After inspecting the production of auxiliary weapons such as bayonets and long-handled axes, Shen Shuren also took a look at other workshops in the military workshop.

It was found that after several months of preparation and running-in, the musket production work of the Huangzhou Bing War Workshop also began to find a way. Compared with the coiling and boring processes at the end of last year, there has been a great improvement.

The craftsmen made a two-handed arrangement according to the instructions of the Shen Shuren.

On the one hand, according to the idea of pedal lathe and pedal grinder, a pedal boring machine was made.

On the other hand, it is the technology of "hot forging coil pipe with iron plate, then forging and welding, and finally outsourcing a red-hot iron hoop, and tightening the hoop when cold", and trying the musket technology without boring.

After testing, the musket made by the boring method is relatively close to the original in terms of technology, but the boring efficiency is further improved. Originally, a barrel drilled slowly for more than a month, and it was easy to be eccentric; Now it can be shortened to about 20 days to complete the hole, and the quality has improved.

The newly tested coiling method is definitely a little worse than the boring method in terms of quality - this is also very easy to understand, one is a "seamless steel pipe" and the other is a "seamed steel pipe", and the strength of the seam is definitely worse.

Craftsmen can only be the tallest of the short, even if the quality is poor, they must pick out the relatively best among the poor.

When Shen Shuren left, he didn't teach them how to weld the coil pipe, mainly because Shen Shuren himself couldn't understand it too comprehensively, and he didn't know how many kinds of metal welding processes the people of the Ming Dynasty had.

So Zhou Tie Dan spent two months, one kind of try.

First of all, I tried the pouring welding method and casting welding method of molten tin, lead and bronze, and wanted to use bronze that is easy to burn into liquid to cast the joints of iron pipes together. But in the end, it was found that the copper-iron joint was too weak to withstand the high pressure, so I had to give up.

Fortunately, no one was killed during the experiment, and everyone carefully put the experimental firearm in an iron barrel to fire, and the explosion could not hurt anyone, and most of the flying debris and gunpowder gas power were absorbed by the iron barrel.

After the pouring welding method and the casting welding method failed, the most difficult and relatively expensive forging welding method had to be used in the end, that is, when making coiled pipes, the two ends of the iron plate were slightly thinner, and then the two ends were stacked together as much as possible, and the two ends were repeatedly hammered and fused.

The materials used in the forging welding method are uniform, so there is no problem of "insufficient strength of the seams between different metals".

However, the degree of deformation of the iron pipe rolled out by the forging and welding method will be more serious than that of the boring method and the casting welding method.

Fortunately, Zhou Tieqian and others have been popularized according to "Tiangong Kaiwu", and the pedal boring machine and grinding wheel have been made, and the boring machine to the lathe, that is, the cutter head has changed slightly. Craftsmen who have been widely inspired are easy to bypass.

In the end, the cost of the barrel can also be reduced by more than half compared with the boring method - if you do not modify the slight deformation of the inner wall of the barrel, it is estimated that you can cut it by half, directly to the knee price. It's a pity that the quality is too poor and the garbage is too easy to blow up, and Shenfutai will definitely not use it.

These technologies have been developed through repeated experiments in the past two months. It's a pity that the R&D cycle is already too long, so only a few samples have been made, and not a single musket has yet been mass-produced.

Shen Shuren asked Zhang Huangyan to check the production plan and production capacity of the Bingzhan Workshop, and learned that "if you want to ensure that all 1,200 bayonets and long-handled axes are produced first, and then start producing muskets",

Then the production of cold weapons can be scheduled until the beginning of April, and the production of muskets will begin in April, so that each blacksmith can produce one semi-new boring musket, or three or four coiled muskets per month.

There are now 80 skilled military blacksmiths in the Huangzhou Soldiers' Workshop, and the production capacity is 120 boring muskets or 300 reel-tube muskets a month.

If you want to speed up, you have to find a way to add machinery and equipment, recruit more skilled military blacksmiths, and spend more money to solve the source of iron ore and iron......

It is not so easy for the supply chain to expand quickly, and many links will be stuck.

The blacksmiths who know how to make ordnance are only a few people in each prefecture and province, and they are strictly controlled by the imperial court, and the people of Shen Shu cannot directly dig ready-made. It also takes time to train from an ordinary blacksmith who is an ordinary folk blacksmith with iron-making tools, or to take an apprentice.

It is impossible to expand the procurement of steel raw materials casually, and he is still looking for Huangshi Iron Mountain (Daye Iron Mine) in the jurisdiction of Zuoliangyu on the other side of the river to buy the goods.

These are not things that can increase production capacity in a few months, and it is better to count on rapid promotions and expansion of territory to occupy more resources.

Therefore, in the eight months after April this year, Shen Shuren estimated that the military production capacity under his command could only produce about 1,000 boring muskets, or 2,500 reel-tube muskets. If you also need to match melee cold weapons, this production capacity can be reduced by a quarter.

Only by counting on these weapons, fight a victory first, and then occupy more territory and resources, it will slowly snowball.

……

The military inspection lasted until noon, and after a hasty lunch, Shen Shuren watched the soldiers' drills non-stop.

With seven or eight hundred bayonets and long-handled battle axes officially installed in the musket unit, the 1,000 bird-handers/Lumi gunners of the Shen family army have also been practicing assassination drills for more than a month.

The turtledove gunner, of course, is to practice the long-handled tomahawk tactics accordingly.

Since the Lantern Festival of the first lunar month, Zuo Zixiong and Pizarro have played with life's drills.

At first, there were not enough bayonets, so they were trained in three batches, some while they were sleeping and resting, while others were trained with bayonets. Later, the number of weapons came up, and it was only then that two batches of training were fully pressed into turn.

Zuo Zixiong didn't know much about bayonet tactics, and he could only observe for the first half a month, watching Spanish instructors with high salaries dominate.

Fortunately, Zuo Zixiong has good talent and strong martial arts. After looking at it for more than ten days, he roughly understood the difference between the bayonet and the spear, and then he also joined in and personally led a group of soldiers to practice, so as to stagger the time with Pizarro.

It has now been more than 20 days since Zuo Zixiong personally practiced assassination, and the spirit of the troops is different.

In order to appear closer to the soldiers, Shen Shuren did not bring a folding fan, but replaced it with a square fan with iron bones and iron face, covering his eyebrows to block the sunlight, and carefully reviewing the assassinations of the soldiers.

The sun was still strong that day, and the soldiers calmly poked at the sturdy scarecrows under the scorching sun.

Several dots were dyed with vermilion on the scarecrow, and the left and right arms of the scarecrow, as well as the intersection of the top and middle, were used as targets.

Before each stab, there were officers shouting orders, and the content was nothing more than "left and right, up and down". Wherever the order is called, the scarecrow must be stabbed quickly and sharply at the corresponding red-painted dots.

In actual combat, of course, there can be no such order, but everyone improvises and countermeasures according to the enemy's moves. But during training, such strict requirements are also to ensure that the soldiers are fast and accurate enough to fight.

"Six rows and eight columns, left and right! Make a note of your mistakes once, and leave them for twenty more exercises! ”

"Nine rows and three columns, the knife is unstable and not stabbed! Practice 10 times! ”

A few put the soldiers in the queue, carefully checked, and wrote down the soldiers who were not accurate and responsive enough.

According to Zuo Zixiong's arrangement, these musketeers are now trained in batches according to odd and even number standards. The number of muskets with bayonets in the army has already reached two-thirds of the total number of troops, so that about one-sixth of the bayonet muskets will be extra at each rotation.

This part can be dedicated to serving and tossing those soldiers who do not perform well and move out of shape. They can practice with the person who has been replaced after they have gone back to rest.

After watching it for a while, Shen Shuren had the illusion of visiting the military training assassination drill in later generations, although the tricks were not the same, maybe the assassination action today has not been refined and simplified to be efficient enough, but the soldier's discipline and order prohibition are definitely not comparable to the ordinary Ming army, and the entire military array has been filled with a killing atmosphere.

The military attaches who were newly transferred with Shen Shuren were even more surprised, after all, the discipline of the Ming Dynasty guards they had seen was really much worse.

Yan Yingyuan and Zhang Mingzhen were unanimously convinced: "Although the moves may not be exquisite, the momentum is uniform, and when you encounter a thief, you will definitely be able to let the thief see at a glance that this is an elite division." ”

Only Zheng Chenggong didn't think that these drills were so remarkable, which was also related to his "well-informed" and deep understanding of the weapons of the Hongyi people.

In the West, between the 1630s ~ 1640s, the early bayonet has also appeared, which is the product of the French (1618~1648) during the Thirty Years of Religious Wars in Europe.

It's nothing more than a Western bayonet in the shape of a dagger, and it is directly inserted into the barrel, while the Shen Shuren is a hoop type on the side, which does not affect the opening and robbery, and the assassination effect is more professional.

Zheng Chenggong had seen French bayonets from the Spaniards, and at this moment, when he saw Brother Shen being used on a large scale for musketeers, he was also a little eager to try: "Brother Shen, this sword method, the younger brother will also do it, maybe let me try it?" ”

Zuo Zixiong on the side immediately looked at Shen Shuren, as if asking for instructions with his eyes. Shen Shuren nodded, and Zuo Zixiong handed over a Lu Mi gun with a bayonet.

Zheng Chenggong came to a cross-shaped scarecrow, listened to the password up and down, left and right, but it was quite accurate, and the first time he started, he stabbed quickly.

After stabbing it, he also summed it up with a little aftertaste: "The use of this sword is similar to that of a spear, it is nothing more than shorter, but it is better to allow firearms soldiers to go far from now on, and they also have the power to fight when they encounter cavalry." Zuo Dusi, how is my swordsmanship? ”

Zuo Zixiong's face was embarrassed, and he asked Shen Shuren with his eyes, and Shen Shuren knew that he definitely didn't look down on Zheng Chenggong's bayonet technique, and said with a smile: "It's okay, let's just say it, Brother Zheng Xian and I are honest with each other, and there is no need to pretend about it." ”

Zuo Zixiong said bluntly: "Zheng Gongzi's sword technique, I really don't dare to compliment, but I just take advantage of the two advantages of accurate stabbing and fast response." But the hard technique, whether the waist and horse are stable and stable, are just showcases.

When the enemy is strong and heavy, or the cavalry charges, your firearm will fall off at the first touch. After all, the total length of the fire gun and the sword is only seven feet, which is still shorter than the spear.

The spear should be at least eight feet long, and more than one zhang, so the tail can be crutcheted. The use of the fire and the sword can never be borrowed from the ground.

Therefore, it is necessary to learn the same as those big marksmanship with the tail of the gun to pry the strength, the strong right hand is in the back, the left hand is in front, the right hand is pressed down and the front is stabbed forward at the same time, and the sword head is picked up, and there must be a movement on the gun to hold it at any time.

Ordinary formation marksmanship that can be borrowed from the ground is that the hand with great strength is in front, and the hand with little strength is behind, and the force is evenly exerted when stabbing, which seems to be more forceful, but the center of gravity is unstable, and it is not easy to borrow force. ”

Zuo Zixiong was also very dedicated to his boss's friends, and he kept telling Zheng Chenggong directly and unreservedly about the bayonet technique he had learned with his Spanish colleagues for a month and a half, and then integrating his own martial arts summary.

Zheng Chenggong can also understand the essence, and soon roughly understood the essence of the bayonet method: the key is to use a lever hand, the left hand only supports the musket from the middle fulcrum, and the right hand behind is to hold the butt while pressing down to pry the head of the gun.

He pondered for a while, stabbed a few more shots, and soon felt that the calmness of the assassination force was completely different, and it was not easy to be pulled and stumbled by the block, causing the empty door to open wide.

"Zuo Dusi is really strong in martial arts, and he has mastered these Qimen weapons that he has never seen before, and he can still do his best, so I have to ask for more advice if I have the opportunity in the future!" Zheng Chenggong was also very sincere, and directly made a swipe to Zuo Zixiong.