Chapter 211: How Iron Cannons Are Made

When I entered the artillery range, I felt a rush of heat.

Dozens of sheds lined up, and countless people threw off their shirts, revealing their sturdy shoulders. Manipulating a variety of tools. Working on their own.

Each shed is supported by a few large logs, and there are no walls around it. Even the function of protecting against the rain is not fully equipped.

Wei Ruizhou followed Zhu Houhuang in the road between the sheds, and everywhere he passed, all the craftsmen stopped moving. Bow to the ground.

Zhu Houhuang frowned slightly, and said: "In a lonely place, the craftsman who is working does not need to salute. ”

Wei Ruizhou immediately agreed. and sent a messenger to send a commandment. But for a moment, all the craftsmen did not salute Zhu Houhuang again. But everywhere Zhu Houhuang passed, everyone was trembling.

Zhu Houhuang sighed secretly in his heart, visiting by himself will only have disadvantages, no benefits. In addition, there is self-knowledge, and there is nothing to guide these craftsmen in the casting cannon.

Zhu Houhuang's series of technological innovations made him point out that many technologies are not just a new idea, and there must be a lot of invisible accumulation behind, and every time there is a big explosion of technology. In the eyes of the layman, it is a matter of new ideas, but in the eyes of the insider, it is the transformation of quantitative change into qualitative change after countless failures.

When the accumulation of technology is not reached, some new ideas are not only unhelpful, but also harmful.

Zhu Houhuang didn't go forward, and casually came to a workshop, where several middle-aged craftsmen, under the leadership of a white-haired master, saluted Zhu Houhuang. They fell to their knees. The head should be put on the ground, and it should be rattled. His voice trembled and said, "Meet His Royal Highness King Yong." ”

These craftsmen couldn't say anything, and Zhu Houhuang didn't expect to ask anything from them.

Zhu Houhuang asked Wei Ruizhou and said, "How is the artillery cast here?" ”

Wei Ruizhou has been in the artillery field for half a year, although he has not personally cast the cannon, but he still understands the general process of casting the cannon. Wei Ruizhou cleared his throat slightly, and said: "The method of casting the Franc cannon is the mud membrane method that has been passed down from generation to generation. respectively by molding. Clay molds were carved from clay according to artillery prototypes;

Flip the outside. The evenly mixed clay is beaten into a flat clay sheet, pressed on the outside of the clay mold, and pressed hard to make the decoration on the clay mold printed on the clay flake. After the mud sheet is half dry, according to the symmetry point of the artillery, it is divided into a number of pieces with a knife, and then the adjacent two mud sheets are made to make a triangular mortise and tenon joint together, and then dried, or baked with a slight fire, and the pattern on the inner surface of the fan is trimmed, which becomes the outer fan used for casting;

Inside the system. The clay mold used in the outer fan is scraped off a thin layer while wet, and then dried with fire to make the inner fan. The thickness of the scraped is the thickness of the wall of the cannon cast;

Fit the fan. Place the inner fan upside down on the base, and then place the outer fan around the inner fan. After the outer fan is closed, there is a closed fan cover on it, and at least one pouring hole is left on the fan cover;

Cast. The molten iron solution is injected along the pouring hole, and after the molten iron cools, the outer fan is broken, the inner fan is taken out, and the cast cannon is taken out, which is polished and trimmed. The artillery was made. However, this is not a complete artillery, and the small bits and pieces on the cannon can also be cast separately. Finally cast together. ”

Zhu Houhuang listened quietly while looking at the workpieces in the shed. What an outward fan. Inner fan, and bits and pieces of parts.

Zhu Houhuang suddenly thought of something and asked, "How much time does it take to cast an artillery?" ”

Wei Ruizhou said: "It will take about half a year. ”

"Why does it take so long?" Zhu Houhuang frowned and said, "It stands to reason that it doesn't take so long? ”

Wei Ruizhou said: "Your Highness, the mud fan must be dried naturally before pouring molten iron. It takes months to dry in the shade naturally. ”

"If it doesn't dry in the shade naturally. What will happen? Zhu Houhuang asked.

"This ---" Wei Ruizhou was a little speechless for a while. He's just that, and he doesn't know why. Wei Ruizhou turned his head and looked at the old craftsman next to him.

Zhu Houhuang also looked at the old craftsman. Under the gaze of the two nobles, the old craftsman was at a loss.

Wei Ruizhou originally signaled the old craftsman to come and relieve him, but the old craftsman did not have the consciousness to relieve his boss. Stand to the side motionless.

Wei Ruizhou had to say: "I don't know, please ask His Highness to ask the craftsman." ”

Zhu Houhuang asked with a pleasant face: "Old man, what will happen if the mud fan is not naturally dry?" ”

The old craftsman fell to his knees with a thud and said, "King, if you don't do it--" Speaking of this, the old craftsman quietly raised his head and saw Zhu Houhuang looking at him. He didn't know how his leg went weak, and he plopped, and fell to the ground, forgetting what he had just said.

Zhu Houhuang laughed, walked up with his own hands, helped the old craftsman up, let him sit on the Mazha next to him, and said, "The old man said slowly. ”

The old craftsman slowly came back to his senses and said, "If you don't dry it in the shade, the mud fan is easy to crack." It is hollow and must be dried in the shade. ”

Zhu Houhuang nodded slightly, he seemed to suddenly remember something, his first choice in the memory of his previous life, it seemed that a person surnamed Gong had invented some iron mold casting method. The efficiency of casting cannons is greatly accelerated.

Zhu Houhuang said: "Can it be cast with an iron mold?" ”

"Iron mold casting?" As soon as he mentioned the professional field, the old craftsman immediately lifted his spirit, and his eyes radiated light. He pondered for a while and said, "It seems to make sense. ”

Iron mold casting is not a new thing in China, but for such a large piece as artillery, it is rarely cast with iron molds. Its practical clay casting artillery technique is fundamentally the method of casting large iron and bronze tools. Iron mold casting is mostly used for agricultural tools, or small iron tools.

Logically speaking, this is not a leap forward.

"It's just that," said the old craftsman, "iron mold casting is generally inferior to clay film casting in terms of quality." ”

"Is iron mold casting not dry? Can the iron mold be used continuously? Zhu Houhuang asked.

"That's nature." The old craftsman said.

That's it, Zhu Houhuang said secretly in his heart. "Even if it's sacrificing some quality to bring about efficiency gains, it's worth it."

Thinking of the exponential increase in the number of Franc cannons in his hands, Zhu Houhuang was overjoyed, and his face became more and more pleasant, and he asked, "Old man, how to call it?" ”

The old craftsman said: "The old man's surname is Wang Xingqi, and everyone calls me the old king." ”

Zhu Houhuang said: "The old man thinks that if you are alone in casting artillery with iron molds, how much time will you need to complete? ”

What Zhu Houhuang asked was the R&D time. But it seems that the old king doesn't have this concept, thinks about it, and says: "At most, it can be cast in a month." ”

"Okay," Zhu Houhuang said with great joy: "Old Wangtou, you are alone in charge of the artillery field, and you will go all out to change the mud film casting cannon to an iron mold casting cannon." At the same time, the quality and quantity of the Franc cannon could not change too much. Can it be done? ”

The old king was excited for a moment, and he couldn't help himself.

As a craftsman, Lao Wang Tou has never thought about being an official, but it is not that he does not have the desire to be an official. The artillery range in Taiwan City is almost the largest on the southeast coast, and it is still expanding. As an old man of the Gun Range, of course he had heard the news that the Gun Farm was going to move to North Port.

After the artillery range is moved to North Port, it will be expanded again. The power to control the entire artillery field is no less than the power of a county order in Dongyong.

Such a big pie fell on the head of the old king, and the old king was stunned for a while and couldn't accept it, and after a while, he said: "The grass people can't be officials, please don't let me be an official." ”

At the last moment, the old Wang Tou was frightened by Zhu Houhuang's big pie.

Zhu Houhuang was a little disappointed. He was interested in the status of science and technology in Dongyong, and the first thing he wanted to do was to promote a large number of technocrats. Zhu Yu was the first. However, astronomical etiquette had a mysterious status in ancient times, and Zhu Yu's status was so high, but few people raised objections.

The old king is the second technocrat prepared by Zhu Houhuang. But I didn't want him to be scared.

The opportunity was in front of him, but he couldn't seize it, and Zhu Houhuang had no choice.

"Your Highness, can you let me come?"