The inventor of this firebolt was obviously more meticulous than the others, and the fire doors of others were all open and unguarded, except for his firecracker, which was equipped with a curved rectangular copper cover. In this way, rain and wind and sand will not enter the medicine room and affect the fire bolt fire. In addition, there is also an iron charging spoon attached to the firecracker, and the handle of the spoon is engraved with the words "weighing two taels and five coins", obviously if each firearm is equipped with such a charging spoon, then there is no need to use a rod scale to weigh and calculate the amount of medicine repeatedly when filling.

In addition, the inventor abandoned the honeycomb cover used by Zheng Yunming's bamboo general to press the gunpowder, after all, this small part requires too many man-hours to manufacture, and he used a simple wooden component to replace the honeycomb cover, which not only compresses the manufacturing cost and time, but also can more effectively concentrate the thrust of the gunpowder explosion on the projectile than the honeycomb cover.

"Very good! Very good! Zheng Yunming praised while gently flicking the wall of the fire gun, and his crisp and pleasant voice was very different from others.

"This is not an ordinary wrought iron," Zheng Yunming said, "and this kind of material cannot be made by the best craftsmen." ”

"There's no complicated way." As soon as he talked about his interest, the craftsman's stutter immediately improved by more than half: "The method of steelmaking is first and foremost the use of fire, and the fire used to temper steel is best to burn coke, followed by charcoal, and the lowest is coal." Leader Xu learned the method of making coke from you Zheng Dutong, so he opened more than ten brick kilns in Ezhou, specializing in burning coke. The steel grade it produces is the purest. When you want to connect the steel, first melt the pig iron in the pot, and then fry and temper it repeatedly, so that the turbidity in the iron is vaporized and the essence is retained. It is then beaten repeatedly to form a lump, and then divided into iron bars and iron squares for use. ”

Zheng Yunming didn't know much about the method of frying steel. In fact, this method is a steelmaking method used by blacksmiths in the Central Plains to forge famous swords since the end of the Western Han Dynasty. Although the steel produced is of excellent quality, the entire smelting process requires a lot of manpower and material resources.

At this time, there was a method in the south that was more labor-saving and tougher than the frying method, which was the steel filling method used by Qi Wuhuaiwen, a famous forging and smelting master in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The forging masters of Sichuan Road, Jiangnan West Road and Fujian Road are using this more efficient steelmaking method to quench the steel, but most of the craftsmen in Jinghu at this time are still using the frying method. It was not until the blacksmiths who moved from Sichuan Road to Jinghu taught the steel-filling method to the Jinghu craftsmen that Jinghu gradually switched to the steel-filling method to make steel.

But for the cost of manpower and financial resources, Zheng Yunming doesn't mind. Just as he put forward the point of view when he was a student, the Great Song Dynasty is now a rich country of the first class, but it is also a poor country of the first class, he has unparalleled human resources and huge financial resources, but in terms of products and key material reserves, it is not much different from the barbarians around him, it can be said that in some important joints is not as good as Dali, Goryeo and Japan.

Now that the Great Song Dynasty has been provided with an opportunity to transform the two best strengths of human and financial resources into real combat power, Zheng Yunming is too late to be happy, how can he account for some losses in the efficiency of use?

"Sure enough, it is known as a hundred refined steel, with such a good material. The iron fire can be fired repeatedly, and it will last for a long time. Zheng Yunming stroked the delicately textured iron body tube: "Only this first-class good steel can live up to the power of my refining gunpowder thunder burst, let the projectile burst out to the full extent of the power of gunpowder, and give full play to the maximum effectiveness of firearms." ”

"The effect of gunpowder prepared by Dutong is indeed more than 100 times stronger than that of gunpowder under the old method. The black powder has very weak flammability except for the smoke. Not to mention the power of deflagration such as granular gunpowder, which is uniformly prepared. The middle-aged man's face was full of admiration: "Dutong is so young, but he can make gunpowder that we can't make in our lifetime, he is really a genius, and he can't envy it anymore." ”

Zheng Yunming rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Since I am a young man who has not dried up, what can I really do?" What I did was nothing more than standing on the shoulders of my predecessors and sages and relying on their strength. ”

"Do you know the art of dispensing medicine, and there is a difference between a monarch and a minister?"

The invention of gunpowder originally came from the Taoist refining of pills, so the middle-aged craftsmen were naturally familiar with this set of theories.

"This delicate gunpowder, in fact, is no different from the gunpowder of the old method in terms of composition, it is all sulfur, charcoal, and nitrate. It's just that the gunpowder made by the old method was originally used as a fuming agent, with charcoal as the king, sulfur as the minister, and saltpeter as the king. The charcoal is thick and inclusive, the sulfur is like a fire, and the saltpeter is like a thunderbolt, and the majesty is endless. ”

"Today, with charcoal as the king, sulfur as the courtier, and saltpeter as the small official, it is like the rule of Wenjing, for the monarch to be generous and virtuous, for the courtier to be upright and powerful, for the small officials to be vigorous and resolute, and to do things harshly. This set of teams can be used to govern the country in peace, but it cannot be used to win a decisive victory on the battlefield. ”

"Today's delicate gunpowder is made of saltpeter in sixty percent, sulfur in two and a half, and charcoal in only one and a half. This is just like Tang Taizong seized the world, Taizong Tianwei was on top, Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were plotting behind, and Qin Shubao, Cheng Zhijie, and Wei Chi Jingde were in front. And use the small officials to be virtuous to the people. It can destroy the city and uproot the village, and it can also tidy up people's hearts. ”

"The sulfur is mainly horizontal, so it is violent and difficult to control, and the nitrate is mainly straight, so the news is like thunder, and the charcoal is the main fire, which is used to harmonize yin and yang." Under the surprised and admiring gaze of the craftsman, Zheng Yunming gushed endlessly: "What you don't know is that this is actually not the optimal ratio of gunpowder to be fired. Saltpeter is straight, that is, the power of Zhiyuan, so the proportion of saltpeter is only six or seven percent of the gunpowder used to launch the projectile, and now the new propellant is tested by the general division, and saltpeter even accounts for more than ninety percent, and five points of sulfur and charcoal are enough. ”

"The gunpowder used in explosive weapons is different, and the amount of sulfur is heavier. The main horizontal of sulfur, that is, the power of explosion, the preparation of explosive gunpowder, can increase the proportion of sulfur to forty percent, saltpeter accounts for half, and one into charcoal, so that the explosive power of gunpowder produced is strong, even the iron armor and gold helmet can be broken. ”

"There is also a kind of gunpowder for incineration, then more charcoal should be used, charcoal powder is the most flammable, once burned, supplemented by saltpeter and sulfur, it is not only difficult to extinguish, but also can add a lot of fuming agents to cause toxic smoke"

Bai Yijie patted Zheng Yunming behind him: "Don't talk about these confidential things anymore, there are big guys waiting for us to see in front of us." ”

Zheng Yunming came to his senses and said to the craftsman: "Leave your name, this kind of fire gun is the future manufacturing template of our army." What, do you have any other inventions? ”

He was surprised to find that in addition to the iron fire gun in his hand, there were several other things on the straw mat on the ground.

The craftsman introduced Zheng Yunming one by one.

"This is a bowl cannon used to kill the enemy at close range, the production method is roughly the same as the iron fire, but the tube is thick and short, and the gunpowder that can be filled is relatively small, and the lead and iron slag are more, which is used for close-range one-shot killing, I have tested it at home, and all of them are crushed."

"This is a double-headed firearm, I heard your subordinates often complain that General Zhu fills the hair interval too long, and often after the first shot, before the second shot is filled, the enemy has already rushed over for hand-to-hand combat. So I thought, can we speed up the frequency of the launch? So after I built the iron firecracker, I thought of using a wooden handle to connect the two firecrackers, and then load them on a wooden frame, so that when the battle is fought, one end will fire in front and the other end will be loaded in the rear, and after the front is fired, the wooden frame will be turned around, and the rear can be fired, and the front can be loaded immediately, so that the speed of the fire can be increased. ”

This is a novel approach, although Zheng Yunming is not optimistic about the prospects of this weapon, because history has not left a record of similar large-scale use of firearms. But this kind of innovative thinking is exactly what Da Song urgently needs now.

The craftsman didn't notice Zheng Yunming's contemplation, and raised another firearm: "This is a sword and gun, four feet eight inches long, weighing eight catties, don't look at its appearance, but it can be used for three purposes with one shot, when the enemy is far away, it can be shot with a musket, when the enemy is close, it can be wielded as a club, and if the head of the gun is installed, it can also be used as a spear."

Zheng Yunming interrupted him, pointed to the corner of the straw mat and said to a black thing: "What is this?" ”

The craftsman scratched the back of his head and scanned: "That thing has not been successfully developed, so I don't need to show it to all this time." ”

"It doesn't matter." Zheng Yunming motioned to his entourage to pick up the thing, which turned out to be a black iron shell, which must have been filled with gunpowder, and the bottom was supported by sandalwood boards, and the bamboo pipe was used to add a lead to export.

Although Zheng Yunming couldn't say the name and purpose of this firearm, this familiar shape made him blurt out his instinct: "This is a landmine?" ”

The craftsman was taken aback again: "Dutong is indeed a god!" I built this thing to bury it in the ground, wait for the enemy to pass by, ignite it, and injure the enemy, but I didn't come up with a name, and the word mine is really suitable for this firearm! ”

"That's nature," Zheng Yunming said, "Good Tibetan, hidden under the Nine Lands, if this weapon is successfully developed, it will be extremely helpful to resist the gallop of the Mongolian thousands of iron horsemen." Well done! All the things that are applied come out of the yamen, and it is necessary to develop the mines successfully! ”

"I'll write a note to the treasury when I go back, what do you need, go get it yourself, by the way, what's your name?"

The middle-aged man puffed up his chest and said proudly, "The grass people's name is Pei Gen!" It's a gunpowder craftsman in Ezhou! ”

Zheng Yunming was taken aback: "You? Are you bacon? ”

"Exactly, Pei surnamed Pei, the Gen in the gossip!"

Zheng Yunming wiped the sweat on his head, the same name and surname actually came to this part, if it was really Bacon who crossed over, wouldn't this world be chaotic?