Looking back, Zhang Qi nodded towards the craftsmen who were waiting for the results.
"There seems to be no problem with this batch of gun bodies, but whether they can be used depends on tomorrow's test firing. Please work overtime to wash all these gun bodies before noon tomorrow, reinforce the gun bodies with iron hoops, and install the gun mounts. ."
"promise!"
All the blacksmiths bowed their hands.
Everyone was happy at this time. Originally, the salary as craftsmen in Liao District was considered generous. In addition, they worked overtime and received overtime pay when metal was in short supply. This group of people can be regarded as a high-income group in Liao District.
A year's salary adds up to about 100 white dragons. According to the current conversion of one white dragon to 100 qianqian, each person has an annual income of 10,000 yuan.
And prices in Liaodi are stable. Two yuan can buy a pound of red pork (lean meat), and even the price of white pork (fat meat) is now only five yuan a pound, not to mention fish and staple foods. They are compared. The prices of cattle, sheep and pigs are even cheaper.
Originally, there was a lot left over from their annual salary in addition to family expenses, but now they were directly awarded thirty coins, which was almost one-third of their annual income. How could they be unhappy?
Under the heavy reward, the enthusiasm of the blacksmiths was extremely high.
After retreating to Zhang Qi, they called their apprentices to carry the cannon body and rushed to the workshop.
Didn't you hear that your Majesty will use these things tomorrow?
Seeing the active work enthusiasm of the craftsmen, Zhang Qi also smiled happily.
He turned around and nodded to Hu Ling beside him, and the two of them returned to the city lord's office surrounded by a group of personal guards.
After sitting down, Hu Ling couldn't wait to ask Zhang Qi.
"Your Majesty, those iron pipes are the cannons you mentioned? Why didn't my subordinates realize their beauty?"
In fact, Hu Ling wanted to ask just now, but there were so many talkative people outside that she didn't feel at ease.
Zhang Qi chuckled and said: "It is indeed the prototype of a cannon. It is just a small cannon. It has a caliber of 100 millimeters and a gun length of only one meter. It is good for use on ships. If you want to attack a city, the caliber will have to be increased."
"How do you attack a city with iron pipes? Are they like blowing darts?"
Hu Ling was still puzzled. She had never seen a cannon fired before and could not imagine the power of a cannon.
However, the principle was stated accidentally.
Zhang Qi nodded: "That's half right. It's indeed similar to the principle of blowing arrows, but the auxiliary material used is not wind, but explosion."
"fry?"
"Yes, just use this powder to explode."
Zhang Qi took out a signal bomb from the desk drawer, disassembled the second half of the charge, and poured them into a tea cup.
Gunpowder is an absolute secret. Zhang Qi has not allowed any trace of its production to the outside world. It is all brought out from the world of riding and slashing.
This is why he dared to teach the blacksmiths all the data, models, and parameters of the cannon.
"The cannon is not the main thing, it is just the carrier. This is what really works!"
Zhang Qi blew a fire stick, picked it up with chopsticks and brought it close to the gunpowder in the tea cup.
Buzz.
There was a burst of black smoke and fire in the city lord's office.
"Ahem,"
Hu Ling choked and coughed, but Zhang Qi was already used to it.
Sighing: "Alas, the quality of the medicinal powder is still too poor. There is too much smoke and not enough deflagration. I don't know how well they have improved and optimized these days."
"But fortunately, there is enough propellant for cannons. Moreover, early granulation can also reduce some quality differences."
Zhang Qian used his chopsticks to pick up the teacup he had just used for demonstration and threw it into the trash can.
Looking at the burning just now, Hu Ling seemed to have some realization. She nodded her head twice and said with some uncertainty.
"Tomorrow's test firing is to use this powder to ignite the inside of the cannon, and then you want to shoot something out like a blowgun with just a buzz, 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 from the iron smelting plant sent the news that the gun body was cleaned and the gun mount was installed.
Zhang Qi did not go there immediately after receiving it. Instead, he sent someone to convey the cannon to the train test site outside the city, where Zhang Qi planned to test-fire it.
But before that, he went to the world of riding and slashing, and brought out thirty kilograms of black gunpowder from there.
Distinct grains of gunpowder are packed in barrels layered inside layers.
Zhang Qi didn't dare to be careless in the face of this.
Thirty kilograms of granular black powder. If it exploded, even if he had the same life skill, he would be completely dead.
After coming to the outside world, Zhang Qi immediately asked someone to keep it properly.
The possibility of spontaneous combustion of granular black powder is extremely low, or even non-existent, but this must be done at a reasonable temperature and without an open flame.
The personal guard took the medicine bucket, covered it with a thick layer of cloth, then tied it to the horse and rushed to the train experiment site.
Not quite there yet.
Zhang Qi saw the drifting plume of white smoke and the sound of the whistle.
The locomotive has been experimenting here for almost a month. The train has made countless turns on the six-kilometer-long trial paved track.
After sixteen hours of load operation every day, the locomotive is still going strong. Only a few small parts have been replaced, which shows that the materials used are solid.
But it was also painful for Ayan.
From the excitement of the experiment at the beginning to the numbness now, Ayan has already sworn in her heart that she never wants to drive a train in her life.
From a distance, Ayan 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 and he noticed that there were more and more people, he roughly knew it. Your Majesty may be coming.
Sure enough, when the train passed the crowd again, on a horse he looked familiar to, the man he admired the most sat on it.
Release pressure, slow down, brake, all in one go.
The train stopped firmly on the tracks.
Ayan got out of the train cab and came to Zhang Qi's side to lead the horse.
"Your Majesty."
Ayan had a look of resentment on her face.
Zhang Qi laughed out loud. He naturally knew the reason for Ayan's resentment.
"Hahaha, if your posture is seen by Tanaka, it will be another source of leverage. Okay, you go pick a few brothers, teach them, and then you can return to the team."
"No! Hehe."
Ayan laughed a few times and happily went to choose a suitable candidate.
Zhang Qi turned over and dismounted, and when he looked at a row of movable artillery platoons assembled by craftsmen, he was greatly impressed.
"What a great craftsmanship!"
The cannon looks particularly bright after being refined, and the matte surface must have been painted by the craftsmen.
This also shows that it didn't take them too much time to wash the bore and strengthen the gun body.
everything's ready.
Zhang Qi came to one of the cannons.
With the muzzle of the gun raised upwards, Zhang Qi called over several armored soldiers who had been dispatched from the New Army and asked them.
"Have you memorized the artillery drill manual given to your school a few days ago?"
"Report to your Majesty, don't dare to neglect!"
"Okay then, let's test fire. Go slow the first time."
"promise!"
The several mechanized soldiers did not have any stage fright. They first figured out the difference between the physical object and the book, and then checked it by flipping through the book.
Finally, with accurate step-by-step reproduction, an operator used the granular gunpowder brought by Zhang Qi to make a propellant package and stuffed it into the barrel of the cannon.
Then, a polished stone bullet that was just a little short of the barrel and greased was inserted.
The gunpowder rope is now rolled, using the gunpowder from the signal bomb and the fiber.
After everything was prepared, several operators adjusted the angle of the muzzle based on the ballistic knowledge learned from operating the trebuchet.
The target Zhang Qi has been set, and it is in an open space three miles away. There is a huge wooden sign like a billboard stuck on the ground.
The task of the operator is to let the cannonball hit there.
Of course, it's okay if you miss, as long as it's not too far off, it's within Zhang Qi's acceptable range.
After the armorers finished their work, they all turned around to ask for instructions from Zhang Qi, who waved his hand.
One person quickly ignited the gunpowder rope.
Sizzle.
With the burning of the gunpowder rope.
suddenly.
boom--!
The cannon roared, and the sound made everyone around them jump.
In Shanhai City, there were also many people looking in the direction of the sound, with slightly nervous expressions.
The sudden loud noise caused chaos in the entire Shanhai City for a moment.
Fortunately, Zhang Qi had given instructions in advance.
The city guards explained to all the ordinary people in Shanhai City one by one that this was after the king had displayed his divine power, and everyone invariably showed an expression that was indeed true.
Then he prayed devoutly.
And at the cannon firing site.
After the roar, the cannon's mount moved back more than half a meter, and the wooden sign three miles away.
Not surprisingly, nothing changed.
Zhang Qi waved, and several personal guards beside him got on their horses and headed towards the direction of the cannon's launch to find the landing point.
Arriving at the cannon, Zhang Qi called over a craftsman.
"It takes some effort to fix it. I want the cannon to not shift as a whole after it is fired."
The craftsman just woke up from the power of the cannon. Faced with Zhang Qi's request, he trembled a little.
"This, this, this may take...a little time."
Zhang Qi patted his shoulder comfortingly: "Don't be afraid, these weapons are used to protect our own people. The better you improve, the greater your credit will be. We still have time, so just go ahead and do it!" "
After being comforted by Zhang Qi, the craftsman came back to his senses under the power of the cannon. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and bowed his hands.
"promise!"
"Well, go get busy."
Zhang Qi hummed and let him return to the craftsmen.
At this moment, the personal guards who went to find the landing point also returned, but they did not bring back the stone bullets.
dismount,
One of the guards raised his hand.
"Reporting to your Majesty, the stone bullet hit a tree. The tree exploded two meters away and almost passed through the heart."
"Um."
"Shoot again! The target is still the same! Change the gun!"
(End of chapter)
