The last three kingdoms

Chapter 97 Production
Liu Yin did not intend to hide it from his mother, but refining gunpowder must have been an incredible thing in the eyes of the people at the time. If he really wanted to explain it clearly to his mother, Liu Yin might have to spend a lot of time talking.

What's more, for the sake of confidentiality, Liu Yin decided not to disclose it to anyone in advance.

Wei's spies are everywhere. Gunpowder is a cutting-edge weapon at this time. Liu Yin will never leak the formula. After all, the threshold for making gunpowder is too low. Anyone who masters the formula can easily When it is manufactured, the fewer people know about it, the safer it is to prepare.

Liu Yin doesn't mind other people's misunderstandings. The deeper the misunderstanding, the more secure the formula will be. Even if Wei Guo's spies find out that he is "refining alchemy", they will never think that he is actually manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.

However, just to be on the safe side, Liu Yin still arranged a large number of guards in Ma's Manor, and the guards were all loyal and reliable servants from Anping Palace.Ma's Manor was originally located near Xiling, with few people in sight. Liu Yin deliberately created the appearance of tight inside and loose outside in Ma's Manor. From the outside, it is almost impossible to see any precautionary measures in Ma's Manor. The guard post is heavily guarded, even if it is a fly, it is impossible to fly in easily.

Production - gunpowder must have a workshop, and if there is a workshop, there must be craftsmen.In terms of the choice of craftsmen, Liu Yin "abuses" a little bit of power this time.

The status of craftsmen in the Han Dynasty was quite humble. A craftsman for one day, a craftsman for life, a craftsman for one generation, and a craftsman for generations. There is no difference between a craftsman and a servant in essence.Craftsmen in key departments such as weapons workshops are completely restricted in their freedom. Not only the craftsman himself, but even his descendants and grandchildren can only engage in this profession for generations.

This kind of restriction on the personal freedom of craftsmen is absolutely necessary from the perspective of technical secrecy. For example, the Third Weapon Workshop, which makes Bailian knives, is precisely because of the strict household registration management system of craftsmen, which made the Shu Han This advanced refining technology was not stolen by Wei's spies.In the head office of the weapon workshop, there is a more stringent management department. The sixth weapon workshop that produces Yuanrong crossbow is the most important thing. It is said that the craftsmen of the sixth workshop are completely like prisoners, and even a little None of the free ones.

The gunpowder workshop that Liu Yin wanted to build naturally required a large number of craftsmen, including stonemasons, blacksmiths, carpenters, and many other types of craftsmen. It was obviously not appropriate to recruit idle craftsmen from society, so Liu Yin thought of going to a weaponry factory. Fang Zongsi.

The head of the general director of the weapon workshop is just an official with six hundred shi. When he heard that Liu Yin wanted to find some craftsmen, without further ado, he immediately allocated [-] craftsmen of various types to Liu Yin, with a fawning look on his face To Liu Yin, if there is a shortage of people, just ask him for it.

Liu Yin couldn't help but smiled wryly. At this stage, his gunpowder workshop is purely private, and the craftsmen who use the weapons workshop are completely an act of using power for personal gain. It has become extremely easy to do, and the two hundred craftsmen are only a matter of one sentence from the master of the workshop.

With craftsmen, Liu Yin immediately started "alchemy" with great fanfare.

It took a long time from the birth of gunpowder to its application in the military field. Although the first produced gunpowder had the function of explosion and combustion, its efficiency was poor, so that it was only reduced to a pyrotechnic show for a long time The most important reason is that gunpowder has strict conditions in terms of raw material compatibility, purification, production, and storage. If you want to improve the effectiveness of gunpowder, you must strictly control every link.

The first Opium War was a full-scale duel between East and West gunpowder. At that time, the black-gunpowder used by the British army far surpassed the Qing army in terms of range and power. I taught the Easterners who invented gunpowder a hard lesson. It is by no means a dream for students to surpass their teachers. If they fall behind, they are doomed to be beaten.

In his previous life, Liu Yin loved to read these military historical materials. He has always remembered the gunpowder production process used by the British army in the Opium War. The best proportion of gunpowder is: nitrate 75%, sulfur 10%, charcoal 15% %, as long as the gunpowder is produced according to this ratio, it is possible to achieve the maximum power.

Of course, the ratio is only a prerequisite, and the subsequent production processes are not allowed to be sloppy.

The first is the purification of the raw materials. The higher the purity of the raw materials, the greater the explosive power of the gunpowder. On the contrary, the more impurities there are in the raw materials, the more powerful the gunpowder will be.

Liu Yin is assured of the quality of the sulfur and saltpeter produced in Yizhou, but the raw materials are raw materials after all, and if they are not purified, they are far from meeting the requirements of the formula.

In this age, the purification of sulfur and saltpeter was accomplished entirely by earthly methods, namely, by distillation and crystallization.

Sulfur is purified by distillation. The melting point of sulfur is 200 degrees, and the boiling point is 400 degrees. Put sulfur in a large pot, heat it to dissolve, remove insoluble impurities, continue to stir and heat to 400 degrees, and the sulfur will gasify. After the sulfur gas is collected, cooled and dried, high-purity sulfur can be obtained.

The purification of saltpeter is to use the crystallization method. First, dissolve the saltpeter with high-temperature plant ash water above 90 degrees. After saturation, a little excess is filtered to remove the insoluble matter. Then the filtrate is lowered to room temperature, and the precipitated substance is filtered out.Plant ash water can react with various calcium salts, magnesium salts, and iron salts in nitric water to form carbonates or hydroxides, which can be removed by precipitation.This process is repeated many times to obtain high-purity nitrate.

Charcoal is made of high-quality paulownia wood. Paulownia charcoal powder is a light and easily scattered powder. It is the lightest of all charcoal powders. It has the best burning effect after being mixed with sulfur nitrate. Gunpowder of choice.

In the gunpowder workshop, Liu Yin adopts the assembly line production method, which can improve production efficiency and ensure that secrets will not be leaked.The craftsmen in each process on the assembly line can only master one technique. Even if Wei Guo can capture some craftsmen in the future, they can only master the part of the crafts he knows, unless Wei Guo can capture all the craftsmen in all processes on the assembly line , it is possible to master the entire process of gunpowder production, but if there is a missing link in the middle, it is impossible to manufacture gunpowder.

After all, once this powerful new weapon is put on the battlefield, it will definitely be coveted by the enemy. The enemy will definitely use various means to obtain the production method of this weapon. How to keep it secret will be the most important thing, Liu Yin took precautions and never allowed the craft of gunpowder to fall into the hands of the enemy.

(End of this chapter)