In the craftsman camp along the Baihe River in Yunzhoubao, North Road, Xuanzang Town.
After being reminded by Zhang Cheng, the old man Shi Tiegen lowered his head and pondered. He seemed to have some clues, but he couldn't figure out the principle for a moment. Suddenly, Wei Zhice said from the side: "I remember there is a record in "Tiangong Kaiwu" , I don’t understand it very well, it seems to be very similar to what the general said.”
Zhang Cheng seemed to be more energetic. He vaguely remembered that there was a human-powered lathe in the Ming Dynasty, which could be used to make and polish jade articles, but he was not sure whether it could be used to drill and grind gun tubes.
If it is feasible, in addition to manpower, animal power and water power should also be considered, especially water power. There are many mountain springs on the north road. If it is feasible, it will be much more convenient.
At that moment, Zhang Cheng said to the old man Shi Tiegen: "Yes, this thing is called a lathe, or a drilling machine. Shi Tiegen, you choose a few old craftsmen with flexible minds and find a secluded place.
We are specifically here to develop this kind of machine. If you have any needs, please report directly to Wei Zhice, and we will do our best to meet your requirements. According to the "Tiangong Kaiwu", this drilling machine must be developed. "
He went on to say: "I didn't call in five clerks. Shi Tiegen, you specially selected some masters with various skills and experience to form a scientific research team. Yes, it's called a scientific research team, which specializes in overcoming difficulties." Things.
The first priority is to drill and grind the gun tube. For the time being, continue drilling and grinding the gun tube according to the original method, but you must also step up the development of human, animal power, water power and other equipment. If you succeed, it will be considered a great achievement and you will have your own reward. .
Furthermore, the flow of the Baihe River is quite stable, and there are many streams around it. With Shitiegen, you can make some keel waterwheels, water mills and other equipment according to the actual situation. These are recorded in the book "Tiangong Kaiwu" . "
"Yes, General, Shi Tiegen has taken note of it.
This matter was handed over to Wang Gancheng, the director of the Fire Gun Bureau. This person was a craftsman transferred from the Ministry of Industry of the capital, and he also knew some writing. "
The high-pitched voice of Li Guofu, the surveillance eunuch who also came to inspect the craftsman camp, came at this time: "There are not enough craftsmen, so we will bring in more. Your Majesty prays day and night for the early formation of our new army on the North Road. How can we be hindered by such trivial matters?" .”
Zhang Cheng said: "It's so great, but it's really inconvenient for Zhang Cheng to be outside the North Road. Only Eunuch Li comes forward to make it work. If there are craftsmen who can drill and sharpen blunderbuss tubes and come to the North Road, I will take care of them." I was given two taels of silver at the same time, so I thought it was Sichuan capital!"
He added: "If we go by the current speed of drilling and grinding muskets, we will only have 500 muskets by the end of the year, which will only be enough for me to equip one fireman. I have four troops under my command. If they are fully equipped, how can it be done?" Not for two years?
Eunuch Li, it seems that I have to ask you to take charge of this matter. According to the general estimate, at least two hundred blunderbuss tubes must be drilled and ground every month, so that the entire army can be equipped with new bird blunderbuss in May and June of next year. , to become an army. "
Li Guofu listened quietly to Zhang Cheng's words. He raised the corners of his mouth, revealed a smile, and said in a sharp voice: "There are just a hundred craftsmen. Our family will repair the books tomorrow. If the Xuanzhen is not in harmony, our family will do it ourselves." Go back to the capital, there are still enough craftsmen in Tianjin Wei."
Zhang Cheng and others were overjoyed when they heard this. Their operation was actually counting on Li Guofu. When King Qin left the capital last time, Zhang Cheng brought back more than 300 craftsmen.
Now if he wanted to have so many craftsmen who drilled and sharpened gun barrels, he was afraid that the court would suspect him of having other intentions. However, if Li Guofu, as the supervisory eunuch, mobilized such craftsmen in Xuanzhen, or even returned to the capital to mobilize them, it would be No one will doubt him.
Everyone came to an open area by the river, which was the firearms testing range. There was a fence with wooden stakes around it to prevent stray people from breaking in accidentally.
In a wooden house in front of Zhang Cheng and Li Guofu, various items were stored, such as gunpowder, bullets, etc. Under a wooden shed in front of the house, there were several bird guns.
Wei Zhice stepped forward and picked up a blunderbuss and said: "General, Eunuch Li, this is the newly made blunderbuss. The blunderbuss at the craftsman's camp are now in accordance with the general's requirements, and all parts are of the same standard. , Bird guns are all loaded with three cents of lead, and they shoot with three cents of lead."
Zhang Cheng stretched out his hand to take the gun and looked at it carefully. He saw that the gun looked extremely fine. Important parts such as the barrel, fire door, and gun were even engraved with the name and serial number of the maker. He left again. A few steps forward, he picked up another blunderbuss in his left hand, holding one in each hand and weighing the difference in weight.
He put down the blunderbuss and said: "It's indeed good. From now on, the blunderbuss made by our Yunzhou Craftsman Camp must strictly follow this standard. They will all use three cents of lead bullets, and the charge is also the standard three cents and three cents. This bird blunderbuss From now on it will be called Yunzhou Gun."
Eunuch Li Guofu also stepped forward. He was muttering "Yunzhou gun", he also reached out and picked up a gun and looked at it carefully, and asked, "Have you ever shot?"
Wei Zhice hurriedly stepped forward and replied: "Reporting to the Lord Supervisor, the muskets made by our craftsman camp in Yunzhou must be tested three times without exploding the barrel before they are considered qualified and can be inspected and stored in the warehouse.
The five shots on the left in this shed are newly made Yunzhou guns, which have passed the inspection, and the ones on the right are relatively high-quality bird guns selected from the Beilu inventory for comparison. "
"oh!"
Li Guofu raised his eyes and looked at the human-shaped targets in the distance, and said: "Shoot a few rounds and show us."
"Here!"
After Wei Zhice received the order, he turned around and waved to the west side of the wooden shed. Immediately, four sergeants came running quickly. He shouted an order: "We have four new bird muskets, shoot three rounds each."
After receiving the order, the four sergeants turned around and entered the wooden house. To the surprise of Zhang Cheng, Li Guofu and others, they wore plate armor on their chests, masks on their heads, and various medicine bags and lead bags all over their bodies. Come out of the cabin.
After bowing to Zhang Cheng and others, each person took a new Yunzhou gun in their hands and began to wash the gun, add medicine, compact it, add lead, compact it, then open the door, remove the medicine, and then close it. Fire door, install match rope.
After everything was ready, he stood up and held the blunderbuss. The person in front of him loudly announced: "Report, the blunderbuss has been loaded and can be fired at any time."
"Raise the gun, open the door, aim at the eighty-step target, and prepare to shoot." Wei Zhice shouted.
Everyone, including Zhang Cheng and Li Guofu, watched intently. Just when the sergeant was loading the medicine, Li Guofu said softly, but didn't say anything.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the rows of human-shaped targets opposite. These targets were erected at a distance of sixty steps, eighty steps, one hundred steps, and one hundred and twenty steps. They were all five feet high. A humanoid shape two feet wide.
Qi Jiguang once mentioned the "three-point-one-line" shooting method in the Ming Dynasty's "New Book of Jixiao", that is: the human eye points to the door, the door is made to point to the front star, and the front star points to the object being hit.
This shooting method is still used today.
Wei Zhice saw that the four sergeants in charge of inspecting the muskets had already stood firm. They held the muskets in front of them with one hand, and the musket body was tucked into their armpits. Set your sights on the target.
He turned back to look at Zhang Cheng, and after seeing him nodding to him, he turned around and shouted: "Let go!"
"boom!"
The muzzles of the four cannons erupted into a ball of fire almost simultaneously. Through the rising smoke, three human-shaped targets eighty steps away had been pierced by the cannonballs.
