It has to be said that the production of muskets in the Ming Dynasty has been very formalized.

The wooden buttstock, the copper bolt, the final assembly, and the courtyards with different functions are quite reasonably distributed around the barrel workshop.

After a simple turn, the chamberlain took Zhu Youzhen to an independent courtyard.

Here, Zhu Youzhen met several legendary masters. His tunnel pistol was made by these masters by hand.

I have just seen the production process of Wang Gong's musket, and Zhu Youzhen's speed of one gun in 2 months is extremely difficult to understand. He hoped to get a reasonable explanation from the master craftsman.

As soon as he saw the tunnel pistol in the master's hand, Zhu Youzhen felt that he had found a preliminary explanation.

Just by looking at the inscriptions on the body of the gun and the delicate gold-encrusted stock, you can see where the time has gone. Zhu Youzhen remembered his telescope with chagrin. How is it possible for the great craftsmen to make things for the royal family just to look at performance and not pay attention to appearance.

Stretching out his hand to take the tunnel pistol, Zhu Youzhen simply asked directly: "If you don't want these delicate things outside, just to meet the standard of use, how much time does it take to make such a gun?" ”

Looking at the yellow-clothed young man who asked questions as soon as he entered the courtyard, most of the masters were a little confused. Only one of them moved the corners of his mouth, but looking at the others, he was quiet again.

Seeing that no one replied for a while, the attendant who led the way hurriedly said, "Master Qiu, this is His Royal Highness King Xin." Your Highness's question, you can answer it directly. ”

Hearing the words of the chamberlain, a tall old man among the master craftsmen asked excitedly, "You are the king of faith who designed this gun?" ”

After the old man finished speaking, without waiting for Zhu Youzhen's reaction, the chamberlain reprimanded sharply: "Qiu Datong, how dare you talk to His Royal Highness King Xin like this?" ”

Without waiting for the waiter's words to land, Zhu Youzhen hurriedly said: "It's exactly what the kid thinks, and he doesn't want to go through the master's skillful hands to make it come true." Thank you very much. As he spoke, Zhu Youzhen bowed shallowly to the masters.

Finding that he was too anxious, Zhu Youzhen hurriedly made amends.

When several masters heard that King Xin was so respected, they felt very warm-hearted. Seeing His Royal Highness King Xin saluting again, he hurriedly bowed to the ground to show his return salute. The slight displeasure has long been thrown out of the clouds. The prince's courtesy, they don't dare to bear it.

The return gifts of the masters are more aimed at the identity of King Thaksin, which Zhu Youzhen knows well. There is no way, who called him still young and not famous. If you can count on a little genius design to conquer these masters, it is a fantasy.

"Forgive the boy's recklessness, I don't know what to call a few masters?" Zhu Youzhen straightened his waist and asked softly. The waiter on the side was about to rush to speak again, but Zhu Youzhen glared back fiercely.

Which master surnamed Qiu seems to have a more bold temperament, and he enthusiastically introduces everyone around Zhu Youzhen.

"These three are Li Cheng, Guo Ji, and Zhou Wu, all of whom are top blacksmiths. This is Han Feng, a top carpenter. The old man, Qiu Datong, is also well-known in the coppersmith industry. ”

Zhu Youzhen listened to him, and smiled at Han Feng first, "Master Han, I haven't seen you for a long time, do you really miss your craftsmanship?" If you have some spare time, can you help Gu with some gadgets? ”

The old man responded in surprise: "His Royal Highness King Xin has a good memory, I really didn't expect His Highness to remember the little one." If His Royal Highness had an order, Han Feng did not dare to refuse. ”

I think that at the beginning, Han Feng had made ship model accessories for Zhu Youzhen, and he was rewarded by Zhu Youzhen. It's just that Zhu Youzhen had his own carpenter's workshop later, and he never bothered him anymore.

With this layer of incense, the relationship between the masters and Zhu Youzhen quickly became harmonious.

"The great craftsmen are the most professional people, and this is how the gun was made. You tell me the truth, if it's the crudest, usable gun, how long does it take to make one? ”

After everyone got acquainted, Zhu Youzhen raised the question again.

This time, after communicating with each other, several masters gave an accurate answer: "10 days." ”

"Your Highness, the gun you designed has too much charge, and it must use a three-layer barrel. In addition, your bolt is very delicate and takes a lot of time to build. ”

"Too much charge?" Zhu Youzhen was a little puzzled.

And this is the reason? Isn't that the longest time spent on the bolt?

The masters glanced at each other, and Qiu Datong still explained, "Your Highness, your gun usually has to be loaded with 5 yuan of gunpowder, which is far more than the normal bird gun. With this amount of charge, if the barrel is too thin, it will be easy to explode? ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded in understanding, and then asked, "How much does our bird gun generally charge?" ”

"Our Ming Dynasty's most powerful bird gun, with 3 yuan of marbles, at most only 3 yuan and 6 cents." Qiu Datong said with emotion, "Even this kind of 3-money bird gun has to use a double-layer barrel, not to mention a gun with a charge of 5 yuan like Your Highness." If it weren't for the shorter barrel of His Highness's gun, it would have taken longer to make it. ”

Is this another master craftsman's empirical calculation? Zhu Youzhen frowned slightly, thinking in his heart.

"Master, I wonder how our gun barrels are tested to be qualified?" Concerned about the face of the master craftsman, Zhu Youzhen asked in a roundabout way.

"This," seeing Qiu Datong speechless, blacksmith Li Cheng took over.

"Your Highness, the barrel of our guns will be tested by a test firing of a charge. Generally, test firing with 1 money drug is used first, and then gradually increase, up to 4 money medicine. If the barrel is not damaged at all, a certain amount of gunpowder bullets will be test-fired. If it is a 3 money bird gun, it will be filled with a maximum of 7 money medicine. ”

"And how much gunpowder can our barrels withstand?" Zhu Youzhen followed up and asked.

"Well, that's not clear. There may be records in the palace, but the little ones have never tried it. Li Cheng replied hesitantly.

"That's it," Zhu Youzhen said with a smile, but his tone was unusually firm.

"You immediately built two single, double, and three-layer barrels, and sent them to the lonely mansion, and the lonely man came to try it himself. Well, a full musket is not needed, just a barrel. ”

After a slight pause, Zhu Youzhen followed and ordered: "You don't need a few of you masters to do it, just ask those people below to do it." ”

Zhu Youzhen's identity as a letter to the king is very effective, the materials prepared by Wang Chengen have not yet been prepared, and the several barrels that Zhu Youzhen asked for have been personally sent by the eunuch in charge of Wang Gongchang.

"Isn't it about 10 days?" Zhu Youzhen looked at the 6 jet-black barrels and asked puzzled.

It's only been 2 days to prepare 6 barrels and send them, are the masters coaxing him?

"Your Highness needs, how dare the old slave slacken!" Zhang Yixian, the eunuch in charge of Wang Gong's factory, said respectfully.

"Tell me, how can you do it so quickly, didn't the masters say that it would take about 10 days?" Zhu Youzhen asked curiously, he didn't think that the masters had the courage to deceive him.

Can it be built so quickly, does Wang Gongchang still have a secret black technology?