Chongzhen Chat Group

"Your Majesty, I think that all the ministers are right!" Wen Tiren said with a smile on his face, "It is not appropriate for the Copyright and Patent Office to be placed in any yamen! Therefore, I suggest..."

Hearing this, the six ministers couldn't help but pricked their ears and stared at Wen Tiren's back, waiting to see what constructive results the chief minister would have.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw Wen Tiren's smile, it was clear that he had a proper solution. He couldn't help but be a little curious, and nodded to indicate that Wen Tiren had finished speaking.

"I suggest that the Copyright and Patent Office be placed directly under the Cabinet!"

As soon as Wen Tiren said these words, the six ministers understood that this was a dispute between the snipe and the clam, and the fisherman got the advantage.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he thought about it and nodded and said: "That's okay, let's do this. The Copyright and Patent Office will be directly under the cabinet, and the Supervisor of Liturgy will also send people to prepare for the new Yamen."

"..." This time it was Wen Tiren's turn to be speechless. Yes, the Director of Ceremonies also intervened.

Seeing that the matter had almost come to an end, Emperor Chongzhen still had other things on his mind, so he left the meeting early to prepare for the war.

This time, he didn't just meet the eunuch in charge of the military affairs department and tell him to do something. Instead, in the lobby of the Military War Bureau, the order was delivered to all the craftsmen leaders and experts.

After the greeting, Emperor Chongzhen said to the people below: "The new army will soon use artillery, but the artillery cycle you cast is too slow, I can't wait any longer. I also asked you to find a solution before, but now is there a solution?" Way?"

"..." All the craftsmen below were silent. This could be figured out just by thinking about it.

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen saw them like that, he knew there was no result. At this time, he didn't make any fuss, so he nodded to Li Junfeng, the head craftsman in charge of artillery casting, and said: "Put the difficulties in front of us and work together to see if we can solve them!"

Being ordered to general, Li Junfeng had no choice but to reply: "The cannon casting method used today is learned from the Western Yi. The outer mold and the core are combined and then cast into molten iron. However, the outer mold and the core are both made of clay. It must be completely dry before use. However, even if it is baked over charcoal fire, it is often dry on the outside and moist on the inside, so it must be dried until the inside is completely dry. In this way, it will take about two months if the weather is suitable. As long as there is still a little bit of dryness in the clay mold, moisture will be generated during casting, often causing honeycomb-like holes in the cast artillery, which is a defective product."

As he talked, Li Junfeng was quite proficient in his major, so he consciously added: "Also, when molten iron is poured into the mold, the shape core is often disturbed, so that the barrel of the forged artillery is not in the middle of the gun body. The casting of the artillery is completed When the time comes, the clay mold must be broken, so that each clay mold can only cast one artillery piece. In addition, it is necessary to repeat the process before remaking it. At present, only one qualified artillery piece is available for every one hundred pieces cast. "

Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this. These were the shortcomings of clay mold-casting cannons that he had learned about in advance. After Li Junfeng finished speaking, he looked at everyone and asked: "Who has anything to add to the difficulties of casting cannons using this method?"

Another craftsman, Liang Yulin, saw the emperor praising Li Junfeng. After a slight hesitation, he said: "Your Majesty, the clay required for the clay mold needs to be extremely cooked clay, so it will cost a lot more." Time and manpower!”

Emperor Chongzhen listened and nodded approvingly. Seeing that the others had not said anything else, he looked at them and asked: "Then have you ever thought about it, since the clay mold casting method has so many shortcomings, why not use molds of other materials for casting? ?”

"Your Majesty, this is how the Western Yi cast cannons!" Li Junfeng, the chief craftsman, probably had more conversations with the emperor and knew more about the emperor's temperament, so he boldly said.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he immediately stared at him and said: "What's wrong with the Western Yi's use of clay molds? Does it mean that other materials must not be used as molds? For example, the iron mold casting method passed down by our ancestors, is it okay?"

"Your Majesty, this is different." Li Junfeng felt that his authority was being questioned and quickly explained, "Iron mold casting does exist, and it is convenient and has many benefits, but it only casts small objects such as sickles and hoes, as big as artillery. No more!"

"Is it possible to break the artillery into smaller pieces?" Emperor Chongzhen's thoughts were not bound by the times and he immediately asked.

Li Junfeng was stunned when he heard this. He had never thought about this. Probably because when he learned the art of casting cannons from the Western Yi, he always used clay molds!

In addition, Liang Yulin, the head craftsman, was as if enlightened, his eyes lit up and he said: "Your Majesty, maybe it can be done!"

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was very happy and said with a smile: "That's right, then go and try it. Don't be afraid of failure! I believe that technology comes from experiments!"

At this time, Li Junfeng also came to his senses. Based on his many years of experience, after thinking about it for a moment, he was also very surprised and quickly said: "Your Majesty, maybe it is really feasible!"

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen laughed, he could not help much in terms of specific implementation. Since these experienced craftsmen say it's possible, let them go ahead and do it.

So, he smiled and said: "Whoever can figure out a new and more useful method of casting cannons will be rewarded heavily. Does Tang Binghong, the mason, know? As long as he can do it, he will be your tomorrow!"

Tang Binghong was only the actual implementer of the invention of cement, but he suddenly became a popular craftsman today. His status improved instantly, not to mention the money aspect, but the respect alone made these craftsmen jealous. When they heard what the emperor said, everyone suddenly became energetic, as if they had been given a shot of chicken blood.

The iron mold casting method was originally invented in the late Qing Dynasty by Gong Zhenlin, the county magistrate at that time. Now, under the guidance of Emperor Chongzhen, a time traveler, although there are still some technical difficulties to be overcome in casting cannons from iron molds, these technologies are not a problem for the Chinese.

For example, the positioning method used between each petal and between each section of the iron mold can completely refer to the mortise and tenon positioning technology measures of ancient pottery models and metal molds. Another example is the separate casting of iron mold handles and the use of double-layer paint, which are also conventional techniques in traditional casting.

When Emperor Chongzhen left the military battle, he was certainly happy. Contrary to his mood at this time, Zheng Zhilong, a coastal defense guerrilla in Fujian, could be said to be extremely depressed at this time.

The servant who rushed back from the capital just reported to him what happened after his life-and-death enemy Li Kuiqi was escorted to the capital. Zheng Zhilong was so angry that he threw a beloved tea set. Fighting life and death, planning for many days and nights, exchanging many interests, but the result is this!

He was depressed when suddenly the imperial edict came, asking him to go to the capital immediately. This made him confused. Before he could figure out the result, he heard another report from his subordinates: "Jinyiwei Xiaoqi Liu Jinsheng is here to visit!"