Qiming 1158

Chapter 120 The problem of gunpowder

The soldiers were dissatisfied because the weapons were not easy to use, and Lin Jingchun, who was in charge of logistics, also had a headache.

Of course, this is not just the case with flying muskets.

Any kind of firearm can have this problem.

"This kind of situation not only happens in the powder cartridge of the flying gun, but also in the gunpowder used by the gold thieves we seized. It also happens in the case of moisture and agglomeration. It is indeed very difficult to store it."

Lin Jingchun spat bitterly at Su Yonglin.

Su Yonglin sat in the chair and fell into deep thought.

Due to the lack of saltpeter, the arsenal of the Shengjie Army is currently unable to produce gunpowder by itself. The gunpowder and firearms used are all seized, which is one of the reasons why Su Yonglin is reluctant to use gunpowder and firearms.

The remaining reason is that the lethality of the captured gunpowder and firearms is really limited, and it is difficult to use it maneuverably.

The flying musket is the only field-type individual firearm that can be immediately manufactured and installed.

The immaturity of firearms technology made Su Yonglin abandon the option of using firearms first.

Although cold weapons are ancient, their technology is mature, craftsmen are easy to find, and raw materials are abundant, and there is no such thing as running out of them.

Bows and crossbows are not easy to make, but Su Yonglin can still make big swords and spears.

Despite this, Su Yonglin also wants to make some innovations in firearms.

Before the invention of tube-type firearms and had a certain practical effect, heavy armor was the absolute mainstream on the battlefield where all parties in Song, Jin, Xixia and Mongolia competed for battle.

Infantry has heavy armor, cavalry also has heavy armor, everyone is like an arms race to compare who has heavier armor and more defensive power.

All this changed with the birth and popularization of tubular firearms.

Even the oldest musket, within its effective range, can hit heavily armored soldiers beyond the reach of cold weapons.

Compared with the heavy axe troop with the same heavy armor, the maintenance cost of a fire gunner is ridiculously low, but the impact on the heavy armor is terrifyingly high.

The kinetic energy produced by the explosion of gunpowder is incomparable to a bow and crossbow.

It is the continuous maturity of tube-shaped firearms that makes steel heavy armor gradually become embarrassing, meaningless, and finally abandoned.

If all conditions are ripe, Su Yonglin would like to train an arquebus or flintlock troop to deal a heavy blow to the heavily armored troops of Song and Jin.

But for now, even if you can make a few guns by hand, you don't have the conditions for mass production and installation.

Putting aside the difficulties in gun manufacturing technology and iron and steel smelting, the production and improvement of gunpowder alone are difficult.

At the moment, this kind of gunpowder that can be separated at every turn cannot be expected to be of much use on the battlefield.

Separation is on the one hand, and on the other hand, this powdered gunpowder can easily face the situation of insufficient combustion when it is burned, so that it cannot play a great role.

Just like now, if there is too much gunpowder in the gunpowder, the combustion will not be sufficient, and if there is too little, it will not burn well, and there is no clear indicator.

And these three problems seem to point to the same solution - gunpowder granulation.

Su Yonglin knew the term, but he didn't know the specific method. Even so, he also knew that no matter how much he stirred, it was impossible to make the gunpowder granulate.

Granulation, but also stable in nature, can not be separated, then naturally the raw materials must be tightly bonded together.

Stirring constantly after soaking in water to make a paste, then drying, then grinding?

In my memory, this technology should have appeared before the Industrial Revolution, which means that it does not have too high technical content. .

Su Yonglin didn't quite believe how difficult chemical reagents could be made before the Industrial Revolution.

And for the sake of cost, even chemical reagents must be very simple to produce, and it cannot be too expensive, otherwise it will not be possible to install them for military use.

The army knows how many kilograms of gunpowder can be consumed in a war. If the cost of making granular gunpowder is too high, even more than cold weapons, it will not be popular.

But this is not the case in reality, which proves that the early gunpowder granulation technology is not difficult.

The key is cost. If the cost cannot be controlled, large-scale installation cannot be achieved. Therefore, technology is one aspect, and cost is more important.

To say that the cost is low, the lowest is of course the water that can be drawn everywhere.

But you also need relatively clear water. You can't use all water. How can a bowl of muddy water and gunpowder be mixed together to produce qualified gunpowder?
Of course, this is also very high, and there is a Wenshui next to it.

Liquids other than water that can be obtained in large quantities at minimal cost…

Is it urine?

Thinking like this, Su Yonglin suddenly felt that in addition to water, maybe you could try it with urine. Human urine seems to have a lot of uses, such as boy's urine...

Anyway, it doesn't matter if you give it a try, there is absolutely no shortage of things like urine in the military camp.

So Su Yonglin touched the beard on his chin and spoke slowly.

"If that's the case, then try to wet the gunpowder into a paste, stir it well, then dry it in the sun, then grind it again, and turn it back into gunpowder, which may solve this problem."

Everyone looked at each other, and then looked at Lin Jingchun together.

Lin Jingchun's face was troubled.

"Will this work? Water and gunpowder?"

"Try it, you have to try it anyway, by the way, try urinating again."

"Urine?"

Lin Jingchun was even more surprised.

"This is also considered in many aspects."

Su Yonglin spread his hands: "There is no upper limit to the use of gunpowder. If our experiment is successful and we can solve this problem, then we have to do it on a large scale, and we need a lot of money to do it on a large scale. Now we need money. There are so many places, can you afford it?

In addition to water and urine enough to save money, what is more money-saving?Do we use wine?Or cow's milk?Or with drinks that only the rich and powerful can afford?Besides water and urine, which one can we afford? "

A group of people, you look at me, I look at you.

Lin Jingchun lowered his head and thought for a while, thinking about the current financial situation of Shengjie Army, and finally had to nod his head.

Su Yonglin's treatment for the army is so high that it surpasses most of the army in this era, and the food input for three meals a day can be unrivaled in the world, not to mention his other investment for the army.

For example, the investment in meat, and the investment in education, each aspect of the investment is a lot of money.

Soldiers' salaries are paid in full and on time every month. Su Yonglin personally dispatched people to supervise them, and directly distributed the army salaries to every soldier. He has never been in arrears.

In addition, Su Yonglin will spend money to subsidize the military-affiliated farmers, and will also provide some administrative subsidies to the staff of the peasant association in the new countryside. These are also money and must be spent.

In addition to the manufacture of various other weapons, the wages paid to the miners, and the wages of other types of hired workers, all these expenditures made the finances of the Shengjie Army not well-off.

There is only so much money that can be invested in the research of new weapons. If you really want to toss out new weapons, you have to consider where to squeeze money to invest in making new weapons.

Thinking about it this way, it's not that Lin Jingchun couldn't understand Su Yonglin's concerns.

"It's really not worth it after all..."

Su Yonglin then clapped his hands.

"Right, so water and urine are the most cost-effective. If it succeeds, the gunpowder problem is solved, and the flying gun will be better. At that time, you can try to improve other firearms. Spending too much money wasted."

Lin Jingchun agreed with Su Yonglin's idea of ​​saving money. He nodded again and again, and then asked another question.

"Let's put this issue aside for now, the rest is the problem of gunpowder manufacturing, Alang, we have found some craftsmen who can make gunpowder, but in terms of raw materials, it is difficult to obtain nitrate.

So now those craftsmen drill into the latrines and pigsties every day, and can only scrape some nitrate under those walls, but to be honest, they can't collect much, and they really need to increase their manpower. "

Su Yonglin frowned and nodded after a moment.

"If there is a need, you can add some manpower to them, or notify the peasant association to mobilize farmers to scrape nitrate from their latrines and pigsties, and hand them over to the arsenal. as a reward."

Lin Jingchun also agreed after listening to it.

"I think the same way, and mobilizing everyone to do it together will definitely be faster than if we run around and scrape it all over the place."

Having said this, Lin Jingchun thought of another question and said, "But Alang, even if this is the case, we can't make much gunpowder. Gunpowder can really be used very quickly. What's captured from the gold thieves will be used up in the end. , we have to prepare early."

(End of this chapter)