Zhao Lie and Ma Nanchun walked out of the palace, discussing while walking towards the southern camp, behind them were ten young men from the martial arts team with loaded guns and ammunition, closely guarded, and ten pairs of eyes vigilantly looked at the surrounding buildings and pedestrians. The other eight members of the team were secret guards, so that their clothes blended in with the crowd, and some even separated them from the street.

It stands to reason that with a rank like Zhao Lie, he has to have a flag head, a drummer, and a blower. That's a big bang and a big flag. However, Zhao Lie never did this, and even opposed it very much, because this is not the way of the peaceful world, where you can show off your might, but in troubled times, so ostentatious, I am afraid that I will not die fast enough.

At present, Zhao Hunt killed the Yuan general Ali Hague and defeated tens of thousands of yuan of troops, which will soon become a thorn in Meng Yuan's side, and at the same time offend some powerful people in the court. Therefore, this personal safety work must be taken seriously, travel should be low-key, and the pressure on the guard is not small.

Zhao Lie said to Ma Nanchun as he walked: "Zhongping, it seems that this level has passed." It's just that I wanted to resign to the Queen Mother, but I couldn't summon me, I'm afraid I'll have to bother you to give me a resignation again. ”

Ma Nanchun nodded and said, "Grandpa just leaves, and I'm afraid that there will be changes when it's late." The grandfather only took away the martial arts team that was guarded with him, leaving behind thousands of troops, and no one could say anything. ”

Zhao Lie sneered, he took all the rear-loading troops away, leaving behind an army armed with flintlock pistols, and watched what the Xing Dynasty would do. If he swallows his troops, he will definitely be opposed by a group of ministers with long-term vision, such as the left and right ministers. If the weapons of the Dragon Bird Army are confiscated, it will inevitably cause the Dragon Bird Army soldiers to complain and lose the morale of the army. Judging from the way Empress Dowager Yang, Zhang Shijie and others put their minds on the rear-loading guns, they may not have done such a thing because of more than a thousand flintlock pistols. Ten thousand steps back and said, if they really dare to do it, it is nothing, more than a thousand flintlock guns, he can afford to lose. It happened that Wang Ping'an also came back from buying iron, saltpeter, and sulfur from Champa. When I go back to full power, it will be produced in a month, and as for Xingchao, I am afraid that there will always be only more than 1,000 guns.

Therefore, as long as he returns to Wan'anjun, all attempts against him will be frustrated - he must leave as soon as possible, without delay!

As soon as the two of them walked to the cross neighborhood, they saw the back of a group of armor soldiers, and there was a faint flag in front of them, and the word "Zhang" was faintly visible.

"Zhangwu General Banner is another character, it should be Zhang Ba." Ma Nanchun looked confused, "What is this Zhang Ba doing east?" Isn't Prime Minister Zhang's mansion on North Street? ”

"East Street?" Zhao Lie touched his chin, his eyes flashed, and he suddenly smiled, "I know, hehe, I'm afraid this guy is going to be disappointed." Let's go. ”

Zhang Junbao, who was following behind, also smiled: "That's right, this guy will be disappointed." ”

Ding Xiaoqi looked at the two of them inexplicably: "What kind of medicine are you selling in the gourd?" Tell me about it. ”

Zhang Junbao said two words: "Gun powder." ”

Ding Xiaoqi understood now, looked at the back of the team and laughed, and the group walked away.

……

Zhang Ba was indeed very disappointed. He is now in the "Ordnance Manufacturing Office" to which the Imperial Front Yingfeng belongs, and he is accompanied by Chen Zhi, the ordnance supervisor, and his cousin Zhang Xiong.

When they came here, they naturally came here to see the weapons. Weapons have always been ordered by the Privy Council, manufactured by the Weapons Supervisor, inspected by the Ministry of War, and finally issued by the Privy Council. The people who came to check this time were Chen Zhi, the weapons supervisor, and Zhang Xiong, the new director of the military department who was promoted because of Yacheng's military exploits.

The military department of the Song Dynasty was a cold yamen, and the military power was mainly in the hands of the Privy Council. Such a sharp weapon, of course, must be grasped in your hands from top to bottom.

This time, it was the Privy Council that urged him to be urgent, and Chen Zhi had no choice but to ask Zhang Xiong to come to verify and present his feelings at the same time. And Zhang Ba was all equipped with his Changhua army because of the manufacture of this batch of muskets. Therefore, he came to see in advance what the sharp weapons in his army looked like.

As a result, not only Zhang Ba, but also Zhang Xiong was disappointed.

The chief craftsman in charge of the manufacture of muskets was complaining to Zhang Xiong and others: "...... Ladies and gentlemen, this musket is too difficult to make. Let's talk about the barrel first, it is necessary to wrap the steel core layer by layer with iron sheet and beat, and each layer must be beaten repeatedly and tightly, and then wrapped in a layer. A blacksmith can hammer out a qualified pipe in at least one day. Next is the most difficult drill pipe, the two ends must be aligned, and there must be no deviation, otherwise it will be scrapped. And ......"

Zhang Xiong had the patience to listen to these manufacturing processes, what he wanted was a finished product, a black and shiny musket. Immediately interrupted: "Don't talk nonsense, this director only asks you, how many muskets can you get a day with hundreds of craftsmen in the ordnance manufacturing department?" ”

The chief craftsman saw that Zhang Xiong's face was not good, and he was speechless when he ate.

Zhang Xiong was about to get angry, and Chen Zhi's sigh came from his side: "I know this, I can produce two qualified muskets in one day." If the hydraulic forging mill is completed, the output can be increased several times, and the daily output of five or six muskets will not be a problem. Just ......"

Zhang Xiong's face was ugly when he heard the two branches, but it was inconvenient to attack Chen Zhi, so he only asked, "Just what?" ”

"It's just that this homemade musket can't compare to the musket of the Dragonbird Army."

Zhang Ba and Zhang Xiong were stunned, unbelievable, no matter how much resources are compared to manpower, Yacheng's ordnance manufacturing office far exceeds that of the Wan'an Army, how can it not be compared?

Chen Zhi thought about it and said: "It's not easy to say clearly, so that the test shot comparison can be clear at a glance." ”

The three of them immediately went to the test firing range in the inner middle school, and asked the chief craftsman to take out a dragon sparrow musket as a reference sample, and then take a homemade musket that had just been assembled from the oven. The two muskets were mounted on two wooden frames, fixed with clips, and then tied to the plates of the two guns with two strings several feet long.

After that, the two apprentices loaded the ammunition according to the process that Zhang Xiong was familiar with, and hurriedly ran away after finishing, and under the order of the chief craftsman, the other two rope gun control apprentices straightened the rope and pulled the plate machine.

Bang! A flash of fire erupted with the smoke, striking the wooden target thirty paces away. The sawdust powder of the target flies, and the wooden target shakes violently.

"Good! Sure enough, it's a sharp weapon! Zhang Ba had also seen the power of muskets in Zhang Shijie's army, and he was amazed every time he saw it.

Zhang Xiong's face was not good-looking, because of the two muskets, he had to go off. It was the dragon sparrow musket that sounded, and the dumb fire was the homemade musket.

The chief craftsman rubbed his hands: "This musket has a mute rate of fire, and it is difficult to avoid it." ”

Of course Zhang Xiong knows this, and even Zhang Ba knows it.

Next, he did the same thing, and fired six more bullets in a row. The homemade musket finally fired in the third round, and the power was not small, but in the fifth round, it was muted again, and the dragon sparrow musket fired five out of six shots, and only muted once. After six shots, the rate of dumb fire of homemade muskets reached 50 percent.

Now, not only Zhang Xiong, but even Zhang Ba's face is ugly.

The chief craftsman looked panicked, and Chen Zhi remained silent: "Shoot again." ”

The gunfire rang out again, and one shot after another, and when the twelfth shot was fired, the apprentice who had cleaned the chamber with a brush suddenly shouted: "Stop! Stop! There is a crack in the barrel and it can no longer be fired. ”

It's a homemade musket.

During the Battle of Yacheng, Zhang Xiong had witnessed many explosions caused by the excessive use of the barrel due to the fierce battle, and of course he knew the consequences of cracks in the barrel. But it was scrapped after only twelve shots in a row, which is too much.

Chen Zhi looked at Zhang's Kunzhong, whose face was so gloomy that it was about to rain, and said with a wry smile: "The two of you now know why I asked you to come for verification." The two most important parts, the flare plate and the barrel of the gun, made in the ordnance manufacturing office, were obviously inferior to the dragon sparrow musket, and were really useless. ”

Zhang Ba was stunned for a long time and asked Chen Zhi, "How can this be?" ”

Chen Zhi smiled bitterly: "I also want to know, but it's a pity ......"

Although Chen Zhi is an ordnance supervisor, he does not know how to manufacture ordnance, he is only responsible for leadership and always grasps the work. The real power of the Ordnance Manufacturing Department is the young eunuch Guo Chenggui, who is a generation of masters and the real technical director.

Zhang Xiong suddenly said: "Although this single-shot musket is powerful, the rate of fire is not as good as it, the real good gun has to be the Lianzhu musket, how is this gun made?" ”

The chief craftsman shook his head into a rattle: "This kind of beaded musket can't be made, and it can't be made anyway......"

Zhang Xiong was furious: "Then how did the Dragon Sparrow Army build?" Haven't you seen the real thing with your own eyes, and even disassembled and looked at the drawings? None of this? ”

The expression on the chief craftsman's face was really indescribable, he just shook his head, and his white hair was like a mess.

Zhang Xiong suddenly changed color, raised his hand and was about to punch him, his wrist tightened, but he was grabbed by a person, and when he turned around, he saw that it was Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi sighed: "Don't be angry, the General can't be angry, this kind of gun, the Ordnance Department really can't make it, not even the gun case, let alone the parts and bullets." Don't talk about beating him, even if you kill him, it's useless. ”

Zhang Xiong said solemnly: "Then kill it, and then replace it with what can be made." ”

Chen Zhi sighed: "There are 321 people in the Ordnance Department, from craftsmen to apprentices, and no one can build them for more than a month. ”

Zhang Xiong was speechless now.

At this time, I heard Zhang Ba say: "It seems that the master of Wan'an Military City can only be transferred." ”

"Also, even if the master of the Wan'an Army can make all kinds of guns, the speed of two muskets a day is too slow, so I have to let the commander give an order to let half of the muskets of the Longque Army be handed over to the Changhua Army." Zhang Xiong pulled Zhang Ba out of the door directly and went straight to the Privy Council.

Chen Zhi looked at the back of the second general and shook his head, although he thought it was inappropriate, but he was soft-spoken, and it was useless to say it, so he could only sigh and wonder: "Why is the quality of the Dragon Bird Musket so good?" Why was the Dragonbird Army able to make a repeater gun, but the armory department couldn't even make a gun shell? Why? Why ...... search for "CM" or enter the URL:.