Ming Dynasty: Tanks blocked the door and you said to me, "Long live Ming Dynasty"

"When the cannonball is sent into the barrel, under the action of its gravity and inertia, the sharp rod pierces the copper sheet and ignites the sulfur coated inside the ring!"

"This will ignite the propellant!"

"No, you may not understand what I mean just by saying it, I will make a small sample!"

Zhu Youxiao was very excited. He left Xu Guangqi and ran to the bookshelf nearby and took out carpentry tools and a piece of wood.

This was the discovery he had just made, that although he failed to inherit the memories in Zhu Youxiao's brain, he inherited his intramuscular memory!

Carpentry work is easy!

The wood in Zhu Youxiao's hand was a piece of paulownia wood, which was very soft in texture. It was extremely easy to plan or shave without a wheel.

It only took him half an hour to produce a mortar shell with a balancing tail fin.

The shells also come with a strange firing device.

He pointed at the object again, repeated his thoughts, and looked at Xu Guangqi eagerly and asked.

"Lord Xu, do you understand what I mean?"

When Xu Guangqi saw the real thing, how could he not understand it?

He nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand! Please give me a note, Your Majesty, so that I can go to the Ministry of Works and ask someone to make a trial version!"

Chapter 29 If this thing gets out, I will skin you alive!

"No! This thing can't be made in the Ministry of Industry!"

When Zhu Youxiao heard Xu Guangqi's request, he shook his head decisively and refused.

"I'll let Wang Tiqian go with you!"

"Whoever you think is suitable, bring him to the palace tomorrow!"

"There doesn't need to be too many people. It's best not to exceed ten, and they have to have families!"

Xu Guangqi reacted instantly: "Your Majesty is wise, I was careless!"

If this thing could be made, it would definitely be a killing weapon on the battlefield!

Now, in addition to the red cannon, the nine frontiers are equipped with the falconet cannon and the tiger squat cannon.

Although the Red Cannon and the Portuguese Cannon had a long range, they were extremely heavy.

The Tiger Crouching Cannon is lightweight, but its range is less than a mile. To put it bluntly, this thing is just a large shotgun!

The mortar can just fill the gap between the red cannon and the tiger crouching cannon!

One person can carry it and run away after hitting it. If he is killed by a bomb, he won’t know who did it…

The most important thing is that this thing can be designed just by looking at the drawings, and its cost is incredibly low compared to the Red Cannon!

So it can’t be kept too secret!

After Xu Guangqi and Wei Zhongxian left, Zhu Youxiao called Wei Zhongxian to his side again.

"Have someone clear out a few rooms in the East Factory right now. If this gets out, I'll skin you alive!"

Wei Zhongxian was stunned at first, then nodded frantically.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty! I know the importance of this!"

The next morning, Zhu Youxiao and Xu Guangqi appeared in the East Factory together. In addition to the two of them, there were ten craftsmen selected from the Ministry of Works and cartloads of materials.

The entire East Depot was on unprecedented alert. In addition to the East Depot's guards, there were also a large number of Jinyiwei roaming around the periphery.

The common people didn't understand what was going on and thought that some prince had committed a crime, causing the emperor to come to the East Factory to interrogate him. They all consciously avoided him and walked around him.

In a remote courtyard inside the East Factory, all the tools needed for forging were available. They were all brought in overnight by Wei Zhongxian.

Zhu Youxiao was very pleased with this, so he slapped him in the face.

The slap was very light. Wei Zhongxian smiled like an old dog and stood aside nodding and bowing.

Tian Ergeng was standing nearby and couldn't help feeling jealous when he saw this scene.

Now the rumor has spread in the palace that ever since the emperor was reprimanded by the ancestor, he has become particularly fond of slapping people in the face.

However, when it comes to beating people, there are different levels of severity.

If there were fingerprints on the face, there was no doubt that the emperor was angry.

But if your face doesn't even turn red, it means the emperor is very happy and you just need to wait to receive your reward!

After Zhu Youxiao rewarded Wei Zhongxian, he pointed at the pile of tools and asked Xu Guangqi and the craftsmen.

"How about this, are these things still usable?"

Xu Guangqi was not a blacksmith, but he understood it. After discussing with the craftsmen, they all agreed that Wei Zhongxian was well prepared.

There was no need for Zhu Youxiao to emphasize the confidentiality of the matter. Xu Guangqi and the others had already said everything that needed to be said. Moreover, this was the East Factory, and they all knew the seriousness of the matter before coming in.

After confirming that the tools can be used, the craftsmen began to work.

A large amount of charcoal was put into the stove that was just built last night.

The mud used for this stove is not ordinary yellow mud, but a mixture of clay and alumina.

Of course, the craftsmen at that time did not know what alumina was. They only knew that it was extremely heat-resistant.

The method Xu Guangqi adopted was the lost wax casting method.

The lost wax method is the only casting method currently available that can produce precision workpieces without cutting. Even in later generations, this casting method is still in use.

Seeing the craftsmen carving the wax blocks, Zhu Youxiao also became interested. He asked someone to bring another set of tools, changed his dragon robe and started carving himself.

Everyone knew about the emperor's hobby. Although the craftsmen were frightened, they were more excited!

Which dynasty's craftsmen had the honor of working with the emperor?

Just for this, let alone being locked up in the East Factory, I would even offer my butt to the emperor!

It is easier to carve wax than wood, but it is also very easy to make mistakes. If you use a little more force, you will dig a hole in it. But it doesn’t matter. You can melt some wax to fill the hole and then repair it after it solidifies.

I did it once yesterday using Paulownia wood, and today I only need to make the firing mechanism and the tail ring of the shell.

The finished wax model needs to be wrapped with clay, leaving only a small hole, and then used after drying in the shade.

Obviously, this cannot be accomplished in a short period of time.

So Zhu Youxiao squeezed in with the craftsmen and started to work with them on making substitute candles.

That is, matches.

The craftsmen took out sulfur, smeared it on wooden sticks, and took flints to rub them together.

It was not until then that Zhu Youxiao discovered that this thing was different from matches!

That is, after the friction between sulfur and flint, the fire rate is not high!

You have to try it eight or ten times before you succeed occasionally.

This is not the result he wants!

"Master Xu, this method won't work!"

He looked at Xu Tianqi with some disappointment.

Xu Tianqi was a little dazed, not because he was not able to replace Zhu, but because Zhu Youxiao's way of addressing him had changed from beloved minister to master!

The word "Master" may be just an ordinary honorific in later generations.

But in this era, it is extremely formal!

He quickly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I am unworthy of this!"

"The wise are my teachers. You know more than me in this area, so I should call you Master!"

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand nonchalantly and continued.

"If this thing can be accomplished, I will announce it to the world and appoint you as the Prince's tutor!"

Xu Guangqi was stunned when he heard this, Prince's tutor?

That's the second rank!

More importantly, this is the significance of this official position!

That is the existence second only to the Three Dukes!

Under normal circumstances, only cabinet officials can receive this honor!

What literati value most is reputation!

He quickly bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty, thank you for your grace!"

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. Even if it costs me my life, I will definitely accomplish this for Your Majesty!"

Zhu Youxiao smiled. It was worth it to exchange Xu Guangqi's unwavering devotion for an empty reputation!

As for salary?

That’s only a few dollars!

Xu Guangqi was very straightforward. Seeing that Zhu Youxiao was not satisfied with Dai Zhu's method, he simply asked someone to go back to his home and bring back a large number of ancient books.

These ancient books not only include those on smelting and gunpowder, but also some are Taoist books and even medical books!

Upon seeing this, Zhu Youxiao quietly left the yard. This kind of thing only required a flash of inspiration.

Flash it and it's done.

If you don't dodge, you can only wait.

But as soon as he stepped out of the yard with his left foot, Xu Guangqi's voice came from behind him.

"flint!"

"Your Majesty, you can try flint!"

"Although Suishi cannot be shaped, we can try to grind it into powder and stick it on the firing machine!"

"At the same time, stick iron filings and gunpowder filings in the tail ring of the shell!"

"In this way, the sparks produced by the collision of flint and iron filings are enough to ignite the gunpowder filings!"

Chapter 30 Donglin Party

Fuck!

How could I forget about flint!

I had clearly tried out the flintlock rifle in the Shenji Camp a few days ago!

Zhu Youxiao quickly turned around, returned to the yard, and gave orders to Wei Zhongxian.

"What are you standing there for? Go find the flint!"

He was not sure whether the method Xu Guangqi mentioned would work, but it was at least a rare solution.

Wei Zhongxian acted quickly and soon had someone get a whole box of flint from the Ministry of Works.

This thing is mostly gray or black, and is a variant of quartzite. According to its form in the vein, it can also be divided into layered flint and nodule flint.

Layered flint is often found in association with clays containing phosphorus or manganese, while nodular flint is often found in limestone.

Seeing these flints, Zhu Youxiao naturally thought of the record about them in the geography book. He suddenly thought of something, picked up a piece of flint, and said to Wei Zhongxian: "Send someone to find out where these flint mines come from!"

"If it was mined from a rock, that's fine. But if it was dug out from the soil, report it immediately!"

Wei Zhongxian didn't understand what was going on, so he immediately sent someone to do it.

Seeing this, Xu Guangqi asked curiously, "Your Majesty, why is this happening?"

Zhu Youxiao laughed: "Master Xu, you may not know that this clay coexisting with flint is a good thing!"

"The clay contains a mineral that we haven't used yet. If we add it to ironware, it can greatly increase the toughness and hardness of the ironware!"

"If the ratio is right, even cutting iron into mud will be no problem!"

Manganese steel alloy!

This is material that can be used to make machine tool tools!