Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 294 Making Guns
After the silver was distributed, the soldiers dispersed. Ambassador Cang, along with the treasury's guards and their subordinates, returned with the donkey carrying the silver. Only He Shixian, Sun Chuanting, and the servants who had been left behind as guards remained on the martial arts field.

"Let's go, it's almost time for dinner. Don't just sit here and stare blankly." He Shixian came to Sun Chuanting's side, twisting his waist as he spoke. He had been sitting on the stage for half a day, and his waist was sore from sitting.

"I hope we won't be caught. How about we go and say hello to Yang Zhongcheng before he finds out?" Sun Chuanting felt rather uneasy. He always felt that he had been led astray by He Shixian, becoming a ruthless old soldier.

"Kid, don't be so honest. Learn to be flexible! Besides, we didn't put the money in our own pockets. It's still in the vault, so it'll be fine." He Shixian still looked as if it was a matter of fact. "The same thing goes, if we don't do this, where will the extra money come from? Is it for the sake of empty salary or for embezzlement?"

Hungry soldiers cannot fight. When food is insufficient, if you want to pay the living enough, you have to let the dead continue to lie on the list and receive their wages.

"Report this to the court and ask them to make a separate copy for it," said Sun Chuanting.

"Naive." He Shixian shrugged and said, "Maybe in the future, but definitely not now."

"What do you mean?" Sun Chuanting was puzzled.

"The imperial court's military pay is regulated. If you want to increase spending, you have to show some military achievements or prove it," He Shixian said. "It's like the human head merit. I can say all the bad things about it. But if we don't have it, won't whatever the subordinates report count?"

"How do we prove the spy's contribution?" Sun Chuanting asked.

"There's no way to prove it. We can only rely on you writers to add to the story when we report our achievements. Write a few more good words." He Shixian said, "For example, after recaptured a captured city or even captured a bandit's lair, you could write a few more words to praise the method." He Shixian patted Sun Chuanting on the back. "Let's go."

Sun Chuanting stood up, but before he could say anything, He Shixian continued:
"But even that's difficult. After all, the Emperor is in the palace, and even if he wants to know about things happening a million miles away, he can only rely on memorials. You and the Emperor are not related, so why would he trust your words? Even if it is finally accomplished, it will take at least two to three years."

"."Sun Chuanting was silent.

"Evenate it, adjust it. The government has its own powers, and we have ours. When you were the county magistrate, you must have collected the embezzlement and taken what you should have. As long as you have a clear conscience, that's all that matters."

"Alas." Sun Chuanting sighed. He felt that he was losing his bottom line. "Then let's just do it this way for now."

He Shixian couldn't help but feel a little proud when he saw this well-read young man being persuaded by his words. "If you're really scared, I can treat you to a drink to calm your nerves."

He Shixian chuckled and tried to put his arm around Sun Chuanting's shoulders. However, Sun Chuanting dodged him. "I won't drink. The military situation is getting tense, so you can't drink either."

"Even if I get rich, I can't hide it under the covers and not use it, right?" He Shixian shrugged. "Otherwise, what would I do with this shitty money?"

"Watch a play, listen to music. Do whatever you like. But don't drink." Sun Chuanting said, "It's Zuo Tang's military order not to let you drink. Military orders are like mountains, I cannot disobey."

"What's the point of watching a play or listening to music without a drink?" He Shixian was really craving a drink. "Just pretend you don't know."

"Don't know what?" The two walked side by side to the entrance of the martial arts field and happened to run into Yang Lian who came to look for Sun Chuanting.

Sun Chuanting's scalp trembled. "Nothing, nothing. He wanted to drink, but Zuo Tang wouldn't let him."

Yang Lian had also heard of the notoriety of "He Jiu Maniacs" who lost themselves in the moment of drinking, so he advised, "Drinking too much is harmful to your health. I heard that the Emperor has given up drinking. Why can't you learn from him?"

Yang Lian used the emperor as an example, which stunned He Shixian. After a moment, he could only smile and say, "Why are you here?"

"I want to take advantage of the dark to visit the workshop where the bird guns are made. Would you like the commander to come with me?" Yang Lian instinctively sensed some shady secret between the two men, but he didn't ask any further questions. He had already decided to stay in Shenyang for a while, and during that time, he would routinely inspect the silver vault, granary, and arsenal.

"Okay." He Shixian responded immediately.

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To facilitate management and inspection, and to minimize the possibility of Jiannu spies spying or sabotaging, Sun Chuanting designated an area away from the gunpowder depot as a centralized location for blacksmiths. This area housed the craftsmen who smelted iron, crafted armor, forged spearheads, forged swords, and even forged small cannons.

It was very noisy here. Before they arrived, they could hear the clanging sound of iron hammering.

Unlike the blacksmith shops in Haizhou Market, the blacksmith shops in Shenyang didn't sell weapons, and at the moment, they weren't making farm tools either, so the front and back doors were all closed. However, the fences of the houses weren't very high, so a normal-sized adult could see what was going on inside without even having to approach.

Flanked by several personal guards, the three men entered the guarded area unhindered, but their arrival didn't cause much of a commotion. The craftsmen knew the situation well; high-ranking officials would be received by their own officials, and as long as they didn't stay in their own shops, it wouldn't be a big deal.

They had only been strolling around for a short while when they were greeted by the guard officer in charge of the area. If anything went wrong here, his head would be the first to be chopped off.

"I pay my respects to Marshal He, Minister Yang, and Director Sun." The guard officer bowed respectfully to each of them.

"Central Minister Yang wants to inspect the shop that makes muskets. Secretary Li, lead the way," said Sun Chuanting.

"Yes. This way, please." Li Chenshu was from the Tieling Li clan, the same lineage as Li Chengliang, tracing their ancestor back to Emperor Gaozu Li Ying, who fled from Korea in the early Ming dynasty and submitted to the Ming. When Li Chengliang was in power, his life was relatively comfortable, relaxed and comfortable. However, after the Li clan was shattered by Nurhaci, he was forced to live in fear.

"Central Minister Yang, the artisans in this alley all make firearms." Li Chenshu led the group to a small area guarded by guards. Forty or fifty households were lined up side by side, creating a high density. But compared to the sword, gun, and armor shop, it was much quieter.

"Okay." Yang Lian picked one at random and walked over.

Before he knocked on the door, the blacksmith inside had noticed these officials in red robes. Seeing that they were about to come closer for a closer look, he took the initiative to come over to greet them with his family, young and old, who were working in the yard.

The door to the backyard was closed but not bolted, and it opened with just a slight push.

"I bow to all the gentlemen." The old blacksmith, who was in charge, only knew Li Chenshu and his yamen runners, and was unfamiliar with the imperial uniform. But he was clever enough. Seeing Li Chenshu's servile manner, he knew that the other officials present must be more prominent than Li Chenshu, so he smoothly changed "Mr. Li" to "all the gentlemen." "Stand up and speak." Yang Lian glanced at He Shixian, seeing that he had no intention of speaking, so he spoke himself.

"Thank you, sir." The old blacksmith kowtowed again before getting up from the ground. Now he knew which sir he should talk to.

"Are all your family members here?" Yang Lian took a quick look and found that in addition to the old blacksmith, there were two adult men, an adult woman and a little boy under the age of 18 in the yard.

The old blacksmith was stunned for a moment. "In reply to your question, sir, they are all here. These are my two sons, this is my grandson, and this is my eldest wife."

"Hmm." Yang Lian's eyes flickered slightly. It seemed the mistress of this house had passed away.

"Do you have any finished muskets?" Yang Lian asked, "Show them to me."

The old blacksmith did not move, but looked at Li Qianshu behind Yang Lian.

"No?" Yang Lian asked.

"Zhongcheng, he only makes gun barrels here. The stocks are carved by carpenters. There is also a special person in charge of the assembly, and there are no finished guns." Li Qianshu valued his work and his brain very much, and did not dare to slack off at all, so he was very clear about everything in his jurisdiction.

Yang Lian nodded slightly and said, "Then show me the finished gun barrel."

"Yes." The old blacksmith took the order, turned around and asked his eldest son to get it.

Soon, the eldest son brought in several long iron pipes. "Dad."

"What are you doing for me? Let the master see it." The old blacksmith took an iron pipe from his arm and held it in front of Yang Lian like a treasure. "Master, this child has never been to school and is stupid. Please forgive him."

"That's all right." Yang Lian took the iron pipe from the old blacksmith with a smile. While examining it, he asked, "Isn't this a finished product?"

"Master, you have a keen eye. This is indeed not the finished product. We have already submitted the latest finished product." said the old blacksmith.

Li Qianshu added: "The finished product has been used to make guns. Only one batch has been produced so far."

"How long does it take to make a suitable gun barrel?" Yang Lian asked the blacksmith.

"In reply to the master's question," the old blacksmith calculated silently and said, "About a month."

"Why does it take so long?" Yang Lian asked.

"It's like this," the old blacksmith said, "To make a gun barrel, you first need to make a long iron rod about the size of your little finger as the cold frame. Then, you hammer a layer of fine iron around the cold frame. The fine iron is then hammered together in three sections. When the sections are joined together, the joints must be red. Once the three sections are combined, you'll get the one you have in your hand." The old blacksmith pointed to the long iron barrel in Yang Lian's hand and continued,
"It won't take long to hammer it out. As long as we have all the iron materials, we can hammer one out in two or three days. The trouble is the subsequent drill pipe." The old blacksmith stretched out his rough little finger again.

"The drill pipe needs to be slowly rotated with a four-sided steel cone as thick as your little finger. Only when the inside of the pipe is rotated cleanly can the gunpowder be dispensed without obstruction. This will waste a lot of time." The old blacksmith then instructed his youngest son, "Go, show the bow drill and steel cone to the master."

"I see." Yang Lian nodded and then asked, "Are there any differences between those Western guns and the guns you originally made?"

The old blacksmith said, "It's not that different. A bird gun is just like that. The only difference is that we used to fix the barrel to the wooden stock with rivets, but the new bird gun uses two copper hoops. I don't assemble it, so I don't know what's so good about it. But since it's a tribute to the emperor, it must have its advantages."

Compared with riveting, the biggest advantage of copper hoop bundling is that it is convenient, saves steps and saves time.

As he spoke, the old blacksmith's youngest son also brought over the bow drill and steel awl. The old blacksmith picked up an unfinished gun barrel from his eldest son's arm and stood it on the ground, then directed his youngest son to come over and signal Yang Lian.

"When drilling, you need to use a platform to fix it underneath. And then do it like this. It will take about 30 days no matter how fast or slow it is." The old blacksmith said finally.

"Yes, I understand." Yang Lian had previously arrived and left quickly, focusing mostly on the army itself. His logistics checks focused solely on the weapons, silver, and grain depots. Even when he had time to inspect the craftsmanship, he'd only peruse the details, seeing the order was in good order and not asking any further questions. Therefore, only now had he thoroughly inquired into the process of making the gun barrels at the factory.

"Okay, I have no more questions. You guys go ahead and do your work." Yang Lian handed the gun barrel back to the old blacksmith, then bowed to the family.

Yang Lian's gesture of respecting the virtuous and humble immediately made the old blacksmith's heart boil. This was a high-ranking official in red clothes. With this topic of conversation, he could brag to his old friends in the neighborhood for a long time.

However, the old blacksmith didn't dare to be arrogant. Without waiting for the officials to turn around, he knelt down with his entire family, both men and women. He kowtowed and said, "Farewell, gentlemen."

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As soon as they left the house, Yang Lian asked Li Chenshu, "How much silver would it cost to make a musket like this?"

Li Qianshu replied: "It can only be estimated, it is difficult to verify it in detail."

"That's fine. Just go by the estimate." Yang Lian waved his hand.

Li Qianshu calculated silently and said, "Totaling the cost of iron, lead, hemp rope, paint, and the craftsmen's labor and rice, a bird gun, including the gun barrel and gunpowder, would cost between one and a half to two taels of silver per gun." The wood for the gun stocks was cut by the idle soldiers who went out of the city to make the wood for the gun barrels, gun barrels, sword handles, shields, and other items. However, Li Qianshu did not include the cost of the soldiers' labor and the cost of fodder for the draft animals in his calculations.

"Is the cost so high?" Yang Lian looked at Li Chenshu with a critical eye. "I remember during the Wanli period, the cost of the bird gun reported to the Ministry of War by Jizhen was only around one or two taels of silver." As a former military official, Yang Lian was all too familiar with these matters.

Li Chenshu's face changed slightly. "That's the number I calculated. You just heard it. It takes a month to make a gun barrel. If you convert the labor hours for this barrel into food, it would cost six coins of silver. And the barrel itself has to be made from ten pounds of coarse iron to make one pound of fine iron. Otherwise, it might explode. You can ask about all this. If you still don't believe me, then go search my house and see if I'm hiding anything or withholding anything."

(End of this chapter)