The First Uncle of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 74 Not doing business properly
Ma Xun was very satisfied with the development and construction of the school, so he went home contentedly.

Seeing Ma Xun coming back, Liu Shuning smiled and said, "Husband, the scrolls you asked me to sort out earlier are now sorted out."

Ma Xun immediately asked, "You just found it? Didn't you help me summarize it?"

Liu Shuning smiled and said, "There are many records of these in the Imperial Hospital. I don't need to worry too much. Someone will take care of it naturally."

After arriving at the study, Ma Xun looked at the sorted information carefully.

Open wound sutures also have a history.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a relatively complete debridement and suture technique had been formed, and the materials for suturing wounds had also been improved and enhanced. The most important invention was the use of mulberry bark thread to suture the intestine and skin.

Looking at the information, Ma Xun smiled and said, "It saves a lot of trouble. I have less things to do."

Liu Shuning smiled and encouraged, "My husband has a lot of things to do, and I wonder why you have so many wonderful ideas?"

Ma Xun joked, "I was just daydreaming when I had nothing to do. I couldn't do anything before because I was poor. Now I have thought of something, even if it doesn't work out, I can give it a try. I'm not afraid of losing money and not being able to survive."

Liu Shuning then said, "The Grand Commandery also sent someone to deliver a list of firearms and war bows, as well as a rough idea of the manufacturing process."

Seeing Ma Xun nod, Liu Shuning said with some concern, "People from the Gunpowder Department are here too. My husband is not going to make gunpowder in the mansion, is he?"

"Of course not. I'm afraid it will explode." Ma Xun said quickly, "Gunpowder itself is dangerous. I'm still thinking about improving the bow."

Liu Shuning asked curiously, "Bow? Aren't the bows and muskets in the army powerful enough now?"

The firearms of the Ming army were very advantageous in this era, and could be said to be unrivaled in the world. However, the Mongolians in the north were not bad either, and they also had a lot of firearms in the past, which were not inferior to the equipment of the Ming army.

However, the Mongols have a characteristic of a nomadic people, that is, once they are driven out of the Central Plains dynasty, they will quickly lose some productivity and their smelting technology will regress greatly.

This is the case with the Yuan army now. Once the fire guns and artillery explode, they can no longer be used, and it is difficult to get new weapons. But the Ming army is different. The speed of weapon production is very fast and can keep up with the consumption of the army.

After being driven back to the grassland, the Mongols did not even have the ability to produce iron pots, and Zhu Yuanzhang also strictly prohibited ironware, tea, etc. from entering the grassland.

Ma Xun smiled and said, "Our current bows basically focus on range and efficiency. I was wondering if I could increase the size and the tip of the bow, whether I could make the bow shoot farther and have greater lethality."

Liu Shuning thought about it carefully and said, "But in this case, only people with great strength can pull the bowstring, which is not good."

Liu Shuning's words are definitely correct. There are always some people who are geniuses and born with supernatural powers. These people can easily break through the limits of ordinary people. It is unrealistic to use these people's standards to demand others.

Take bows and arrows for example. Some people can easily pull a heavy bow, but we cannot expect all soldiers to be able to pull a heavy bow.

"This is what I'm thinking about. It would be useful if the soldiers could pull the heavy bow without putting more effort on them and it could be used as standard equipment in the army." Ma Xun immediately said with a smile, "It would be great if we could find a way to have the best of both worlds."

Although it is a bit unsightly to draw the bow with your butt sticking out, it is enough to kill the enemy.

Ma Xun also hoped that firearms would explode, but this thing would not be achieved overnight. Nowadays, firearms play an increasingly important role on the battlefield, but they will not replace cold weapons all at once.

The development of firearms took hundreds of years, which was also a process.

What Ma Xun is considering now is, of course, the Qing bow. This bow has a huge body, a long bow tip with an embedded horn, and a clear string pad. It was even able to compete with early gunpowder weapons.

It can be equipped in large quantities, has low cost and is not difficult to manufacture. This is obviously a very suitable option.

As for things like compound bows, just think about it. It took a huge amount of effort to make them, but they were only played with privately by dignitaries like Ma Xun. It was impossible for them to be popularized in the army.

It is difficult to see how firearms will develop for the time being, but there is a high probability that the Qing bow will be put to use immediately.

If you want to make the Qing bow come out earlier, it is not as simple as simply increasing the size of the bow and adding string pads. If you want to trial-produce it, you will definitely have to spend more time and effort.

Liu Shuning looked at the sketch and asked curiously, "Husband, your bow is a little special." Ma Xun smiled and asked, "Do you think there is an extra string pad?"

Liu Shuning did not hide her thoughts, "Indeed, it is different from ordinary bows and arrows."

This is one of the biggest features of the Qing bow. The string pad can be said to be unusually large.

This increases the burden on the bow arm, but it can protect the bow arm very well and reduce the impact of the string on the bow arm; it also produces an equivalent bow arm transformation effect when the archer draws the bow, making it easier for the archer to maintain the archery state after pulling the hard bow.

"This bow is larger than ordinary bows, so it should be used to shoot heavy arrows." Ma Xun explained with a smile, "Although it can be used by infantry, it may be better for cavalry."

Liu Shuning pointed at the bow tip and said, "But in this way, I'm afraid it won't be able to hold up, right?"

It is normal to have such concerns. The long bow tip will inevitably increase the burden on the bow arm, and at first glance it will seem difficult to draw such a bow.

"I originally wanted to use heavy arrows, and there is something called leverage here." Ma Xun explained patiently, "The people in the army have practiced archery diligently, so they should be able to pull this bow. Now let's make some bows and try them out first."

Liu Shuning had no objection. It was not difficult to make a bow and arrow. Whether it was the bow tip or the bowstring, everything was ready-made. It was just that Ma Xun wanted a bigger bow, so the bow arm and bowstring needed to be longer.

Liu Shuning has gotten used to Ma Xun's busyness and creative ideas, even though some of them seem unreliable, or she simply doesn't understand the use of those researches.

However, Liu Shuning would not object to anything. If Ma Xun needed her help to organize and collect information, then she would read the book carefully and look for clues.

This is also interesting for Liu Shuning, as she likes reading and studying astronomy and geography.

Ma Xun seems to have a lot of research projects now, but he doesn't feel overwhelmed.

The main reason is that he is basically only responsible for providing ideas. He doesn't need to worry too much about the improvement of many details, the production of craftsmanship, etc.

Ma Xun is not an expert in weapons, and has no experience in the manufacture of cold weapons.

But he took out the blueprint and carefully presented his ideas to the bow maker. Although they were a bit special, the bow maker did not seem to think that such a request was so unorthodox.

Even on some professional matters, he could provide some advice to Ma Xun, making it seem more smooth for Ma Xun to make bows.

"Uncle!" Zhu Chong ran into the courtyard and said happily, "My father asked me to tell you that we have to prepare to go to court."

Ma Xun was surprised, "Going to court again?"

Zhu Chong was speechless, "Uncle, when was the last time you attended court?"

Seeing that Ma Xun did not answer, Zhu Chong said, "It was you who first proposed the matter of conferring titles on the kings. Now that the Ministry of Rites has basically decided, you must go to court."

Hearing Zhu Chong say this, Ma Xun understood, "Okay then, I will definitely go to court then."

Zhu Chong then said gloomily, "We have to go back home in a few days."

Zhu Chong and others have no feelings for their hometown Fengyang, but it is the Zhongdu and the imperial hometown. Zhu Yuanzhang is now making rules that require the princes to return to their hometown to worship their ancestors before being conferred titles.

"It's good to go back to your hometown. It's a good opportunity to see what your hometown looks like and understand the difficulties your father went through in starting his business." Ma Xun earnestly reminded him, "Hometown is your foundation. When you go back, you must walk around and take a look. Don't disturb the neighbors and punish corrupt officials."

Zhu Chong suddenly felt that all the elders were the same, they liked to remind people of these things.

However, Zhu Chong suddenly gloated over the misfortune, "Uncle, if you go to court, the emperor and the queen will definitely scold you."

Ma Xun was used to it. He was "not doing his job properly". He didn't go to court or participate in political discussions. Instead, he liked to study medicine and thought about improving some skills. These were not things that a brother-in-law of the emperor should do!

(End of this chapter)