Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 153 Fireworks Maker
The decision has been made for the workshop to manufacture Zhu Shen Cone, which is to focus on spear heads, arrowheads, and armor plates, supplemented by some sabers, waist knives, etc.

The manufacturing of the first two is relatively simple, especially the arrowhead, which can basically be cast. As long as there is a model, it can be cast in the shape of a Mitsubishi, and then after ordinary polishing, it will be the best arrowhead.

Although spear heads can be cast, they are not very practical due to their size. It is better to add forging technology so that the spear heads made in this way are more suitable for battlefields.

As for sabers and waist knives, it is more difficult. They can only be made by forging, and the requirements for steel are strict. Isn't there a saying that good steel should be used on the blade? Without good steel, the sabers and waist knives made are really unsatisfactory.

The smelting technology of the Ming Dynasty had reached a considerable level, and ore smelting had adopted the bottle furnace model. The structure of this furnace was close to the small blast furnace of later generations. According to historical records, a large-scale furnace of this type could produce 3600 kilograms of iron a day, and the highest record could reach 6000 kilograms. This output far exceeded the European level of the same period, and even the early and middle Qing Dynasty could not match it.

As for iron smelting, the Ming Dynasty had already adopted piston blowers, the structure of which was basically similar to modern blowers and was also much more advanced than those in Europe.

Moreover, in terms of steelmaking, the pouring steel method has also been used. The famous Su Steel adopts this pouring steel method, and the equipment it produces is of excellent quality.

As for the Zhaowuling workshop, although the technology was inferior to the best place in Daming today, it was not much worse. In addition, as early as two years ago, Zhu Shenzui had privately discussed with Zhao Da how to improve the methods of smelting and steel pouring, and obtained some of the techniques of steel pouring through his connections.

Although Zhao Da still hasn't completely mastered this steel pouring method, it has helped him a lot in his original steelmaking skills. The quality of the iron and steel products he produced is still quite good, otherwise Zhu Shenzhu would not have asked Zhao Da to help him make a musket.

There was no need for the workshop to manufacture muskets for the time being. In order to accumulate wealth and develop the workshop as quickly as possible, Zhu Shenzui targeted these products for production. As long as they were made and transported to the grassland, these things would be a huge profit.

Once the workshop's technology is finalized and production is scaled up, the output will increase, and the profits can be imagined.

Of course, Zhu Shenzui did not stop making muskets. He did not give up on the manufacture of firearms. It was just that there was no need for the workshop to focus its main production on firearms.

After the current technology and output are finalized, the research and development of firearms, not only muskets but also artillery, must continue. This is a long process. The future is the era of firearms and the historical trend will not change. Zhu Shenzhui is very clear about this.

Nowadays, the production of firearms is too slow due to technical reasons, and the efficiency is too low. More importantly, the firing speed of the matchlock gun is too slow. Zhu Shenzhu has always wanted to make a flintlock gun, but after experimenting so far, it is not that he cannot make a flintlock gun, but the stability of the flintlock gun after it is made is not as good as the matchlock gun.

As early as when Zhu Shenzhui asked Zhao Da to make a musket, he had tried a flintlock gun at the beginning, but after trying it out, he found that the firing rate was too low. There are two ways to ignite a flintlock gun currently in use. Because the percussion cap has not appeared, its principle is similar to that of a matchlock gun, which also ignites through a powder pool, but the matchlock gun uses a matchlock to ignite, while the flintlock uses a flint to ignite.

There are two ways to strike flint: one is by impact and the other is by friction.

The impact ignition is similar to the matchlock gun, but it uses flint to strike instead of the matchlock. In the Ming Dynasty, this kind of musket was also called a self-generating fire gun. However, the Ming Dynasty lacked high-quality flint, and the firing rate of ordinary flint impact ignition was not high. In addition to this, another type is friction ignition.

In other words, the ignition method of the flintlock is the same as the principle of a lighter. It relies on the friction of the gears on the embedded flint to produce sparks which then ignite the gunpowder in the powder pool and then fire the flintlock.

In this way, there is no problem in principle, but in actual operation, these two ignition modes often fail. Either the fire fails or the fire fails after friction with the gears, and it must be fired again or even multiple times.

The reason is actually very simple, just like the common lighters of later generations. Sometimes when you use a lighter to light the fire and turn the gear, it usually doesn't light the fire at once, but needs to be rubbed two or three times before it can light the fire. If you just want to smoke, it doesn't matter if you turn it two more times, as long as it lights the fire.

But the problem is that a musket is a weapon, a weapon for killing people. It is used on a life-and-death battlefield. The outcome of life and death may be decided in a split second. If at that moment you suddenly find that the musket has not been lit, and you try again in a panic, how can you have so much time?

Moreover, on the battlefield, the shooting power of the musket mainly depends on volley fire. When dozens or hundreds of muskets are firing at the same time, as a single musketeer in a life-and-death situation on the battlefield, few people can pay attention to whether the musket in their hands is fired or not in a highly tense situation.

Once in a panic, they clearly didn't ignite, but thought they had fired. Then they hurriedly reloaded the bullets, and then found that the bullets in the gun had not been fired. By the time they reacted and prepared to shoot, it was too late. What's the point of fighting? Compared with the matchlock, although the use of the matchlock is more cumbersome than the flintlock, at least the firing reliability is much better than the current flintlock. This is also the real reason why Zhu Shenzhu did not adopt the flintlock. However, technology must be improved after all. The flintlock is the future trend of the musket. Now due to technical reasons, it can be temporarily replaced by the matchlock, but in the future, research and development will still be in this direction.

But this research and development process is not something that a craftsman like Zhao Da can accomplish. Not to mention Zhao Da, Zhu Shenzhui himself cannot solve it.

Zhu Shenzhui only knew some mechanical principles and structures, but he had no idea how to solve the problem. He had been thinking about this issue these days, and he did come up with a solution, but he had no idea whether this solution was reliable or not.

Gunpowder is one of the four great inventions of China, and the Chinese were the first people in the world to use gunpowder. When the Mongols marched westward, gunpowder spread from China to Europe, which led to the gradual development of the world's war model from the initial cold weapon era to the later hot weapon era.

Regarding the problem of muskets, Zhu Shenzhu thought about finding some Taoist priests who could make elixirs to solve this problem, but he completely gave up the idea after understanding the actual situation. Although Taoist priests' alchemy can be called the most primitive "chemical experiment" in China, there are actually very few Taoist priests who can really make elixirs. Most Taoist priests never make elixirs, and even those who claim to be able to make elixirs are just liars.

The so-called alchemy is at best a sham, a fake trick for outsiders to see. The elixir is not made by alchemy, but is somewhat similar to the preparation of traditional Chinese medicine. These Taoists rely on this trick to deceive and fool fools. The real Taoists never pay attention to these things, and they also sneer at the so-called "external elixir".

Since the Taoist group was unreliable, Zhu Shenzhui could only give up the idea. Just when he was depressed about this, another group appeared in front of him, allowing him to see a new possibility.

This is nothing but fireworks.

During the Ming Dynasty, the folk manufacturing of fireworks and firecrackers had already achieved considerable development. At present, the fireworks and firecrackers of the Ming Dynasty have already looked a lot like those of later generations, and some of the fireworks craftsmanship has even reached a level that ordinary people cannot imagine.

In the sixth chapter of "A New History of China" written by Portuguese missionary Andres Antonio, "Chinese Etiquette, Rituals and Festivals", the book records the fireworks on the night of the Lantern Festival in the 1644th year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (): "It looked like boats, towers, fish, dragons, tigers, elephants, and generally there were thousands of amazing fireworks."

The descriptions and descriptions are amazing. The History of Ming Dynasty also records the scene of Emperor Xianzong of Ming Dynasty setting off fireworks with the people. Akbar, a Persian merchant during the Zhengde period, also made similar records in his notes. Matteo Ricci, an Italian missionary, and Nicolas Trigault, a French missionary, also made amazing comments on the fireworks technology of the Ming Dynasty in their "Notes on China" written by Matteo Ricci.

From these, we can see that the fireworks technology in the Ming Dynasty was already quite advanced, and skilled fireworks craftsmen were able to create amazing fireworks through various techniques.

The principle of fireworks is the combustion of gunpowder. Controlling the proportion of gunpowder and using clever techniques can achieve the dazzling effect of erupting flames.

Since fireworks craftsmen can do this, they are well-deserved experts in the world of gunpowder. Zhu Shenzhui also thought that since fireworks craftsmen can make all kinds of fireworks, they may also be able to make percussion caps that can quickly fire muskets.

When he thought of this, Zhu Shenzhui became excited, and he suddenly remembered some of the little toys he played with when he was a child.

One is gunpowder paper, which can be used to make a simple gunpowder gun, and can directly produce matchsticks, which are powerful enough to penetrate cardboard. This toy is the favorite of many boys in their youth. Zhu Shenzhu had such a gunpowder gun when he was young and treated it like a treasure.

Another type is the "throwing firecrackers". There are different sizes of "throwing firecrackers". The small ones are similar to ordinary firecrackers, and the large ones are as thick as an adult's finger. If you throw the "throwing firecrackers" hard on the ground, they will explode immediately, making a loud noise.

If we study these things further, wouldn't they be the best percussion caps? If we can make percussion caps directly, then we don't need primitive flintlocks at all. We can try to make more advanced muskets directly with percussion caps and fixed paper shell bullets, and the problem of using muskets will be solved.

If it could be made, such a musket could be regarded as the most advanced weapon in this era. Thinking of this, how could Zhu Shenzhui hold back? While he was looking for Zhou Anmin to find a way to find the veterans of Qi's army in Yiwu, he also asked Zhou Anmin to go to Nanjing to find a skilled fireworks craftsman.

The reason why we have to look for it near Nanjing is that the people with the most advanced fireworks technology in the Ming Dynasty are in Nanzhili. The fireworks on the Qinhuai River have always been the most dazzling and beautiful in the whole Ming Dynasty. The best fireworks craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty are also gathered near Nanjing. Starting from this point will achieve twice the result with half the effort.

(End of this chapter)