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 have regained his energy. 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 possible, 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 it can also be called 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, but if you have any needs, report it 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 specifically 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 manpower, 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 water flow of the Baihe River is relatively 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 written it down.
I will leave this matter to Wang Qiancheng, the head of the Fire Gun Bureau, who is a craftsman transferred from the Ministry of Industry in the capital, and he also knows 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 gun barrels and come to the North Road, I will take care of them."
I was given two taels of silver at the same time, thinking it was Sichuan capital!"
He added: "If we go at the current rate of drilling and grinding gun barrels, by the end of the year there will be at best five hundred bird cannons, 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 200 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.
, then we can become an army."
Li Guofu listened quietly to Zhang Cheng's words. He raised the corner of his mouth, showed 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 recruit so many craftsmen who drilled and polished 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, he would
No one will suspect 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, there are various items stored, such as gunpowder, bullets, etc. Under a wooden shed in front of the house, there are 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 worth of lead, and shoot three cents of lead."
Zhang Cheng stretched out his hand to take the gun and took a closer look. The gun looked extremely fine. The barrel, fire door, bolt and other important parts 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 to weigh 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 comply with 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 Yunzhou Craftsman Camp 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 were covered with various medicine bags and lead bags.
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 close it again.
Fire door, install match rope.
After everything was ready, he stood up and held the gun. The person in front of him loudly announced: "Report, the bird gun has been loaded and can be shot at any time."
"Raise the gun, open the door, aim at the eighty-step target, and prepare to shoot." Wei Zhice shouted loudly.
Zhang Cheng, Li Guofu and other people watched with attention. Just when the sergeant was loading the medicine, Li Guofu said softly, "Hey", 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 in the "New Book of Ji Xiao" of the Ming Dynasty once mentioned the "three-point-one-line" shooting method, that is: the human eye is directed at the door, the door is built to face the front star, and the front star is directed to the object being hit.
This shooting method is still used today.
Wei Zhice saw that the four sergeants in charge of inspecting the guns had already stood firm. They were holding the guns in front of them with one hand and the body of the gun was tucked into their armpits.
Aim for the target.
He turned back to look at Zhang Cheng, and after seeing him nodding his head, he turned around and shouted: "Let go!"
"boom!"
The muzzles of the four muskets erupted into a ball of fire almost at the same time. Through the rising smoke, three human-shaped targets eighty steps away had been pierced by the musket bullets.