Ming Dynasty: I am truly not the Emperor of Longevity

Blackwood Cliff, on the martial arts training ground.

Li Dali pulled the trigger, and the hammer, holding flint, fell, scraping sparks on the iron plate above the gunpowder pool and igniting the black powder powder in the pool.

boom!

A lead bullet flew from the muzzle and left a large hole through a thick wooden board ten paces away.

"Yes, that's the power!"

Wu Nian took the short flintlock pistol from Li Dali and examined it carefully.

"That day at the Marquis of Wuding's residence, the short-barreled musket in Zhu Houyu's hand was almost exactly the same as this one."

Moreover, that musket did not require an open flame to ignite the gunpowder.

This short-barreled musket has a hammer with a clip, and several flints are placed next to it. We can easily figure out how it is ignited.

The various parts of the musket were also designed by Protector Zhao, who then had them forged by the blacksmiths on Blackwood Cliff before assembling them himself.

The Ming army was equipped with various types of firearms, and we also have quite a few. However, whether it is a hand cannon or a three-barreled cannon, it must be held in one hand and the fuse lit with an open flame in the other.

At a distance of even a little, it's impossible to aim accurately; where the bullet lands is entirely a matter of luck.

But this musket is completely different; it doesn't require an open flame to light the fuse.

Protector Zhao is truly a genius; he came up with such an ingenious design that allows the gunner to aim calmly and fire the weapon simply by pulling the trigger.

The three-barreled musket that Zhu Houyu used that day must have been equipped with some kind of firing mechanism.

Of course, the mechanism of that short gun was more sophisticated than that of the hammer with flintlock, and the three barrels could be fired individually.

We had never seen a musket that didn't require an open flame to light the fuse, and we suffered a great loss because of this.

Elder Zheng was killed in action when he was unexpectedly struck in the head by a musket.

"The Ming Dynasty had many skilled craftsmen, so it was not difficult to create an ingenious mechanism that could start a fire."

However, to create three individually ignitable mechanisms on such a small three-barreled gun requires a very high level of craftsmanship and takes a considerable amount of time.

Moreover, such a small ignition mechanism cannot withstand the explosive combustion of gunpowder.

I'm afraid that the ignition mechanism will have to be replaced every time it's used.

In other words, the cost of using Zhu Houyu's three-eyed short gun, which could fire continuously, was not low each time.

This thing is actually just an expensive toy.

As the emperor's brother, he naturally wouldn't care about such an expense.

But if it were actually used on the battlefield, who could withstand it?

Zhang Yin picked up another musket.

"The two muskets made by Zhao Xixian are more practical."

Unlike the short-barreled musket that was only about a foot long, this musket has a barrel that is three feet long. It also has a trigger, a hammer with a flint, a powder bath for igniting the gunpowder, and an iron plate on top.

In addition, there is a front sight above the muzzle and a wooden support behind the grip for aiming and shooting.

Zhang Yin was very familiar with how to load muskets, as the Taiyuan Left Guard's banner troops frequently practiced with them.

What truly sets this musket apart from ordinary muskets is that it can be ignited using a hammer that holds a flint.

After loading the musket himself, Zhang Yinping raised it, opened the hammer, rested the butt on his shoulder, aimed at the wooden target thirty paces away, and pulled the trigger.

boom!

The wooden target fell to the ground with a snap.

"This musket, when used on the battlefield, is truly a divine weapon!"

If the battle were fought on flat ground, the enemy might rush up to you while you're reloading ammunition.

But if we use it to defend Blackwood Cliff, no matter how many Ming soldiers come, they'll be sitting ducks.

Zhang Yin put down his musket and turned to look at the blacksmith leader on Blackwood Cliff.

"Were all the parts on this musket made by you for Zhao Xixian?"

"If you were to remake one of these long-barreled muskets, how long would it take to produce just one?"

"Report to the leader."

The blacksmith leader quickly replied.

"The other parts are easy to handle, but the most difficult and time-consuming part is the gun barrel."

The gun barrel that Protector Zhao ordered his servant to forge was made by first forging a steel core, then heating a wrought iron plate until it was red-hot, wrapping it around the steel core, and then hammering and rolling it into a round tube.

During the rolling process, the steel core is repeatedly pulled out and cooled to prevent it from being welded to the wrought iron.

After the wrought iron was rolled into a round tube, the previous process was repeated, and another layer was rolled on the outside before Protector Zhao nodded in approval.

After rolling out this double-layered wrought iron pipe, there is another very time-consuming and labor-intensive task to be done.

Protector Zhao ordered his servants to polish the inner wall of the iron pipe until it was shiny, leaving no protrusions or dents.

The iron pipe, less than a foot long, used on the short musket was not too difficult to grind.

This three-foot-long iron pipe is beyond the reach of ordinary grinding tools.

To polish it, Protector Zhao even instructed the younger one to forge a special tool out of fine steel, but polishing it was still very time-consuming.

The long gun barrel took a month and a half to forge from start to finish.

"This is way too slow!!"

Hearing the foreman's words, Li Dali shook his head.

"In a month or two at most, the imperial army will surround Blackwood Cliff completely."

In such a short time, even if all the blacksmiths on Blackwood Cliff worked day and night, how many gun barrels could they possibly make?

These muskets were indeed effective for defending cities, but their numbers were too small to be of much use.

"No, there's another way!"

Zhang Yin thought for a moment.

"It is indeed time-consuming and laborious to roll such a long gun barrel from wrought iron."

However, wrought iron is not the only material that can be used to make gun barrels.

We can make it with bronze!

Casting gun barrels directly from bronze is much faster than slowly rolling them from wrought iron.

Moreover, bronze is softer, making it much easier to polish the inner wall using tools made of the same steel.

In the military, ordinary firearms with fuses lit by open flames were sometimes made of bronze.

Bronze is much more ductile than iron, making it less likely to burst when used to make gun barrels.

Even if the barrel explodes, the bronze barrel will crack longitudinally, unlike the iron barrel which will shatter into pieces, thus causing much less damage to the gunner.

The only drawback of using bronze for gun barrels is that they are expensive, costing more than ten times more than those made of iron!

But for us, time is far more important than money right now!

Relay my order: transport all the copper that can be collected to Blackwood Cliff.

"Gather all the craftsmen on Blackwood Cliff and, from this day forward, dedicate all your efforts to manufacturing this long-barreled musket."

. . .

The next day, at Blackwood Cliff, in the council hall.

"Zhao Xixian was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime talent; it's such a pity."

Li Dali was fiddling with a copper monocular telescope, which he had also found at Zhao Xixian's residence.

Just then, Bai Sheng hurriedly entered the council hall with a young man.

Li Dali recognized him at a glance; he was a servant in Li Tong's courtyard.

"These days, I've been hiding in Taiyuan City."

After the leader led his army away from Taiyuan, that corrupt official Liu Nie waited two more days before finally ordering the city gates to be opened.

Upon seeing Li Dali and Zhang Yin, the young man immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times.

"After leaving the city, I rushed to Pingding Prefecture overnight and finally met the leader and the left protector."

Thanks to the protection of Maitreya Buddha, the young master and Lady Chu had already left the city before Liu Nie seized control of the gates and were not trapped inside!