Although the invention of the assault rifle marked the birth of the first tubular firearm, its symbolism was much greater than practical. First of all, because of the ratio of gunpowder, its power is quite limited, and it can only be used to incinerate the enemy's equipment, grain and grass. Secondly, the barrel is made of bamboo, which is very fragile, especially after the gunpowder is burned, it can be broken if it falls to the ground, and as for the explosion of the chamber, it is commonplace. Finally, at this time, the assault guns in the Song army had no precedent for firing projectiles. Compared with the tubular firearms of later generations, it can only be a concept product. Therefore, Xu Wei wanted to develop a tubular firearm, and the first step was to replace the bamboo tubes with metal.

The Shaanxi Huajing Strategy Pacification Division belongs to the capital of the courtyard, which is located in the northwest corner of Dingrong City. It was the home of a large family in the city, and the family was killed during the occupation of the city by the white-fronted beasts. Xu Wei recovered Dingrong, and the thieves set fire to the city before they fled, and the place was also burned beyond recognition. At the beginning of the establishment of the Duzuo Academy, the Zhimen Yamen gathered masons and built two rows of new houses, one for the office and accommodation of the officials of the Duzuo Academy, and the other for the workshop. It also opened up a place for the test equipment of the hospital. In ancient times, it was good, the land was vast and sparsely populated, and there was basically no need to requisition land or forced demolition.

Although Xu Wei ordered the capital institute to develop new firearms, in fact, only a few craftsmen who were proficient in the manufacture of firearms participated, and the others still cast knives and guns, and made bows and crossbows.

"The handsome man is here." In the foundry room, a craftsman whispered. The workshop was tall and empty, and several craftsmen were surrounding a smelting table, and the swarthy faces were illuminated by a roaring fire. The two of them, shirtless and showing their muscles, were struggling to pull the bellows to help the charcoal burn in the furnace.

Hearing this, the bellows pulled even harder, and the other craftsmen who were originally watching from the sidelines also hurriedly found some work to do in their hands. In the past, they used to see the main general once in a month or two in other provinces and states, but since they followed Xu Wei, if they couldn't see it for a few days, it would be a strange thing.

Xu Wei was wearing a Qingluo robe and a folded scarf on his head, if it weren't for the eye-piercing fairy flower belt around his waist, who would have believed that this was the Shaanxi Hua Jingluo appeasement? With a horsewhip in his hand, followed by Du Feihu and a few guards, he strode into the workshop. An overseer hurriedly stepped forward, hugged his fists and said, "Dashuai." ”

"Well, did you do what I told you the day before yesterday?" Xu Wei asked loudly.

The skin tightened, and he led the other party outside the workshop, only to see three utensils parked against the wall in the open space. The outside is a rectangular wooden frame, and the inside is full of sand, and it looks quite strong. When Xu Wei saw it, he immediately became interested, hung the horsewhip on his wrist, squatted down, carefully inspected the three molds, and then ordered: "Open." ”

Everything was swallowed secretly, and the marshal had repeatedly explained that this matter was very important and must be taken seriously. I don't dare to take it lightly, but the problem is, no one has ever cast this thing before, and I don't know if it is in line with the handsome's heart? Bite the nail and call the craftsman to remove the sand. As the mold was opened, the fine sand was gradually scraped away, revealing a black artifact in its original form. It is about two feet long, as thick as the mouth of a cup, and appears to have been cast from iron. When the two craftsmen took the thing out of the mold, Xu Wei was stunned and didn't see the shadow of the gun from it.

First of all, this thing is too rough to cast, so it doesn't feel smooth at all, and it's still awkward to touch. When I lifted the nozzle, I saw that the wall of the pipe was about a finger thick and hollow, leaving a small round hole in the body at the end of the tube. The most depressing thing is that this thing is as thick as before and after! Remember the ancient firearms I saw in the past, it seems that they are all thin in the front and thick in the back?

He was there to check, Du Feihu and a group of guards were around to watch, and no one knew what it was. A new blunt instrument? That's too heavy, isn't it? Looking at the appearance, there are fifty or sixty pounds to say the least! And it's only two feet long, how do you hold it in your hand?

Xu Wei got up and sighed, patted off the fine sand on his hands, and pointed to the other two molds and said, "Open them all." ”

Seeing him sigh, he was shocked, and hurriedly said, "Quick! Open on! "The contents of the other two molds are similar to the previous ones, but the length and thickness are different.

Xu Wei took the longest shot, estimated to be more than three feet, with an arm thick, and a heavy hand, with twenty or thirty pounds. The soldiers were relieved to see this corpse, and it looked like a blunt object. I saw that the big handsome looked his eyes into the mouth of the pipe for a while, then held his hands again, looked ahead, squinted one eye and looked, and then said: "Bring gunpowder and twisted wire." And the waste of your ironmaking, make small pieces, and bring some of them. ”

The soldiers looked at each other, what did the commander do?

After a while, the craftsman brought three things. The craftsmen in the workshop couldn't suppress their curiosity, and they all gathered around here. But seeing Xu Wei scoop up a handful of medicinal powder with a wooden spoon and fill it into the iron pipe, he gently poked it with a wooden stick a few times, and repeated it several times before adding iron filings and iron sheets, and after stabbing a few more times, he pressed the twisted wire into the round hole at the end of the iron pipe, and added gunpowder to plug it. Then say something that shocked everyone: "Make a fire." ”

Du Feihu was the first to shout: "Don't be handsome!" How can you hold this object in your hand if it is filled with gunpowder? ”

These words reminded Xu Wei that the iron control technology of the Song Dynasty did not know how, what if the quality was not up to par? This is not the gunpowder that used to be made with a clear oil and arsenic formula, and it is not small. At that moment, he ordered two benches to be fetched, and they were set up on them, with the end of the bench against the wall. As soon as the fire was lit, it suddenly occurred to me, how can this air cannon know the power range? As soon as he thought of this, he looked left and right, and saw a table outside the workshop where the craftsmen drank tea during their break, so he asked people to carry it over.

"Dashuai, where is it?" At this time, my face turned white with fright, not to mention how well my things are done, Xu Jingluo stood there with the fire, in case something went wrong when he got up later, so that the big handsome man would have a good time, and he would be finished.

Xu Wei secretly thought to himself, generally in the field, when the enemy cavalry rushed to a distance of thirty paces, the infantry and archers had to prepare for hand-to-hand combat. If it does not reach a distance of thirty paces, then the firearm has no meaning to exist. Then he said, "Straight ahead, thirty steps." ”

The craftsmen put down the table as they said, the table was facing the thing, and one by one they left the front as if they were fleeing for their lives, Xu Wei was just about to stretch out the fire, and the matter finally turned his heart sideways, and said loudly: "Big, handsome!" It's still a lowly position, come on! ”

Xu Wei raised his hand to stop the matter, because he suddenly remembered that when he was a child, he used toothpaste skin to flatten and wrap it into a tube, put matches in it, and then plug the muzzle with paper, and then use the fire to bake underneath. When fired, because it was not fixed, the toothpaste leather cannon often scurried. Thinking of this, he waved his hand and said, "Go to the back!" ”