Zuo Mengeng pointed at Zhang Jimeng, which was quite rude.
No wonder he is.
The fact discovered really shocked Zuo Mengeng.
The memory in my mind, as an expert in the history of military weapons, of course I have done deep research on Bi Maokang and "Illustrated Description of Military Weapons".
But the main research content is naturally Bi Maokang and the achievements and significance of "Military Illustrations". I may have seen the rest of the details, but I am definitely not impressed.
At this time, Zhang Jimeng and Bi Maokang were standing together, which suddenly made Zuo Mengeng think of what he had overlooked.
After Bi Maokang completed "Illustrated Description of Military Weapons", he asked his disciple Zhang Jimeng to write a preface.
That Zhang Jimeng is this Zhang Jimeng.
Zuo Mengeng never thought that the boss who was protecting him would actually have a teacher-student relationship with Bi Maokang, the master of weapons.
If he wants to build a weaponry and new muskets, he will definitely not be able to bypass Zhang Jimeng.
As a student of Bi Maokang, Zhang Jimeng naturally did not know anything about firearms, although he had been in high and low officialdom throughout his life.
Zhang Jimeng was greatly shocked when he saw Zuo Mengeng's flintlock concept.
Thinking that his teacher had been hesitant to advance on the concept of new-style fire guns, Zhang Jimeng wrote a letter to Bi Maokang, informing him of the principles of flintlock guns.
While the letter was still on its way, Bi Maokang received a call from the imperial court and went to Nanjing to serve as general envoy.
As a result, the letter first arrived in Shexian County and then was transferred to Bi Maokang in Nanjing, which was really delayed for a long time.
The general administration post has a high position of power and is a key position.
It's a pity that Bi Maokang works in Nanjing...
Who doesn’t know that the various government offices in Nanjing are places for elderly care?
After Bi Maokang, the general political envoy, took office, he had nothing to do.
However, Bi Maokang's leisurely position allowed him enough time to develop firearms.
It can be said that most of the contents of "Illustrated Description of Military Weapons" were completed by Bi Maokang while he was in Nanjing.
Bi Maokang's development of self-generated fire guns has actually come to an end. After receiving Zhang Jimeng's letter and seeing the drawings in it, it really became clear instantly and there were no more obstacles.
He enthusiastically summoned the craftsmen and trial-produced a flintlock gun. The effect was very good. It could be fired three times within sixty seconds, and the efficiency was much higher than that of a matchlock gun.
Bi Maokang, who was worried about the country and the people, quickly wrote a memorial to the court, explaining the benefits of the flintlock rifle. He hoped that the army could be equipped as soon as possible to fight against the Eastern invaders.
Unexpectedly, after the memorial was over for more than a month, there were no storms or waves.
This result greatly disappointed Bi Maokang.
I wrote and asked again and again, but nothing came to mind.
Seeing how boring my position as General Administrative Officer is, coupled with the difficulty in researching and developing firearms.
After all, he is a general affairs envoy, not an official of the Ministry of War, let alone the person in charge of firearms. What does he want to do by making firearms in private?
Under the rumors, Bi Maokang was quite depressed.
When he thought that far away in Linqing, there was a young man walking ahead of him, he couldn't bear it anymore and simply submitted his resignation.
Although he was well-known in both the government and the public, he was insignificant as an envoy to Nanjing, so the imperial court approved the matter very quickly.
Chongzhen pretended to order him to go back and make various firearms to strengthen the Ming Dynasty.
But if you have this intention, let Bi Maokang serve in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry. If you have to let people go home to manufacture, is there such a reason in the world?
Ironically, according to original history, Bi Maokang did later serve as the right minister of the Ministry of War.
What was the result?
Spin away and avoid returning...
That's why it's useless.
Therefore, it makes no sense to say that the Ming Dynasty will not perish.
Bi Maokang, who had become a mature man, did not believe a word of Chongzhen's words.
He makes firearms just because he loves it.
Without an official position and a light body, he immediately went north and appeared in front of Zuo Mengeng.
What shocked him was that the "Linqing boy" was actually a real boy.
"I have already learned about my little friend's talent. I wonder where the firecracker made by my little friend is. Can I have a look at it?"
Bi Maokang eh!
How many people read the most regrettable figure in history!
Obviously, Chinese firearms had the opportunity to catch up with the West, but it was a pity that it was missed in the original history.
Now he appeared in front of Zuo Mengeng alive.
For this old man, Zuo Mengeng was more excited to witness the great power.
As for Bi Maokang’s ability in firearms...
Is there anyone stronger than Zuo Mengeng in this world?
However, Zuo Mengeng didn't have any pride and felt that Bi Maokang was not important.
No matter what, Bi Maokang is an extraordinary talent.
Especially after the manufacturing of flash cap guns was spread, the shortage of talents made Zuo Mengeng feel even more urgent.
All links and departments require his own hands-on work, which seriously hinders his deployment in other areas.
Those craftsmen are indeed very skilled, but their lack of knowledge makes it very difficult for them to accept new technologies.
Zuo Menggeng has to say it over and over again and teach you step by step before you can understand how to make it. But knowing what is happening and not knowing why, there is no way to actively think about and improve the technology, let alone a systematic summary to pass on the technology.
Although some of those scholars have already participated in industrial manufacturing, it is not yet known when these people will become qualified industrial talents despite their education and lack of skills.
Bi Maokang doesn't have those troubles.
He is not only a great technical expert, but also a great scholar.
If we get help from this person, the military manufacturing field will definitely develop greatly.
But he wants to rebel. Will this Ming official help him?
After deep thought, Zuo Mengeng decided to throw out a bait.
"Don't you know what Mr. Dongjiao has to say? During this period, the juniors have made further improvements to the muskets, and they are more powerful than ever before."
As for a man who majored in engineering, you can't talk about technical skills with him. As soon as you mention this, you won't care about anything else.
"Oh, where is it? Come and see with me quickly."
Zuo Menggeng said with a smile: "As the saying goes, it's better to come early than to come by chance. It turns out that today is the time for the new muskets to be assembled, so I would like to ask Mr. Dongjiao to give me some advice."
Zuo Mengeng took the two of them to the musket manufacturing factory.
The tension here has reached the extreme.
All the parts have been made, and now they are put together, just waiting to be installed together. It is a complete flash cap gun.
Bi Maokang is like a studious student who is curious about everything. He takes the parts and asks them one by one, and will not give up until he understands their uses.
"This reed is actually made of fine steel, which costs a lot of money, but the casting is clever and greatly simplifies the structure of the firecracker."
This is an expert. As soon as Zuo Menggeng explained the purpose of the reed, Bi Maokang immediately understood it.
Unlike those craftsmen, Zuo Mengeng didn't know how to integrate the reed into the firing device until he explained it with drawings and demonstrated it with a real object.
"Let this junior prepare the musket and present it to the Duke of Dongjiao."
Bi Maokang nodded, stepped aside, and watched the craftsmen busy attentively.
But he noticed something different.
"Musket? Isn't this a gun?"
While supervising the work of the craftsmen, Zuo Mengeng said: "Juniors are more accustomed to calling them guns and muskets."
Bi Maokang shook his head and did not argue.
Call it a firecracker or a musket, it has to be easy to use.
The craftsmen first install screws on the tail of the finished gun barrel.
Yes, you read that right, there were screws in the Ming Dynasty, and they were used to seal the barrel.
It can be seen from this that the craftsmanship of the Ming Dynasty craftsmen in carving rifling is absolutely perfect.
The rifling cannot be compared with the exquisiteness of the thread!
After installing the screws, the barrel and wooden gun body are assembled together.
To fix the new gun, Zuo Mengeng used an iron piece to hoop the barrel and the gun body together, and then drilled screws into the gun body from both sides to tighten them.
The biggest advantage of this method is that it is quick to disassemble and assemble and easy to maintain.
Then put the firing device in, secure it, and a flash cap gun is ready.
Holding a brand new musket, Bi Maokang was dazzled and did not understand more things.
"Why is there no medicine pool?"
Zuo Mengeng pointed to a small bump on the right side of the upper part of the gun barrel and said: "This gun does not need to be ignited with gunpowder, but the gunpowder in the barrel is triggered from here."
Bi Maokang was shocked.
"Is there any medicine in this world that doesn't need to be lit?"
Zuo Menggeng took the flash cap gun and said, "Let's go to the shooting range and try it out. Mr. Dongjiao will understand what he means."
A large group of people came to the shooting range to test the gun for the first time.
The person who tested the gun could only be Zuo Mengeng.
After all, no one except him knows how to use a flash cap gun.
The muskets, bullets, and flash caps were all ready and placed on the table for anyone to see.
Everyone is looking forward to whether this completely different musket is easy to use or not.
Zuo Mengeng stood in the shooting position, quietly feeling the new gun.
The gun is 1.3 meters long and weighs 7.8 jins. It is equipped with a gun bar and a bayonet.
The bayonet is made of steel, and the material is better than the barrel of the gun. Otherwise, the bayonet is difficult to penetrate the armor due to its thinness.
The diameter is 12.83mm, which cannot be smaller.
After all, lead bullets are fired. If they are too small, the bullets will lack mass and lose accuracy.
The top of the barrel is equipped with a rear sight and a front sight. The rear sight can be erected and is a frame type. It is equipped with a rear sight and can be used for long-distance shooting.
The general structure of the gun is imitated by the British 1851 type, except for the butt. Zuo Menggeng used the butt of a bolt-action rifle from World War II.
In this way, the ergonomics of the gun are more reasonable, making it more comfortable for the shooter to use.
From the appearance, the whole gun shines silver in the sun, which is very dazzling. It is not an exaggeration to call it a work of art.
However, what determines the quality of a gun is always its performance and power.