Feng Zhenglun and Ma Liangyu are also having a troublesome time these days.

When I used to have nothing to do, I sighed all day long and worried about my livelihood.

Now my livelihood is not worried, but I am worried again.

What they do every day is to strike iron, which is the job of a blacksmith, but what they build, except for a few iron parts that the Shen family needs, all the time is to burn the iron red, and then make it into a thin iron sheet.

Not casting guns is too embarrassing for two experienced blacksmiths who cast guns and firearms.

Every day, he guards a group of apprentices to build iron sheets, and uses almost strict requirements to make the apprentices and his subordinates make the iron sheets consistent, but they also have a troublesome time.

"Old Ma, you said, if you want to rebuild the warship and expand the people's strength, why don't you cast guns?" Listening to the sound of the tinkling hammer hitting the iron, Feng Zhenglun wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked Ma Yuliang beside him with a bitter face.

"We shouldn't be asking about these things. Just do what your adults tell you to do. Unless, you are willing to go back to the days when you had a meal and didn't have a meal before. Ma Yuliang said with a bitter face.

Casting guns and firearms not only shows their exquisite skills, but also allows them to get more money and food.

Just building an iron sheet is an insult and a waste of their technical experience.

"Am I not in a hurry? There are ships without supporting artillery, these ships ......" Feng Zhenglun knew what Shen Yue wanted these ships to do.

There are ships without guns, and at sea, they can only be robbed.

If Shen Yue was robbed, it would naturally not be good for them.

"Your Excellency!" Without waiting for Feng Zhenglun to finish speaking, Ma Yuliang looked at the figure at the door of the workshop and shouted in surprise.

Shen Yue: This is the first time to come to the blacksmith workshop after the start of construction.

The weather was hot, and several furnaces in the workshop were burning coal, and the iron pieces of various sizes were burned red, and they were clamped out with iron tongs and put into the iron models, while the shirtless blacksmith apprentices picked up huge hammers, raised them high, and then smashed them heavily on the red-hot iron blocks in the middle of the concave iron molds, and the sparks splashed everywhere, and the thick iron pieces began to gradually extend in all directions......

Rao is surrounded by no walls, from time to time there is a wind blowing in, and in the blacksmith's workshop, there is also a heat wave.

The shirtless men who beat the iron sweated like rain.

Looking at such a primitive processing method, Shen Yue could only sigh helplessly.

It's not easy to produce an iron sheet.

"My lord, why are you here? It's too hot here......" Seeing Shen Yue coming in, Feng Zhenglun and Ma Liangyu hurriedly greeted him.

In the workshop, the high temperature of the charcoal stove distorted the air, Rao is used to it, and he still feels that the heat is unbearable, let alone a boy like Shen Yue.

"How's it going? Are there any difficulties? Shen Yue didn't take a few steps inside, but he felt the heat wave coming to his face, and immediately retreated, standing in the shade next to him and asking the two of them.

The two looked at each other, not knowing what Shen Yue was asking.

"My lord, the construction of thin iron sheets can be easily completed by apprentices, and the current supply of raw materials and manpower are limiting the output." Feng Zhenglun said helplessly. "So far, the iron sheets needed for the 2,000-material ship have not been built."

Feng Zhenglun still hopes to cast guns.

Creating a thin iron sheet can indeed be easily completed by apprentices.

"If we want to speed up, we need to increase manpower and stabilize the supply of billets and coal. The amount of iron and coal transported by Guanhaiwei is too small......" Ma Yuliang also said.

Shen Yue nodded, "I will solve these things as soon as possible." I have come to you today to discuss important matters. I don't know if the two of you have experience in casting guns? ”

The two glanced at each other, and both saw a surprise in each other's eyes.

Feng Zhenglun asked with a smile on his face, "Your Excellency, are you going to cast a cannon?" More than half of the cannons used in Guanhaiwei Town were forged by Longshan! ”

"I wonder what kind of cannon you want to cast?" Ma Yuliang asked cautiously.

If Shen Yue wanted to cast the Hongyi cannon, they really couldn't do it.

Longshan was cast so before, mainly thousands of catties of Franc machine guns and fire guns.

"Hongyi Cannon! And it is also improved, with a higher rate of fire, a longer range, and a more powerful Hongyi cannon! Shen Yue said categorically.

The smile on Feng Zhenglun's face suddenly froze.

Even Ma Yuliang was occupied by a helpless wry smile on his face.

"What? Questions? Shen Yue was surprised, "Hongyi cannon, it shouldn't be difficult to cast!" ”

"My lord, the Hongyi cannon, the entire Ming Dynasty, there are not many blacksmiths who can cast it. What's more, the casting cost is too high, and it needs to be cast with copper...... "Ma Yuliang explained. "At most, Longshan has only cast a thousand catties of Furlong cannons."

A Hongyi cannon weighs more than 3,000 catties.

All are cast in copper.

What is Copper?

Although the silver of the Ming Dynasty was widely circulated, ordinary people still used copper coins.

How many craftsmen have the opportunity to cast a bronze cannon?

There is copper, which can be used to mint money......

"What about casting the Hongyi cannon out of iron?" Shen Yue frowned and asked.

He also knew that copper was more malleable, and the cast cannon was not easy to blow up, and the service life was longer.

However, the cost of the copper cannon is too high, and it is completely made of money.

"The iron is too brittle, and when casting, the heat dissipation is uneven, and there will be many flaws in it, and if you can't fire a few shots, it will explode. The Hongyi cannon and the general's cannon are both cast in copper, and the thousand-pound long cannon is cast in iron......" Feng Zhenglun explained to Shen Yue.

In their opinion, Shen Yue didn't understand any of this.

As soon as the cannon goes off, there are ten thousand taels of gold, this is not a joke.

"In addition, if you cast a cannon with iron, the iron is too hard to process the breech."

"Is there a way to make the Jack Furlong cannon have a longer range and be more powerful?" Shen Yue had already made up his mind in his heart, but he didn't say it first, but hoped to get a surprise from the two of them.

After all, the steel cannon he wanted to cast, the requirements were too high, and there were many problems to be solved.

"Unless it is cast in copper, the inside of the barrel is smoother, which can effectively increase the range and power." Ma Yuliang said.

The inner hole of the barrel is processed to make the air tightness of the barrel better.

The better the airtightness, the more powerful the artillery.

"The iron cannon can't make the inner hole?" Shen Yue asked.

It stands to reason that there should be a way to process the inside of the barrel.

"My lord, all iron cannons, after they are cast, cannot be machined into the breech. When casting, it is all grasped by craftsmen, and then the barrel is tested with projectiles, which can be easily rolled from the muzzle into the bottom of the barrel before they can be qualified and ready for use......"

The biggest reason why large open fire weapons are widely used, but they have not replaced cold weapons, is that the quality is too poor.

As soon as Shen Yue heard this, he understood why the Daming firearms developed so rapidly, and in the end, he still had to rely on cold weapons to solve the battle.

In such a cannon production, the barrel of the cannon has not been processed, and it is what it looks like, and it is naturally impossible to use every one of the cast.

In order to perform machining, it is necessary not only to make materials that are harder than steel, but also to produce machining equipment.

Is there really no way?

Shen Yue, who was born in a military industrial unit, doesn't believe it!