"Come on, Brother Su." Mu Ying took out the items in the box one by one and waved to Zhu Su: "Come and take a look. This is the gunpowder and blunderbuss commonly used by the armies of the Ming Dynasty."
"Let me take a look." Zhu Su walked into the courtyard and saw three or four firearms of different shapes and a box of gunpowder on the ground.
"This gunpowder..." Zhu Su knelt down, picked up the gunpowder powder and looked at it. I saw that the gunpowder particles were black and full, not like a pile of impurities as imagined. I couldn't help but mutter a little offended: "Isn't it true that the gunpowder of the Qing Dynasty is full of strange things, with things like cinnabar, lead, and mercury added to it, and most of them are useless impurities? How come the gunpowder of the early Ming Dynasty is so pure?"
I originally thought that I could show off my black powder ratio and pretend to be Bo Yi. But there doesn't seem to be much wrong with this gunpowder?
"What's wrong?" Seeing him in a daze, Zhu Biao asked.
"It's nothing, eh. Let's take a little light and have a look." Zhu Su said.
Zhu Biao took a lantern (similar to a fire lantern), divided some gunpowder with a piece of paper, took it far away and lit it. Just a few sizzling sounds were heard, and the gunpowder was quickly burned away. Zhu Su smelled the smell and looked at the ashes, and felt that there was nothing wrong with it.
"It's strange... In the early Ming Dynasty, the ratio of gunpowder was already so close to black gunpowder." Zhu Su was a little shocked by the wisdom of the ancients.
"Then why at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the quality of gunpowder was not as good as at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. During the naval battles of Dajiao and Shajiao, the British army captured a gunpowder depot of Qing army gunpowder, but they sank them all into the sea in disgust, calling them 'shoddy and useless. Something of no use at all'..."
What Zhu Su didn't know was that, thanks to the disdainful research of generations of ancestors, by the Yuan Dynasty, the gunpowder ratio had been refined to the level of 60% saltpeter and 20% sulfur and charcoal, which was the optimal ratio for black powder. It's very close.
During the Ming Dynasty, the proportion of gunpowder became more scientific, and the Ming Dynasty never stopped exploring gunpowder and firearms. In Qi Jiguang's "New Book of Jixiao", the ratio of gunpowder is basically the same as the optimal ratio, and several breakthrough new types of gunpowder have appeared.
However, once the slaves moved south, barbarism replaced civilization. China's firearms process was cut off. His short-sighted statement of "riding and shooting is the basis" made the development of firearms go back a hundred years, even worse than in the Song Dynasty.
Coupled with the shortage of basic science and the shoddy workmanship of craftsmen, it took hundreds of years for the gunpowder of the Qing Dynasty to become as bad as Zhu Su's impression.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty gunpowder was the pinnacle of Chinese gunpowder in the feudal era.
"This gunpowder... seems to be fine." Zhu Su coughed and said. I originally wanted to pretend to be Boyi, but I didn't expect to be slapped in the face by the wisdom of my ancestors.
After thinking for a while, he came up with a small improvement plan: "If the gunpowder powder is wrapped in egg white and condensed into small round particles, the power can be increased by 10%."
"Oh?" Zhu Biao asked, "Why is this?"
"Because granular gunpowder can increase the gap for air to enter, it can better promote the burning efficiency of gunpowder." Zhu Su explained.
Zhu Biao asked suddenly, but he didn't expect Zhu Su to explain it casually.
It seems that this knowledge is not just random talk, but it is true. Zhu Biao thought.
"Well, although it's a bit troublesome, I might as well give it a try." Mu Ying said thoughtfully. With 10% more power, one more layer of heavy armor can be broken.
"As for these muskets..." Looking at this pile of silly, big, black and thick things, these guns look like fire sticks, maces, weighted versions of suonas, etc., but they don't look like muskets. Zhu Su was at a loss as to what to do.
"Well, Brother Ying, how about you shoot a few shots and show me and Brother Ying?"
"Okay." Mu Ying didn't refuse. The courtyard on the left and right is also big, so nothing big can happen. He looked around and pointed at a big tree by the wall: "Your Highness, I will use that tree as a target, okay?"
"It's okay. Brother, please do it yourself." Zhu Biao said. It's just a crooked-necked tree. Beat it to pieces and transplant another one.
Mu Ying nodded, picked up a "fire stick" and started to prepare. She originally thought that Mu Ying was going to show off her precise marksmanship, but she didn't expect that he was holding a "fire stick" and walked straight to a place only ten steps away from the crooked neck tree.
"Hey, is it so close?" Zhu Su thought doubtfully.
Afterwards, Mu Ying began to clear the chamber, charge powder, compact, load bullets, install fuses, and ignite the gun. Zhu Su almost fell asleep after completing the steps step by step. It wasn't until there was a loud "bang" and sawdust exploded on the tree that Zhu Su was suddenly frightened and came back to his senses.
"This is the most common 'Hongwu gun' in our Ming army. Its power is so powerful that even if the heavy armored cavalry of the Northern Yuan Dynasty attacks, it can be shattered with one shot. What do Su Di think?" Mu Ying said.
"Hmm. The power is acceptable. But, does it have to be that close?" Zhu Su asked Mu Ying.
"If it's on a battle formation, there's no need to be so close. It's just that the fire blunderbuss is not accurate. Brother Yu is afraid of destroying the courtyard wall, so he gets closer." Mu Ying explained.
By the way, the fire blunderbuss at this time has no rifling. Because the projectiles will only fly randomly, the range is also very limited.
Having found a point of improvement, Zhu Su's self-confidence has returned a little.
"Does every shooting require so many steps? How many times can we shoot during a cup of tea?" Zhu Su continued to ask.
"The steps are indeed complicated, but they are also necessary. If they are not done well, there is a risk of the chamber exploding or misfiring. During a cup of tea... I should be able to shoot four or five rounds. The gunman must be skilled in operation and have a good barrel. It won't happen until it's overheated." Mu Ying said.
"Hmm..." During the tea time, there were only four or five shots, and the rate of fire was too slow... The ancient fire gun he imagined would have to fire at least two or three shots per minute, right?
Unexpectedly, it was slower than expected.
With this kind of rate of fire, if faced with cavalry, even a three-stage attack would be absolutely useless. To weave a tight fire network that the cavalry cannot pass through, it would take at least seventeen or eight sections of attacks.
"...Too slow." Zhu Su couldn't help but frown.
"Is there any way to improve Brother Su?" Mu Ying said excitedly.
"Well..." Zhu Su touched the barrel of the gun before firing a shot. The barrel was already slightly hot. "If we want to make a complete improvement, I'm afraid we have to accumulate basic technology first and improve it from scratch in terms of materials."
"As for the quick method... I think it would be very troublesome for you, brother, to do the steps of grabbing the gunpowder, compacting it, burning the fuse, etc. step by step."
"Why not use a paper shell and put the gunpowder required for each shot into the shell. When you use it, tear the paper shell and pour it directly into it. Wouldn't this save time and effort?"
As soon as these words came out, Mu Ying was suddenly stunned. Then he patted his knees: "I didn't think of such a simple method!"
"There's another benefit! The biggest difference between a green gunner and a skilled soldier is that when grabbing gunpowder, he or she grabs too much or too little. In this case, the gun may misfire, or the gun may explode. "
"With this method, wouldn't this big problem be solved? It's so simple, no one has thought of it for hundreds of years!"
"Brother, don't be disappointed. Although this 'paper-wrapped gunpowder' method is simple, it will take decades before someone comes up with it!" Zhu Su chuckled. "Now, let's use it to benefit my Ming Dynasty first."
"Brother Su, you are a time traveler, you are really capable of extraordinary feats!" Zhu Biao also laughed. If we take out things decades later in advance, doesn’t that mean that we, the Ming Dynasty, are already decades ahead in this regard?
"What about the others? You just said, what should we do if we want to make a complete improvement?" Mu Ying continued to ask.
"Well, first we need to improve the material... The guns made of this material are really not very durable. We need to develop more refined steel."
"This involves a lot of knowledge. It is really difficult for me to do it alone. It must have several people who understand science to study step by step, and it also requires many powerful craftsmen..." If I go on, do I need to carve rifling with my bare hands? , hand-rubbing machines and blast furnaces? Zhu Su had a troubled smile on his face.
Zhu Biao and Mu Ying looked at each other, and when they were about to say something, a sharp voice from an eunuch came from outside: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness the King of Wu, and General Mu, there is a young prince from the Duke of Wei coming to visit with a gift." , please invite His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King of Wu to meet and have a chat!"
