Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 167 Weapons that change the mode of war

Emperor Chenghui hurried out after finishing the meeting, while the four elders sat there without speaking.

The position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry has been vacant for almost a month, and the reason why it has not been settled is because of the constant quarrels.

In fact, everyone could hardly stop arguing. Liang Daoyuan and Li Qing, the main quarrels, planned to give up and continue the confrontation.

"If the three adults still cannot reach an agreement, then we will draw lots!" Kong Zhao, the first assistant, "gave up" the right to recommend candidates, leaving the opportunity to the other three cabinet ministers to act as the referee.

Zhang Ting'en's original intention was to stir up the troubled waters. At this moment, he simply raised his hand: "I suggest that the three candidates be submitted to His Majesty for his decision!"

Li Qing knew that the candidate he recommended would not be able to pass the cabinet, so he simply raised his hand and agreed. In short, Liang Daoyuan could not be taken advantage of.

Liang Daoyuan originally planned to ask Kong Zhao to make the decision. Unexpectedly, Zhang Ting'en said first that he would leave it to His Majesty. Liang Daoyuan, whose mouth was blocked, secretly regretted that he had been slow to speak, and nodded helplessly: "Second!"

In fact, Kong Zhao did not expect that Zhang Ting'en could be so shameless. If the incident spread, Zhang Ge would be a "civilian's shame". His Majesty clearly delegated power to the cabinet, but then returned it again.

In view of Zhang Ting'en's consistent performance, it is estimated that this label will not hurt him much.

After attaching the spear, Jia Lian held the rifle and felt it. The weight was not enough to affect the flexibility.

Emperor Chenghui easily gained control of the cabinet again! The outcome of the meeting went in the direction he expected.

The manufacturing of weapons best reflects the materials and processing standards of this era. Previously, the reason why the Ministry of Industry manufactured matchlock guns in batches was simply to save costs. Compared to the twenty taels of silver cost of the six rifles in front of him, the burial cost of a musketeer was only twenty taels of silver. It also depends on the conscience of the chief officer. If he meets someone who is a little greedy, just give him two taels of silver and let him go.

Jia Lian first looked at Sun Erwa's group of samples, took them in his hand and examined them carefully, and was very pleasantly surprised. With sufficient funds, the metal parts of this rifle were even treated to be rust-proof (blued). The craftsmanship of the gun stock and handguard is naturally made by top craftsmen. What was even more surprising was that Jia Lian discovered the existence of wood screws!
It is not difficult to see from these details that as long as enough funds are given, the craftsmanship accumulation of the Great Zhou Dynasty is quite profound. Jia Lian began to respect springs. As long as there were springs, with the current level of processing, he could have the luxury of having a breech-loaded needle firing gun.

At the shooting range, six brand-new rifles were placed on both sides, and the heads of the two groups of craftsmen led the crowd to wait.

Whatever you thought of or didn't expect, others have done it beforehand.

The pressure is on Zhang Tingen. He has the right to reject Zhang Tingen's suggestions, but does he dare?
"Then the list of three people will be handed over to His Majesty for judgment!" Kong Zhao decisively announced the decision, and the matter ended here.

Under Jia Lian's calm appearance, he was secretly excited inside. The progress of research and development far exceeded his expectations. It was expected that samples would be available within two months, which would be very good. He never thought that the skill level of the Zhou Dynasty craftsmen exceeded his expectations.

Coincidentally, Jia Lian happened to have knowledge in this area. The difficulty was that he only had theory and no practice.

Put down the rifle and look at other things. The gun spine is cast and rust-proofed. The tail is a sleeve that is directly put on the barrel and has a slot designed for it. It can be seen that the craftsmen are skilled in craftsmanship and can do whatever they ask for.

The bullet is packed in a wooden box, and the craftsmen also carefully carved it. The copper loose leaf on the lid is also an amazing workmanship. Such modern industrial batch products could only be made by hand in this era. Forget about electric motors. Generating electricity can drive people to death. Just count on steam engines.

Another advantage of making a matchlock gun is that the material requirements are not high. If the power is not enough, the barrel will be thickened. Considering the corruption problem within the Ministry of Industry, the success rate of flintlock guns is destined to be pitifully low, and the risk of exploding the chamber is increasing. Therefore, the military pinches its nose and can only use more backward matchlock guns.

When the two armies are facing each other, there is not much time left for the muskets. It is good to be able to fire three rounds, and then they have to fight hand-to-hand.

good very good! The initial design requirements were basically met, and only the bullets were left in the end.

Beside a simple balance, there was a pile of paper-wrapped charges. After taking a look at the lead weights, Jia Lian, who had little obsessive-compulsive disorder, thought about how to galvanize the weights. Forget it, I have never understood this process, and the plug-ins don’t work. Finally, I have to sigh with emotion. Taizu of the Zhou Dynasty made many achievements, but it is a pity that later generations did not pay attention to them.

The box maintains the color of the original wood and is painted with tung oil. It shows the workmanship of skilled craftsmen at first glance.

When a rifle is disassembled and there are only a few parts, it seems not difficult, but in fact there are many things involved.

Opening the lid, the bullets were neatly arranged in the box. I picked one up and looked at it. It was actually oiled. The lead bullets are oiled, needless to say, for ease of loading. The craftsmen of Dazhou can only be described as awesome.

When it comes to needle guns, the biggest obstacle is chemistry. Without knowledge of chemistry, you cannot make a flash cap.

Take your time, maybe even after it's built, the court won't be willing to use it. After all, the cost has increased significantly.

He cocked the hammer and put it back gently. After feeling the elasticity, Jia Lian felt that it should be stable.

The same is true in history. Because they were not taken seriously, the skills of countless skilled craftsmen were not passed down. Many traditional crafts eventually disappeared in the long river of history. Later generations can only look at the cultural relics and sigh with shock to their souls.

As time goes by, Jia Lian has a deep understanding of plug-ins. A lot of knowledge cannot be felt at ordinary times. When you really need it, just think about it and it will emerge from your mind. Just like a knowledge storage, the books I have read and the knowledge I have learned in two lifetimes can be quickly retrieved when needed. Those things that I haven't learned before can't be solved even if I think about it.

Such a powerful appearance made Jia Lian hate himself even more deeply as a liberal arts student. If I study science and engineering, with this plug-in, I can make steam engines and various machine tools by hand.

Unfortunately, I am not a science student. Although I know many principles, I don't know how to make things.

Jia Lian, who was not in a hurry to test-fire, came to another group of craftsmen's samples. After checking the samples, both sides were almost the same, and the appearance basically met the requirements. The rest was a shooting test.

"The products on both sides look very good, but in the end it still depends on the test results. A good-quality fire gun mainly depends on several aspects, including shooting accuracy and the number of consecutive shots. To ensure fairness, six samples of the gun must be tested After conducting a continuous shooting test and comparing the comprehensive results, the winner will be awarded an officer by the person in charge of each group. The loser does not need to be discouraged. If your samples meet the requirements, I will also invite you to an officer, but the level will only be It’s the lowest ninth grade.”

Before the official start, Jia Lian said something, which made the craftsmen even more nervous. They are all the top figures among craftsmen. If they lose, they will not be in the official position, and they will be suppressed by others in the future. The sudden appearance of Long Jinwei interrupted Jia Lian's test of the gun. Emperor Chenghui, dressed in brown and yellow, appeared surrounded by Long Jinwei. Qiu Shian shouted: "Your Majesty is here!"

All the craftsmen knelt down and lowered their heads, not daring to look. The Zhou Dynasty was not a braided dynasty, and the law did not stipulate that people could not look directly at the emperor. However, when they really saw His Majesty traveling, the people would still kneel down and not look, for fear of causing trouble. Long Jinwei's attention, he was caught in front of the assassin first.

Seeing Lieutenant Long quickly grasping the situation, Jia Lian hurried forward and saluted, saying, "I am guilty of being late to welcome you!"

Emperor Chenghui waved his hand casually, glanced at Jia Lian and said: "Those who don't know are not guilty. Go and see the fire gun made by Aiqing."

Jia Lian made a gesture of invitation and said: "Your Majesty, I just have an idea. The real heroes are these craftsmen. Without these craftsmen, any idea is just an idea."

Emperor Chenghui paused for a moment, then walked forward quickly, seeming quite urgent.

Jia Lian explained how to group them and finally made two samples. So far, both sides are doing well.

Emperor Chenghui's importance can be seen when he picked up the sample. He observed it very carefully, especially the extra gunpowder tank lid, and expressed satisfaction: "This lid is very good. In this way, even if Even if it is light rain, it will not affect the soldiers' combat efficiency."

After hearing this, Jia Lian added calmly: "Your Majesty, I believe that the final form of the fire gun should be an all-weather combat form, but the current technology is not up to it and cannot make the perfect fire gun in my mind."

Emperor Chenghui was noncommittal about this. How many years had it been since Huo Qi appeared? Hasn't it always been this way? On rainy days, muskets cannot be used in the field. On the real battlefield, no general would be out of his mind and choose to fight in the rain. Only under special circumstances will combat be done regardless of bad weather. Even under special circumstances, the defensive side still has an advantage over the active attacking side.

The current main enemy of the Great Zhou Dynasty is in the northwest, and the southwest is just a disease of mustard moss. As the monarch of the most powerful empire on this continent, Emperor Chenghui didn't care much about the provocations from the small states in the southwest.

Let's put it this way, because of the geographical environment, within a longer historical scale, the threat to the Central Plains Dynasty has always come from the north. It was only in modern times that threats from the sea changed this situation. The current Zhou Dynasty has not yet been threatened by the sea. It is not surprising that there is no sense of crisis in this regard.

Jia Lian's worries are considered unnecessary by many people. In other words, Emperor Chenghui admired his talent and was willing to listen to his nonsense. It's really unknown how much he would listen.

"Let the experts from the Shenji Battalion do the test firing. I want to see what kind of treasure you have made."

No nonsense, I just want to see the results. No matter how much you talk, the results are not as convincing as the actual results.

Jia Lian didn't waste any time and immediately arranged for people to prepare. Soon six musketeers were brought in. While the musketeers were preparing, Emperor Chenghui was forcibly taken away by Jia Lian and Qiu Shi'an, and stood behind a nearby earthen wall. Qiu Shi'an also offered a monocular telescope.

Jia Lian returned to the test firing shed and gave his final explanation: "After the accuracy test firing, a durability test will be conducted. At that time, the trigger will be pulled with a rope to prevent the gun from exploding and injuring people after continuous shooting. If the gun is fired continuously for fifty rounds, it will be considered qualified."

Well, Jia Lian set the requirements very low. After all, I don’t know the level of steel craftsmanship in this era. It’s just that the craftsmanship is to circle a pipe instead of drilling directly on the steel. Jia Lian didn’t dare to hold it. Too much hope.

Jia Lian did not return to Emperor Chenghui's side, but stood in the shed. If these soldiers wanted to rebel, Jia Lian would die first. There is no other way, who asked the emperor to come, he can only express his loyalty in this way.

When it came time to actually shoot, Jia Lian discovered his oversight. There was no sight.

Let’s talk about it later. Now let’s see how the precision shooting results of these experienced players are.

Each gun started firing with five rounds. After the order was given, the skilled gunman began to load. Judging from the process, the loading was completed very smoothly. Following the order, the gun was raised and fired.

Bang bang bang, after a burst of smoke, the first round of test firing was completed, and the gunman continued the next shot skillfully without pausing.

The command flag was raised and lowered again, and a cloud of smoke rose again. After five consecutive rounds, Captain Long ordered the flag bearer to speak: "Put down your guns, all take ten steps back, and check the shooting results."

All the shooters put down their weapons, exited the shooting booth, and ordered the flag bearers to wave the red flags in their hands. Emperor Chenghui, who was fifty meters away, strode over under the escort of Captain Long to see the results.

When Xia Shouzhong walked to Jia Lian, he complained angrily: "Master Jia, you can really give me problems."

The soldier who reported the target came quickly, knelt down on one knee, and said loudly: "Report, hundred-step target, all one group hit the target, five shots hit the red heart, all two groups hit the target, three shots hit the red heart, all bullets penetrated wooden target.”

Of course Emperor Chenghui knew it was a hundred-step target, and he could tell by visual inspection. The results are astonishing!
After witnessing the entire process, it can also be seen that the rate of fire is at least twice as fast as that of a matchlock gun. For a target at the same distance, the matchlock gun can miss at least half of the target. Only when the distance is shortened to fifty steps can the shooting accuracy be guaranteed. There is a Rumi gun in the Shenji camp that is very accurate and can hit flying birds, so it is also called a bird gun. But how can I put it, the slender barrel leads to an increase in cost, and the armor-piercing power is not as good as that of large-caliber fire guns.

Before Emperor Chenghui could speak for confirmation, Jia Lian spoke first: "One hundred and fifty steps, then try shooting." After saying that, he turned around and said: "Your Majesty, please stay away, so as not to make things difficult for me."

Emperor Chenghui glanced at the shooters who were stared at by Long Jinwei, turned around and left angrily. Although when shooting, there are two dragon guards standing behind each shooter, who can chop the shooter with a knife at any time to nip the crisis in the cradle, there are still risks.

Emperor Chenghui was an emperor who could understand the situation, so he cooperated and returned to the previous earth wall to wait for the second round of precision test firing. After one hundred and fifty steps, still no one missed the target. Jia Lian increased the distance again, and at two hundred steps, six people, six guns and five rounds were tested. After the results came out, Emperor Chenghui was overjoyed. Six people fired thirty rounds, and only five missed the target.

Two hundred steps. From this distance, whether a matchlock can hit the target or not depends entirely on God.

True, faith shooting!
Judging from the current three-round shooting effect, the quality of the fire gun should not be a big problem. Emperor Chenghui could already imagine that once they entered the battlefield, hundreds of gunmen would shoot accurately at a distance of 200 steps. Five shots only took fifty breaths. It was hard to imagine how many cavalry could rush in front of them. That’s easy to say.

This is a weapon that can change the pattern of war!

(End of this chapter)