Zhao Tai ordered Liu Shun to take charge of the firearms workshop and asked him to mobilize manpower and resources to try new methods of casting cannons.
In order to obtain cannons, Zhao Tai stayed in the firearms workshop and worked with the craftsmen to make cannons.
Zhao Tai was very efficient. The 20,000 copper coins loaned by Haizhou Prefecture were transported to the firearms workshop on the same day.
"Your Majesty, the first plan is just to change the material to copper, and the casting process remains unchanged!" Liu Shun looked at the pile of copper coins, swallowed his saliva, and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to melt them down now? "
Zhao Tai said in a deep voice: "Why doesn't it melt? If you pull it over, it will melt the cast cannon. Don't have any scruples. Listen to me, it will melt."
Seeing this, Liu Shun ordered several craftsmen, "Let's melt it."
Craftsmen threw copper coins into the furnace and heated them over a charcoal fire.
"Your Majesty, after the copper coins are melted into copper liquid, they will be cooled into copper blocks first, and then forged several times to refine the copper blocks!" Liu Shun explained: "The refined copper blocks will be melted again, and this time The copper water will be poured into the grinding tool. All that is left is to wait for the copper cannon to cool down, demould and test the cannon."
Zhao Tai nodded slightly, "This cannon is really expensive to build!"
Because the technology was immature, it was difficult for the firearms workshop to build a heavy cannon capable of attacking cities from the beginning. However, the cannon was too light and had no power.
Zhao Tai made artillery mainly for use in water warfare, which can damage warships from a long distance. To have a long range and high power, the cannon must weigh five to six hundred kilograms.
The usual Song money is about five or six pounds.
If the cannon is made of copper, including labor and other expenses, it would cost an estimated 120 guan to make a bronze cannon.
This is indeed not cheap for Zhao Tai.
Liu Shundao: "Your Majesty, iron cannons are cheaper than copper cannons, and the forging has already begun in the workshop."
Zhao Tai saw that it would take time to melt copper coins, so he said, "Go and have a look!"
When we arrived at the forging workshop, the craftsmen were using machines to repeatedly forge iron blocks, and then the craftsmen hammered the one-foot-long fine iron plates into hollow cylinders.
Zhao Tai observed for a while, stroked his beard, and said, "Let the craftsmen from Tiangongyuan come over!"
Not long after, Hu Maocai, the director of Tiangongyuan, came over with a group of craftsmen, "Your Majesty!"
Zhao Tai pointed to the blacksmith who was hammering the cylinder, "Tiangongyuan can study the hydraulic forging machine and whether it can use water to press the iron plate into the shape the blacksmith wants."
Hu Maocai discussed a few words with several craftsmen and then saluted: "Reporting to the king, in theory, as long as there is a waterwheel to provide power, Tiangongyuan can get the power the craftsmen want through gears, transmission shafts, and counterweights. I and others can Give it a try."
Zhao Tai nodded: "Then you should study it. If you can provide efficiency, you will be rewarded."
In the next few days, Zhao Tai stayed in the firearms workshop, following the whole process and observing the new method of casting cannons.
Three days later, the prototype cannon, which was made by forging, heated and joined together by three iron cylinders, and reinforced with iron hoops at the joints, was successfully rolled off the assembly line.
When Zhao Tai learned the news, he couldn't wait to conduct a test launch.
In the afternoon of that day, a group of people came to the shooting range, and a 400-pound artillery gun was placed on the gun truck.
Although Zhao Tai didn't know how to cast cannons, he had a certain understanding of how to use them.
Therefore, the forged artillery is directly mounted on the gun lug, and the firing angle can be adjusted.
The 400-pound artillery piece is not that big. The body of the cannon is thin at the front and thick at the back, like a woman's thigh.
Because the craftsmen had tried firing many times before, the loading of gunpowder and iron bullets was very smooth, and the loading was completed in less than two minutes.
"Your Majesty, the cannon test is about to begin!" Liu Shun saluted Zhao Tai, "Your Majesty, please step back!"
Zhao Tai smiled and said, "Do you have confidence in this artillery?"
Liu Shundao said: "I think the test launch should be successful."
Zhao Taidao: "I believe you, let's start!"
Judging from the experience of several previous bombings, Zhao Tai was actually standing at a safe distance. Liu asked several craftsmen to retreat by the way, insisting on lighting the cannon himself.
This is when everyone retreats, Liu Shun immediately lights
When he saw the fuse on the cannon sparking, he quietly got into the medicine chamber.
With a loud "boom", the iron cannon retreated violently, a cloud of white smoke erupted from the muzzle, and a black iron bullet rushed out from the flames and smoke.
Zhao Tai felt a loud sound in his ears and saw the cannonball flash out and hit the target wall 300 steps away.
"Okay!" Seeing this, Zhao Tai couldn't help but hold his hands and laugh.
The fist-sized cannonball made a dent in the earthen wall and stirred up clouds of dust, showing that it was quite powerful.
At this time, everyone's faces were full of joy when they saw that the artillery was successfully fired. Wang Bin, who had followed Zhao Tai, and his guards who had never seen the artillery, were stunned.
Wang Bin's eyes widened and he suddenly waved his hands excitedly, "Your Majesty, with this sharp weapon, why worry about not being able to build a great cause!"
While everyone was happy, Liu Shun, holding a torch, stood in front of the iron cannon, looking straight at the cannon body, as if he had lost his soul.
Zhao Tai noticed something was wrong and stepped forward to take a look. The iron cannon did not explode because it was reinforced with iron hoops, but there was a small gap in the cannon body, and a trace of smoke was coming out of the gap.
[In view of the general environment,
Zhao Tai's face darkened, and he immediately understood that although the iron cannon made by the forging method did not explode, because it was not cast in one piece and had poor air tightness, it would probably explode after a few uses.
Liu Shun came back to his senses and found Zhao Tai standing behind him. He couldn't help but kneel down and said, "The villain has betrayed the king's trust. Please punish him."
Zhao Tai took a deep breath, knowing that the early iron cannons had many flaws and the problems could not be solved immediately, so he stepped forward to help Liu Shun up, "Manager Liu, don't be discouraged. This forged iron cannon is already good. If you find problems and continue to improve them, you don't have to be like this." !」
Liu Shun was very moved when he heard this, "Your Majesty, I have an idea. Can we use a forged iron cannon as the core, use casting technology on the outside, and then cast a layer to improve the air tightness."
Zhao Tai's eyes lit up. Isn't this a double-layer compound?
Zhao Tai felt that he had something to work with, but he didn't know exactly how to do it, so he encouraged: "Just go and verify your idea, don't worry about money. Both the Arms Bureau and the Tiangong Bureau should encourage craftsmen to be bold." Imagine it and verify it.”
The effect of forging iron cannon was not ideal, but Zhao Tai was not discouraged.
The next day, the cast copper cannon was cooled and demoulded, and Zhao Tai stood at the shooting range.
This time, the bronze cannon roared, and the fist-sized cannonballs roared out, directly hitting the earthen wall and shaking.
Liu Shun ran over excitedly, "Your Majesty, it seems to have worked!"
"Hahaha~" Zhao Tai beamed instantly when he heard this, "You really get what you pay for!"
Wang Bin said: "Your Majesty, we must cast bronze cannons at any cost. I believe that as long as there are enough bronze cannons, the money we spend now can be quickly earned back on the battlefield."
Zhao Tai nodded and ordered: "Manager Liu, continue to test-fire the artillery to find out the lifespan of the copper cannon, and then carry out large-scale casting."
Liu Shun immediately cupped his fists and saluted, "Yes!"
Zhao Tai then said to Wang Bin: "Deploy an elite force to guard the firearms bureau to prevent leaks of information, and then order the navy to select large ships and secretly go to Haizhou for modification."
Wang Bin bowed excitedly, "Yes!"
