking distance of the shotgun, and then there is the Tiger Squat Cannon. Moreover, it is more troublesome to reload, and it is not suitable for use in battle formations. ”

"That's right." Blacksmith Zhou said regretfully: "Then forget it." ”

Li Yan instructed: "Whoever comes up with it, give one stone of grain, one piece of cloth, and the treatment will be raised by half a level." It's useless now, but it's in the right direction. It is necessary to make the musket shoot farther, reload faster, and hit more accurately. ”

"Oh, okay, I'll announce it in public tomorrow before the start of work."

Li Yan came out of the blacksmith workshop and went to the artillery workshop and the carpentry workshop to take a look. Larger caliber guns are still being discussed, and problems with gun mounts have been found in service. The damage to the gun carriage was more than expected, especially the wheels and axles, so the carpenter workshop had to make some spare wheels and axles and send them to the troops in case the artillery could repair them at any time. There are also detachable simple gun sheds that need to be manufactured in large quantities, rainproof and sunproof, which greatly improves the adaptability of artillery.

He inspected various workshops throughout the day, and now there are many workshops inside and outside the county seat of Qixian County, some of which he ran and some of which were later run by the gentry and wealthy households. Although the current transaction price is not as good as that of places outside Qixian, it is still more profitable than growing grain. And it's safe here, you can make money with confidence, and there is nothing more satisfying than this for those gentry and wealthy families.

Therefore, Li Yan is still quite satisfied with the development of Qi County, as long as this model can be expanded according to local conditions, then the area under his control will soon become thriving.

He returned to the mansion very late. As soon as I entered the door, the people in the house were all in front of the door to greet me. They congratulated loudly: "Congratulations on the promotion of Childe!" ”

Li Yan was stunned for a moment, and then remembered that he had just been promoted to deputy general this time. So he smiled and said, "Okay! All perform their duties, go to the main hall for a while, and there will be a reward! ”

"Xie Gongzi reward!" The crowd dispersed first in high spirits.

He entered the living room, but found that Wu Niang and Qiu Niang were waiting here. So he smiled and said, "You two came early." Go first to the treasury and give a reward to the people. ”

Wu Niang said softly: "We are not inferior. After that, he took Qiu Niang to the treasury and prepared the money.

Although Li Yan did not have specific instructions, Wu Niang and Qiu Niang were still very well prepared, and arranged suitable rewards for each of their subordinates. Some are three or five taels, and some are one or two taels, not broken silver, but the kind of small ingots with auspicious patterns specially used for rewards.

Li Yan was very satisfied, and ordered with a smile: "Well, it's done well." You can pick a little knack from the storeroom, and thank you for it. ”

"What is there to thank you." Qiu Niang immediately said: "It's good that Gongzi took us to Guide Mansion earlier." ”

Li Yan said: "Let's talk about that." I'm going to be here for a few more days. By the way, I've already eaten, if you haven't eaten yet, eat first, and then go back to rest. ”

"Really?" Qiu Niang said excitedly: "That's great! I've been cooking some delicious food for my son these days, and I've learned a lot of dishes these days. ”

Li Yan said lightly: "Don't bother, you won't spend much time at home." ”

"Childe just be busy, just come back and eat two bites." Qiu Niang still said very happily.

Li Yan nodded, and went back to the backyard to rest first.

Wu Niang gently pushed Qiu Niang, who was still looking at Li Yan's departure direction, and reminded: "Okay, I can't see it anymore." ”

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