Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The matchlock gun is about five feet long (32.7 centimeters is one foot in the Ming Dynasty). It is completely black and has a layer of paint on the surface, giving it a cold feeling.

And each box of fire guns is equipped with the same number of shining gun knives.

The blunderbuss is in the style of a long bayonet, but a hanging type has not yet been developed. The blunderbuss can only be worn as a short sword on the waist. When close combat is needed, the round wooden handle of the blunderbuss is inserted into the barrel of the matchlock blunderbuss. , similar to the "quick gun" blunderbuss in history.

After looking at the very round and straight matchlock blunderbuss tube, Jiang Xinghuo asked curiously: "How was this blunderbuss tube made?"

General Liu Sheng ran to the war station, so he naturally knew it. He explained: "First take a big chopstick-like iron stem as a shaft, and then wrap it with a red-hot iron hammer and forge it. It is made of three sections of iron pipes. Wait for the joint. When it burns red, use a tool to hit it together. This is not the end. After cooling, use a square steel cone to insert it and turn it through, so that the inner wall of the matchlock gun tube is extremely smooth. In this way, the gunpowder and projectiles can be fired. No holds barred.”

There are thousands of craftsmen in the War and Weapons Bureau who make firearms in total, and they can make nearly thirty firearms every day on average. The quality control is very strict. Although the things are made by hand, their performance is not bad, and the materials used are That's good, it won't explode at every turn.

The craftsmen all engraved their names on it. If there is a quality problem rather than a usage problem, they will be held accountable in the end, so naturally they dare not fail to do their best.

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and checked the ammunition of the matchlock gun. It was a standard projectile of three coins (about 15 grams).

Jiang Xinghuo picked up another matchlock blunderbuss and weighed it. It weighed six to seven kilograms at first hand. It was equipped with a stick like a crutch, which was the tool he proposed to use for loading gunpowder. The tail There is a small grip, wrapped in fabric, I tried to simulate it, and it works pretty well.

So, the matchgun (bird gun) came out more than a hundred years in advance?

In the history of Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, the bird gun was almost synonymous with the matchlock gun. As an imported product, it was a product that the Ming Dynasty did not originally have. The Ming Dynasty's fire gun did not have a match rope.

It was the twenty-seventh year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1548). The Ming army recovered Shuangyu Island, a pirate nest occupied by the Portuguese and Japanese (later in the southeastern sea of ​​Yinxian County, Zhejiang Province), and found a strange weapon among the trophies. It was different from the firecrackers they used before. This was the first blunderbuss the Chinese had ever seen. After seeing it, the commander-in-chief Lu Ti asked his subordinates to imitate it.

At a similar time, the Rumi Kingdom (the Ming Dynasty's name for Ottoman Turkey) also provided the Ming Dynasty with similar firearms, namely the Rumi gun, through trade or tribute.

Now is the first year of Yongle, which is 1403 when converted to the Gregorian calendar. The matchlock gun came out 145 years ahead of schedule in the Ming Dynasty.

This may not seem like a step-change in progress, but in fact it means that in the use of firearms, the Ming Dynasty has already opened up a generational gap with foreign countries.

"Go outside and try shooting." Jiang Xinghuo said.

This time, it was the most rebellious Zhu Yong who took the lead and picked up a matchlock gun and walked outside the county government office.

If it were inside the county government office, not only would it not be able to be used, but it would also cause panic. The open space outside would be much better.

It didn't rain at night, which was perfect for firing matchguns.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Zhu Yong skillfully completed a series of operations such as loading the propellant powder, tamping the powder with a stick, then loading and tamping lead bullets weighing three cents, and then opening the door to ignite the match rope.

It can be seen that Zhu Yong must have practiced a lot on weekdays.

Zhu Yong aimed at the target in the distance and pulled the trigger hard. The trigger would link a rack with a match rope inside the match rope gun, igniting the burning match rope. This match rope was made of fine hemp rope soaked in saltpeter. (Potassium nitrate), a sustainable slow-burning igniter that is dried and dried, so that the gunman only needs to pull the trigger to ignite the propellant.

"boom!"

With a sound, black smoke filled the air, and the lead bullets in the barrel flew out, hitting the edge of the target placed thirty steps away, piercing and shattering it.

"Well done, Brother Yong!"

"Well done!"

Xu Jingchang and Zhang Anshi, who were standing aside, couldn't help but clapped their hands and exclaimed.

Zhu Yong remained silent. Only he knew that the shot just now was a bit lucky.

The matchlock gun has no rifling, and it was a gun picked up at random, and the result was achieved entirely by feel.

But at this time, it was naturally time to "pretend to be an expert without saying a word". Zhu Yong put away the matchlock in an understatement and glanced at the Imperial Master out of the corner of his eye.

Praise me quickly! Praise me quickly!

"It's really good."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and praised.

"Zhu Yong, you are so good. How can you shoot so accurately tonight?" Liu Sheng also praised: "Why didn't you notice it before? You are really hiding it."

However, looking at Zhu Yong, Jiang Xinghuo felt a little strange. His father, Zhu Neng, was obviously a senior general who firmly believed in the concept of "cavalry is king", but this rebellious son was very interested in firearms. Of course, if this If it is a manifestation of puberty, then it doesn't seem strange.

Jiang Xinghuo was quite satisfied with the power of the match-rope gun made in the first year of Yongle.

Although Jiang Xinghuo did not draw the design drawings of the matchlock gun himself, many of the ideas were provided by him. The early advent of this thing was naturally inseparable from him.

And with the matchlock gun, even the most primitive one, it is an out-and-out dimensionality reduction blow for other countries that are still in the era of primitive hot weapons and absolutely cold weapons!

What Jiang Xinghuo has to do this time is to manufacture and improve matchlock muskets in large quantities, and even to create flintlock muskets with rifling and fixed ammunition as the industrial revolution progresses, in order to cope with the upcoming global war!

The Ming Dynasty wanted to become an empire where the sun and the moon never set, but it was too slow to rely solely on cold weapons.

Modern global hegemony all have advanced military technology!

This kind of military technology from the firearms age will not only put its skills to the test on the battlefield to quell the White Lotus Rebellion, but will also exert its unparalleled power in water conservancy projects!

Digging a barrier lake by civilians is both dangerous and slow. It may take more than ten days or even dozens of days to dig it out.

Reliable gunpowder, one day is enough!

Returning to the county government office, I looked at the mountains of various materials piled up in front of me.

Jiang Xinghuo took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with joy. After being frustrated in Songjiang Mansion for so long, he felt quite excited and eager to try.

"Finally, it's time to show off your skills!"

After some preparations, Jiang Xinghuo left the front yard of the county government and returned to his room.

At this time, Sun Kun and several craftsmen leaders had been waiting for a long time.

"National Master, everything is ready here. When can we leave?" Sun Kun leaned over and asked.

Jiang Xinghuo glanced at the group of people in front of him, and finally fixed his gaze on the leader of the craftsmen who had previously made the hot air balloon. He said in a solemn tone: "Get some rest early. Early tomorrow morning, we will set off for Dahuangpu, Shanghai County!"

——————

"I am Li Fuwu, Dongxiang. My family has no business background and only farms thirty acres of official land.

In the first month of the first year of Yongle, I sold my clothes to buy a plow and a hoe, and worked hard in the morning and evening.

To repay private debts and lose official rents, who would have thought that from February to March, there would be no rain and the lake would dry up.

Desire for a little bit of water, but can't get it after several carts, but the blood in the farmer's eyes.

The rolling Wusong River is like a ditch, farmers are fighting for water like pearls, and the rice fields are once turned into sand.

Furthermore, National Master Jiang Xinghuo prayed for rain so that we would not suffer any disaster from the sky, and the heavy rain would completely destroy Qingmiaopu."

The distant singing sound came from the rain curtain, and the expressions of everyone in the team changed.

Jiang Xinghuo was riding on a small gray horse and wearing simple clothes, which was in sharp contrast to Song Li who was riding a big white horse next to him.

"National Preceptor, do you want it?"

Wang Bin rode his horse forward and asked in a low voice.

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head, but laughed and said, "Why, the farmers are resentful and they are not allowed to sing anymore?"

Liu Sheng, who was standing next to him, also said: "It's not that I'm not allowed to sing, it's just that the influence is not good. The Imperial Master may not feel it, but under the subtle influence, it will inevitably have an impact on the Imperial Master's reputation."

Jiang Xinghuo didn't want to explain more, just said: "Most people can't read the Di newspaper, are illiterate, and can't understand silver iodide artificial rainfall. Some misunderstandings are normal, not to mention that since we have embarked on the path of reform, I will I have never worried about reputation. Besides, reputation is not constant. If you do something beneficial to the people, the people will always have a strong balance in their hearts."

"move on!"

"The Imperial Master has an order, keep going!"

The scouts and horses ran back and forth, and the team that had just stopped cheered up again and continued to march on the muddy road in the rain.

The farmers singing next to them were also startled after hearing these orders, and they all fled away in fear.

Not long after walking, they suddenly bumped into four Jiangnan scholars carrying book boxes. One of them was pulling a stubborn donkey who had been trying to turn back.

"It's hard to travel, it's hard to travel! Don't you see the bright golden branches in Jianzhang Palace, thousands of long branches hanging down on the ground. In February and March, the flowers are like sleet, and you don't see the nine layers of darkness."

"Last time, Zhou Jin was bumped into by our brothers. This time the White Lotus Sect rebelled, so don't bump into him. It's really not a good thing."

"That's right, it's bad luck!"

If Zhu Di, Jin Youzi, Ji Gang, Tong Xin and others were here, they would definitely recognize that these were the unlucky four brothers they met in Songjiang Mansion last time. If Zhongyiwei hadn't taken action, they would have been almost deceived into Zhang Erlang's house. They were slaughtered as fat sheep in Wubao.

It was this stubborn donkey that almost made Zhu Di the first emperor to be kicked to death by a donkey.

"You think this Imperial Master can't pray less when praying for rain? The heavy rain is making it difficult to walk."

"Yes, I heard that Magistrate Huang of Songjiang Prefecture personally went to Shanghai County to urge the Magistrate of Shanghai to arrest civilians. It seems that he wants to dig up Dahuangpu?"

"Hey! Who came up with the idea? If Dahuangpu is dug up, won't Shanghai Pudong suffer disaster? What will happen if a flooded county comes?"

"Who else could it be? The Imperial Master. At first glance, he seems to be someone who doesn't understand hydrology and geography. He's so stupid that his nose is filled with snot."

"Yes, yes!"

Wang Bin finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"You guys, stop here!"

PS: [Important reminder (there is no charge for this content)] Chapters 316 to 356 are about the rectification of officialdom and the suppression of rebellions in Jiangnan. They do not contain any theoretical knowledge. They are all practical content. If you are not interested, you can jump directly to Chapter 366. "Class" will contain theoretical knowledge content from now on.