With the completion of the second and third phase of the lottery ticket sales work,Li Yue not only got together the 200,000 coins as scheduled,And the profit is still 50,000 yuan.

Zhu Chongli sent Li Eun to Xiao Kee Tavern in a very low-key manner and read out the edict granting the lottery franchise to Xiao An.

After finishing the New Year's coin, Li Yue didn't have time to take a breath, and the emperor sent him a new job-the right to judge the weapons supervisor.

The day after receiving the appointment, Li Yue arrived at the ordnance supervisor early in the morning. As a result, it was found that except for himself, the newly appointed chief officer, the other officials at all levels of the ordnance superintendent were basically vacant. There was only one left, and the Eighth Rank Department of the Firearms Department ordered Feng Chaozong to watch the scene.

Since the rejuvenation of the country and the negotiation of peace, although Daliang is peaceful, it can be regarded as 20 years without war. The days of peace have passed for a long time, and even the country's highest weapons research and development institution has become an ornament.

Li Yue found a secluded mansion in the Ordnance Prison, with Feng Chaozong by his side.

"Sit down." Li Yue was not used to letting these craftsmen, who were twice his age, stand in front of him, and waved his hand to let the officials move the benches and let these craftsmen sit down and talk.

But those craftsmen who had no status in society dared to sit down in front of a court official, and they all stood there cautiously, not daring to speak or move, until Li Yue reluctantly sat down after repeated requests, but they were all gently next to the bench, ready to stand up at any time.

Li Yue also saw the nervousness of these craftsmen, so he said softly: "You don't need to panic, don't be afraid, I brought you here today, I just want to ask you a few questions, I hope you can answer truthfully." ”

"My lord, please ask, the grass people will answer truthfully." One of the oldest craftsmen replied.

Li Yue asked: "Let me ask you, how much of the gunpowder formula you use to make firearms, and how many raw materials are used in the formula?" ”

"Back to adults, the villains make gunpowder with saltpeter, sulfur and carbon." The oldest old craftsman replied: "It is usually made by mixing one catty of carbon and one catty of sulfur and two catties of saltpeter into powder, but the three must not be mixed and ground together, otherwise it will go away or explode." Speaking of this, the old craftsman found that Li Yue had a kind attitude, and he couldn't help but be a little bolder, "My lord, the grass people are trying to report this matter to Lord Feng to see if they can change all the gunpowder to such a formula in the future." ”

"Carbon-sulfur-niper-two? Isn't it already very close to the proportions of modern black powder! It seems that there are still capable people in this beam. Li Yue praised in his heart, although he was born as a liberal arts student, but because of his interest, Li Yue had worked hard to study the gunpowder formula, and he had a clear understanding of the gunpowder formula. Li Yue ordered the general saying: "There is no need to change it like this, just change the gunpowder formula to one catty of charcoal, one and a half catties of sulfur and seven and a half catties of saltpeter, and the gunpowder will be prepared like this in the future." ”

"A pound of charcoal and a pound and a half of sulfur? Plus seven and a half pounds of saltpeter? Is there too much saltpeter? The craftsmen were in an uproar, and the old craftsman timidly asked Li Yue: "My lord, the price of saltpeter is high and the quantity is small, is the cost of such a preparation too high?" ”

"Don't care about the cost, as long as you prepare gunpowder according to this recipe, how much will you cost!" Li Yue is not worried about the lack of money at all now, his father-in-law has obtained the franchise of the Royal Lottery, and it is not difficult to get some saltpeter.

The craftsmen saw that Li Yue was not afraid of spending money, and they didn't need to pay for the silver, so they didn't say anything, and secretly wrote down the gunpowder formula that Li Yue said.

Li Yue took out a rough sketch of the grenade he had just drawn, and said to the craftsmen: "Look at this picture, the iron ball on the top is made of iron, and it is filled with a pound of gunpowder, which must be the formula of gunpowder I said, and the thin tube below can be made of wood or bamboo, and the middle is equipped with a lead, and the lead must be able to burn dozens of times before igniting the gunpowder, can you make such a weapon for me in one night?" ”

"My lord, can I ask the grass folk to take a look at this picture?" The old craftsman was too far away to see clearly, and asked Li Yue to ask for a detailed look at the sketch.

Li Yue was not stingy, and personally handed the sketch to Na Feng Chao, and introduced it to the craftsmen who came up: "This thick iron pipe must not be too thick, but it must be waterproof and leak-proof, and the lead must be able to burn for a long time, otherwise it will explode in your hand." ”

The craftsmen first discussed with each other, and finally the old craftsman reported back to Li Yue: "My lord, this thing is not difficult to make, if the tools and materials are very sufficient, it will definitely be able to be made tonight." ”

"Really? That's great! Li Yue was overjoyed and promised casually: "As long as you can make such a weapon today, I will reward you with fifty times." ”

"Fifty?" Twenty craftsmen, large and small, screamed together, all stunned, barely believing their ears.

Li Yue mistakenly thought that he was giving too little, and said, "What? Too little? As long as you can make this weapon, I'll give you a hundred times! ”

Feng Chaozong, who was also in the house, almost fainted when he heard this, and screamed: "My court, Lord Lang!" It's already a lot! They only receive half a piece of money a month for a craftsman, and your annual income is only 100 times! ”

Only then did Li Yue remember that this was the pillar who despised manual labor, not the later generations when science and technology were the primary productive forces, and these skilled workers whom he respected very much were untouchables with no status in the eyes of others.

"Thank you, Childe, the grass people are going to make this weapon." Twenty or so craftsmen cheered together and rushed out of the house to make firearms.

The old craftsman who found the new formula of gunpowder did not go out of the account with his companions, but looked at Li Yue timidly, looking like he wanted to speak and stopped, Li Yue saw that he wanted to speak, so he beckoned to him: "Do you have anything to say?" ”

"My lord, the grass people dare to ask the adult, is the weapon drawn by the adult using fire to ignite the fuse?" The old craftsman whispered.

Li Yue said: "Of course, it is to use fire to ignite the fuse, so how can you ignite the gunpowder?" ”

"But on the battlefield, isn't it too troublesome to hold that kind of weapon in one hand and tinder in the other?" The old craftsman plucked up his courage and said.

Li Yue asked the old craftsman: "Do you have any other way to light the fuse?" ”

"Yes." The old craftsman's words made Li Yue very excited.

Li Yue still pretended to be calm and asked, "What can you do?" Tell me about it, as long as you have a way to improve this weapon, I will not treat you badly. ”

"My lord, the grass people's method is to add copper wire and glass powder." The old craftsman boldly said: "The price of this glass is very high, and it will increase the cost." ”

"Listening to you say that, it should be the violent friction between copper and glass powder that produced sparks, igniting the gunpowder next to it?" Li Yue asked tentatively.

The old craftsman nodded again and again, "Your Excellency is wise! In a guess, the grass people once inadvertently found that the copper in the glass powder will emit sparks when pulled quickly, so they also made a special test, put a small amount of gunpowder and glass powder in a small wooden box, and then put a curled copper wire in the glass powder, through the small hole at the bottom of the small wooden box, as long as the copper wire is pulled out quickly, the gunpowder in the glass powder will be ignited. It's just that although the grass people know this truth, they don't know what the use of this discovery is, and it is not until today that the grass people see the adult's new weapon, and they remember that this discovery can be used for the adult's new weapon. ”

"Great!" Li Yue finally couldn't pretend anymore, slapped the table, stood up and grabbed the old craftsman and shouted: "As long as the weapon you make can ignite the fuse without ignition, I will definitely ask Your Majesty for a reward for you!" ”

"My lord, the glass is too expensive, and the villain doesn't have any glass in his hand." The old craftsman replied in embarrassment.

Li Yue said to the old craftsman: "Then go buy it." is so big in Lin'an City, can there be no glass cup. ”

Feng Chaozong said: "Master Li, there are two officials under the glass cup, which should be enough for him." ”

Wang Lei was also happy to save this sum, and asked Feng Chaozong to take the old craftsman to Feng Chaozong's house to get the glass cup.