The next day, in Dapanbao, there was the firearms supervision department.
That morning, a strong wind blew up, and the cold north wind howled around Dapan Fort. Water dripped and turned into ice everywhere in the fort. Most of the military households hid in their homes. Only the soap workshop, wine shop and firearms supervision office had work. The military households came out early despite the severe cold and went to various places to be busy.
Liu Yan was also wrapped in thick cotton clothes and wore a felt hat on his head, and strode to the door of the Firearms Supervision Office. Miao Shao, the flag officer, also dressed similarly, followed Liu Yan and said: "Commander A, didn't you already give the order during yesterday's meeting? Why are you coming to the Firearms Supervision Office again in such a cold weather?"
Liu Yan naturally has his own plans. Now that the establishment of each sentry has been promulgated, several small flag officers will also start to select candidates for each flag general and team captain today, and they will submit them to him for approval within two days. Then there were the selection of young men from the military households in the fort, and the selection of more than seventy salt men into the ranks, and so on.
As long as these things are done step by step, Liu Yan has nothing to worry about. The only problem now is military preparation.
"Now that the armor production can't be increased, I still have to come over and take a look to feel at ease."
Although Liu Yan said this, he still had another plan in mind, which was to separate the manufacturing of cold weapons such as armor and spears from the firearms manufacturing department.
In other words, Liu Yan is planning to build a special armor manufacturing supervision office in the fort, with specific personnel allocation, etc. Liu Yan also needs to listen to Tan Xiaoda's opinions and take a look at the firearms manufacturing supervision department. It's just the situation here.
When the two entered the door, they met the principal, Tan Xiaoda, followed by Zhao Yan, who had been appointed as the manager of the gunpowder mill.
"I've seen Captain A!"
Liu Yan smiled and said to the two of them, "Are you two going out to greet me?"
Tan Xiao laughed and said, "I was talking to Manager Tan that Chief A should be coming soon, so I was going to wait at the door, but I didn't expect Chief A and Miao Xiaoqi to arrive first."
Liu Yan waved his hand and said, "It's too cold here. Let's go in and talk."
"Commander A, please!"
Liu Yan and Miao Shao, accompanied by Tan Xiaoda and Zhao Hao, began to patrol around the Firearms Supervision Department.
The four people first checked in the gunpowder mill. At this time, there were already 230 people working in the gunpowder mill, which was divided into grinding, screening, proportioning, packaging, quality inspection, and storage.
The first few steps are easy to say. The sub-packaging step is to use a scale to separate out the proportion of gunpowder and make custom-packed paper shells.
Quality inspection and storage are also for the custom-made paper-cased ammunition. After passing the inspection and having no quality problems, they are all packed and stored in wooden boxes with dry straw.
After Liu Yan looked around, he began to ask: "What is the monthly output of the gunpowder factory now?"
The steward Zhao Xun said: "I would like to inform you, Chief A, that the two hundred and thirty people in the gunpowder factory now belong to various links. There are an average of fifty people working in the four links of grinding, screening, equipment and packaging, and ten people in quality inspection. There are 20 people in reserve. More than 3,500 kilograms of gunpowder are produced every month, and more than 37,000 custom-made paper shells can be made."
Liu Yan calculated in his mind: Now one pound in Ming Dynasty is equal to sixteen taels. Calculated based on one pound of 500 grams, one tael now is equivalent to 31.25 grams. Each fixed-load paper shell produced by the gunpowder factory has a charge of one or two and a half, which is about forty-seven grams. Nowadays, the charge is considered to be very large, and it is far more powerful than the blunderbuss equipped by the Ming army everywhere. many.
"How many paper shells are stored in the warehouse now?"
Zhao Yan said: "My subordinates have counted the paper-cased bullets that have been inspected and put into storage. There are 112,386 bullets."
Liu Yan nodded. Now after the expansion, except for the cavalry posts, which are all equipped with cold weapons, the total number of gunmen under each post is 360, and each person can be allocated more than 300 fixed weapons. bomb.
Then Liu Yan said: "Now there is a lot of reserve of fixed-loading ammunition. Next, we will allocate some manpower to produce gunpowder. The production of fixed-loading ammunition will be carried out at the same time as the production of gunpowder. The extra gunpowder must also be stored. Okay, it will be of great use in the future.”
Zhao Zhen cupped his fists and accepted the order.
Then several people came to the firearms workshop, and Liu Yan took a look at the making of the gun.
On the side, although Tan Xiaoda is in charge of the entire firearms manufacturing department, he is also in charge of the firearms workshop. He followed Liu Yan and started to introduce him.
"Captain A, there are one hundred and twenty-four craftsmen in our firearms workshop now. Because the most difficult part of making gunpowder is the gun tube, so my subordinates have assigned eighty skilled craftsmen to specialize in making gun tubes. How many qualified guns are there? The number of qualified bird blunderbuss can be made according to the number of tubes. Now each of these eighty craftsmen can make an average of three blunderbuss tubes in two months, which is divided into 120 blunderbuss tubes in one month."
Liu Yan said: "In other words, the firearms workshop can now make one hundred and twenty bird muskets in a month."
"Exactly."
Liu Yan is still satisfied with the output of gun guns. After all, Dapanbao currently only has a quota of 360 gun guns in total. Coupled with the reserves in the warehouse, the equipment of bird guns is not a problem.
"How is the development progress of the flintlock gun?"
Tan Xiaoda said: "My subordinates personally took charge of this matter and found three other craftsmen with the best skills to review the details. There has been considerable progress. To put it bluntly, the flint-haired musket uses flint instead of match ropes. , the flint ignition design is the most exquisite. My subordinates and others have figured out the specific structure of the flint faucet, but it is still a little difficult to create these qualified components now. "
"Can't you copy it?"
Tan Xiaoda said: "My subordinates also built some, but their abilities are limited, and the components they built are not up to standard. When assembled and installed on the blunderbuss, the flints basically cannot make fire. Now my subordinates are bringing If people improve it, I believe a breakthrough will be achieved soon.”
Liu Yan smiled and said: "This is progress, not bad, you must keep up the good work."
Tan Xiao clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, Commander Jia, my subordinates will do their best."
Then several people came to the place where armor and weapons were made.
There are more than 20 craftsmen making weapons such as spears, waist knives and shields, and 85 craftsmen making armor, and they are all craftsmen with the best skills.
There was nothing to see in the making of cold weapons such as spears and waist knives. Liu Yan went directly to the place where the armor was made.
Tan Xiaoda knew that Liu Yan was worried about the production of armor, so he introduced it from the side: "Commander Armor, please see, the eighty-five craftsmen are now divided into two parts, and fifty-five of them are responsible for the production of armor iron sheets. , each piece of iron needs to go through nearly ten steps such as quenching, polishing, and shaping. In addition, ten people are responsible for making the lining of the armor, and the remaining twenty people are responsible for assembling the armor, that is, combining the iron pieces and the lining. Wait until the parts are connected together. The same goes for the helmet."
"Because the production of armor is too cumbersome, even if the armor equipped by our Dapanbao soldiers is only a half-body armor, to put it bluntly, it is just an armored waistcoat. Compared with the complicated armors such as mountain armor, cotton armor, and straight body armor equipped by the camp soldiers, In fact, it is already very shabby. But even so, it takes nearly a month to make a pair of armor."
Liu Yan couldn't help but nod as he listened. The difficulty of making armor was even higher than that of a musket. There was nothing that could be done about it. With the current foundation of Dapanbao, it was still unrealistic to produce armor in large quantities.
"So how is the production of armor now?"
"Now we can make sixty to seventy pairs of armors a month here, which is already the limit."
Liu Yan calculated in his mind that now all the more than 200 Dunjun troops in Dapanbao were wearing armor, and there were more than 300 pairs of armors in the warehouse. In other words, if they are equipped according to the expanded number of people, the number of armors will be short of five. There are more than a hundred pairs. Even if the workshop is built according to the maximum output, it will take seven or eight months to put together. It takes too long!
So Liu Yan made up his mind. After several people saw this, Liu Yan and others came to the office room where Tan Xiaoda worked. After a few people sat down, Liu Yan went straight to the topic and said: "Now The output in all aspects is very good, and the output of armor is second to none among the Qianhu Institute in Xiahe Village, but now that the demand for our Dapanbao is here, the output of armor must continue to increase."
Tan Xiaoda immediately grimaced and wanted to speak, but was stopped by Liu Yan, who said, "I understand Master Tan's difficulties. I came here today to inspect the firearms manufacturing department. I am here to share Master Tan's worries."
Tan Xiao was overjoyed and said, "I wonder if Commander A has any clever tricks?"
Liu Yan said: "During this period of time, Chief Tan has been working hard day and night. I have seen it. If it were not for Chief Tan, Dapanbao's military equipment would not be so well-equipped. It can be said that Dapanbao Dun's army is very powerful. Chief Tan must be remembered for his first merit!"
As soon as these words came out, Tan Xiaoda no longer bothered to ask. He just felt warm in his heart and almost shed tears from his eyes. He held his fists for a long time without saying anything, as if his throat was blocked by something.
Tan Xiaoda had been ostracized by his superiors and colleagues before. He had no chance to display his talents, and no one took him seriously. Without the appreciation of his superiors, his life was very miserable.
But now, Liu Yan valued him so much, and Tan Xiaoda suddenly understood: A scholar will die for his confidant!
"Don't worry, Commander Armor, my subordinates will definitely try their best to increase the production of armor!"
Liu Yan smiled and said: "I understand Master Tan's mood. I said, I am here to solve the problem."
Liu Yan then proposed the idea of separating the cold weapon and armor production workshops and establishing a military armor supervision and manufacturing office.
"Master Tan is good at making firearms. To be honest, taking into account both armor and weapons is really putting too much pressure on Master Tan. So I am going to ask the team leader for more manpower to take care of Master Tan."
Tan Xiaoda said hurriedly: "Commander A, is it because I am not doing things well, so..."
Seeing that Tan Xiaoda had misunderstood, Liu Yan said, "Don't get me wrong, Mr. Tan. As I said, firearms and armor are two types of weapons. It is most appropriate to develop and build them separately. Moreover, the research and development of flint-haired muskets has not yet been completed." Since I have hope for Chief Tan, I naturally have to take care of some minor matters so as not to interfere with Chief Tan’s development progress.”
After hearing this, Tan Xiaoda felt relieved, clasped his fists again and said, "My subordinate understands. In this case, I will prepare the list of craftsmen who make armors and weapons, etc., and wait for the command of the commander at any time."
Liu Yan looked at the energetic Tan Xiaoda, nodded and said, "That's good!"
