The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

At this point, Yang Zhen noticed that Pan Wenmao's eyes were gleaming under the light, as if he had something to say, so he said to him, "Old Pan, do you have something to say?"

Pan Wenmao nodded immediately, then said thoughtfully, "Your Excellency's insight is brilliant! Your Excellency's decision to change the old ways and focus on firearms, though forced upon you, is a grasp of the key point!"

Pan Wenmao was indeed neither humble nor arrogant in front of Yang Zhen, and spoke frankly. He immediately pointed out the reason why Yang Zhen valued firearms - because there was no one left in the camp, and the people had been wiped out by Yang Zhen's old fighting methods.

Of course, this was his own judgment, but Yang Zhen didn't point it out.

After saying this, Pan Wenmao saw that Yang Zhen remained calm and showed no displeasure, so he carefully added, "This humble servant understands that in the past, Your Excellency did not attach much importance to firearms because their power was weak and unstable, sometimes even inferior to strong bows and crossbows! Does Your Excellency know the reason for this?"

"Old Pan! Stop beating around the bush! What time is it?! Can't you see Young Master Zhen's attitude towards firearms now?! Show me what you've got!"

Zhang Degui was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. Hearing Pan Wenmao talk so much without getting to the point, he became anxious and didn't hold back his words.

Seeing this, Pan Wenmao wasn't angry. He nodded and said, "Just as you said, sir! The problem lies in the gunpowder! Back then, when Commander Yuan was defending Ningyuan, he personally oversaw the gunpowder production. The muskets used the same four qian of powder, and the bullets weighed the same three qian, but their range and power were far superior to what we have now! At eighty paces away, they could still penetrate the Tartars' double-layered cotton armor! But now, even if you hit them at eighty paces away, it's completely useless! The cannons of that time used the same amount of powder as we do now, and the bullets were the same size, but they could fire for miles. Even when the Tartars besieged the city, they dared not approach within five miles of the city walls! And now?!"

Yang Zhen was a little surprised when Pan Wenmao mentioned Yuan Chonghuan. He didn't expect that he would have a fan of Yuan Chonghuan under his command!

Yang Zhen knew Lao Pan was right, but time was indeed of the essence, and he didn't have much time to listen. So he interrupted Lao Pan's rant and asked him, "Lao Pan! So, in your opinion, where is the problem?"

Yang Zhen knew exactly where the problem lay, but he couldn't speak first because his predecessor hadn't valued firearms in the past.

If I stand out too much now, even if I can talk about the gunpowder ratio in great detail, it may arouse a lot of unnecessary suspicion, or even trouble.

If Pan Wenmao's understanding of this issue is the same as mine, that would be best.

"The problem lies in the saltpeter used to prepare the gunpowder!"

Seeing that Yang Zhen was so "savvy," Pan Wenmao immediately explained his thoughts in detail: "Sulfur is not hard to obtain! Willow charcoal is even more readily available! Only saltpeter is limited in quantity and expensive!"

"The saltpeter supplied by the imperial court was of slightly better quality, but the quantity was far from enough, and supplies often failed to keep up! As a result, each army and camp had to obtain saltpeter from its own sources or purchase it directly from the people!"

"In recent years, there have been frequent wars in Liaodong and Guannei, and the demand for saltpeter has increased significantly. It is often in short supply! As a result, there are those who use inferior materials to pass off as superior ones, and the quality of saltpeter has been declining and is not as good as before!"

"In modern gunpowder, the proportion of saltpeter added is constantly decreasing because it is rare! Ultimately, the power of gunpowder depends on the amount of saltpeter used! The more saltpeter used, the more powerful the gunpowder; the less saltpeter used, the less powerful the gunpowder!"

"Of course, if the saltpeter has too many impurities, using a large quantity won't help; if there are fewer impurities, even using less won't reduce its potency much!"

Seeing that the sky outside the window was still bright, Pan Wenmao's enthusiasm for talking remained undiminished, while Zhang Degui had already fallen asleep sitting with his back against the wall.

"So—Old Pan, in the gunpowder formulation, what percentage should be saltpeter, sulfur, and willow charcoal?"

Seeing that Yang Zhen was so interested in this question, Pan Wenmao was no longer sleepy and continued enthusiastically: "This ratio is considered a closely guarded secret by many gunpowder workshops, and they never show it to anyone! In fact, it's quite simple!"

"Back then, when I was in charge of the gunpowder workshop of this guard under the former commander, the former commander showed me a book. It was a military book written by General Qi many years ago, called the New Book of Military Efficiency!"

"It's written down so clearly! I still remember it perfectly! The gunpowder formula for the Qi Family Army! You can forget anything else, but you can't forget this crucial stuff! — One ounce of saltpeter, one and four-tenths mace of sulfur, and one and eight-tenths mace of willow charcoal!"

"One ounce of saltpeter, one and four-tenths mace of sulfur, and one and eight-tenths mace of willow charcoal!?"

Hearing Pan Wenmao say this with such certainty, Yang Zhen was somewhat skeptical about Qi Jiguang's gunpowder formula.

Having read many online historical novels, he knew, though he hadn't specifically studied it, that the standard formula for gunpowder in the 21st century was 75% saltpeter, 10% sulfur, and 15% charcoal.

Therefore, after hearing Pan Wenmao relay the recipe for Qi Jiguang's army, Yang Zhen pondered it over and over again in his mind for a long time.

In the end, Yang Zhen exhausted all his mathematical knowledge and was surprised to find that the gunpowder composition ratio of Qi Jiguang's army was basically consistent with the standard composition ratio of black powder in the 21st century.

One ounce of saltpeter, one and four-tenths mace of sulfur, and one and eight-tenths mace of willow charcoal—this composition, converted to later data, is 75.75% saltpeter, 10.6% sulfur, and 13.65% charcoal.

Although there are still some errors, considering the four or five hundred years that have passed, the combination rate between the two can be considered astonishingly consistent!

After calculating for a long time, Yang Zhen finally smiled. The gunpowder formula that Pan Wenmao mentioned for Qi Jiguang's army was credible.

The former commander that Pan Wenmao repeatedly mentioned was actually Yang Zhen's grandfather, Yang Yingyuan.

Before Yang Yingyuan died in battle, he was serving as the military commander of Guangning, while Qi Jiguang had already passed away. However, the remnants of Qi Jiguang's army were still alive.

Moreover, as the military commander of Guangning and the hereditary commander of Guangning Houtunwei, it is quite normal for him to possess Qi Jiguang's military treatise, Jixiao Xinshu.

However, just as Yang Zhen was about to speak, another question flashed through his mind, and he immediately fell into hesitation again.

Since the optimal ratio has been specified in the Jixiao Xinshu (New Book of Military Tactics), it's essentially public knowledge, with no secrets left. So why did the gunpowder used by the Ming Dynasty's official army become increasingly inferior with each generation?

As soon as Yang Zhengang raised the question, Pan Wenmao said, "The key to making medicine lies in boiling saltpeter! Many people can recite this formula, but few can actually do it properly!"

At this point, Pan Wenmao couldn't help but sigh, and continued, "This is truly a long story! The capital city had established saltpeter households under its garrisons to manufacture gunpowder, but the market price of saltpeter clay was exorbitant, and the capital city wouldn't provide a single penny! The saltpeter households either used inferior materials or fled with their entire families! In the end, it was all because those who boiled saltpeter didn't use it, and those who used it didn't boil it; everyone was just doing a perfunctory job, resulting in shoddy production!"

"So, Old Pan, do you know how to boil saltpeter? Do you know how to remove impurities and improve the purity of the boiled saltpeter?"

At this point, Yang Zhen knew that Pan Wenmao was a treasure, and if he used him well, he would have much less to worry about in the future.

"This humble servant knows a little about it. The method itself isn't complicated, but the materials are expensive, and the cost—given our current situation—is probably beyond our means!"

"Don't worry about the cost yet! Tell us about it first!"

"The best material is cowhide, but pigskin will also work. Remove the hair and scrape off the fat, then boil it in water until it dissolves and becomes one with the water, using a spoon as a guide. This is called making glue, also known as leather glue!"

"When the boiling of saltpeter reaches the crucial stage, add an appropriate amount of leather glue, stir well, and the final saltpeter will be as white as snow and as clear as salt! It doesn't even need sulfur, and it will explode upon contact with fire; that kind of saltpeter is of the highest quality!"

At this point, Pan Wenmao seemed to suddenly recall something from the past, and muttered to himself, "I only managed to get through it once or twice by chance!"

Yang Zhen listened intently, his drowsiness completely gone. Without hesitation, he slammed his hand on the kang table and said excitedly, "In that case, let's not delay! We don't lack saltpeter for now; the camp has some right now! This morning, send someone to set up a pot and boil the saltpeter!"

"Then send several men to the streets to collect cowhides and pigskins, and bring them back to make leather glue! By this evening, make as much of the high-quality saltpeter you mentioned as possible! Even three or five pounds will do! Because this substance is absolutely crucial!"

Yang Zhen's excitement also woke up Zhang Degui, who was sleeping against the wall. After figuring out what was going on, Zhang Degui, whose energy had been restored, took Pan Wenmao and left to arrange for people to handle the matter.