"Come on, Brother Su." Mu Ying took out the items in the box one by one, beckoned to Zhu Su and said, "Come and take a look, this is the gunpowder and blunderbuss commonly used by the armies of the Ming Dynasty."
"Let me take a look." Zhu Su walked into the courtyard and saw three or four firearms of different shapes on the ground, as well as a box of gunpowder.
"This gunpowder..." Zhu Su knelt down, picked up the gunpowder powder and looked at it. He saw that the gunpowder particles were black and full, and did not look like a bunch of impurities as he imagined. He couldn't help but muttered a little guilty: "Isn't that right?
The gunpowder of the Qing Dynasty is full of strange things. Things like cinnabar, lead, and mercury are added to it, but most of it is filled with useless impurities? How come the gunpowder of the early Ming Dynasty is so pure?"
I originally thought that I could show off the black powder ratio and pretend to be Bo Yi. But there doesn't seem to be much wrong with the gunpowder?
"What's wrong?" Seeing him in a daze, Zhu Biao asked.
"It's nothing, um. Let's take a little light and have a look." Zhu Su said.
Zhu Biao took a lantern (similar to a fire stick), divided some gunpowder with a piece of paper, took it from a distance and lit it. Hearing only a few sizzling sounds, the gunpowder burned clean quickly. Zhu Su smelled the smell and
Looking at the gray, there seems to be nothing wrong with it.
"It's strange... In the early Ming Dynasty, the ratio of gunpowder was already so close to black gunpowder." Zhu Su was somewhat shocked by the wisdom of the ancients.
"Then why at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the quality of gunpowder was not as good as at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. During the naval battle between Dajiao and Shajiao, the British army captured a gunpowder depot of Qing army gunpowder, but they sank them all into the sea in disgust, and called them 'shoddy and useless.
Something of no use whatsoever'..."
By the way, the muskets at this time did not have rifling. Because the projectiles would just fly randomly, the range was also very limited.
"Oh?" Zhu Biao asked, "Why is this?"
"Hmm..." During the tea time, there were only four or five shots, and the rate of fire was too slow... The ancient fire gun he imagined would have to fire at least two or three shots per minute, right?
"There seems to be nothing wrong with this gunpowder." Zhu Su coughed and said. He originally wanted to pretend to be Boyi, but he didn't expect to be slapped in the face by the wisdom of his ancestors.
Coupled with the shortage of basic science and the shoddy workmanship of craftsmen, it took hundreds of years for the gunpowder of the Qing Dynasty to become as rotten as Zhu Su's impression.
"The steps are indeed complicated, but they are also necessary. If not done well, there is a risk of the barrel exploding or misfiring. I should be able to shoot four or five rounds during a tea time. The gunman must be skilled in operation, and the barrel will not be loose.
It won't happen until it's overheated." Mu Ying said.
"As for the quick method... I think it would be very troublesome for you, brother, to do the steps of grabbing the gunpowder, compacting it, burning the fuse, etc. step by step."
"Okay." Mu Ying didn't refuse. The courtyard was quite big, so nothing big could happen. He looked around and pointed at a big tree by the wall: "Your Highness, I will use that tree as a target.
How is it?"
"Brother, don't be disappointed. Although this 'paper-wrapped gunpowder' method is simple, it will still take decades before someone comes up with it!" Zhu Su chuckled. "Now, let's take it out to benefit me, the Ming Dynasty.
Already."
"Well, Brother Ying, how about you shoot a few shots and show me and Brother Ying?"
It seems that this knowledge is not just random talk, but it is true. Zhu Biao thought to himself.
"Well, although it's a bit troublesome, you can still give it a try." Mu Ying muttered. If you can increase the power by 10%, you can break through one more layer of heavy armor.
During the Ming Dynasty, the ratio of gunpowder became more scientific, and Ming people never stopped exploring gunpowder and firearms. In Qi Jiguang's "New Book of Jixiao", the ratio of gunpowder is basically the same as the optimal ratio, and even more
Several groundbreaking new types of firecrackers have emerged.
"Why not use a paper shell and put the gunpowder required for each shot into the shell. When you use it, tear the paper shell and pour it directly into it. In this way, wouldn't it save time and effort?"
"It's okay. Brother-in-law, please take care of it yourself." Zhu Biao said. It's just a crooked-necked tree. If you break it, transplant another one.
What Zhu Su didn't know was that, after generations of ancestors' disdainful research, by the Yuan Dynasty, the gunpowder ratio had been refined to 60% saltpeter and 20% sulfur and charcoal, which was the optimal ratio for black powder.
It's very close.
"Well..." Zhu Su touched the barrel of the gun before firing a shot. The barrel was already slightly hot. "If we want to make a complete improvement, I'm afraid we have to accumulate basic technology first and improve it from scratch in terms of materials."
With such a rate of fire, if faced with cavalry, even three-stage strikes would be absolutely useless. To weave a tight fire network that the cavalry cannot pass through, it would take at least seventeen or eight stages of strikes.
"Hmm. The power is pretty good. But does it have to be that close?" Zhu Su asked Mu Ying.
Having found a point of improvement, Zhu Su's self-confidence has returned a little.
"Does every shooting require so many steps? How many times can we shoot during a cup of tea?" Zhu Su continued to ask.
Zhu Biao asked suddenly, but he didn't expect Zhu Su to explain it casually.
Unexpectedly, it was slower than expected.
"With this method, wouldn't this big problem be easily solved? It's so simple that no one has thought of it for hundreds of years!"
Mu Ying nodded, picked up a "fire stick" and started to prepare. She originally thought that Mu Ying was going to show off her precise marksmanship, but she didn't expect that he would go straight to the crooked neck tree with the "fire stick" in hand.
A dozen steps away.
"As for these muskets..." Looking at this bunch of silly, big, black and thick things, these muskets looked like fire sticks, maces, weighted versions of suonas, etc., but they didn't look like muskets. Zhu Su was a little confused about where to start.
.
"This is the most common 'Hongwu gun' in our Ming army. Its power is such that even if the heavy armored cavalry of the Northern Yuan Dynasty attacks, it can be shattered with one shot. What do you think, Su Di?" Mu Ying said.
He thought for a while and finally proposed a small improvement plan: "If the gunpowder powder is wrapped in egg white and condensed into small round particles, the power can be increased by 10%."
"Because granular gunpowder can increase the gap for air to enter, it can better promote the burning efficiency of gunpowder." Zhu Su explained.
However, once the slaves were established and went south, barbarism replaced civilization. The progress of China's firearms was cut off. In addition to the short-sighted "riding and shooting based on", the development of firearms went back hundreds of years, even worse than in the Song Dynasty.
"Hey, is it so close?" Zhu Su thought doubtfully.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty gunpowder was the pinnacle of Chinese gunpowder in the feudal era.
"There's another benefit! The biggest difference between a green gunner and a skilled soldier is that when grabbing gunpowder, he or she grabs too much or too little. In this case, the gun may misfire, or the gun may explode.
"
"If it's on a battle formation, there's no need to be so close. It's just that the fire blunderbuss is not accurate. Brother Yu was afraid of destroying the courtyard wall, so he stayed closer." Mu Ying explained.
"...Too slow." Zhu Su couldn't help but frown.
Afterwards, Mu Ying began to clear the chamber, charge the powder, compact it, load the bomb, install the fuse, and ignite it step by step. Zhu Su almost fell asleep until there was a loud "bang" and sawdust fell on the tree.
It exploded, and Zhu Su was suddenly frightened and came back to his senses.
As soon as these words came out, Mu Ying was suddenly stunned. Then she patted her knees: "I didn't expect such a simple method!"
"Su Di, is there any way to improve?" Mu Ying said excitedly.
"Su Di, a time-traveler, can really accomplish extraordinary feats!" Zhu Biao also said with a smile. If things from decades later are taken out in advance, doesn't it mean that I, the Ming Dynasty, have been ahead in this journey for decades?
"What about the others? You just said, what should we do if we want to make a complete improvement?" Mu Ying continued to ask.
"Well, first we need to improve the material... The guns made of this material are really not very durable. We need to develop more refined steel."
"This involves a lot of knowledge. It is really difficult for me to do it alone. It will definitely require a few people who understand science to study step by step, and it will also require many powerful craftsmen..." If I go on, do I need to carve rifling with my bare hands?
, hand-rolling machine tools and blast furnaces? Zhu Su had a troubled smile on his face.
Zhu Biao and Mu Ying looked at each other and were about to say something when a high-pitched voice from an eunuch came from outside: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, His Royal Highness the King of Wu, General Mu, there is a young prince from the Duke of Wei coming to visit with a gift."
, I would like to invite His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness the King of Wu to meet and talk!"
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