Turning around, Zhang Qi nodded to the craftsmen who were waiting for the results.

"This batch of guns looks fine, but whether they can be used depends on tomorrow's test firing, I bother you to work overtime, clean these guns before noon tomorrow, reinforce the gun bodies with iron hoops, and install gun mounts."

"No!"

The blacksmiths bent over.

Everyone was happy at this time, the salary of a craftsman in Liaodi was good, plus overtime and overtime pay when the metal was tight on weekdays, they could be regarded as a high-income group in Liaodi.

The annual salary adds up to about 100 white dragons, and according to the current conversion of 100 yuan for a white dragon, each person is the owner of 10,000 yuan per year.

And the price of Liaodi is stable, two dollars can buy a pound of pig red meat (lean meat), even the price of pig white meat (fatty meat) is now only five dollars a catty, not to mention fish and staple food, they are cheaper than the price of cattle, sheep and pigs.

Originally, there was a lot left over from a year's salary in addition to family expenses, but now they were directly rewarded with thirty dollars, almost one-third of a year's income, how could they not be happy.

Under the heavy reward, the work enthusiasm of the blacksmiths is also extremely high.

After retreating from Zhang Qi, they called the apprentice to carry the cannon body and rushed to the workshop.

Don't you hear, these things will be used tomorrow.

Looking at the enthusiasm of the craftsmen, Zhang Qi also smiled happily.

He turned around and nodded to Hu Ling on the side, and the two returned to the city lord's office surrounded by a group of personal guards.

Sitting down, Hu Ling couldn't wait to ask Zhang Qi.

"Your Majesty, those iron pipes are the cannons you are talking about? Why didn't my subordinates find the difference? ”

In fact, Hu Ling wanted to ask just now, but there were many people outside, and she was not very relieved.

Zhang Qi said with a smile: "It is indeed the prototype of the cannon, but it is just a small cannon, with a caliber of 100 millimeters, and the length of the cannon is only one meter. ”

"How do you attack the city with iron pipes? Is it like blowing arrows? ”

Hu Ling was still puzzled, she had never seen a cannon fired, and she couldn't think of the power of the cannon anyway.

However, the principle was said by mistake.

Zhang Qi nodded: "That's half right, it's indeed similar to the principle of blowing arrows, but the auxiliary material to be used is not wind, but frying." ”

"Fried?"

"Yes, it's this powder to fry."

Zhang Qi took out a flare from the drawer of his desk, disassembled the second half of the charge, and poured them into a teacup.

Gunpowder is an absolute secret, and Zhang Qi did not let them have any traces of production in the outside world, they were all brought out of the riding and slashing world.

That's why he dared to teach the cannon's data, models, and parameters to the blacksmiths.

"The cannon is not the main one, it's just the carrier, it's this that really works!"

Zhang Qi blew a fire fold and picked it up with chopsticks and approached the gunpowder in the teacup.

Buzz.

A puff of black smoke and fire rose from the city lord's office.

"Ahem,"

Hu Ling was choked with a cough, but Zhang Qi was already used to it.

sighed: "Alas, the quality of the powder is still too poor, there is too much smoke, and the deflagration is not enough, and I don't know how they have improved and optimized these days." ”

"But fortunately, the propellant used to act as a cannon is sufficient, and the early granulation can also reduce some of the quality gaps."

Zhang Qi's chopsticks picked up the teacup he had just used for the demonstration and threw it into the trash.

Looking at the burning just now, Hu Ling seemed to have an understanding, nodded her head lightly twice, and said with some uncertainty.

"Tomorrow's test shot is to use this powder to ignite the inside of the cannon, and then you want to shoot something out like a blow arrow with a buzz like that, right?"

Zhang Qi looked at her and nodded with a smile: "That's the truth." ”

Hu Ling suddenly understood.

Time flies.

Before noon the next day.

The craftsmen of the iron-smelting plant sent the news that the cannon body had been cleaned and the gun carriage had been installed.

After receiving it, Zhang Qi did not go as soon as possible, but asked people to pass the cannon to the train test site outside the city, where Zhang Qi planned to test fire.

But before that, he went to the world of riding and chopping, and brought out thirty catties of black powder from there.

Grains of gunpowder were packed in layers of barrels.

In the face of this, Zhang Qi didn't dare to be careless.

Thirty catties of granular black powder, if this explodes, even if he has the same fate skill, he will have to end up with no bones.

After coming to the outside world, Zhang Qi immediately asked people to take good care of it.

The possibility of spontaneous combustion of granular black powder is extremely low, or even none, but this must be done at a reasonable temperature and without an open flame.

The guards took the medicine barrel and covered it with a thick cloth, then tied it to the horse's back and rushed to the train test site.

It's not there yet.

Zhang Qi saw the column of smoke formed by the white smoke drifting, and the whining whistle.

The locomotive has been experimenting here for almost a month, and I don't know how many times the six-kilometer-long test-paved track has turned.

Sixteen hours a day, the locomotive is still strong, and only a few small parts have been replaced, which shows that the materials are solid.

But it's also bitter Ah Yan.

From the excitement of the experiment at the beginning, to the numbness now, Ah Yan has already sworn in her heart that she never wants to drive a train in her life.

From a distance, Ah Yan saw a group of people gathering dozens of meters away from the track, he didn't pay much attention to it at first, but when the train went back and forth a few times, he found that when there were more and more people, he roughly knew that Jun Shang might be coming.

Sure enough, just as the train passed through the crowd again, a big horse that he was familiar with could not be on a familiar horse, sat the man he admired the most.

Release, decelerate, brake, all in one go.

The train came to a steady stop on the tracks.

Ah Yan got off the train cab and came to Zhang Qi's side to lead the horse.

"Your Majesty."

Ah Yan's face was resentful.

Zhang Qi laughed, he naturally knew the reason for Ah Yan's resentment.

"Hahaha, if you let Tanaka see this gesture, it will be a handle, okay, you go pick a few brothers, teach them, and you will return to the team."

"No! Hey. ”

Ah Yan laughed a few times, and happily went to pick the right person.

And Zhang Qi turned over and dismounted, and when he looked at a row of movable artillery platoons assembled by craftsmen, he was greatly admired.

"What a craft!"

The finished cannon looks particularly eye-catching, and the matte surface is presumably painted by the craftsmen.

This also shows that it didn't take them much time to wash the bore and reinforce the gun body.

Everything is ready to go.

Zhang Qi came to one of the cannons.

The muzzle of the cannon was raised upwards, and Zhang Qi beckoned a few mechanics from the new army and asked them.

"Have you memorized the artillery drill manual that you handed over to your school a few days ago?"

"Go back to the king, don't dare to slack off!"

"Okay, let's test shoot, slow down the first time."

"No!"

Several mechanics did not have the slightest stage fright, they first figured out the difference between the real thing and the book, and then turned the book to verify.

Finally, under the precise reproduction step by step, an armourer used the granular gunpowder brought by Zhang Qi to pack a propellant bag and stuffed it into the barrel of the cannon.

Then, a polished stone projectile that was only slightly outside the barrel of the cannon and greased was stuffed.

The gunpowder rope is now rubbed, using gunpowder from signal flares and filaments.

Once everything was ready, several mechanics adjusted the angle of the muzzle according to the ballistic knowledge they had learned from operating the catapult.

The target Zhang Qi had already been set, and there was a huge wooden sign like a billboard on the ground in a vacant lot three miles away.

The Mechanic's job is to get the shells to hit there.

Of course, it's okay if you don't hit, as long as it's not too far away, it's within Zhang Qi's acceptable range.

When the mechanics were done, they all turned around and asked Zhang Qi for instructions, who waved his hand.

One person quickly ignited the powder rope.

Zizizizi.

With the powder rope burning bit by bit.

Suddenly.

Boom ——!

The cannon roared, and the crowd around them jumped.

And in Shanhai City, there were also many people looking in the direction where the voice came from, looking a little nervous.

The sudden loud noise caused the entire Shanhai City to be chaotic for a moment.

Fortunately, Zhang Qi had orders in advance.

The city guards explained to all the ordinary people of Shanhai City one by one that after the monarch exerted his divine might, everyone invariably showed an expression that was really like this.

Then he prayed sincerely.

And at the artillery firing site.

After the roar, the artillery mount of the cannon moved back more than half a meter, and the wooden sign three miles away.

Not surprisingly, nothing has changed.

Zhang Qi beckoned, and several personal guards on his side got on their horses and went to find the landing point in the direction of the cannon fire.

Coming to the cannon, Zhang Qi called a craftsman.

"It takes a little effort to fix it, and I want the cannon to be fired, and the whole will not be offset."

The craftsman woke up from the divine power of the cannon, and he trembled a little in the face of Zhang Qi's request.

"This, this. This may require. A little time. ”

Zhang Qi patted him on the shoulder comfortingly: "Don't be afraid, these weapons are all used to protect our own people, the better you improve, the greater the credit, we still have time, just let it go!" ”

Being comforted by Zhang Qi like this, the craftsman came back to his senses under the power of the cannon, he wiped the sweat on his forehead, and bowed his hand.

"No!"

"Well, let's get busy."

Zhang Qi hummed and let him return to the craftsman.

At this moment, the guards who had gone to find the landing point also returned, but they did not bring back the stone bullets.

dismount

One of the guards bowed.

"Back to the king, the stone bullet hit a tree, and the tree burst two meters away, almost piercing the heart."

"Hmm."

"Shoot again! The goal is still that! Change the gun! ”

(End of chapter)