Volume 1 Chapter 57 Making Steel
Looking at the charred barrel, Xiang Yun frowned and asked, "Are you saying it will explode?"
Peng Ying didn't understand what bursting meant, so he nodded hesitantly and said, "Whether it's a pistol, a rifle, or even a cannon, I've made them all, but they just can't fire. Once they fire, they become like this. Some are better and can fire three or four shells, but then they become like this!"
Peng Ying said with a bitter face: "So, Your Majesty, I really can't make it."
Xiang Yun took the charred gun barrel, stared at it in silence, his eyes slightly narrowed, and then paced back and forth, as if lost in thought.
In fact, Xiang Yun already knew the reason. The material was too brittle and not tough enough, so it could not withstand the high temperature and high pressure during the gunpowder explosion, causing it to explode.
The gun barrel in his hand is obviously made of iron, and if he wants it to be able to withstand the power of the artillery shells, he must refine the iron into steel!
Pig iron is too soft and easily deformed, and cannot withstand the prolonged impact of gunpowder, while wrought iron is too brittle and will explode when the cannon is fired.
Only steel has high strength, good plasticity and toughness, impact resistance and reliable performance. Only steel can be used to make gun barrels and withstand the impact of gunpowder explosions.
Xiang Yun thought of this as soon as he saw the gun barrel, but it was also because of this that he felt like crying but had no tears.
Xiang Yun was not a top student in his previous life. He was just an ordinary person, to put it bluntly, an illiterate.
There is no steelmaking technology in this world, and Xiang Yun doesn't understand it either. He only learned this thing in junior high school. It seems to be related to the content of something, but he really can't remember it at the moment. It's so brain-burning!
Xiang Yun now wanted to slap himself in the ears. If he could go back to the past, he would definitely study physics and chemistry according to his junior high school self. He didn't study hard before, and now he has ruined himself. It's a tragedy.
Xiang Yun thought for a long time, and finally sighed with a dark face, patted Peng Ying on the shoulder, and said somewhat dejectedly: "It's not your fault that I couldn't do this. It's my fault."
Just when Xiang Yun was about to leave in disappointment, he suddenly stopped and muttered, "Steel~Steel, hiss~ It seems that steel is made from iron!"
Xiang Yun clapped his hands, hurried back, called Peng Ying and said, "How did you make that gun barrel? Make it again for me!"
Peng Ying quickly agreed and took Xiang Yun to the blacksmith's place. Although he didn't know why Xiang Yun wanted to read it again, he only needed to do as the emperor ordered.
When they arrived at the blacksmith's place, there was a big furnace burning all the time. Peng Ying walked straight forward and threw a piece of pig iron into the furnace to burn.
Not long after, when the piece of iron completely turned into molten iron, Peng Ying took out a tubular mold and poured all the molten iron into the mold.
Then he threw the mold into the water, and immediately a large amount of steam came out. Not long after, Peng Ying took out the mold from the water, patted it, and then a gun barrel fell out and appeared in front of Xiang Yun.
Seeing that Peng Ying had stopped moving, Xiang Yun asked, "Is this the end?"
Peng Ying nodded quickly and replied, "Your Majesty, the barrel is ready."
Xiang Yun narrowed his eyes again when he heard that. Oh, this brain clearly almost thought of it.
Xiang Yun covered his head in distress, and after a long pause, he suddenly clapped his hands and said immediately, "The carbon content is wrong!"
Xiang Yun pointed at the gun barrel and said, "After iron is burned into molten iron, it becomes wrought iron. This kind of iron does not contain enough carbon. Keep heating it until it is red hot and add some carbon foam to it before forging it!"
Peng Ying had no choice but to do as he was told. In the middle of the conversation, Xiang Yun clapped his hands again and asked everyone, "Gold, who has gold on them?"
Peng Ying continued to forge the gun barrel without saying anything. Xuanyuan Dabing also stared at Xiang Yun stupidly without saying a word. It was obvious that it was impossible for a rough guy like him to carry gold with him.
But when Xiao Guazi saw that no one reacted, he immediately took out a bunch of gold ingots from his arms and handed them over, saying obediently: "Your Majesty, this is the gold you asked for."
Xiang Yun grabbed it and handed it directly to Peng Ying, saying, "Melt this stuff and add it in, the effect will be better!"
When Peng Ying saw it, he was surprised! Ten taels of gold!
He had never seen so much money in his life.
"Your Majesty, is it really...going to melt?" Peng Ying asked tentatively.
Xiang Yun said unhappily, "Just add more when I tell you to. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"
"Hey!" Peng Ying quickly took the lump of gold and threw it into the fire and started to melt it.
When Xiao Guazi, who was standing by, saw this scene, his face froze and he wanted to say something but stopped. However, after holding it in for a long time, he just couldn't utter a word.
Not long after, a brand new gun barrel appeared in front of everyone, and Xiang Yun immediately said, "Make it into a gun and give it a try!"
Peng Ying hurriedly prepared. As long as the barrel could be guaranteed not to explode, the other parts could be made of iron, and the parts were readily available in the arsenal.
Four minutes later, a complete pistol appeared in front of everyone, but it looked slightly larger than an ordinary pistol, more like the size of a micro submachine gun.
There are ready-made bullets here, and the bullet shell is made of copper, so there is no problem at all.
After loading the magazine, Peng Ying decided to test it himself. Holding the newly made pistol, Peng Ying took a deep breath, aimed at an open space, and pulled the trigger!
“Bang!”
No explosion!
"Bang bang bang!" Peng Ying fired three shots in succession, but the gun still did not explode.
Peng Ying was so excited when he saw this scene that he simply emptied his pistol.
There were twelve bullets in a row, but when the eleventh bullet was fired, it exploded!
A loud bang startled everyone in the audience. Peng Ying looked at the exploded gun barrel with confusion on his face. His originally excited heart calmed down and then fell into the abyss.
Peng Ying looked at Xiang Yun in bewilderment and frustration, and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I have failed again!"
Xiang Yun was in a good mood and didn't feel sad at all about the explosion of his new rifle.
Xiang Yun smiled and said, "So what if it fails? It's just that the carbon content is not right!
Peng Ying, you can continue to experiment according to the method just now until you create steel with the best toughness!
Then the gun will never explode."
Peng Ying's eyes lit up and he nodded, "I understand. Thank you, Your Majesty, for your guidance!"
"Well, but don't add gold, that thing is too luxurious!" Xiang Yun smiled and prepared to leave, and replied: "I will give you three more days. After three days, I want to see brand new pistols, rifles and cannons."
Having solved a major issue that was bothering him, Xiang Yun felt extremely relieved. After returning to the palace, he did not go to the imperial study but went directly to Kunning Palace.
Zhen Rou rubbed Xiang Yun's legs with all her heart and said with a blushing face: "Your Majesty, did you encounter any happy things today? Can you tell me about it so that I can be happy too."
Xiang Yun, who was enjoying himself, looked down at her and smiled, "Hey, you know this too?"
"Your Majesty, the smile on your face has never disappeared since you entered Kunning Palace. It must be some great news!" Zhen Rou responded.
Xiang Yun smiled and pulled her into his arms, hugged her tightly, kissed her forehead and said, "There is no good thing, but there is one bad thing!"
"Ah?" Zhen Rou was stunned, and suddenly her face turned red to her ears. The next moment, she narrowed her eyes slightly and her breathing became a little rapid.
On the second day, at the hour of Mao, the Golden Palace
Xiang Yun, wearing a dragon robe, sat majestically on the dragon throne and said in a loud voice: "If you have something to say, please report it!"
Wang Shu was the first to step forward, took out an envelope, and said happily: "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War received a military report yesterday. Marshal Qin led his troops to severely injure the chief of the Sand Barbarians and killed more than 40,000 people of the Sand Barbarians. It was a great victory in the first battle!"
Xiang Yun's eyes lit up when he heard that. Xiao Guazi quickly brought up the envelope. When Xiang Yun opened it, his joyful heart immediately sank.
Jiang Yue fell down! This was something Xiang Yun absolutely could not accept.
And it was actually to save the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate!
To be honest, Xiang Yun didn't have much impression of Zhao Pan, and as they were also ministers in the court, how clean could he be? So this person was not dispensable to Xiang Yun, but he was not irreplaceable either.
Things have already happened and there is no way to undo them. Xiang Yun sighed secretly.
In the letter, Qin Su also mentioned that the decisive battle was about to begin. Without the vanguard, she was not very confident about this war!
Wang Shu did not speak of this matter openly in the court, obviously reporting only good news and not bad news.
Xiang Yun secretly praised this man for his cleverness. Now they were about to go to war with the Mahayana Kingdom, so the war in the northern border had to go smoothly!
"Qin Su, you must hold on. I will quickly resolve the issue of the Mahayana Kingdom, and then I will rush north to assist you!"
After making up his mind secretly, Xiang Yun closed the envelope and laughed loudly, "Well, Marshal Qin is indeed as good as a man. Even the powerful Sand Barbarians were defeated. Who will dare to say that women are inferior to men in the future?
The Ministry of War will immediately file a report, and all soldiers who participated in this battle will be rewarded as Marshal Qin said!"
The Minister of War Zhao Yuanxi immediately responded: "I obey your order!"
Xiang Yun then stood up from the dragon chair and said loudly: "There are many fools in this world. When they see others enjoying the sweetness, they also want to have a taste of it. Little do they know that if they want to enjoy this sweetness, they need to pay with their lives!
In the western part of our Great Sun Dynasty, there appeared such a stupid guy, that is the Mahayana Treasure Kingdom! "
Just as the ministers were surprised, Wang Shu immediately stood up and said, "Our dynasty has received a secret report that the Mahayana Kingdom has secretly dispatched troops and is planning to launch an attack on our dynasty!"
Xiang Yun said loudly: "They really don't know how to live or die. I have decided to mobilize the whole country to go to war with the Mahayana Kingdom!"
"Zhu Qiyu, listen to my order. Immediately collect food and grass from all over the country and transport them to the western border to prepare for war!"
"Wang Shu, listen to my order, reorganize the three armies, prepare 700,000 troops, and send them to the western border for support soon!"
The two agreed, but Zhu Qiyu's face became extremely ugly.
Xiang Yun continued, "I have thought about this war with the Mahayana Kingdom for a long time and have decided to lead the army in person!
During my absence from the capital, the government affairs shall be discussed and handled by the three prime ministers, the left, center, and right. If there is any undecided matter, report it to me as soon as possible. If it is an urgent matter, the decision shall be made by the center prime minister Liu Yiyi alone!"
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