Bright Sword: I built Italian cannons for Li Yunlong

Zhao Dajiang stood at the very front, closest to Zhou Zhen.

This heavy burden that had been weighing on my shoulders for so long has finally been lifted off my feet.

Overwhelmed with joy, his eyes quickly reddened, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

He tried to force back his tears by blinking, but the tears fell like a disobedient child.

"Director Zhou... Director Zhou..." Zhao Dajiang's voice was hoarse, with obvious sobs, but he tried hard to speak clearly and forcefully, "I... I, Old Zhao... On behalf of our arsenal, on behalf of the comrades on the front lines who are waiting for bullets... thank you."

His words seemed to awaken everyone.

Immediately, more voices arose, filled with the most sincere gratitude and admiration.

"Yes! Thank you, Director Zhou."

"Director Zhou, you've worked so hard, look at all that sweat..."

"Factory manager, take a break, take a break."

The crowd surrounded Zhou Zhen, their eyes burning with an intensity that seemed to want to melt him.

At this moment, Zhou Zhen clearly felt their unreserved recognition and entrustment.

This feeling made him feel more fulfilled and satisfied than any success in the laboratory.

He raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling everyone to be quiet.

The noise of the crowd gradually subsided, but those excited faces still surrounded him.

"Comrades!" Zhou Zhen raised his voice.

"Today is just the beginning; we will inevitably produce more primers in the future."

"I will select suitable masters from among you and teach them the craft of making the primer. Are you confident in taking on this task?"

"have!"

The shouts, delivered in unison, thundered through the valley like spring thunder.

The message was relayed back to headquarters as quickly as possible.

The headquarters leaders were also very excited when they heard the news.

"That Zhou Zhen, as expected of someone who studied abroad, there's really nothing he can't do."

"That's right. When we agreed to allocate that batch of supplies, we didn't really have high hopes."

In their excitement, the headquarters also became concerned about whether Zhou Zhen could teach the other workers.

It turns out that there were actually a few instances of synthesizing mercury fulminate in the base's arsenal, but those were accidental and unreplicable.

Moreover, each success was accompanied by considerable casualties.

This is truly the first time someone like Zhou Zhen has succeeded on his first try.

Therefore, the headquarters leaders had high hopes for Zhou Zhen to popularize the technology among ordinary workers.

Zhou Zhen did not become complacent after receiving the commendation and encouragement from headquarters.

When headquarters asked if it was possible to teach other workers the same skills.

Zhou Zhen gave an affirmative answer, and he also explained in detail how to improve the success rate of worker synthesis and the precautions.

The headquarters leaders gave full affirmation to this.

After the experiment was successful, he conducted several more experiments and carefully recorded all the data and details during the process.

Another week passed, and he broke down the entire synthesis process into dozens of small steps, providing detailed explanations for each step, from raw material inspection and purification, experimental environment control, experimental procedures to precautions.

With this almost "foolproof" operating procedure and safety manual, as long as the operators strictly follow the steps, there is no possibility of failure.

With this operation manual in hand, he organized training for all the factory workers.

After the workers were familiar with the contents of the manual, Zhou Zhen organized everyone to practice, but the raw materials were changed to some safer ones.

"The mercury fulminate experiment is extremely dangerous. You cannot be careless in any aspect. You must strictly follow the steps in the manual I gave you. The amount of reagent used must also be precise. Do you all remember that?" Zhou Zhen repeatedly warned.

He would patiently explain things to the workers when they asked questions.

After completing the theoretical training, Zhou Zhen planned to select the first batch of technicians specializing in the synthesis of mercury fulminate through an examination.

The exam content was actually quite simple; it involved memorizing the contents of the manual. Workers who could successfully memorize the manual could take a practical exam under his supervision. Those who passed could then work with him to conduct the synthesis experiment of mercury fulminate.

In the end, only eight workers passed Zhou Zhen's test and became the first batch of technicians to synthesize mercury fulminate.

Whether it's a mule or a horse, you have to take it out for a spin.

At this moment, the eight workers who were making mercury fulminate with Zhou Zhen were extremely nervous.

Although they were all wearing protective suits and gas masks, Zhou Zhen could still sense their tension from their rapid breathing.

"Don't be too nervous, everyone. I'm still here, aren't I?"

"The workload I've assigned to everyone isn't large, and since you're all wearing protective gear, there's actually not much danger."

"Factory manager, I'm not afraid of danger, I'm just afraid of failing and letting down my comrades' trust. Before I came here, I promised the other comrades that I would definitely succeed."

Zhou Zhen patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, as long as you follow the steps I teach you, you will definitely succeed. Before you do it, I will personally demonstrate the experiment for you."

Surrounded by eight people, Zhou Zhen once again completely repeated the entire experiment.

The experimental results remained extremely stable, and Zhou Zhen successfully synthesized mercury fulminate once again.

"You have just watched the entire experiment. Please review the contents of the manual I gave you in your mind. If there are no problems, you will officially begin the synthesis of mercury fulminate in ten minutes."

After calming themselves down, the eight people carefully reviewed every detail of Zhou Zhen's demonstration against the manual.

Even though I had mentally prepared myself for half a day, my hands were still a little stiff when I actually picked up the tools.

Zhou Zhen stood nearby, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone's movements, occasionally whispering reminders: "Don't rush, the temperature needs to rise slowly... Stir evenly, in one direction..."

Some people pour the mercury in too quickly, while others stir too frequently and violently because they are overly concerned about the temperature.

However, all of this was within Zhou Zhen's expectations. Whenever a worker was about to make a mistake, he would correct it in time. So although there were some twists and turns in the process, the eight workers stumbled along but did not encounter any major danger.

The air was filled with the pungent smell of nitric acid and a silent pressure.

Inside the small factory, heavy breathing could be heard, occasionally punctuated by the soft clatter of pottery and the low muttering of self-encouragement.

At this moment, everyone's forehead was covered in sweat, but no one dared to raise their hand to wipe it away, all staring intently at the steps in their hands.

Ultimately, due to the fact that it was their first time operating the procedure and they were under a lot of mental strain, most people inevitably made minor, irreparable mistakes during the process, leading to the failure of the experiment.

At the end of the experiment, only two workers successfully synthesized the substance.