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In the room, more than a dozen artisan leaders gathered together, and on the ground, there were two bird guns and a few three-eyed guns. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Li Yuanqing waved his hand and asked the soldiers to pour a bowl of hot water for these craftsmen, and scanned everyone with a smile.

Most of these craftsmen were in their fifties and sixties, and the younger ones were also in their early forties, and they were all full of wind and frost, and they were a little nervous, and they didn't know what Li Yuanqing had called them over early in the morning.

The soldiers quickly poured hot water for them, and the craftsmen drank a little, and their bodies were warm, and they relaxed a little.

Li Yuanqing smiled, "You are all elites in various industries, and I recruited you today because I want to ask you for advice." Don't be nervous, let's discuss something. ”

Since coming to Guanglu Island, this is the first time that Li Yuanqing has summoned these craftsmen to interrogate, and seeing that their adults are very kind, these craftsmen have relaxed a little.

A craftsman in his early fifties respectfully said, "My lord, if you have something, just take orders, and we will do our best to serve you." ”

Li Yuanqing nodded, smiled and pointed to the bird and three-eyed guns on the ground, "You are all experts, I want to know, who will make bird guns and three-eyed guns?" ”

Artisan is a general term that encompasses all trades, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, stonemasons, and other aspects of life.

In the Ming Dynasty, the artisan household is a very low-level industry, only a little higher than the prostitution and slave status.

To some extent, they are also slaves, even more miserable than slaves, slaves meet good masters, there may be a chance to turn over, but artisans, their children can not study, destined to pass on the craftsmanship of their ancestors, from generation to generation.

At this time, hearing Li Yuanqing's question, several craftsmen soon stood up.

"Adults, when the villain was in the Acropolis of Quang Ninh, he specialized in making bird guns."

"Adults, the parents of the villains have always made birds for a living, and they also know a little."

Maybe they couldn't figure out Li Yuanqing's intentions, but these people didn't say anything, and they were very careful.

Li Yuanqing smiled, pointed to one of the older craftsmen and asked, "Old man, what's your name?" ”

The old man hurriedly said: "My lord, the old man's name is Yang Peifu, and he is already sixty this year. ”

"What about you?"

Another younger craftsman hurriedly said: "Adult, the little one is called Xu Liang, and there are five out of forty this year." ”

Li Yuanqing nodded, "Are you both proficient in the making of bird guns?" ”

Both nodded, very confident.

In China, craftsmanship has always been passed down from generation to generation, and it has been passed on from man to woman, which has many limitations on the basis of ensuring inheritance.

However, in this era, craftsmanship is the housekeeper of eating, there is not enough security, and others cannot be expected to pass on the craftsmanship.

"Then you two can talk about how to make a good bird's gun? I don't want this defective product, but a fine bird gun that can be fired continuously and without malfunction. Li Yuanqing stared at the two of them, and his tone was a little stern.

Both of them were a little panicked, and after a while, the old man Yang Peifu took the lead in relieving himself, and he respectfully saluted Li Yuanqing, and then said: "My lord, it is not complicated to build a bird's gun. However, the requirements for the process are high and the consumption is also very high. To make a bird's gun, it is wonderful to use six catties of fine iron. It's just that to refine these six catties of refined iron, it generally costs forty catties or more of crude iron, and at least 4 or 5 taels of silver. ”

Li Yuanqing nodded, in later generations, he also paid attention to some military forums, which had a lot of powers, and the data that Yang Peifu said was not much different from the research of the powers.

Seeing that Yang Peifu was in the limelight and was recognized by Li Yuanqing, next to him, Xu Liang hurriedly said: "My lord, the most important thing in making bird guns is to belong to the gun pipe." More than ninety percent of the bird guns that adults are worried about are blown up or cannot be launched, all of which are unqualified for the barrel system. ”

Seeing Li Yuanqing nodding, Xu Liang couldn't help but be overjoyed, he tried his best to calm down, and explained carefully: "My lord, there are many reasons why the gun pipe is unqualified. First, as Yang Laohan said, it is indeed a shortage of materials and a high cost. In addition, many craftsmen do not have this inheritance, and the lack of craftsmanship is also a big reason. A qualified gun tube not only requires uniform thickness and thickness, but also ensures that the inner wall is smooth and rounded, so that when the projectile is discharged, it will not be hindered in any way and prevent it from exploding. Another key point is the welding of the pipe. It is necessary to ensure sufficient precision and no defects to ensure the qualification of a gun tube. ”

Li Yuanqing nodded, what the two said was very professional, although Li Yuanqing didn't know too much, but he also understood that the reason why the guns ~ weapons of later generations were accurate and had a large impact was largely because of the progress of material technology and precision measurement technology.

At this time, the firing range of the Houjin Tartar archers was about sixty or seventy paces, that is, about sixty or seventy meters, and the shooting distance of the Ming army's bird guns was farther than that of the archers.

Qi Jiguang once said, 'The bird gun is the first weapon in battle.' ’

In the era of the Qi family's army, the effective range of the bird gun could reach 80 steps, and it could directly penetrate the armor of the Japanese and even kill them.

As for the three-eyed gun, not only is it clumsy and heavy, although its power is not bad, but its effective range is only twenty or thirty steps, and it has no actual combat value, so Li Yuanqing directly chose to ignore it.

In fact, the firearms technology of the Ming Dynasty has been quite developed, such as the famous 'Divine Fire Crow', made of fine bamboo or reeds, filled with gunpowder, two 'fires' on each side, the bottom of the fire is connected with the gunpowder inside the crow's body, when fired, the thrust of the fire can be pushed out of the crow 100 steps away, and when it lands, the internal gunpowder will ignite and explode, just like the rockets of later generations.

In the Qi family's army, there are also 'imitations' of the Divine Fire Flying Crow, that is, the arrow body of the bow and arrow is elongated, which can reach more than 5 feet, and the powder keg is tied to the arrow body, with a range of up to 300 steps.

It can be seen that in the era of the Qi family's army, although it is not said that its headquarters has been completely firearmed, it should at least be semi-firearmed.

With such an army guarding Jizhen, who will dare to jump out and make trouble?

The old slave has the ability to pretend to be a grandson, but he is higher than anyone else.

It's a pity.

Time has passed, Qi Jiguang's last blood has been lost on the bank of the Hunhe River, and the powerful Qi family army and Zhejiang Bing Group, like countless glorious armies, have fallen in the long river of history.

After the Qi family's army, although the Ming Dynasty also equipped the army with a large number of firearms, not everyone was as rigorous as Qi Jiguang.

How can such an army win a war?

Li Yuanqing came from later generations, and naturally deeply understood that the future war would be an era of complete firearms, and before, Li Yuanqing had also been thinking about this matter and made firearms by himself, but because there were no materials and no people, there was no place to implement ideas.

At this time, there are materials and people, how could Li Yuanqing let go of this opportunity?

Looking at Yang Peifu and Xu Liang carefully, they were a little weak-hearted, and Li Yuanqing said: "Two, how many steps can the range of the bird guns you make reach?" ”

At this time, the two already knew that Li Yuanqing was very concerned about firearms, and Yang Peifu hurriedly took the lead and said: "My lord, if you let the old man make it, a bird gun made by the old man will have a range of at least eighty-five steps." ”

Xu Liang was not to be outdone, "Adults, small bird guns, can also reach eighty-five steps." ”

Looking at Xu Liang's eyes, Li Yuanqing also found that this man seemed to be unwilling, but because of this occasion, he didn't dare to talk too much.

Li Yuanqing nodded, revealing a soft smile, "Eighty-five steps?" That's fine. However, you see, the two of you have such a long bird pipe, it is inevitable that it will be a little inconvenient for the children to operate, and it is not conducive to carrying. Is there a way for you to shorten this tube without affecting its power and range? ”

"This?" The two couldn't help but look at each other when they heard this.

The current bird gun has a gun tube at least two meters or more.

Just imagine, a soldier with a height of 1.6 meters is holding a two-meter-long bird gun, even if the bird gun can't explode, but it is as awkward as it is.

Moreover, the operation of the bird gun is very complicated, although it does not need to be like an archer, who has practiced hard since childhood and has a certain talent, but if the gun tube is so long, the poke of the tamping projectile also needs to be so long.

After firing a bullet, the process of refilling the projectile takes at least 5 minutes, or even more, which in real combat almost becomes a one-time weapon, and cannot exert its own power at all.

Li Yuanqing was not in a hurry, looked at the two with a smile, and quietly waited for their answers.

Innovation is always an extremely painful process.

Their craftsmanship is derived from their ancestors, and at this time, Li Yuanqing proposed this new concept, which they naturally could not easily accept.

But after all, Li Yuanqing is Shangguan, their master, and their food and clothing parents, Li Yuanqing put forward his idea at this time, and they must implement it.

In a way, this is also the power of the system.

At this time, not only Yang Peifu and Xu Liang, but also these craftsmen around them also whispered, although they are not specialized in bird guns, but they are also craftsmen in all aspects, and they also know a little bit about bird guns.

The idea of his own adults seems to be out of the ordinary, but in fact, it is not that it cannot be implemented, it's just that the things of the ancestors remained, and none of them thought about improving them.

After a long time, Yang Peifu said: "My lord, if it is as you said, it is not a problem to shorten the gun tube. We just need to ensure the strength of the pipe. Another point is to ensure the strength of gunpowder. The launch of the bird gun is propelled by gunpowder. Perhaps, we can make the barrel thicker. ”

Yang Peifu said, looking at Xu Liang.

Xu Liang pondered for a long time, and nodded, at this time, he no longer had the nervousness when he first met Li Yuanqing, but devoted himself to the idea proposed by Li Yuanqing.

"My lord, what Old Man Yang said is right. If you want to shorten the pipe, there is only one way. In fact, the small ones are often worried, and this tube is thin and long, which is indeed a little inconvenient. Adult, I beg the adult to give the little some time, and the small one will do his best to perfect the idea of the adult and make a qualified bird. ”

Li Yuanqing smiled, "Very good." I'll leave this matter to you and Yang Laohan. I'm not here to give you a specific time limit. But I have spoken first. If, within ten days, you can create what I call a qualified bird, I will reward you with a hundred taels of silver. Within twenty days, eighty taels. Within thirty days, fifty taels. Forty days, forty taels. And so on. ”

As soon as Li Yuanqing said this, there was a burst of exclamations in the audience.

One hundred taels of silver, what is this concept?

With the income of these craftsmen, at the end of the year, there can be two or three taels of silver in the account, which is already burning high incense.

One hundred taels of silver, this is money that they will never earn in their lifetime.

Not to mention, they also have to support their wives and children.

"Your Excellency, do you mean this?" Xu Liang's face was already flushed, and his breathing was indescribably short.

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