Chapter 23 Firearms Bureau
In the early morning, there were crowds of people walking in a hurry on the street. Li Jie accompanied Li Zhu to the Military Weapon Bureau, but Li Zhu asked worriedly while walking: "Jie'er, are you sure that you can solve the problem of the power of gunpowder becoming smaller?"
"Don't worry, Father, such a simple problem can be solved by going there." Li Jie said with a calm smile.
He is not unfamiliar with gunpowder. When he was a child in his previous life, the finished fireworks and firecrackers were relatively expensive during the Chinese New Year. Fortunately, the store sold bulk gunpowder in a small shop, and spent a few dollars to weigh a few kilograms of gunpowder, and then he could make firecrackers by himself with newspapers. Unfortunately, he was stricter later and the gunpowder was not allowed to be sold, so he could no longer make firecrackers by himself.
Looking at his son's confident expression, Li Zhu sighed secretly. He was still skeptical about Li Jie's words. After all, there are so many craftsmen in the Military Weapon Bureau, and some craftsmen have been playing with gunpowder for life. Even they can't solve the problem. How could Li Jie have a solution?
The Military Weapon Bureau is located outside the Qingliang Gate of the inner city, followed by the Qinhuai River, and the upstream is the famous Mochou Lake. In fact, the Military Weapon Bureau was not here before, but was located in the inner city, but the Military Weapon Bureau has a firearm bureau. An explosion occurred, which affected the surrounding houses, so it was later moved to the outer city, and outsiders were strictly prohibited from approaching the surrounding area.
Li Zhu introduced the situation of the Military Weapon Bureau to Li Jie as he walked. The Military Weapon Bureau was divided into armor, bow, arrow, string, mixed artifact, etc. According to the types of weapons produced, the military Weapon Bureau was divided into armor, bow, string, mixed artifact, etc. Originally, gunpowder was a mixed artifact, but the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to firearms and had already established firearm troops, so the firearms were independent from mixed artifacts and were set up as one.
However, although the Ming Dynasty attached great importance to gunpowder, it was only compared to the past. For the entire Ming army, the main combat method was still mainly cold weapons, and firearms were only used as a supplement to cold weapons, so the status of firearms in the army is still relatively low.
It is precisely because of this that the status of firearms in the military weapons bureau is not high. Even if there were any problems in the past, no one paid attention to them. At most, the superiors rebuked them, but this time the superiors held on their feet, and it was obvious that someone was doing it.
Thinking of the above, Li Zhu also sighed inwardly. He was originally from his background, although he was just Li Shanchang's concubine son, but he could still have a higher position. However, he had no ambitions and liked to build weapons, so he stayed in the Military Weapon Bureau. However, now it seems that the position he served in this bureau may be difficult to guarantee.
The Military Weapon Bureau arrived, and it was Li Jie's first time here. The Military Weapon Bureau was more like a large military camp, with a thousand households stationed outside to defend it. It mainly prohibits outsiders from approaching and protects the security of the Military Weapon Bureau. After all, this is the place to build weapons. If something goes wrong here, the entire Beijing camp army will face the situation where there are no weapons available.
Li Jie followed Li Zhu into the gate, but even if Li Zhu was taken, he had to go through a strict inspection. In the end, Li Zhu needed to guarantee him, so that he could enter the Military Weapon Bureau.
Compared with the large military camp outside, the military weapon bureau is like a large workshop. According to the different weapons, it is divided into different works, and there are many processes in the works. The craftsmen in it perform their duties, and there are thousands of craftsmen alone.
Li Zhu took Li Jie straight to the firearm, which was also divided into areas, one was made of gunpowder, the other was made of firearm, and finally the integration of gunpowder and firearm. After all, there are not only muskets and cannons here, but also firearms like thunders, fire thunders, etc.
With Li Zhu's arrival, eight craftsmen immediately came to pay tribute, but several of them were a little listless and even had dark circles, as if they were not sleeping enough.
"How is it? Has the problem of the decline in gunpowder power been solved?" Li Zhu asked immediately. The superior asked him to solve it, and he could only leave the matter to these craftsmen. After all, they are all experts in gunpowder and know gunpowder better than anyone else. If they can't solve it, then others may have no choice.
When several marshals heard Li Zhu's question, they all looked embarrassed. Finally, they looked at the old marshals with gray hair in the middle. The marshals looked about fifty or sixty years old, with dark skin, wrinkles on their faces, and bloodshot in their eyes, and a strong smell of sulfur on their body. After all, among the three ingredients of gunpowder, the smell of sulfur is the most effective.
When the old craftsman saw everyone looking at him, he could only bite the bullet and go forward and said, "Report to the commander of the bureau, after receiving the commander of the bureau yesterday, he did not dare to slack off for a moment. He took the craftsmen in the work to think hard all night, but... but he still couldn't think of a solution."
Li Zhu also looked disappointed when he heard this. Before he came, he hoped that these craftsmen could come up with a solution. Now it seems that he can only place his last hope on his son.
"Father, can I see how they made gunpowder first?" Li Jie was not in a hurry to solve the problem, but wanted to visit and see the process of making gunpowder in this era.
Gunpowder is actually dangerous, but Li Zhu thought that Li Jie was here to solve the problem of gunpowder, so he had to understand the production of gunpowder, so he could only nod and said, "Okay, Li Jiangtou, lead the way, let's go and see the preparation of gunpowder!"
Li Jiangtou was the old craftsman with gray hair. He was wondering why Li Zhu brought a boy to him, but now he learned that the boy was Li Zhu's son, which made them even more strange. After all, Li Zhu acted fairly, but he never brought his family to the bureau.
But no matter how strange it was, Li Jiangtou agreed and then took Li Jie and his son to the area where the gunpowder was prepared. The preparation of gunpowder was simple and simple, nothing more than sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter, which was enough to mix in a certain proportion.
In the Ming Dynasty, the best proportion of gunpowder has been found, and the characteristics of gunpowder are also very familiar with. For example, in terms of safety, it is strictly forbidden to have open fires and any iron tools are prohibited. After all, there have been several explosions in the firearms before, and there are heavy casualties every time. With these lessons, of course, I have put a lot of effort into safety, and Li Jie is still very satisfied with this.
However, in addition to safety, Li Jie found many problems, and even shook his head while visiting. Although the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty already knew gunpowder very well, their way of preparing gunpowder was still very backward, and they could even be called primitive in Li Jie's eyes. No wonder there were problems in subsequent use.
Chapter completed!