A few days later, I received a message from the Ambassador of the Yu Heng Division of the Ministry of Industry saying that the new artillery was successfully manufactured. Yu Heng Division is a department under the Ministry of Industry responsible for the harvesting and smelting of mountains and rivers. The Ordnance Bureau, the Armor Factory, and the Wang Gong Factory (
The departments that specialize in gunpowder) are all under the management of Yu Hengsi.
Li Jie once handed over the formula of the new gunpowder to the Wang Gong Factory for testing. This work was carried out at the same time as the new artillery. The design ideas for the new artillery were also proposed by Li Jie.
Emperor Hongzhi didn't bother the two masters and left the two matters to Li Jie. However, there was basically no need to go there on weekdays unless there was a major breakthrough or the craftsmen encountered problems.
Yu Hengsi Ambassador Gao Zhi had been waiting at the door of the Ordnance Bureau for a long time. When he saw Li Jie coming over, he said with a flattering look on his face: "Sir, it is mainly due to your efforts. Otherwise, I don't know how many years and months it will take for this new artillery to be completed."
Ambassador Gao has no other shortcomings except for his tendency to flatter others. He is diligent in his work. Otherwise, Li Jie would have suggested a replacement. The new gunpowder and artillery are related to the future overseas strategy.
"Ambassador Gao, what you said in the message is true? Is it really ready for mass production?"
When it came to business, Ambassador Gao immediately changed his expression and said seriously: "How dare I deceive you, your Excellency? We have indeed succeeded. It is thanks to your improved caliper that we are able to mass-produce it."
After saying that, he led Li Jie into the Ordnance Bureau. There was a guard post every five steps and a sentry post every ten steps inside the yamen. The guards were very tight. After the imperial court started the tribute trade, it also suffered losses at sea, although most people were afraid of the Ming Dynasty.
The flag dare not act rashly, but there are still some bold pirates who rob merchant ships.
Artillery is the main weapon in naval warfare, so the Ordnance Bureau, which was not taken seriously before, suddenly became important.
Walking into the artillery making room, the master craftsman Liu Zhi saw Shangguan coming and hurried forward to salute.
"Sir, I have lived up to my trust and have completed the production of a new type of artillery!"
Li Jie waved his hand: "Master Liu, no need to be polite. Where is the artillery? Have you tested its power?"
Liu Zhi said: "It has been tested. Sir, please follow me."
After saying that, he took Li Jie and Ambassador Gao to a test site outside. The Firearms Bureau built a school site near the southwest corner of the city specifically for test firing.
When Li Jie arrived at the school grounds, he saw a "big one" quietly placed in the north. It was naturally incomparable with later generations, but compared to the previous artillery, it was indeed a big one. Liu Zhi pointed to the new artillery and said
.
"This was developed based on the artillery that the Franji people paid tribute to before. According to the Lord's instructions, it was named the No. 1 artillery. It is 9 feet long (about 3 meters) and has 9 blunderbuss inside, each with one kilogram of ammunition and one pound of gunpowder.
One kilogram, the built-in gunpowder is an improved black powder, which is nearly twice as powerful as the previous gunpowder, and has a range of more than 130 feet. It will definitely be my weapon in the Minghai War in the future."
Li Jie felt very happy looking at the crude "big guy" in front of him, but what he was most concerned about was the mass production situation.
"Master Liu, can this cannon be mass-produced? What is the output?"
Liu Zhi was well prepared for Li Jie's question and immediately replied: "Thanks to the segmentation method proposed by the Lord and the improved version of the vernier caliper, mass production is now possible, but the output is not high, with a maximum of 40 doors a month."
Artillery No. 1."
The earliest appearance of the vernier caliper can be traced back to the Wang Mang period. The Xinmang caliper has already taken the prototype of a vernier caliper, but it does not have a differential micrometer function. The fixed ruler and vernier ruler of the Xinmang caliper are completely aligned, but this is not the case in modern ones.
There is a small difference between them, which can improve the accuracy by an order of magnitude.
Originally, the Bureau of Ordnance used old-fashioned calipers. After Li Jie's improvements, they were no longer much different from later generations of vernier calipers. However, they were not as accurate as those of later generations. Even so, they were ahead of the world.
Initially, there were only a few dozen people specifically responsible for casting artillery, but now there are hundreds. Although this output is lower than Li Jie's expectations, there is no way to force it. 480 artillery pieces a year can meet the needs of offshore ships.
"Then let's start the test firing!"
After hearing the order, Ambassador Gao waved to call the two subordinates. Looking at the skilled postures of the two, it was definitely not the first time they had come into contact. When everything was ready, Ambassador Gao said to Li Jie.
"Sir, please stand a little farther away."
Li Jie was currently standing more than ten feet away from the cannon body. Even if there was any danger, he was enough to react, so he waved his hand: "No, let's start!"
Ambassador Gao heard this and stopped trying to persuade him. After that Tatar martial arts competition, no one knew that Li Jie was very good at martial arts. He was just doing this just in case.
"Prepare!"
"fire!"
"Bang! Bang!"
In just a few minutes, the No. 1 artillery roared nine times in succession. Even though Li Jie was hundreds of meters away, he could feel the vibrations in the area covered by the gunfire. This power was absolutely unstoppable in the world, even if Li Jie was like this.
Even an innate master cannot escape death if he is hit from the front, but with the speed of fire of the artillery, it is very easy for an innate master to escape.
Li Jie was still very satisfied with the power of the artillery, and said to everyone present: "It is possible for this power to be achieved by you. I will wait for you to be rewarded by your majesty!"
Ambassador Gao and Dajiang Liu looked at each other and knelt down one after another and said loudly: "Thank you, Sir!"
Then Li Jie stayed at the Ordnance Bureau for a while, and after he understood the matter clearly, he hurried to the palace.
In the Palace of Qianqing, Zhu Youtang couldn't hide the smile on his face after listening to Li Jie's report. The tribute trade in the past few years has really given him a taste of the sweetness, and the profit he made for the first time really impressed everyone in the court.
The important ministers were jealous, and after a fierce confrontation between the emperor and his ministers, it was finally agreed that the subsequent tribute trade would be led by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the proceeds would be handed over to the national treasury instead of the internal treasury.
In the past few years, the national treasury has been gradually filling up, and those relatives have begun to get ready to take action again. They clamor all day long to conquer the Tatars in the west, or to conquer the Japanese in the east. Which emperor does not want to expand his territory and spread his name to future generations, and Zhu Youtang naturally does not
exception.
"Lin Aiqing, can't production increase?"
Li Jie pondered for a moment: "Your Majesty, under today's conditions, this is already the maximum output. It is not easy to train craftsmen, and it cannot be expanded in a short time. Unless the water conservancy machine tool proposed by the previous minister has made progress, the power of machinery can replace manpower to a large extent.
Increase production."
Zhu Youtang looked a little disappointed when he heard this, but after a moment he adjusted his attitude and said with a smile: "Lin Aiqing, the success of the new artillery is indispensable to your love. I must reward you well!"
"Your Majesty, I just proposed an idea, but it is the craftsmen of the Arms Bureau who actually implement it. I believe that these talents should be heavily rewarded, and only with appropriate rewards and punishments can they stimulate their enthusiasm. I would like to report that in the future, if there are craftsmen with outstanding contributions, they should be awarded the prize.