I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Patent Act Chapter 349
Xu Guangqi had long known that Song Yingxing had been specially drawn by the emperor in the list.

But he was still surprised that the emperor valued this person. He just praised him a little, and the emperor allowed him to reuse him boldly, obviously to value him.

It seems that this person's future is limitless, Xu Guangqi thought secretly in his heart.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, such a talented and humble minister will not be neglected. He must act on his merits and make good use of them. Now that there are more and more talents in the Tongzhou Firearms Workshop, I only need to go there occasionally. On weekdays, Let Bi Maokang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Zuo Shilang, take charge.

This person is proficient in firearms. His Majesty previously said that he would develop a flint-fired musket. Shilang Bi is very knowledgeable about this matter and has been studying it with great concentration. He told me a few days ago that there has been some progress and I believe it will be developed soon. "

"Is this true? I just said that this Bi Maokang has great talent. I didn't expect that he would surprise me so quickly, hahaha."

When Zhu Youxiao heard that Bi Maokang's flintlock rifle had made progress, he was immediately excited.

Nowadays, the Ming army generally uses matchlock and bird blunderbuss. Although this kind of gun has a longer range and more power than fast guns and three-eyed blunderbuss.

However, the shortcomings of the matchlock gun are still very obvious. For example, before shooting, the matchlock must be lit first. Whenever it encounters wet or rainy and snowy weather, this kind of firearm weapon is basically useless.

Furthermore, the operation of the matchlock gun is very complicated.

If a bird gunner wants to fire a bird gun, he must first load the ammunition from the front of the barrel, fill the medicine pot with primer, then light the match, install the match, test the match, blow the match, finally open the lid of the medicine pot, raise the gun and aim and shoot.

After finishing, remove the match rope, clean the medicine pot, load the primer, close the medicine pot, shake the medicine pot, blow off the floating powder on the medicine pot, turn the gun muzzle upward, open the gunpowder bag, fill it, take out the purge bar, and turn it around. Tamp the gunpowder into the transfer strip, repeat it twice, and then continue to install the match rope.

According to this shooting speed, the arquebusier's shooting frequency is inefficient and the process is long. Even if he adopts three-stage shooting or even four-stage shooting, he can barely keep up.

But compared with the matchlock gun, the advantages of the flintlock gun are obvious.

Not only do you not have to worry about the danger of the target being exposed by the light of the burning match rope and the unique smell of the match rope at night.

It also has a faster rate of fire, usually 2-3 rounds per minute, far exceeding that of a matchlock gun.The caliber is also smaller, the barrel is shorter, the weight is lighter, the recoil is smaller, and the range is longer.And its firing is less affected by wind and rain than a matchlock gun.

In short, the flintlock gun is one level better than the matchlock gun. If the Ming army can equip the flintlock gun with the Krupp cannon.Zhu Youxiao understood that it was safe to deal with Jianlu.

"Deceiving His Majesty is a crime of deceiving the emperor. This is what Bi Maokang told Wei Chen himself. Wei Chen did not dare to make it up hastily. In fact, he has always been very interested in making his own muskets. During his previous tenure in Shaanxi, Shandong and other places, he had Study this issue with great concentration.

Since His Majesty selected a talented person to serve as the left minister of the Ministry of Industry this year, he has discussed the matter with Tang Ruowang and others, and gained a lot of inspiration from it, which is why there has been such progress. "

Hearing Xu Guangqi's confident words, Zhu Youxiao felt more at ease.

Bi Maokang was originally a famous firearms expert in the late Ming Dynasty. In Zhu Youxiao's memory, Bi Maokang published "Illustrated Weapons" ten years later, in which he introduced the flintlock gun for the first time, making him the first firearm to invent the flintlock gun in China. Experts, their status is not unimportant.

"That's good. You must report to me after a while. I really want to go over and have a look. I will reward Bi Maokang well when the time comes."

Zhu Youxiao thought about it and made a promise to Xu Guangqi. After all, this was a weapon that transcended the times and he must pay attention to it.

But as he was talking, he didn't know what he was thinking of, and suddenly asked Xu Guangqi:

"Xu Aiqing, do you think the Ministry of Industry generally provides incentives for craftsmen who improve their craftsmanship and propose new technologies? How are they rewarded?"

When Xu Guangqi heard this, he wondered why the emperor asked this. He also thought for a moment and considered it before speaking.

"Your Majesty, of course there are rewards. However, after Your Majesty announced the abolition of craftsmanship last time, the Ministry of Industry will now hire craftsmen to work on duty, and the monthly payment will be from half a tael to ten taels of silver depending on the skill, age of the craftsman, etc. If they can help the Ministry of Industry improve their craftsmanship, the Ministry of Industry will also give silver rewards, ranging from dozens to hundreds of taels.”

Zhu Youxiao shook his head after hearing Xu Guangqi's words. He also knew something about ancient technology.Naturally, we know that in order to prevent the disciples from starving to death, today's craftsmen often hide their unique skills or skills, even if there are rewards from the court, let alone the pitiful rewards now.

"Xu Aiqing, I have heard an old saying among the people before: If you want a horse to run fast, you must give it grass. Now these blunderbuss, Krug cannons, etc. are all weapons of the country. In the future, things like this will more and more.

The technical improvements of these firearms all rely on the efforts of these craftsmen, so the court must not be stingy with rewards for these people.There is nothing wrong with giving money when you should give it, even if you give it to an official.I actually have an idea, Aiqing can refer to it when the time comes. "

Xu Guangqi deeply agreed with what the emperor said. His previous development of the Krug gun was inspired and helped by the cannon casting craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry. He used the iron core copper body casting method to greatly improve the strength of the artillery and reduce the cost of casting.

Because of this, he also promised rewards to these cannon-casting masters, but so far they are only some monetary rewards and nothing else. Although these cannon-casting masters are used to it, he still feels a little guilty.So when he heard what the emperor said just now, he immediately became curious, raised his hands and asked:

"I wonder what your Majesty has in mind. I am all ears."

At this time, even Wei Zhongxian couldn't help but look at the emperor. The emperor had many fantastic ideas, and he didn't know what he wanted to say today.

"In my opinion, we need to increase the enthusiasm of craftsmen, let them work hard to develop technology, improve craftsmanship, and share their experience in craftsmanship. The key lies in two points: first, sufficient rewards; second, guarantees."

As soon as these words came out, Xu Guangqi looked confused. If the reward was sufficient, he would naturally understand it, but what did it mean to give a guarantee?Zhu Youxiao ignored his doubts and continued:

"There is no need to say more if the reward is sufficient. It is nothing more than giving more money, or even giving it an official position. What I am mainly talking about is the second point. After thinking about it, the reason why these craftsmen cherish their broomsticks is not because they are afraid of spreading their technology. There is no protection for oneself.

So I thought of a way, why not let the Ministry of Industry come forward to record the techniques improved by these craftsmen one by one, and clarify who is the inventor. Anyone who wants to use this technology in the future must pay part of the money to this first person. inventor.

If someone uses it secretly without paying the money, the original first inventor can report it to the court, investigate and deal with it accordingly, and recover the losses.As long as the imperial court can strictly implement this policy, I believe there will be many craftsmen willing to record and teach their skills.Seeing the benefits of improving their craftsmanship, other craftsmen would imitate his example and work hard to improve their skills, which would be of great benefit to the imperial court. "

Listening to the emperor's words, Xu Guangqi became more and more shocked. He thought this method was good. He had consulted Tang Ruowang several times before about this issue.Tang Ruowang also told himself that there was a similar system in Europa, which provided protection for new technologies and new tools invented by craftsmen, and anyone who wanted to use them had to pay.

But he didn't expect that the emperor could think of such a wonderful method at such a young age. When he thought of this, he raised his hands in admiration and agreed.

"Your Majesty, your method is indeed good. I also heard from Tang Ruowang that this method is also available in the West. I didn't expect that Your Majesty has thought of it. I feel that if this method can be truly implemented, it will greatly increase the enthusiasm for improving technology. "

Listening to Xu Guangqi's praise, Zhu Youxiao shook his head to himself.Although he has had this idea for a long time, he still has some concerns about implementing it now.

After all, there was little information in ancient times, and this system was new, so it was easy for others to take advantage of it.

"Well, it mainly depends on the implementation. Of course, there are still many issues, such as how to determine whether the technology has improved; how to determine whether this person is the real inventor; how to protect the interests of these inventors; whether these identified technologies or tools have always been protected , is there any deadline, etc.

These issues need to be considered, and this is also the task I entrust to your Ministry of Industry.You need to discuss it carefully after you go back. You don't want to be quick, but you want to be steady. You have to think about all these issues thoroughly. "

Seeing this, Xu Guangqi quickly bowed and accepted. This matter was also something he was determined to resolve.

He is very interested in crafts. Now he is not only responsible for the casting of firearms, but also the system of silver coins and copper coins. He is even experimenting with planting sweet potatoes and rice in Tianjin with Zuo Guangdou and others.

Every link here requires professional craftsmen, technicians and even farmers. It can be said that their work enthusiasm is the key to the success or failure of these things.

The method your Majesty is talking about now is just enough to stimulate their enthusiasm.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. I know the importance of this matter. I will definitely discuss this matter in detail when I get back."

"Well, that's fine. In addition, I'm thinking that if you encounter any problems during the casting process and want to improve any process but can't, you can definitely propose a reward. Now "Daming Daily" is published every day, and it has a wide audience. .

At that time, you can write down your needs or problems in the "Da Ming Daily", clarify the rewards, and brainstorm ideas. Maybe there are capable people in the private sector who can solve them. "

"Wei Chen will definitely keep it in mind, but Wei Chen still has something to ask His Majesty."

When Zhu Youxiao heard this, he looked curiously at Xu Guangqi, who was bowing and saluting.

"But it doesn't matter."

"I was thinking that since you proposed this method, I would like to ask your Majesty to give this method a name. Doesn't this just show that your Majesty is the first to create it?"

Zhu Youxiao laughed when he heard this, thinking that Xu Guangqi was quite good at things.

"Haha, you are so considerate. As for the name, I have already thought of it, let's call it patent!"

(End of this chapter)