Yang Peng changed to a helper, adjusted the fire power more than a dozen times, wasted more than a dozen cans of concentrated sulfuric acid, and finally produced nitric acid. In a slightly hot environment, concentrated sulfuric acid turns saltpeter into nitric acid gas, and a large amount of nitric acid gas dissolves into water in a jar filled with water, turning that jar of cold water into concentrated nitric acid.

With concentrated nitric acid, Yang Peng can make all kinds of new gunpowder.

However, the preparation of various complex gunpowder is too difficult, and the preparation of some of them is still very dangerous, and the first thing Yang Peng has to do is the simple smokeless gunpowder of nitrocellulose. To make nitrocellulose, concentrated nitric acid, concentrated sulfuric acid and cotton are used. Yang Peng first prepared nitric acid and sulfuric acid into a 1:3.5 solution.

However, Yang Peng didn't pay attention to the first time he mixed nitric acid and sulfuric acid, and directly poured nitric acid into sulfuric acid, and the mixture suddenly boiled and splashed out. Fortunately, Yang Peng has been cautious, his eyes are clear, and he quickly took two steps back, so that he was not splashed by this thick acid.

Yang Peng breathed a long sigh of relief, wiped the fine sweat on his head, and secretly said that it was dangerous. If you get on it with this mixture of acid, your skin will immediately burn away.

The second time, he poured sulfuric acid into nitric acid instead, and only then did he safely get a mixed solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid. The mixed liquid will still heat up, Yang Peng gently stirred the acid in the glass bottle with a glass rod, closed the glass lid and waited for the mixed acid to cool.

After the mixed acid cooled, Yang Peng pressed the degreased cotton into the mixed acid. Defatted cotton is made in advance, boiled with caustic soda solution, and then rinsed with water to obtain. The fat in the cotton and caustic soda undergo a saponification reaction to turn into soap, and when it is washed, the fat is completely washed away. After the cotton is dried, it is placed in a large cotton bag for later use.

Yang Peng pressed the absorbent cotton into a glass filled with mixed acid, pressed several thick layers, and used a glass rod to press out the air between the cotton. After standing in the acid solution for 20 minutes, Yang Peng took out the nitrified absorbent cotton and rinsed it with water until he could not smell sour. Then put the nitrocellulose into the dilute alkali surface solution and boil for 25 minutes, take it out, rinse and dry, and then soak it in 2% saltpeter aqueous solution for stabilization.

Although nitrocellulose has been stabilized, it is still unstable, flammable and explosive. When the temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius. It can accelerate decomposition and cause spontaneous combustion. Therefore, about 30% alcohol must be added to nitrocellulose as a wetting agent during storage and transportation to increase stability.

After a series of preparations, Yang Peng finally got a small jar of nitrocellulose smokeless gunpowder. Yang Peng lit a few balls of nitrocellulose with a torch, only to see that as soon as the fire touched the cotton, the whole cotton burst into flames, exploding in the air like fireworks. Looking at the burning rate of this nitrocellulose, I am afraid that it is much stronger than black powder.

The most important thing is that the nitrocellulose is completely burned after burning, leaving no ashes. By using nitrocell for ammunition, the rifle shooter no longer needs to use a strip to clean the black powder residue from the barrel. In a battlefield where every second counts, the few seconds saved can dramatically increase the speed of fire for riflemen.

If the firing speed can be a few percent faster, the rifleman will be able to fire a few more shots before the enemy rushes to the front of the formation, and the combat effectiveness will be increased by several percent! Yang Peng was busy all day and made a sack of nitrocellulose. Then he asked the guards to knead, calender, and slice the nitrocellulose into flake particles, and then stopped.

The next day, Yang Peng came to the shooting range with nitrocellulose and asked a guard to use the new gunpowder as ammunition for a rifle test shot. Zhan Jinguo, Cheng Shijie and others didn't know how to find out the news of Yang Peng's test of new gunpowder, and they all came. Several regiment leaders surrounded Yang Peng's burlap bag, wanting to open it but not daring.

Zhan Jinguo said with a smile: "Big brother, can this new gunpowder be more powerful than granular black powder?" Yang Peng glared and asked, "How do you know that I test-fired new gunpowder today?" ”

Zhan Jinguo said with a smile: "I went to the official palace yesterday to find you for tea, and the guard at the door said that you were busy with new gunpowder, so I went back, so I naturally knew about the new gunpowder." ”

Yang Peng nodded and said: "This new type of gunpowder is powerful, not only is it smaller in size and more powerful, but it also has no residue, and there is no need for the shooter to clean the chamber." ”

Zhou Dayong sighed and said, "Lord Wang, wouldn't that save a quarter of the time?" Yang Peng nodded and said, "Look at it!" Look at the shooter's test shot! "The guard who was selected for the test shot was very nervous, and his hands trembled a little during the test shot. Yang Peng saw his scared look and said with a smile: "If you are bored by the explosion, the pension will be increased by fifty percent." ”

With the increase in the overall price of goods in the Great Song Dynasty, Yang Peng increased the monthly salary of the workers, and the monthly income of the soldiers of the Tiger Benshi Division also increased, becoming three taels of silver per month. Correspondingly, now Yang Peng has given the wounded in previous battles, and the pensions for the dead have also been increased, and they have also become two or five percent.

Yang Peng said that he would add 50% of the pension to the shooter, and the pension would reach 327 yuan. Even if this shooter is seriously injured, he will be able to lie in bed and receive money in the next life. When he heard this, his hands stopped shaking, his face became more resolute, and the fine sweat on his head decreased a lot.

At the beginning of the test launch, first test a small amount of nitrocellulose. The shooter took a pinch of new smokeless gunpowder from a cowhide bag soaked in alcohol, pressed it into the chamber with a strip, and then reloaded.

Only a bang was heard, and the bullet shot out of the chamber and hit the Khitan double armor placed one hundred and twenty meters away, failing to penetrate the armor. In the past, granular black powder could penetrate double layers of armor, and nitrocellulose naturally had to meet this standard to be qualified. Yang Peng asked the shooter to increase the amount of gunpowder, and the shooter's hand trembled again when he heard this.

This shooter is also a veteran, I don't know how many times he has hit the target with black powder, and after shooting, he subconsciously cleaned the gun with a strip. But he stabbed it with a strip for a long time, and did not feel any residue in the chamber of the gun.

He turned to Yang Peng and smiled: "Lord Wang, there is really no residue." ”

Yang Peng nodded and let him shoot. The second shot increased the amount of medicine, but still did not penetrate the double armor at a distance of 120 meters. The third time he increased the dosage, the shooter gritted his teeth and pressed the trigger, piercing the double iron armor one hundred and twenty meters away.

Seeing the two holes in the armor, several regimental commanders let out cheers. Zhan Jinguo said excitedly: "Big brother, now our infantry is even more powerful!" Yang Peng weighed the weight of the ammunition used at one time, calculated, and said: "This new type of gunpowder is not cheap, just counting the money for raw materials and steam engines is a large sum, plus labor, the gunpowder needed for this launch will cost two cents of silver." ”

Yang Peng thought for a while and said: "According to the amount of 100 rounds of target shot by our veterans once every three days and 100 rounds a month, the gunpowder consumed for shooting a target in a month costs two taels of silver. Hearing Yang Peng's calculation, all the generals were slightly moved. Two taels of silver a month is not a small number, and now the cost of raising a soldier is about six taels. An increase of two taels of silver per month increases the cost by one-third. In addition, Yang Peng has recently raised the monthly salary for workers and soldiers, and the financial pressure is very great.

Fortunately, Taiwan's paddy fields are about to be harvested, and when the late rice harvest in Hsinchu this year comes, Yang Peng can harvest a large amount of silver. This silver is enough to support Yang Peng's use of new gunpowder.

In any case, it is more cost-effective to increase the combat effectiveness of soldiers. Increasing the individual soldier's ability on the battlefield by one-third can sometimes increase the overall combat power of the unit by half, or even more. Because the more elite soldiers are more sure to win in the face of the enemy.

For example, even ten children may not be able to beat a strong adult. Ten children together may be much stronger than one adult, but the strength is scattered and can easily be broken by each of the stronger adults.

Yang Peng nodded and said, "No matter what, we will use this new type of gunpowder in the future." In the future, our firepower will be more intensive. Several regiment commanders were full of excitement and eagerly looked at the new gunpowder in Yang Peng's hand. At the end of October, Yang Peng had nothing to do, and slightly improved the production process of nitrocellulose.

In order for the bullet to get a continuous thrust in the barrel, the rate of ignition of the ammunition needs to be controlled. In the era of black powder, a satisfactory rate of ignition could be obtained by controlling the size of gunpowder particles. If nitrocellulose is used as ammunition, the ammunition combustion rate can be controlled by changing the nitrogen content of nitrocellulose.

In later generations, nitrocellulose with a nitrogen content of more than 12.5% was called an explosive because the nitrogen content was too high and the combustion rate was too fast. Nitrocellulose, which has a nitrogen content of less than 12.5%, does not have such a violent combustion rate and is called a flammable solid. When the nitrogen content drops to a certain level, nitrocellulose cannot even burn in a closed chamber.

There are many ways to control the nitrogen content of nitrocellulose, for example, by controlling the ratio of nitric acid and sulfuric acid, of course, the easiest way is to change the water content in the mixed acid. It is known that when the water content in the mixed acid reaches 20%, the nitrogen content in nitrocellulose will drop significantly to 11%.

Nitrocellulose, which contains 11% nitrogen, not only does not deflagrate, but is even used to produce celluloid plastic. Of course, with Yang Peng's current industrial level, it is impossible to determine the content of various components in the acid. All Yang Peng could do was to test the power of nitrocellulose produced by various concentrations of nitric acid and sulfuric acid, and find a process that was most suitable for Fanjiazhuang's Mini rifle.

After more than ten days of busy work and countless experiments, Yang Peng finally found the most suitable process. Under this process, Yang Peng's rifle can achieve considerable bullet destructive power with the least amount of ammunition. Yang Peng settled this process and began to produce nitrocellulose on a large scale.

New gunpowder is not easy to preserve, but the actual combat effect is very good.

In November, Yang Peng's soldiers began training in the use of new gunpowder. With a little practice, the veterans quickly got used to the new gunpowder. The new gunpowder burns without residue and does not need to be cleaned up, allowing the soldiers to shoot at a much faster rate. Instead of firing only three rounds a minute, soldiers can now fire four salvos a minute.

Wang Ming is a talented man and a gentleman from Qihe County, Jinan Prefecture, Shandong. His family has a wide range of industries in Huadian Township, Qihe County, with 220 hectares of land alone. As for rice shops, oil shops, and cloth shops, there are countless of them. In the entire Huadian Township and Huadian Township, seven or eight out of ten are owned by Wang Mingquan. Wang Mingquan is in Huadian Township, that is a character who is the same.

Even in the entire Qihe County, who doesn't know him Wang Mingquan? Even if the county magistrate saw him, he had to give three points of courtesy and call Wang Gong. Wang Mingquan is in his fifties, has a wife and seven concubines, and has five sons and four daughters under his knees. But over the years, the situation in the world has become more and more worrying for Wang Mingquan.

Khitan and bandits are things that Wang Mingquan is worried about. The Khitan once attacked the city near Shandong and almost broke through the county seat of Qihe County. Wang Mingquan hid in his own house in the county seat that time and experienced a feeling of fright. In order to strengthen the city defense, Wang Mingquan donated 100 taels to the county magistrate at that time.

Although one hundred and twenty points is a little less, it is a bit embarrassing to say, but everyone is like this these days. That time to defend the city, the other rich people in Qihe County donated even less. Whoever donates more, everyone looks at him like a fool. Those who have made a fortune this year are the kind of people who don't contribute even if the sky falls. However, the Khitan came and went, there was no danger, and the most frightening thing for Wang Mingquan on weekdays was Yang Peng of Tianjing New Town.

Yang Peng collected business taxes in Tianjing New City and exploited the gentry, not to mention. The key is that Yang Peng collected land from the gentry in Cangzhou, which was the lifeblood of the gentry. Without exemption from empowerment, what other peasant would have surrendered his land to the gentry? After Yang Peng collected taxes from the gentry in Cangzhou, Wang Mingquan heard that the gentry in Cangzhou had reduced their land rent to a level similar to that of the land in order to keep their fields, and their incomes plummeted. I heard that many gentry could not support their families because of this, so they dismissed their servants and maids. What's even more exaggerated, even the concubines can't afford to raise them, so they are all sent out.

Yang Thief's decision is the lifeblood of the gentry in the world. Not only that, Yang Peng also took in displaced people in Shandong and competed with the gentry for control of public opinion.

Let's talk about this matter in Huadian Township, in Huadian Township, only Wang Mingquan has the right to speak. What Wang Mingquan said is the law! Which of those scholars in Huadian Township was not cultivated in Wang Mingquanjian's ethnology? These people either work as bookkeepers in the Wang family's shop, or work as rent collectors in the Wang family, which one doesn't rely on his Wang Mingquan's business to make a living? Which one doesn't serve him Wang Mingquan as the master?

What these people say, what these people say, is the public opinion of Huadian Township. In the final analysis, the public opinion in Huadian Township doesn't look at the changes in his Wang Mingquan's face? If he Wang Ming scolded one person, the whole township would be scolded the next day. Those peasants, who have never left Huadian Township in their lives, have no knowledge, and don't they follow the public opinion of the readers?

It is this kind of control of public opinion that allows Wang Mingquan to live a life of fine clothes and fine food, while small farmers have to pay heavy taxes to eat bran and drink thin. But what Wang Mingquan didn't expect was that Yang Peng actually begged for a holy decree and ran to Shandong to take in the displaced people, and those tenants ran away with Yang Peng's gang, no one farmed or a squire?

Is the sky about to turn upside down? "Old man Zhang, if you hire someone to talk about Tianjing New City again, I will demolish your tea shop!" But what happened next developed in the direction that scared Wang Mingquan the most. Yang Peng of Tianjing New City actually transferred more than 10,000 troops into Shandong, saying that he was "ordered" to take in the displaced people. In each county, Yang Peng stationed a hundred soldiers.

Yang Peng's soldiers, they were like wolves and tigers, and even the Khitan were afraid. A hundred soldiers came to Qihe County, wouldn't that be the life of the gentry in Qihe County? On December 17, the soldiers of the three Yang thieves, with two copies of the news of Tianjing New Town, personally handed the newspaper to the old man Zhang, the owner of the tea shop, and asked the old man Zhang to read the newspaper boldly.

Old man Zhang didn't know what bear-hearted leopard gall he had eaten, so he actually went into battle by himself and read the news of Tianjing New Town in front of the farmers in Huadian Township. By the time Wang Mingquan came to the door with a hundred families, the tea shop was already full of people, and Old Man Zhang was reading an editorial article "Why are the people of Tianjing New City so rich?" When Wang Mingquan heard the sentence "In the final analysis, the reason why the people of Tianjing New City do not eat chaff and drink thin is because they collected taxes from the gentry and reduced the taxes of small farmers", and his hair was about to stand on end.

With a wave of his hand, a hundred families rushed forward, knocked Old Man Zhang to the ground, and surrounded the three Yang Peng's large corps. At that time, a soldier of Yang Peng pulled out a steel knife and rushed out of the encirclement, and fled to the county seat on a horse. The remaining two Yang Peng soldiers were taken down by Wang Mingquan and tied up.

Wang Mingquan tied Old Man Zhang and the two soldiers to the flagpole in the middle of the market, and in front of the peasants of the whole township, he wanted to whip Old Man Zhang and the two Yang Peng soldiers to death. He sent his family members to the villages to call people, so that the peasants could come and see what happened to Old Man Zhang who took refuge with outsiders and studied in Tianjing New Town in Huadian Township.

As the Wang family called from house to house, more and more peasants gathered in the bazaar. The ragged peasants looked at Master Wang in fear, looked at Old Man Zhang tied to the flagpole, and none of them dared to speak loudly.

Wang Mingquan stood in the middle of the crowd and said loudly: "I asked everyone to come to the market today to be a witness." Let's see if there is a king in Shandong, and see if there is a place for Yang Peng's house in Shandong. ”

"This old man Zhang, together with Yang Thief, read the heinous news of Tianjing New Town, and deserved to be punished. I'm going to have someone whip him to death today! "These two thieves of Yang thieves, I will also smoke them to death, so that Yang thieves know that I am not unmanned in Shandong!"

Where do the peasants know why these three people deserve to die? Anyway, Master Wang said that if he wanted to kill these three people, then these three would definitely have no way to live. The peasants looked numbly at the execution ground in the middle of the bazaar, and no one spoke, just waiting to see the execution of Master Wang's family.

Wang Mingquan waved his hand, and a strong family man walked up with a whip and whipped the old man Zhang fiercely. Old man Zhang let out a miserable scream, screaming very bitterly. The onlookers looked at the waving leather whip, and their faces showed fear. Everyone secretly said that they must listen to Master Wang's words, and one day they will be arrested and beaten to death by Master Wang like this.

The crowd was there in fear, when they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves rolling in the east. The sound of hooves was not like one or two horses, at least dozens of horses galloped at the same time, so that such a sound of hooves could be made. The sound of horses' hooves seemed to trample on everyone's heart, making people panic. It was like a thunderstorm in spring, as if it was going to break through the dull and dull sky.

I don't know who it is, but I suddenly shouted in the crowd: "Lord Yan's soldiers are here!" The old man, who was whipping the old man with a leather whip, trembled with fright, and the leather whip in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter. The onlookers were like the sea at low tide, and they all dispersed with a bang, and ran to their homes. In the end, only the Wang family's family was left in the market. More than 100 family members stood by Wang Mingquan's side, their faces pale, but they didn't dare to leave Master Wang and run for their lives alone.

Wang Mingquan was also very scared, he had heard about the attack on Pang Taishi's son by King Yan's soldiers. But this time, the whole Shandong was burning everywhere, and I didn't hear that Yang Peng shot to kill. It was precisely because of Yang Peng's silence some time ago that Wang Mingquan became bold and dared to tie up Yang Peng's soldiers. Wang Mingquan guessed why Yang Peng couldn't fight against the entire Shandong Shilin.

Perhaps, Yang Peng's power is limited to controlling a few cities, and he can't reach the countryside? Controlling a city is simple, and a few thousand people can take the city and go on a killing spree. But how many people are needed to control the vast countryside?

Wang Mingquan wants to fight with Yang Peng, because this fight is his lifeline. If Yang Peng's forces gradually penetrated deep into Shandong and collected taxes from the gentry in Shandong, Wang Ming's large industry might collapse. If Wang Mingquan, like the gentry in Cangzhou, only collected a land rent slightly higher than the land endowment, what would he use to support servants, account houses, families, and wives and concubines? Wang Mingquan's sons have a group of wives and concubines, if the small people who donated the land are gone, how will Wang Mingquan's sons live?

And this Huadian Township has always been Wang Mingquan's words, for decades. Wang Mingquan is really not used to the appearance of a voice in Huadian Township that is contrary to himself. Wang Mingquan has a hundred reasons to fight with Li Zhi. But he didn't expect Yang Peng's reaction to be so fast. Fifty horses carrying fifty Tiger Warrior soldiers, dressed in full-body steel armor, rushed towards the bazaar in Huadian Township with great vigour. The crowd in the market dispersed in the blink of an eye, leaving only a hundred families around Wang Mingquan. A hundred family members surrounded the old man of the Wang family, because they were afraid to keep retreating back.

But they eat the food of the family, and because of their vital interests, they are unwilling to put down the knives and sticks in their hands. Wang Mingquan's face was pale, but he was calm. He pondered that with so many people protecting him, Yang Peng's soldiers wouldn't dare to kill all of his own hundred families, right? The owner of the tea shop, who was tied to the flagpole, looked at the soldiers of the Tiger Ben Division in surprise, and his face was flushed with excitement. Sure enough, it was right to read Tianjing New City by yourself. Since the prince decided to take in the displaced people in Shandong, he had the means to protect them. The head of the Wang family thought that he could run rampant in Huadian Township with a hundred families, but in fact he was a moth to the fire.

The family who broke out of the siege rode on the horse and pointed to his hand and said, "Platoon commander, it is this group of Wang family members who want to kill us." The platoon commander waved his hand and said, "Kill all those who resist with weapons, and don't let go of any of them!" Fifty soldiers roared, drew their sabers on their backs, and rushed towards a hundred of them. The horse's hooves struck the ground, making the floor of the bazaar tremble slightly.

A hundred servants looked at the fifty horses rushing towards them, and finally they could not hold back anymore and fled. The horses, which are often six or seven hundred pounds, can knock people to death when they collide with them. A hundred family members grabbed knives and sticks, abandoned the head of the Wang family, and scurried around the market like a herd of panicked elk.

The soldiers of the Tiger Division, but they are not ready to let them go. The sharp crucible steel saber was pulled out, and the fast horse caught up with the fleeing Wang family. The cavalry infantrymen gently held the steel knife in their hands, and they did not need to use any force in their hands, and they could press the steel knife into the flesh of the fleeing family by relying on the strength of the horse, cutting a fatal wound. The family who was cut by the steel knife only felt a cold on his body, and a fountain of blood gushed out, and he fell to the ground screaming. They covered their huge wounds and kept rolling on the ground.

The soldiers of the Tiger Warrior on horseback cut down one and chased after the next without hesitation. These family members were very vicious and had a bit of brute force when they bullied the ordinary people, but in front of the elite Tiger Ben Division soldiers, these hundred family members were like a group of children, and they had no power to fight back.

The panicked family members realized that their lives were gone. Yang Peng's killing god can not only control the city, but also rush to the countryside to kill. They threw away their swords and clubs and fled forward in desperation. But where can a man's leg outrun a horse's leg? Screams continued to sound in all corners of the bazaar, and there were fewer and fewer Wang family members still alive. Some of the panicked escapers climbed into the courtyards of the houses near the market, while the soldiers of the Tiger Warrior broke into the door, rushed in, grabbed the fleeing families, and slashed them in the market.

Wang Mingquan stood next to the flagpole of the bazaar, watching more than 100 families being slaughtered like chickens and dogs by the soldiers of the Tiger Division, his face was pale and trembling. The soldiers of the Tiger Ben Division seemed to deliberately save Wang Mingquan's life, and wanted Wang Mingquan to see clearly the fate of opposing Xingguobo, and never used a knife against this talented old man.

But Wang Mingquan knew that it would soon be his turn. Yang Peng acted against the gentry under the pressure of the national scholars in Cangzhou and treated the poor well. In Yang Peng's eyes, the landlord is not more valuable than the life of a family. Since Yang Peng killed all his family, he will definitely do it to himself later?

Wang Mingquan's legs were weak, he bent down little by little, and finally knelt on the ground. He turned his head to look at the flagpole and saw the old man Zhang with a red face, and the two Tiger Warriors who looked at him coldly. Wang Mingquan knelt on the ground and moved over, untying the two Tiger Warriors. He kowtowed desperately on the ground and shouted loudly: "Grandpa Bing spare his life, Wang Mingquan has now seen the Tianwei of King Yan, and from now on he only dares to have one heart with King Yan." Grandpa Private spared my cheap life! It's also a merit! ”

The two soldiers who were loosened breathed a sigh of relief when they loosened their ropes, moved their bodies that were bound by ropes, and said coldly: "You are also the first one who dares to tie up our Tiger Warrior soldiers and say that they will beat us to death." ”

Wang Mingquan was stunned by this sentence, trembling and unable to speak. The platoon commander on the horse walked over and raised his handcuff to aim at Wang Mingquan on the ground. Wang Mingquan waved his hand and said, "Don't! Don't kill me! Master Jun, don't kill me! I'll give you all my possessions! The platoon commander sneered and pressed the trigger.

I only heard a clear snap, and the bullet shot into Wang Mingquan's left chest. A bloody arrow came out of Wang Mingquan's chest, Wang Mingquan looked at his body in disbelief, and fell to the ground with a thud. The rest of the soldiers had finished their killing and were gathering back. The platoon commander who led the team waved his hand and said, "Wang's family raids the house!" The bodies of Wang Mingquan and his family were hung at the gate of the county town to show the public! ”

After all, what happens next, let's see how it will be broken down next time.