Standing up straight, Han Du clapped his hands and popped out the gunpowder residue from between his fingernails.
"How is it?" Tao Chengdao asked quickly.
Han Du was about to shake his head, but suddenly thought that he seemed to have ignored Wan Hu's words just now. He quickly asked: "Did Wan Hu just say that the distance the gunpowder flies is about the same whether it is more or less?"
"Yes, it stands to reason that I have loaded 40% more gunpowder than before. There is no way there is no difference." Tao Chengdao's face was full of confusion.
Han Du suddenly pondered. Logically speaking, this is impossible. The more gunpowder, the greater the thrust generated by burning. However, the flying distance is about the same, which shows that in fact, the amount of gunpowder is related to the thrust generated.
Not relevant?
How can this be?
Just when Tao Chengdao looked at Han Du with hope, Han Du suddenly thought of something.
Perhaps, it is not that there is not enough gunpowder at all, but that there is too much gunpowder. On the contrary, what is not enough is oxygen? The combustion of gunpowder must require oxygen. If there is no oxygen, then loading more gunpowder is just a waste.
Han Du suddenly clapped his hands, already having a guess in his mind.
Seeing Han Du's huge reaction, Tao Chengdao's face suddenly became happy and he quickly asked: "Do you know what's going on?"
Han Du also laughed, but for the sake of safety, he still did not nod directly. Instead, he said: "I have a guess, but I don't know if it is right or not."
"Speak quickly." Tao Chengdao didn't care whether it was right or wrong, and urged Han Du to speak quickly.
The disciples of Tao Chengdao around him also turned their attention to Han Du. They thought for a long time and tried many methods but could not change the range of the fire dragon. Unexpectedly, Han Du knew the problem after just a few glances.
Where is it?
Some people don't believe it, but some people admire Han Du completely.
Han Du did not say that there was insufficient oxygen. After all, Tao Chengdao did not know what oxygen was. Instead, he said directly: "Perhaps, we can try making gunpowder into particles like sand."
"Is this enough?" Tao Chengdao felt a little confused. It was like he originally thought this was a problem that was more difficult than climbing to the sky, but now he was told by Han Du that he only needed to raise his hand gently.
can do.
It was too easy to do, which made Tao Chengdao a little undecided.
Han Du smiled and nodded, "Try it."
The reason why granular gunpowder is more powerful than powdered gunpowder is because the gaps between granular gunpowder are larger and burn more fully, so they can naturally explode with greater power.
"Okay, let's try it." Tao Chengdao trusted Han Du very much, even if he encountered something like this
He agreed to the outrageous method without hesitation.
Tao Chengdao agreed quickly, but soon frowned. When making gunpowder, various raw materials must be crushed into powder as much as possible, which is very easy. But now the gunpowder powder must be re-made into granules, which makes it difficult to
Tao Chengdao felt a little embarrassed.
Gunpowder cannot be exposed to water, so how to make it?
"Is there anything you can do?"
Han Du smiled and said: "Add gunpowder and water."
"Wait." Before Han Du finished speaking, Tao Chengdao reached out and interrupted him.
He looked at Han Du doubtfully and asked: "If gunpowder meets water, won't it get damp? Can such gunpowder still be used?"
"In this way, the gunpowder can be shaped. After it is made into particles, it can be dried in the sun." Han Du explained with a smile.
Tao Chengdao's eyes suddenly lit up and he immediately sent his apprentice to do it.
Han Du directed Tao Chengdao's disciples to first make a box out of iron sheets and wood. Then he used nails to drill tiny holes into the iron sheet at the bottom of the box. Such small holes were densely covered throughout the box.
bottom of.
Then add water to the gunpowder and knead it into a semi-dry state like flour. Press the gunpowder hard into the box and squeeze it through the fine holes. The gunpowder will be pressed into sections of particles. After drying,
Then select the gunpowder, and the famous granular gunpowder becomes.
As soon as these gunpowders were prepared, Tao Chengdao couldn't wait to replace them, and he also wanted to test whether such gunpowder could increase the fire dragon's range.
Still in the backyard, there was a fire dragon newly loaded with granular gunpowder on a wooden shelf.
Han Du and Tao Chengdao stood behind and watched quietly.
After just waiting for a while, Tao Chengdao was out of breath. Seeing this, the apprentice on the side quickly asked him to sit down.
But Tao Chengdao was very stubborn and refused to sit down at all. "I have worked hard all my life just for this moment. What does a little fatigue mean?"
Han Du frowned as he looked at Tao Chengdao's clenched fists and trembling hands.
Soon, Tao Chengdao's disciples got everything ready. After lighting the fuse, the fire dragon suddenly spurted out a stream of flames, sending white smoke into the sky.
About half an hour later, one of Tao Chengdao's apprentices ran over from a distance. Before he could reach Tao Chengdao, he shouted happily: "Master, it's done."
"
Tao Chengdao was suddenly shocked, stepped forward to meet him, and asked eagerly: "Is it really done? How far did it fly? How far?"
"Nine miles, a full nine miles." The apprentice ran to Tao Chengdao and replied while breathing heavily.
"Okay, okay, hahaha~" Tao Chengdao smiled very happily.
But he didn't see that Han Du frowned behind him.
It's only nine miles away, which means there's nothing like this within five kilometers, let alone compared to the ones made by the military in later generations, even those made in the handicraft workshops in the Imperial Cemetery.
However, after Han Du raised his head and looked around, he felt relieved. Although this was the top place for manufacturing firearms in the Ming Dynasty, it was really not as good as the handicraft workshops in the Imperial Cemetery.
The fire dragon can fly nine miles, which is an unprecedented range. No wonder Tao Chengdao is so happy.
Seeing Tao Chengdao dancing and swaying, Han Du was really afraid that he would accidentally fall.
"Wanhu, it's better to sit down. It would be bad if you fall down while standing."
Tao Chengdao didn't want to sit down, and said excitedly: "I never experienced any beatings when I was young. Even if I fell, could it still kill me?"
Han Du nodded seriously, without any intention of joking, and said: "It's really possible. As this person gets older, his bones will slowly begin to become brittle. On weekdays, there's nothing wrong with it. What I'm most afraid of is a sudden fall.
It fell down. Because it is very easy to break the bones, and once the bones are broken, it will inevitably cause symptoms. At this time, even Hua Tuo will not be able to save him."
Han Du's words shocked all of Tao Chengdao's disciples, and several of them quickly begged him: "Master, please sit down quickly."
Tao Chengdao was also confused by Han Du's words. After several disciples couldn't help but explain, they had no choice but to sit on the chair.
However, he still looked up at Han Du with some disbelief and asked, "Is this really what you said?"
Han Du smiled slightly and said: "If Wanhu doesn't believe it, you can send someone to check. Is there any old man of Wanhu's age who can survive after breaking his bones?"
Han Du was sure that such an old man would never survive. Not to mention the Ming Dynasty, even in modern society, there was no way to treat the disease. People who are too old would not dare to use many drugs.
It will only make you die faster.
When Tao Chengdao saw Han Du's plausibility, he paused.
Shi was silent. He felt that Han Du would not lie to him on such a matter. Besides, lying to him would do Han Du no good.
He sighed helplessly, "Life and death are determined by fate and wealth. At my age, it doesn't matter whether you are alive or dead. You can't let me sit in a chair for the rest of my life and not be able to go anywhere, right?"
Han Du pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of something, and said with a smile: "Sit, of course, try to sit on a chair as much as possible. But if you can't go anywhere, that's not necessarily the case."
"Oh? What else can you do?" Tao Chengdao asked with interest.
Han Du immediately ordered several of Tao Chengdao's apprentices to make four wooden wheels with a diameter of one foot. They drilled holes in the middle and connected them with steel bars. Then they sawed out a wheel the same size as the steel bars on the four wooden legs of the chair.
The groove is lined with steel tiles, and the outside is wrapped with iron sheets and nailed to fix it.
A simple wheelchair is now ready. In order to avoid excessive vibration, Handu also put a thick layer of rubber on the wooden wheels.
"Wanhu, come and give it a try?"
Tao Chengdao looked at the strange-looking chair in front of him and tried to sit on it.
Han Du used both hands to push the armrests of the chair, and easily pushed Tao Chengdao away.
"How do you feel Wanhu?"
Tao Chengdao sat on the chair, nodded happily, and kept saying: "Okay, okay, okay. From now on, wherever I want to go, I will let the disciples push me there. I can wander around and save me from walking."
It’s a pain in the ass, but it really kills two birds with one stone.”
Han Du had helped Tao Chengdao so much, including helping him solve the problem of insufficient fire dragon shooting range and making him a wheelchair. To express his gratitude, Tao Chengdao held a banquet in honor of Han Du.
The two had some conversations at the banquet, especially on the improvement of the fire dragon, which benefited Tao Chengdao a lot.
After the banquet was over, Han Du said goodbye and left.
After Han Du left, the drunk Tao Chengdao suddenly remembered, "Ah! Something as important as the fire dragon should be reported to the emperor first. How come you have forgotten such an important thing? Is this really old?
Already?
By the way, let’s report the matter of this chair to the Emperor as well.”
Early the next morning, before Handu got up at three o'clock in the morning, he was hurriedly summoned to the palace by the eunuch sent by Lao Zhu.
After meeting Lao Zhu, before Han Du could greet him, Lao Zhu cursed him loudly. He said that Han Du had been back for so long, but he didn't do his job and just wandered around all day long.