With a stable source of supplies, there is no need to send out manpower to collect, hunt, mine, etc. to obtain them.
Zhu Hongyu finally had the confidence to shout the slogan "All the people are soldiers." Many women, children, old and weak members of the Liberation Army also walked into the training ground and performed simple drills with the soldiers.
The Liberation Army's current strength is limited. If there is a shortage of troops during war, the old, weak, women and children will have to take over.
…
In the weapons workshop, the cannon casting team started casting cannons for the first time.
Zhu Hongyu and Old Liu Tou stood together and watched the whole process of casting the cannon.
The red molten iron is introduced into the cast iron film. The craftsman uses the internal mold water cooling technology to extend a U-shaped pipe into the hollow iron film.
Then introduce cold water into the conduit, with water entering at one end and water coming out from the other end. The cold water passes through the inside of the hot iron film and becomes hot water.
But in this process, a lot of heat is also taken away!
Try to keep the cooling rate of the molten iron inside and outside the iron film consistent.
In this way, cracking of the gun body can be avoided as much as possible, and the quality of the artillery can also be improved to a certain extent.
As time passes, the molten iron gradually cools and solidifies.
The craftsmen worked together to use tools to remove the iron film, revealing the still slightly red cannon body.
In order to prevent the cannon body from cracking, they could only wait quietly for the cannon body to cool down and never water it.
Otherwise, just wait for the barrel to explode when the gun is fired!
After the artillery body cooled down, the craftsmen stepped forward and worked together to move the artillery to the hydraulic boring machine.
Use a hydraulic boring machine to polish the inner wall of the gun barrel.
Driven by water power, the hard carving knife begins to rotate at a constant speed with the rotation of the transmission shaft.
The metal scraps were cut off, the inner wall of the gun bore was gradually polished to be very smooth, and the protruding points were smoothed.
The craftsman stepped forward and measured the diameter of the gun bore with a vernier caliper.
We are also preparing to formulate manufacturing standards for artillery shells based on the diameter of the cannon bore.
The closer the diameter of the projectile body is to the diameter of the gun bore, the smaller the gap between the projectile and the gun bore.
The more it can ensure that the energy burst out after the propellant is ignited will not be wasted, the artillery will be able to produce greater power and a longer range.
Just like a rifled gun, in order to obtain higher accuracy and longer range, the diameter of the lead bullet used is one circle larger than the diameter of the muzzle.
Lead is relatively soft, and even if the diameter of the lead bullet is one circle larger than the diameter of the muzzle, it can still be loaded with the use of auxiliary tools such as a small hammer.
But artillery is different from muskets. The shells used by artillery are generally solid iron balls, which are much harder than lead bullets.
If the diameter of the cannonball is larger than the muzzle, it cannot be forced into it.
Therefore, in order to ensure the power and range of artillery, standards must also be set for the manufacture of artillery shells!
Due to technical conditions, errors in the manufacture of artillery shells are inevitable, but the errors must not be too large!
Speaking of vernier calipers, they are actually not a rare thing.
Wang Mang, the senior time traveler in the late Western Han Dynasty, had already made it.
Now Zhu Hongyu ordered someone to make a simple vernier caliper. It is very reasonable, isn't it?
There is also the issue of the formula of gunpowder!
Nowadays, Zhu Hongyu’s evaluation of gunpowder formulas all over the world, whether from the East or the West, is unreasonable!
There is a problem with the gunpowder formula. The ratio of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal is unscientific, and the size of the particles after granulation is also different.
More importantly, in this era, no matter in the East or the West, there is no awareness to distinguish between gun propellant and gun propellant.
In their view, there is no difference between gunpowder and gunpowder. Just put it into the barrel of the gun and ignite it. Nothing else matters.
But history has proven that the difference between gun propellant and gun propellant is quite big.
The nitrate content of propellant for cannons is higher than that of propellants for guns. Zhu Hongyu didn't know the specific reason, but he remembered that it seemed like this.
After giving various instructions to his subordinates, Zhu Hongyu and Old Liu Tou left the weapons workshop together.
Zhu Hongyu asked.
"What is the output of the weapons workshop now?"
"Can we stably supply the army?"
Old Liu Tou answered.
"General, now the facilities of the weapons workshop have been basically formed, and the weapons production and manufacturing capabilities have been completely released."
"Now, we can produce about 20 sets of breastplates, 30 sleeve-type three-edged bayonets, 30 daggers, and 40 shields every day."
"And some lead bullets, gunpowder, and thunder!"
The Liberation Army has now given up on spears as equipment and has begun to produce daggers and shields.
The reason is very simple. The spear is too long. It is nearly four meters long and can only be used on the plains. It cannot be used in the mountains and forests at all.
When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, daggers and shields are actually more practical.
Zhu Hongyu nodded with satisfaction, and then asked again.
"What about muskets? Is there any plan to produce muskets?"
Lao Liu nodded and said.
"Now, in the hands of our Liberation Army, nearly half of the matchlocks captured from the red-haired people have been equipped with flintlock engines and changed into flintlocks."
"The production plan at the weapons workshop is to start producing brand new flintlock guns after all the matchlocks have been modified."
Zhu Hongyu nodded and then brought up the concept of handguns.
"Our army is now deep in the mountains and forests. Although the relationship with the surrounding indigenous tribes is currently quite good, conflicts will inevitably occur in the future."
"In order to deal with possible battles with the indigenous people, I designed a repeating gun."
"The firing device uses a flintlock..."
What Zhu Hongyu proposed was the concept of a revolver.
It is loaded in advance and fired with a rotating wheel. It can fire six shots in a row. It is definitely a killer weapon when used in close combat in dense forests.
As for problems such as air leakage at the barrel connection, short range, and poor accuracy due to unqualified finishing techniques.
In Zhu Hongyu's view, this is not a problem.
Just shoot shotgun, this thing is for melee combat anyway.
Basically, when you use this thing, it will stick to your face.
The range is not important at all, and since the shot is shot, accuracy naturally doesn't matter.
As for the poor power, that’s not a problem at all!
A revolver would definitely not be able to hit the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty. It might not be able to break through the armor even if it is pressed against the face, but the natives don't have armor to penetrate it.
As long as it's close to the face, it's possible to shoot several at once, not to mention one.
As for what to do with the plate armor Zhu Hongyu sold to the indigenous people...
Zhu Hongyu is not stupid, he will definitely strictly control the shipment volume and quality.
Zhu Hongyu asked.
"Can it be done?"
Old Liu nodded and then spoke.
"You can give it a try, but I don't know if it will work!"
"I've never made a gun like this before!"
Zhu Hongyu nodded and said.
“Try it boldly and don’t be afraid of wasting it.”
"If this thing can be made, our Liberation Army will have a powerful weapon against the natives!"
Although Zhu Hongyu wanted to unite the natives to deal with the Spanish, this did not mean that he really had no defense against the natives.
Non-my family, its heart must be different!
These eight characters have always been engraved in his heart!
After inspecting the weapons workshop, the expression on Zhu Hongyu's face became much more relaxed.
…
Recommended book, my friend’s new book "The Last Emperor of the Late Ming Dynasty", if you are short on books, you can check it out.