Chapter 607 Making money and recruiting apprentices
"Hit!"
"Shilang Wang was hit!"
Master Wei discovered this fact first, and rushed over with a single step, regardless of whether there was another shot.
There is no problem with the willow tree, but unfortunately, the sand fruits hanging on the willow tree are not so lucky.
I don’t know whether Wang Mi was a born sharpshooter or whether it was a blind cat that bumped into a dead mouse. In any case, it was his lead bullet that hit Sha Guo.
A sand fruit fell to the ground with a sound. The other sand fruit was still hanging crookedly on the willow tree, but it had been beaten to pieces, and its skin was torn and all black.
"It really hit!"
"I won!"
"Amai, spit out all the money!"
The moment Wang Mi rushed towards the willow tree, he did not forget to shout to He Mai. In order to make money, this guy dared to buy him out. He was simply not a good friend!
The money bag in He Mai's hand suddenly fell to the ground.
Lost!
He actually lost!
Such a complete loss!
Small money!
You left me so heartlessly!
However, He Mai did not need to be sad too quickly, because no one had noticed him yet. People were rushing to the willow tree to experience the true power of the pistol with Wang Shilang.
The power of the pistol is indeed huge!
Although this is only a semi-finished product made by Wang Mi's handicraft workshop, it can still make people of this era deeply feel this.
"Look!"
"The lead is here!"
Wang Mi heard it right. At the moment when the lead shot out of the barrel of the gun, he heard two loud noises in the next moment.
The first sound was a little dull, but the second sound actually had a crisp and decisive tone.
One shot, two shots!
That’s right!
Different from modern standard pistols, modern standard pistols can hold nine or even ten rounds of ammunition in the magazine.
Supports continuous firing.
However, ancient technology was limited after all. Even if Wang Mi tried his best to modify it, a pure gunpowder-type pistol could only fire one round and load one round.
Therefore, it is certain that there was only one lead bullet in the pistol at this time.
A lead bullet made two noises, so it definitely did not fall to the ground quickly after hitting Shaguo.
Wang Mi's judgment was correct. He climbed up the ladder and searched carefully near the sago. He soon found the lead bullet on the willow trunk where the sago was hanging.
"Where where?"
"Zhiyuan, show me!"
He Mai stood on tiptoes. Unfortunately, he was small in stature. Even though he stretched his neck, he still couldn't see clearly.
He was really anxious.
At this moment, Wang Mi's tolerance and generosity were revealed. If the He brothers found such a major discovery, they would definitely whet Xiao Wang's appetite and delay in bringing it out.
He always has to boast triumphantly before settling the matter, but in the same situation, Wang Mi would never do this.
He jumped down from the ladder generously and handed the lead he dug out to He Mai.
"Let's see!"
"Hit it into the willow trunk!"
Wang Mi raised his hand and pointed to the willow trunk in front of him, but he saw that there was a big black hole at the top of the bare willow trunk.
Its position is behind the hanging sand fruit. There is no doubt that the second sound just now was caused by the lead striking the willow trunk!
"so amazing!"
"Zhiyuan, the power of the pistol is really extraordinary!" He Mai sighed as he held the polished lead in his hand.
The lead was smooth, and although it was very small, it still had some weight. It was heavy in his hand. He Mai could even feel the strange force that pushed the lead outward after the gunpowder expanded violently!
The warmth seems to still be there on the small lead piece.
Under the leadership of He Mai, many master craftsmen also came over and agreed one after another. Especially Pu Chao, the general minister, was even more amazed at such a thing.
"I didn't expect that one lead can hit two targets!"
"It's really amazing!" Pu Chao stroked his beard and laughed, but then said: "Wang Shilang, it seems that if we go to the battlefield, wouldn't it be possible to hit two enemies with one shot?"
Although Pu Chao has never been on the battlefield, his reasoning is based on reality and fully embodies the economic and practical philosophy of a middle-aged minister.
Weapons!
Whether it is ordinary or miraculous, after all, it is used to kill the enemy in battle.
What kind of weapon is a good weapon?
Of course it can kill more enemies!
These days, Pu Chao has also realized that this pistol is indeed a rare item and very magical, but how effective can such a delicate weapon be.
He still has doubts.
Until today, after seeing the miracle of this spear piercing two objects, Pu Chao was convinced.
Don’t accept it!
In the past, not only him, but also any skilled craftsman in the workshop had never seen such a scene.
The characteristics of bows and arrows are familiar to everyone, whether they have been soldiers or not.
Because there are feathers following the arrow shaft, when the arrow pierces the enemy's chest, the feathers behind the arrow shaft will keep the entire bow and arrow in the chest of the person who was hit by the arrow.
It's impossible to wear them all.
In other words, an arrow can only hit one person, and it is absolutely impossible to hit two targets.
However, this lead pistol gave him hope!
Wang Mi smiled awkwardly, and Pu Chao's expression was so enthusiastic and full of expectation that he was quite at a loss.
He had to pause and said slightly hesitantly: "Theoretically, it is possible."
The so-called theory is of course an ideal state. Wang Mi is not sure whether Pu Chao can understand it. However, facing the current situation, he can only seek truth from facts.
Lead bullets are just ordinary bullets. Compared with modern single-shot bullets filled with gunpowder, their power is completely different.
It is possible for one bullet to hit two people in modern times, but in ancient times, unfortunately, Wang Mi believed that this possibility was indeed only theoretical.
However, he did not want to dampen Puchao's enthusiasm and cause them to question the new product pistol.
"Theoretically?"
Pu Chao didn't understand what theory meant, but he did understand what theory was and what theory was. In other words, things like hitting two targets with one shot could be discussed.
"good!"
"good!"
"As long as it's possible!"
"Zhiyuan, we must promote this kind of artifact as soon as possible and make more of it!"
Wang Mi's outstanding invention quickly won resonance in Jiang's workshop. To his surprise, no one from top to bottom in Jiang's workshop questioned his invention.
Everyone quickly recognized the power of the pistol, which made Wang Mi very satisfied. Being able to win the approval of Jin people was the most important thing to him.
However, Pu Chao's words suddenly made his mood drop to the bottom.
Make more?
This matter seems difficult to handle!
…………
As a battlefield weapon, in this era of pure cold weapon competition, hot weapons such as pistols can certainly play an extraordinary role in defeating one against a hundred.
Facing the upcoming larger-scale war, Jiangzuo should mass-produce pistols as soon as possible, the sooner the better!
However, this is also where Wang Mi is worried.
To produce, money is needed.
Producing pistols is not like making spears and stirrups.
It costs a lot of money, requires an endless supply of raw materials, and cannot stop for a moment.
Firearms can appear in the Ming Dynasty, firearms can appear in the Tang Dynasty, and firearms can even appear in the slightly weaker Song Dynasty.
But, can it appear in this crumbling Eastern Jin Dynasty?
Logically speaking, it is very likely to happen, and based on this, it is not difficult to overcome the technical point of ordinary black powder.
As long as you have such an idea and a little instruction, it can be easily made even in the earlier Han Dynasty.
In terms of quantity, weapons like pistols are easy to get, whether they are ten or a hundred.
However, it is very difficult to equip the army.
A fully-organized army would need at least a thousand riflemen. This means that an army of 10,000 people would need at least one to two thousand pistols.
It is necessary to equip all the troops in the Jin Dynasty with pistols so that they can suppress the Di Qin troops with firepower and sweep thousands of troops.
That is, if money is spent like water, you may not hear any sound.
money!
It’s all about money!
Where does the money come from?
Wang Mi was very worried, although he shouldn't have to worry about this matter in the first place.
According to the general script, he only needs to report the news of the successful development of the pistol to Sima Yao truthfully, let him see the excellent combat effectiveness of the pistol, and ask him to allocate money for its manufacture.
However, no one knows better than Wang Mi. Is the Jin Dynasty, or rather Emperor Sima Yao, rich?
Being cash-strapped and empty-handed, it was Sima Yao himself who was talking about it.
Not only himself, but even the tax revenue of the entire imperial court was absolutely unable to cope with the huge expenditure of pistols.
what to do?
Where does the money come from?
Wang Mi is very realistic. He will not ask Sima Yao for instructions at all. He knows very well that the people of the Sima family will gnash their teeth and be stingy when spending money on themselves.
Even at the last gathering at Taiyuan Prince's Mansion, according to reliable information obtained later, the luxurious food, singing and dancing were actually paid for by Wang Gong.
You see, Sima Yao was so poor that he even asked his subordinates to pay for a meal. Do you still expect him to support the manufacture and installation of pistols?
Maybe, you can give him some verbal support, but it's completely impossible to spend money without Wang Mi to touch this problem.
If he didn't need money and had a way of showing things off, Wang Mi could completely predict what Sima Yao would do.
Just look at the construction of various teams in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Why can't the imperial court effectively control the Jingzhou soldiers who are ready to move?
The geographical location is one aspect, but more importantly, there is no money.
When serving as a soldier, whoever gives you money is a good person, and they will fight to the death for whomever they want.
The Jin Dynasty, including Sima Yao, always wanted to save money when it came to supporting the army, so they allowed the big families to manage the army on their own.
In the end, money is saved and control is gone.
To make gunpowder and then forge pistols, don't expect the Sima family to be able to raise such a large sum of money.
If you want to make money, you still have to rely on yourself.
right!
Make money!
Where to get it from?
A thought suddenly flashed through Wang Mi's mind...
…………
The business of mass-producing pistols can only be put on hold temporarily. Due to financial constraints, even if Wang Mi is passionate, he can only put it away first.
Although mass production is not possible, this does not mean that the business of making pistols will be completely stagnant. It is still possible to produce a few more pistols within the scope of the workshop's capabilities and hone its skills.
In addition, Wang Mi personally led the production of gunpowder without stopping for a moment.
As soon as he came to court, Wang Mi took all the time to get into the general's workshop, put on his belt, and stood with the masters.
The matter of blacksmithing can now be left to Lao Wei with confidence and boldness, but the making of gunpowder still needs to be handled by Wang Mi himself.
After all, he can't always stay in the workshop. There are more and more important things waiting for him to deal with.
There is no other way but to teach the methods of making gunpowder step by step. Within the limited time, at least all the skilled craftsmen in the workshop must be taught.
Wang Mi had a plan. He did not mobilize all the craftsmen. After all, there are specialties in the art industry, and other masters also have skills that they are good at. Their craftsmanship also needs to be put to use.
In Jiang's workshop, he widely publicized and recruited apprentices in the workshop, targeting those young craftsmen and apprentices who had entered Jiang's workshop not long ago.
These people have not mastered their craft yet, so it is not a pity to change careers temporarily.
Wang Mi gathered such a group of people together and taught them carefully, and he had already vaccinated them.
If you people follow me, you may not be able to stay in Jiankang City in the future!
In other words, they are likely to leave their most comfortable home in Jiangzuo and follow the soldiers in the north and south campaigns.
As the army uses gunpowder, it is continuously produced and supplied.
This task cannot be accomplished just by staying in Jiankang City. Apprentices who follow him must be prepared to endure hardships in the future.
"Brothers, after you have learned how to make gunpowder, you will use it on the battlefield. In the near future, you will be the ones to fight against the evil beasts of Di and Qin. Are you willing?"
"Are you ready?"
After a day's work, Wang Mi finished teaching. He looked at the young faces in front of him, and doubts could not help but arise in his heart.
It is a good thing for young people to be enthusiastic, but it is also very possible for them to be volatile.
In the future, on the battlefield, these craftsmen will have to play a big role. They must persevere and not treat gunpowder making as a child's play.
At the beginning, the apprentices still had a little doubt about Wang Mi's question, mainly because they didn't know why he asked such a question.
The boys in the front row looked at each other and suddenly became convinced.
Master is asking them to express their determination!
How difficult is this?
No matter what Wang Mi thinks of them, or how people in the world evaluate them, their understanding of themselves is still very clear.
In this era of constant war, they are just ordinary people at the lowest level. Even if they have a little bit of craftsmanship, what can they do?
Wen can't measure words, martial arts can't defend ourselves, that's all.
If you want to save your own life and protect your family, you must contribute your own strength. Everyone has a responsibility.
Thinking of this, the apprentices no longer hesitated.
One by one, with bright eyes, the apprentice representatives who were elected to speak were none other than Master Wei's young apprentices.
Now, after seeing many of Wang Shilang's abilities, he was determined to get along with Wang Mi.