Li Zhu, Li Jiangtou and others were stationed on both sides. More than a dozen pairs of eyes were staring at Li Jie in the field. There was a wooden trough in front of Li Jie. This thing was specially used to stir gunpowder. There was a bucket of freshly prepared gunpowder next to it. People around him were also waiting for Li Jie to teach them how to solve the problem of the power of gunpowder deterioration.

Li Jie poured all the barrels of gunpowder into the wooden trough, and then opened his mouth and ordered: "Come on a bucket of water!"

"What do you want to do with water? This gunpowder cannot be used when it encounters water." Li Zhu next to him immediately asked in confusion when he heard this. Gunpowder is most afraid of water. Not to mention water, even if the weather is a little tide, the gunpowder will be tide and cannot be used. Therefore, the first taboo in firearms is fire, and the second taboo is water.

"Dad, don't worry, what I'm going to show today is a new way of preparing gunpowder. I will explain why I do this later." Li Jie said with a smile. He knew that Li Zhu would ask this. He discovered a problem when he visited just now. When the craftsman in the firearm made gunpowder, he actually stirred it directly with dry ingredients. This method is too primitive and has great disadvantages.

Seeing Li Jie insisting, Li Zhu had to ask someone to carry water. After a while, a craftsman brought a bucket of water. Li Jie picked it up and poured it into the wooden trough, which scared the craftsmen around him exclaimed and wanted to stop it, but it was too late.

The gunpowder was grinded very finely, like flour. After the water was poured in, Li Jie immediately picked up the wooden pestle next to him and stirred it. During this period, he added water several times. When the gunpowder finally turned into dough, he stopped.

Then Li Jie found another iron sieve, the mesh was the size of rice grains. He put the gunpowder dough in the sieve and squeezed it hard, and long-grained gunpowder fell on a wooden board below.

"Okay, this is called particulate gunpowder. After it is dried, the power of the gunpowder will not decrease no matter how long it is stored!" Li Jie pointed to the particulate gunpowder that fell all over the ground.

"That's so simple?" Li Zhu next to him looked unbelievable, and Li Jiangtou and others were all stunned, even wondering if this young master Li was joking?

"Gunpowder is nothing more than sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal, but these three are light and heavy. For example, charcoal is lighter, and the newly prepared gunpowder is not much. However, after being stored for a long time, the charcoal will float on the upper layer, and the sulfur and sand and gravel will fall on the lower layer. In this way, the ratio of gunpowder on the upper and lower layers will be incorrect, and its power will naturally decrease." Li Jie explained with a smile.

The craftsmen present played gunpowder for half their lives. They used to not know the reason why the gunpowder became less powerful. Now, after Li Jie explained this, someone immediately reacted, especially the Li Jiangtou slapped his forehead and said ecstaticly: "So that's it! So that's it! Why didn't we expect it before!"

In fact, it is not a craftsman who did not expect that although the reason for the decline in power of this gunpowder is simple, it involves the specific gravity of the substance. In addition, the material of the gunpowder is very fine, and even if there is a layering phenomenon, it cannot be seen by the naked eye. In addition, the time for large-scale use of gunpowder is still short, so it is normal for craftsmen to not find this problem.

"In addition, you use dry preparation methods to prepare gunpowder. This method has great disadvantages. First, it is unevenly stirred, and secondly, it is easy to explode. I just demonstrated the method of wet gunpowder. This method is safer and the ingredients are mixed more fully. The most important thing is to make granular gunpowder." Li Jie introduced again at this time.

Wet gunpowder is definitely a major advance in the history of gunpowder preparation, especially safety issues. Even if the firearm has prepared other safety matters well, the gunpowder may still explode due to squeeze when it is dry mixed.

"Thank you, my son, for answering us. Please give me a bow!" Li Jiangtou was even more happy when he heard the benefits of wet gunpowder, and immediately saluted Li Jie solemnly.

As an old craftsman, Li Jiangtou knew the danger of gunpowder too much. Even his two brothers and one son died in a gunpowder explosion accident. Although the safety of wet gunpowder has not been verified, the use of gunpowder will be affected by moisture. What's more, after adding water, they may not explode even if they smash it with a sledgehammer.

"Li Jiangtou, are you sure this method is effective?" Li Zhu asked in disbelief at this time. The problem that had troubled the Military Weapons Bureau for so long was solved by his son in a few words, which made him feel like he was dreaming.

"It is certainly limited to effective. The young master's methods are simple and straightforward, just like a layer of window paper. Unfortunately, we are too stupid and we didn't even consider it before!" Li Jiangtou patted his chest and promised that with his decades of experience in dealing with gunpowder, he firmly believed that Li Jie's methods would be effective, which not only improves the quality of gunpowder, but also greatly improves the safety of making gunpowder.

"Actually, in my opinion, the power of gunpowder has not reached its maximum yet. I have a way to increase its power again!" At this time, Li Jie suddenly spoke again.

"What?" Li Zhu wanted to clean his ears when he heard this. He doubted whether he had heard it wrong, and even suspected that the person in front of him was his son?

"Young Master Li, aren't you joking? After years of exploration, the ratio of gunpowder has reached the best. Even if it is changed a little, the power of gunpowder will be reduced. How can it be improved?" Li Jiangtou couldn't believe Li Jie's words at this time. If Li Jie hadn't solved a big problem for them just now, he might have driven people directly.

"The formula of gunpowder is fine, but the raw materials you use are too poor!" Li Jie smiled slightly. He didn't visit for nothing just now, but saw many problems in gunpowder preparation, and now he simply solved them together.

"This is impossible! The gunpowder we prepare is for the Beijing Camp, and of course the materials used are the best. For example, sulfur is the best product produced in Japan, saltpeter is also shipped from the northwest, and even the charcoal is made of good willow charcoal. Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, we count the gunpowder produced here is the highest quality!" Li Jiangtou heard Li Jie say that the raw materials they used were too poor, and immediately blushed and argued loudly.

"No matter how good the raw materials are, they still contain impurities. You don't know how to purify them. You just start to prepare them after simple screening. In my opinion, this kind of gunpowder is only used to make fireworks and firecrackers!" Li Jie said bluntly.
Chapter completed!