Chapter One Thousand Two Hundred and Seventy-Four: Cuban Technological Innovation: Arabian Schooner and the First Matchlock Gun
The dry wind rises from the Iberian Peninsula in the dry season, crosses the entire Atlantic Ocean, and after brewing under the Azores high pressure, finally turns into the moist northeast trade wind, blowing mightily to the west. And when the trade wind in May
When it blows in and reaches the hot Caribbean islands, heavy water vapor falls from the clouds in the sky, bringing the rainy season to the big island of Cuba.
"Whoops... whoops!..."
The wind blows the waves, and the oars cut through the waves. The Kingdom's Iron Bay Town has become the busiest place on the island of Cuba, which is thousands of miles away. Hundreds of canoes are fishing in and outside the harbor, while more tribes are paddling
Small boats came from all over Cuba to trade. There were even many canoes coming from the distant island of Haiti, carrying loads of tobacco, fruits and cotton threads in exchange for a few useful iron tools.
With a small bag of nice looking glass beads.
"Everyone, work harder and raise the sail! Okay! Okay!..."
In the simple shipbuilding yard at the port, carpenter Antonio waved his arms and directed several apprentices to raise a brand new triangular sail to the newly added topmast of the longship. The original Viking-style longship was in this
After some modifications, it became an Arabian-style dual-purpose schooner, with three masts and horizontal and vertical sails.
"Blessed by the Son of God of Huitziloppo! With these improvements, the efficiency of wind utilization should be greatly increased. The number of rowers required for normal navigation can also be greatly reduced, or even no rowers are needed... Let's go on board and try it out on the sea...
"
Soon, several kingdom warriors armed with spears and bows, both for protection and surveillance, boarded the boat with the carpenter Antonio. Then, this long-sailed boat, which was originally rowed by forty people, unexpectedly sailed just by the power of the wind.
Drive slowly, and faster and faster, until you drive out of the bay!…
"Damn it! Antonio, this guy, went to sea again! I told him before that we would steal a boat and escape together... But not only did this guy not agree, he even threatened to report me!... Damn it!..."
On the outskirts of Tiewan Town, "Shithead" Alana squatted on the hills, looking at the "Arab schooner" sailing out of the port, his eyes were red with envy. His nose was also red, not that he had anything wrong with him.
The disease was simply caused by the nitrate fields below, and now it can no longer be smelled.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! This smell on my body can no longer be washed away, and it cannot be washed away...ah! If I could go back to my hometown manor, enjoy the cool under the oak trees, stay in the orchard, and drink the wine I brewed... wu wu
!Brother-in-law, brother-in-law! When will you bring the kingdom’s fleet to rescue me?!…”
Alana turned his head and looked at the two acres of saltpeter fields under the hills and the town dung that was transported every day. He couldn't help but burst into tears. How could he, the son of a large Castilian manor, just listen to this?
Following the words of his brother-in-law Columbus, he boarded the kingdom's exploration ship, ran to the depths of the ocean thousands of miles away, and then was captured by the vicious natives, and finally became a "dung head" who made saltpeter?
No one can answer such a philosophical question. The fate of a person depends not only on himself, but also on the process of history. The salty sea breeze blew by, and the two acres of accumulated saltpeter fields were already glowing with a faint white color. In order to prevent
During the rainy season, many grass sheds and bamboo sheds were built on the saltpeter fields.
At this moment, more than a dozen native apprentices are busy in the saltpeter field, sweeping away the white saltpeter soil, piling up new ones, and then continuing to pour dung water to spray the saltpeter. Although this kind of saltpeter field does not produce much, it requires only a small amount of manpower.
It's quite a bit, but fortunately the saltpeter is very stable. As for the process of boiling the saltwater, Alana has to wait for his personal participation. After all, he has the best control over the temperature of the saltwater boiler...
"Ding dong! Ding dong!..."
The green smoke of iron-making rises from the south side of Tiewan Town. The continuous sound of iron-making is also heard in the rows of blacksmith shops. If we say that following Alana, the "dung head", is pouring manure, it is
The job most avoided by all native apprentices, so working with "Ironhead" Carlo is the most popular good job! Because the iron tools they smelt and forge are the most forged on the entire island of Cuba.
hard currency!
Under the guidance of goldsmith Carlo, the iron smelting furnaces throughout Tiewan were upgraded and replaced with new "honeycomb furnaces". After replacing the furnaces and absorbing the iron smelting experience from Europe, the quality and efficiency of the iron smelting have improved.
They have also been improved almost double, which is simply shocking!
Since a true craftsman has the ability, he will be highly rewarded and reused by the kingdom. The goldsmith Carlo soon had his own blacksmith shop and created a complete set of European blacksmithing tools. Then he relied on his "
His "unparalleled" blacksmithing skills have become the de facto instructors of many kingdom blacksmiths, the "master blacksmiths" who are studied and imitated.
He also seized the time and forged day and night to create a fine iron sailor's scimitar and dedicated it to the warrior battalion commander Huitu Puap. And this "magic weapon" that had reached the level of low-quality steel was also
The warriors in the kingdom were amazed, and all of them were jealous.
Since then, there has been an endless stream of kingdom warriors looking for Carlo to build "magic weapons". His status has also risen. Not only did he marry two native wives, but he also took on more than a dozen apprentices, becoming the best among all the surrendered prisoners.
The best "people on people".
"Lord of Huitziloppo! I never thought that I, Carlo, could also become the 'master blacksmith' of the native kingdom! The respected Bishop Sipangu told me that this position is equivalent to the nobles of the kingdom... Ahaha! My buried
The ancestors in the soil have witnessed that the family of blacksmiths in our generation can actually produce a noble nobleman! It is really a blessing from the ancestors..."
"Praise the Lord God! How can being an ordinary blacksmith in the Kingdom of Castile compare to being a noble in the Kingdom of the Natives?...Ahaha! When I establish a noble family, I will use the iron felt
'As the emblem of the nobility, use the blacksmith 'Herrero' (Herrero) as the new noble surname!..."
Thinking of this, goldsmith Carlo's face burst into a bright smile. Sometimes, he was a little grateful to Columbus for bringing them to this big island and being captured by the Native Kingdom, which completely changed his destiny.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Ding Dong!..."
The sound of hammering was heard on the iron felt. The newly recruited native apprentices were sweating profusely, forging the simplest spearheads and farm tools. Carlo, the goldsmith, just looked at it briefly, and occasionally demonstrated and gave important instructions.
By the way, since getting married, he has also been very diligent in learning foreign languages. He is especially good at speaking Cuban tribal languages and can communicate smoothly with his apprentices.
"Look carefully! This is how the bellows is used! You need to look at the color of the iron to estimate the heat. This red color is about the same! The forging should be fast, accurate, and hard, and the iron bars should be turned in one direction, so that
Get rid of the lines!…”
After instructing his apprentices in forging, the goldsmith Carlo came to his position with his chest held high and his head held high. Archbishop Sipangu once asked him if he could make "water-driven, bang-bang forging things."
", he was startled, and understood that it was talking about "hydraulic forging hammer". But how could he, an ordinary blacksmith in Iberia, understand this high-end gadget that was popular in the Shinra and Northern Italian states?
Then, Archbishop Sipangu asked him again if he could make "things filled with gunpowder and shot with bang bang". This time, he was a little embarrassed, but he still nodded respectfully. Isn't it the barrel of a matchlock gun?
Well, he knows how to do it. Although it is extremely troublesome and time-consuming to do it, and it makes no money at all, it is often the military tasks forcibly distributed by the Kingdom of Castile, forcing the blacksmiths to do it...
"Dang Dang!"
Goldsmith Carlo took a deep breath, pulled out the hardest gold cylinder, and took out a threaded wrought iron bar that had been forged many times and even rolled twice. Next came the most labor-intensive work, section by section.
The iron bars are forged onto the gold cylinder and wrapped tightly while rotating. After thousands of beatings, the circles of iron bars will become strong forged iron, and will be completely fused together, and finally beaten into a
The barrel of an arquebus!…
"Dangdang! Dangdang..."
In the town of Iron Bay on the Cuban Peninsula, amid the hammering of the blacksmith's shop, the kingdom's first matchlock gun, which is also the first homemade matchlock gun on the North American continent, is slowly solidifying into its shape~