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Chapter 373 A Flintlock Is Not Just You Can Use It If You Want It

In fact, the principles of matchlock guns and flintlock guns are basically understood by later generations.Emperor Chongzhen still asked Bi Maokang to say that he was very surprised that there was already flintlock guns in the late Ming Dynasty, but why did the Ming army not equip large quantities of flintlock guns in the end?
It should be said that as long as you are not a fool, you can understand that a flintlock is better than an arquebus, right? "Your Majesty, this kind of self-generating system is ignited by flint. There is flint in the mouth of the hammer, and here..." Bi Maokang said while pointing his finger, "pull the trigger, the hammer strikes down, and the flint emits sparks. , falls on the primer, and lead bullets can be shot.”

After explaining the principle for a while, Bi Maokang seemed a little hesitant, but in the end he clasped his hands and pointed to the hammer, and continued to introduce: "This is the most critical point, the hammer reed needs to be strong enough to ensure that the impact force makes The flint knocks out enough sparks to fall. If you can ensure that sparks fall every time you fire, then the power of the self-generating firecracker can be revealed."

Speaking of this, he seemed a little embarrassed: "Your Majesty, I have tried many times, and the spring used for firing must be made of steel with sufficient toughness. At present, the steel of my Ming Dynasty is not tough enough. Not enough, the probability of successful firing is only three or four out of ten."

Speaking of this, he quickly added: "Your Majesty, if you use good steel, you can achieve a success rate of more than [-]%."

Having said that, he looked away from the self-generated firecracker, looked at Emperor Chongzhen, and said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face: "But this kind of good steel costs about three or four taels of silver per catty, and the output is not high. .”

If the firing success rate of the musket is only about 30.00%, that is, only one of every three shots may catch fire, it will be dangerous when facing the enemy.On this point, even Emperor Chongzhen, who had never been on the battlefield, understood this truth, let alone Bi Maokang who was very familiar with muskets.

In other words, this flintlock gun is actually very simple, and you can understand it when you say it.But it is difficult to make a qualified flintlock.Qualified spring steel sheets used for flintlock guns must at least meet the standard of medium carbon steel in later generations. At this time, low carbon steel is generally used even for drill bits of drill gun barrels.It can be seen that there are practical and objective reasons for the invention of the flintlock gun at the end of the Ming Dynasty, but there was no large-scale deployment of the army.

This is true not only in Daming in the east, but also in the west.To be honest, the flintlock gun was first invented by the Westerners, but it was not until the end of the seventeenth century that the Western troops were deployed on a large scale.Even in the mid-seventeenth century, King Louis XIV of France strictly prohibited the use of flintlock guns for this purpose, otherwise he would be guillotined.

It can be seen that the flintlock gun is not easy to use!

After Emperor Chongzhen asked about the shortcomings of the flintlock, he did not disappoint Bi Maokang. He just smiled and said: "Bi Qing invented this self-generating firearm very well, although the price will be much more expensive because of the spring. But there are We have to solve the problem, we can't give up because of choking..."

Hearing this, Bi Maokang was immediately excited.According to the emperor's wishes, his hard work will not be in vain, and his hard work will pay off.

"The smithy of the Qingling Armaments Bureau started to solve the problem of suitable steel. First, how to reduce costs, and second, how to increase production? You must personally grasp these two points. If you have any difficulties, or need to mobilize any resources, please feel free. Report it to me." Emperor Chongzhen ordered.

The current history is different from the original one. First, Emperor Chongzhen at this time understood the power of technological progress better than the original Emperor Chongzhen, and knew that flintlock guns would be the future trend; Take it easy on history.Although it is still difficult at the moment, money is needed everywhere, but the Daming Construction Bank has been established.

Just like now, Emperor Chongzhen told Bi Maokang again: "At present, both the Armament Bureau and the Military Warfare Bureau will implement self-financing. If the Armament Bureau has insufficient funds, they can go to the Daming Construction Bank for loans. In this way, the new army will pay for qualified Self-generated firecrackers, first purchase [-] rods for training purposes. I ordered the new army chief instructor to sign a contract with the Armament Bureau, and then Qing took the contract to the Daming Construction Bank for a loan. In the early stage, you used it to produce qualified self-generated firecrackers The capital is already there. How?"

To be honest, Bi Maokang is really not used to this model.For him, he is more used to direct funding from the emperor.But this new method, the emperor has already pointed out the way, and he will not object, as long as it can solve the funding problem, what does it matter about appropriation or loans?
Bi Maokang is indeed talented in firearms. After the self-generated firecracker was solved, he was full of confidence, and he was ready to wait for the self-generated firecracker to finish the research before proceeding with the research on the continuous firecracker.

He could tell that as long as something was really good, the emperor would definitely support it, and even help out with ideas to solve difficulties.With such a good emperor around, he no longer has to worry about firearms research.

At the end, Emperor Chongzhen also deliberately explained again and again: "The firearms I want must be excellent. The requirements for all components must be high-quality. This is related to the safety of the soldiers who use it, and it is the key to determining the outcome of the war. Absolutely not to be sloppy!"

When Bi Maokang heard the emperor's request, he couldn't help being even more surprised.So, he said quickly: "Your Majesty, the key to the cost of this self-generating firecracker depends on the barrel. I have inspected the matchlock blunderbuss in the inventory of the Armament Bureau before, and the wrought iron used for the raw material of the barrel is about 10 Five catties of wrought iron smelted from [-] catty of crude iron are inferior products! Generally speaking, the firearms in our Ming army require a catty of wrought iron smelted from five to seven catties of crude iron for use. Of course, Ten catties of crude iron can be smelted into one catty of wrought iron, which is the top grade. Your Majesty, then the raw material for the barrel of the self-generating gun..."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen said without hesitation: "Of course we must use high-quality products! I have said that military equipment is of great importance, and must be made according to the best quality. The factors that affect the cost can be rewarded heavily. See if there is a solution. Only in this way can Daming's technological strength keep pace with the times!"

When Bi Maokang heard this, he was very convinced of the request made by Emperor Chongzhen, and immediately agreed, bowed and left the palace to get busy.

Emperor Chongzhen watched him leave, and thought in his heart, this flintlock gun has been found, and it should be regarded as the flagship product of the Military Weapons Bureau, right?
What about the military bureau?Emperor Chongzhen thought for a while, and decided to let Bingzhan Bureau study artillery.He immediately explained and offered a reward to solve two artillery problems, one was the weight of the artillery, and the other was the production cycle of the artillery.Anyone who can solve the problem, no matter what their status is, will be rewarded!
　The next chapter should be in the evening.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)