Generally speaking, it takes a craftsman nearly a month to make a blunderbuss.
Now there are only about twenty or thirty military craftsmen in the entire Ordnance Bureau who can make muskets. Even if we count the thirty more people, then the number of guns is only thirty in a month, and only three hundred and sixty in a year. .
Chen Wang expected to reform the military system, and the proportion of gunmen in the army should be at least 30%, that is, there should be a bird flag in each round.
There are one hundred and twelve people in a round, and thirty-seven people in a flag. A round requires at least thirty-seven muskets.
Naturally, the more than 900 Liao cavalry did not need to change their weapons, only the infantry did.
After the previous reform and reorganization of the infantry military system, Chen Wang now has two battalions under his command, divided into six divisions, with a total of forty-eight rounds.
The soldiers in the forty-eight rounds are each armed with a flag, which requires 1,776 muskets.
According to the current pace of the Ordnance Bureau, it will take five years to complete all production.
Five years from now it will be the fifteenth year of Chongzhen. By then, let alone cucumber dishes, there will be nothing left.
At that time, Li Zicheng almost changed his title to King Xinshun.
The Battle of Songjin has been going on for almost two years, and it has come to a critical time to decide the winner.
Chen Wang naturally couldn't wait for such a long time. The Ordnance Bureau's production of muskets must be increased, and this matter was imminent.
There is not much time left for Chen Wang now, only about a year and a half.
The second entrance battle started at the end of September in the eleventh year of Chongzhen. King Qin's order was issued in October. Both Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting received the edicts and went to the capital to serve King Qin.
In other words, Chen Wang will need to make 1,776 blunderbuss in a year and a half at the latest, and a minimum of 98 blunderbuss every month, which is three times more than the current production. Multi-talented people can accomplish goals.
Moreover, this output can only be achieved without counting losses.
If you don't do it yourself, you can only apply for weapons and wait for deployment.
It is not a problem to hand over some money, hold Cao Wenzhao's tiger skin flag, and take more than a thousand blunderbuss forward and backward.
But the blunderbuss allocated by the problem were useless at all.
Putting aside the issue of exploding barrels, the power and range of those cannons were not up to standard.
There are only two ways to increase production now.
One is to work hard on people. If there are more people making guns, the output will naturally increase.
The second one is to work hard on the equipment. The difficulty of making guns will be reduced, the process will be easier, and the output will naturally increase.
The first solution naturally requires Qi Zhengsong to solve it.
Chen Wang's eyes moved to Qi Zhengsong.
"I will give you three months to teach all the armorers in the weapons workshop how to make muskets. After you learn how to make muskets, you will be the real head of the weapons workshop."
"The principal's monthly salary is twenty taels, and there is also a monthly subsidy of grain, rice and vegetables."
Chen Wang patted the armrest of the seat and said calmly.
"My request is that after three months, all the military craftsmen have learned how to make bird muskets, and then they can focus on making bird muskets without distracting themselves from making other weapons."
In this era, some craftsmen cherished their brooms and were unwilling to pass on their skills to others.
Firstly, they value the skills passed down from their families, and secondly, as the saying goes, the disciples of the church will starve the master to death. This kind of thing is really too common.
Chen Wang naturally knew the key, but he and Qi Zhengsong were not willing to waste words.
"There are many ways to make gunshots, people know how to do it. If you have unique skills in making gunshots, you can keep it secret, but as the person in charge, you have to ensure that the gunshots produced in the workshop are of high quality."
There are one hundred and thirty craftsmen in the weapons workshop. If all of them were to make guns, even if many of them were unskilled, there would be almost a hundred or ten guns in a month.
As your proficiency increases, you will only be able to make more and more guns.
Although the process of making blunderbuss is complicated, it
But it is not too difficult. As long as you are willing to learn, three months is enough to learn it.
If you can't learn it, there are still many military craftsmen left in Hanzhong Guard, and they will probably come here with their heads down.
It had been a long time since the imperial court had paid out salaries. The first thing Chen Wang did after accepting the Ordnance Bureau was to pay two months of salaries to the selected people, and promised that they would be paid on time every month in the future.
In previous years, even the regular soldiers in the guard received little pay, let alone craftsmen like them.
"That's all I ask for."
Chen Wang's eyes were calm and he said calmly.
"If you can do it, you will be the head of the weapons workshop of the Hanzhong Guard Arms Bureau in three months."
"If you can't do it, then I'll replace you."
As soon as Chen Wang finished speaking, Qi Zhengsong had already knelt down.
"Young man, you can do it!"
Qi Zhengsong's voice was trembling with excitement. Faced with the price offered by Chen Wang, he did not hesitate at all.
Two taels of silver was equivalent to twenty-four taels a year, and there was also a monthly subsidy of grain, rice and vegetables. This was something he could not even imagine.
Their status as craftsmen was low. They were originally in the imperial guard and could do many things without getting a penny.
Hanzhongwei was poor, and the court only distributed grain, rice and salary for a long time. If they had not gone to work everywhere after work, they would have been unable to survive.
Originally, he worked hard in Wei for a year and could not earn half of this money.
Chen Wang's eyes turned from Qi Zhengsong to Jiang Wanshan who was standing aside.
To solve the problem on Qi Zhengsong's side, now is the time for Jiang Wanshan to express his position.
"It also takes three months. I want the military craftsmen of Jiafang to be able to build the armor stomach. If you do it well, I will leave the main job of Jiafang to you."
"Making armor is different from making muskets, I know it very well."
"So you can allocate them according to your needs. Who will make the open helmets, who will make the arm coverings, and who will make the body armor? These are all under your control."
The armor stomach is different from the bird gun. There is no need for one person to make all the utensils, and they can be completely separated.
Like Qi Zhengsong, Jiang Wanshan knelt down without any hesitation.
"I used to work in the guard all my life, but I didn't let my mother-in-law live a good life. I haven't been able to eat even a few meals in the past two years."
"Since I have been with Mr. Chen, my mother-in-law has been able to have enough to eat every day, and I have been paid monthly."
Jiang Wanshan gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind, and then said in a low voice.
"From now on, our life will be sold to Mr. Chen."
"You are doing what you should do under my command. Why do you do any work if you don't have enough to eat?"
Chen Wang looked at the single clothes on Jiang Wanshan and Qi Zhengsong. Their clothes were better than those of ordinary military households. After all, they still had a certain skill.
All the military households in the Hanzhong Guard were dressed in tatters like beggars.
That is to say, the regular army is still somewhat worn. During the war in the past, at least many of them still wore a sergeant's Tsing Yi or a mandarin duck battle coat, which was not too tattered.
"Everyone, get up, it looks ugly on your knees."
Chen Wang raised his hand. To be honest, he didn't like kneeling, whether it was kneeling to others or others kneeling to him.
"Besides these, there are some things you should pay attention to."
"Before each time you make a piece, you can write down the size and strength of the hammer, the time it takes to burn the iron, the amount of materials used, etc."
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Zhengsong and Jiang Wanshan looked at each other and understood the meaning of Chen Wang's words.
They have been craftsmen for many years, and now they basically have their own experience in making weapons and armor.
But they... don't know much...
Memorizing things and writing prescriptions are not what they have to do.
"I will arrange for a few officials to take notes in the workshop. You don't need to worry too much about these things, as long as you cooperate."
Chen Wang naturally knew the situation of Qi Zhengsong and Jiang Wanshan.
"There is no room for sloppiness in anything used on the battlefield. Whether it's a gun or a stomach, I want the best."
"The quality of what you do determines the life and death of others on the battlefield."
"If a bird's gun is not made well, it will be disabled if the gun is blown up, or it will be killed on the spot. It will be the same if the shell and stomach are not made well, so the best is the best."
Chen Wang stood up and looked at the craftsmen who had stopped working and stood there obediently.
Historically, the Ming Dynasty had very strict quality requirements for armaments. Regardless of whether the Ministry of Industry or various local health stations, weapons made must be marked with the words "made by a certain ministry, a certain guard, a certain institute, a certain year, a certain season". Make a record for easy reference at any time, and assign responsibility to the person.
But no matter how good the rules are, someone needs to enforce them.
At this time of the late Ming Dynasty, greed for ink was common, and there was darkness in the officialdom. One can imagine the quality of the muskets and armored stomachs.
Therefore, when facing the enemy, the Ming army often suffers greatly.
When facing rogue bandits, the Ming army's ordnance still had an advantage, but when it encountered Qing soldiers wearing strong armor and holding heavy bows, all their secrets were revealed.
If the cannon is powerful enough, even the white-armored soldiers wearing three layers of heavy armor will not be able to withstand the bombardment of the cannon at a distance of twenty or thirty steps, let alone those ordinary armored and horse-clad soldiers.
If the armor and stomach were used together, and there were 357 pieces of armor and stomach in each piece, how could they fall into a disadvantage so quickly during the battle formation.
"All the ordnance produced in the Ordnance Bureau, whether it is a gun or a gun, is registered in accordance with the previous standards and is certified by engraving."
"No matter what kind of ordnance goes wrong in the future, the craftsman who made it will be responsible."
Chen Wang's tone was stern, and he would not make any concessions on this point.
"For soldiers who are injured due to problems with the quality of ordnance, all treatment costs will be borne by the ordnance craftsmen. Those who are unable to survive will also be assisted by the ordnance craftsmen. At the same time, liability will be determined based on the severity of the casualties."
"If a soldier dies due to poor quality of ordnance, the craftsman will be sentenced to death."
"As the master craftsmen and principals, you two also need to take on management responsibilities."
The atmosphere in the workshop almost froze because of Chen Wang's words. There was a strong fire in the workshop, but everyone felt a slight chill.
"Don't blame Chen for being ruthless. They followed Chen and risked their lives to kill the enemy. All Chen can do is to let as many people as possible survive..."
Chen Wang paused and turned to Tang Shiping, who could only stand aside.
"You are someone who has been on the battlefield. You know the importance of ordnance."
"You are now in charge of the Arms Bureau. If there is a quality problem with the weapon armor, you will also need to take responsibility for the management."
Tang Shiping's heart trembled, and he lowered his eyebrows and lowered his head.
"Thanks to the general's respect, I will do my best in my humble position and will not neglect anything."
The atmosphere in the workshop was slightly dull, and Chen Wang was naturally aware of the situation.
However, there are some things that should be said, after Xu Yan comforted Qi Zhengsong and Jiang Wanshan.
Chen Wang took Tang Shiping out of the workshop. He stood in the workshop. These people in the workshop would have a huge psychological burden and would not be able to work with peace of mind.
"You should pay more attention to the affairs of the Arms Bureau these days."
Chen Wang stepped out of the door of the Ordnance Bureau, his eyes suddenly opened up a lot, and then he gave Tang Shiping a warning.
Then he did not let Tang Shiping follow him any more, but led a group of cavalry along the river to the
He ran straight to the camp outside Shiquan City.
During this inspection at the Ordnance Bureau, there were many problems that needed to be solved.
The production of weapons and equipment is too slow. The Arms Bureau can expand its recruitment, but the number of people must not be too large.
The number of people cannot be expanded too much, so the only way to start is from the production process.
Taking the bird gun as an example, the difficulty in making the bird gun lies in the production of the gun tube.
When making a gun tube, you need to prepare a cylindrical steel core as a cold bone.
Then the wrought iron needed to make the gun tube is burned until it is red hot, and the blank that has been heated to a certain temperature needs to be taken out.
Then the craftsman uses a hammer to knock the hot wrought iron outside the steel core, knocks it on the steel core, and rolls it into an iron pipe.
When striking a blunderbuss tube, you need to take out a section of the cold steel core inside and cool it with water to prevent the blunderbuss tube and the cold steel core from being connected together.
The thickness of the rolled iron pipe should also be about one centimeter, and it must be as thin and uniform as possible.
Guns that are more than three feet long are welded section by section, so after several sections of gun tubes are made, they need to be welded section by section.
Here is the key again. If the craftsman's skills are slightly inferior, the quality of the welding is the key to the success or failure of the gun. A bird gun that is not well welded can easily explode.
After completing the above series of things, it is just the beginning. In the end, a steel cone is needed to drill out the blunderbuss, and the production of the blunderbuss and boring is the longest process when making bird blunderbuss.
Drill bits and knives are generally made of submersible steel, but the rigidity of submersible steel is not very hard, making it difficult to drill bores.
Therefore, half of the time in making muskets is spent drilling and scraping the muskets.
At present, the best way to reform is to use water power. During the previous inspection, Chen Wang checked whether the Han River could be used.
If water power is used to make a blunderbuss bed, a blunderbuss tube may not be made in less than ten days if it is fast.
Now it seems that the flow of Han River in Shiquan section is quite stable and can be used.
But if you want more stability, you may need to build a reservoir.
Chen Wang knows a lot about history, but he doesn't know much about many mechanical things.
He didn't know much about forging hammers in water or making steel in blast furnaces.
However, he remembered a book, a book that was very helpful for his current situation - "Illustrated Description of Strange Weapons of the Far West".
"Pictures of Strange Weapons of the Far West" was published in the seventh year of the Apocalypse, and should be available in coastal areas at this time.
It is divided into three volumes in total. The first two volumes are more theoretical.
His book talks about concepts such as gravity, center of gravity, and specific gravity, and explains principles such as levers, pulleys, axles, and inclines.
Use diagrams to illustrate the application principles and usage of lifting, lifting and other equipment.
The third volume introduces Western machinery. Tools for collecting water include siphons, crane drinkers, dragon tail carts, etc.
Various types of water-powered, wind-powered, and animal-powered machinery are included, and gear transmission is widely used. The book is richly illustrated with clear explanations.
There are eleven drawings of lifting, four drawings of lifting, two drawings of turning the weight, nine drawings of water fetching, and fifteen drawings of turning the mill.
There are four pictures of unraveling wood, one picture of unraveling stone, one picture each of turning a hammer, a bookshelf, a water sundial, and farming, and four pictures of water milling.
