The rebel camp is gradually getting bigger, and more and more people are joining it, and they are beginning to adapt at the same time.
Sun Yuanhua is not very adaptable to the fast pace here.
Now he has appeared in Liangshan Collection.
Because he was an artillery expert, Zuo Menggen arranged to enter the artillery factory.
Sun Yuanhua already understood the power structure here. He was still a little depressed that he, a dignified governor, did not enter the decision-making level.
However, being able to engage in his favorite firearms research made Sun Yuanhua feel better again.
His original plan was to show off his skills when he arrived and calm down the situation so as not to be underestimated.
Unfortunately, when he arrived, he was restrained first.
It was completely different from the workshops in his impression. The military factory here covered a very vast area and could not be seen to the end.
Countless large chimneys rise from the ground, spewing smoke of all colors into the sky.
In this era, Zuo Mengeng pays great attention to environmental protection, but he cannot pay too much attention to it.
Therefore, factories have become major polluters.
Accompanying Sun Yuanhua was Zuo Dai, the general person in charge here.
"Mr. Chu Yang, currently all the weapons and ammunition of our new army are produced here. In order to meet the needs of the entire army, the scale of the factory is very large. The artillery factory you are going to is only a part of it."
Sun Yuanhua was a little surprised.
"Aren't the gunsmiths and artillery castings in the same place?"
Zuo Dai shook his head and gave him some advice.
"Look, there is the musket factory very far over there. This is the artillery factory, and more than ten miles over there is the gunpowder factory."
Sun Yuanhua thought of something and asked, "Where is the Duke of Dongjiao?"
Zuo Dai smiled and said: "Mr. Dongjiao is currently in the musket laboratory and is still worrying about the spring."
Sun Yuanhua didn't know what a spring was and was more concerned about a new term.
"What is a laboratory?"
Zuo Dai gave a general introduction.
"The laboratory is a place where new things are researched and tested. There is also a laboratory here at the artillery factory. Your future work will be there."
Sun Yuanhua was quite surprised.
"Don't you need me to supervise the construction of artillery?"
Zuodai had already led him to a quiet place.
"Industrial production has been put on track, and professional management talents can take charge. Of course, experts like you must invest in the improvement of artillery."
Sun Yuanhua followed Zuo Dai into the courtyard and discovered that there was a cave inside.
If there hadn't been a sign at the door, I would have gotten lost in no time.
Sakudai stood at the door and introduced him.
"This side is the materials laboratory, this side is the ballistics laboratory, this side is the auxiliary equipment laboratory, and this side is the technology laboratory..."
After introducing them one by one, they are divided into more than ten types.
Sun Yuanhua was dizzy and couldn't figure out why there were so many classifications for making artillery.
He followed Zuo Dai into the materials laboratory, and it was very lively inside.
Dozens of young people, all wearing strange white coats and even masks, gathered around and argued about something.
"Iron is absolutely useless and cannot be polished at all."
Sun Yuanhua followed Zuo Dai and listened quietly for a while before finally understanding what these people were arguing about.
It turned out that these people were studying to improve the warhead materials of artillery shells, but they imagined many kinds of metals, and all of them had obvious shortcomings.
Sun Yuanhua had already seen the Zuoying artillery of the New Army and knew that there were riflings inside the barrel.
The reason why these people want to change the material of the warhead is mainly because the iron warhead currently used is still too rough no matter how polished it is, and the rotation and propulsion effect inside the barrel is not ideal.
"Steel warheads are absolutely unacceptable. The rifling and barrel are also made of steel. If it is a steel warhead, the rifling will be worn away after just a few hits."
A group of people sighed, and some even pulled their hair out in worry, embarking on the road to becoming stronger.
Sun Yuanhua listened for a long time and couldn't help but say something.
"Why not use copper?"
A group of people turned around one after another, and they were all nervous when they saw a stranger. When they saw Zuo Dai standing beside him, they felt a little relieved.
Zuo Dai took the opportunity and said: "Come on, everyone, let me introduce you. This is Dean Sun Yuanhua. From now on, he is the person in charge of your laboratory."
Upon hearing that it was the direct leader, everyone came forward to greet him and looked at him curiously.
The people here are all very young, the oldest is only in his twenties. When he saw an old man in his fifties, he didn't know how to treat him.
Sun Yuanhua did not feel such a gap. On the contrary, he liked the things these young people actively argued about.
"Why don't you use copper to make warheads? Copper has very good elasticity and toughness, so we are not afraid of the situation you described."
As soon as they met the new leader, they started discussing topics. The young people's nervousness and discomfort instantly dissipated and they quickly got into the zone.
"Dean, copper is certainly very good, but there is too little copper."
Someone mentioned the limitations of copper.
That is, the output of copper is too low, not only in Shandong, but in the entire Ming Dynasty.
The limited amount of copper is absolutely unable to cope with large-scale application by the military.
Sun Yuanhua was also embarrassed by this answer, and realized that he was too arbitrary.
But he has an advantage that these young people absolutely do not have, and that is experience.
He has been working with firearms all his life, what kind of situation has he never seen?
"We don't have enough copper, but we can use copper-clad steel."
With just one sentence, everyone present was stunned. After a while, everyone became crazy.
"Oh, why didn't I think of that?"
"The elm head is gone, the elm head is gone!"
"As expected of the dean, he can wake up the dreamer with just one word."
"The counselor repeatedly told us to pay attention to the role of alloys, but we still ignored them. Damn it."
Seeing these young people laughing and shouting, Sun Yuanhua couldn't help but feel depressed, as if his whole body was full of energy.
“This place is great.”
Zuo Dai was always paying attention to his appearance, and only then breathed a sigh of relief.
"Shenzuo has long said that you will like this place. Now it seems that Shenzuo is indeed wise and wise."
Sun Yuanhua couldn't help but sigh.
"That little monkey has a habit of tickling people. I've been under his thumb all my life."
Although he knew what was going on, but seeing the pure and passionate scene in front of him, Sun Yuanhua immediately threw himself into it.
On his first day as director of the artillery laboratory, he devoted himself to specific work.
Led a scientific research team to develop copper-plated warheads.
Copper-plated warheads were also common in later generations. However, it was the first of its kind in the Ming Dynasty.
Sun Yuanhua could imagine that when casting cannons in Dengzhou, in order to solve the problem of insufficient toughness of wrought iron, the copper-clad casting method was often used.
Drawing inferences from one example, he thought of the artillery warhead castings of the New Army.
His idea really solved a major problem for the New Army.
Compared with all-copper warheads, copper-plated warheads can save a lot of copper materials. With the current production capacity of the New Army, it is enough to accept it.
Sun Yuanhua also did not expect that he would play a role as soon as he arrived at the artillery laboratory.
In this place, people are very pure and put all their thoughts on research. There is no intrigue and intrigue in the officialdom.
This feeling made Sun Yuanhua very comfortable. He forgot about his mundane affairs and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the development of copper-plated warheads with the young people.
On the ninth day of June, the imperial court made up its mind to dispatch the Guan Ning Army to suppress the rebellion. This also meant that the Wuqiao Mutiny entered a new stage.
The New Army took action upon hearing the news, and Zuo Mengeng immediately made arrangements.
"Zhang Yan, your logistics department must transport relevant materials to the designated location in early August. Don't tell me about the difficulties, I won't listen, it must be done."
It is definitely a very difficult job to coordinate the logistics of tens of thousands of people.
However, Zhang Yan came from a poor peasant background, and the more difficult it was, the stronger his character became.
"If I cannot complete the task, I will take the blame and resign."
After explaining the logistics, Zuo Mengeng gave the order again. All the troops reorganized in various places began to return to their respective divisions.
The next battle will be based on divisions.
This is also the first time that the New Army has entered the battlefield at the division level since its establishment.
"Order, the First Division is assembled in Yizhou, training for a month, and waiting for orders to take action."
"Order, the second division will return to Linqing immediately and train for a month, waiting for orders to take action."
"Order, the third division will stay in Mengyin, step up training, and wait for orders."
Following his order, tens of thousands of troops immediately began to mobilize nervously and covertly.
The war in Denglai was so intense that no one noticed that there was a tiger ready to move not far from the battlefield.