Chapter 31 Flintlock

[In the office of the principal of Dongning Military Academy.]

Chen Yonghua and Lu Fan were almost lying on the desk, staring directly at the A4 drawings on the table.

That's right, this is the flintlock blueprint redeemed by the system.

Chen Yonghua picked up the drawing and asked, "Isn't this just a self-made firecracker?"

The biggest difference between a flintlock gun and a matchlock gun is that the matchlock gun needs to be ignited, while the flintlock gun can shoot as long as it is fired with a flint. Therefore, people in the Ming Dynasty called it a self-generated fire gun.

"My father-in-law is well-informed, and he even knows how to make his own firecrackers." Now it was Zheng Kezang's turn to be surprised. Scholars of the Ming Dynasty should not underestimate him.

Chen Yonghua continued: "Of course, I have studied the "Illustrated Notes on Weapons", and the self-generated fire guns in it are very exquisite. Just like ordinary bird guns, they will become useless when it rains, but self-generated fire guns will not."

"The author of "Military Illustrations" was Bi Maokang, a Jinshi scholar in the 26th year of Wanli Dynasty. He was very talented, but unfortunately he died of illness long ago."

Thanks to Chen Yonghua's popular science, Zheng Kezang learned that it turned out that flintlock guns could be imitated in the Ming Dynasty, and they were all written down in books.

Also called the Charleville 1777mle flintlock gun, it weighs about 10 pounds (4.5kg), has a caliber generally 18.1mm or 17.8mm, a total length of about 1.53 meters, and a rate of fire of usually 3 rounds/minute.

With the new love, the old love was forgotten, and as soon as I saw the steel mill and the flintlock gun, I forgot all about the grenade.

While talking, Zheng Kezang made several bayonet tactical movements with his flintlock rifle (from "Dongning Infantry Drill Code"), which attracted a burst of applause from the surrounding youth camp students who were watching the excitement.

What Zheng Kezang didn't know yet was that the "Military Illustrations" mentioned by his father-in-law was later listed as a banned book by Qianlong.

The structure of the matchlock bolt only needs to send the matchlock to the medicine pool and does not require force, so the copper bolt is sufficient.

"Qinshe, the cost of making a self-generated fire gun is not low, but for you, it is not high." Chen Yonghua said slowly.

At that time, Lao Su said to him: "Your Highness, please let me stay here. This is my destination."

"So, father-in-law, please allocate a group of craftsmen who can make fire guns to my firearms workshop." Thinking of the most important thing, Zheng Kezang said quickly.

Chen Yonghua and Lu Fan looked at each other and said in unison: "Let's go together!"

The flintlock bolt needs to hit the friction flint, and the hammer must also be made of iron.

Relying on the hydraulic press of the steel mill and their exquisite craftsmanship, it took several days of sleepless nights to create such an exquisite flintlock gun.

As an old craftsman, he saw the potential of the steel mill. With these machines, it would be extremely easy to make anything. It was simply a paradise for their craftsmen.

"Yes, my steelmaking factory was created for this purpose. With those artifacts and steel ingots, as long as I have enough craftsmen, I can produce self-generating fire guns on a large scale."

These three guns are the masterpieces of Su Laocheng and several other craftsmen.

"It's so ingenious. It's a genius design to put a long sword on a firegun." Chen Yonghua carefully touched the sleeved sword-style bayonet in front of the gun body, his eyes shining.

"Of course it's no problem, Lu Fan. You can make arrangements for the craftsmen, and make sure the craftsmen are in place quickly." Chen Yonghua turned to Lu Fan, who was distracted.

Sure enough, no man is not interested in guns.

Moreover, the fusible structure must be able to withstand a certain amount of force. Copper is soft and easily deformed after long-term use, so it needs to be made of fine iron, that is, steel.

Lu Fan quickly came to his senses and quickly said yes, saying that he would recruit craftsmen immediately to meet the requirements of His Highness the Supervisor.

Seeing that it was almost brewing, Zheng Kezang interrupted and said, "Don't worry, do you two want to try the finished product of the self-made fire gun?"

"The Shenlei Workshop has stabilized, and Lao Su Qian has contributed a lot to it. Since you want to come here, I will satisfy you."

Mainly because he was worried that after the Han people mastered advanced firearms, they would have the ability to overthrow him.

By the time the Ming Dynasty was able to imitate flintlock guns, it was already in the Chongzhen period. The treasury was so poor that they didn't even have mice, let alone making flintlock guns.

Countries in Europe, including the United States, have imitated and learned from it. It is a modern AKM, but its reputation is definitely better.

The matchlock gun can be made of copper. Copper is a soft metal with a lower melting point than iron. It is easy to shape with manual techniques.

Later, the Qing Dynasty, which was rich all over the world, vigorously suppressed the development of firearms.

The muzzle velocity is not fixed, and the effective range is not fixed, but is generally 50-100 yards.

Zheng Kezang recalled the series of humiliations brought about by the Qing Dynasty in modern times, and once again strengthened his determination to eliminate the Qing invaders.

I remember that Su Laocheng had witnessed the wonders of the steelworks and almost knelt down and begged Zheng Kezang to arrange for him to make fire guns here.

After all, for the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, defense against the Han was the key.

The steel is relatively hard, so it is difficult to make various parts purely by hand. The structure of the flintlock is more complex, and the production requires more time. The labor consumption is much higher than that of a copper matchlock machine, which means the cost has to be increased.

Zheng Kezang could also trust Lao Su's loyalty. Since Lao Su wanted to change his working environment, he, a considerate boss, would satisfy him.

The bolt action of a flintlock gun cost more to make than the action of a matchlock gun.

Americans once said that the War of Independence was a battle won by American perseverance (a question mark here), French friendship and Charleville's firepower.

Such a huge output can be said to be unprecedented, and it will also be unprecedented for a long time. The total output of the Indian model of brown bass during the same period was less than half of it.

This is thanks to the vast arms market opened up by the excellent performance of Charleville 1777 that made the entire Europe jealous.

[The shooting range of Dongning Military Academy]

To this end, Qianlong also issued a ban on firearms, requiring that the proportion of archers, horsemen, and mounted archers in the army should be maintained at half.

"Father-in-law, this is a bayonet. With the bayonet, the fire gun soldiers are no longer weak and can be bullied in close combat." Zheng Kezang explained.

This is clearly a French 1777 model flintlock gun.

Chen Yonghua was right to the point. Steel was the most important material for making flintlock guns, and what Zheng Kezang was most in need of now was steel.

So why was it that the Ming Dynasty was able to imitate flintlock muskets, but why wasn’t it used on a large scale?

The problem lies in the word "money".

Charleville MLE1777 is the most prestigious member of the French musket family. It has a ridiculously huge production number-seven million pieces.

I saw three shiny firecrackers placed on the table at the shooting range.

"But I have a few requests to tell you. If you want to stay here, in order to keep the secret, you must live in Dongning Military Academy for a long time, away from the crowd. Can you accept it?" Zheng Kezang asked.

"Your Highness, I have no parents, no wife or children. Please let me stay here. I want to follow Your Highness to create more powerful weapons." Old Su looked determined.

Zheng Kezang was slightly moved. He knew Lao Su's past and didn't say much: "Okay, then you can hand over the work of Shenlei Workshop and stay here."

Putting away his memories and stroking the gun in his hand, Zheng Kezang said: "Father-in-law, Lu Fan, why don't we make a comparison and see who can shoot accurately."
Chapter completed!