At the entrance of the left guard, there was a surge of people.

"What we're going to discuss today is firearms! While all the adults and gentlemen are here, the matter of the left guard and the whole army will also be discussed! Zhu Pingjin didn't say a word of nonsense, and threw out today's topic at the beginning.

"The essence of my Chinese ordnance is only in firearms! Grandpa Tai founded the country and built it, that is, a large cast firearm; King Jingjiang (Note 1) had 3,000 weak soldiers defending Hongdu (now Nanchang), breaking Chen Youliang's army of 600,000 troops, and firearms played a great role; As for the future when Qi Gong swept away the Japanese invaders, firearms also contributed a lot. At present, the Tartars are rampant and thieves, and those who are not skilled in firearms cannot resist the enemy.

This prince heard that in March, Hong Chengchou supervised Xuanda and the eight general soldiers of Liaodong had set out from Ningyuan to aid Jin. Now Zu Dashou is surrounded in Jinzhou, and Huang Taiji is bombarding the city day and night with cannons. When the city fell and the wall was broken, I am afraid it was the day Jinzhou fell. Therefore, the benefits of firearms are not unique to my Ming Dynasty!

Chengdu left guard, self-dedicated king to seal the country of Shu, never warned! The soldiers are unfavorable, the armor is not solid, the generals rebel, and the soldiers are discouraged! ”

Speaking of which, Zhu Pingjin not only had a strong voice, but also used a hand knife to chop down. Frightened, the civil and military forces listening to the training below were silent, and even Song Zhenzong, an optimist, put away his smile.

"The left guard must be completely rectified immediately! Since the prince of the world manages the affairs of the government according to the laws of the ancestors, except for the commander of the guard and the envoy who asks the court to appoint him, the rest of the officers should be held by the prince of the world to be promoted. Dethroned first, and then reported to the court for posthumous recognition! There are those who are slack and lazy and defy the law, and this son will definitely be severely punished! Yu Yishi, did you bring the bird gun you brought? ”

"The son of the world has a fate, how dare the last general disobey it?" Dressed in a three-grade military uniform, the commander who stood in front of the military attache team bowed to Yu Ruzhen.

Yu Ruzhen is a thin old man in his fifties with a sparse gray goatee. He has the position of commanding affairs, his grandfather was the commander of the palm print of the left guard, and his father was the commander in charge of military training. He joined the army when he was young, and later fell seriously ill and almost died. After recovering, he changed to the road of the imperial examination, but unfortunately the scientific field was unfavorable for many years, and he was not used to the things in Weili, so he hid in his house outside the city and wrote a book and said, hoping to leave a name in history. In short, he is an old otaku who only gets paid and doesn't go to work. This time, Zhu Pingjin cleaned the left guard, and he was a blessing in disguise, but he became the palm print of the left guard.

A slender bird gun was presented to Zhu Pingjian.

The tube is slender and octagonal, with a symphony of yellow-black rust spots and bright spots rubbed by grinding stones.

The bed is almost level with the mouth of the gun, and there is a wooden strip underneath. Time has eroded, and the bed has decayed. With a slight push on the nail, a small piece was snapped off. The end of the bed is bent downwards to form a hand-held grip, without the butt that Zhu Pingjin is accustomed to shouldering.

The brass machine is in the shape of a lever, attached to the right side of the bed, and is integrated with the dragon head that holds the fire rope, and rotates through a pin. Pull the gun, the faucet is pressed down in reverse, and the faucet takes the fire rope to ignite the gunpowder in the powder pool in front of the gun. There is no spring attached to the machine, so when you release your fingers, the machine does not automatically reply. You have to press down with your thumb to get the faucet up. The powder pool is a miniature iron spoon that is fixed and welded to the right side of the barrel. The gun tube has a small hole connected to the powder pool, which allows the ignition source in the powder pool to ignite the propellant in the gun tube.

A small triangular iron tip is also welded above the front and rear ends of the gun, which is the door and crosshair.

"It's too primitive, it's worse than a children's toy!" Zhu Pingjin sighed in his heart. It can be seen that this is still the best bird gun of the left guard, and it has been urgently polished and repaired before presentation.

"Yu Yishi, who explained the method of using this bird gun for this son?" Zhu Pingjin was humble first. Joke, he would not know about the use of this primitive weapon?

"The last general is willing to speak!" After Yu Ruzhen, a middle-aged uncle stood up. His name is Yin Jialin, the old Qianhu of the left guard, and the original boss of the Song brothers, so the Song brothers are willing to be behind when they stand on duty.

Yin Jialin took the bird gun and explained in detail how to hold the gun. Zhu Pingjin was actually not interested in these, he was concerned about the actual equipment and use of firearms in the army.

"Yu Yishi, how many birds are available in this guard? How many artillery pieces are there? ”

Yu Ruzhen's face was ashamed: "The last general has just taken over the left guard. The armor is still being counted, and it has not yet been ......."

Yin Jialin stood up again, hugged his fists and reported: "This guard is equipped with a total of seven bird guns, and there are only three bird guns that can be used. The one in the hands of the prince is the best one, and the other two are in the Lichun Courtyard at the east gate. The remaining four are already rusted, and it is uncertain whether they can be repaired. As for the artillery, there are none of the guards. ”

"Not a single cannon? Not even a tiger squat cannon? Zhu Pingjin asked with wide eyes. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the bird gun quietly slipped off Zhu Pingjin's leg and fell to the ground.

"I heard my grandfather say that during the Jiajing period, this guard seems to have had a tiger squat cannon. But then I don't know where it went, maybe I don't know if it melted. Yu Ruzhen replied.

A sullen breath accumulated in Zhu Pingjian's heart, but he endured it and swallowed it.

He shook his head and said: "Don't talk about it, just talk about the thief, I don't know when I will kill back to Sichuan!" The left guard armament was so embarrassed, but it was a big surprise to this son. The same is true for other ordnance! ”

At this time, Zhu Pingjin suddenly saw Song Zhenzong, so he directly named him: "Song Zhenzong, how is the situation when you re-elect new soldiers in Weizhong?" ”

Song Zhenzong stood up and said: "The last general was ordered to select troops, but those dog-day Qiu Ba are avoiding the general!" The last general has recruited for more than ten days, but only less than 100 people have been recruited! When Brother Shu distributed the silver, the turtle sons' Qiu Ba all came out of the ground, and their hands stretched out one by one......"

Song Zhenzong was full of foul words, and sneering laughter sounded around him. Let him speak out again, I don't know what else that dog's mouth will spit out.

Zhu Pingjin couldn't listen to it anymore, and stopped Song Zhenzong in time: "Qiu Ba? You're not Qiu Ba? The escort sergeant is unwilling to join the army, and the good strategy must not be in place! ”

Zhu Pingjin criticized and helped in public, but this guy was not convinced at all: "The last general has truthfully preached the recruitment policy of the caravan many times according to your will!" But those hills ...... The sergeant is not interested at all! The last general swore to the eight generations of his ancestors that there would never be the slightest embezzlement or concealment! ”

It seems that there is still something wrong with the policy. Zhu Pingjin was congested for a while, and he didn't think of the root of the problem. He made a sloppy eye and tried to deal with the past: "Of course General Song can be trusted. The stakes are high, and we'll discuss it later. Now let's talk about firearms! ”

"The last general is about to report it!" Song Zhenzong jumped out again, it seems that he is not happy. In Bifeng Gorge, Zhu Pingjin talked to them about firecrackers, and remembered that Song Zhenzong was one of the staunch opponents of arming firearms.

"Speak!" Zhu Pingjin looked uncertain.

Grandpa Qi said that firearms are grouped in bureaus. Firearms have three flags in one game, three teams in one flag, and twelve people in one team. In this way, there are 112 firecrackers in one round. Sword, shield, spear and spear are also a game. There are four rounds in total, half for the killer bureau and half for the firearms bureau. ”

This is the establishment adopted by Qi Jiguang when he was transferred to Jizhen to serve as prime minister of the four towns of Ji, Chang, Liao, and Bao, which can better meet the needs of fighting with more firearms and large corps, and the specific content is recorded in his "Actual Record of Military Training."

"Grandpa Qi also said that the bird can go up to 100 steps, and no matter how far it goes, it can't break the armor. The last general also tried the fire gun in the Qin army, but I don't know why, the head is completely lost seventy steps away, and the armor cannot be broken thirty steps away! The fire rope is always wrapped around the scale armor, so I don't get upset. The wind is strong in our north, and when the wind comes, all the gunpowder in the medicine pool is blown away. Pour the powder once and blow it once; Pour it again, and it will be blown away again......"

Not only did this guy speak, but he also danced and performed, causing even more laughter around him. It seems that this guy is intent on messing up Zhu Pingjian's affairs.

I remember that at that time, in addition to Song Zhenzong, who was the most resolute in opposing the use of firearms, there were Shu, He and others. He Youyi also summed up the "six inconveniences" of a fire gun. If they jumped out together to help Song Zhenzong today, the meeting would not be so united.

"General Song, the existing firearms are inconvenient, and this son already knows it!" Zhu Pingjin decided to immediately terminate this guy's performance, and hurriedly interrupted him, "Therefore, this firearm needs to be improved, and we must make great efforts to improve it!" This is the original intention of today's son of the world to mobilize the people and convene you to discuss! It seems that the weight of this firearm is first and foremost in the firearm; The wind of my great fire weapon is reopened, and I must start with this firecracker! ”

Zhu Pingjin scanned the crowd, his eyes stayed on the faces of Song Zhenzong, Shu Guoping, He Youyi and other firecracker opponents for a moment, warned them slightly, and finally stopped his eyes on the group of craftsmen in the team, and a smile appeared on his face.

"All the craftsmen are experts in various workshops, so why don't you all come up and talk about the production and defects of this firecracker!"

Zhu Pingjin wanted to expand the fundamentals of participating in and discussing state affairs and seek support from the lower strata of the people. But the craftsman standing behind you looks at me, I look at you, but they just don't want to be the first to speak.

It seems that the field of engineering and technology should also be open to democratic suggestions! Zhu Pingjin decided to name him again: "The difficulty in making a fire gun is in making a gun pipe." Then please talk about it first! ”

There are several of them. The Gongzheng Office, the Left Guard, and the blacksmith shop in the city all have iron work. Wang Gong was glaring at the crowd and flicking his chin, and finally let a tall man with big shoulders and round waist and the color of fireworks all over his body come out of the crowd.

The tall man in his thirties immediately blushed as soon as he spoke: "The villain Feng Da, the craftsman of Weili iron." My second brother, Feng Er, is also a craftsman. ”

Feng Da pointed with his hand, and a tall man reluctantly came out of the crowd and saluted Zhu Pingjin together. The two of them are tall and thick, with similar eyebrows and looks, and they stand together like two generals.

"This pipe, the method passed down by my grandfather and my father, is like this......"

The two of you said a word, and Zhu Pingjin finally listened to a general idea.

It turns out that this pipe is made of fine fine iron burned red, wrapped in iron bones and beaten, and finally hammered and overlapped. A gun tube can only be beaten into a foot long, and a gun tube more than three feet long requires three gun tubes to be spliced. Because it is most likely to explode at the joints of the gun, it is necessary to wrap another layer of iron pipe around the gun. The two layers of iron pipes should fit tightly so that they can withstand the force together. The seams between the outer and inner iron pipes should also be staggered, so that even if the chamber is blown up, the damage to the shooter can be reduced. The two-layer gun tube is sleeved, and then the bore is drilled with a quadrangular iron cone, so that the bore is smooth and free of burrs, so this bore is the most laborious. After drilling the pipe, the thread was hinged out at the end of the pipe and plugged with bolts. Finally, a fire hole is drilled, and a gun pipe is completed. One person builds a pipe, which can be as long as one month and as short as twenty days.

It is a seamed iron pipe made of pure handmade original ecology, and it will take TMD for a month!

Zhu Pingjin lamented in his heart, but asked in his mouth: "Since this method is so difficult to govern, haven't you tried other methods?" ”

Other methods? The professional commentary of the two brothers had just entered the state, but was interrupted by Zhu Pingjin, and his brain immediately crashed, and it took a while for Feng Er to come back to his senses.

"A craft passed down from our ancestors...... Our brother has built a gun pipe in his life! The adults said that it would be enough to build one, so they only allocated 100 catties of iron. Lord Shizi, how can a hundred catties of iron be enough. This pipe is made of fine iron. One pound of refined iron requires ten pounds of iron to be punched. This pipe is also very easy to scrap, the seams are not tight, the inner and outer pipes are not tightly fitted, and they may explode, so our brothers beat seven, scrapped six, and finally only became one. Lord Shizi, the bird gun in your hand is the one you use. For this pipe, our brother lost at least 600 catties of iron. Six hundred pounds! ……”

It turns out that the children's toy has a sad story behind it that almost broke the family! For this seamed iron pipe, it took two people a month of work, and it cost 700 catties of iron! Even if the Feng brothers exaggerated the losses, the labor cost and material cost of this gun pipe are amazing, no wonder this fire gun is sold for more than a dozen taels of silver!

"In the future, we can't do it all over again! To innovate, we must tolerate failure. Innovators can't afford to lose! Zhu Pingjin said to Zheng Anmin and Yu Ruzhen seriously, "The old method has a lot of waste and poor quality, we must try our best to improve!" This son has vaguely heard of a few methods for making a pipe, so let's take a closer look. ”

When the craftsmen heard that Shizi supported the Feng brothers and might make up for them for the materials, their enthusiasm immediately came up, and they all pricked up their ears to listen carefully to the new method that Shizi said.

"One way is to burn an iron rod and then knock it down from top with another cold iron rod; Or squeeze a soft, red-hot iron rod out of the iron hole and through another iron rod......"

Zhu Pingjin is vague, because he doesn't know if this method of manufacturing seamless steel pipes using hot stamping technology can be realized in this era.

The craftsmen below began to gossip, but all of them were negative, and none of them agreed. Some people say that when a cold stick comes into contact with a hot stick, wouldn't it be the same as it would become soft? Some people say that it takes a lot of effort to squeeze a hot iron rod out of an iron hole? Some people say that even if the hole is knocked out, if it is crooked, it is not all scrapped?

It's hard! Zhu Pingjin sighed again. The road is long, and it is not a day or two to open up the wisdom of the people. If we don't make a single decision, it seems that it will not work.

Note 1: Refers to the first generation of Jingjiang King Zhu Wenzheng.