Song Yi

Chapter 455 Flintlock

The young supervisor said with some embarrassment: "This..., there really isn't one. The Military Weapon Institute doesn't practice alchemy, so there is no need for alchemists."

Last time Du Wenhao thoroughly inspected all the arsenals, he did not find any firearms manufacturing. Since there were no firearms, there was no need to configure gunpowder.

Du Wenhao asked: "Do you know who the best alchemist is?"

The two looked at each other and said in unison: "Master Sima!"

"Sima Heavenly Master?" Du Wenhao thought the name was very familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere, and asked, "Which Taoist temple is he in?"

The young supervisor replied: "Not in the Taoist temple anymore, but in..., hehe, he has passed away..."

"Return to heaven?" Du Wenhao immediately remembered after hearing this sentence, "That dog-headed military adviser of Prince Yong?"

Du Wenhao dared to say that, but the young supervisor didn't dare, he didn't even dare to nod his head indiscriminately, and smiled sarcastically, expressing that he was right.

Du Wenhao said: "Is he the best alchemist?"

The young supervisor nodded and said: "That's right, all the alchemists in the capital said so. I heard that it was Prince Yong who worked so hard to invite him to the mansion to help practice elixir."

Du Wenhao smiled bitterly: "But he has already been executed, who else is there besides him?"

The young supervisor wondered: "Does the Duke want to make alchemy?"

"Well, no, I want to configure gunpowder. It's the kind of gunpowder that sets off fireworks."

"Oh, then there's no need to find an alchemist, just find a craftsman who makes fireworks!"

Du Wenhao slapped his forehead: "That's right! Why am I so stubborn! I don't practice alchemy, so why do I need an alchemist? I should look for a firework craftsman! —Which one of the fireworks workshops in Beijing has the best craftsmen?"

"Hey, my lord, the best fireworks craftsman is naturally from the palace workshop."

There is a special firework workshop in the palace, which is responsible for making fireworks for the royal family. The craftsmen inside are top fireworks craftsmen recruited from all over the country.It really took a long time to turn around, but it turned out to be right in front of my eyes.

Du Wenhao asked these craftsmen to wait first, and he hurriedly left the armory and went straight to the Royal Fireworks Workshop.

The majestic Lord Zaizhi came to visit in person, really flourishing.Du Wenhao explained his purpose, and the owner of the workshop immediately called the best fireworks craftsmen.

Du Wenhao picked two and told the workshop owner that they would be transferred to work in the armory.How dare the owner of the workshop object to what Zaizhi decided, so he agreed with a smile.

Du Wenhao brought the two fireworks craftsmen back to the Arsenal.

Du Wenhao convened the young supervisor of the Armament Institute, the Bureau of Bow and Nut Academy, the Bureau of East and West Workshops, and the previously selected blacksmiths, and the two new firework craftsmen, gathered in the conference hall for a meeting.

Du Wenhao said solemnly: "Today, I am going to set up an institution in the Weapons Institute, called the 'Weapon Research Institute', with Li Hong appointed by the Bow and Crossbow Institute Bureau as the director! This research institute specializes in the development of various weapons and equipment. I A yard will be set aside in the armory for your research and development offices. It will be fully enclosed."

These people are all engaged in the production of weapons, so why don't they know the power of advanced weapons? It's just that few people specialize in this matter before, but now that Zaizhi is personally handling this matter, he can't help but smile on his face.

Du Wenhao went on to say: "Your job in the future will be to develop weapons. I will give you enough good treatment and honors. The monthly salary will be five times that of a military craftsman temporarily. If you have a new invention, I will reward you with a lot of money, just like Li It's like Hong inventing the god arm bow."

In the Song Dynasty, military craftsmen belonged to craftsmen, and the social status of craftsmen was very low, similar to that of slaves, especially military craftsmen, whose status as soldiers was already very low.Coupled with the status of craftsmen, it is even lower, they are often beaten and scolded, and their monthly salary is also very low. Now Du Wenhao gives them five times their monthly salary, and they are rewarded for their inventions. uplifting.

Li Hong bowed and said, "Master Guo, if you give us such good treatment, if we don't work hard, we will be so sorry to you!"

Du Wenhao smiled and said: "However, your work is highly confidential and cannot be known to outsiders, so you will be restricted to a certain extent. I hope you can understand this. Your family can move to live in the armory. I will build a special house for you and a special private school for your children. However, your work must be kept strictly confidential, and only a few of us know about it. Anyone who wants to leak it will be a death penalty! Do you understand?"

All the craftsmen nodded frequently and agreed repeatedly.

Du Wenhao smiled and said: "Okay, now I will give you the first task. I designed a gun and a cannon. You help me build it and perfect it. Now I will draw you the blueprint to explain the design principle. You make it according to my design."

Du Wenhao ordered the young supervisor to bring a pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and then drew schematic diagrams of the front-loading smoothbore flintlock and the rear-loading smoothbore flintlock, as well as the disassembly diagram of each component.Also drew a schematic diagram of the rear loaded paper shell bullet.

Du Wenhao once visited the military museum and saw the structural diagram and actual objects of the rear-loading flintlock. In addition, he is a forensic student and has a good understanding of firearms knowledge. Referring to the structure of modern firearms, he designed the paper shell of the rear-loading flintlock. bullet.

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When Du Wenhao returned to Sanya, his subordinates reported the battle report, which was the first battle report after the soldiers dispatched to Xixia.

The battle report confirmed the statement of the Xixia spies.Describes the implementation of the step-by-step warfare method. Thousands of battle camps were deployed on the two hundred-mile front line of the Huanqing Economic Strategy Division, and [-] troops were concentrated in the back. They were divided into two layers. The first layer was fast and maneuverable cavalry There are three assembly points in the back of the battle team. If the enemy forces make a surprise attack from any one place, if the smoke rises from the battle village, there will be troops to meet them immediately.

The Xixia army was at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, so they did not dare to fight with the Song army. They used roundabout tactics and wanted to rush in from places where there were no strongholds on both sides of the battle line. After the Xia army rushed in, they could not find the looted villages and border people, and the troops could not be stationed and occupied, so they had to retreat.

In the face of the Song Army's steady advance in the battle village, the Xixia Army exhausted all means, but failed to repel the Song Army's step-by-step advance. Unable to think of a good countermeasure, they had to retreat steadily.

At the end of the battle report, it was mentioned that the Xia army was small in number and scattered, and that fighter planes were hard to come by. I hope they can be allowed to concentrate their cavalry advantage, advance and outflank, and fight one or two battles of annihilation.

Du Wenhao immediately ordered that no assault be allowed, and the strategy must be strictly implemented step by step, and the strategy must be steadily advanced. If any attacker violates the order, no matter whether he has performed meritorious service or not, he will be executed!
Even though he gave the order to die, Du Wenhao still had doubts in his heart. It was obvious that the Xixia people were deliberately showing weakness and leading the Song army to leave the Zhanzhai by surprise, so as to concentrate their superior forces to eat the assault Song army.He must not be fooled, so he sent another Du Yuhou as a special envoy to supervise the battle.

After finishing his work, he transferred the border map to check the deployment position of our army's stronghold and the speed of advancing. So far, he is still very satisfied.Taking the map into the palace, he found the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao, and reported the battle report and military situation.

Gao Taotao heard that he had advanced a mile and repelled more than a dozen attacks by the Xixia army. Under the powerful bow and crossbow shooting of Zhanzhai, the Xixia army suffered hundreds of casualties. He also looked at the map brought by Du Wenhao. I am happy, but I also demand that we resolutely continue to implement the established combat policy.

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Three days passed quickly.

On the morning of the third day, the junior supervisor of the Armament Institute came to report that the gun had been made.

Du Wenhao and Wang Runxue were studying the art of war. After getting the report, Wang Runxue heard that Du Wenhao had invented a new type of weapon, and wanted to watch the fun together.Du Wenhao agreed, and brought Wang Runxue and the guards to the test site of the Military Weapons Institute in a hurry.

He fixed the second breech-loading flintlock on the launcher, loaded it, tied the rope, and let everyone hide behind the sandbag bunker.

As soon as Du Wenhao pulled the rope, there was a loud bang, and Du Wenhao happily waved his fist: "It's done!"

Standing up and running out of the bunker, and coming to the gun, the smile on Du Wenhao's face quickly disappeared. There was no clean hole on the humanoid target in front of the muzzle, and the rear of the flintlock on the gun rack There was a big hole in the trigger part. - Bomb exploded!

(End of this chapter)