Chapter 60 There is a problem with the cannon, please read more)
"Oh...it scared me~"
After gently stroking her chest to calm her strong heartbeat, Qin Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Really~ I have to worry so much about him now, but what will I do in the future? This stupid guy, if it weren't for me... we don't know what would have happened."
Since Zhou Dunji recognized Wang Hongyu's military training results, of course he would not continue to make things difficult.
Li Tiezhu made better quality arrows, and he paid him personally to express his gratitude.
A few days later.
During this period of Wang Hongyu’s special training, the resources that he had worked hard to obtain before also arrived.
Liu Shimin, the eunuch of Yin Shou, Huang Kezuan, the Minister of Punishment, and Xu Guangqi, the Zuo Zanshan of Zhanshi Mansion, arrived.
They also brought 50 craftsmen from Fujian, 30 gunners from Macao and Luzon, as well as 4 thousand-jin bronze cannons and 20 new self-generated fire guns.
Although Shangshu Huang Kezuan was a civil servant, he preferred military men.
He said cheerfully: "Hahaha~ No courtesy, generals. I came from Fujian, where there are mountains, rivers and fields. Some people couldn't survive and went to Nanyang. With the opening of the sea during the Longqing period, some people have learned the lesson now.
Cannon casting technology came back to serve the Ming Dynasty.
Today, I have brought here all the craftsmen and gunners I have accumulated over decades!"
Later generations knew more about Xu Guangqi's cannon-making, Yuan Chonghuan's cannon-making, and Sun Yuanhua's cannon-making, but there was less publicity than their earlier Huang Kezuan.
There are reasons for this, such as that he was active earlier and the quality of the cannons he built was slightly poorer, but more importantly, he was not part of the Donglin Party. As the situation changed later, he gradually lost his status and voice, and had no chance to perform further.
He also had a very good personal relationship with Xu Guangqi, and they were both enlightened people with a certain understanding of world development. After Xu Guangqi's introduction, he used all his family wealth to support this main force of the Southern Army.
Gunners and craftsmen from Fujian who had gone to sea in Macao and Luzon were also arranged to participate in this battle historically, but under the influence of Wang Hongyu, the number was slightly more than at that time.
Those self-made fire guns were bought at a high price by Xu Guangqi and the missionaries, and 20 shots is already the current limit.
Among the several southern armies, the Zhejiang soldiers were the best at using firearms. Xu Guangqi also promised to make Zhang Mingshi his own muskets, so half of them were given to the Zhejiang soldiers, and the rest were equally divided among the main generals.
The four cannons were used intensively, and a hundred people were formed, mainly composed of hired gunners. Each army sent a few people as guards and auxiliaries to form a hundred people. The generals of the Southern Army assisting Liao were directly under the jurisdiction of these hundred people.
Huang Kezuan said that there are actually 8 large bronze cannons in this batch, and the other 4 are already being sent to Liaodong. It is estimated that Xiong Tingbi will arrange them at the front line of Shenyang City.
Shenyang City Head?
Wang Hongyu suddenly remembered something. He remembered that in history, there was an overheated artillery bomb incident in Shenyang City. Could it be these guns?
He went up to Xu Guangqi in private and asked about the situation of these cannons. He asked sideways whether there were any problems with the workmanship, operation, and gunpowder of this batch of cannons.
"The gunner has served in the Ace Banya Army, and the gunpowder is well protected. The cannon is made of copper, and it is said that it will not overheat, so it is safe."
Xu Guangqi could not find any security risks from the information he received.
Then why did the chamber explode? I remember that the explosion was very violent, which made the originally very unfavorable battle situation plummet and became the last straw of the fall.
Could it be that it was sabotaged by spies, as some people said, or that the battle was too hasty and the cannon and gunpowder had no time to cool down?
Wang Hongyu inspected these four cannons with questions. The cannon bodies were bronze in color and the exterior was engraved. The inside of the barrel was relatively smooth. The workmanship seemed to be good when viewed directly.
that is……
!?
Two of the cannon-casting craftsmen were breathing a little fast just now, especially when they were inspecting the cannon barrel, but now they have gradually calmed down.
I had just experienced Zhou Dunji’s special training, so I was very sensitive to the speed of shallow breathing, so I caught this detail inadvertently.
There is something wrong with these two craftsmen.
Wang Hongyu remained calm at first, as if nothing had been discovered, and waited until the gunners and craftsmen settled down in the camp before finding Xu Guangqi.
Checking one by one which cannons these craftsmen built, they found that the two men had just built two cannons, one was already on its way to Shenyang, and the other was the one he just inspected.
"There was something unusual about these two people just now. I'm afraid they ran into something strange."
Xu Guangqi and he came to the four cannons. From the appearance, there was almost no difference, but by gently tapping the barrels, you could notice a slight difference in the sound.
“There is a difference in materials!”
Although Xu Guangqi is not proficient in cast iron, it is quite common for him to cut corners or omit some steps in cannon casting in order to rush the work.
Is this also the case with this batch of cannons?
Don't leak the news first, let's weigh them. They weighed the four cannons one by one on a nearby river for transporting grain. The four cannons were of similar caliber and size. Logically, the weight difference would be very small, but it turned out that the four cannons were weighed. The gun is nearly a hundred kilograms lighter than the others.
"Copper was exchanged for iron. Copper is heavier and more expensive than iron. The two of them took it and sold it. This is a capital crime."
Xu Guangqi hated this kind of cutting corners the most. Ming Dynasty had a lot of sophisticated manufacturing capabilities, but there were always various problems in execution.
"With Huang Kezuan, the Minister of Punishment, here, we can severely interrogate these two evil thieves and behead them in public!"
"Wait a minute~"
A glimmer of light flashed in Wang Hongyu's eyes, and he thought of an idea that could turn this bad thing into a favorable direction.
"I want to keep these two people and not execute them for the time being, but let them work as coolies in the army."
Xu Guangqi was not surprised after hearing this. After all, these two people possess the skill of forging cannons, and the effect of directly killing the vigilance is very strong, but the skills of these two people are gone.
"But, can you control them? With such a criminal record, it's easy to do it again."
Wang Hongyu was confident: "It doesn't matter, I have a way to make them work obediently."
Xu Guangqi knew that his abilities were unfathomable, so he decided on this matter. Huang Kezuan and Xu Guangqi knew about the matter, and dealt with the two craftsmen secretly. With the majesty of the minister, they all were killed in an instant.
It turned out that these two people were not only familiar with the bronze cannon casting technology of Ace Banya, but also were familiar with the iron cannon casting of the Ming Dynasty. Copper was more expensive than iron, so they cast an iron core inside the cannon bore, while the outside was still bronze, thus making a profit on the price difference. Muddle through.
really!
While Huang Kezuan, the Minister of Punishment, was furious, Wang Hongyu was ecstatic.
Great! They have initially mastered the casting method of the iron core copper body cannon, which is far better than finding someone to figure it out from scratch.
This technology was ahead of the world in the Ming Dynasty. Although it still existed spontaneously during the Wanli period, it became increasingly mature during the Chongzhen period.
These two people were first punished by death, and then they were given hope by themselves.
Looking at them who kept kowtowing and begging for mercy, Huang Kezuan was still furious and claimed that he would behead them and pass them on to the world, and all their family members would be exiled.
The two of them were so frightened that they pissed themselves and kept kowtowing.
Seeing that the time had come, Wang Hongyu stepped forward and said: "Do you two want to die or live?" This chapter has been completed!