Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 687: Preparing for War
Yang Yuan actually had only a vague understanding of gunpowder. For example, he only remembered an approximate ratio of the best mix for black gunpowder.

But when he told the craftsmen who were studying gunpowder this approximate ratio, it helped them avoid hundreds of years of detour.

You have to know that it was not until several hundred years later that people figured out the ratio of black powder, which is roughly 75% saltpeter, 10% sulfur, and 15% charcoal.

However, the black powder of this era is currently about 60% saltpeter, 20% sulfur, and the rest is charcoal and various "impurities".

There are naturally occurring impurities due to poor purification, and there are also "impurities" artificially added:
For example, nearly ten kinds of flammable substances such as cooking oil and hemp oil are artificially added.

Because the gunpowder craftsmen of this era believed that these things could enhance the power of gunpowder.

It is conceivable how small the power of black powder with such a ratio is.

However, Yang Yuan not only told them a rough ratio, but also told them that these things were not needed to assist combustion.

So they stopped adulterating it and began to study how to purify it.

For example, what kind of wood should be used to burn gunpowder charcoal to achieve better quality?
What processes does sulfur have to go through to be extracted to be purer...

Just for the production of these few raw materials, we are almost figuring out a complete production process.

Their gunpowder ratio is now infinitely close to the optimal ratio, and the purification rate is getting higher and higher, so the power of gunpowder is naturally revealed.

However, the corresponding manufacturing process also increases the risk.

Dangerous accidents in the preparation of gunpowder generally occur at the stage of mixing the three components of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal in proportion.

As long as no open flames are introduced at this stage, generally nothing will go wrong.

By this time, the craftsmen already understood how to prevent the generation of sparks.

Most of their tools are made of wood, stone and copper, and iron tools are strictly prohibited.

In order to prevent dangerous friction and collision between the ingredients during the mixing process, craftsmen will first mix the gunpowder ingredients into a paste with water before mixing.

In this way, even if there is an occasional spark, it will not detonate the explosives.

But it can only reduce the risk with a high probability, it is not absolute.

Today's explosion was caused by a craftsman who accidentally ignited sulfur while preparing the gunpowder. The sulfur fire then ignited a small barrel of gunpowder that had just been prepared.

When Yang Yuan arrived, he saw a big pit blown up in the place used for testing, and the craftsmen all around were covered in dust and dirt.

People were being carried out from the accident site. Yang Yuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw Xiao Qianyue standing in the crowd directing the rescue.

At least his Chief Engineer Xiao is safe.

Yang Yuan hurried forward. The laboratories here were built in semi-underground bunkers, and each bunker was a certain distance apart.

There were three people at the place where the accident happened, two craftsmen and a young apprentice.

When the explosion occurred, the young disciple was at the entrance of the bunker and was blown away by the blast. He was not seriously injured, but his eardrums were buzzing, and he is unable to speak yet.

There were two craftsmen in the bunker, one dead and one injured. The dead one was the craftsman who accidentally ignited the gunpowder and was blown to pieces.

The other one had a low earth wall between him and his "workshop". He only had one arm blown off and is now also in a coma.

Yang Yuan didn't care about anything else. He stepped forward to help rescue the wounded, bandaged his wounds to stop the bleeding, and then immediately sent him back to the temple.

Yang Yuan also instructed Xiao Qianyue to wait for his young apprentice and the injured craftsman to wake up, and then inquire in detail about what happened. Every time an accident was discovered, necessary rules in the process system should be used to prevent it.

Xiao Qianyue was already familiar with these procedures without Yang Yuan explaining them in detail, so she nodded in agreement.

Yang Yuan looked at the frightened craftsmen, whispered to Xiao Qianyue the names of the dead and injured craftsmen, and then announced loudly: "Zheng Qiyue, one arm is crippled.

After his injury heals, he will be retained and given an apprentice to help him. He will also be given a house and ten acres of farmland as a reward!"

At this moment, all the craftsmen suddenly became agitated.

This is their job for a living, and they are of course aware of the dangers involved, but this is the skill they have, so they have to do it.

They knew there would be relief, but they didn't expect it to be so generous.

With this house and land, Zheng Qiyue's family will no longer have to worry about food and clothing.

Moreover, Zheng Qiyue is disabled but still employed, so there is a steady source of income.

Yang Yuan added: "The craftsman Feng Yuan who was killed in the explosion was also given a house and ten acres of land. In addition, his family was allowed a position as a county clerk."

This made the craftsmen even more excited.

The clerks in the county government were also civil servants, and their position was hereditary.

Officials are rotated every three to five years, but clerks live here for generations, and basically pass the position down from father to son, from generation to generation.

Feng Yuan died, but his children and grandchildren had a stable job from then on.

For these craftsmen, this is the greatest blessing and the greatest peace of mind.

Some people even started to try...

Yang Yuan didn't say much to these craftsmen.

What to say, is it safe?

He cares more about the rules of their lives than you do.

However, no matter how careful you are, accidents are inevitable.

For them, Yang Yuan's treatment of the dead and injured craftsmen was the most cost-effective.

Yang Yuan even gave a reward to the unconscious apprentice.

After comforting the craftsmen and asking them to leave, Yang Yuan asked Xiao Qianyue to go aside.

Yang Yuan said: "Now we have basically figured out what proportion of gunpowder is suitable for firing and what proportion of gunpowder is suitable for explosion.

Once you have drawn up a detailed process, you can hand it over to other craftsmen to continue production and testing its stability according to strict specifications.”

Yang Yuan took out two pieces of paper from his sleeve and handed them to Xiao Qianyue: "This is my idea, you see how to realize it."

The main reason why the Jin and Xixia people were stronger than the Song Dynasty was their cavalry.

Yang Yuan felt that after the power of gunpowder was greatly improved, it could be used as an important weapon against cavalry.

He wanted to form his own cavalry team, but his purpose was not to engage in a head-on confrontation with the enemy cavalry, but to catch up with the fleeing and shifting enemy troops and enhance the mobility of the Song Dynasty army.

To deal with enemy cavalry, he wanted to rely more on the power of gunpowder.

In the history of the development of gunpowder in Europe, after the emergence of the musket, the once-powerful armored warriors were easily defeated by the guns of the peasants who had just been trained for a week.

As Marx said: "Gunpowder blew the chivalric class to pieces."

When machine guns appeared, nomadic people became good at singing and dancing.

Yang Yuan mentioned to Xiao Qianyue and other craftsmen the concepts of early muskets that he knew, and even the concept of firing a gun.

But he can only put forward a concept, and the specific research and development will inevitably take a very long time.

Moreover, many supporting production technologies are not available now. However, the most difficult hurdle is the power of gunpowder.

The second difficulty in dealing with cavalry was the firing speed of early muskets.

The first level has been solved, the second level... can be solved with some workaround.

Yang Yuan felt that the "Divine Fire Flying Crow" that he had seen in Xiangji Temple before could be developed and studied well.

Soon after this weapon was developed, it was criticized by the trial troops because of its various limitations and disadvantages during use.

As a result, its production was abolished by the Ordnance Department of the Song Dynasty.

But Yang Yuan thinks that if there is a problem, we should just find a way to overcome it and there is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

He felt that this thing could become the "machine gun" of this era and a powerful weapon against cavalry and group charges.

Besides, since seamless steel pipes and the like cannot be produced now, he cannot give any suggestions. But for things like landmines and hand grenades, can't craftsmen easily develop them if they have gunpowder of sufficient power?

With these things, Yang Yuan can "explode troops" at any time.

However, such an army is highly dependent on logistical supplies. Once the ammunition is cut off, they will be like cattle and sheep that can be slaughtered at will.

Therefore, Yang Yuan asked Xiao Qianyue to focus on studying its transportation, storage and maintenance.

In particular, transportation safety in bumpy environments and use in rainy and snowy weather are not affected.

Because this is the key to its real application.

……

Taking the tragedy of the Wu family in Pengzhou as an opportunity, Yang Yuan launched a severe campaign to crack down on bandits and road bandits throughout Tongchuan Road.

Taking this as an example, Yang Yuan began to promote the "Loyalty Society" in the sixteen prefectures of Tongchuan on the pretext of cooperating with the government troops in the crackdown.

The "Zhongyi Society" was self-funded and built by the local area, and the president, vice president and other positions of the "Zhongyi Society" were elected by local officials and local gentry.

This "Zhongyi Society" was the local militia that Yang Yuan planned to establish.

The imperial court had the position of Tuanlianshi, but it was an official imperial position that needed to be appointed by the emperor and the salary was paid by the imperial court. Yang Yuan could not set up the position privately or pay the salary privately.

However, the post of militia in the Song Dynasty court, like the Jiedushi, had long been an honorary title, which was used only to receive salaries, that is, to determine the salary level.

Therefore, the so-called militia envoys of the imperial court had no fixed number of personnel, no duties, and were not stationed in the state. They were just an administrative level used to set salaries.

In the previous process of cutting down on redundancy, the imperial court had already abolished this meaningless empty position with only a salary attached.

The local self-defense forces promoted by Yang Yuan in Tongchuan did not require the court to pay them salaries and military pay, but they had to pay out of their own pockets to purchase training equipment, weapons, bows and crossbows, etc.

However, this can enhance the prestige of local tyrants and strengthen their voice in local government. At the same time, it can indeed reduce the living space of bandits and make local tyrants and gentry feel more secure.

Therefore, local tyrants are happy to spend this money.

After all, there is always more than one powerful person in a place. Originally, everyone was on an equal footing. Now we want to set up a local self-defense force. How can it all fall into your hands?
If you are the main boss, then I must at least get the position of deputy boss.

This competition has once again led to a mutual involvement and checks and balances among them.

These loyal societies received strong support from local powerful people, so naturally they achieved remarkable results as soon as they were established.

The old soldiers that Yang Yuan resettled were also warmly welcomed by these local tyrants.

From the very beginning, Yang Yuan had no intention of using these disabled veterans to control the local powerful armed forces. That was an unrealistic idea.

It is enough for him to have the support of local tyrants.

These disabled veterans went there as instructors. They were only responsible for teaching and training and were not responsible for anything else.

Those local tyrants would naturally be happy to spend money to hire such a capable person to improve the strength of their local militia forces.

As a senior official, Yang Yuan could make decisions on his own for this kind of organization, which existed in the nature of a local association, without having to consult the court. This gave Yang Yuan a great deal of autonomy.

Yang Yuan has not yet told the court that he is developing and improving gunpowder weapons.

One reason is that it has not yet been thoroughly researched.

If the matter is reported to the imperial court, the many related government offices, such as the Military Equipment Inspectorate, which are still in a complex organizational structure, will jump out to interfere. Once the matter is caught up in unnecessary buck-passing and wrangling, the important task will be delayed.

Another reason was that his purpose of coming to Sichuan was to intimidate the Western Army.

The imperial court wanted to clean up and rectify all illegal activities within the Western Army. After the rectification, it would use the Western Army as the main force to attack Western Xia while the Jin Kingdom was unable to take care of other things.

However, whether it is to carry out a large-scale purge and reorganization of the Western Army or to send troops to attack Western Xia, an army that can suppress it is needed.

Otherwise, if the Western Army, which is too powerful to be eliminated, loses its scruples, who knows what choices they will make.

At this time, Yang Yuan naturally did not want to expose his ultimate weapon in advance.

Because if we report it to the court now, the three giants of the Western Army will definitely know about it.

Then they will do whatever it takes to get their hands on the recipe, no doubt about it.

Several of Yang Yuan's neighbors are paying attention to his series of actions on Tongchuan Road.

Up to now, all of Yang Yuan's actions have been in line with the rules and have not touched anyone's sensitive nerves.

The imperial court will then take advantage of the Jin Kingdom's inability to look south and free up its hands to solve the northwest problem first. This strategy has already been communicated to the three commanders of the Western Army.

Therefore, it was completely reasonable for Yang Yuan to actively raise food and fodder, develop military industry, and train civilians.

Only the news that Yang Yuan was laying off the top general of Tongchuan and recruiting new soldiers for training made them slightly alert.

But that was just an adjustment of the Tongchuan army. Yang Yuan should want a powerful force to protect him, which is not excessive.

At this time, Uncle Ji and Uncle Gou had become the chief coaches of the two new armies respectively, and were conducting brutal training for the two newly reorganized armies.

Yang Yuan planned to wait for Tongchuan to develop and stabilize for a period of time so that he could free up his hands to make some personnel adjustments.

Because after more than half a year of observation, he had a good idea of ​​the abilities, character and obedience of the officials in the prefectures, counties and cities in Tongchuan.

However, before he could take advantage of the year-end evaluation to make another major adjustment to the officials of the sixteen prefectures in Tongchuan Road, a bloody incident occurred in Yang Zheng's department in Lizhou Central Road.

Qiu Pi'er, a general under Yang Zheng, died suddenly in his mansion.

There is no consensus as to whether it was death from illness, revenge, passion, or other reasons.

However, as Yang Zheng is old, he is now concerned about the placement of his descendants and is plotting to show goodwill to the Wu family in Lixi, causing the people in Lixi to become uneasy.

Therefore, Qiu Pi'er's death gave rise to all kinds of rumors, causing undercurrents in the central road of Lizhou.

When the court got the news, it urgently ordered Yang Yuan to rush to Lizhong to investigate the case.

Yang Yuan, who was busy developing and strengthening himself, suddenly realized that he also had the identity of Right Counselor.

Therefore, Yang Yuan had to put aside the important matter of personnel adjustment for the time being and went to Lizhong on official business as the Chief Prosecutor of the Song Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)