The bumper harvest of autumn grain and the peace of the war made the Shu government and the people see the hope of returning to a peaceful life.

The comprehensive reform of the left guard and the smooth march of the caravan to southern Sichuan, central Sichuan and northern Sichuan made Zhu Pingjin, the son of Shu, and his wife Luo Yuhong see a ray of light.

Luo Yuhong's personality is very different from Zhu Pingjin. Zhu Pingjin's style is to think carefully before acting, while she is resolute and does what she says.

After she and Zhu Pingjin set the major policy for the financial industry, she immediately convened a high-level meeting of the responsible persons of the General Office and Huitong Bank the next day, and decided that Cheng Xiangfeng would write a secret instruction on economic work of the royal government and distribute it to all economic units and departments for implementation. There are two main things that this document talks about: one is grain, and the other is silver. Cao Santai, who was in charge of trading in Tianquan Rongchang, also received a handwritten letter from Miss Luo, explaining in detail her specific ideas and requirements for this autumn's tea and horse trade, as well as meat, milk, wine, leather, silk, cloth, gold and silver exchange, and other trade varieties.

Zhu Pingjin had no money to manage, so he focused on politics and military affairs.

Early the next morning, he and his wife parted ways and took a boat to the Firearms Bureau of the Shuangliu County Rent Collection Yard.

Two of the fire guns were drilled, and the quality was very good, but at the cost of scrapping eight drill bits. The main problem is not in the steel of the pipe, nor in the lathe, but in the drill bit.

Drilling and cutting pipes is a kind of deep hole drilling. Deep hole drilling is prone to misalignment, so there is a cylindrical centering part on the drill pipe after the cutting edge. But this centering section brought a new problem – it was impossible to evacuate chips during drilling and to cool the cutting edge with oil or soapy water.

In order to cool down, the craftsmen had to reduce the intensity of their work. After drilling for a while, pull out the drill bit to blow oil and remove chips with a thin bamboo tube, or even suck the chips with your mouth. In addition, the drill bit cutting edge steel fire is still not good. The cutting edge quickly dulled the curl and had to be resharpened.

The solution to the former problem is to use a hollow drill pipe, the cutting edge is equivalent to welding to a steel pipe, and the oil is injected to cool the chip removal. Zhu Pingjin talked about the solution, but I don't know if these craftsmen can realize it in the project.

The second problem can only be worked on the material and heat treatment of the cutting tool, little by little to explore, little by little to accumulate. Whether quenching is better for water, oil, urine, or pig blood, the craftsmen themselves will experiment.

But the craftsmen who were suffering from the drill pipe were no longer patient. It is more urgent to increase the production of fire guns than drill pipes.

They suggested to Zhu Pingjin that they could first try to make a short-barreled large-caliber firecracker. This kind of firecracker, which can be loaded with four small iron pieces of four coins or eight pieces of two coins at a time, is powerful at close range, has a high hit rate, and is more effective against those unarmed thugs who rush up. Loaded with a single warhead, it can also be shot at a long distance.

More critically, technical and cost-effective reasons: such guns do not require deep hole drilling. It can be directly rolled and welded into a pipe with steel plate and then bored, the production speed is fast, and the cost is lower!

The total projectile weight of 126 coins is close to 60 grams, which is greater than that of a No. 10 shotgun (Note 1). The recoil is strong, but it is bearable. Bombardment at close range with a single warhead can kill a wild boar with a single shot.

Zhu Pingjin listened carefully to the reasons of the craftsmen, and then asked the opinions of He Chengjun, the cripple hero who accompanied him, and immediately approved the plan. However, he stressed that he should not take a detour because of temporary difficulties.

The process of drill pipe is a difficult point in the manufacture of gun pipes, and we must make a breakthrough. If the resources are insufficient, we will increase input, and if the efficiency is not high, we will carry out management improvements, so as to form a pattern in which various specialties have both division of labor and cooperation. For example, the person who produces the lathe and the person who operates the lathe is separated, and a separate lathe and pipe are established; The production includes drill bits, various measuring tools, tools and craftsmen set up separate cutting tools, etc.

In addition, Zhu Pingjin once again emphasized the importance of the study class, requiring the craftsmen to read and write every night. With knowledge, previous experiences and lessons can be recorded to prevent repeat mistakes.

Zhu Pingjin told Wang Kunshan and Li Li that he had come to the Firearms Bureau this time and had specially brought dozens of scholars. These scholars are all poor scholars who have gone through one or two rounds of Shu examinations, passed the strict political examination, and their ancestors have been innocent for three generations, and they have volunteered to work in the Firearms Bureau. They have a cultural background, can read and write, have a strong learning ability, and have endured hardships before. It is necessary not only to let them go down to the grassroots level to exercise, but not to engage in specialization, but also to give full play to their strengths, so that they can lead the improvement of the cultural level of craftsmen.

"Yes, master! The apprentice must keep in mind the master's teachings and do a good job in the 'three combinations'! Wang Kunshan, who is more than twice as old as Zhu Pingjin, said with a smile.

Wang Kunshan's character is not very good, but Zhu Pingjin is using his strengths. Zhu Pingjin is also confident that he can completely control this person who betrayed Lao Tzu and went to his son.

"Let's go! Go to the shooting range and see your newly forged cannons! After speaking, Zhu Pingjin waved his hand and walked briskly towards the shooting range.

The so-called shooting range is a low-lying farmland not far from the rent-collecting yard. There is a naturally raised mound behind the farmland, which can be artificially raised to block the shells and also block the sound.

On a flat ground cleared of rice stalks and shrubs, a cannon of gold-forged was placed in the center.

It's a brass cannon. The gun body is thin in front and thick in the back, and there is no circle of cannon hoops common on the official and military guns, which looks unusually neat and smooth. But compared to the gun body, the main difference in appearance is in the gun carriage. The new gun abandons the usual four-wheeled gun carriage and uses a two-wheeled gun carriage that makes it easy to adjust the direction of fire.

Without waiting for Zhu Pingjin to open his mouth to ask, Li Li talked about the production process of the cannon. The person who does it himself looks at the person who does it differently, and he opened his mouth and said in detail:

"In vain to prepare materials, it took five hundred Chongzhen Tongbao, and none of the private money was used! But the money of the imperial court is also unbearable, with different sizes and uneven copper-lead ratios. The old money in the north is three cents, and the new money is only one penny. The money in the south is only eight cents, and the money in the river is only six cents. The apprentice melted the money, and added a lot of copper concentrate and zinc and tin concentrate to it, so that he could barely reach the proportion ratio proposed by the master. I have calculated that the materials prepared this time can cast at least fifteen cannons! ”

"Performance elements and test firing?"

Li Li skillfully introduced to Zhu Pingjian: "The apprentice is made according to the pattern drawn by the master, with tail beads at the end of the gun, trunnions on both sides, and a detachable carriage and gun carriage. The gun chamber is bored with a special lathe, which is very smooth and accurate. The barrel weighs about 220 pounds, the barrel is three feet long, the inner diameter of the barrel is three inches and two minutes (Note 2), and the ratio of length to diameter is close to nine. With the gun mount, the whole gun weighed about 400 catties.

The spherical cannon was cast in iron and weighed about seven and a half pounds. At the time of the test, the charge was ten taels, and the hollowed-out pine wood was used as the support, and the farthest could be as far as 150 zhang. If the firing range is only within 60 zhang, it will form a ricochet on the ground. The cannon is extremely powerful. When a person encounters it, he dies and is injured when he rubs it. The thick wooden fence with the mouth of the bowl will be broken up with a single shot. The fire brick walls were even worse, with holes more than a foot wide, and broken bricks flying everywhere. Because the cannon weighs the same weight as the head, the shooters are called head cannons! ”

The Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers recorded meritorious service at the first level. The first stage, often commonly known as seven and a half catties, coincides with the weight of the cannon. In the name of the head cannon, it added a bad atmosphere to this golden cannon.

Li Li also introduced that because the chamber of the copper cannon is easy to process, and the hollowed-out pine wood is used as the support, the breath-holding effect of the human head cannon is much better than that of the tiger squat gun. The difference is even more pronounced when using shotguns, which are prone to air leakage. At present, the shotguns used in the head cannon are all small iron pieces of one or two. Loaded with ten catties, leather armor can be pierced within 100 steps; Loaded with fifteen catties, it can shoot ninety steps, and the best effect on unarmored enemy soldiers. As for the large shotgun used by the water army, the Firearms Bureau is still experimenting.

"Have you tried a double charge?"

"Tried it, no problem at all!"

The human head cannon is a light short-barreled howitzer designed by Zhu Pingjin himself. Its combat characteristics are similar to those of the Tiger Squat Cannon, and it is very powerful at close range. The gun body is lightweight, and it can be carried by mules and horses for long distances, and can also be carried on the shoulders of people for short-distance maneuvers or battlefield emergencies, which is very suitable for the mountainous terrain of Sichuan.

Zhu Pingjin nodded with satisfaction and asked He Chengjun, who was stroking the cannon, how to make it up and how to use it if he came to command the cannon.

"This cannon is light, can be carried by two people and one horse, and is suitable for mountain combat!" He Chengjun pouted his ass and replied, "For a long march, two horses are exchanged for pack cannons, one horse is used to carry the carriage, and then some horses are used to carry cannonballs and tools. The gun can be fired when it is loaded, and it can also be manually towed at short distances. Fighting a war is extremely convenient and practical!

It's just that this cannon has heavy ammunition. To ensure thirty rounds of ammunition, ten rounds each, at least three horses. There are many horses, and there are many people who take care of horses. The last general thought that this cannon would require at least fifteen people to operate! ”

"First give you sixty people, form a four-gun company, and you will be the company commander!" Zhu Pingjin said, "At present, this cannon is the training gun of the artillery company. In the future, the Firearms Bureau will cast more bronze cannons, some for your artillery, and some for the navy. Remember: cannons are made of money, and they are expensive, so don't lose them! ”

"The last general will protect this cannon with his life!" He Chengjun replied again.

"Artillery is expensive, but your life is more precious than cannon. Exchanging your life for a gun is a discounted business, not cost-effective! Zhu Pingjin walked over and patted He Chengjun on the shoulder, "You just stay here and heal your leg injury first." Otherwise, I pouted my ass and walked around every day, and I couldn't even find a daughter-in-law! ”

……

Zhu Pingjin watched the test firing of the artillery, and originally planned to live here for a few days as usual, inspect the various workshops one by one, and use the future knowledge he has mastered to wake up those craftsmen who are still seeking on the road of scientific research. Then continue to take a boat to the Jiangkou base in Pengshan County, inspect the naval army there, and learn about the movements of the Meizhou gentry.

At present, the Jiangkou Navy has four newly-built rowing boats, a tiger squat cannon fixed on the bow of the boat, and organized into a company. He Zengshan's son, He Gui, went down to Jiading Prefecture to serve as the deputy captain of the Zhuang protection team. Not long after he arrived in Leshan, he somehow applied for voluntary demotion and became the commander of this newly built naval company. Zhu Pingjin knew that He Gui grew up by the Jialing River and had good water properties. Besides, the navy did lack a general, so he approved his report and arranged for Wang Zuyi, a veteran of Yazhou, to be his deputy.

The naval company was stationed in Jiangkou Town, and in addition to daily training, it also cooperated with the Jiangkou tax customs to collect taxes from the Meizhou gentry. Not long ago, He Gui urgently reported that the Meizhou gentry were armed to attack the tax card, and he had to give the other party a shot.

Zhu Pingjin's eyes were staring at the court and Chuang Xian in the north on the one hand, and Qiong Mei behind him on the other. Something happened behind him, and he needed to understand the situation on the spot and develop a coping strategy.

However, in the afternoon of the same day, He Youyi, the chief of the bureau, and Liu Mingsheng, the director of the Information Bureau, personally rushed to the rent collection courtyard, reported an emergency to Zhu Pingjin, and terminated Zhu Pingjin's short southern tour.

Note 1: It is said that the mass of the single warhead loaded with the No. 10 shotgun in the United States is more than 60 grams, which can hunt tigers; And the 100-gram single-headed bullet fired by the No. 4 shotgun can pierce the bison. Hibiki has never played with a No. 10 shotgun, and the above data has not been specifically verified.

Note 2: Seven and a half catties in the Ming Dynasty were about 4.447Kg, which was exactly 10 pounds in the imperial system. It was calculated that the caliber of the iron spherical cannon was about 102mm.

The British 9-pounder gun, like a sphere, had a diameter of about 100 mm. However, the British 9-pounder gun was 4.2 inches (107 mm) in caliber and had a reload gap of 7 mm. The quality control of early cast guns and cast shells can be seen.