At dawn the next day, before it was completely dark, Liu Yan led Chen Xun's team back to Dapanbao. Before everyone set off, Liu Yan ordered that the pirate's lair be burned down.
The several thousand taels of silver had already been transported back to Dapanbao by Miao Shao and Xu Ming's Ye Bu Shu team and Wang Bo's team at night.
After returning to Dapanbao, more than 6,000 taels of silver were counted and all were put into the warehouse. Liu Yan also gave a silver reward to everyone who went out to fight this time. The ordinary Dunjun soldiers each received five silver coins, and the small flag officers each received one tael of silver. Everyone got two rewards after one attack, and they immediately cheered.
The rest of the Dun army and military households who had not gone to war were very jealous when they saw this, and wished that there would be another war immediately so that they could follow Liu Yan to attack and collect the rewards.
Liu Yan was very happy to see that his morale was available. He immediately announced that the Dun army who was accompanying the army to attack this time would take a day off to rest and recuperate. Then he returned to the general flag hall and prepared to rest for a while. After all, he had been busy all day and night, even if Liu Yan Yan is strong and feels a little tired at this time.
But at this time, Chen Xun came over, stopped Liu Yan who was about to go to bed, and said apologetically: "Chief A, my subordinate just met Chief Tan. Chief Tan heard that we brought back a flint-haired bird. Gun, was very excited and said he wanted to see it, so he asked his subordinates to come over, haha..."
Liu Yan gave a wry smile. He was also thinking about the flint-haired bird cannon. He originally wanted to take a nap before going there, but he didn't expect Tan Xiaoda, a craftsman, to be so eager. It seems that high technology is the same in ancient and modern times. I am obsessed with technology that I am not familiar with.
"Looks like I still can't be lazy."
Liu Yan sighed in his heart, then stood up and said, "Okay, let's go there."
After saying that, Liu Yan picked up the flintlock bird gun on the table and called Chen Xun to go to the firearms supervision office.
On the way, Chen Xun said with a smile: "Commander Jia, after yesterday's battle, I know that those pirates are really rich. A group of dozens of pirates can make more than 10,000 taels of silver. They are really rich." It's oily, no wonder there are thieves and bandits everywhere now!"
Liu Yan said: "I know what you are thinking, are you thinking about suppressing bandits and making money?"
Chen Xun smiled and said nothing.
Liu Yan shook his head, then poured cold water on Chen Xun, and said: "These people are pirates. They should have attacked some wealthy places along the surrounding coasts before, so they can accumulate so much money and return the money." I can get a rare flint-haired bird gun. But not every bandit in various places is like this. Most of the thieves should be poor ghosts, and many of them are even ordinary people who are too poor to live. Otherwise, who would risk being wiped out and become a bandit?"
After listening to Liu Yan's words, Chen Xun fell silent, his eyes full of sadness, thinking of his parents who starved to death a few years ago.
When Liu Yan saw this, he understood and sighed slightly.
Just two years ago, the Lingshanwei area suffered from a drought. There was no rain for eight months in a row. Water conservancy facilities in various places were almost completely abandoned. Almost all the fields were harvested. People everywhere were crying and fighting for land.
However, the imperial court has been unable to send out relief food, so that victims are everywhere. Even Chen Xun, a small flag officer, has been without food rations and military pay for several months. Chen Xun's parents lived in Wangjiazhuang. The family soon ran out of food and had no water or rice for more than ten days.
After receiving the news, Chen Xun was furious. His parents were already in poor health. He immediately went crazy and borrowed food on credit. He even took people to grab some. Only then did he collect about ten kilograms of food and hurried home. , only to see that his parents, whom he had not seen for several days, had starved to death.
Such a tragic situation can no longer be described in words. Chen Xun's state at that time still exists in Liu Yan's memory, almost going crazy.
"well!"
Liu Yan patted Chen Xun on the shoulder and said, "Some things have passed, so don't think about them anymore."
Chen Xun nodded heavily, but his eyes were slightly red.
"Now the life in Dapanbao is different from the past. I am confident that I will lead you to better and better times. In the future, we will start a business together so that everyone can live a good life, no longer have to endure hunger, and will no longer be Do you have confidence in the good days when thieves and slaves threaten us?"
Chen Xun suddenly raised his head and looked at Liu Yan, nodded firmly, and said in a slightly choked voice: "I believe you are here!"
While talking, the two came to the door of the Firearms Supervision Office. Chen Xun also calmed down his mood. Tan Xiaoda, who was anxious to study the flintlock gun, had been waiting here for a long time.
At this time, Tan Xiaoda saw the flintlock gun in Liu Yan's hand, and his eyes suddenly lit up. He excitedly stepped forward to take it, and then observed it carefully, without even bothering to salute Liu Yan.
In fact, there is an explanation about the self-generated fire gun, that is, the flint-haired bird gun, in "Illustrated Description of Weapons". Liu Yan still clearly remembers: "When the gun is in trouble in the wind and rain, all guns must open the door first, so that they can attack the enemy." Lift and release. There are often those who are wet by wind and rain and are unable to fire. If there are those who accidentally fire before the star shines, the faucet must be modified to cause the flint to strike and fire the medicine. The stone fire will spontaneously ignite. If the wind and rain are not enough to make it wet, it is urgent. Handy."
It can be said that the flintlock gun is a big leap forward compared to the matchlock gun. The flint-haired bird muskets equipped by the Ming army were made by Bi Maokang, the right servant of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing in the eighth year of Chongzhen's reign. They used flint bolts instead of matchlock bolts. However, due to the chaos in the late Ming Dynasty, the construction of flint-haired bird guns was not carried out on a large scale.
These are all records in history books. Only then did Liu Yan figure out the detailed structure of the flint-haired bird gun when he saw the real thing. Tan Xiaoda on the side also looked like "that's it".
This flintlock bird gun canceled the original match rope, and also made many changes in the trigger and other places.
A fire sickle and a fire sickle spring were installed near the medicine pool. As for the flint, it was installed behind the fire sickle and fixed by a flint clamp.
"It turns out that the trigger drives the hammer through a spring and hits the flint flakes. The rapid friction with the flint flakes generates sparks, which ignites the gunpowder in the fire gate medicine tank. Therefore, this flint-haired musket does not have to be like a matchlock. Like a bird gun, you have to drag a long lit match rope during combat. It can be fired at any time in rain, snow, wind and frost, and it also avoids the shortcomings of being easily exposed by the light of the match rope at night!"
Tan Xiaoda said excitedly, and Liu Yan also smiled and nodded.
Tan Xiaoda is right. Now the matchlock gunners of the Ming army cannot stay alert for a long time when the match is lit, because once the match is burned out, the blunderbuss cannot be fired.
If the musketeer does not light the match rope as a warning, it will be too late to light the match in an emergency. If the enemy cavalry is encountered, it will be even too late. Often the enemy has already charged before the musketeer is ready. Arrived.
Of course, this situation is not unsolvable. Qi Jiguang has an emergency solution, which is to directly use tinder to ignite the gunpowder in the medicine pool without tying or lighting the match.
However, this method also has an unsolvable problem, that is, the gunman cannot aim at this time, and it can only be effective when the enemy is very close. In other words, with this emergency method of shooting, the gunman only has one chance to shoot, and then he has to fight hand-to-hand.
In these aspects, it is much more convenient to use flintlock bird guns, and the combat performance is also greatly improved. It is a pity that today is in troubled times. The army of bandits in the pass is sweeping north and south, and the slaves outside the pass are also watching with eager eyes, and the imperial treasury is empty. Although some of these flint-haired bird cannons are also equipped in the Ming army, they are not in quantity. It was impossible to form a scale and reverse the decline of the Ming army at this time.
Talking about this flint-haired bird cannon, Tan Xiaoda kept praising the exquisite structure, and Liu Yan also agreed with it. Although bird guns were introduced to the Ming Dynasty from the West, after the improvement of the Ming Dynasty's skilled craftsmen, the bird guns at this time were already better than their predecessors. Whether it was design, structure or manufacturing technology, they were no worse than the Western fire guns of the same era. It was only because of the financial problems of the Ming army that the quality of the muskets equipped by the Ming army was worrying.
"What a pity. If we were not in troubled times, but in a prosperous age like the Yongle Emperor, these flint-haired bird cannons would definitely be deployed in the Ming army on a large scale. Perhaps the Ming army could enter the era of full firearms before the West, and history might not be the same. This is what it looks like now!”
Liu Yan sighed and put away the regret in his heart, and then said to Tan Xiaoda: "What, now that I have this flint-haired bird gun in hand, I can also figure out the basic structure of the flint-haired bird gun. Can the Firearms Supervisory Office Mass-produce imitations as soon as possible?”
Now Liu Yan's idea is that the Firearms Supervision and Manufacturing Office will understand the technology of the flintlock gun as soon as possible, and then start large-scale imitation. As long as the flintlock weapon is born, Liu Yan will fully promote it in the army. He will even reduce the number of spearmen to the maximum extent, directly cancel the sword and shield bearers, and form as many flintlock gunners as possible. Sweep all opponents with powerful firepower.
Although Tan Xiaoda was very happy to see the actual flint-haired bird gun, he was not dazzled by the joy. After observing it carefully, he said cautiously: "Chief A, I need some time to find out the details." Let’s do some research, and I can’t agree on what the armor will look like until I completely figure out the detailed structure of this flint-haired bird gun.”
Tan Xiaoda himself is a very rigorous person, which should be a common problem for such technical talents.
Liu Yan knew Tan Xiaoda's temper very well, so he was not angry. He just secretly said that he was a little impatient. After all, the flint-haired bird musket was not an ordinary sword and gun. But the most sophisticated technology of this era naturally requires some effort.
So Liu Yan said with a smile: "Well, Mr. Tan, don't be too anxious. Study it slowly. If it doesn't work, you can also find a few capable craftsmen to consult with you. If you need anything, you can tell me at any time and I will try my best. I will try my best to solve it.”
"Yes, thank you for your understanding."
Liu Yan nodded and said, "That's it for today. Let me know when there is progress in imitating the flintlock gun."
Tan Xiaoda immediately agreed, and then said: "During this period, my subordinates will focus on imitating the flintlock gun. Of course, the firearms manufacturing department will not let it go. It's just that the commander has any other tasks." , my subordinates are worried that they will not be able to take care of both."
Liu Yan said with a smile: "It doesn't matter. I estimate that within a period of time, this flint-haired bird gun will be the most important thing in the Firearms Supervision Department. I won't put any more burden on you until we have a clue."
