Chongzhen Chat Group

Just as he was thinking this, suddenly, the servant outside the palace came in and reported that Liu Chengzhi, the new eunuch in charge of the Military War Bureau, requested an audience.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, his first reaction was that he had figured out the iron mold cannon method that he had previously arranged to attack the enemy. He suddenly became excited and immediately sent an order to see him.

I saw Liu Chengzhi hurriedly entering the palace, greeting him with excitement, and then immediately reported: "Your Majesty, the cannon is cast from the iron mold, it's done!"

As expected, Emperor Chongzhen was equally happy. He immediately stood up, waved his hand and said, "Let's go and have a look!"

The clay mold casting method not only takes a long time, but also has a success rate of less than one percent. It can be said that the cost of getting a usable cannon is too high. The artillery battalion in the new army needed to train, but the artillery for training was not available, which made him really worried.

If iron-mold cannon casting can be successful, not only can the periodicity of cannon casting be greatly reduced, the training of the new army's artillery battalions can be launched in a timely manner, and the popularity of artillery can also be greatly increased. It is really a great progress in the military industry of the Ming Dynasty.

Not long after, Emperor Chongzhen arrived at the military battle. Everyone here, not only officials at all levels of the Military War Bureau, but also soldiers, craftsmen, etc., are all excited. Because they know that according to the reformed system of the Bingzhan Bureau, iron molded cannons will win a large number of orders for the Bingzhan Bureau, earn more money, and the welfare of all personnel will be greatly improved.

Emperor Chongzhen came to the artillery casting room and saw three artillery pieces placed in the yard. On the side, there were iron molds placed one by one. Obviously these three cannons were cast from these iron molds.

Liu Chengzhi, the eunuch in charge of the Military War Bureau, was smiling and wanted to step forward to introduce it, but at this time, he heard Emperor Chongzhen ask: "Who invented it? Come and tell me!"

When Liu Chengzhi heard this, he felt helpless. The opportunity to express himself so well was gone. He didn't have the shame, or the guts, to say that he invented it, so he had to turn his head, but with a smile on his face, he walked quickly to the two craftsmen kneeling behind the cannon and at the bottom of the steps and said, "These are yours Why don't you give your Majesty a good introduction to your blessing?"

The iron mold casting method was worked out by the two craftsmen together. At this time, both of them were very excited. They nodded in agreement quickly, stood up, and cautiously approached the cannon. However, they did not dare to approach the emperor, for fear that Tang Tuo would collide with the emperor.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw them, he approached them with a smile. He first asked their names, praised them a few words, asked them to relax and not be so nervous, and then asked them to start introducing the iron mold cannon casting method.

In fact, it is not that difficult to cast iron molded cannons. It's just that Ming craftsmen used clay molds to cast cannons when they learned it from the Western Yi people. They had the habit of thinking that they should use clay molds to cast cannons. After Emperor Chongzhen was inspired to pierce the window paper, relying on the rich casting experience of Ming craftsmen, he figured out a complete and effective iron mold cannon casting method in a few days.

Listening to the two craftsmen's detailed introduction, Emperor Chongzhen also listened carefully and nodded from time to time. After a long while, the two craftsmen finished explaining.

Emperor Chongzhen was very interested and asked them to cast cannons on the spot. Liu Chengzhi had already guessed this and asked the cannon-casting room to be prepared. Therefore, two craftsmen directed the cannon casting and used iron molds. In not much time, another iron cannon was cast.

"How is the comparative performance of the old and new cannons?" Emperor Chongzhen asked with interest after having seen with his own eyes the speed of cannon casting.

As soon as these words were spoken, for some reason, the scene suddenly became cold, and the excitement just now was completely gone.

Emperor Chongzhen immediately felt something was wrong, and couldn't help but turn his head to look at Liu Chengzhi and asked, "What?"

Liu Chengzhi secretly thought that he was unlucky. He was not allowed to report the good things, but he had to report the bad things by himself. But he had no choice. He had already been named by the emperor, so he had to say: "Your Majesty, I have had someone test it. The performance of the artillery cast from iron molds seems not to be as good as the original artillery."

"Oh? Tell me more specifically!" Emperor Chongzhen didn't show any signs of disappointment or anger, he just asked seriously.

Upon seeing this, Liu Chengzhi breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "Your Majesty, when these artillery pieces are completed, they will mostly be made of white iron pipes, which are relatively brittle. The lifespan of an artillery piece is estimated to be only about a hundred times, and it is not easy to dissipate heat. Generally, cooling measures must be taken after three shellings. If the cooling is too fast, the life of the barrel will be further reduced."

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen looked at the artillery again and found that the muzzles of those artillery were indeed made of white iron. He looked at it for a while, then turned to look at the two craftsmen and asked, "Do you know the cause? Is there a solution?"

The two craftsmen looked at each other, and then the older man replied: "Your Majesty, this may be caused by uneven heat dissipation of the iron mold, or a too large difference in heat dissipation between the inside and outside. Or should we temper it?"

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he smiled and said: "Yes, the iron-moulded cannon has at least solved the problem of speed. If new problems arise, don't be afraid, we will solve them. I will let the new army purchase a batch of artillery for use first. Training. But you should also hurry up and try to solve emerging problems."

Having said this, he turned to look at Liu Chengzhi and said: "At the War Bureau, we must fully cooperate to solve the new problems of the artillery, and try to make the artillery perfect. There can be no mistakes on the battlefield!"

The quality of artillery often becomes the key to the outcome of the battle on the battlefield. Therefore, for artillery, he can ignore some problems during training, but for artillery to go to the battlefield, some factors that have a big impact must be solved.

"My slave obeys the order!" Liu Chengzhi immediately agreed. He originally thought that the emperor would be angry after exposing the flaws of the artillery. Unexpectedly, instead of being angry, the emperor encouraged the new army and asked the new army to purchase a batch. This was really beyond his expectation.

Emperor Chongzhen looked back at the two craftsmen and said to them with a smile: "The quality of the artillery is related to the outcome of the war. If you win, you will defeat the enemy and enhance the prestige of our Ming Dynasty. If we lose, we will lose our troops and generals, and the Ming Dynasty will have countless broken families." . You have to work hard and think carefully, so that the artillery can exert its maximum power on the battlefield, do you understand?"

In fact, these craftsmen also know this truth, but they only have this understanding, but they don't pay much attention to it. For them, completing the cannon-casting mission is enough. Now that Emperor Chongzhen emphasized this in person, they immediately felt that they had a greater responsibility on their shoulders. Casting cannons was no longer just about completing the task.

The two craftsmen looked at each other again, and then responded seriously in unison, saying that they would do their best to build the best artillery.