The workshop also gathered a lot of visitors. When Tuhuan and Guo Kang came to the workshop, Zhu Wenkui was introducing weapons to everyone. The crowd gathered around a shelf to watch him demonstrate.

"That's how our muskets came out." He took an iron rod and showed it to everyone: "If you roll the iron plate just now, roll it in two layers, and make it well, you can get such an iron rod with a fine hole in the middle, and then fix it on this shelf, and use this drill bit to drill it." ”

"The efficiency of today's drilling instruments is very low, and you need to get started by the master himself and take his time. Our equipment is much simpler, it can be connected to hydraulic or animal power, so that many equipment can work at the same time. In this way, the efficiency is much higher. If I can get all the ordnance institutes to study and improve, I don't think I have to worry about the lack of supply at all. ”

Then, he ended the introduction and let everyone come and see for themselves.

In the crowd, several officials from the Ministry of Industry immediately came up and surrounded him to ask this and that. Outside, there were many people who also gathered around curiously, wanting to ask questions. For a while, the scene was quite lively.

"What kind of device is this?" Tuohuan asked curiously.

"It's just a drilling machine." Guo Kang said: "This thing is already there, but the accuracy and strength are not enough. We redesigned it to drill as straight as possible. At present, at least these devices are enough. ”

"I don't know much about this, I don't see any secrets." Tuohuan honestly admitted.

"Actually, there are no secrets, it's all hard work." Guo Kang thought for a while and said, "Making firearms is a bit similar to how we built the Steam Heavenly Brother before. Although the function and appearance are very different, many of the technical problems faced are the same. I can name dozens of process problems, and they all boil down to one thing: lack of precision. ”

"Look at the barrel." He pointed to the iron rod that stood on the shelf as a demonstration: "If the chamber of the gun is not straight enough, and the projectiles fly around, it will reduce the accuracy and power of the shot; If the difference between the caliber of the projectile and the chamber is too large, gunpowder will be wasted and the power will be reduced. And the bolt I added that blocked the launch port, if it wasn't accurate enough, it wouldn't be plugged, and it would spray sparks as soon as you shot it...... In short, there are already a lot of problems in this area alone. ”

"How should that be improved?" Tuohuan continued to ask.

"There's really no way to trick this, you can only work slowly." Guo Kang shook his head: "You come to see this." ”

He stretched out his hand to say hello to Zhu Wenkui, didn't bother him, and took Tuhuan and the others out of the workshop and came to the shack behind.

"I'll see...... Ay? What about people? Guo Kang pushed open the door, looked left and right, and shouted, "Urban! What about people? ”

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Urban rushed out of the corner with a puff of smoke: "Mr. Guo! Do you have any commands? ”

"Where's our standard ruler?" Guo Kang asked.

"It's in the cellar, it's okay two days ago, and I'll put it in." Urban replied, "Would you like to go and see it?" ”

"We have guests today, let's go check it out." Guo Kang said.

Urban nodded, took the lamp, led the people to the entrance of the cellar next to it, probed with the lamp, and walked in. The group went down, and saw that the cellar was not large, and the walls had not been worked, and it was evident that it had been dug in a hurry, and that there were all kinds of materials in it. On the shelf next to it, there is also a basin.

"It's over there." Guo Kang pointed to the basin and said.

They walked over and saw a basin filled with water and ice, and a long strip of ceramic soaked in it. Neither Tuohuan nor Theodora understood what this meant, and looked at Guo Kang suspiciously.

"Materials will expand and contract, I took you to see the glass workshop before, and the thermometer in it is this principle." Guo Kang explained to Tuhuan: "In order to reduce this effect, I made a porcelain strip and cut it one foot long. The temperature of the ice water is also constant, so you can reduce the error a little more. ”

"Is it necessary to exaggerate?" Tuhuan was surprised.

"It's fine for now, but in the future, it's going to be more and more detailed. It's better to exaggerate and trouble a little now than to adjust all the utensils and make a mess when the time comes. Guo Kang explained: "The measuring instrument promoted by the household department is too rough, and it is okay to measure the fields and mileage at ordinary times, but it is not enough to do such a fine thing." ”

"This ruler has one in the workshop and one in the monastery. The monastery was made of gold—the priests thought it was some kind of sacred being, and insisted on melting a few sacrificial vessels and making one. He said: "Of course, if I have to say, the measuring device is indeed the concept that best represents 'eternal' and 'universal' among so many of our devices." ”

"In two months, we will align these two rulers, and then we will also make other rulers based on this length for everyone to use on weekdays. At the moment, it's still possible. ”

"If the ruler of the household department is not accurate, how long should this ruler be? Or is there no original definition of this concept, and this length is also set by you at will? Theodora began to think of something more philosophical.

"We don't care if there is an original unit of length, or if the ruler is right with it. As long as our products can match themselves. Guo Kang said: "At present, there is no need to pay attention to so much. ”

"If I had to go back to the roots, I wouldn't know. There is a rumor among the Europeans that their foot is the length of the king's foot. Of course, the length of the feet is inherently uncertain, and there are many kings, so the measurement is naturally not accurate. ”

"And this measure is the product of the gradual development and progress of the barbarians, and before, there was not even such a unit. It is said that during Charlemagne's reign, the people often had disputes and conflicts because of different units of measurement. On one occasion, some merchants who bought and sold cloth fought for the throne. ”

"The rulers used by both sides are not the same length at all, so it is useless to explain them. Charlemagne was angry, kicked his feet, and turned his back on his breath. When the attendants saw this, they thought that he was signaling that their feet should be used as the standard length, so they hurriedly announced that everyone should stop using their own rulers, and that they should all use the length of the king's feet as the length of rulers in the future. This custom has continued by accident. ”

"It's obviously apocryphal." Theodora pointed out: "Not to mention that this kind of thing is daily, it is not his turn to deal with it, how can a man like Charlemagne say that he will faint and ......"

"I told Xiao Zhu that he thought so too. It feels like it's the same as those around the ...... Well, his grandfather's various starvation jokes are about the same. Guo Kang scratched his head: "However, there is indeed this custom." ”

"Our ruler has a similar joke. Our ruler was also used in the Central Plains, and later in order to make looms, we also had rulers with the Yuan people. When I was chatting, I told them this story, and the Yuan people said that there was actually a similar story in the Central Plains. ”

"It is said that Queen Ma's feet are also one foot long, although the logic is different from Charlemagne's story, but it is also just right, which is very interesting. They call our engineering ruler 'Ma's ruler' - but don't tell Xiao Zhu about this. ”

"Got it, got it." Tuohuan couldn't help but laugh.

"How did this legend come about? Is it really that exaggerated? Theodora wondered.

"It must have been made up. There is a correspondence between the length of people's feet and their height, and the general height is seven times the length of the feet, so the shoes worn by tall people must also be large. Guo Kang explained:

"During the Western Jin Dynasty, there were three of the rarest treasures in the arsenal: the sword of Han Gaozu to kill the white snake, the clogs of Confucius, and the head of Wang Mang. Among them, Confucius's clogs, it is said that when he traveled to Cai State, a thief went to the hostel to steal things, and gave it out, and it has been handed down since then. The Jin people said that Confucius was different from ordinary people, and so were his shoes, because the clogs were one foot and four inches long, and at first glance they were not mortal objects. It can be seen that Confucius himself should also be extremely tall and strong. ”

"The current ruler is longer than the ruler of the Han and Jin dynasties. If the foot is really a foot long, it is estimated that the size is about the same as Confucius. That's amazing, isn't it? ”

"I see." Theodora understood.

"What are you paying attention to, you can't be small yourself." Tuhuan muttered.

"Okay, okay, look at the ruler, look at the ruler." Guo Kang hurriedly interrupted the topic, lest the two of them quarrel again.

"I remember there are a few more here." He looked to the side, reached out and probed, and sure enough, he took out a ruler: "This is a made, graduated utensil." ”

"Once the basic unit is determined, the rest of the stuff is not too difficult. With a sturdy ruler and compass, you can accurately divide the line segments into two equal parts, and then divide each into five equal parts, so that you get a length of one inch. Going on, it can still be subdivided like this. This method, the Greeks have long been familiar with it. ”

"Thinner sizes, and this." He picked up a caliper: "But you shouldn't need it, if you want to play one day, I'll teach you how to use it." ”

"What's this novelty?" I can't react.

"Not new." Guo Kang shook his head and said: "When the Yellow Emperor was in the time, a minister named Chui invented rules and standards. It can be seen that this caliper was also invented by the ancient holy kings, and this matter is also recorded in the "World Book". ”

Later, at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang stole the creation of the ancestors and made it in his own name, but he failed to learn the trick and omitted the most critical part of the scale. So for a long time, I haven't seen this kind of complete caliper. ”

"Through continuous efforts and the care of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother, we have successfully discovered the essence of this design, comprehended the deep meaning of the Holy King, and restored the ruler. At present, it is indeed very easy to use, and it is worthy of the legacy of three generations of antiquity. ”

"How can everything go back to three generations......" Theodora also felt that something was not quite right.

"Don't care if it's three generations old, just say if it's easy to use." Guo Kang looked very sophisticated, and obviously faced this situation more than once: "Such a convenient and delicate thing, how could the ancestor not think of it?" It must have been involved for a long time. ”

"Therefore, if you have good things but don't know how to use them, but instead find excuses to prevaricate and exclude, it can only show that some people nowadays enjoy the prestige handed down by their ancestors, but they are incompetent, unlearned, unable to understand the wisdom of the sages, and ruined the reputation of the ancients."

"In various guilds, there are still a lot of people who have this kind of corpse vegetarian meal. When we question, they can only be vague, neither dare to claim that they are smarter than the Yellow Emperor, Confucius, Aristotle and other sages, nor dare to say that they have not learned the knowledge of the ancients. Anyway, one of him and the ancestor must be wrong, so let's say who is wrong, right? ”

"Oh, that works well...... Diodora doesn't question it.

There are not many things in the cellar, Urban, according to Urban, because the environment here is relatively stable, unlike the workshop above, where people come and go, and it is hot and cold. After looking at the ruler, they left the cellar.

"I think, this line of thinking. There is indeed some prospect. Tuohuan commented: "And I'm thinking, since you can drill guns, can you drill guns?" The cannon is bigger, and the tolerance for error is stronger. ”

"Absolutely. And if you use a bronze cast cannon, the effect is even better. Guo Kang nodded, turned his head and asked, "Urban, where is our cannon embryo?" ”

"Also in the storeroom. There are a lot of people today, so I will build it first. Urban said.

Guo Kang nodded, and led everyone back to the big shed, and sure enough, in the corner, he found the embryo he said.

It is a bronze pillar of one man long, thin in the front and thick in the back, with a hole drilled in the position of the head, but it is not too deep.

"Master Shizi commanded everyone before, and it has been drilling for more than half a week, and the progress is okay." Urban told them: "Copper is softer than iron, so it is easier to make a hole alone." However, after all, the artillery is very large and heavy, and it will take a long time to complete it all. ”

"That's ......," Tuohuan nodded.

"There are a number of benefits to the bronze cannon. Although copper is heavier than iron in the same volume, copper is more tough, and when making artillery, the pipe wall can be made thinner. Compared with the finished product, it is lighter than iron artillery. In addition, copper melts at a lower temperature and is relatively easier to process. Urban continued: "That's why we decided to give it a try. ”

"Why haven't you heard of that before?" Tuohuan asked.

"We had too many projects before, and the funds were seriously insufficient, so we could only use iron to make a small cannon for testing. This time, the major chambers of commerce in the city have donated a lot of money and utensils, which can be luxurious, so they hired some coppersmiths to try it out. Urban replied.

"Bronze cannons seem to be quite common, my father Khan and they have captured them from the barbarians before, but I didn't think there was anything worth noting at that time......" Tuhuan thought for a while and said.

"That's a problem of their craftsman's skills, not a problem of copper cannons." Urban insisted: "The best material should be bronze, but nowadays many barbarian cannons are brass, so naturally they can't do it." And bronze they don't play well either, there are too many problems with casting...... On our side, we will definitely have a big advantage. ”

"Okay, then go ahead and try. If you lack copper, ask me for it. Dehuan felt that there was no problem and agreed.

Urban looked happy and hurriedly thanked him.

"Master Shizi is very busy during this time, but I have been watching here, and I will definitely give you a result as soon as possible." He assured.

"It's okay, we shouldn't be in a hurry, we'd rather be slow and do a good job." Tu Huan advised: "With this level of weapon, speed is not so sensitive, and quality and safety are the most important. A good cannon casting master can't blow himself up. ”

"Understood, understood." Urban replied again and again.

(End of chapter)