Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The discussions at the Zhuge meeting were eventually presented to Emperor Zhu Youjian.

After all, he was the one who personally designed and tested the caliber and type of ammunition, so even if officials from the Equipment Department wanted to change it, they had to get his approval.

Looking at the meeting minutes, Zhu Youjian said happily:
"This Zhuge meeting went very well, and we should hold more of them in the future."

"Not only should the Engineers Association hold a meeting, but all the court agencies and even the army should hold a Zhuge meeting."

"It's like sitting and discussing the truth at a banquet, speaking freely and having discussions."

Zhu Youjian highly praised this form of meeting and ordered the eunuch to let the cabinet draft an imperial edict to commend Zhuge Hui of the Engineers Association and call on other institutions to learn from it.

Then, he looked at the specifics of the matter and after seeing the content of the dispute between Lü Xiang, Xu Sen, and Zhang Tao, he asked:

"Have you ever conducted a test to compare the lethality of 10mm and 9mm bullets?"

"After the 9mm bullet is lengthened, can it meet the requirements of the cavalry rifle?"

Equipment Minister Bi Maokang said:

"Nine millimeter bullets can barely meet the requirements of cavalry guns, but if we replace them with larger ten millimeter bullets, the lethality will indeed be greater."

"What Lu Xiang and Xu Sen said makes sense, but Zhang Tao's concerns are also correct. Even if the power of the 10mm bullet is reduced, the recoil is still too large when used in a hand gun, and it will be difficult to control."

"I think that for hand cannons, 9mm is the most suitable. Even a weak scholar can use a hand cannon after a period of training."

"The three calibers of 6mm, 9mm and 12mm are enough to meet the needs."

Obviously, the Equipment Department is reluctant to open a new caliber, as that would mean adding specialized ammunition and barrel production lines, which would increase costs and cause more trouble.

For officials, they instinctively reject anything that might cause more trouble, even though the Equipment Department is a newly established department.

Zhu Youjian listened to the statements of Bi Maokang and others, and gradually formed an idea in his mind. Although he determined the specifications of the Ming Dynasty's metal fixed ammunition based on the mature ammunition types of later generations, he knew that he might not be completely right.

Because of his excessive efforts, the Ming Dynasty's weapons technology is now somewhat distorted, and the enemies they face are still using cold weapons.

So he felt that he could understand why weapons developers put forward different requirements.

Instead, it was the equipment department's unwillingness to change that made him feel that change was needed.

Of course, the change will not affect the equipment department's dominance over military weapons, so as to avoid the military having too many weapons and causing logistics chaos.

As for the 10mm bullet, if it is just for the revolver cavalry gun, adding a new caliber to the army is really unnecessary. After all, this firearm is just a transitional weapon temporarily equipped because the development of the rapid-fire musket was not smooth.

However, the 10mm rimless fixed ammunition mentioned by Lu Xiang must be taken seriously, because it may be the main weapon in the future.

Especially when the development of smokeless gunpowder is not going smoothly, black powder metal fixed bullets may be used for a long time. It is necessary to develop the best type of bullet based on the existing conditions.

想着后世几种著名的黑火药金属定装弹，朱由检发现德国毛瑟M1871步枪使用的11X60弹、法国M1874格拉斯步枪使用的11X59弹、英国马蒂尼亨利步枪使用的.577/450弹，都在十一毫米左右，所以他决定道：
"New ammunition calibers can be added, but they are mainly designed for rapid-fire musket rounds."

"The cavalry gun can reduce its power on this basis and use the same caliber barrel."

"The new caliber should be between ten and eleven millimeters. Make several types of bullets for testing."

"Have you made the gelatin I asked you to make? Has it been used in ammunition testing?"

As a military fan, he knew about the gelatin experiment. He also knew that gelatin was made by boiling and solidifying the tendons, bones and skin of animals, and was edible.

Using it to test the lethality of ammunition can intuitively feel the lethality of ammunition. Zhu Youjian had long ago ordered the Equipment Institute to develop and use scientific methods to develop ammunition.

Bi Maokang replied:
"The Equipment Institute has hired a craftsman who can make donkey-hide gelatin, and he has already made the gelatin."

"Some people like gelatin because it has a lot of water, and even keep the skin on and use ice to speed up the solidification, calling it pork skin jelly."

"The difference in power between 9mm and 10mm ammunition was discovered using gelatin in the experiment."

When Zhu Youjian heard that they invented pork skin jelly while boiling gelatin, he smiled and praised:
"A reward to those who make gelatin and pork jelly, to patent their methods."

"The drought in the north has been getting worse in recent years, so any way to increase food supply should be encouraged to contribute."

"Gelatin and pork skin jelly allow people to eat pork skin. Their production should be encouraged, and the Guanglu Temple should formulate relevant standards."

The officials in the hall who heard the news praised the emperor in unison, saying that the emperor loved his people like his own children and always thought about the people's food.

Zhu Youjian was somewhat immune to this, but he still pretended to listen with great interest. He wanted to maintain this image so that officials and citizens would know that the emperor was good. If they met with misfortune, it was the fault of the person who executed them.

Then he continued:
"The six millimeter, nine millimeter, and twelve millimeter ammunition previously set were based on three millimeter as a level."

"It seems that it is still too rough now. We should add two more types: one is about 10.5, ranging from 10 to 11 millimeters; the other is about 7.5, ranging from 7 to 8 millimeters."

"The Equipment Academy can try more and determine the specific caliber."

Bi Maokang was a little puzzled and asked:
"Ten millimeter ammunition is needed for cavalry rifles and rapid-fire muskets, so where is the seven millimeter ammunition used for?"

"This caliber is too small. It's not even enough for a hand cannon."

Zhu Youjian explained to him:
"This is what the Jinyiwei needs. They need a miniature pistol."

"The six-millimeter ammunition is still too weak, and the nine-millimeter is a bit too strong. They need a seven- or eight-millimeter ammunition for use in micro-pistols."

"It would be best if the new ammunition could be used for silenced weapons. The Royal Guards have a demand for it."

Now Bi Maokang and others understood that it was a weapon used for assassination.

Bi Maokang, who was very disgusted with this, said:

"If someone commits a crime, just punish them according to the law."

"Why create such a weapon and make everyone feel insecure?"

"Your Majesty previously set a two-foot limit on firearms that civilians can use. Wasn't it to prevent people from using it to assassinate people?"

"Today's manufacturing of miniature pistols and silenced weapons is really contrary to this."

Other officials also advised that this type of ammunition and musket should not be developed.

Zhu Youjian did not expect that they would even oppose this, and he felt that the Equipment Department should not be allowed to fully control ammunition manufacturing.

He told the officials:
"The Jinyiwei personnel went to the enemy country to gather intelligence and needed weapons for self-defense."

"Soldiers on reconnaissance missions also need silenced weapons to avoid alerting the enemy."

"Each of these weapons will be numbered in the future and will not be circulated."

"And after smokeless gunpowder is invented in the future, gunpowder will be even more powerful. The ammunition for rifles will also be reduced to seven or eight millimeters." "Building a musket of this caliber now can help us gain experience for the future."

“It is not the case that after the invention of smokeless gunpowder, there is no accumulation in other areas.”

This argument barely convinced the officials of the Equipment Department.

Because they knew that the Gunpowder Research Institute had been researching smokeless gunpowder, and collodion plastic was a phased product in the development process.

They were unaware of the difficulty of smokeless gunpowder and thought that this type of gunpowder would appear soon, so they naturally thought that relevant preparations should be made in advance.

Therefore, the caliber of military weapons in the Ming Dynasty was increased to two more types, which were determined to be more than 7 and more than 10. The specific increase in the latter number will be determined by gelatin testing.
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Then, Zhu Youjian mentioned another weapon, which was also used for assassination:
"How is the development of the time bomb going?"

"Did the clock workshop provide you with a timer?"

Bi Maokang was also reluctant to say more, but he had to reply:
"The timer has been delivered to the Watch Workshop, and the Equipment Institute is working hard to develop a bomb that matches it."

"I think this weapon is too expensive. It would be better to make more grenades and mines."

When Zhu Youjian heard this answer, his brows frowned slightly.

He clearly heard rejection in Bi Maokang's words. Just like his rejection of the micro-pistol, he didn't like assassination weapons.

Looking at other civil servants, most of them had the same attitude. He felt that the development of this type of weapon should be kept within the inner court and not be known to the outer court.

So he nodded and said:
"We must also speed up the development of grenades and mines, especially bombs and mines that can be dropped by hot air balloons."

"In the future, when the enemy attacks the city, the city can launch hot air balloons to float outside the city and drop bombs or scatter mines."

"This is a good thing that can improve the city's defense. We need to speed up research and manufacture it."

"If the black powder isn't powerful enough, you can add more fulminate of mercury, or mix it with collodion to see if you can increase the explosive power."

"As for nitroglycerin, we need to speed up the research and development and mix it with collodion to make colloid explosives."

Bi Maokang and others hurriedly wrote down these instructions. Their achievements now mainly depended on developing new equipment.

The guidance provided by the emperor is something that everyone values.

After all these arrangements were made, Zhu Youjian asked casually:

"How is the production status of bullets? Can it meet the needs of the army?"

"There will be a major war in Liaodong next year. I plan to send 10,000 soldiers from the Beijing camp there, using new firearms."

"Each person must prepare at least 1,000 rounds of ammunition. The goal is to prepare 10 million rounds of ammunition."

“Complete this preparation before March next year.”

Upon hearing this, Bi Maokang hurriedly complained:
"Ten million rounds of ammunition cannot be produced at all."

"The Equipment Department doesn't have that many craftsmen to make bullets, and the Beijing Battalion will use bullets on a regular basis after changing its equipment."

"Especially the hand guns and cavalry guns that the officers and soldiers bought themselves, they consume a lot of bullets. They rarely use reloadable sub-guns, they just use bullets."

“Even if all the craftsmen in the Equipment Department were used, it would be impossible to produce so many bullets!”

Other officials also complained that it was impossible to provide such a large amount of ammunition.

Zhu Youjian finally showed his true colors and pretended to be helpless:

"In that case, you should focus on producing primers and provide them to companies with equipment production licenses."

“Allow these companies to recruit craftsmen and produce bullets themselves.”

"The equipment department sent military representatives to ensure the quality of ammunition, and strictly inspected and purchased bullets that met the standards."

When the officials from the Equipment Department heard this, they realized that this was the emperor's purpose.

Although they don't want to give up the power to produce bullets, under the current situation, they can only mobilize the strength of the people.

Bi Maokang also strived hard:
"I think that the civilians can make their own hand cannon ammunition, but the ammunition for cavalry and rifles should still be produced by the arsenal under the Ministry of Equipment."

"This will prevent bullets from spreading and endangering public safety."

When Zhu Youjian heard him use the new term "public security", he was speechless. After thinking about it, he said:

"Release both hand cannon bullets and cavalry cannon bullets, and there is no limit to the type."

"Even the development of 10mm cavalry rifle bullets and reduced-power hand-gun bullets can be handed over to them."

“The equipment department can organize the selection, choose the best ammunition, finalize the type of military ammunition, and only purchase standard ammunition.”

"Once the metal ammunition is fixed, it is difficult to change. We must be extremely careful when selecting it to reduce the burden of future production and supply."

Upon hearing this, Bi Maokang and others nodded in agreement.

Previously, when the ammunition was changed, only the bullet and the barrel had to be changed. Gunpowder could continue to be used, and lead bullets could be melted and reused.

But the metal fixed ammunition has been changed, that is, the shell is included. Previously, the ammunition produced needed to pull out the bullet, pour out the gunpowder, and then recycle the shell.

This cumbersome process is troublesome to think about. In addition to recycling some materials, the cost is not low compared to making new ammunition.

In addition, the tools and measuring instruments used to manufacture bullets and gun barrels must be replaced, and the craftsmen must be retrained.

Therefore, the officials of the Armaments Academy were very resistant to adding new calibers and changing ammunition. They also understood why the emperor decided on the caliber first and then the type of ammunition.

At this moment, they all felt that the emperor was very forward-looking, as if he had once witnessed the use of metal fixed-load ammunition.

After taking on the task of producing ammunition and developing new types of ammunition and new weapons, the officials of the Equipment Department stepped down.

Zhu Youjian also summoned officials from the Inner Court Armoury Bureau and the Jinyiwei Equipment Department to arrange the development of miniature pistols, silenced muskets, dagger muskets, time bombs and other weapons to equip intelligence personnel.

We will strive to build a capable force, use these unexpected new equipment, assassinate several important Jianlu officials next year, and bring chaos to the enemy.

The Jinyiwei and Bingzhang Bureau were all very excited about this. They certainly wanted to make merit in the war next year and get a chance to be conferred a title.

After Zhu Youjian arranged these, he also instructed the Jinyiwei Equipment Department and the Confidentiality Department to cooperate to keep the equipment confidential. Especially the primer and fulminate of mercury, which were the focus of confidentiality, and it was necessary to prevent others from stealing this secret.

The current equipment improvements of the Ming Dynasty are basically based on fulminate of mercury. It is precisely because of the discovery of fulminate of mercury that weapons such as metal fixed bullets, grenades, mines, and time bombs have become practical.

This key technology must be kept secret. Anyone who knows the formula and manufacturing process of fulminate of mercury must be surrounded by someone assigned by the Imperial Guard. (End of this chapter)