Firearms Research Institute, Assembly Hall.
This is where each department of the Firearms Research Institute discusses technology and meetings.
Chongzhen sat on the first seat, and Xu Guangqi and others sat on both sides.
After everyone drank a cup of tea and ate some snacks, Chongzhen glanced at Xu Guangqi and said, "Xu Aiqing, please tell me the results of the test just now."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Xu Guangqi stood up and saluted Chongzhen, then walked to the wooden board with white paper hanging on one side and drew a few patterns with his pen.
"Your Majesty, these pictures are the scenes we just tested. Let me first talk about the impact of the external materials of the palm mine on the hand mine."
"A comprehensive analysis of the three materials shows that cotton is the worst, fur is second, and hemp rope is the best.
The cotton cloth is not strong enough, and the bamboo tube may explode after falling to the ground, resulting in insufficient explosion power. Wrapping it a few times can solve this shortcoming, but cotton cloth absorbs water easily;
Although fur is the most powerful, the fur is too thick, affecting the feel and throw distance, and the cost is also high;
Only hemp rope is the most suitable, it is light, strong, easy to obtain and low cost.
I remember that the Ministry of Industry has a method for processing hemp. The hemp produced is not only anti-corrosive and moisture-proof, but also stronger. "
"More importantly, the outer shell of the hemp rope is not easy to slip. Think about it, if it is summer and your hands are sweaty, and the sergeant's hands slip when throwing, or the throwing distance is not enough, the consequences..."
Xu Guangqi didn't finish speaking, but everyone trembled in unison.
If it was just a single explosion, it would be a trivial matter if a few people died.
But all the sergeants behind them have several palm mines on them. If the explosion sparks detonate the palm mines on the sergeants, they will be wiped out without the enemy attacking them.
"Your Majesty, please tell me more about the explosion range of the test."
"The test results of the appearance of the hemp rope show that the effective explosion range of a half-pound package is half a foot, and the effective explosion range of a one-pound package is one foot to one and a half feet...
Taken together, I recommend that for regular use, the weight of the entire palm thunder should not exceed one kilogram.
Because distance is the first factor in attack, it is useless if it cannot be thrown to the enemy.
The second is power. If the enemy is densely populated and attacked on a large scale,
The superposition of the air waves from the explosions of multiple palm mines, coupled with the impact of flying away, is powerful enough.
If it’s a special occasion, it depends! Such as siege, etc., there is no need to stick to this form, as long as the power is enough. "
"The test results are just like this so far. How much should the entire grenade weigh? We need to find a large number of sergeants to test it and find a middle value."
Everyone also recognized Xu Guangqi's analysis.
Before the test, they had weighed all the simple palm mines. In terms of feel and volume, Ma was the best, and the one-pound version was also the best.
After a while, Chongzhen said softly: "My dear friends, please share your thoughts!"
"Your Majesty, I do have some ideas!"
Bi Maokang spoke up: "It's just...it's just that the cost is a bit high!"
"Let's talk about the specifics first. It doesn't matter whether the cost is high or not, it just depends on whether it's suitable."
"Your Majesty, I feel that the gunpowder container does not have to be a bamboo tube. Even if it is a bamboo tube, it can be modified to increase its power. The blacksmith can beat the iron into a thin long piece and wrap it around the bamboo tube.
Then tie the bamboo tube with iron wire and copper wire, and finally tie it with hemp rope. "
quiet!
Everyone in the room was extremely quiet, looking at Bi Maokang speechlessly.
What the hell, do you think the cost is higher? It's almost as high as the sky, okay?
The iron piece is acceptable, it is nothing more than strength work.
But iron wire and copper wire are taxes and tributes from the Hangzhou government. Every year, the copper wire is handed in at 80 kilograms a year, and the iron wire is paid at 532 kilograms a year.
Taking tributes to blow up the enemy is a wasteful act no matter how you look at it.
PS: Iron wire and copper wire technology originated in the Song Dynasty and was vigorously developed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are clear records in many classics such as "Wu Bian" and "Tiangong Kaiwu".
In the surprised eyes of everyone, Chongzhen said softly: "Estimate the price of a palm thunder."
Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua, and Bi Maokang reached a consensus after exchanging a few words in a low voice.
Xu Guangqi said: "Your Majesty, a half-catty palm mine is about eight qian to one tael of silver, and a one-jin bag may be about one or two and a half!"
"Eight pieces of silver?"
"One tael of silver?"
Everyone exclaimed that the price was too high. They were all military leaders, and they also trained firearms in the army.
Based on the annual supply of gunpowder and military pay, the price of one hundred kilograms of gunpowder is five taels of silver.
According to the dosage of palm mine, the price of a palm mine is more than ten times that of ordinary gunpowder.
The price of two palm thunders can make a bird gun, but bird guns are durable items, while palm thunders are only disposable.
"Don't be surprised. This is just a conservative estimate. Let's not talk about the craftsmanship.
You also know the prices of nitrate and sulfur. If the current raw materials for ten pounds of gunpowder are made according to the current process, you will only get more than one pound in the end.
There are also granulated egg whites, soju, etc., plus iron wire, etc. Eight coins of silver is really just conservative. "
Everyone was silent, wanting to refute but not knowing how to refute.
They also know the prices of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. Saltpeter is three cents and two cents per catty, and sulfur is half a tael of silver per catty.
The production method I just saw is indeed extremely complicated, otherwise the output of such a large firearms research institute would not be less than two hundred kilograms a day.
If you throw one out, more than a hundred kilograms of food will be gone. Who can afford it?
Everyone turned their attention to the emperor. The final decision of whether to do it and how much to do was in the hands of the emperor.
Chongzhen didn't speak, but he was thinking again in his heart.
Today is May 25th. When he was in Datong Town, Hei Yunlong told him that the Tumut coalition forces and Chahar Lindan Khan who moved westward were going to meet at the end of the month.
Counting time, it's just a matter of these few days.
Jiannu, on the other hand, followed Tumut four to five hundred miles behind. As long as he retained his combat power, it would take at least five or six days to reach Guihua City, the royal capital of Tumut.
After the two parties had a fight, it would take at least a month to a month and a half for Jiannu to return.
If he pushes himself harder, Jiannu may retake the route of Jisi's change on the way back.
According to this calculation, there are only forty days until Jian Nu breaks through the barrier.
If calculated as two hundred kilograms a day, it would be eight thousand kilograms in forty days, which can be made into 16,000 grenades.
It looks like a lot, but it's really not that much. Each of the four Tengxiang guards is about 8,000, and the nine guards of the Forbidden Army are about 15,000 each.
If one of the guards is allowed to participate in the battle, each person will only have one or two, which is far from enough.
After a while, Chongzhen looked at Xu Guangqi and his expression became serious.
"Dear dear friends, please remember what I said today: Firearms should be made with time, perseverance, no expense, and no formality."
