From Robinson Crusoe

When faced with a difficult problem that you have never practiced before, the solution idea is often much more important than the effort you put in.

Although Chen Zhou's idea was bold, the material used to make the cubes was too special. Its excellent properties gave the lead casting method enough room to play.

……

On May 5, when Chen Zhou started trying, he successfully cast a lead key blank in just two attempts.

To be more precise, he only tried once and succeeded easily.

Because during the first attempt, the reserved lead filling port was too small, resulting in the failure of the molten lead to be successfully poured into the mold. Strictly speaking, this is not a failure.

After the molten lead in the mold solidified and cooled, Chen Zhou broke open the white mud wrapped around the outer layer and obtained a key blank that was closest to the correct answer.

Carefully polish the entire key until it is smooth.

After more than a dozen fine-tunings, on the evening of May 5, a howl like that of a monkey suddenly came from the brightly lit foundry room.

Chen Zhou's eyes were bloodshot. He looked at the key that was inserted into the keyhole and turned half a circle in disbelief, not daring to blink at all.

Just now, he used a file to grind off a tiny protrusion on the key, inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it gently. He vaguely heard a crisp "click" sound, like the sound of unlocking a door.

"Is it that easy?"

Having been tortured for so long in the past, Chen Zhou always felt like he was dreaming.

But reality did not blind his eyes.

After the click, the light blue block seemed to have gained energy as if it had been dormant for many years. It slowly unfolded and became flatter with vibrations.

Countless tiny blue dots of light surrounded the cube, and in just a dozen seconds they solidified into pages of paper.

It has become a book made of the same material as Robinson Crusoe.

The book is not very thick, and the cover looks like it was written in the 1970s or 1980s, with a line of red characters printed in retro typeface: "Simplified Production Method for Explosive Materials"

……

When Chen Zhou saw this line of words, he immediately felt ecstatic.

He knew that his epic cracking speed this time had brought him a reward that could be called a "divine artifact".

Excited, Chen Zhou opened the book with trembling hands, skipped the synopsis and went to the table of contents, where he saw extremely explosive content.

"Chapter 1: Method of manufacturing explosives, overview -

The properties of fulminate of mercury, the chemical reaction process and process conditions for producing fulminate of mercury, preparation of nitric acid, mercury refining, alcohol distillation..."

Turn back again.

"Chapter II: Method of manufacturing nitroglycerin -

Overview, properties of nitroglycerin, preparation of glycerin from vegetable (animal) oils, manufacture of nitroglycerin.

"Damn it, this is not just ordinary knowledge, this is a manual for developing explosive geniuses!"

The more he watched, the more excited he became. Chen Zhou knew that this time, not only had his firearms modification been solved, but even rubbing rockets by hand, making earth mines and even sea mines were no longer empty talk.

The knowledge of the 17s and s was relatively backward compared to the st century, but in the th century, it was definitely "Zenithian technology" that no one could have imagined.

If he really read this book thoroughly, he would hardly be able to defeat a mere indigenous tribe, or even two more fully armed Spanish raiding ships.

what else?
Trying to suppress his excitement, Chen Zhou's face flushed as he continued to look back.

"Chapter 3: Zhou's Explosives Manufacturing Method, Chapter 4: Ammonium Nitrate Explosives Manufacturing Method, Chapter 5: Black Gunpowder Manufacturing Method, Chapter 6: Fire Detonator Manufacturing Method..."

Flipping slowly, Chen Zhou felt better the more he read.

The book starts with a detailed discussion of the most basic materials such as the components of explosives, then moves on to the manufacture of fire detonators, and then jumps to the part about practical weapons.

Methods for making grenades, mines, incendiary devices, simple military blasting methods, and methods for making raw acid—sulfuric acid and nitric acid…

Various chemical formulas, equipment and raw materials, and even matters that need to be paid attention to when making explosives, as well as methods for calculating acid concentration. It can be said that the person who wrote this book has systematically included all the knowledge he knows about explosives in the book.

More importantly, as if to take into account the knowledge level of the people at that time, the book did not use a lot of professional terms, but explained the principles and manufacturing procedures in a way that was as easy to understand as possible.

This is very beneficial for Chen Zhou, who is a poor student in chemistry.

……

It can be said that after reading the entire book, as long as Chen Zhou can find the raw materials on the island and has the appropriate production equipment, he can make all these things that sound exciting.

The amazement in his heart could no longer be described in words. Chen Zhou only knew that countless "fuck"s were running through his mind.

Following the instructions in the catalog, he flipped through several of the technologies that mattered to him the most.

The first is to produce glycerin from vegetable (animal) oils.

It not only explains that qualified glycerin can be made from animal fats and vegetable fats, but also mentions a technology - the saponification of fats into calcium soap.

A series of reaction formulas, equipment design drawings, detailed explanations, and complete relationship tables...

After just a quick glance, Chen Zhou came up with the idea of immediately building these facilities and starting to produce glycerin.

I felt my head getting hot and swollen, not sure if it was because I was too excited or shocked.

Keeping reminding himself not to faint from the beauty, Chen Zhou closed the book.

……

“We can’t aim too high. With the abilities of the three of us, it would take at least ten to eight years to build all these production facilities.

Besides, some raw materials may not be found on this island, so it is better to be down-to-earth and pragmatic. "

Pouring cold water on himself, Chen Zhou solemnly put away the book, took it to the bedroom and hid it under the bed.

Although the two natives could not understand the long passages in the book, let alone figure out what those strange chemical formulas meant, he still subconsciously put the book in the safest place.

"Don't dare show this kind of thing to others. It might hurt others and yourself. The lives of the two natives are not a big deal, but the key is to save my own life."

I was afraid that the natives would have a sudden idea and would secretly muster up the courage to try the methods taught in the book after only reading a few lines.

After thinking it over, Chen Zhou still felt unsafe, so he took the book out from under the bed and put it into a refrigerator converted from a container.

……

To be honest, the effort and reward are not proportional.

For a long time on the night of May 5, Chen Zhou was in a trance and confused state, as if he was sleepwalking.

This was not because he was overwhelmed by excitement, but because after reading the book, too many ideas popped into his mind at once, so much so that he temporarily shut down.

From the primer of bullets to more efficient blasting methods, to throwing grenades, laying mines, and even mortars.

Realistic, unrealistic, scientific, sci-fi...

Countless crazy thoughts intertwined in Chen Zhou's mind, becoming a tangled mess.

Helplessly, in order to suppress his chaotic thoughts, Chen Zhou could only gulp down a large bottle of rum, and then fell into a deep sleep in full happiness.

……

"Simplified Production Method of Explosive Materials" only provides a method. There is still a long way to go from the method to its implementation and practice.

On May 5, Chen Zhou, who had regained consciousness, realized this and followed the plan to prioritize the unfinished tasks and complete them one by one. As for this book that was worth more than ten thousand taels of gold and could change the fate of a country in this era, Chen Zhou planned to study it slowly.

His chemical knowledge had long been buried deep in his memory. If he didn't want any accidents to occur in the subsequent manufacturing process, he still had to study the entire book carefully and understand the principles.

And in the process of learning, he may be able to recall some chemistry knowledge of the 21st century and produce some unexpected surprises.

……

He hid his inner joy with a calm poker face.

In the following days, Chen Zhou stayed in the forging room during the day, studying how to forge gun parts, cast Minié bullets using the lost wax method, or make more advanced copper bullets.

At night, he read by candlelight, taking notes as he studied, striving to regain the knowledge that had once slipped from his mind.

……

Of course, he did not delay the construction of the watchtower and beacon tower.

In fact, this should have officially started as soon as the dry season began, which is mid-April.

However, there were too many accidents in the process, and the two natives did not know much about carpentry and masonry work. They could not complete the project independently without Chen Zhou's supervision, and the project was delayed until the end of May.

The large indigenous tribe mentioned on Sunday had not yet landed on the island to investigate the situation, so Chen Zhou had already relaxed his vigilance a little.

He felt that the natives who could not get enough food might be caught up in a new round of conflict over resources and would have no time to care about the large number of people and two canoes that disappeared inexplicably. It was obviously unnecessary to build a watchtower at this time.

But since the plan had been made early and it was a matter of life and death, Chen Zhou ultimately could not give up, regardless of whether it was useful or not.

He took the time to lead two natives to carry building materials, select a suitable location, and build a tall watchtower and a relatively short and solid beacon tower halfway up the mountain.

The workload of the entire project was not too large, but it still took a lot of time.

It was already the end of May, and by the time the watchtower and beacon tower were completed, it would be close to mid-June.

And it’s not enough to just build the watchtower and beacon tower. Chen Zhou must teach the two natives how to use these facilities.

For example, if you want to observe the distance from a watchtower, it is no use just standing there. You need to use a telescope to look down from above and observe abnormalities on the sand and sea in the distance.

To use a beacon tower, one needs to know how to use firewood with high humidity to light a bonfire so that black smoke can rise into the sky to warn companions in the distance.

……

Chen Zhou was under time pressure, but fortunately, using the telescope and lighting the beacon tower were not complicated matters.

Moreover, the "merchant ship" that brought him the first pot of gold had a large number of telescopes of various qualities, so he didn't feel bad at all about giving away two of them.

I taught them casually on Saturday and Sunday morning. I saw the two of them holding a monocular telescope, closing one eye and looking into the distance, having a lot of fun.

Concerned about the manufacture of firearms, Chen Zhou hurriedly left the mountainside where he had wasted much of his time and returned to the cave.

……

He has been studying the design and manufacture of new firearms for more than just a day or two.

Not to mention anything else, there are dozens of design drawings he has drawn by hand. To date, Chen Zhou has formed a complete idea in his mind.

This time, the firearm he was going to make would no longer be a simple modified matchlock or flintlock, it had a more advanced prototype——

Hall Model 1819 breech-loading flintlock rifle.

This flintlock rifle was the world's first mass-produced military breech-loading rifle. It was patented in 1811 and officially entered service in 1819.

It has several significant advantages.

First of all, the loading speed of a breech-loading rifle is several times faster than that of a muzzle-loading rifle, which can greatly increase the rate of fire and quickly pour bullets on the enemy.

Secondly, the bolt of Hall's breech-loading gun can be disassembled at any time, and in an emergency, it can be removed and used as a pistol.

Due to its simple rifling, the range and accuracy of Hall's breech-loading rifle have been greatly improved. As far as Chen Zhou knows, its effective range can reach 500~700 yards.

In the 17th century, this range was even more terrifying than a cannon.

It means that as long as there is no protection, within 400 meters, every bullet fired out is the roar of the god of death, which can reap the enemy's life at will.

The seamless barrel used by Chen Zhou has better performance than the Hall breech-loader, but its caliber is too small.

He estimated that if he could successfully manufacture Minié bullets of the right caliber, the effective range of this improved "Hall's breech-loading rifle" would probably be further extended.

……

Of course, the Hall breech-loader is a 19th century firearm after all. Its design did have its merits at the time, but it also inevitably had many shortcomings.

The most prominent one is that the gap between the bolt and the barrel will cause excessive leakage of gunpowder gas, and there is even a safety hazard of gunpowder leaking into the bolt mechanism.

In addition, the sights of the Hall-type breech-loading rifle are also rather anti-human, being located on the left side of the receiver, so when shooting at long distances, there is a high probability of a "trajectory deviating to the left" problem.

……

Since he wanted to improve the Hall-type breech-loading rifle, Chen Zhou planned to solve these two defects at once.

In fact, this is not difficult, because whether it is the leakage of gunpowder gas or the sight on the left side of the receiver, it is all caused by the detachable bolt.

In the 19th century, when forced into close combat, being able to remove the bolt and use it as a pistol might have been an advantage.

But in the 18th century when ultra-long-range strikes were possible, this advantage was unnecessary. If the enemy really got close to you, a machete would be less effective in dismantling the bolt.

What's more, the detachable bolt brings more defects, and it is not worth it to stick to this design.

……

By changing the detachable bolt into an integrated one, the sight can be installed directly in front of the barrel.

The problem of breech leakage is easier to solve.

Since vulcanized rubber did not appear until 1850, when the Hall-type breech-loading rifle was mass-produced and installed, no one had thought of using rubber sealing rings to solve the problem of air leakage.

At that time, people often resorted to a more expensive solution - metal bullet sleeves.

However, metal cartridge cases are slow to process and expensive to manufacture, and although they can solve the breech sealing problem, they cannot be promoted on a large scale.

When it comes to Chen Zhou, the sealing problem is easily solved.

No, he has rubber!
The problems of breech leakage and sights were solved and the shortcomings of the barrel were made up. It can be said that as long as qualified bullets can be produced, the power of this improved Hall-type breech-loading rifle will be no less than most rifles of the First World War.

More importantly, the advantages of the Hall-type breech-loading rifle itself can also be retained - loading speed and shooting accuracy.

Chen Zhou vaguely remembered that during the era when the Hall-type breech-loading rifle was widely deployed, an experiment was conducted within the military.

A company of 38 infantrymen, armed with Hall's breech-loading rifles, muzzle-loading smoothbore muskets and muzzle-loading rifled rifles, conducted ten minutes of free firing at targets 100 yards away.

The muzzle-loading rifle fired about 500 bullets in these ten minutes, with a hit rate of 33%.

The muzzle-loading musket fired 850 bullets, with a hit rate of only a pitiful 25%.

The Hall-type breech-loading rifle not only fired 1200 rounds of bullets, but also had a hit rate of 36%, which means it shot quickly and accurately.

As the world's first industrially mass-produced breech-loading rifle, Chen Zhou believes that history has proven the value of this gun.

He will also use his brain and efforts to make the improved Hall-type breech-loading rifle a nightmare for the enemy in this more advanced era. (End of this chapter)