The rise of the prince

Chapter 231 Gun Barrel + Battle of Anxiakou (1)

The blacksmith heated a strip of iron and hit it with a hammer to make a depression in the middle.

Then heat it until it turns red and becomes soft, then wrap a thin iron rod inside, forge the middle part, the thick iron sheet will gradually curl, and then the middle part will also be bonded under high temperature to form a small hollow tube.

Pull out the iron rod, then put it into the fiery red charcoal pile to heat up again, and sprinkle a small amount of quartz stone powder on the joint.

After the middle section is cooled, heat it up in the same way, then forge the front section and the back section, and melt and cast in sections until the whole piece is fully bonded with the iron bars to form a hollow tube.

Under the command of Li Xingzhou, the blacksmith heated the cooled iron pipe as a whole, forged it to decarburize, and removed impurities until the diameter of the iron pipe was about half a centimeter less.

At this time, the cooled iron pipe is heated and buried in the carbon pile for carburization. At this time, in order to increase the carbon content, the outer surface of the iron pipe is stronger.

After the iron pipe is cooled, carburizing is almost the same, and then it is the next step.

This is also an important step in collapsing the barrel and milling the barrel.

This step is very difficult to do manually, so Li Xingzhou used a horizontal hand-operated drilling machine.

Many things sound very high-end and elegant, but in fact its purpose is very simple and simple. This kind of drilling machine has a simple structure and uncomplicated workmanship. With iron bars, the front section is sharpened and then ground into a rough drill shape.

Then fix the barrel on the surface of the drill press, adjust the height position, apply lard, turn the wheel, and polish the inner wall of the barrel smooth.

This process is much simpler than forging, but the construction of a drilling machine is a time-consuming project.

Now there is only one hand-operated drilling machine in the palace, and it took Zhao Si and his two apprentices more than half a month to build it.

This is the simplest type of manual machine tool.In fact, machine tools have been used a long time ago, but they have different names and functions, and they have not received much attention as auxiliary tools.

Li Xingzhou personally went into battle and taught several craftsmen headed by Zhao Si how to use this thing. After several times of careful milling, the iron powder ground inside was blown out, and collected for reuse.

Then there is straightening.

There is only one way to straighten at present, and that is to face the sunlight and see if the light can pass through completely.

Zhao Si can see where the bend is through the light, fix the position, and straighten it by beating.

Then replace the drill-shaped iron bar milled on the hand drill with a diamond-shaped iron column, apply lard, and drill through the barrel in the same way.

This is a reaming hole. To put it bluntly, it is to smooth the inner wall of the barrel, keep it smooth, and adjust the caliber of the barrel at the same time.

Li Xingzhou was sweating profusely as he shook the turntable. Zhao Si and his senior apprentice held the barrel of the gun tightly and kept pushing it forward, while the younger apprentice was responsible for adding lard to keep it lubricated.

The whole process was very strenuous, and Li Xingzhou's arm was sore, but he didn't stop. It is most taboo to stop in the middle of this job.

He gritted his teeth and continued to turn. Finally, after a long time, black lard flowed out from the other end of the gun barrel. The reason why it was black was because it contained fine metal fragments, so it appeared black.

Li Xingzhou heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, the dumpling hole was completed. It took nearly two hours for a seemingly simple step.

The last step is to polish the surface with a file. This step does not require him. All the craftsmen in the palace know it. It is a basic skill.

The next afternoon, a musket barrel was completed.

Generally speaking, this is already the best gun barrel that can be made at present, and it is also the best gun barrel technology that humans can achieve before the steam engine is put into use, although there is still a slight gap in the material.

In fact until the advent of the steam engine, using a steam boring machine to directly bore out the bore and pull out the rifling, this could be classified as one of the best barrels.

This kind of barrel is absolutely qualified as long as more efforts are made in forging.

But the problem is that it is too time-consuming and labor-intensive. He, Zhao Si's two apprentices, and two other blacksmiths of the palace worked together to build it. It took seven or eight days to build such a gun barrel.

In other words, he is now mobilizing all the blacksmiths in the palace, spending time teaching them to make more hand-operated drilling machines, and he can make about eighteen gun barrels in about a month. The annual output of the palace is only about two hundred, which is not enough. Including other parts of firearms.

It would be nice to have a steam engine.
Li Xingzhou couldn't help thinking that if there was a steam engine and a steam boring machine, it wouldn't be a dream to produce a hundred gun barrels a day.

And now he has graphite refractory material, and it will not be long to refine high-carbon steel. The steam engine does not have any problems in materials science. The problem lies in.
He doesn't understand steam engines.

This is very embarrassing. Li Xingzhou likes cars very much and often tinkers with them, so he has a lot of research on internal combustion engines.

But the problem is that there are still too many technical problems in the internal combustion engine, whether it is airtight or fuel, many of them cannot be solved.

The only thing he can count on is the steam engine, but the steam engine has never been used in the cars he has come into contact with in his previous life, and he has not studied the steam engine much.

This is very embarrassing.
So he had no choice but to use this old method for the time being. If the output is small, the output should be small. There will always be a way in the future.

As for whether the firearm is to use the original point gun, a matchlock gun, or a quick-fire gun, it is natural to use a quick-fire gun, because the three kinds of firearms themselves have not made leapfrog development in manufacturing technology, and there are no problems in processing. It's just an improvement in thinking.

Since he was standing on the shoulders of giants, why would he foolishly go around again and forcibly lower his IQ?
The technique of Suifi gun is not complicated, and it was proposed as early as the Ming Dynasty.

Many people have some misunderstandings about history, probably because of the influence of modern history. In fact, firearms have always been a very important weapon in Chinese history.

It existed during the Song Dynasty, but its power was not enough.

Although the Ming Dynasty was dragged down by material technology, it ranked among the top in the world in the development and emphasis on firearms. More than [-]% of the weapons in the Ming army were firearms.

In the Ming Dynasty, a firearms expert named Zhao Shizhen wrote a book called "Shenqipu", which designed more than a dozen different bird guns.Bi Maokang proposed "self-generated firecrackers" in "Illustrations of Military Weapons", which is actually a spontaneous gun. Unfortunately, the Ming Empire did not have time to experiment with this idea, and it was hastily buried in history. Later, the spontaneous gun indeed ruled nearly two countries in Europe. Battlefield of the century.

During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, several major foreign wars were also won with firearms.

He also implemented the strategy of elite soldiers, that is, to streamline the combatants and equip them with high-quality firearms. During his conquest of Ge Erdan, although there were tens of thousands of troops, in fact, the real combat troops were only [-] elite troops using firearms.

This tactic is very successful, which also shows that he attaches great importance to firearms.

But when it came to Qianlong, the prodigal son, for some reason, he became arrogant inexplicably, and then began to close the country, set up a literary prison, repaired the Siku Quanshu, and burned a lot of precious documents.

Among them, Bi Maokang's military technology treasure "Illustration of Military Weapons" was also burned by Qianlong.The irony is that there is a sentence in this book, "Firearms are what the barbarians fear most from China." In the end, the Qing Dynasty also died because of this sentence.

Technological competition is sailing against the current, and stagnation is tantamount to retrogression.

Li Xingzhou is very busy these days, and a lot of data needs to be recorded in a standardized and confidential way. Only Qiu'er can help.

He used a combination of Chinese characters, letters, and Arabic numerals, so that even if it was stolen, outsiders would definitely not be able to understand it.

Some of this valuable knowledge was not available in his previous life, such as the different performances of different proportions of graphite and clay in graphite refractory materials, the suitable temperature for heating, the specific characteristics of nitrate-containing soil, the optimal temperature for nitrate production and water analysis, etc. It was gradually discovered by the craftsmen of the palace during production.

Li Xingzhou bought a lot of bound booklets and handed them over to the artisans, asking them to write down new discoveries. Once they prove that they will be rewarded, buying knowledge with money is the most cost-effective deal in the world. The response is very good, and the artisans are enthusiastic. very high.

A few days ago, he personally brought the black powder formula and all the production processes of the grenade into the palace and handed it to the emperor, and then went to Duzhisi to ask for 10 taels of silver.

The 10 taels cannot be settled in one step, because what Duzhisi spent was the treasury silver, which was branded with the royal family, and it needs to be recast before it can be put into the market. .

10 taels is not a small amount, but the emperor's request is not small. He requires the palace to produce at least [-] grenades every year, and then hand them over to the Ministry of War and the Privy Council.

There is no way, the military supervision is small and weak, and it has not been established permanently, so it is impossible to keep it by itself.

Afterwards, Li Xingzhou personally negotiated a big deal with Jiangzhou Dashang. Next month, he will sell five thousand catties of wrought iron from Jiangzhou. This time it is wrought iron, not iron ore. You don't have to hide it, and he's not going to be polite.This is a lot of money, Yan Yan almost cursed when he heard it, but there was still nothing he could do, the son's work always made him confused.

The businessman in Jiangzhou was overjoyed and gave him several very precious tiger skin mattresses after the business negotiation. He gave one to each of the two maids, and then gave Shiyu another one.

Shiyu refused at first, but after Li Xingzhou took tough measures, he accepted it.

The initial success of Zhenbao Pavilion is due to poetry. She is really good at dealing with communication, and many high-ranking officials and dignitaries can talk. If this trend continues, Zhenbao Pavilion will soon surpass Tingyu Tower and become the main source of income for the palace. , Support the construction of the palace.

After all, it is a luxury item.

In fact, the main source of income of the Wangfu was the same as that of other high-ranking officials, that is, salary and land. But after the death of King Xiao, because Li Xingzhou had no title, the royal family took back a large piece of fertile land in the Wangfu, leaving only Tingyulou and There is a large wasteland in the back mountain.

After dinner in the afternoon, Li Xingzhou was just about to go to the back mountain to see the production of gunpowder, when Ji Chunsheng rushed in out of breath, and said loudly, "Your Majesty, there is a fight, and there is a fight in the south!"

Su Ban'an led the magistrate's personal soldiers, followed by a group of angry people, and marched towards the entrance of Anxia across several hills.

After his prefect brother made a compassionate and impassioned speech, the public sentiment was finally pushed to the top
He didn't know how many people were behind him, because he couldn't estimate it.While marching, people continued to join in. Almost all the people in Suzhou knew that the magistrate would ambush the imperial army at Anxiakou. From then on, Ansu Mansion would become an independent country without being oppressed by the imperial court.

Because the Suzhou area is located in the southeast, according to the ancient place names, they decided to call themselves descendants of Xu State, and took the country name "Xu", and Su Banchuan, the prefect of Suzhou, called himself "Xu Gong".

The territory of Ansu Mansion suffered from the disaster of the rebel army first, and then was ravaged by the Xiang army. The imperial court did not say anything to appease the people, and even sent a large army to come. The people complained and responded.

At noon, Su Ban'an stood at the highest point on the south bank of Anxia. Looking from afar, the jungles on both sides of the bank were full of people gathered from all directions. The mountains and forests were full of human voices, and no birds or beasts dared to make a sound.

But apart from the thousands of elite soldiers around him, he couldn't command so many people at all.

It takes less than half an hour to go back and forth between the two sides of the strait. Fortunately, he discussed this matter with Mr. Fang and Mr. Xu yesterday, and he also expected this situation, so he sent veterans in the army to supervise the battle.

The countless people made the front line very long, and the crowds on both sides of the mountain were once separated by more than ten miles, and they continued to spread.

He could only send people to send orders to shrink the courage of the upper reaches, because the upper reaches are the front line of the battle, and his elite troops must be transferred there, otherwise the upper reaches will be defeated, not to mention the morale will be greatly damaged, and the imperial army will also have a chance to breathe.

These transfers alone took a whole afternoon before he passed through many people and transferred the elite troops to the upper reaches.

Regarding tactics, he also tried to simplify as much as possible, and repeatedly explained to the veterans who supervised the war, asking them to hold on to the bravery, and use the fire on the top of the mountain as their name. One pile of fire is to shoot arrows, and two piles of fire will rush down the mountain to kill the enemy, and they must not act rashly without any other orders.

On the other side of the Anxiakou, he had already sent people to set up wooden piles in the middle of the river, and then sank the big ship to block the exit channel.

During the period, the scouts kept reporting the position of the imperial army. After reporting several times, his brows gradually relaxed, because according to the spies' estimation, the imperial vanguard fleet would arrive at the Anxiakou around dusk.

Su Ban'an immediately felt much more relieved, it seemed that the commander of the vanguard army of the imperial court was an idiot.

The light at dusk is not good, and when it is getting dark, it is even more deadly than at night. It will be very beneficial for them to be condescending.This shows that the forward commander chosen by the emperor is unprepared, which makes Su Ban'an very happy.

It seems that the court sent such a commander in chief, it seems that it can be decided in one battle!
As time went by, more and more people on both sides of the strait were filled with righteous indignation. Almost at a glance, there were people everywhere. The sun began to set gradually, and the river in the distance was still calm.

Soon, the sun had completely set behind the mountains in the distance, only the sun was still slightly illuminating the sky, and the atmosphere became more and more tense and dignified. Even Su Banan's heartbeat began to speed up, staring closely at the place where the water and the sky meet in the distance .

After a while, in the dark forest, a scout ran over panting, and then knelt down on the fallen leaves beside him.

"My lord, here we come, the army is here!"

"What is father doing?" Qi Fang was wearing armor, and walked through the small courtyard full of various medicinal herbs. The nurse next to him quickly lowered his head and agreed, "My lord is making birthday soup in the house."

Dissatisfied, she threw the bag in her hand to the nursing home, and then rushed into the inner hall. There were only a few old tables and chairs with paint in it, and a stove. Huo, he was followed by two young and beautiful maidservants, who were incompatible with the dilapidated environment.

This man was Qidong, the prefect of Luzhou.

"Father!" Qi Fang hurriedly pushed open the door and walked in, dissatisfied: "How can you detain the people sent by Suzhou!"

He started to add firewood, then turned around, and said dissatisfied: "Otherwise, what do you ask Weifu to do, I don't know what Su Banchuan is thinking, why don't I wait and see."

Qi Fang waved her hand and signaled the two maidservants to go out, and after the two maidservants left, she said loudly: "How can we wait and see about this kind of thing, if Ansu Mansion really wins!"

"Isn't this a fight yet? The ghost knows which of them will win. No matter which one wins, there is always a way for my father. Don't bother me right now!" Qidong wanted to drive her away impatiently.

Qifang was so angry that his father had been obsessed with the pursuit of longevity for the past two years, ignoring government affairs, and he was indecisive, so he didn't dare to do big things at all.

She snorted angrily and slammed the door angrily. Now she and her two elder brothers are taking care of everything in Suzhou.

Especially now the atmosphere in Luzhou is tense and the situation is complicated. Because of the involvement of the previous bullshit Shenggong rebellion and the influence of the Xiang army's rebellion, people's hearts are fluctuating and the situation is tense.

The gate of Luzhou City has been closed for more than half a year, and it only dares to open for two hours a day, and there are dozens of city officials on the gate.If things go on like this, something will happen sooner or later, but even so, the court doesn't care about it.

In fact, she has long advocated joining the Ansu prefect, and she simply raised her troops. In this situation, it is better to break through than to stand up. Besides, she has met the prefect of Suzhou, and he is indeed ambitious and clever.

At the beginning, the prefect of Suzhou proposed marriage to Qifang for his son Su Huan, but she refused without hesitation on the spot, and said that if she married the prefect of Suzhou, she would be willing.

Su Banchuan's son is nothing more than an idiot. Although the prefect of Suzhou is twenty years older than her, she doesn't care. A capable man is a real man. Unfortunately, the shrew of the prefect of Suzhou intervened and the matter failed.

Qifang and her elder brother repeatedly persuaded her father to let him join the Suzhou prefect to join the army.

If the matter is successful, father will be able to take advantage of the situation and become king!How many people in the world can have a chance with such a domineering ambition? The sky is high and the emperor is far away. What is there to be loyal to the bullshit court, but my father still has no decision, he is still obsessed with the pursuit of longevity, and almost pissed them off
She rushed out of the door angrily, and her own soldiers hurried over and whispered, "Miss, Hong Jin, the commander of the Xiang army, said that he has something to do tomorrow, so he won't take anyone to patrol the city."

"He dares! He is taking the opportunity to threaten." Qifang frowned, furious, and then paced around. After walking a few steps, she suddenly turned around and asked the soldiers: "Where did he tell you?"

"It's right on top of the south gate." The soldiers returned.

"South of the city, isn't it the camp of the Xiang army? Quickly, go and ask some good hands to bring the guys with me, and call the second brother too." Qifang said, grabbing the pocket in the guard's hand and putting it on his head, and then strode forward go outside.

The guards then asked puzzledly, "Miss, is this?"

"Hong Jin is dead, and the Xiang army will be under my control." Qi Fang said, getting on his horse: "Dare to say such a thing in Luzhou City, does he think he is in his own camp!"

The soldier suddenly realized, nodded and hurried to call for someone.
Soon, a group of more than ten riders quickly passed through the streets of Luzhou and ran towards the south gate.

(End of this chapter)