Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 061: Ming Firearms Expert
"Zhu Youdong has met Mr. Chang Ji."
"Ah? Oh my! It's the Crown Prince? Oh, it's really the Crown Prince!"
"Haha, Mr. Changji won't let me stand outside the door and talk, right?"
"No, no, no, your Majesty, I am so shocked to see you, Your Majesty, that I lost my composure for a moment. Your Majesty, please come in."
Changji is his courtesy name. This person's name has a place in the history of Chinese science and technology, the Ming Dynasty firearms expert, Zhao Shizhen.
During the Wanli reign, the Ottoman Empire sent envoys to pay tribute (this is what Chinese history books say, but they were probably not real official envoys, and more likely Ottoman merchants pretending to be envoys in the hope of receiving a large amount of rewards from the Ming Dynasty). Among the tribute items was the standard musket of the Ottoman army: the Rumi gun. Zhao Shizhen dismantled, imitated and improved the Rumi gun.
The muskets of this era were all muzzle-loading guns, so it was not possible to add a bayonet directly. It could only be put on temporarily when preparing for close combat. After the bayonet was put on, the gun could not be reloaded. Zhao Shizhen geniusly made the front end of the barrel of the Rumi gun into a slightly undulating shape, and then added a piece of steel to the inside of the buttstock: in close combat, the barrel was held in the hand, and the buttstock became a broadsword.
He also invented the "Thunderbolt Gun", a multi-barreled matchlock rifle that could fire 18 rounds of bullets in a row. Except for the ignition device, which could not be separated from open flames, it already had the prototype of the later revolver pistol.
He also improved the rockets that were widely used by the Ming army. The most prominent point was the design of a chute for the rockets: equivalent to the rifling in the barrel. This greatly improved the range and accuracy of the rockets...
This man is a science and engineering man with an honest nature. He is good at scientific research and doesn't care much about money. In the past, he took out the design drawings and the Ministry of Industry wanted to try to make them. He said that with the level of craftsmanship in the Ministry of Industry, I, a designer, probably wouldn't recognize what it would be made , so I'd better do it myself. So he funded the production of his various designs.
After the sample was made, the effect was very good. But unfortunately, once it entered the workshop of the Ministry of Industry for mass production, the quality... And in the original historical plane, this gentleman was inexplicably involved in the second demon book case, and eventually became impoverished, insane, and died of grief.
Of course, due to the birth of Zhu Youdong, the second case of the evil book did not happen. But Zhao Shizhen was not born in the imperial examination: he was recommended to Emperor Wanli by the eunuchs in the palace because of his good handwriting, and Emperor Wanli directly appointed him as an official. Therefore, although he has been an official for decades, Zhao Shizhen, who is now in his fifties, is still a seventh-rank Zhongshu Sheren because he does not have a Jinshi diploma.
The salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were notoriously low, and it was miserable to rely on salaries alone. In the local area, a seventh-rank county magistrate could still bully the people. But when the third-rank officials were walking on the streets and accidentally bumped into the nobles in the capital, what could this seventh-rank official do? In addition, this person liked firearms research all his life, and scientific research was very expensive. Therefore, when Zhu Youdong entered Zhao Shizhen's house, his intuitive impression was eight words: penniless and poor.
"Please take a seat, Grandson. I will go and boil some water to make tea. Please wait for a moment, Grandson."
"Mr. Changji, no need. I know you have a noble character and your home is a little shabby. In order not to cause trouble to you, I brought my own things."
Following Wang Chengen's call, several other young eunuchs outside quickly walked in, and then swiftly took out various snacks made by the imperial chef of Xinghua Palace from various food boxes.
"Mr. Changji, please take a seat. Let's try this fruit wine. It's newly brewed by my Red River Manor. It tastes quite good."
"I am so grateful to the Crown Prince for his kindness!"
This is not a lie, but a true expression of Zhao Shizhen's feelings: because of his unorthodox background, Zhao Shizhen has never been welcomed by the mainstream of the Ming officialdom since he entered the officialdom. It would be fine if he could not get promoted, but the key is that he could not use his skills. What is a Zhongshu Sheren? To put it nicely, it is a secretary, to put it bluntly, it is a copyist.
When Emperor Wanli saw Zhao Shizhen's calligraphy, he thought that this young man wrote well, so he gave him an official position. In this era, Wanli's move was considered extremely kind. Zhu Youdong, who personally visited as the grandson of the emperor and brought his own wine, was definitely a high level of courtesy in this era, and Zhao Shizhen could not help but be moved.
"Master Xu, why do you do things like this? You told me earlier that someone would come to visit me in the evening. I never thought it was the Crown Prince!"
"Haha...Mr. Changji, please don't blame me. I asked Mr. Xu to keep it a secret."
"Yes, uh, may I ask Your Highness, I come to visit you so late at night, I wonder..."
"Oh, I do have something to trouble you, Mr. Changji. Please take a look, sir. This is the musket that I recently started to trial-produce at Honghe Manor..."
The development of firearms is a systematic project involving the joint efforts of multiple disciplines. However, for a single musket, the four most important things are the barrel, bullet, gunpowder, and firing mechanism.
As for the gunpowder, Zhu Youdong had already asked his craftsmen to complete the granulation and packaging. This part can be stabilized for the time being.
What about bullets? He had heard of Minié bullets before he traveled through time, but what exactly were Minié bullets? He didn't know.
What about the barrel? With the screw, there is no problem with the rifling. As for the quality of the barrel, in fact, the metallurgical level of the Ming Dynasty was very high. The barrels of the Ministry of Industry often exploded, but it did not mean that the barrels of Honghezhuang would explode.
The last one: the firing mechanism. Zhu Youdong certainly knew that the firing mechanism of a musket was from a matchlock to a flintlock to a breech block. But he still didn't know how it fired.
Xu Guangqi was a great scientist, but he was not a specialized expert in firearms. To effectively integrate the four major parts of the musket, a firearms expert like Zhao Shizhen was indispensable!
"Hahahahaha~~~ I didn't expect that the Crown Prince is also a fellow traveler! And his understanding of firearms is so profound, it's time to make it clear! Crown Prince, please!"
"Mr. Changji, please."
"Your Highness' words tonight really opened my eyes to many things. I didn't expect that the rifling of the gun barrel could actually increase the range and accuracy of the gun so much. In this way, the combat effectiveness of our Ming army will definitely be greatly improved. Hahahaha, after your Highness's reminder, I thought, in addition to rifling gun barrels, can this cannon barrel also be rifled? If the rifling of the cannon barrel is well done, then the general cannon, which could only be used to attack large groups of concentrated enemy formations before, will it have more uses?"
"Brother Changji, don't worry about that. His Highness has already prepared to copy the screw and send a batch to the Ministry of Industry so that they can try to engrave rifling on the artillery."
"Slurp~~" After raising his head and drinking another big glass, Zhao Shizhen shook his head in disdain: "Zixian, you know the level of those people in the Ministry of Works. I advise Your Highness not to do this, otherwise, when the cannon explodes again, the officials in the Ministry of Works will say it's because of the rifling, and then there will be another lawsuit."
"Oh, Brother Changji's reminder is very correct. Your Highness, I am sorry for not thinking carefully. Please forgive me."
"Hey, hey, hey, Zixian, how long have you been in office? How can you understand the twists and turns of the court? I am different. Over the years, I have been tortured by the Ministry of Works!"
Looking at Zhao Shizhen, who was already in a slightly drunken state, speaking without much scruples and directly interrupting him, Zhu Youdong smiled slightly: Such a person cannot survive in the officialdom. Only under the command of a time traveler like me who has an extraordinary tolerance can he perform .
"Your Highness, this flintlock rifle that uses flint to fire gunpowder should not be difficult to make. As long as there is enough silver, I guarantee that I can produce a finished product within three months. As for the problem that the rifling will make it difficult to insert the bullet into the barrel, hahahaha, this is very easy. The bullet can be made slightly smaller than the barrel, and then a wooden plug can be installed at the tail. After the gunpowder is fired, the wooden plug expands due to heat and can also seal the barrel. As for the breech-loading rifle that Your Highness mentioned, this, well, this is a little troublesome. The trigger is not a problem. The firearms I made before can fire more than ten times in a row... It's mainly a firing problem. For this matter, I still need... Well, Your Highness's wine is really good. I feel a little dizzy now..."
"Mr. Changji is indeed a talented person. How about you come to my Honghe Manor and concentrate on firearms research? I will provide all the funds, materials, and labor as long as you need it."
"...Puchi, good...good, a scholar will die for his friend...I will submit a letter of resignation tomorrow, and then live here permanently...Huh~~"
