After initially completing all aspects from mining to coking and steelmaking, and upgrading the industry of Daye Iron Mountain to a new level, Shen Shuren finally put his mind at ease and could have a good year this year.

In the follow-up daily basic scientific research, he can slowly hand it over to Song Yingxing and others to worry about, and he no longer has to do everything himself.

As a bigwig, he had to personally help him get on the horse and give him a ride at the initial stage of scientific research projects. In the future, with his daily management, the most he can do is to click on the general direction.

Even if it is the appointment of Song Yingxing, Shen Shuren also wants to slowly transfer him to scientific research management, after all, he is a handful of years, fifty-seven years old, how can he have so much energy to personally engage in scientific research on the front line.

However, in the first year and a half, it was necessary to experience - after in-depth contact, Shen Shuren also found that Song Yingxing was not as divine as later generations said in terms of hands-on practice.

In the final analysis, Song Yingxing is only rich in theoretical knowledge, but he lacks practical experience in scientific research.

This point, in fact, Song Yingxing himself also wrote in the preface of "Heavenly Creation": "It's sad and poor! want to buy strange research certificates, but lack the funds under Luo; wants to attract the same people to discuss the fake, and the lack of Chen Sizhi's museum; With its lonely sights and hears, how can it be written? ”

Translate this passage, that is, Song Yingxing originally wanted to buy some of the machines described in his book for physical research, but unfortunately he had no money.

I want to find a craftsman who is actually engaged in these industries to copy the reverse machine, but I don't have the space or materials.

Writing your own book is "writing without physical objects" from beginning to end, and of course there is only a pure theory of space-to-space.

In the final analysis, it is poor, "sad and poor".

Now that Shen Shuren has money and is willing to pay for it, he can help him sort out all the things in the preface that he wants to verify physically but don't have the money to verify, and of course Song Yingxing will be hungry and thirsty to come to the front line in person.

Wait for a year or two in the front line, make up for the shortcomings of practical experience, complete the experiments that I originally wanted to do without money, fully integrate theory with practice, and then let Song Yingxing turn back to scientific research and overall management, which is the best way to use people.

……

Suddenly, two more days passed, and there were only seven or eight days left before the New Year.

Approaching the end of the year, Shen Shuren must have a lot of other things to deal with.

Moreover, he had asked Zheng Chenggong to block the water supply route in the Dabie Mountains to make a forced landing on Lin Yang. Now that the coldest time in winter is almost over, Shen Shuren has to go back to Nanjing to make overall plans to close the net.

By the way, climb the officialdom relationship and friendship, operate the promotion after meritorious service, and then conspire with his father, who is now a waiter in Nanjing.

Therefore, on this day, he also came to Daye County, which was only recently established to establish the "Bingzhan Kiln and Metallurgical Research Institute".

Hand over with Song Yingxing, talk about some prospects for follow-up technologies, and arrange some tasks for researchers after the year.

After the New Year, Shen Shuren will not return to Wuchang immediately, so he will explain the things that should be approved in advance, so as not to be idle.

Song Yingxing is also in a good mood these days, he and his nephew Song Mingde, as well as Zhou Tiedan, the original leader of the Huangzhou Military War Bureau, have recently been busy smelting steel from the new blast furnace coke and recasting a sample according to the shape of the existing Hongyi cannon.

If it is finally confirmed that there are no flaws, the cost of making cannons in the future will be much lower, and Da Ming can say goodbye to the bronze cannon forever - at least Shen Jiajun can definitely say goodbye to the bronze cannon forever.

Seeing that Shen Daotai was dangling again, he thought that he was checking the progress of the casting cannon, so he hurriedly took a bunch of materials and prepared to introduce them.

Who knew that Shen Shuren was not in a hurry, and said with a pleasant face: "Slow work and careful work, we are not in a hurry, anyway, it will be the New Year in seven or eight days, you can't finish it, just drag it out until the Lantern Festival."

This time I came because in the last few days, I have been thinking about a few more projects, and I will explain them first while I am not there. Song Lao, you also evaluate it to see which of them are feasible, if you can't do it, put it on hold first, postpone it, and pick the easy one first. ”

When Song Yingxing heard this, he also regained his serious expression, and Song Mingde, who was pouring tea for Shen Shuren next to him, also hurriedly put down the teacup and turned around to close the door of the study.

This study is relatively large, with a large long table suitable for drawing in the middle, and a circle of chairs around it, which has also been newly arranged in recent days.

Shen Shuren feels that engaging in R&D requires equality, teamwork, emancipation of the mind, and a relatively free environment. Therefore, we have to sit together and discuss in meetings, and we can't engage in the system of dignity and orderliness.

This is not Shen Shuren's hypocrisy, but the inevitable law of scientific development - even if he is as domineering as Beria, a typical intelligence agency spy leader, when he was asked by Stalins to supervise the creation of the atomic bomb, he also knew that he had to put away the KGB and give respect to scientists, and he knew that mental creativity could not be forced by high pressure.

When Shen Shuren first asked for such a layout of the R&D conference room, Song Yingxing still felt awkward, but after using it for a few days, he realized the benefits.

At least the huge drawings are spread out on it to guide the country and explain, which is very convenient, and there is no need to circulate it with all hands and feet like when each person had a small case, and the communication efficiency of everyone on the matter has also been improved a lot.

On the first day of use of the new conference room, Song Yingxing still had a civil official after all, so he sat at the same table with an old blacksmith who didn't know much literacy to discuss things, and he still felt a little dissatisfied. But two days later, the awkwardness was overcome.

The original meeting could not be regarded as an open discussion, at most it could only be regarded as a report, full of bureaucratic attention.

At this moment, Song Mingde was about to close the door and keep it secret, and Shen Shuren said very casually:

"Don't be busy, you call Zhou Tiedan first, we have to combine theory with practice in this matter, and in the future, whether the project can be funded or not, both designers and craftsmen must be present, and both sides express their opinions."

Song Mingde was also stunned when he heard this, but he quickly accepted it, and went out to find Zhou Tieqian next door.

The four of them sat around the conference table, and Shen Shuren took out a list and asked a few people to sort it out carefully.

"I think so, metallurgy and the work of imitating old styles of guns with new materials can be finished by the end of the first month at most, right? During the New Year, half a month of rest will be given as usual, until the Lantern Festival.

After these two things are settled, I want to take the opportunity to use new steel and see if I can design some new firecrackers. All the guns that our army has been equipped with so far are no different from the bird guns and turtledoves of the Hongyi people today, except that they have added a set of bayonets and improved ammunition.

Last year, I was so improvised, but I couldn't help it, everything was created. Now that we have a foundation, we must also make improvements in all aspects of the body.

You take a look at this sample first, this is the latest type of Hongyi firecracker that I asked Brother Zheng Xiandi to get from the Dutch, which is better than the turtledove gun that Xiong Wencan got in Guangdong eight years ago, and it is more convenient than our own Lumi firecracker.

The torque accumulation mechanism of this flintlock hammer is more stable, which can prevent false triggering, and it is not easy to get tired after charging for a long time. There is also a half-circle of iron hoops on the outside of the trigger, and it is not easy to shoot by mistake if the gun falls to the ground or hits. ”

Shen Shuren said, first take out a new product from the Dutch, and learn from each other to confirm it.

He doesn't let people do the repetitive work of "reinventing the wheels". To engage in scientific research, of course, it is necessary to align with the latest existing technology.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Westerners had some advantages in firearms, whether it was stealing or cheating, in short, they were used in reverse first, and then upgraded.

Other traversers who went to the end of the Ming Dynasty did not have this condition at first, but the Shen family was a maritime businessman, and they also enveloped Zheng Chenggong, as long as they explained, it was not difficult to get the latest overseas models, and of course they had to use them if they had the conditions.

The gun he has in hand at this moment is actually only sold by the Dutch as a second-hand dealer at a high price, not made in the Netherlands. Its actual producer is Sweden -

The Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648 was fought mainly on the territory of later Germany, when the frontier of European military technology was the alliance of states representing the Protestant forces of South Germany and King Gustav II of Sweden behind the Protestant forces of North Germany. Gustav II's military technology and tactical innovations represented the most advanced level of the West at that time.

Of course, it is now the end of 1641, and Gustav II has been dead for nine years, but his successors continue to learn from the lessons of previous wars and continue to improve.

Shen Shuren asked Zheng Chenggong to ask the Dutch for Swedish goods this time, and the Dutch went around for two years to get it, and it must have cost Zheng Chenggong a lot of money, but these are not taken into account, anyway, Zheng Chenggong will not ask Shen Shuren for reimbursement, and Zheng Chenggong has got it, and he will definitely leave a few roots to ponder and study.

Song Yingxing also has a certain amount of research on firearms, and after taking Shen Shuren's gun at this moment, he took a few glances and saw the merits of it - the hammer torque charging and locking mechanism of this flintlock pistol have been optimized to a certain extent.

One thing must be clarified here: the flintlock pistol has long been available in the Ming Dynasty, so Song Yingxing will not be surprised to see the flintlock pistol, but the flintlock pistol of the Ming army has never been fully reloaded, and it has been in a state of simultaneous use of arquebus and flintlock pistol for a long time.

In Europe, the flintlock pistol was first invented by the Frenchman Mahan in 1547, and the Ming Dynasty was only about 20 years later than the Europeans according to Bi Maokang's "Illustrated Description of Weapons", and by the end of the 1560s, about forty years after Jiajing, there was also a flintlock pistol.

Nowadays, among the firearms of the Shen family's military, those old-fashioned "firearms" are still arquebuses. And the beak gun and the Lumi gun are already flintlock pistols, and Shen Shuren began to let the craftsmen produce flintlock pistols last year, and the arquebus is only in stock.

On the contrary, the "turtledove" obtained from the Spaniards is a bit "against the trend of history", and it is still an arquebus. This turtledove is too heavy, and the firepower required for the fire gate is relatively large, and the few sparks from the flint collision may not be able to ensure stable ignition, so the fire rope is used for ignition.

In fact, this is not difficult to understand, because at the same time, the cannon was still ignited by the arquebus, the cannon charge was too much, the ignition firepower required was also large, and the spark was not enough, so the torch could only be used directly to ignite the firing rope. The turtledove is a heavy firearm between a gun and a cannon, and it also has this problem.

In addition, the original muskets of the late Ming Dynasty, including the Western muskets of the same period, had their triggers directly exposed to the outside, and they were fired as soon as they were bumped. This Swedish snatcher finally thought of adding half a ring of iron rings outside the trigger, so that if it fell to the ground, it would only hit the iron ring and not hit the trigger.

This point should have been thought of by Shen Shuren a long time ago, he had seen so many guns in his later life, which one was not an iron ring on the outside of the trigger? It's just that the original need for this aspect was not urgent and obvious, and he inevitably missed a lot, and this time he just made up for it together.

Song Yingxing pondered carefully for a while, and then compared the original Shen Jiajun's bird's beak and Lu Mi guns, and discussed it with Zhou Tiedan, who was specifically responsible for building.

Both of them feel that it is not difficult to change the flintlock charging mechanism, trigger and anti-accidental hit iron ring, as long as a few days of adjustment, next month after the New Year, the follow-up production of bird guns and Lu Mi guns can be changed according to the new one.

After these minor optimizations were solved, Shen Shuren proposed some new design tasks as medium and long-term goals.