At this point, Yang Zhen saw Pan Wenmao's eyes twinkling under the light, as if he had something to say, so he said to him: "Old Pan, do you have something to say?"

Pan Wenmao nodded immediately, and then said after careful consideration: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty is now able to change the old rules and focus on firearms. Although it is a last resort, it also captures the key point!"

Pan Wenmao was indeed neither humble nor arrogant in front of Yang Zhen, and he was outspoken. He immediately pointed out the reason why Yang Zhen valued firearms - because there was no one in the camp, and everyone was defeated by Yang Zhen's past style of fighting.

Of course, this was his own judgment, but Yang Zhen didn't speak out after hearing it.

After Pan Wenmao said this, he saw that Yang Zhen looked calm and not unhappy at all, so he thought carefully and said: "I also understand that adults did not pay much attention to firearms in the past. The reason is that firearms are weak and unstable. Sometimes they are not as good as

A strong bow and a strong crossbow! Sir, do you know the reason for this?"

"Old Pan! Stop being so pretentious! When did this happen?! Can't you see Master Zhen's current attitude towards firearms!? What skills do you have, show it quickly!"

Zhang Degui was too tired to open his eyes. Hearing Pan Wenmao talk so much but never getting to the point, he felt anxious and showed no mercy.

When Pan Wenmao saw this, he was not angry. He nodded and said, "It's just as your Excellency said! The problem lies in the gunpowder! Back then, Governor Yuan was guarding Ningyuan, and the gunpowder was personally supervised. The shotgun powder was also four qian, and the weight of the projectile was also three qian.

, but the range and power are much stronger than now! At 80 steps away, it can still penetrate the Tatar's double-layer cotton armor! But now, even if it hits at 80 steps away, it has no effect! At that time,

The Hongyi cannon used the same amount of medicine as it does now, and the size of the projectiles was also the same, but at that time it could hit an area of ​​several miles. Even if the Tatars besieged the city, they would not dare to get within five miles of the city! What about now?!"

Yang Zhen was a little surprised when he saw Pan Wenmao talking about Yuan Chonghuan. He didn't expect that he now has a fan of Yuan Chonghuan under his command!

Yang Zhen also knew that what Lao Pan said was right, but time was really urgent and he didn't have much time to listen, so he interrupted his complaint and said to him: "Lao Pan! So in your opinion, where is the problem?"

Of course Yang Zhen knew what the problem was, but he couldn't speak first because his predecessor didn't pay much attention to firearms in the past.

If my performance is too outstanding now, even the ratio of gunpowder can be explained clearly, then it may cause a lot of unnecessary doubts and even trouble.

It would be best if Pan Wenmao's understanding of this issue is the same as what he knows.

"The problem lies in the saltpeter used to prepare the gunpowder!"

Pan Wenmao saw that Yang Zhen was so "righteous" and immediately expressed his thoughts: "Sulfur is not difficult to get! Willow carbon is available everywhere! Only saltpeter is limited in quantity and expensive!

"The quality of the saltpeter supplied by the imperial court is slightly better, but the quantity is far from enough, and it is often not enough to provide relief! Therefore, each army and battalion had to obtain the saltpeter themselves, or purchase it directly from the private sector!

"In the past few years, there have been frequent wars in Liaodong and Guan Nei, and the consumption of saltpeter has increased greatly. It is often expensive but not marketable! So there are some who pass it off as fake, and some who pass it off as good. The quality of saltpeter is getting worse and worse, and it is not as good as before!

"In today's gunpowder, the proportion of saltpeter is constantly decreasing because it is rare! And the power of gunpowder ultimately lies in the saltpeter! The larger the dosage of saltpeter, the more powerful the gunpowder will be. The smaller the dosage of saltpeter, the more powerful the gunpowder will be.

Small!

"Of course, if there are too many impurities in saltpeter, no matter how large the dosage is, it will be useless. If there are too few impurities, even if you use less, the power will not be reduced much!"

Seeing that the sky was still bright outside the window, Pan Wenmao's conversation was still unabated, and Zhang Degui was already sitting with his back against the wall and fell asleep.

"So——, Lao Pan, in the preparation of gunpowder, how much should saltpeter account for, how much should sulfur account for, and how much should charcoal account for?"

Seeing that Yang Zhen was so interested in this issue, Pan Wenmao's sleepiness had long since disappeared and he continued to speak enthusiastically: "This ratio is regarded as a secret by many gunpowder makers in the camp and is never revealed to others! In fact,

, it’s very simple to say!

"Back then, when I was promoting the gunpowder production of our army under the former old commander, the former old commander showed me a book. It was a military book written by Marshal Qi many years ago, called the New Book of Ji Xiao!

"The writing on it is very clear! I still remember it clearly to this day! Qi Jiajun's gunpowder recipe! You can forget everything, but you can't forget this fatal thing! - one liang of saltpeter, one qian and four of sulfur

cents, Liu Tan is eight cents a penny!"

"One liang of saltpeter, four cents for one penny of sulfur, and eight cents for one penny of willow charcoal!?"

Hearing Pan Wenmao say this confidently, Yang Zhen was a little skeptical about Qi Jiajun's gunpowder recipe.

He has read a lot of historical novels on the Internet. Although he has not studied it specifically, he also knows that the standard formula of black gunpowder in the 21st century is saltpeter accounting for 75%, sulfur accounting for 10%, and charcoal.

Accounting for fifteen percent.

Therefore, after listening to the Qi Jiajun formula relayed by Pan Wenmao, Yang Zhen turned it over and over again in his mind for a long time.

In the end, Yang Zhen exhausted all his mathematical knowledge and was finally surprised to find that Qi Jiajun's gunpowder mixing ratio was basically the same as the 21st century standard black powder mixing ratio.

Saltpeter is one tael, sulfur is one cent and four cents, and charcoal is one cent and eight cents. This combination ratio, converted into later data, is 75.75% saltpeter and 10.6% sulfur.

Charcoal 13.65%.

Although there are still some errors, considering the four to five hundred years between them, the combination rate between the two can be regarded as amazingly consistent!

Yang Zhen calculated for a long time, and finally a smile appeared on his face. What Pan Wenmao said about Qi Jiajun's gunpowder recipe was credible.

The former veteran commander Pan Wenmao mentioned repeatedly was actually Yang Zhen's grandfather, Yang Yingyuan.

Before Yang Yingyuan died in the battle, he was serving as the commander of the Guangning rear garrison and serving as the general of Guangning. Although Qi Jiguang had passed away at that time, the survivors of the Qi family army were still there.

Moreover, as a general in Guangning and the hereditary commander of the Guangning rear guard, it is normal to have Qi Jiguang's new military and military records.

However, just as Yang Zheng was about to speak, he suddenly thought of another question and immediately fell into hesitation again.

Since the best ratio has been written down in Ji Xiao's new book, it is basically open to the public. There is no secret at all. But why is the gunpowder used by the Ming Dynasty's official army not as good as the previous generation, and it is getting worse and worse?

Woolen cloth?!

As soon as Yang Zheng raised this question, he heard Pan Wenmao say: "The key to making medicine is boiling salt! Many people can memorize this formula, but not many can do it honestly!"

Speaking of this, Pan Wenmao couldn't help but sigh, and then said: "This is really a long story! In order to make gunpowder, the capital has a saltpeter household under the guard. However, the market price of saltpeter is high, but the capital distributes it.

No money was given! The saltpeter either passed it off as a good one, or fled with his family! After all, it was all because those who boiled the saltwater did not use it, and those who used it did not boil it. Everyone was perfunctory and shoddy.

Fruit!"

"So, Lao Pan, do you know how to boil saltpeter? Do you know how to remove impurities and improve the purity of boiled saltpeter?"

At this moment, Yang Zhen knew that Pan Wenmao was a treasure. If he used it well, he would be much less worried in the future.

"I know a thing or two about my job, but the method is not complicated. It's just that the materials used are expensive and the cost - given our current situation, I'm afraid it's a bit too much!"

"Don't worry about the cost yet! Just tell me and listen to it first!"

"It's best to use cowhide, but pigskin is fine. Remove the hair, scrape off the oil, and boil it in water until it melts into the water and blends with the water. Use a hanging spoon as the standard. This is called boiling glue.

Call it leather glue!

"Boil the saltpeter until it reaches a critical juncture, add an appropriate amount of leather glue, stir evenly, and the resulting fire saltpeter is as white as snow and as crystal clear as salt! It doesn't even need sulfur, and it can explode when exposed to fire. Such fire saltpeter

The best quality!”

Speaking of this, Pan Wenmao seemed to suddenly remember a certain past event, and muttered to himself: "It was just a coincidence that I survived it once or twice!"

Yang Zhen listened to this with all his concentration, and all the sleepiness in his body had disappeared. He made a decision immediately, slapped the kang table, and said with some excitement: "In this case, it is no longer necessary to delay! We are not short of saltpeter for the time being, and we have it in the camp now! This morning

, you send someone to boil the pot first!

"Then I'll send a few people to the streets to collect cowhide and pigskin, and come back to make leather glue! Until tonight's dusk, I can cook as much salt and fire as you mentioned! Even three or five pounds! Because

This thing is really crucial!”
Chapter completed!