Chapter 833 The Roar of the New Era! [Please vote for me]
Starting from Wusongkou, along the west bank of the Wusong River, there are the Naval Academy, the military port, and the shipyard. On the south side of the shipyard, there is a mysterious place between the mountains sandwiched by two low mountain ridges.
The soldiers and civilians in Huating Town only know that this place is called the "Manufacturing Bureau", which is a place with a higher level of confidentiality than the town office. They don't know what it does specifically. The craftsmen here are not allowed to come out as long as they enter.
You even have to sign a "confidentiality agreement" with extremely stringent conditions. You will live here and die here in this life!
What a terrifying place this is?
If a living person goes in, there is no way he can come out alive!
Everyone has a strong curiosity about this place, but no one has ever dared to peek and covet it.
Because in Huating Town, Article 1 of Chapter 1 of the "Huating Covenant" stipulates that anyone who comes within half a mile of the "Manufacturing Bureau" without any reason will be regarded as a threat by the guards and can be killed on the spot!
Speaking of which, the "Huating Covenant" created by the general manager really caused the soldiers and civilians of Huating Town to complain! In daily travel, behavioral regulations, everything is stipulated in detail, killing and arson, bullying, fighting, inciting rumors, and even everywhere
Spitting, affecting the appearance of the city, encroaching on private land, refusing to pay taxes... almost every behavior will be subject to mandatory standards that need to be followed, and every behavior that violates the "Convention Law" has corresponding regulations.
Shockingly harsh!
Fortunately, the current permanent population of Huating Town is either the military or poor people. No matter how strict the general manager is, no one dares to raise objections. Even so, some famous scholars in Jiangnan expressed indignation after hearing this.
The so-called "Huating Covenant" is simply the cruel policy of the Qin Dynasty!
But this was Fang Jun's fiefdom, which was originally a wasteland. Not only was it not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, but all official appointments came from the Huating Hou Mansion. The town office was the core of administration, and Fang Jun dominated the sky.
This is Fang Jun’s territory!
Those who don't obey the "Covenant" can leave, but as long as they live here, they must abide by it unconditionally!
At this moment, the "Manufacturing Bureau" is in full swing.
The full name of "Manufacturing Bureau" is naturally "Guns Manufacturing Bureau", but in Fang Jun's opinion, it is inevitable that hot weapons will be on the stage in advance, but it is still necessary to be able to block the technology as much as possible, and it will be as long as it can be blocked, even if
Other countries have developed thermal weapons, but they must also ensure that Datang's thermal weapons always maintain their leading position.
Of course, the reason why it is called the "Manufacturing Bureau" is also because in Fang Jun's vision, this is not only a place where guns are produced, but also more "black technologies" will appear on the historical stage of the Tang Dynasty...
With the new sailboat, Fang Jun couldn't wait to develop the artillery.
Just imagining the huge "Royal Princess" battleship facing the enemy in battle line on the sea, with dozens of artillery firing a volley of earth-shattering power, Fang Jun feels excited!
Wang Erxiao, the best blacksmith in the Fang family, stared at the iron-making furnace in front of him, silently estimating how long it would take for the bronze alloy in the furnace to melt.
Fang Jun stood next to Wang Erxiao with his hands behind his hands and asked with a smile: "Do you blame me for asking you to sign that confidentiality agreement?"
The two of them stood at the front, while a large group of craftsmen gathered behind them.
Some of these craftsmen were slaves of the Fang family, and some were bought by Fang Jun from other families with a high salary. The craftsmen had a low status and were the private property of the master's family. They only needed to spend money to buy slave status, and they would become slaves of the Fang family.
Wang Erxiao looked a little surprised when he heard the words, and then smiled, with the sun shining on his wrinkled old face: "What did Erlang say? Since he is a craftsman of the Fang family, he will be a slave of the Fang family for the rest of his life. Not only the old man, but also the son
, the grandsons are also slaves of the Fang family. In other families, what is the difference between slaves and animals in the pen? There is no need to sign any confidentiality agreement. Even if you are locked in an iron cage for a lifetime, how can you dare to complain? Erlang, a born student
Then we are treated like human beings. Not only do we have to sign some kind of confidentiality agreement, which prohibits us from contacting outsiders privately for the rest of our lives, but we also have to give a generous bounty to settle our families. If we are so benevolent, that person here is either grateful or he will die tomorrow.
Here, the little old man has no regrets!"
The craftsmen behind him all nodded in agreement, looking satisfied.
Are you not allowed to have any private contact with outsiders for the rest of your life?
It sounds harsh, like being treated like an animal in a pen, but as a slave, isn't it originally private property that the owner of the house can dispose of at will?
Slavery is not just talk...
An old man with white hair and beard sighed with emotion: "Not to mention that as a slave, the master of the house is willing to do whatever he wants. With the settlement fee given by Erlang alone, I am afraid that even if the old man is not willing, the dog in the family will have to force him with a knife."
The old man signed the agreement..."
When the craftsmen heard this, they laughed.
After signing the agreement, the minimum amount received is 500 guan as settling-in allowance. Senior blacksmiths like Wang Erxiao and Baixu Old Craftsman received 2,000 guan!
What is this concept?
If one person signs an agreement and will never see the light of day in this life, the whole family will be freed from slavery and instantly become a middle-class family! From then on, they will have the status of civilians! If there are one or two promising literate people in the future generations who take the imperial examination, the original
The slave family became a scholarly family...
What’s the point of not having any private contact with outsiders for a lifetime?
Even if I have to lock myself in a sheepfold for the rest of my life, I am still willing to do so!
A tall and round man stood at the end of the craftsmen and asked curiously: "Erlang, what exactly are we going to build?"
This is also the question in everyone's mind.
Since arriving here, every day's preparations have been made according to the drawings provided by Fang Jun. Many craftsmen are divided into several groups, each with different responsibilities and doing completely different jobs. Everyone is confused and doesn't know what Fang Jun is doing.
Jun spent a lot of money to gather so many outstanding blacksmiths together to establish this so-called "manufacturing bureau". What exactly was he trying to manufacture?
Fang Jun chuckled and said calmly: "Don't be impatient for a moment. Later, you will witness the moment when a miracle is born!"
The craftsmen who joined later were confused, but when the craftsmen of the Fang family heard this, they all became excited and eager to try. They started from following Fang Jun to smelt the first furnace of iron, to smelting extremely high-quality fine steel.
, and then to that big ball that can fly into the sky...
Which step is not witnessing the birth of a miracle?
Erlang is a miracle worker!
Wang Xiaoer stared at the iron-making furnace with fire on the top and said, "The fire is almost done, let's start preparing!"
"promise!"
He is now the chief craftsman of the "Manufacturing Bureau". As soon as he opened his mouth, the other craftsmen immediately started busy.
What Fang Jun wanted to make was a bronze cannon.
Nowadays, the craftsmen of the Fang family are getting more and more experienced in smelting fine steel, but due to their experience and technology, the quality of the steel they smelt is enough for forging knife-point armor, but it is slightly insufficient for making guns and cannons.
The quality of the steel did not meet the requirements, and the cannons produced could easily explode. Therefore, Fang Jun planned to start with the casting of bronze cannons, accumulate experience step by step, and at the same time continuously improve the steelmaking technology, and finally cast steel cannons.
Moreover, I am confused about blooming bullets, and I know little about primers. Even if I build a cannon now, I will only use solid bullets. A bronze cannon with a low melting point, good ductility and easy processing is enough...
It's just that the price of copper is too expensive, so we will eventually have to go down the road of steel cannons.
In fact, the technology of casting cannons is not difficult.
Make a cylinder from steel, with one end closed and a solid cylinder in the center. The cylinder is shorter than the cylinder. If you stand the cylinder upright and cut it open, the cross-section will be in the shape of a "mountain", except for the vertical cylinder in the middle.
Shorter than both sides, it is the solid cylinder.
The craftsman pours molten bronze into it, which is exactly the shape of the cannon. The volume occupied by the middle round steel column is the inner chamber of the cannon. While the bronze is red hot, the opening of the round steel cylinder can be forged to make the cannon body dense.
,In this way, casting and forging are combined.
The outer steel cylinder is relatively simple to make. It corresponds to the outer surface of the cast gun and does not need to be particularly precise. The solid cylinder in the middle is different. It corresponds to the inner bore of the gun and must be smooth and precise.
The cylindrical steel shape was first cast and then forged. Because there was no lathe, it had to be finely ground and carefully corrected by hand. Wang Erxiao and his apprentice worked hard for seven days and finally made this steel rod that could be used to make cannons.
…
More than thirty craftsmen were divided into several groups, each performing their duties and starting to build the cannon.
First, connect one end of the steel rod to the center of the round cake-shaped steel ingot, stuff the rod into the empty steel cylinder at both ends, use a wooden block to keep it in the center of the cylinder, and then connect the steel ingot and the steel cylinder to form a "mountain" section.
The structure of the font is completed.
The burly man who just asked the question was called Li Santai. He was holding a long fine-bristled brush and brushing some powder onto all sides of the inside of the steel cylinder.
The ingredients of these powders are carbon powder and calcined refractory high-aluminum clay. They are ground extremely fine with water-driven grinding discs and brushed thinly into the steel cylinder to isolate and lubricate the bronze cannon and steel cylinder.
The steel rods are stuck together. After casting, the steel cylinder, steel rod and bronze gun body cannot be separated, which would be very embarrassing...
Then the steel cylinder was erected and fixed under a special hydraulic forging hammer.
The iron-making furnace was built at a high place, and the copper ore in the furnace had melted. Wang Xiaoer immediately directed several craftsmen to open the valve of the iron-making furnace, and the red-hot copper liquid flowed out along the groove and opened at the upper end of the steel cylinder.
Pour it in...
After waiting for a while, when the temperature drops and the copper water solidifies, start casting according to the process arranged by Fang Jun in advance.
Wang Xiaoer put a round cake-shaped steel ingot about the same size as the opening through the opening of the steel barrel, and pressed it flatly against the tail of the bronze cannon in the barrel. Li Santai, who had just put down the brush, steadily pulled down the machine and started the forging hammer. The forging hammer started from
Falling in the air and hitting the steel ingot, huge pressure is transmitted to the bronze cannon body, which makes the force more even than direct forging.
After forging it for more than a dozen times, the steel ingot was removed. Because a forging hammer was used to make a dent in the lower side of the steel ingot that was as big as a rice bowl. During the forging process, the red-hot and soft bronze was squeezed by force, resulting in such a large dent on the tail of the gun.
A bump.
This is the white-bearded old craftsman who was just called "Xu Da" by the craftsmen. He used a drill bit made of fine steel to drill a hole in the bulge of the gun tail, tied an iron chain to it, and then tied the iron chain to a
On the forged hammer bar with large wheels and small teeth.
This kind of gear with large wheels and small teeth is like a variable-speed bicycle. It rotates fast, but the speed of the forging hammer is very slow, so it is very powerful.
A craftsman nearby loudly ordered the people in the upstream direction to open the floodgates. The river surged down, and the abundant power was transmitted to the waterwheel. A craftsman started the forging hammer, and the forging hammer was slowly lifted with great force, and the cast was cast.
The bronze cannon was pulled out of the steel barrel.
Since the cast bronze cannon body and the steel cylinder are tightly connected, despite the lubrication and isolation of carbon and high-alumina clay powder, the friction between the forged bronze cannon and the steel cylinder is still very huge. The huge forging hammer
The gears squeaked and squeaked, and the cannon body made a tooth-breaking squeaking sound when it was slowly pulled out...
The new craftsmen were all amazed.
They have all operated the hydraulic forging hammer since arriving here, and were amazed by the huge power of this thing. It can easily forge steel into any shape, round and flatten it as you like. But now they see that it can actually use this huge hammering force.
On the contrary, it is even more shocking...
Although this is the first time I have seen this kind of operation, everyone knows the huge adhesion between the current bronze cannon body and the steel barrel. If the bronze cannon body is pulled out simply by human power, it is simply a fantasy.
Not even to the end of the world...
With a heart-wrenching "squeaking" sound, the bronze gun body was finally pulled out of the steel cylinder, and the pulled out gun body was drilled into the buttocks with a drill press to serve as a fire door. The processing of the gun body was complete.
.
Fang Jun and all the craftsmen gathered around him. Fang Jun was very excited, but the craftsmen didn't know what the thing was for.
What needs to be done next is to test the endurance of the cannon body and see if the bronze cannon that I messed up will explode...
In the first experiment, naturally the charge was from small to large.
The order was filled with three kilograms of explosives, and a solid spherical cannonball made of solid cast iron was loaded into the barrel with an iron drill. Then a young and strong craftsman inserted a long fuse into the fire door and ignited it, slowly for three seconds.
Walk back step by step...
Fang Jun was almost furious and cursed: "Are you so lame? Run away!"
After saying that, he quickly got down on the ground. This was all done in advance, and the craftsmen followed suit and got down on the ground.
The craftsman who lit the fire was scolded by Fang Jun, and then he sped up and ran back.
But he had just run a few steps when he heard an earth-shaking loud noise behind him, which deafened his ears and knocked him out of his mind. He jumped and plunged his head into the sand beneath him...
"boom!"
The first bronze cannon in history made an earth-shattering roar in the land of the Tang Dynasty, which awakened the enterprising spirit of this nation and also sounded the death knell of some resisters!
The era of armies and iron horses is about to become history, and the era of giant ships and cannons is coming!