After the earth shook, Li Zhen looked at Beilin with lingering fear.
How terrible!
I think back then, when I followed the emperor deep into the desert and dealt with the enemy behind the Oara, I never felt such a strong sense of oppression.
This kind of power is completely beyond the control of humans. If Beilin hadn't been tough and even used force to force the people to evacuate, the entire Mizhi County would have turned into a hell on earth.
"Master Bei, you have made a great contribution!"
But there was no trace of relief on Beilin's face, and she sighed: "This has just begun!"
Earthquake disasters not only destroy houses, but what is truly terrifying is the series of consequences that follow the earthquake.
Think about it, the originally stable land has suddenly changed, mountains and rivers have shifted, groundwater has changed its course, and rivers have burst their banks. This is a terrible thing.
At this time, the Wuding River was flowing backwards, and the county was already a marsh.
Even though the sergeants of the Three Thousand Battalion drove them away ferociously, some people were still stubborn and insisted on staying at home. At this time, they didn't know if they were still alive.
There are also some villages that, due to time constraints, have not yet had time to evacuate, fearing that they will also suffer heavy casualties.
Beilin said with a cold expression: "Three Thousand Battalions, come with me to provide disaster relief!"
Li Zhen clasped her hands in fists: "Take orders!"
…………
On the outskirts of Beijing, Wang Gong Factory in Xishan.
Zhu Qizhen specially arranged for Yu Qian to go to disaster relief, and he continued to devote himself to the cause of rejuvenating the country through science and technology.
After Li Shulin took charge of Wang Gong Factory, he recruited a large number of craftsmen from the private sector and set up five special research groups. One group was mainly responsible for the improvement of the steel smelting process, the second group was responsible for the forging and polishing of fire gun accessories, and the third group was responsible for granular gunpowder.
For research and development, the fourth group is responsible for the casting of the Franco cannon, and the fifth group is responsible for the improvement of the explosive ammunition.
When Zhu Qizhen walked into the second group's workshop and saw the huge wooden shelves, his jaw almost dropped.
Is this a lathe?
Li Shulin saw that the emperor was so interested, so he introduced to the side: "This is a gun bed, and the wood must be straight before it can be used. If it is crooked after being used for a long time, it must be replaced. If it is not replaced, it will vibrate when it is placed, and the gun barrel will shake after all.
No. It must be painted so that rainwater will not penetrate it."
Zhu Qizhen was greatly shocked. It turned out that there were manual lathes in the Ming Dynasty!
He squatted down and took a closer look. The working principle was almost the same as that of a modern lathe, and the gun drill also borrowed water power. He had to admire it. The wisdom of the ancients was simply too powerful!
Li Shulin continued to introduce: "This drill bit is five inches long. The top inch should be slightly sharpened. The middle four inches should be evenly rounded and of average size. The barrel should be straight after being washed out."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and asked: "How is the effect?"
"Your Majesty, please come this way!"
The two walked out of the workshop and came to a guarded room. Li Shulin took out three new fire guns and said, "Your Majesty, look..."
Zhu Qizhen picked up the first gun, which looked very similar to a fire blunderbuss, except that the barrel was much longer.
Li Shulin introduced at the side: "This gun is an improvement on the original fire gun. After the barrel is extended, the effective range is significantly improved. However, it is easy to explode the barrel, so the requirements for refined iron smelting and forging are very high.
”
While talking, Li Shulin picked up the second gun and said: "This gun... no, it should be called a matchlock gun. It has a matchlock device and a butt according to your drawings. Use the butt when shooting."
By holding it against the shoulder, the shooting aim is greatly improved. The disadvantage is that the gunpowder bin and match rope are exposed and are easily affected by moisture. Especially in rainy and snowy weather, the gunpowder will become ineffective, so..."
Li Shulin picked up the third gun. Judging from the appearance, it basically showed the prototype of a modern rifle.
"Using flint firing instead of match fuse can avoid this situation. As long as it is properly maintained, it can be used normally even on rainy days or in humid environments."
Zhu Qizhen picked up the gun and looked at it carefully. Even as a modern person, he has only seen this thing in movies and TV series, and he has never touched it in real life.
At first, I only drew the drawing based on my impression. It was just a sketch at most. I didn't expect Li Shulin to be so talented and tinker with it in just two months.
"How powerful is it? Why don't you test it?"
"No, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Qizhen asked in confusion: "Why?"
Li Shulin said with a wry smile: "The biggest problem is steel. Weichen has been conducting experiments, but the current steel is not ideal in terms of toughness, strength, wear resistance and other properties. Those with high strength are easy to explode. Those with strong toughness,
The wear resistance is not enough. The gun in your hand can only be regarded as a decoration now. If it goes to the battlefield..."
Having said this, Li Shulin shook his head helplessly.
Zhu Qizhen said dissatisfied: "In that case, why not send more manpower to expand the experiment of smelting and forging processes?"
"I have no money, Your Majesty!" Li Shulin sighed, "Weichen has spent a lot of money and food on developing new firearms. Now when he goes to the Ministry of Household Affairs, everyone avoids him..."
"That's unreasonable!"
Zhu Qizhen slapped the gun on the table and said angrily: "Tell me, how much does it cost?"
"Wei Chen...Wei Chen..."
Li Shulin was quite surprised and quickly made a rough estimate and said: "It will roughly cost five thousand taels..."
"What? Five thousand taels?"
Zhu Qizhen frowned and stared at Li Shulin closely.
"Three...three thousand taels will do..."
"Three thousand?"
"Two thousand, just two thousand! Your Majesty, we really cannot have any less!"
Zhu Qizhen stretched out a hand and waved it in front of Li Shulin.
"Five hundred? Then... okay..."
Li Shulin couldn't laugh or cry, five hundred taels... Well, it's better than nothing...
"Fifty thousand taels!"
Zhu Qizhen slammed the table and said: "I will allocate 50,000 yuan to you first, and now I will send someone to the Ministry of Household Affairs to collect the money!"
Are you kidding, am I short of money?
In the Wang Zhen case, more than 30 million taels of silver were confiscated. There are also Cao Jixiang's rebellion case, Kang Neng's case of killing Liang Liang and taking advantage of the crime, and the case of Shanxi merchants and thieves. Now the state treasury can hardly contain the amount of money confiscated.
Isn’t it just money?
Just ask for whatever you want!
Li Shulin was stunned and knelt down with a pop.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Don't be in a hurry to thank me!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "If you don't have enough money, go directly to the household department to collect it. I have only one request. The results must be produced before the end of the year. No matter the cost, as long as the results are obtained, do you understand?"
"Wei Chen understands!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and asked: "How is the development of the Fran cannon going?"
"Back to the Emperor, there are two main technical difficulties with the Fran cannon. One is the air tightness of the barrel, and the second is the issue of steel performance mentioned earlier..."
Li Shulin suddenly thought of a question and hurriedly said: "By the way, Your Majesty, when we were improving the explosive bullets, we developed a new thing that is extremely powerful."
"Let's go and have a look!"
Zhu Qizhen came to the artillery test site with great interest. Looking at the black iron lump as big as a watermelon in front of him, he suddenly fell into deep thought.
"Is this the new thing you were talking about?"
"Not bad!"
Li Shulin introduced enthusiastically: "One time Pingxiang Bo came to the gunpowder workshop and said that the current cement production could not keep up with the supply. He asked Weichen if he could increase the amount of cannon experiments and help him dig mountains and quarry stones, so Weichen suddenly
On a whim, he made several extra-large explosive bombs, but he didn't expect them to be very powerful. So Wei Chen thought that if they could be buried somewhere in advance, the effect would be conceivable. But how to detonate them was still unclear.
solution."
Zhu Qizhen thought for a long time, isn't this a landmine?
However, I still have a rough understanding of the principles of artillery and rifles, and how mines explode when stepped on...