Xu Youtang was not convinced, and he was very unhappy when his father belittled the achievements he was so proud of.
Zhang Yanling saw it and comforted him: "Youtang, I think the firearm you made is very good. I think it is worth the money. If you hadn't helped me, I wouldn't have been able to make anything."
Xu Gao nodded slightly. Zhang Yanling did not regret or blame Youtang for this, which showed that he still doted on Tang'er. Even if he spent more money to make her trouble, he didn't care.
However, in terms of the spirit of craftsmanship, Xu Gao has his own principles. Good is good, bad is bad, and he must not not point it out just because Xu Youtang is his daughter.
"A Tang, dad is not disparaging you. What dad means is that you cannot be proud and complacent and think that you are great. This is not good for your skills. In fact, this fire blunderbuss is completely different from the court's fire blunderbuss. Its power is huge.
The range and practicality are no longer the same. What dad said is just a matter of technical improvement and cost-effectiveness. With dad’s understanding of you, you could have done better." Xu Gao said.
Xu Youtang also relaxed her mood. In terms of manufacturing skills, she had no doubts about her father's ability. So she asked humbly: "Dad, tell your daughter, what aspects can be better? What aspects can be improved?"
Zhang Yanling naturally wanted to know, so she nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes, tell us."
Xu Gao glanced at Zhang Yanling and thought to himself: You are so obsessed with making firearms, but you don’t know what your purpose is. You also made firearms privately, which is really audacious. I don’t know what trouble you will cause in the future.
However, now that the matter has come to this point, Xu Gao does not give up. He has resigned from the official position, and he is light-hearted and has no restrictions. Moreover, this is a technical issue, which is where his interest lies. Once the interest arises, there will be no obstacles.
Unable to live.
"If I'm not mistaken, the fine steel used in this short fire gun is the piece of fine steel that you secretly stole from home, Tang'er. The piece of fine steel that I smelted earlier. Isn't it?" Xu Gao said in a deep voice.
road.
Xu Youtang opened his mouth wide in shock, with an incredible look in his big eyes.
"Dad, how do you know? You can see this?" Xu Youtang shouted.
Zhang Yanling was also surprised. If Xu Youtang hadn't also expressed surprise, Zhang Yanling would have almost thought that Xu Youtang had informed Xu Gao of the incident in advance. But it didn't seem to be the case.
"Silly girl, hey, dad never told you. This piece of fine steel is actually a piece of scrap steel. That's why I discarded it and put it at home. Your mother used it to line the vegetable jar." Xu
Gao Fuxu laughed.
"What?" Zhang Yanling and Xu Youtang screamed at the same time.
Because she was so surprised, Zhang Yanling shouted loudly. Chen Shiyi, who was on horseback guarding the car beside the car, heard Zhang Yanling's shout and hurriedly approached and asked loudly.
"Master Hou, what happened?"
"It's okay, it's okay. Don't worry about it," Zhang Yanling said hurriedly.
Chen Shi scratched his head and rode away.
"Well...it can't be considered completely useless. It's just that this was the first piece I made when I was exploring the method of smelting fine steel. At that time, I didn't know the technique clearly. How many times and how much clay should I add to the furnace temperature?
Many aspects such as this are not precise enough. Therefore, the refined steel produced is not pure. Its strength and toughness are not satisfactory. Therefore, it can almost be said to be useless." Xu Gao said solemnly.
"How is it possible? It was obviously used to make bird guns and this fire gun, and it is very strong and tough." Xu Youtang shouted.
"Scrap iron is also harder than mud. The refined steel that has been smelted is also refined steel. How can it be compared with ordinary cast iron? Therefore, the firearms can withstand the impact of powerful medicinal gas and appear powerful. This kind of power is only a comparison.
It's like an ordinary fire gun, but for the characteristics of pure stainless steel, it only exerts less than 30% to 40%. Do you understand?" Xu Gao said lightly.
Of course Zhang Yanling and Xu Youtang understood. To put it bluntly, this piece of fine steel is a defective product that does not meet the standards, but it does not mean that it is weaker than ordinary smelted fine iron. It can also be used as a material for firearms, and its various properties
Better than ordinary cast and smelted iron.
"Look, the color on the barrel of the gun has a faint blue luster. This is the color of fine steel. But if you look carefully, the luster is not uniform and the color is too bright. This means that the furnace temperature is insufficient and the heat is not enough.
Yes, after the white clay was added, it did not completely melt with the molten iron. What problems would this cause? It would cause the material to be dense and dense, which would appear to the naked eye.
Or forging, of course nothing can be seen, but if the gunpowder is fired for a long time, the disadvantages will appear. Not only the firearms that are made at a high price cannot be used too many times, but also blindly increasing the power of the gunpowder may explode the chamber.
Worry." Xu Gao gently stroked the barrel of the gun, held it up to the sunlight coming in from the car window, and explained while pointing.
Zhang Yanling's eyes were fixed on the barrel of the gun. Indeed, as the barrel of the gun rotated, the blue color on the fine steel changed from light to dark, giving the feeling of rippling water. It seemed to be quite beautiful, but at this moment, I realized that it was
Because the fine steel is not smelted and fused, the material is uneven, and the trace elements in the clay are not completely integrated into the molten steel.
"Tang'er, let me lend you the gold hairpin." Xu Gao stretched out his hand and said.
Xu Youtang hurriedly pulled out the golden hairpin from his bun and handed it to Xu Gao. Xu Gao twisted it in his hand and gently tapped the barrel of the gun with the head of the hairpin, and a crisp sound came from the barrel.
"Listen to this sound, is it too crisp?" Xu Gao asked.
"Indeed. It's so crisp that it's a bit ear-piercing." Xu Youtang said.
Xu Gao said: "That's it. It's because of insufficient white clay. You know, the purpose of smelting this kind of steel is not to get pure steel, but to get the best strength and toughness."
The fine steel used to make firearms is by no means the purer the better. What is needed is the fusion of several properties such as strength, toughness, and extension. Only in this way can it withstand the powerful impact of the medicinal gas. To put it bluntly, it must
It is a kind of fine steel mixed with other impurities. And the impurities added are exactly the ones that can improve the required characteristics. This is the purpose of smelting this kind of fine steel. In terms of sound, there is no such clear sound.
, if it has that kind of long-lasting sound, but not dull. Just like the sound of a bell tower, long-lasting but not harsh. This is the sound that the refined steel that needs to be refined should make."
Zhang Yanling was dumbfounded when he heard this. It was really an eye-opener. Xu Gao's words were not difficult to understand. On the contrary, they were actually very simple and easy to understand. If Zhang Yanling had not traveled from later generations, he would have thought that this
People are talking nonsense. But
It was precisely because he knew that what he was talking about was the concept of alloy steel. What was needed was not purity, but the fusion of other elements in it to increase certain properties of the steel. Therefore, Zhang Yanling felt that Xu Gao was really a master of this era.
level person.
To be able to think clearly and understand these principles, Xu Gao must have put in a lot of practice and thinking.
"Listening to your words, I suddenly felt enlightened. I feel like when you talk about a piece of fine steel, it's like a doctor looking, hearing and asking about everything. It gives me a sense of the interconnectedness of all things." Zhang Yanling praised.
Xu Gao nodded and said: "Master Hou is really smart and perceptive. When I was learning skills from my father, he said that even if it is a stone or iron, you can feel it with your five senses and understand its characteristics. Color, sound, etc.
Smell is an element."
Xu Youtang looked at Zhang Yanling with joy and said: "My father rarely praises others. When I studied with my father, I was always scolded for being stupid. No matter how much Marquis Mo Ruo followed my father as his apprentice."
Zhang Yanling was stunned, and Xu Gao smiled and said: "Silly girl, Mr. Hou is a person who does great things, how can he learn these things? In the future, if you have a boy, it would be good to learn from me. This will also prevent my Xu family from having no one to have some skills.
inherit."
Xu Youtang said shyly and angrily: "What are you talking nonsense about?"
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "This makes the skills of craftsmen as important as reading, and they are treasures worth passing on. In the future, if I marry Youtang and have children, I can inherit the skills of the Xu family and continue the incense."
Xu Gao nodded slowly and said, "Okay, this is what you said."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Of course, I can't make the decision on this matter alone. It depends on Youtang."
Xu Youtang couldn't listen to these topics anymore and said softly: "Dad, let's talk about business, why are you talking about these things?"
Xu Gao coughed and continued: "Master Hou should be able to feel some problems when using this firearm. For example, whether the barrel is overheated after consecutive firings."
Zhang Yanling said: "That's also a problem with fine steel smelting, isn't it?"
Xu Gao said: "Exactly. Maybe you don't think this is a big problem at the moment. That's because the firing speed of this kind of gun is slow. If it can fire continuously, this problem will be serious. It cost a lot of money to make it.
If firearms cannot exert their full effectiveness, it would be a huge waste."
Zhang Yanling said in surprise: "What do you mean, can you achieve continuous shooting?"
Xu Gao muttered: "I understand the principle, but... it still needs practice. As far as the current short fire blunderbuss is concerned, there are indeed many problems. If we want to improve it, we should consider three aspects: material, shooting method, and ammunition.
Improvements must be made. These three aspects include various improvements, such as the smelting process, manufacturing process, gunpowder purification, redesign of the machine spring, etc. In short, there are too many areas that need improvement."
Zhang Yanling was silent for a moment and said softly: "Can I make a bold request?"
Xu Gao said: "What?"
Zhang Yanling said: "Since you have resigned, why not do what you like to do. I can provide you with any convenience and let you do whatever you want. As long as you can help me improve firearms and realize some of my ideas
.I hire you as the chief craftsman."
Xu Youtang said happily: "Yes, yes, dad, don't you often sigh that there is no place to use it, and many ideas cannot be realized? Isn't it possible to show off your talents this time? Isn't this a great good thing?"
Xu Gao turned to look at Zhang Yanling, and saw the eager light shining in Zhang Yanling's eyes, and said softly: "Thank you for your kindness, but I have to go and see what the arsenal you have built is like before I can make a decision."
Zhang Yanling said happily: "Okay, okay, just go and take a look and then make a decision."