I want to be a grandson

Chapter 333 One small step (seeking subscription, monthly pass)

"Zhang Fu, go get an accurate small scale."

If you want to mix and make gunpowder, you have to figure out the ratio, otherwise the produced gunpowder will only spark.

Qu Taoshai asked puzzledly: "Your Highness, doesn't the Ministry of Industry make gunpowder? Why do you want to make it yourself?"

Having nothing to do, Zhu Yunxi is willing to chat with him, after all, this is his confidant, if they can develop some skills, it will be really beneficial to him.

"Then let me ask you, what taboos and troubles do soldiers have when using gunpowder?"

Qu Tao thought for a while: "Your Highness, the first thing about gunpowder is to prevent fire, and you can't get close to the fire source."

"Secondly, the soldiers have to be stirred when using it, because it will inevitably cause bumps when it is transported, and the charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter in the gunpowder will cause stratification, and the effect of direct use will be greatly reduced..."

Because of the different densities of sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal, when bumped, the denser one will go down.

Sulfur powder and saltpeter powder with different weights will be separated from each other, and the densest saltpeter powder will be at the bottom of the gunpowder barrel.

Sulfur powder is in the middle, and charcoal, as the lightest density, can only go to the top.

Therefore, when the soldiers use gunpowder, they need to go through temporary stirring, which is very time-consuming.

Moreover, people on the battlefield are quite nervous, and it is difficult to be careful when stirring. Often it is a miracle with great effort and a few random fiddles.

At this time, the ratio of the three cannot be mixed together well, which is one of the reasons for affecting the power of gunpowder.

Therefore, in order to ensure the normal use of gunpowder, digestive sulfur and charcoal are often carried separately, and they will be configured as gunpowder when they are about to be used.

This is a big defect on the battlefield. If there is a sudden enemy situation or bad weather, it will bring a lot of trouble to the temporary configuration of gunpowder.

"You're right, so we're going to try it out today to see if we can solve the gunpowder layering problem."

Under Zhu Yunxi's order, Qu Tao and Zhang Fu began to equip gunpowder according to that formula.

Each dose must be weighed on a small scale in order to achieve the most perfect ratio.

"First spread the charcoal powder, make it soft and don't press it too tightly, then pour in the sulfur powder and mix well."

Qu Tao poured charcoal powder into a porcelain basin, then poured sulfur powder, and started stirring with a wooden stick.

In this process, water should be added little by little, and it cannot be poured in all at once, it needs to be poured on slowly.

This can also prevent dust from flying around during stirring, which is not only harmful to health, but also prone to explosion.

Then pour in the Glauber's salt powder and stir little by little until the three are evenly mixed.

And it is also very important to control the proportion of water, neither too much nor too little.

It's like kneading noodles. If there is too much water, it will become noodle soup, and it will take a long time for gunpowder to dry.If there is too little water, it will not be able to condense into fine particles.

Qu Tao asked, "Your Highness, is this all right?"

Zhu Yunxi shook his head: "Do it a few more times, master the ratio, and Zhang Fu will make a record."

Next, the ratio and the amount of water added were slightly adjusted in order to achieve a more perfect effect.

Although people often say one sulfur, two nitrates and three charcoals, this is not the ratio of gunpowder, but more about the three materials.

In fact, the most perfect ratio should be sulfur time, charcoal 75, and saltpeter [-].

After drying naturally, small black particles appeared in front of Zhu Yun.

Qu Tao asked nonchalantly, "Your Highness, isn't gunpowder in powder form, these particles... are not easy to ignite?"

"Try it."

After all, it was the first test, and he wasn't too sure.

Qu Tao carefully took out the granulated gunpowder that had been made, and began to experiment.

First, it is ignited directly on the paper, and with a "coax", the gunpowder is instantly ignited, emitting a violent flame.

"Successful! Congratulations, Your Highness!"

Seeing the success of the experiment, Zhang Fu immediately danced happily, his eyes full of reverence for His Highness.

"What's the hurry, take the rest and try."

Some succeeded, some failed, and the reason for the failure was that too much water was added, and the particles were not completely dried in the shade.

This leads to the inability to fully burn when ignited, so it cannot burst out with power.

Qu Tao brought a musket and said happily, "Your Highness, let's try it with a musket."

Zhu Yunxi also had a bit of an itch in his heart, man, when he can do it, how can he just enjoy it with his mouth!

But just as he was about to bring the firecracker over and experiment with it himself, he remembered the explosion in the laboratory of the father of explosives, which not only seriously injured his father, but also killed his younger brother.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunxi lost interest in an instant.

Uh... Forget it, let the subordinates do it.

Just to clarify, I am not afraid of death!

Instead, he valued his subordinates!

After getting His Highness's permission, Qu Tao loaded the gunpowder into the musket, and after getting ready, he aimed at a flower pot in the distance.

As soon as the trigger was pulled, the flint immediately sparked to ignite the gunpowder, and there was a "bang", and the flower pot opposite was instantly smashed to pieces!

After firing a few more shots, Qu Tao and Zhang Fu looked at Zhu Yun differently!

Full of surprises!

"Your Highness! From now on, the transportation of gunpowder will be inconvenient, the speed of burning will be uneven, and the easy tide will be solved. Your Highness is truly a pioneering work!"

Zhang Fu also said pleasantly: "In the past, gunpowder was either pressed too tightly when managing guns, and there was no way to fully ignite it, resulting in weak power."

"Either it is too loose, and the bullets are not very powerful when they fly out! This problem that troubled the soldiers will be solved by His Highness today. Your Highness is really a god!"

Because the gunpowder is inside the barrel, whether it is squeezed tight or loose has a great impact.

The best operation is to deliberately not fill the gunpowder too full or too tightly when loading gunpowder into the barrel. However, although this can exert the power of gunpowder,
However, there are high requirements for the experience and skills of musketeers, and it is difficult for ordinary people to learn.

Moreover, the musketeer's poor experience is also fed with ammunition, so how much ammunition will be consumed!

The key is that on the battlefield, the enemy is right in front of you, how many people can be calm?
How many people can take it easy?

"Stop flattering! The next step is to test how much ammunition needs to be filled in each bullet. It is necessary to ensure the power of the musket without too much residue. What are you doing in a daze! Hurry up!"

Under Zhu Yunxi's urging, several people started busy experiments again.

The problems raised by the previous votes can be solved by granular gunpowder.

Although the granular gunpowder will also be stratified during the transportation of the gunpowder, this does not affect the quality and use of the gunpowder.

Moreover, the hygroscopicity of granular gunpowder is much smaller than that of powdered gunpowder, mainly because the ratio of surface area to volume is smaller, and the moisture absorbed from the air is also smaller.

In addition, because the fire has to be in the form of particles, even if it is squeezed during transportation, the fit between them will not be very tight, and it will not become a lump like powder.

In addition, the gaps left between the gunpowder particles can facilitate the combustion-supporting effect of oxygen on the gunpowder, making the number of gunpowder more uniform and improving the efficiency of gunpowder.

If it is powder gunpowder, a considerable part of the gunpowder that has not been ignited will be sprayed out of the barrel during the design, which not only affects the power, but also causes a lot of residue.

So after a few experiments, Qu Tao praised: "Your Highness, this grain of gunpowder is not only more powerful, but also produces much less residue, so the soldiers don't have to clean the barrel of their guns frequently! This is really great! "

Later, some people realized the advantages of granule gunpowder, and some even thought that the power of one granule gunpowder was equivalent to the strength of three powder gunpowder!

Although this is a bit exaggerated, it is enough to see the improvement of the power of granular gunpowder on black powder!

Zhang Fu said excitedly: "Your Highness! Not only that! The gunpowder is more powerful, so when the soldiers use it, the consumption of gunpowder will be much reduced, and the same amount of sulfur can produce more gunpowder!"

Zhu Yunxi's eyes also brightened!
Under the same power, the metering is reduced, which reduces the cost of gunpowder!

All you save is money!

The cheaper it is, the easier it is to equip a large number of muskets!

So Zhu Yunxi immediately ordered: "Be sure to calculate the amount of gunpowder needed for various bowl-mouth guns and artillery! If you can save it, you can save it! I will leave this matter to you two!"

"Yes! My subordinates obey!"

Zhang Fu watched Zhu Yunxi take the order with a smile, but actually couldn't help complaining in his heart, our Highness... is really stingy...

Zhu Yunxi casually picked up the oiled paper containing the gunpowder and said: "When you get the results of the experiment, have someone wrap each dose of gunpowder in oiled paper,
In this way, the soldiers don't need to weigh when using it, just open the oil paper and pour the gunpowder into it!You see, it's like this..."

As he spoke, he tore off a piece of oiled paper, folded it into a cylinder shape, sealed one end with oiled paper, and poured some grains of gunpowder into it with a wooden spoon.

Then I made a paper cap out of oiled paper, which just fit on it, just like the capsules of later generations.

Then he held the gun in one hand and the gunpowder wrapped in paper in the other. With a twist of his fingers, the paper cap was pulled back, and the gunpowder inside was poured into the musket.

"If it's a musket, make sure you can open the lid and pour the powder with one hand."

The two understood immediately, and Zhang Fu said on a whim: "Your Highness, this oil paper is too soft, it is easy to deform when you use it, and it is inconvenient to pour it. In my opinion, it is better to change it to a harder one." Paper."

"well said!"

Zhu Yunxi praised and said: "This oil paper is indeed too soft, it should be better with hard paper!..."

His heart brightened, and he ordered: "Also, let the master try to see if it can be directly made into a gunpowder bag, with gunpowder in the back and subpowder in the front, and stuff it directly into the barrel of the gun! If the experiment is successful, there will be a huge reward." !"

What Zhu Yunxi did was the cardboard bullet.

When the fixed ammunition first appeared, it was also front-loaded, and the projectile and the medicine bag were separated, but the medicine bag wrapped in oil paper could be directly inserted into the barrel.

Then insert the projectile and compact it with a cleaning rod, which is much faster than pouring gunpowder from the cartridge that you carry into the barrel.

Some old-fashioned front-loading rifles have a flared muzzle, which is convenient for pouring gunpowder.

It wasn't until later that the projectile and the medicine bag came together gradually. This is the paper shell bullet.

(End of this chapter)