Chongzhen picked up the self-made musket and observed it carefully.
The structure of the self-igniting musket is slightly more complicated than that of other firearms. The original ignition position is occupied by a metal plate, an elastic metal paddle and a flint.
Due to years of disrepair, the metal pick has long been rusted and has lost its elasticity.
Isn't this a flintlock rifle?
With this thing, I can rule the world for at least two hundred years, not to mention the long term!
He threw the self-propelled musket into Fan Jingwen's hands and asked, "Why isn't it mass-produced?"
"Your Majesty, when I first took office at the Ministry of Works, I also discovered the peculiarities of this gun. I wanted to mass-produce it at that time, but after Jiao Xu's demonstration, I discovered the shortcomings of this gun. First of all, flint is expensive, and the annual allocation from the Ministry of Works is insufficient, so there is no extra money to buy flint."
"There were many unreasonable problems with this gun, such as the flint was easy to fall off, making it impossible to ignite, the flint was broken, and the shrapnel was broken. So Fan Jingwen, the then Minister of Works, put this gun in the warehouse and never used it."
"So that's how it is." Chongzhen nodded and felt relieved.
These problems seem difficult to solve mainly because they are caused by unreasonable design, so they are not difficult to modify.
In time, the modified flintlock rifle will surely enable the Ming army to sweep across Europe and Asia and become famous throughout the world.
"Except for the cannons, test other firearms one by one." Chongzhen instructed Fan Jingwen.
"As ordered! Your Majesty, please move to the courtyard of the Arms Bureau next door. According to the rules, there can be no fire near the warehouse."
When Chongzhen arrived at the Military Equipment Bureau, the Jinyiwei had already cleared the area. Apart from Fan Jingwen, Jiao Xu and Johann Adam Schall von Bell, there were no other officials on the scene.
The yard where the Arms Bureau tested the power of firearms was very large. There were wooden stakes on the ground in the distance, and densely planted trees in the distance. Some of the small trees were tied with wooden boards, and some were tied with straw men, who were wearing various kinds of armor.
The Ministry of Industry was responsible not only for producing firearms, but also for producing protective gear.
It's like using his own spear to attack his own shield.
The firearms were placed in order, waiting to be ignited for testing.
After receiving Chongzhen's signal, Wang Chengen arranged for the accompanying Jinyiwei to begin testing firearms. In order to protect the emperor's safety, the work of testing firearms continued to be completed by Jinyiwei.
Boom! Boom! Boom! The explosions continued.
Various firearms were ignited one after another, and the entire Arsenal yard was instantly shrouded in smoke...
Looking at the iron armor and wooden boards with holes on the wooden stakes, Fan Jingwen showed a smug smile on his face.
Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, only the firearms of his Ministry of Works can be called the strongest.
"I wonder if the power of the firearms meets your majesty's expectations?"
Chongzhen shook his head, "Not enough!"
Fan Jingwen's mouth twitched. These were already the assets of the Ming Dynasty. What else did Your Majesty want?
He lowered his head and asked, "Your Majesty, I don't understand."
Chongzhen asked in return: "If the bandits attack the city, what firearms will you use to deal with them?"
"For long-range attacks, use cannons. For close-range attacks, use bird guns, Portuguese guns, and crossbows. For even closer attacks, use fire guns and rolling logs and rocks."
"If the enemy charges under the city wall, the cannons and Portuguese guns are too heavy to turn the muzzles to fire downwards. What other firearms can be used?"
Fan Jingwen frowned and thought for a while, then said, "A musket, a fire gun, or a hand gun will suffice."
"Can you guarantee that the Ministry of Industry's muskets and firearms can penetrate the heavy armor and thick shields of the bandits?"
"No...I can't guarantee it."
Chongzhen snorted coldly.
He looked at firearms not to hear the noise, but based on their actual usage effects, he considered how to maximize their power in a battle to defend a city.
With the Ming army’s current firearms, they cannot defend the city.
Although the old, weak, sick and disabled people in the three camps have low combat effectiveness, they can at least use firearms.
Even if the recruits can learn to use firearms, they will not be able to use them proficiently in a short period of time.
If you are not careful, you may accidentally injure friendly forces.
It would be okay if it was just a mistake to hit someone, but if it was a mistake to hit the gunpowder box, the consequences would be disastrous.
Seeing that Chongzhen seemed unhappy, Fan Jingwen hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, there are still some obsolete old-fashioned firearms in the warehouse. Do you need to test them?"
"No need." Chongzhen waved his hand to let Jiao Xu and Tang Ruowang come closer, and asked in a low voice: "Can your Ministry of Industry make a batch of grenades?"
Fan Jingwen looked at Jiao Xu in confusion, Jiao Xu looked at Tang Ruowang in the same confusion, and Tang Ruowang stood there in a daze, not moving.
No one knows what a grenade is.
Fan Jingwen racked his brains for a while but still had no idea, so he had to ask in a low voice: "Your Majesty, what is a grenade?"
"You can think of a grenade as a large firecracker, with a layer of iron sheet or iron beads wrapped around the firecracker. After the explosion, the iron beads fly everywhere, injuring the enemy. Even if the enemy has heavy armor that the iron beads cannot penetrate, the loud noise of the explosion can still cause internal injuries to the enemy."
"Do you understand what I said?"
The three of them first looked at each other, wondering whether Chongzhen’s idea was feasible.
Firecrackers can injure people.
Every Chinese New Year, there are cases of children being injured by firecrackers in various places.
However, there are two prerequisites for injuring people.
1. The firecrackers should be close enough to people.
Second, the power is great enough. If the opponent has armor, the amount of firecrackers and gunpowder used will be astonishing.
Fan Jingwen was the first to react and nodded.
He was well-read and had an idea of the grenade in his mind.
The history of grenades can be traced back to the middle of the Tang Dynasty, when people made gunpowder into various shapes to kill enemies.
The earliest hand-thrown ammunition recorded in historical books comes from the third year of Xianping in the Song Dynasty, when Tang Fu, the inventor of the musket in Chinese history,
Contributed the first version of the grenade to Emperor Zhenzong of Song.
Jiao Xu was the second one to come to his senses. He cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I already have a rough idea of a grenade in my mind, but I don't know if it is consistent with what Your Majesty has in mind."
Tang Ruowang was the last to react. He spoke in fluent Mandarin: "Your Majesty, Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, I think I know what a hand grenade is."
Chongzhen was stunned for a moment. He was shocked by Johann Adam Schall von Bell's accent.
Six words to describe it: It was so authentic that just by listening to the voice you would have thought the other person was an old Beijinger.
Beijing dialect was not formed in the Qing Dynasty, but can be traced back to the Yuan Dynasty or even the Liao and Jin Dynasties. After the Jingkang Incident, women began to speak Chinese and merged with the Han language in the Yanyun area, which can be regarded as the source of modern Beijing dialect.
Tang Ruowang continued: "If the grenade is made properly, it can be used on the battlefield."
"Tell me more about it."
Tang Ruowang said nothing and looked at the Minister of Works Fan Jingwen.
He understands the social etiquette of not stealing the limelight from his leader.
"I have an idea in my mind, but I wonder if it is consistent with the grenade Your Majesty mentioned." Minister of Works Fan Jingwen said with his head down.
“The process of making this thing is not difficult.”
"Yes, it's a little more troublesome than firecrackers." Chongzhen added, "Can we do it now?"
"I can let them give it a try."
"Go and try it now. I'll wait here."
After obtaining Chongzhen's permission, Fan Jingwen hurriedly left with Jiao Xu and Johann Adam Schall Johann Adam Schall 13 and headed towards the courtyard next to the Arsenal.
The Ministry of Works has no shortage of gunpowder, nor does it have a shortage of craftsmen and materials.
In less than two quarters of an hour, Fan Jingwen came back with Jiao Xu and Tang Ruowang.
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