There is no profit to get up early. Later generations often say that technology is the primary productive force, but Li Zhang felt that interests are the productivity that drives everything, because technology also needs to serve interests. Only technology that can bring benefits to people will be studied, otherwise it will only be shelved by people.

The same is true for muskets. Before, Judge Liu helped him create the first gun just because of his favor to return Li Zhang. However, when he saw the power of the musket, he received Li Zhang's promise that he would perform his merits in front of Liu E when he presented the musket. This immediately made Judge Liu feel like he was injected with chicken blood.

In the afternoon of the same day, Judge Liu borrowed a fast horse from Hu Yan Shouxin and ran back to Tokyo. Three days later, he brought a cart of good iron and five older blacksmiths. According to him, these blacksmiths were the most skilled blacksmiths under his command. Each of them had their own unique skills. The skills were not a little better than those of the blacksmiths who had built muskets before.

With these blacksmiths and fine irons, and the original experience in building muskets, the second and third muskets were soon built. However, these muskets cannot be said to be completely successful. There are still some defects in some places. However, Li Zhang was not in a hurry. When encountering problems, he would study solutions with the old blacksmiths to gradually improve the performance and manufacturing methods of muskets.

Time passed quickly. In a blink of an eye, the construction of the imperial tomb had been completed, and Zhao Heng's body was about to be buried. At this time, the muskets developed by Li Zhang and craftsmen finally entered the practical stage. They had studied and sorted out a set of musket manufacturing processes, and the quality of the muskets was guaranteed. For example, at the beginning, Li Zhang did not dare to test the musket himself, so he could only tie it to a tree and pulled it to a rope to shoot, but now he did not have this worry about the muskets made.

Of course, muskets still have a certain tolerance, especially the barrel. If the barrel is fired more often, even if the barrel is not blown, it will expand, resulting in a decrease in shooting accuracy and other problems. In severe cases, it may even crack. However, blasting is rare, unless the gun is not filled with too much gunpowder as required.

Originally, Li Zhang wanted to make the barrel detachable, but later he found that the technology was not met for the time being. The main reason was that the technical requirements for dismantling the barrel were too high and ordinary people could not complete it at all. It must be done by specialized craftsmen. Perhaps with the familiarity and development of technology in the future, the requirements for dismantling the barrel could be met.

Just when the musket development was initially successful, the potatoes were harvested. Potatoes could be planted for half a year or a year. In order to increase the potato planting area as soon as possible, Li Zhang chose to harvest half a year. After the harvest, the potatoes immediately germinated and then planted again. The planting area this time reached more than 200 acres. It is estimated that by the spring next year, the entire imperial village will be full of potatoes.

After planting the potatoes, Li Zhang immediately returned to Tokyo City with muskets. He first reported to Liu E about the situation of the potatoes, and also wanted to present the muskets to the court. After all, relying on his and Judge Liu's small fights alone was useless. The most important thing was to have the support of the court.

"See the Grandma!" After Li Zhang entered the palace, he went straight to the Chuigong Hall, and then bowed to Liu E. At the same time, he held a few potatoes in his hand, which was also a gift he gave to Liu E.

"How is the potato harvest this year?" Liu E also learned about Li Zhang's return in advance, and then smiled and asked.

"I have reported to the Grandma, the yield per mu of potatoes grown at the beginning of this year is more than 3,000 kilograms. This is because of the relatively large spacing between potatoes. This year, more than 200 acres have been planted. Moreover, I have planted more potatoes more densely, and the yield may increase. At this time, please check the few potatoes harvested this year!" Li Zhang raised the potatoes in the tray to his chest and said again.

At this time, an eunuch immediately took the potatoes and sent them to Liu E. Li Zhang also picked them up and looked at them for a moment. He also showed a satisfied smile on his face. The yield per mu was more than 3,000 kilograms. Although she had been mentally prepared, she couldn't help but feel very happy when she heard this number. You should know that a mu of rice yield is only about 400 kilograms, while wheat is only about 300 kilograms. This is still the yield of fertile fields. If the fields are a little worse, the yield will only be lower, while the yield of potatoes is ten times that of wheat. How can she not be surprised?

Liu E put down the potatoes in her hand, then looked at Li Zhang carefully for a moment, and then spoke again, "I'm black and thin, but I've grown a lot taller. Thank you for your hard work in the past six months!"

"Thank you for your praise, but these are what I should do!" Li Zhang said modestly again. In fact, the reason why he became dark was not because he was sunny in the fields, but because he ran to the blacksmith shop every day. It was normal for him to become darker under the smoke and fire. In addition, he has grown rapidly in the past six months and is normal for him to grow thinner.

"You did not disappoint me by taking credit for your contributions!" Liu E nodded with satisfaction again at this time.

"Empress, I actually have something to offer to the Empress when I come back this time." Li Zhang suddenly bowed again at this time.

"Oh? You haven't created any new food again, right?" Liu E couldn't help but smile when she heard this. The Huiweizhai of Li Zhang's family has become one of the most famous restaurants in Tokyo. Moreover, Li Zhang himself is proficient in cooking and often brought food to Zhao Zhen and the others in the past. During this period, Li Zhang was not here, and Zhao Zhen and Miaoyuan have been clamoring for him to come back.

"You are the Grandmaster, this time it is not food, but a weapon, to be precise, it should be a firearm!" Li Zhang said with a solemn expression. During this period, he had been considering that if the army of the Song Dynasty could be equipped with muskets, it might make up for the military weakness, and even completely reverse the current situation. It is possible to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun at that time.

"Firearm?" Liu E was stunned when she heard this. She never dreamed that Li Zhang would offer a firearm. She still had some knowledge of the firearm. After all, there were firearms in the army, but the number was small and the use was very limited.
Chapter completed!