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

Chapter 285 Zhao Da Announces Good News
After thinking about it carefully, Zhu Shencui had to admit that he lacked experience. Qi Jiguang's decision to use the Tiger Cannon and the Portuguese Cannon in military drills was definitely not a snap decision. There were special reasons on the battlefield for such an arrangement.

Both the Portuguese cannon and the tiger squat cannon have their own advantages, but also their own disadvantages.

The advantages of the Portuguese cannon are fast firing speed, long range, and high direct hit rate. But its weakness is that although the Portuguese cannon is a light cannon, it is too heavy for one person to operate. A Portuguese cannon weighs at least 200 kilograms, and even a strong soldier can hardly move it alone. It must be towed by a gun carriage to be used flexibly.

As for the tiger squat cannon, its advantage is its lightness. Compared with the Portuguese cannon weighing over 200 pounds, although the range of the tiger squat cannon is slightly shorter, it weighs only less than 40 pounds and a soldier can carry it with him. He can find a place to fire it anywhere.

But the weakness of the Tiger Crouching Cannon was also obvious. Although it had a large attack area, its firing speed was far slower than that of the Portuguese machine. It took a long time to reload each shot. If there were not enough Tiger Crouching Cannons to alternately fire and maintain continuous firepower, it would be easy for the enemy to rush in during the reloading interval, thus losing the advantage of the artillery.

The advantages and disadvantages of both are obvious. Before, Zhu Shenzhu only considered the continuous firepower but not the complementary factors, so he abandoned the tiger squat cannon and chose the Portuguese cannon. But after the grassland battle, Zhu Shenzhu finally understood why Qi Jiguang had deliberately configured it this way. It was because the two types of artillery could complement each other and play the greatest effect in the war.

As the old saying goes, knowledge gained from books is shallow, and one must practice to truly understand. Even though Zhu Shenzhu had a vision and thought that transcended this era, he could not ignore the experience and lessons of his predecessors in many aspects. If he had brought a few tiger squat cannons with him and used them directly to bombard Galiba at the critical moment when he launched the decapitation operation, how could Galiba have escaped?

Thinking of this, Zhu Shenzhui thought of Wang Jinwu on the grassland again. It seemed that he had to ask the caravan to send some tiger squat cannons to the tribe for equipment.

However, Zhu Shenzhui does not have many cannons at the moment. Although he has set up a workshop in Zhaowuling, it is not easy to cast a large number of cannons under the current conditions of the workshop. I have been away for more than half a year, and I don't know what the current situation of the workshop is. I will take a day off tonight and go to the workshop tomorrow to have a look.

It was a coincidence that the next day, Zhu Shenzhui had just gotten up and practiced boxing and spearmanship as usual, and was about to have breakfast when Zhao Da hurried to the centurion's office.

"Uncle Zhao, why are you here?" Upon seeing Zhao Da, Zhu Shenzhui quickly offered him a seat and invited him to have dinner together.

"No need, Sixth Master. I've already eaten this morning. I heard you were here yesterday, but I didn't know how long you would stay. You know me, I can't keep things to myself. I haven't seen you for a while, so I came to see you this morning."

Zhao Da smiled and rubbed his hands. Zhu Shenzhui smiled dumbly. It was true that he hadn't been here for more than half a year. Zhao Da hadn't seen him for so long. It was normal for him to come directly to Zhao Da after hearing that he was here. However, looking at Zhao Da's eager expression, Zhu Shenzhui's heart moved slightly, as if he felt something.

He asked Zhao Da to sit down for a while and asked someone to bring him a cup of hot tea to warm him up. Zhu Shenzhui ate steamed buns with pickles and started chatting with him.

"How's the workshop?"

"Okay, everything is fine." Zhao Da was the person in charge of the workshop appointed by Zhu Shenzhui, and he was also a trustworthy craftsman. Zhao Da had helped Zhu Shenzhui a lot when he was in Wangjia Village. Moreover, Zhao Da was honest and sincere, and his craftsmanship was good. Although Zhao Da was not the most suitable person to manage the workshop, he was the most appropriate one.

Not to mention that after following Zhu Shenzhu, Zhao Da had left the artisan household and had the title of Wei Zhishi, which was considered a small official position. Don't underestimate this Zhishi, most people can't reach it even after several generations, let alone an artisan household like Zhao Da.

Zhao Da immediately talked about the situation at the workshop. Zhu Shenzhui ate his breakfast slowly while listening to his story, asking a few questions from time to time. Although Zhao Da was not well educated, he was very dedicated in his work. He did almost everything in the workshop himself, big and small, and remembered them all in his mind. He answered Zhu Shenzhui's questions fluently, which made him extremely satisfied.

The current workshop is much larger than the initial one. The main smelting and manufacturing are completely different from what they were at the beginning, and its output has tripled.

In particular, Zhao Da and several blacksmiths learned from each other's strengths and made up for each other's weaknesses. After several experiments, they developed a more efficient iron-smelting process. After modifying the iron furnace, the pig iron they produced was much stronger than before, and even the quality of wrought iron and fine steel was greatly improved.

The workshop now has two modified bottle furnaces. Each bottle furnace can produce nearly 4000 kilograms of iron per day, and the two furnaces together can produce almost 8000 kilograms.

With the current technology of the workshop, it is possible to build another bottle furnace, but considering that the current amount of ore produced is insufficient, two bottle furnaces are enough, so Zhao Da did not add any more.

The daily iron production of 8000 kilograms is only theoretical. The actual average daily output is about 6000 to 7000 kilograms. In a month, kilograms of iron can be produced.

This iron production volume was already very high for the local area, and the sufficient iron production also ensured that the workshop had sufficient raw materials for equipment manufacturing. A large number of daily iron tools, gun heads, arrowheads and other military equipment were produced every day. In addition, some pig iron was stored as supplies for other uses.

While producing iron, the workshop is also making steel according to the most advanced Sugang steel pouring method. After all, some weapons require materials that are far from being satisfied by pig iron, and the same is true for wrought iron. Good steel must be used to make them, such as cannons, muskets and other firearms, as well as sharp waist knives, machetes, etc. After listening to Zhao Da's story, Zhu Shenzhu was very satisfied. The progress of the workshop has exceeded his imagination. He did not expect to reach such a scale in just one year. As for further expansion, Zhu Shenzhu temporarily felt that it was unnecessary to consider it. The current output is just right. If the output is higher, it will not be digested. Moreover, both the workshop and the mine rely on manpower. Although Zhaowuling is remote and has the name of a hundred households in the guard post, once there are more people and a larger scale is formed, it may be difficult to control, let alone conceal.

Zhu Shenzhu praised Zhao Da for his achievements. He always followed the rule that merits must be rewarded and faults must be punished. He would never be stingy with people who could do things and do them well. He immediately promised Zhao Da a reward and promised to find a chance to get Zhao Da's son Shitou an official position next year.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Da was overjoyed. He quickly stood up and knelt down in front of Zhu Shenzhui, thanking him profusely.

Zhu Shenzhui helped him up with a smile and told him that he didn't need to do that, as he deserved it. Not only him, but also other craftsmen in the workshop, as long as they showed achievements and merits, a mere official position would not be a problem. If they did better, he would guarantee that they would be rich and prosperous in the future.

"Sixth Master, I really don't know how to repay your kindness. Don't worry, Sixth Master, I may not be good at speaking but I understand everything in my heart. I will tell everyone when I get back. Just wait and see. I promise that everyone will work hard for you."

"Hahaha, that's not necessary. It's useless even if I take your lives. Just do the work at hand well and carefully, think more while working, and make some good things. I, the Sixth Master, will never treat you badly."

"Hey, this is this..." Zhao Dahan smiled and nodded repeatedly, then seemed to think of something and suddenly said, "By the way, Sixth Master, do you still remember the Yao brothers?"

"Of course the Yao brothers remember, why?"

Zhao laughed and told Zhu Shenzui that since he made the thing Zhu Shenzui needed last time, didn’t Zhu Shenzui recommend the two brothers to eighth-rank official positions?
Not long after Zhu Shenzhui led his men to the grassland, the official certificate from the garrison came down. Now the Yao brothers and Zhao Da were both officials, thus becoming low-level officials from craftsmen.

This change made the Yao brothers ecstatic. They never thought that as fireworks craftsmen, they would have such an opportunity to become officials just by making yellow medicine. Originally, the Yao brothers wanted to thank Zhu Shenzhu in person and kowtow to him to thank him for his kindness. Unfortunately, Zhu Shenzhu had already taken people to the grassland at that time, and he could not come back for a while because of something that happened on the grassland.

Although Zhao Da didn't know about Zhu Shenzhui's affairs, he had heard a few words from Hu Lin when he came before, and knew that Zhu Shenzhui might not be able to come back for several months. So he told the Yao brothers, and the Yao brothers had no choice but to keep this favor in their hearts.

In the past few months, the Yao brothers have not been idle. They have been studying and improving the previous formula of yellow medicine, striving to make the efficacy of yellow medicine better.

With the efforts of the two brothers, the research and development of the formula of yellow medicine has indeed made some progress, and it is stronger than what Zhu Shenzhu had seen before. However, the Yao brothers also understand that this so-called stronger is also limited. After all, no matter how strong the formula of yellow medicine is, it has a limit. According to the many attempts of the Yao brothers, they have reached the most effective formula, and it is impossible to make further breakthroughs.

Under such circumstances, the Yao brothers did not lose heart. Since they could not improve on the original basis, they turned to developing other things by mixing them in an attempt to create the same thing that was stronger than yellow medicine.

But such research and development is difficult. After all, from the perspective of traditional fireworks technology, yellow medicine has reached its peak. If it is to be further improved, it will not be achieved by ordinary fireworks technology. This can only be achieved through chemical production, which is simply impossible with current technology.

At the beginning, the Yao brothers were full of confidence, but as time went by, there was no progress. The eldest brother, Yao Liang, was unwilling to admit defeat, and he still tried to find a way to study despite numerous failures. But the smart second brother, Yao Yuan, was not like that. After hitting a snag several times, he felt that continuing to study on this basis would not produce much results, so three months ago, the two brothers each started their own business.

Yao Liang was still obsessed with this thing, intending to make something better than yellow medicine. But the second son Yao Yuan gave up this direction and instead studied the use of yellow medicine. Moreover, Zhu Shenzhu had seen the effect of yellow medicine last time, and he was very happy and said a few words about the use of yellow medicine. He also asked Zhao Da to develop a firearm that uses yellow medicine according to the structure of the current musket.

Yao Yuan became very interested in this, and after giving up his research on yellow medicine, he would come to the workshop every day to hang out. He was very interested in how the craftsmen in the workshop smelted iron, made steel, and forged tools, and from time to time he would ask Zhao Da for advice and discuss things in private.

In the past, Zhao Da, as a craftsman, would have treasured his skills, but now Zhao Da is different. After becoming an official, Zhao Da no longer treasures his skills. How can being an official be better than having good skills? Moreover, Zhu Shenzhui had already told him that as long as he managed the workshop well, the craftsmen did not hide their skills and communicated with each other, and constantly improved their skills, the credit would be his.

In addition, Zhao Da saw how much Zhu Shenzhu valued the Yao brothers and understood their importance. Since Yao Laoer was interested in this, Zhao Da explained it to him. Unexpectedly, Yao Laoer was extremely smart and quickly understood how to make the equipment. Although he did not have the superb skills of a blacksmith, he was better than ordinary people in thinking.

With the help of Yao Laoer, Zhao Da has been researching and making the use of yellow medicine in firearms with him these days. Not long ago, they made a thing. This was the real reason why Zhao Da couldn't sit still when he heard that Zhu Shenzhui was coming, and hurried to see him early in the morning.

(End of this chapter)