Yang Peng replaced a helper, adjusted the stove firepower 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. A large amount of nitric acid gas dissolves into the water in the tank, turning the tank of cold water into concentrated nitric acid.
With concentrated nitric acid, Yang Peng can make various new types of gunpowder.
However, it is too difficult to prepare various complex gunpowders, and some of them are very dangerous to prepare. The first thing Yang Peng needs to do is simple smokeless gunpowder like nitrocellulose. Making nitrocellulose requires concentrated nitric acid, concentrated sulfuric acid and cotton. Yang Peng first prepared a 1:3.5 solution of nitric acid and sulfuric acid.
However, Yang Peng didn't pay attention when he mixed nitric acid and sulfuric acid for the first time. He directly poured the nitric acid into the sulfuric acid. The mixture immediately boiled and splashed out. Fortunately, Yang Peng had been cautious and had quick eyesight. He quickly took two steps back to avoid being splashed by the thick acid.
Yang Peng breathed a long sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his head, secretly thinking that the situation was in danger. If it is stained by this mixed acid, the skin will be burned immediately.
The second time, he poured sulfuric acid into nitric acid instead, and finally obtained a mixed solution of sulfuric acid and nitric acid safely. The mixed liquid will still generate heat. Yang Peng used a glass rod to gently stir the acid solution in the glass bottle, put the glass lid on and waited for the mixed acid solution to cool down.
After the mixed acid liquid cooled, Yang Peng pressed absorbent cotton into the mixed acid liquid. Skimmed cotton is prepared in advance, boiled with caustic soda solution, and then rinsed with water. The fat in the cotton reacts with caustic soda to turn into soap. Once washed, the fat is completely washed away. After the absorbent 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 solution, pressed several thick layers, and used a glass rod to press out the air between the cotton. After standing in the acid solution for twenty minutes, Yang Peng took out the nitrated absorbent cotton and rinsed it with water until the sour smell was gone. Then put the nitrocellulose into a dilute alkaline solution and boil it for 25 minutes, take it out, rinse and dry it, and then immerse it in 2% saltpeter aqueous solution for stabilization treatment.
Although nitrocellulose has been stabilized, it is still unstable, flammable and explosive. When the temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius. Can accelerate decomposition and spontaneous combustion. Therefore, during storage and transportation, about 30% alcohol must be added to nitrocellulose as a wetting agent to increase stability.
After a series of preparations, Yang Peng finally obtained a small jar of nitrocellulose smokeless gunpowder. Yang Peng lit several balls of nitrocellulose with a torch, and saw that as soon as the firelight came into contact with the cotton, the entire cotton burst into flames, exploding in the air like fireworks. Judging from the burning rate of this nitrocellulose, it is probably much stronger than black gunpowder.
The most important thing is that the nitrocellulose burns completely and leaves no ashes. Using nitrocellulose as ammunition, rifle shooters no longer need to use purge strips to clean the black powder residue in the barrel. On a battlefield where shooting is against the clock, the few seconds saved can significantly increase the rifleman's shooting speed.
If the shooting speed could be a few percent faster, the rifleman would be able to fire a few more shots before the enemy rushes to the front of the formation, and the combat effectiveness would also increase by a few percent! Yang Peng worked hard all day and made a sack of nitrocellulose. Then he asked his guards to knead, calender, and slice the nitrocellulose into flaky particles, and then he gave up.
The next day, Yang Peng brought nitrocellulose to the shooting range and asked a guard to use this new gunpowder as ammunition to test-fire the rifle. Zhan Jinguo, Cheng Shijie and others didn't know how they found out about Yang Peng's experiment with new gunpowder, so they all came. Several group leaders gathered around Yang Peng's linen bag, wanting to open it but not daring to take a look.
Zhan Jinguo smiled and said: "Brother, can this new gunpowder be more powerful than granular black gunpowder?" Yang Peng stared and asked, "How did you know that I tested the new gunpowder today?"
Zhan Jinguo smiled and said: "I went to the government office yesterday to have tea with you. The guard at the door said you were busy with new gunpowder, so I went back. Of course I know about the new gunpowder."
Yang Peng nodded and said: "This new type of gunpowder is amazing. Not only is it smaller in size and more powerful, it also has no residue and does not require the shooter to clean the barrel of the gun."
Zhou Dayong wowed and said, "Your Majesty, wouldn't that save a quarter of the time?" Yang Peng nodded and said, "Just watch! Watch the shooter's test shot!" The one who was selected for the test shot Wei was very nervous and his hands were shaking a little during the test firing. Yang Peng saw his scared look and said with a smile: "If you are injured by the blast, your pension will be increased by 50%."
As the overall price of goods increased in the Song Dynasty, Yang Peng increased the monthly wages of workers, and the monthly wages of soldiers in the Huben Division also increased, becoming three to seven taels of silver per month. Correspondingly, now Yang Peng has increased the pensions for the wounded and killed in previous battles to 20% to 20% to 50%.
Yang Peng said that he would increase the pension by 50% for this shooter, and the pension reached 30,000 yuan. Even if this shooter is seriously injured, he will be able to lie in bed and collect money in his next life. After hearing these words, his hands stopped shaking, the look on his face became more determined, and the fine sweat on his head also decreased a lot.
At the beginning of the test firing, first test a small amount of nitrocellulose. The shooter took a handful of new flaky particles of smokeless gunpowder from a cowhide bag soaked in alcohol, pressed it into the barrel of the gun with a purge, and then loaded and fired.
There was only a bang as the bullet shot out of the gun barrel and hit the Khitan double-layered 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 considered qualified. Yang Peng asked the shooter to increase the amount of gunpowder. After hearing this, the shooter's hands began to shake again.
This shooter is also a veteran. He has used black powder to hit targets countless times. After shooting, he subconsciously cleans the barrel of the gun with a purge. But he poked it with the gun for a long time and didn't feel any residue in the gun chamber.
He turned around and smiled at Yang Peng: "Your Majesty, there really is no residue."
Yang Peng nodded and asked him to shoot. The second shot increased the dose, but still failed to penetrate the double armor 120 meters away. The third time he used more medicine, the shooter gritted his teeth and pressed the trigger, piercing the double-layered armor 120 meters away.
Seeing the two holes in the armor, several regiment leaders cheered. Zhan Jinguo said excitedly: "Brother, our infantry is even more powerful now!" Yang Peng took a scale and weighed the weight of the ammunition used once, calculated it, and said: "This new gunpowder is not cheap, just The cost of raw materials and steam engines is a huge sum, plus labor, the gunpowder required for this launch costs two cents of silver."
Yang Peng thought for a while and said: "Based on the amount of gunpowder used by our veterans to shoot a target once every three days and a hundred rounds a month, the gunpowder consumed for a month's target shooting is two taels of silver." After hearing Yang Peng's calculation, All the generals were slightly moved. Two taels of silver a month is not a small number. Now the cost of raising a soldier is around six taels. An additional two taels of silver per month increased the cost by one-third. In addition, Yang Peng has recently increased the monthly salary for workers and soldiers, which puts great financial pressure on them.
Fortunately, Taiwan's paddy fields are about to be harvested. I think when Hsinchu's late rice is harvested this year, Yang Peng can earn a lot of money. This amount of money was enough to support Yang Peng's use of new gunpowder.
In any case, it is more cost-effective to improve the combat effectiveness of soldiers. Increasing an individual soldier's ability on the battlefield by one-third can sometimes increase the overall combat effectiveness of the unit by half, or even more. Because more elite soldiers are more confident in defeating the enemy.
For example, even ten children may not be able to defeat a strong adult. Ten children may be much stronger together than one adult, but if their strength is spread out, they will be easily defeated by a strong adult individually.
Yang Peng nodded and said: "No matter what, we will use this new gunpowder from now on. In the future, our firepower will be more intensive." Several regiment leaders were full of excitement and looked eagerly at the gun in Yang Peng's hand. New gunpowder. At the end of October, Yang Peng had nothing to do, so he slightly improved the nitrocellulose production process.
In order for the bullet to gain sustained thrust in the barrel, the burning rate of the ammunition needs to be controlled. In the black powder era, a satisfactory burning rate could be obtained by controlling the size of the gunpowder particles. If nitrocellulose is used as ammunition, the burning rate of the ammunition 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 burned too quickly. Nitrocellulose with a nitrogen content of less than 12.5% does not have such a violent burning speed and is called a flammable solid. When the nitrogen content drops to a certain level, nitrocellulose cannot even burn in a closed gun bore.
There are many ways to control the nitrogen content of nitrocellulose. For example, it can be achieved by controlling the ratio of nitric acid and sulfuric acid. Of course, the simplest way is to change the water content in the mixed acid solution. It is known that when the water content in the mixed acid solution reaches 20%, the nitrogen content in the nitrocellulose will drop significantly to 11%.
Nitrocellulose with a nitrogen content of 11% not only does not deflagrate, it can even be used to produce celluloid plastic. Of course, with Yang Peng's current industrial level, it is impossible to measure the contents of various components in the acid solution. All Yang Peng could do was to test the power of nitrocellulose produced with various concentrations of nitric acid and sulfuric acid to find a process that was most suitable for Fanjiazhuang Mini rifle.
After working for more than ten days and testing countless times, Yang Peng finally found the most suitable process. Under this process, Yang Peng's rifle can achieve considerable destructive power with the least amount of ammunition. Yang Peng settled on 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 had begun training with new gunpowder. The veterans quickly got used to the new gunpowder with a little practice. The new gunpowder will not produce residue after burning, and there is no need to clean the gun bore, which greatly increases the shooting speed of soldiers. Originally, only three rounds could be fired per minute, but now soldiers can fire four volleys per minute.
Wang Ming was a scholar and a wealthy gentleman in Qihe County, Jinan Prefecture, Shandong Province. His family has extensive property in Huadian Township, Qihe County, with 220 hectares of land alone. As for rice shops, oil shops, and cloth shops, there are countless. Most of the properties in Huadian Township and Huadian Town belong to him, Wang Mingquan. Wang Mingquan was a well-known figure in Huadian Township.
Even in the entire Qihe County, who doesn't know Wang Mingquan? Even if the county magistrate sees him, he must be polite and call him "Wang Gong". Wang Mingquan was in his fifties. He had one wife, seven concubines, and five sons and four daughters. He lived a life of fine clothing and food, and he had no worries. But over the years, the world's situation has increasingly worried Wang Mingquan.
Khitan and bandits are what Wang Mingquan is worried about. The Khitans went south and once attacked the city near Shandong, and almost broke through the county seat of Qihe County. That time Wang Mingquan hid in his house in the county town and experienced a frightening feeling. In order to strengthen the city's defense, Wang Mingquan donated one hundred taels to the county magistrate to reward the army.
Although one hundred and twenty cents is a small amount, which is a bit embarrassing to say, everyone is like this these days. That time to defend the city, other wealthy people in Qihe County donated even less. Whoever donates more will be looked at like a fool. Those who are getting rich these days are the kind of people who will let the sky fall and do nothing. However, the Khitan came and went without any danger. On weekdays, it was Yang Peng from Tianjing New City who frightened Wang Mingquan the most.
Yang Peng collects business taxes in Tianjing New City and exploits the gentry, let’s not talk about it. The key is that Yang Peng collected land taxes from the gentry in Cangzhou, which cut off the lifeblood of the gentry. Without empowerment, which farmer would donate 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 the land rent to the same level as the land tax in order to retain their land, and their incomes plummeted. I heard that many gentry could not support their large families because of this, so they dismissed their servants and maids. What’s even more exaggerated is that even the concubines were given away because they couldn’t afford to keep them anymore.
What Yang Thief broke is the lifeblood of the gentry in the world. Not only that, Yang Peng also took in refugees in Shandong and competed with the gentry for control of public opinion.
Let’s talk about matters in Huadian Township. In Huadian Township, only Wang Mingquan has the right to speak. What Wang Mingquan said is the law! Which of the scholars in Huadian Township was not trained by Wang Mingquan’s ethnic studies? These people either work as accountants in the Wang family's shop, or work as rent collectors in the Wang family. Which one doesn't rely on his Wang Mingquan business to make a living? Who doesn't respect him as Wang Mingquan?
What these people say and discuss is the public opinion of Huadian Township. After all, the public opinion in Huadian Township is based on the change in Wang Mingquan's face? If he, Wang Mingquan, scolded one person, the whole township would be scolding him the next day. Those farmers have never left Huadian Township in their lives and have no knowledge. Why don't they just follow the public opinion of scholars?
It is this kind of control over public opinion that allows Wang Mingquan to live a comfortable life, while small farmers have to pay heavy taxes and eat chaff. But what Wang Ming didn't expect was that Yang Peng actually asked for the imperial edict and came to Shandong to take in the refugees. Those tenants had all run away with Yang Peng's gang. There was no one to farm, so he was still a squire? .
Is this going to turn upside down? "Old man Zhang, if you hire someone to talk about Tianjing New City again, I will tear down your tea shop!" But what happened next developed in the direction that scared Wang Mingquan the most. Yang Peng of Tianjing New City actually mobilized more than 10,000 troops to Shandong, saying that he was "ordered" to take in the refugees. In each county, Yang Peng stationed a hundred soldiers.
Yang Peng's soldiers were like wolves and tigers, and even the Khitans were afraid of them. A hundred soldiers came to Qihe County, a small county. Wouldn't it cost the lives of the gentry in Qihe County? On December 17, three Yang thieves' soldiers took two copies of the news about Tianjing New City and personally handed the newspaper to the tea shop owner, Old Man Zhang, and asked Old Man Zhang to read the newspaper boldly.
Old man Zhang didn't know what he had eaten to make him so bold that he went into battle on his own and read the news about Tianjing New City in front of the farmers in Huadian Township. When Wang Mingquan came to the door with a hundred servants, 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?" ", Wang Mingquan was so angry that his hair almost stood up when he heard the sentence "In the final analysis, the reason why the people of Tianjing New City do not eat chaff and drink water is because they collected taxes from the gentry and reduced the taxes for small farmers."
With a wave of his hand, a hundred servants rushed forward, knocked Old Man Zhang to the ground, and surrounded three of Yang Peng's soldiers. At that time, a soldier of Yang Peng drew his steel sword and rushed out of the siege, riding a horse to the county town to escape. The remaining two Yang Peng soldiers were captured by Wang Mingquan and tied up.
Wang Mingquan tied Old Man Zhang and two soldiers to the flagpole in the middle of the market, and wanted to whip Old Man Zhang and two Yang Peng soldiers to death in front of the farmers in the entire township. He sent his servants to each village to ask people to 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's servants called from door to door, more and more farmers gathered in the market. The ragged farmers looked at Mr. Wang and Old Man Zhang tied to the flagpole in fear. No one 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 just to bear witness. Let everyone see if there is still Wang Fa in Shandong and see if there is a place for Yang Peng in Shandong. "
"This old man Zhang, together with Thief Yang, read the heinous news about Tianjing New City. He should be executed for his crime. Today I will have someone use a whip to whip him to death!" "I will also whip these two thieves of Thief Yang to death. Let Yang The thief knows that Shandong is not unmanned!"
How do the farmers know why these three people died? Anyway, Mr. Wang said he would beat these three people to death, so these three people would definitely have no way to survive. The farmers looked numbly at the execution ground in the middle of the market. No one spoke, they just waited to see Master Wang's servants being executed.
Wang Mingquan waved his hand, and a strong servant walked up with a whip and whipped Old Man Zhang hard. Old man Zhang let out a scream, which was very shrill. The people who were watching looked at the waving whip with a look of fear on their faces. Everyone secretly said that they must listen to Mr. Wang's words, so that one day they would not be caught and beaten to death by Mr. Wang like this.
Everyone was scared there, but suddenly they heard the sound of rolling horse hooves coming from the east. The sound of rolling hooves did not sound like one or two horses. At least dozens of horses were galloping at the same time to make such a sound. The sound of horse hooves seemed to be treading on everyone's heart, making people uneasy. It's like thunder in spring, as if it wants to break through the dull and sinking sky.
I don't know who it was, but suddenly shouted in the crowd: "Prince Yan's soldiers are coming!" The servant who was whipping Old Man Zhang with a whip was so frightened that his hands trembled, and the whip fell on his hand with a thud. on the ground. The people who were watching were like sea water at low tide. They all dispersed with a bang and ran towards their homes. In the end, only the Wang family's servants were left in the market. More than a hundred servants stood beside Wang Mingquan, their faces turned pale, but they did not dare to leave Mr. Wang and run for their lives alone.
Wang Mingquan was also very scared. He had heard about the attack by King Yan's soldiers on Taishi Pang's son. But this time, the whole Shandong was burned and smashed, and Yang Peng was not heard of killing people. It was precisely because of Yang Peng's silence some time ago that Wang Mingquan became emboldened and dared to tie up Yang Peng's soldiers. Wang Mingquan guessed that Yang Peng was unable to fight against the entire Shandong Shilin for some reason.
Perhaps Yang Peng's power is limited to controlling a few cities and cannot reach the countryside? Controlling a city is simple. A few thousand people can occupy the city and go on a killing spree. But how many people are needed to control the vast countryside?
Wang Mingquan wants to fight Yang Peng, because this fight is his lifeblood. If Yang Peng's influence gradually penetrates into Shandong and collects taxes from the gentry in Shandong, Wang Ming's entire industry may collapse. If Wang Mingquan, like the gentry in Cangzhou, only collected land rent slightly higher than land tax, how would he use it to support his servants, accountants, servants, wives and concubines? Wang Mingquan's sons have many wives and concubines. If the common people who donated their land are gone, how will Wang Mingquan's sons live?
Moreover, Wang Mingquan has always been in charge of this Huadian Township for decades. Wang Mingquan really wasn't used to the presence of a voice that contradicted him in Huadian Township. Wang Mingquan had a hundred reasons to fight with Li Zhi. But he didn't expect that Yang Peng would react so quickly. Fifty big horses carried fifty soldiers of the Huben Division, wearing full-body steel armor, charging menacingly towards the market in Huadian Township. The crowd watching the excitement in the market dispersed in the blink of an eye, leaving only a hundred servants surrounding Wang Mingquan. A hundred servants surrounded Mr. Wang, but kept retreating out of fear.
But what they eat is the servants' food, and because of their own personal interests, they are unwilling to put down the swords and sticks in their hands. Wang Mingquan's face was pale, but he kept calm. He thought that with so many people protecting him, Yang Peng's soldiers wouldn't dare to kill all his one hundred servants, would they? The tea shop owner who was tied to the flagpole looked at the soldiers of Huben Division in surprise, his face flushed with excitement. Sure enough, I was right to read about Tianjing New City. Since the prince has decided to take in the refugees in Shandong, he has the means to protect them. The head of the Wang family thought he could run rampant in Huadian Township relying on a hundred servants, but in fact he was just flying moths into the flames.
The servant who broke out from the encirclement pointed his hand on his horse and said, "Platoon leader, these are the Wang family members who want to kill us." The platoon leader waved his hand and said, "Kill all those who resist with weapons. Don't let them go!" The fifty soldiers roared, drew the sabers on their backs, and rushed towards the one hundred servants. The horse's hooves hit the ground, making the floor of the market tremble slightly.
One hundred servants looked at the fifty horses charging towards them, and finally they couldn't stand it any longer and ran away. That big horse, which can easily weigh six or seven hundred pounds, can kill a person alive if it collides with it. A hundred servants grabbed knives and sticks, abandoned the head of the Wang family, and ran around in the market like a herd of panicked elk.
The soldiers of Huben Division were not prepared to let them go. The sharp crucible steel saber was pulled out, and he quickly caught up with the fleeing Wang family servants. The infantrymen on horseback gently held the steel knives in their hands. They didn't need to use any force on their hands. They could press the steel knives into the flesh of the fleeing servants with the strength of their horses and cut a fatal wound. The servant whose body was cut open by the steel knife only felt a coldness on his body, and blood surged out like a fountain, and he screamed and fell to the ground. They covered their huge wounds and rolled on the ground.
The soldiers of the Huben Division on horseback cut down one of them and then chased the next one without hesitation. These servants were very vicious and somewhat brute when they bullied ordinary people, but in front of the elite Tiger Soldiers, these one hundred servants were like a group of children, with no power to fight back.
Only then did the servants who fled in panic realized that their lives were gone. Yang Peng's God of Killing can not only control the city, but can also rush into the countryside and kill. They threw away their swords and sticks and fled forward desperately. But how can human legs outrun horse legs? Screams continued to sound from every corner of the market, and fewer and fewer Wang family members were still alive. Some of the servants who fled in panic ran into the courtyards of residential buildings next to the market. Soldiers from the Huben Division broke in through the door, rushed in, captured the fleeing servants, and hacked them to death in the market.
Wang Mingquan stood next to the flagpole of the market, watching more than a hundred servants being slaughtered by the soldiers of the Huben Division like chickens and dogs. His face was pale and his whole body was trembling. The soldiers of Huben Division seemed to deliberately save Wang Mingquan's life, so that Wang Mingquan could see clearly the consequences of going against Xing Guobo, and they never used the knife on this scholar.
But Wang Mingquan knew that it would be his turn soon. In Cangzhou, Yang Peng resisted the pressure from scholars all over the country and took action against the gentry and treated the poor well. In Yang Peng's eyes, the landlord is no more valuable than the life of a servant. Since Yang Peng killed all his servants, will he definitely do it to himself later?
Wang Ming's legs felt weak, he bent down a little, and finally knelt on the ground. He turned to look at the flagpole and saw Old Man Zhang, whose face was red, and the two soldiers of the Huben Division who were looking at him coldly. Wang Mingquan knelt on the ground and moved over, untying the two Huben Division soldiers. He kowtowed desperately on the ground and shouted loudly: "Grandpa Da Bing, please spare my life. Wang Mingquan has now seen the power of King Yan, and from now on he only dares to be of the same mind as King Yan. Grandpa Da Bing, spare my life! It is also a meritorious deed!"
The two untied soldiers let go of the ropes and breathed a sigh of relief. They moved their bodies that were tied stiffly by the ropes and said coldly: "You are the first one who dares to tie up our Tiger Soldiers and say that they will beat us to death."
Wang Mingquan was stunned by these words, trembling all over and speechless. The platoon leader on horseback came over, raised his gun and pointed it at Wang Mingquan on the ground. Wang Mingquan waved his hand and said: "No! Don't kill me! Master, don't kill me! All my family's property will be given to you!" The platoon leader sneered and pressed the trigger.
Only a clear snap was heard, and the bullet entered Wang Mingquan's left chest. A bloody arrow emerged from Wang Mingquan's chest. Wang Mingquan looked at his body in disbelief and fell to the ground with a plop. The other soldiers had finished their killing and gradually gathered back. The platoon leader leading the team waved his hand and said: "The Wang family's house was ransacked! The bodies of Wang Mingquan and his servants were hung at the county gate for public display!"
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
