High-quality iron was of great significance to the Doge's Palace, and in addition to making fire armor, it was also possible to make iron cannons.

Due to the poor quality of ironmaking in the Ming Dynasty, the cannon body made of iron was brittle and easy to blow up and bor, so many guns were cast in copper. Copper is heavier than iron, so the cannons of this era are thousands of pounds at every turn, and it is very inconvenient to move.

If there is a good iron material, the problem of explosion and boring is solved, and the iron cannon is cast to be much lighter than the copper cannon in weight, and it is more convenient to carry it with the army.

Therefore, Chen Yue ordered Pan Xuezhong, the head of the artillery division, to use the Western-style blast furnace erected by Anthony to try to refine higher quality iron, in order to make better cannons.

In the past few months, with the continuous procurement of copper and iron materials, Pan Xuezhong presided over the smooth progress of the artillery work, which has caused more than 10 Hongyi cannons, more than 20 Fulang machine artillery, and more than 100 tiger squat cannons.

According to the plan of the General Staff Department, in the future, each hundred-man team in the Pingnan Army will carry two Tiger squat guns and five Franc machine guns for each outpost, so as to enhance the army's firepower. To this end, Chen Yue instructed the Combat Training Department to set up an artillery battalion to train artillery fighters.

According to Chen Yue's instructions, the Ordnance Department modeled after Anthony's blast furnace and set up several blast furnaces by the stream, and the refined iron purchased from all over the country had to be returned to the furnace for re-smelting, so as to improve the performance of the iron.

While the entire Ordnance Division was busy with tense operations, Liu San and Anthony's match was still going on.

Constantly making the barrel day and night, Liu San saw that the second barrel was about to take shape, and Qiu Ba, who was sent to spy on the enemy, reported that the red-haired ghost Anthony did not even make a barrel, and Liu San's heart suddenly calmed down.

"What kind of drill barrel, this red-haired ghost is a liar, but it's a pity that Master Hou was deceived in his lifetime." Liu San said with a grin.

"Brothers, work hard, try to make three barrels per group, and when you win the game, I'll invite everyone to drink!" Liu San said generously.

"Thank you, third brother!" The brothers cheered. The main force of the gunsmiths of the Fire Gun Division was Liu San's brother who was brought out of Beijing, and Liu San's prestige was the highest. For this competition, everyone is also bound to win, after all, everyone occupies the right time and place, and Anthony is just an outsider after all.

"Qiu Ba, you continue to find out the news of the red-haired ghost." Liu San commanded.

"Yes, third brother." Qiu Ba agreed, he was not among the people in the competition, and he didn't need to make the barrel.

High up in the stream, Anthony was directing the blacksmith assigned to him.

The friction between the diamond and the iron rod causes sparks, which are metal debris produced during drilling. A large amount of water vapor evaporates, permeating the sky.

The water level of the stream, which was blocked by the embankment, fell from a high place, driving the waterwheel to rotate, and the power was transmitted from the shaft of the waterwheel, and the lathe was driven by the wooden axles.

The machine, bought from the Portuguese Arsenal in Macau, was actually a deep-hole drilling machine with a straight, slender drill bit made of fine iron and a head set with diamond diamonds, five feet long.

The long drill section is fixed to the machine and rotates rapidly under the drive of the axle. The iron rod used to make the barrel is clamped on the other side of the machine, opposite to the drill bit. Relying on manual pushing, the high-speed rotating drill bit is in contact with the iron rod, and holes are drilled in the iron rod.

In order to cool down and eliminate the resistance of drilling, there is a special bamboo pipe to attract stream water, which is continuously poured on the iron rod from above, and the high temperature makes the water vaporize rapidly, so that the water vapor above is transpiran.

Drilling the barrel is a technical job, from the output of the power of the waterwheel, the connection between the wooden axles, the speed of drilling, etc., the slightest carelessness will drill the barrel.

And this machine tool has just been placed without debugging, and there are many problems in the drilling.

Over the course of three days, Anthony drilled more than a dozen barrels to solve the problems that arose. At this time, there were only eight days left until the end of the game.

Looking at the other gun tube in his hand, Liu San had a smile on his face. The gun tube is straight, there is a small bell at the port, and the weld is tightly sealed, which is a good gun pipe at a glance, as long as it is equipped with parts such as a wooden handle firing pin trigger, it is a good gun.

In twenty-two days, two guns were made, which is already Liu San's fastest record! In the past, it would take him half a month to play a gun.

Under Liu San's supervision, the other two groups of guns are also close to completion. The team he brought had already played six guns, and there were still eight days left, so Liu San made a decision to reorganize the three teams into two groups, each group was divided into two groups, and worked day and night to catch up with the work, so that two should still be able to be made before the end of the time.

A group of three people, a master with two apprentices, half a month to make a gun, this is the speed of firecracker production in this era!

"Third brother, third brother," Qiu Ba panted and ran in again, "That red-haired ghost made a pipe!" ”

"Didn't you say yesterday that he was scrapped, why did he make it today?" Liu San frowned, how could it be so fast!

"I looked carefully, the red-haired ghost was born out of the iron rod, and it took half a day to drill out of one." Qiu Ba chattered, not noticing that Liu San's face had become gloomy.

"Can the red-haired ghost's gun pipe work this time?" Liu San asked.

"It should be able to be used, according to Master Chen, the secretary of the Ministry of War, the quality of the gun pipe this time is very good." Qiu Badao.

How is it possible to make one in half a day? Liu San's heart was messy.

He took two apprentices, and it took him more than ten days to make a gun pipe, and others could make one in half a day, which was unacceptable to him.

There are still seven days left in the game, and I am making two at most, and the total number of guns I make is eight, and at this rate, the red-haired ghost can play more than ten more, won't I have to lose this game?

"How good can it be to make a gun pipe in half a day? Maybe you won't even be able to beat a rabbit! Liu San gritted his teeth and said.

"The third brother is right, what good pipe can be made in half a day." The other blacksmiths also agreed, they were all craftsmen for generations, and naturally knew that the quality of the fire hammer was directly proportional to the effort taken to make it. Before joining the Xishan Army, in order to catch up with the task of making a gun issued by the Ministry of War, sometimes they could make a gun pipe in three or four days, but that kind of gun had no quality at all, and no soldiers were willing to use it when they were equipped in the army.

"Yes, that's it, the red-haired ghost is shoddy for the competition, as long as he tests it, he will be exposed in his true form." The blacksmiths shouted.