Liu Heng patted the barrel that was still warm with his hand and said, "This is a bronze cannon. Can it be cast into an iron cannon? It can be made of iron on the outside and a copper barrel on the inside."
"This" Tang Ruowang looked hesitant.
In the past, the cannons he cast were either bronze or copper, and he had never cast iron cannons. The materials of the two were different, and it was easy for deviations to occur. He was not sure that it would work.
Liu Heng knew what Tang Ruowang was worried about as soon as he took a look, and said, "I asked Hou Dafu to lead his cannon caster to cast iron cannons with you. He is an expert in this area."
The tiger cannons and large and small Fran machine guns used by the Tiger Flag are all iron cannons, all of which were cast by Hou Dafu and his gunners.
Tiger Banner has its own iron yard, which has enough refined iron for use. What is lacking is copper. Copper is a scarce resource. Even the Ming Dynasty does not have much, let alone using it to cast cannons.
However, iron can also replace copper-cast cannons. The service life may be shorter, but it is more cost-effective than copper. Especially when there is no shortage of iron in the Tiger Flag, iron-cast cannons are more convenient than copper-cast cannons, and Tiger The iron of Ziqi is of high quality and can be smelted into a small amount of steel, which are good materials for cannon casting.
"Well, I also hope to be able to cast a good iron cannon." Tang Ruowang nodded.
After coming to Lingqiu for so long, he naturally knew that the most indispensable thing for the Tiger Flag was iron, and casting iron cannons was not impossible, but it was more troublesome and required many experiments to cast a qualified cannon with iron.
"Thank you for your hard work." Liu Heng bowed his hand and then said, "Can we cast four more bronze cannons like this? Can it take half a month?"
"No problem." Tang Ruowang said, "With the gun mold, the same cannon can be cast very quickly. Four four-pound cannons can be cast in half a month."
Liu Heng said with a smile, "Then I will wait for the good news from you. As long as we can cast a four-pound iron cannon, I will give you credit and everyone will get a reward."
"Is it silver?" Lewis asked suddenly.
Liu Heng smiled and said, "Of course, it's all silver. If you want, I can exchange it for gold."
"Great, I like these little cuties so much." Louis smiled, "Dear Dongzhu Liu, I, Louis, will definitely work hard to forge iron cannons. Please Dongzhu Liu, prepare my little cuties."
Liu Heng said with a smile, "As long as we can cast a four-pound iron cannon, Tiger Character Flag will not be stingy with rewards."
"Can I also get the reward of the Tiger Flag? It's a pity that I can't be used for the cannon." Ximang said in blunt Chinese.
"There are rewards, too." Liu Heng said, "But you are different from them. As long as you can train more qualified gunners, I will reward you. It can be silver or gold. As long as you like it, like it Whichever one I’ll give you.”
Ximang's eyes were shining and he said, "Dear Dongzhu Liu, you are the angel sent by God to save me. Ximang will definitely train many powerful gunners for you."
Compared with the persistence of missionaries like Tang Ruowang in preaching, Louis and Simang loved shining things like gold and silver the most.
The reason why they were willing to come to Lingqiu from the artillery factory in Xiangshanao was because Tiger Flag paid them a large price.
Simon coming to Lingqiu with Louis was a complete surprise for Tiger Flag.
Xi Mang's artillery skills far exceeded those of Hu Guangyi and others.
In less than a month, the level of the gunners of the Tiger Flag has improved to a higher level under Xi Mang's training.
Liu Heng stayed at the artillery range for a while, watched several shots of the four-pounder, and then left the artillery range.
It takes at least half a month for a qualified four-pounder gun to be cast, tested, and finally equipped to the gunner.
Even if the four-pounder cannon has been successfully cast, it will not be immediately equipped to the team.
The artillery range not only tests the range of the new gun, but also tests the accuracy of the aim, including power and the number of consecutive shots. How many consecutive shots will cause the barrel to overheat and the aim to deflect, how many times the gun can withstand deformation after being fired, and There are travel speeds for various terrains and so on.
These things need to be tested one by one. When the final test is completed, the new gun will be equipped to the gun crew.
During this process, at least one to two new cannons will be completely destroyed due to the testing process.
"Stop, the front is a restricted area, don't come near."
The soldiers guarding the Tiger Flag outside the gun-making workshop and artillery field stopped several refugees who wanted to get closer.
"Brother, we are refugees who come to Lingqiu to find work. Where is the place in front of us?" the thin-faced refugee asked carefully.
The guard said, "This is a restricted area with the tiger character flag. Outsiders are not allowed to enter. You should leave immediately."
"Brother, I'm just asking. Maybe we people will work here in the future." The thin-faced refugee said with a smile to the tiger-character flag soldiers guarding the door.
"If you want to find work, go to the village ahead. They are recruiting blacksmith apprentices there." The guard pointed at Zhao Jiayu who was facing him.
The thin-faced refugee smiled apologetically and said, "Thank you, brother. I'll treat you to a drink when we find work later."
"You're welcome," the guard said, "Go quickly, you might be able to have lunch at this time."
"What the eldest brother said is that we should go to the village in front and have a look."
The thin-faced refugee said with a smile and retreated to the other refugees.
As soon as he retreated, he whispered, "Sir, this place is heavily guarded and we can't get close at all."
"It seems that this is the place where Tiger Flag cannons are made." Jinyiwei Baihu looked solemnly at the long wall ahead.
The place is heavily guarded, with tiger flag soldiers holding firecrackers patrolling the area. There are guards in front of the door questioning people entering and exiting, making it difficult for outsiders to enter.
The thin-faced Jin Yiwei asked, "Sir, do we still want to get closer and take a look?"
"No need." Jinyiwei Baihu shook his head slightly and said, "Just find out where this place is. Let's go to Xujiazhuang now to have a look, and then return to Beijing. We can't stay in Lingqiu for a long time. The longer the time, the easier it is for us to be captured." People see through identities.”
"We will listen to the adults' arrangements."
Several Jin Yiwei spoke at the same time, all in low voices.
Before coming to Lingqiu, they would never leave in such a hurry. They would not leave unless they made a fortune. But now that they have seen the true appearance of the Tiger Flag, they have no intention of staying at all. They are eager to get involved. Wings fly back to the capital.
Others are afraid of their Jin Yiwei because the three characters "Jin Yiwei" represent the imperial court. But not everyone is afraid of the Jin Yiwei. There are always people who are not afraid of the imperial court. At least they don't think that the Tiger Character Flag will be afraid of them, the Jin Yiwei.
They even had reason to suspect that if the identities of the Jinyiwei were leaked, their heads would be cut off by the people of the Tiger Flag.
Just when they were about to leave, they suddenly saw a group of people walking out of the courtyard gate that they had been unable to get close to before.
Walking in front was a young man with somewhat dark skin.
There were also some people who were obviously guards, following the young man on both sides.
Everyone wore armor, carried weapons, and rode on war horses to guard around the young man.
