Zhu Cihong came out of the lecture hall, appeased the veterans, and rushed to the artillery factory without stopping.

To be precise, this is only a research department of the artillery factory, which is only responsible for conducting research and trial production. The factory that was really responsible for casting artillery was placed in Jiaozhou, which was convenient for equipping Xiao Tugeng's firearms division.

John Tang waited at the door early, pacing back and forth. Whenever he turned his back to the sunset, he would think of the days when he was abused with a cloth bag. When he turned around again and was soothed by the afterglow of the setting sun, he would think of the promise given to him by the crown prince, as long as he could make meritorious deeds, he would be able to promote Tianxue in Daming and support the mission...... At that time, the glory of God will shine on the land, and you will be able to return to the Lord's kingdom in heaven with peace of mind, enjoying eternal quiet, holiness and glory.

In this fearful anticipation, he finally saw the crown prince and his guards. The dust raised high announced that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had arrived, and there was no other guard of honor, so he rushed over directly and plainly.

"Minister John Tang, meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Tang Ruowang hurriedly greeted him and pulled Zhu Cihong's bridle.

Zhu Cihong turned over and dismounted: "Why is Mr. Tang waiting here?" I heard that there are some small developments in the artillery factory? ”

"Your Highness!" Tang Ruowang trembled uncontrollably and exclaimed, "It's not just a small progress!" This is the clarion call of another era! It is the gospel sown by the Lord to Daming! ”

Zhu Cihong was stunned, and threw the reins to the subordinates who stepped forward to greet him: "Go inside and say." He beckoned to Min Ziruo again and said in a low voice, "Let Liu Ruoyu bring someone here." ”

Min Ziruo was a little surprised, turned around and walked towards the other guard, whispering a few words. And the guard turned his horse's head, and hastened his horse, and went out again into the city.

Zhu Cihong glanced at Tang Ruowang and read his doubts. Just smiled and said, "Let's go, let's go in." ”

This stockade, which was shaped like a military fort, had already opened its door and welcomed Zhu Cihong and his party in.

The whole village is divided into a workshop area, a residential area, and a research area, just like a large pie that is divided into three pieces. Zhu Cihong followed Tang Ruowang into the main building of the research area, but did not enter the comfortably furnished guest hall, but went straight into the underground hall.

This underground hall is more than a foot deep underground. Brightly lit, it is a secret room for the artillery factory to store important items and prevent people from peeping and eavesdropping. Later generations thought that the people of the Ming Dynasty did not have the concept of jishu patents, so they did not have the consciousness of jishu secrecy, which was just to despise the wisdom of life of the ancients.

Literati and craftsmen knew the importance of secrecy far more than soldiers, so craftsmen would not easily reveal their craft, and the firearms books compiled by literati would also deliberately write the units of weights and measures in Taixi in the Ming system, but did not convert the data. Or even directly vague words, only saying the general situation regardless of the details. Therefore, it is necessary to rely on the Jishu books of the Ming people to make artillery or steel, which is no different from seeking fish from Yuanmu.

"Your Highness, please see." John Tang said excitedly.

The underground hall was brightly lit, and in the middle was a cannon, which at a glance was a small-caliber redcoat cannon.

Zhu Cihong circled around the cannon twice, reached out and touched the smooth cannon body, opened the tiger's mouth to compare the caliber of the cannon, and wondered: "What's so special about this cannon?" ”

"Your Highness. Although the cannon could only fire four-pound shells, it was a declaration of the dawn of a new era. John Tang said excitedly: "Because it's special, not because of the cannon itself. It's a new casting method! Your Highness, I am afraid that you will not believe that it took only two months from the time it was put into the experiment to the production of this first cannon! Two months, Your Highness! And as long as there are enough materials, it is completely possible to achieve the production rate of one gun per Nissan! ”

Zhu Cihong's face was as calm as water. He was not infected by John Tang's high-pitched and excited voice. He touched the smooth cannon body again and said, "Who made it?" Let him come to me. "If this cannon has been trial-produced for two months, there must be someone else who started the experiment.

Tang Ruowang was obviously hit by Zhu Cihong's attitude, and the raging fire in his heart was instantly extinguished, calming down the voice of the past. Lost said: "Yes." ”

Zhu Cihong watched Tang Ruowang go upstairs, squatted down, and the smell of iron mixed with the smell of sulfur rushed into his nose. Judging from the cannon, there is indeed not a single trachoma in sight, and it is indeed a qualified artillery.

One ...... per Nissan In this way, the mold can be reused...... Iron Fan cast cannon?

Zhu Cihong remembered a visit in his previous life, which seems to have been invented by a county official before the Opium War, and produced more than 100 artillery pieces in a month, thirty or forty years ahead of the West. Because of this rare leading record, the iron mold casting method has been artificially elevated a lot. In fact, the West was taking the forging route at that time, and it was about to launch a high-tonnage hydraulic press soon, so it naturally would not return to the path of casting method.

But back in 1664, the high-quality and high-yield iron mold casting cannon is definitely an artifact! Zhu Cihong was excited but also a little ashamed, he didn't expect such an important and efficient jishu method. Think about it, the material science and casting process before the Opium War were only weaker than they are now, and as long as they are willing to invest, they will definitely be able to replicate.

"Min Ziruo." Zhu Cihong said softly.

"In!"

"Send people to guard the gate of the village, not allowed to enter or leave, and when Liu Ruoyu's people arrive, they will completely surround this place." Zhu Cihong said: "Again, send someone to Pingdu to transfer the cavalry of the two bureaus, and let Zhou Yuji personally lead the team." ”

Although Min Ziruo was puzzled, he didn't ask any questions, just turned around and executed.

When Tang Ruowang came down, he didn't know Min Ziruo's mission, and he was still wondering why the chief of the guard left alone. Behind John Tang was a young craftsman with a mustache on his mouth, which did not match his immature baby face.

"Grass, grass, grass people Xu Xie bowed and met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." The craftsman fell to his knees, and his body trembled.

"Get up and speak." Zhu Cihong stretched out his palm and raised it weakly, and said with a smile: "You came up with this iron mold casting cannon method?" ”

"Yes, oh! No! No...... Be! Xu Xie's lips fought, and he was torn between yes and no.

Zhu Cihong hahadaxiao said, "Don't panic, say it little by little." ”

Xu Xie then remembered that the crown prince asked him to stand and speak just now, and hurriedly got up from the ground, opened his mouth slightly to stop his lips from trembling, swallowed his saliva and said: "Hui, back to Your Highness, the grass people are from Tieling, Liaodong, and their ancestors are craftsmen. However, the craftsmanship was not thrown, and later the Tartars broke the Tieling, and the small family fled into the Guannei, all the way to Shandong to join their relatives. In those years, Shandong was hit by disasters, and the craftsmen had no way to live, so they finally survived until Master Shen came to recruit craftsmen, and the small ones came to vote. Your Royal Highness Xie appreciates the bowl of rice to eat! Thank you, Your Highness, for saving your life! ”

Xu Xie said, kneeling down again.

Zhu Cihong raised his chin, let the guards support him, and said, "You came up with this iron mold cannon?" ”

Xu Xie said: "Back to Your Highness, the old generation cast iron and bronze ware, nothing more than gold, mud, wax. In the past, we also used copper and iron as molds to directly cast farm tools. After coming here, he saw that the mud fan was easy to bubble, and he had to clean the gun chamber, so he thought about using the iron fan to cast the cannon. ”

"Is it easy?" Zhu Cihong was a little surprised: if there is a traditional metal mold casting method, and the difficulty coefficient is not high, Weishenme has been using clay models since there was artillery? Tie Fan's advantage is completely irresistible!

"It's not easy." Xu Xie said: "One is that the steel used by Tiefan is good, and it has not been successful at first, and then it was made with Fanjia steel." And then there are the two layers of paint inside, and the grass people ......"

"Wait!" Zhu Cihong grabbed Xu Xie and said, "Needless to say, write a booklet and send it directly to me." ”

"Your Royal Highness......" Xu Xie looked embarrassed: "The grass people are illiterate......"

"Lu Suyao." Zhu Cihong immediately shouted.

"The subordinates are here." Lu Suyao hurriedly stepped forward.

"I ordered the attendant's room to match Xu Xie with two secretaries, and then find a talented and good-looking palace maid from the palace to marry him." Zhu Cihong looked at Xu Xie: "You haven't married yet, have you?" Xu Xie rolled his throat, his eyes widened, and he couldn't imagine how the gold ingots that fell from the sky could fall on his head.

Zhu Cihong continued to instruct Lu Suyao: "Baron Xu Xiejue, give him the rank of seven ranks, and make his father Xuanyilang, and his mother a widow. The reward was five hundred taels of silver and ten taels of gold. ”

Xu Xie's whole face twitched, and he stood on the spot. (To be continued......)

PS: I'm going back to Chengdu today, and the second is more likely to be a little late, asking for recommended tickets and monthly passes~~~