open sea

Chapter 186 After Effects
Wang Rulong, the savior, made Chen Mu feel blocked all the way.

Back in Xiangshan, looking at the craftsmen of the Armament Bureau kneeling all over the floor, the mood that had been relieved just now became even more blocked.

"What are you doing, get up!"

With Guan Yuangu's head on his head, the old craftsman prostrated himself on the ground and trembled. It was obvious that the news of the cannon explosion in this battle had spread, which made all the craftsmen panic.

Gunpowder craftsman Xu Erjin and a few gunpowder apprentices under his command stood far away to watch the fun. His gunpowder was fine, it was all about the gunpowder.

"Get up, why do you have nothing to do, get up!" Chen Mu's scalp felt numb as he knelt down. He didn't want to blame anyone, but these craftsmen had good eyesight, "Carpenter Guan followed me to the Armament Bureau .”

Chen Mu didn't want to convict or punish. The artillery has done a lot of service in the battle. Although it has only fired less than 100 artillery pieces, it is very useful. If it wasn't for the artillery's close to [-]% explosion rate after use, this would have been excellent. The guns are suitable even if they are installed on the ship.

After walking into the Weapons Bureau and asking people to close the gate, Chen Mu asked Guan Yuangu with a calm face: "Guan Jiang, what's the matter with the new cannon, it shouldn't explode like this!"

The sullen face was not because of anger, but because of genuine doubts.

"Don't beg, I didn't blame you, just tell me about the casting of the cannon."

Chen Mu has been trying to make the cannon, but he didn't watch the process of casting the cannon a few times, because he thought that the craftsman must know more than him, but now he must understand what the problem is.

"It's all because the old man wanted to be fast. Qianhu said that it should be light and the shells should be big, so he came up with the three hundred catties and five catties gun..." Guan Yuangu complained again when he opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Chen Mu, "Just As for how the cannon was made, it must have been done in another way.”

"The gunsmith said that three hundred catties can only make two catties of guns, but the old man refused to listen, and insisted on making them five catties of guns, which made them come up with the idea of ​​making wrought iron cores and casting iron skins to fool the soldiers. If you want to blame, you can blame the old man, the old man is not good at monitoring!"

"Wrought iron core, cast iron skin?"

Chen Mu understood, waved his hand and said: "It's not your fault, it's my fault for walking away. Now it's not anyone's fault. It's right to find the problem and solve it, and make a good gun. I just want to know why this wrought iron was used. Core making and pig iron casting can make a three-hundred-jin cannon fire five-jin bullets, and it takes a few rounds before it explodes."

"Wrought iron is tough, but pig iron is hard. It might be better to pour copper on the outside. Someone tried pouring iron on a copper core before, but the copper softened quickly, and it shrank inward after melting. It couldn't be made." Guan Yuan listened to Chen Mu's meaning. Don't pursue it, feel much more relieved, and explained to Chen Mu eloquently: "This time the guns exploded. I think it may be because it is not easy to see that there is a problem with the wrought iron after pouring the iron sheet. When there is a problem, it will be blown up directly."

The melting point of copper is lower than that of iron, and the shrinkage rate of copper is even greater. If copper is used as a core, it will definitely break... Chen Mu's eyes lit up, and his craftsmen went astray again.

Iron core and copper shell, not copper core and iron shell, of course, if the cost performance is considered, this kind of artillery with wrought iron core and pig iron shell is obviously not bad.

It is nothing more than that the bore becomes smaller or continues to thicken.

"It's okay. There will be enough time for Guan Jiang to build new guns. This time, Chen will not set the weight of the guns for you. There are two types of infantry guns, two catties and five catties, and boat guns with ten catties. When planting cannons, first do it according to the thickness, no matter what craft you use, whether it is pig iron wrapped with wrought iron, copper skin and iron frame, or even an all-copper cannon, it will not hurt to try."

"Someone in the Military Weapons Bureau will figure out how much these types of guns cost, and make them lighter bit by bit. Use copper and iron, don't care about using the ones in the library, or go to Haojing to find Li Dan Huayu, and let them pay for the Fanren. Buy it and make one that can be fired with three hundred guns without exploding—how long will it take?"

As soon as Chen Mu started talking, Guan Yuangu called the clerk of the Military Weapons Bureau to record. How many kilograms does the cannon weigh?

He really suffered from the craftsman. In this era, craftsmen rarely know how to discuss with the chief.

Chen Mu figured out one thing with four broken cannons, even if it was him, the craftsman didn't dare to discuss it with him.No matter how long he asked for it to be produced, or how heavy the cannon should be, the last cannon must have been so heavy at this time.

Craftsmen dare not make changes without authorization. If the chief understands these things and the requirements he put forward are in line with the regulations, there may be good finished products in the end; What comes out in the end can only be the closed cannon that can barely be fired, and a battle is blown into a pile of scrap iron waiting to be returned to the furnace.

"can!"

Guan Yuangu still had the confidence to think about the regulation of one cannon for three months. He saluted and said, "Don't worry, Qianhu. Within three months, I will be able to make a two-jin cannon! I can make three hundred cannons!"

Chen Mu nodded. There should be some allowance for this time in his prediction. He only needs Guan Yuangu to make a few suitable cannons with different techniques, such as bronze cannon, brass cannon, pig iron cannon, cast iron cannon, etc. A few guns that can fire [-] guns, he will come to compare them at that time.

Naturally, the cost is quite high, but he can bear it, not only the [-] bolts of silk and satin allocated by Zhang Han, but also the silk and satin woven by Xiangshan. The money in the Xiangshan treasury can cover the consumption of cannons.

Copper and iron are not considered expensive items for Chen Junye, a thousand households in Xiangshan.

A hundred catties of cooked Jiantie is two taels of silver, and even Sugang is only three taels of silver per hundred catties.

Copper is slightly more expensive, raw copper is five taels a hundred catties; yellow cooked copper and red cooked copper are ten taels a hundred catties.

Only the whole copper cannon is expensive. If it is used to build a ship cannon, it may cost more than a hundred taels for a thousand catty cannon. Chen Mu can afford the other costs.

"There is another thing, Guan Jiang is waiting for me to look for it." Chen Mu flipped through the notes, and after finding it, he said to Guan Yuangu: "When shooting shotguns, the noodles are too messy, and it is inevitable to be scattered when you use bags or big bamboo tubes to fight. , make a wooden breech support, wrap an iron sheet around it, make a cylinder slightly thinner than the muzzle, cover the top with a thin pig iron sheet, and seal thirty round bullets inside, and use cast iron balls to make this bullet and It’s as heavy as a big bomb, so it’s easy to do.”

"The same three kinds, two catties, five catties, ten catties, in preparation for the artillery in the future."

This is not a difficult request, it is very easy, Guan Yuangu readily agreed, saying: "Don't worry, Qianhu, this is easy to do."

Chen Mu nodded and walked out of the Military Weapons Bureau. After crossing the threshold, he suddenly turned his head and said to Guan Yuangu: "If you fire a few shots on the artillery field, there will be problems. The top and bottom of the Military Weapons Bureau can't escape the blame. It's the first offender. The salary is three months, and the steward's fine salary is half a year, and we supervise each other to see the effect."

"If the new cannon is well made and suitable for use, the craftsman will pay back his salary. In addition, there will be rewards. You pass it on to the craftsman Guan and inform all the craftsmen—the remade cannon will blow up if it can't be fired."

　The price of copper and iron comes from "Wanli Accounting Record" and "Wanshu Miscellaneous Records". The purchasing power of silver is still very strong!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)