When Su Hao said it, he knew that he was wrong, he used the craftsmanship standards of the later generations of Browning to evaluate the handcuffs of the Ming Dynasty, didn't this hurt people's self-esteem? Hearing Hao Tong's question, he said with a smile: "Brother Hao misunderstood, I mean that the production of this handcuff is indeed very fine, at least the iron tools I have seen are unsurpassed." ”

"Master Su has a good reputation......" Hao Tong felt a little more comfortable, who knows, before he could say a few more words on the scene, Su Hao's words later made him depressed again.

"However, this handcuff is still a little heavier, because the materials are not up to par. If more adequate desulphurization can be carried out during the iron smelting process...... Well, I mean, if the iron can be purer, then the barrel can be a little bit thicker, and the gun will be lighter, and at the same time more durable. Su Hao commented from the perspective of a science and engineering man.

"That's true." Hao Tong rolled his eyes, he knew that what Su Hao said was right, if the quality of the cast iron could be better, of course the quality of the fire gun would also be improved. But is good cast iron so readily available? Su Hao is simply standing and talking, and he doesn't have a backache.

"Master Su has also seen this firebolt now, do you think there is any way to make the gunpowder reloading faster?" Hao Tong asked.

Su Hao said: "This is actually very simple, Brother Hao has said just now, in order to speed up the loading speed, you weigh the gunpowder in advance and wrap it into a small bag with paper." The extra time you spend is the time you spend unpacking the paper bag and pouring the gunpowder into the fire. If you stuffed the gunpowder with the wrapper, wouldn't you save a lot of time? ”

Before the invention of the reloader, there were paper shell bullets made of nitrified paper in the history of muskets, which can be regarded as the prototype of modern bullets. The difference between paper shell bullets and modern bullets is that the paper shell containing the gunpowder will burn in the chamber along with the gunpowder, which is also an expedient measure because the front-loading gun cannot exit the cartridge case. Although Su Hao does not understand the technical details, for a modern technician, knowing the principle is enough to solve these problems.

"Put the wrapping paper directly into the chamber of the gun...... That's a great idea! Hao Tong simulated the process of loading in his mind, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

After listening to the conversation between Su Hao and Hao Tong, Tu Wenhuan suddenly asked, "Brother Su, since you have such a good experience with this flintlock pistol, do you have the ability to make one for us to see?" ”

"Me?" Su Hao was taken aback, "How could I possibly go and make a musket?" ”

Tu Wenhuan said: "Brother Su is proficient in the way of Yiren's objectification, and you just talked about the mechanism of this flintlock pistol, which can be described as the head of the way. If you find a few craftsmen, and then use the Su brothers to guide them, you may be able to make a gun like this. Brother Su, I heard you talk about the power of this flintlock pistol, and my heart was both happy and worried. Happily, if this flintlock pistol can be owned by our Ming Dynasty, then our soldiers will be able to shed countless less blood on the battlefield. The worry is that if my Ming opponent has this kind of flintlock pistol, then my Ming dynasty will be worried. ”

"This ......" Su Hao took a breath, he thought about doing something for the revival of the Ming Dynasty, but he had always just wanted to use his geological knowledge to create more wealth for the country and make the country richer and stronger. Directly intervening in the military, this is something he never thought about, because in his mind, the military matter is too far away from him.

"Mr. Tu, it seems that there is some inconvenience for my master to do this." Chen Guanyu, who was sitting on the side, saw that Su Hao's face was embarrassed, and hurriedly interjected to relieve Su Hao.

"Why did Daoist Chen say this?" Tu Wenhuan asked Chen Guanyu.

Chen Guanyu said: "I have a Ming law, and the people are not allowed to make weapons privately, let alone sharp weapons like firearms. If my Master Su made a fire gun privately, I am afraid that the Jinyi Wei Thousand Households stationed in Nanchang Mansion should come to the door. ”

"Jin Yiwei?" Tu Wenhuan smiled disappreciatively, "This is simple. ”

Su Hao asked, "What do you say?" ”

Tu Wenhuan said: "Zhang Hong, the head of the Jiangxi Metropolitan Division, used to serve in the Ministry of War, and he had a personal relationship with the old man. In addition, the general officer of Wuqiao worshiped the deputy commander-in-chief, although he was guarding Tengchong and Yao'an in Yunnan, but the Jiangxi Metropolitan Division also had to sell him some face. Since Brother Su was entrusted by me to try to make a flintlock pistol, I will naturally ask for a license document from the capital for you, so that Jinyiwei will not trouble you. ”

"Uh......" Chen Guanyu was speechless, he forgot that Tu Wenhuan was originally a member of the military, and Su Hao tried to make weapons for Tu Wenhuan, which was indeed not privately made.

"There are a lot of steps involved in making a good flintlock pistol. First of all, to solve the problem of cast iron smelting, it is necessary to design a small blast furnace, as well as a crucible. Secondly, it is the related processing technology, I don't know if I can find a good enough craftsman in Fengcheng. Also, the formula of gunpowder may also need to be improved, I don't have a clue in this regard, and I may need to do a lot of experiments......" Su Hao crossed his fingers and calculated the existing difficulties.

"The problem of craftsmen ......" Tu Wenhuan thought for a while and said, "There is an ordnance bureau under the political secretary, and there are some good craftsmen in it. However, I am afraid that if this matter is referred to the Ordnance Bureau, it will have to go through a lot of red tape. If you report to those rotten people in the Ministry of Industry, you may be denied, but it is not beautiful. Brother Su had better find some craftsmen in the folk to try first, if it really doesn't work, I'll contact the Ordnance Bureau for you. ”

Tu Wenhuan actually had some words that he hadn't said, that is, he was worried that once the idea of a flintlock pistol was handed over to the Ordnance Bureau, it would have to go through the cumbersome procedures in the Ming Dynasty system. At that time, the flintlock pistol either could not be developed at all, or even if it did, it would be given priority to the battalions of the Beijing Division, and it would not be the turn of the Yunnan border army. Besides, based on what Tu Wenhuan knew when he was in the military department, those people in the Ordnance Bureau were okay to make some swords, guns and armor, and the pass rate of making firecrackers was really miserable. The manufacturing process of flintlock pistols is much more complicated than that of traditional flintlock pistols, and Tu Wenhuan is really not confident that the Ordnance Bureau can make qualified flintlock pistols.

"I'll find a way to solve the craftsman's problem." Su Hao said. Tu Wenhuan said it to this extent, and Su Hao knew that it was difficult for him to refuse. Deng Kui, Hao Tong and the others all stared at him with burning eyes, as if they were full of hope, which made Su Hao also feel that this matter was obligatory. After all, flintlock pistols are something that Europeans have been able to build in the 17th century, and Su Hao believes that with his level of a senior engineer and technician in the 21st century, it should be no problem to build a flintlock pistol that is no less than that of Europeans.

"Brother Su, do you estimate how much silver it will cost to make a suitable flintlock pistol?" Tu Wenhuan turned to a very practical question, asking Su Hao to do something, naturally it was impossible for him to pay out of his own pocket.

Su Hao smiled bitterly: "This ...... It's really hard to calculate. I'm just a scholar, and I don't know anything about the technical level of Daming. If all the process problems are solved, then the cost of a gun, I think, should not exceed 10 taels of silver. However, the money spent on exploring these processes in the early stage is not easy to calculate. ”

"I'll give you five hundred taels, can you make the first one?" Tu Wenhuan directly offered the price. He knew that what Su Hao said was true, and it was indeed a bit difficult for Su Hao to evaluate the investment in the trial production of a flintlock pistol now. From the brief contact with Su Hao, Tu Wenhuan decided that Su Hao was an honest and reliable young man, and there was no need for him to bargain with Su Hao.

"Five hundred taels!" Chen Guanyu's mouth opened widely, and he only felt that it was like a meteor shower in front of him, but all that fell were large pieces of silver ingots. Five hundred taels of silver, Chen Guanyu had never dreamed of such a large amount of money, if Tu Wenhuan took the money to him, and then pointed out to him a huge fire pit, he believed that he would not hesitate to jump in.

Say yes! Say yes! Chen Guanyu desperately shouted to Su Hao in his heart, isn't it just a firebolt? How can I find a way and still can't estimate it?

Su Hao thought about something else. He thought that he had worked hard to survey the wells for the whole county, and Han Wen only took out 20 taels of silver to reward him. I stole a provincial firewood stove from later generations and prepared to promote it in the whole county, but in the end I couldn't earn one or two hundred taels of silver. And this Tu Wenhuan, just for his joke, dared to throw out five hundred taels of silver, so Tu Wenhuan, or Deng Zilong behind him, how thick the family wealth should be!

In fact, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the military attaches in the army were often very wealthy, such as Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang and other border generals, through deducting military salaries, tuntian, smuggling and other businesses, often able to save thousands of family fortunes, life is extremely luxurious. Deng Zilong guarded the border pass in Yunnan, and he was also able to make a lot of extra money, so there was no difficulty in terms of financial resources.

"Since Tu Lao values it so much, it is inconvenient to shirk it below. How many silver taels are needed, it is really not good to say now, and please Tu Laorong in the next few days, stay in the next few days to understand the situation. I estimate that five hundred taels of silver should be more than enough to perfect these processes. Su Hao said.

"Good!" Tu Wenhuan said, "If that's the case, then we'll make up our minds." I will advance five hundred taels of silver to you, and if there is a surplus, it will be regarded as Brother Su's hard work. If the money is not enough, Brother Su can open his mouth, and the old man will pay you again. ”