Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 163
That afternoon, after lunch, Miguel brought He Liangtao to Lin Hai.

Still in the same reception room, Lin Hai ordered refreshments and fruits to be placed again, and at the same time, Lun No. [-], who had just reunited with his family, was also brought over to listen.

He Liangtao will definitely stay, even if he is a rogue. The specific position to be assigned to him has not yet been decided, but it will probably be within the framework of the Construction Department.

"Is this Mr. He? Please sit down, please sit down." Lin Hai greeted He Liangtao with a smile while looking at this great master of artillery in the late Ming Dynasty, whose name he had heard for a long time.

The summer in Tamsui is quite hot. He Liangtao is wearing a Leizhou fine Ge cloth quilt, a square scarf on his head, and soap boots on his feet. He is dressed like a scholar and has a handsome face. He looks to be in his early thirties. look.

After seeing him in person, Lin Hai believed the rumor Miguel said a little more. He was a scholar and a scholar, and he looked handsome, which was more in line with the image of a person who was born as a book boy.

"I am He Liangtao, I have met Lin Qianhu." He Liangtao replied with clasped fists. He had already heard about Lin Hai's identity from Miguel, but he still didn't know what Lin Hai wanted to do by calling him here.

"It's easy to say. My name is Lin Hai. My cursive character is Tongbo, and my alias is Dengwan. I am from Zhoushan, Zhejiang." Lin Hai returned the greeting to He Liangtao, and then asked, "Dare you ask me about the immortal village of Taifa?"

"I'm asking from thousands of households in Laolin. I have the courtesy name Liehou, and I'm from Renhe County, Hangzhou Prefecture."

"Mr. He, please sit down." Lin Hai asked He Liangtao to sit down. After he sat down, he suddenly asked, "I wonder if Mr. He recognizes the taboo of Li Gongtao, the young minister of Taipu Temple?"

He Liangtao had just sat down, and when he heard these words, he stood up in shock, hesitating and speechless.

"Mr. He, please rest assured that Lin has no ill intentions towards you." Lin Hai knew that he had guessed correctly. This He Liangtao was indeed Li Zhizao's school boy.

After hearing the rumors mentioned by Miguel, he guessed that the Ming Dynasty official was Li Zhizao, a Zhejiang official who had a close relationship with Matteo Ricci. Wouldn't that be the first choice for Li Zhizao?
In addition, He Liangtao said that he was from Renhe County, this possibility becomes even greater.So Lin Hai asked tentatively, and sure enough, he deceived He Liangtao's life experience. It seemed that his affair with his maid when he was a book boy was probably not groundless.

"I heard that Mr. He is proficient in Western artillery. Lin has a military book here. I would also like to ask Mr. He to help check whether the content contained in it is reliable." Lin Hai said as he took out the "Western Artillery Attack Map" copied from He Rubin. 》.

He Liangtao calmed down for a moment, took the book of war and flipped through it, and suddenly cursed: "What a great Sun Xueshi, I asked him to take my book of war to the capital for circulation, but he was so good that he copied a book of war himself."

Lin Hai heard this and said, "Does Mr. He recognize this Sun Xueshi?"

"Why don't you recognize him? He, like me, was a scholar of the Li family back then." Seeing that Lin Hai knew about his life experience, He Liangtao simply stopped hiding it. It turned out that a few years ago, Li Zhizao sent Sun Xueshi to Haojing to buy cannon, but he accidentally When we arrived at He Liangtao, we started copying books as he mentioned.

"Then who is Zhang Tao whose name is in front of Sun Xueshi?" Lin Hai then asked.

"He is a disciple of Xu Gongbao Guangqi, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites. He was the person in charge when he came to Haojing with Sun Xueshi to buy cannons. He was still a guard at that time, but now he has no official position." He Liangtao said with envy.

He returned to his hometown this time just to see if he could get a military career by relying on his own abilities.However, judging from the subsequent situation, it seems that he failed to achieve his wish, and in the end he only became a white-bodied staff member in about eight years of Chongzhen.

"It turns out he is a disciple of Xu Shilang." Lin Hai suddenly remembered that during the Wuqiao Mutiny, there was a deputy commander in Shandong named Zhang Tao. Like Sun Yuanhua, he was a disciple of Xu Guangqi. It seemed that he was undoubtedly this person.

At this point, the origin of Western artillery in the Ming Dynasty has been revealed. He Rubin and Sun Yuanhua both copied "Illustrations of Western Fire Attack", and the latter copied "Zhu Rong Assistant".The speculations of later generations of scholars were basically correct. The founder of Western artillery in the Ming Dynasty was He Liangtao.

"Mr. He, a wise man doesn't tell secrets. Lin invited Mr. here today because he wants you to stay in Dongfan and help Lin cast cannons." Lin Hai simply stated his purpose to He Liangtao.

He Liangtao was also very straightforward and refused directly: "I would like to thank Lin Qianhu for his kindness, but I am really eager to return home and have no intention of staying here for a long time."

Lin Hai smiled and said: "If Lin remembers correctly, Mr. He will still be homeless even if he returns to his hometown. If this is the case, why go back?"

He Liangtao said proudly: "Now that the world is in chaos, it is the time for men to make contributions. Even a third-grade official like Xu Shilang sends people to Haojing to buy cannons. I don't believe that no one in the court will appreciate my ability."

Lin Hai thought to himself: In two years' time, even the emperor will send people to Haojing to buy artillery and recruit soldiers. In the end, you, He Liangtao, will still be a white-clad staff member.

However, he couldn't tell He Liangtao about the future, so he just laid out the facts and reasoned with him: "You must know that high officials in the DPRK and Central Government like Xu Shilang who value Western artillery science are all close friends of Li Shaoqing. Do you think they Will they use you? What's more, both Xu Shilang and Li Shaoqing have been dismissed from office because they offended the eunuchs."

"Of course I know this. That's why I don't want to go to the capital. I just want to find an official position in Zhejiang. Doesn't Zhejiang civil and military officials know the difference?" The reason why He Liangtao returned to his hometown at this time was actually because he heard that Li Zhizao had been dismissed. Well, that incident made Li Zhizao hate him deeply, so he never thought of returning to his hometown when Li Zhizao was on stage.

Lin Hai smiled and shook his head: "You have no martial arts reputation, you are not an official in the imperial guard, and you have no one to recommend you. It is extremely difficult to seek an official position in the Ming Dynasty. In this case, why not change your mind, as long as you are willing Stay, I promise I won’t treat you badly, after all, do you want money or beautiful women?”

"I would like to thank Lin Qianhu for his kindness, but I still want to go back to my hometown and give it a try." He Liangtao actually knew that what Lin Hai said was reasonable, but he was still unwilling to go back and give it a try.

"You want to go back to your hometown, why don't I send a ship to take you back?" Lin Hai saw that good words didn't work, so he simply offered courtesy first and then sent troops.

He Liangtao heard the threat implicit in Lin Hai's words, but he dared not speak out in anger, so he said to Miguel in Portuguese: "So you are lying to me?"

"Don't say it so harshly." Miguel is thick-skinned, "I'm giving you a better choice."

Now He Liangtao knew that he was on a pirate ship, and said helplessly: "Lin Qianhu, if you want to cast cannons, the Ming Dynasty has many skilled craftsmen, why do you have to rely on the superiors? As far as I know, Miguel recruited this time There are several master craftsmen who are better at forging cannons than me." "I believe what you say, but it was you, He, who invented the iron core copper body composite cannon. Those master craftsmen did not have this ability. More What's more, you can also design a Western-style musket, but not many people in the Ming Dynasty know how to do this."

After all, He Liangtao was not a craftsman, and his practical skills could not be at the top level. Otherwise, there would be no need to hire craftsmen from Foshan to teach the Portuguese the cast iron cannon technology.

But when it comes to integrating Eastern and Western technologies and innovating on this basis, there are few people who can compare with He Liangtao. When he wrote "Zhu Rong Assistant", he referred to several Western books of.

Lin Hai continued: "I just said that I would like you to help me cast the cannon. It is not to use the clay mold method or the lost wax method, but to develop a new process."

Although He Liangtao had never heard of the word craftsmanship, he understood what Lin Hai meant. He was surprised and said: "This is easier said than done!"

"It's precisely because it's not easy that we need you, Ho Liehou." Lin Hai said and added, "Whether it is the clay mold method or the lost wax method, the efficiency is too low, and it is also easy to produce trachoma. Haven't you ever thought about it? Do you want to improve it?”

The so-called clay mold method is actually to carve a cannon out of wood first, then apply mud on the wooden body, and use an inverted mold to make the clay mold. Of course, it is also possible to use a real cannon inverted mold, which can save the need to carve wood. the process of.

After the clay mold is made, it needs to be dried first. This process takes three or four months. Then the wooden body or real cannon inside is knocked out, molten iron or copper is poured into the clay mold, and finally the clay mold is removed. .

This is a common method for casting cannons in the East and the West. The disadvantages, as Lin Hai said, are that the efficiency is too low. In addition to slow drying, the clay mold is disposable and must be re-cast every time a cannon is cast. Make a clay mold.

Furthermore, trachoma is easily produced due to water vapor, which will seriously affect the quality of the artillery and result in low yield.In particular, the process of casting iron is inherently difficult, so those who can cast iron cannons in this era can be regarded as national masters.

As for the lost wax method, it is actually just an advanced clay molding method, which uses a wax tire to replace the wooden tire in the first step. When the clay mold is dried, the wax will melt naturally, unlike wooden molds or real cannons. Knock it out.

The advantages of the lost wax method over the clay mold method are also very obvious. First of all, in order to knock out a wooden mold or a real cannon, the clay mold can only be segmented or divided into two halves. This will cause gaps, which will adversely affect the quality of the cannon. .

Secondly, beeswax is easy to shape and can make more accurate cannons. Many exquisite bronzes are cast using the lost wax method.

However, the lost wax method also has disadvantages. First, beeswax is more expensive, and second, it can only be used in winter, otherwise the beeswax will melt naturally.In addition, the production efficiency is not higher than that of the mud mold method, and the problem of blisters also exists.

After hearing what Lin Hai said, He Liangtao replied: "Of course I know the problem you mentioned, but both the Tang people and the Western Yi cast cannons this way. Do you have a better way?"

"It's just an idea, it may not be successful, but I am willing to pay the price to try." Of course Lin Hai has a solution. Even the ten He Liangtao can't compare to him if they want to talk on paper. After all, he knows the history of cannon casting in later generations.

"Let's talk about the problem of sand holes first. I wonder if you know the sand casting method used to make money, which is to use sand molds instead of mud molds. Mixing sand into the mud may solve this problem." What Lin Hai was talking about was the British before the Opium War. The sand mold casting method used by humans is actually somewhat similar to the sand foundry method used to cast copper coins in the East.

But copper coins are small after all, and Lin Hai doesn't know how long it takes between sand casting and cannon casting.

Just the step of selecting sand may take a long time. I don’t know if there is suitable sand in Dongpan. The proportion of mud and sand and the proportion of other components such as coal ash and sawdust also need to be explored. In addition, there is the issue of moisture content control. It is also particularly critical for sand casting.

"You can give the method you mentioned a try." He Liangtao's eyes lit up when he heard this. He already regretted not agreeing to Lin Hai to stay and work for him.

"If you have the energy in the future, you can definitely try it. But I have another idea. I hope you can explore it for me first." Lin Hai said, "Since clay molds are prone to blisters, why not use iron molds?"

"Use iron molds? Is it feasible?" He Liangtao's eyes flashed with excitement again. In fact, iron mold casting was a technology that appeared as early as the Warring States Period. It has been used to cast various small bronzes or irons for 2000 years. However, But no one ever thought of using it to cast cannons.

"It's worth a try. The iron mold can be reused. Once it can be used to cast artillery, it will greatly improve production efficiency." Lin Hai began to speak words that were unfamiliar to He Liangtao. In fact, he was sure that the iron mold Casting a cannon is definitely possible.

The reason is that Gong Zhenlin of the Qing Dynasty invented this technology, but the iron mold cannon casting technology he invented had a major flaw, that is, the iron mold dissipated heat too quickly, causing the pig iron to condense too quickly, and the cementite mainly existed in the form of iron carbide. , that is, the final result is white iron.

Compared with the gray iron obtained by the mud mold method, white iron is hard and brittle and difficult to further polish. Therefore, the iron cannons cast with iron molds in the Qing Dynasty could not even be bored, which seriously affected the performance of the artillery.Moreover, the white iron gun body is easily shaken, and the risk of the chamber exploding is very high.

Because of this, iron-moulded cannons were not promoted in the Qing Dynasty, even though its production efficiency was much higher and the cost was lower than that of the clay-mold method.

In fact, this problem is easy to solve. Just slow down the heat dissipation process of the iron mold. Wrapping the iron mold in mud and slowly annealing it is one way, or wrapping it in a quilt and placing it in a house with a charcoal fire will work.

Lin Hai did not intend to point out this issue personally. Just like he did not say that sand-casting cannons and iron-mold cannons were definitely feasible. Personality worship is the most undesirable thing in the field of science and technology. He must not use Mazu's method on He Liangtao.

Lin Hai planned to wait for the problem to be exposed, and then find a master porcelain maker to assist the project team in solving the problem. In the field of ceramics, tens of thousands of pieces of porcelain are often annealed at the same time. I believe experts in this field can quickly find the problem.

"Lin Qianhu, can we talk about the silver and beauties we just talked about first?" He Liangtao has completely changed his mind. As Miguel said, his most obsessed with cannon casting. After hearing the new technology Lin Hai said, , can’t wait to give it a try.

"Money can be negotiated. As for beauty, you are so handsome. As long as you have money, do you still have to worry about this?" Lin Hai replied with a smile.

Forget about beauties and all that, this Qianhu still only has one wife, what else do you want?
Who told you that He Liangtao would not eat or drink as a penalty when toasting you? Now you want to negotiate terms, but it's too late.

　Thanks to the flying little pig for another reward of 1000 taels!Thanks to book friend 2023051717182157798 for the reward of 900 taels!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)