Chapter 6 Musket
Chapter 6 Musket
The uncle and nephew laughed for a while and then continued to talk about the main topic.
Wang Rong asked Zhu Shenzhui when he planned to set off after the spring and whether he was ready.
Zhu Shenzhui told him that he just had this idea, wasn't this discussed with him? And to go to Mongolia, he had to pass through the border, a route Zhu Shenzhui had never taken before, and needed Wang Rong's help.
"There's no rush. Rong, let me think about it carefully. This is no small matter and needs to be arranged properly." Wang Rong thought for a while and nodded.
"Then I'll leave it to you, uncle..."
"We are one family, so let's not talk about this." Wang Rong waved his hand and continued, "Besides, it will definitely not work for you to go alone. You can pick a few more people from the village to follow you so that you can be more assured."
This was what Zhu Shenzui originally meant. The people in Wangjia Village were all his own people. It was impossible for him to go to the grassland alone. He had to bring some people with him no matter what.
After talking about the grassland, the uncle and nephew started talking about the current business.
Before Zhu Shenzhui came, Wang Rong had almost made all the arrangements and was just waiting for Zhu Shenzhui to come.
Moreover, winter came particularly early this year. In more than a month, when the weather really changes and a heavy snow falls, this road will become even more difficult to travel on.
Therefore, the earlier the trip, the greater the chance of success. Zhu Shenzhui did not want to delay this matter for too long. After discussion, the two decided to set off the next day. They would rest in Wangjia Village for one night and set off early tomorrow morning.
After the discussion, Wang Rong got up to notify people to prepare for departure, and Zhu Shenzhui also went to the blacksmith shop in the village.
Most of the people in Wangjia Village are descendants of military households, but there are also artisan households in Wangjia Village.
Zhao Da, who runs the blacksmith shop in the village, is a craftsman. Besides Zhao Da, there are two other craftsmen who are also craftsmen.
Logically speaking, the artisan households should be managed specially, but because Wangjia Village is rather special, these three artisan households have long been no different from ordinary villagers, just like the military households here. Over time, they have all become our own people.
Following the clanging sound, we arrived at the western corner of the village, which was Zhao Da's blacksmith shop.
Blacksmith Zhao Da was busy working with his son Shitou. Zhao Da was in his thirties, with a strong and sturdy build. His son Zhao Shitou was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and looked almost like Zhao Da, with the same strong and honest build.
"Uncle Zhao, are you busy?"
"Oh, it's Sixth Master you're here!" Zhao Da, who was forging iron, looked up when he heard the sound. Seeing that it was Zhu Shencui, his face immediately broke into smiles. He quickly put down the work in his hands and asked Zhu Shencui to sit down.
Zhao Shitou stood aside, grinning at Zhu Shenzhui. Seeing his boy being so ignorant, Zhao Da was so angry that he kicked him and cursed, "What are you doing standing there, you stupid boy? Why don't you go and bring a cup of tea to Sixth Master?"
Zhao Shitou finally came to his senses. Being thick-skinned and tough, he didn't care about his father's kick. He happily ran inside to get a pot of tea and bowls.
After serving the bowl and pouring the tea, Zhao Shitou said cheerfully, "Sixth brother, please have some tea."
Seeing Zhao Shitou's honest appearance, Zhu Shenzhui thanked him, picked up the tea and took a sip. Although it was a coarse tea, he didn't care at all.
Putting down the tea bowl, Zhu Shenzhui didn't beat around the bush and asked directly how the thing Zhao Da had asked him to make last time was going. Zhao Da knew what Zhu Shenzhui came for, so he smiled and nodded and said it was done.
A hint of joy flashed across Zhu Shenzhui's face. Zhu Shenzhui stood up and asked where the things were. Zhao Da invited Zhu Shenzhui into the house to talk. Zhu Shenzhui followed Zhao Da into the house next to the blacksmith shop. This was Zhao Da's home.
After entering the house and saying "wait a moment", Zhao Da went to the inner room to get something. A moment later, he came out holding something wrapped in oil paper.
"Sixth Master, the things are ready. Please take a look at them first to see if they are suitable. If you are not satisfied, I will find a way to change them." Putting the things down, Zhao Da stood aside and said with his hands hanging down.
"Okay! Let me take a look first." Zhu Shenzhui nodded and reached out to take the oil paper package. The oil paper package was quite heavy. He opened it slowly and soon revealed something inside.
This is a musket, which is very different from the self-propelled muskets currently equipped by the Ming army, and is much smaller than the commonly used three-barreled guns.
This short musket is about thirty-five centimeters long. The barrel and body are made of wrought iron and are of extremely fine workmanship.
The gun's flash port was moved from the top to the right side, and a powder pool, rear sight and front sight were added. The gun handle was made of walnut, of moderate size, and extremely comfortable to hold in the hand.
The ignition device of this musket is a matchlock. It’s not that they don’t want to use a flintlock, but Zhu Shenzhui and his team had experimented with the flintlock before and found that the success rate of ignition with the flintlock was too low.
The success rate of using flintlock to ignite a fire is less than half. If it happens at a critical moment, such a success rate is tantamount to seeking death. Zhu Shenzui does not want his advantage that could have ensured victory to turn into a disadvantage because he cannot ignite a fire at a critical moment. You know, in a split second, half a breath can decide who lives and who dies.
I picked up the rifle and weighed it in my hand. Although it was slightly heavier than expected, it was not a big problem.
Zhu Shenzhu looked at the gun barrel carefully, especially the barrel wall.
The barrel of a musket is very important to its quality. Moreover, the metallurgical technology of this era is backward, and it is impossible to use seamless steel pipes to make gun barrels like in later generations.
Now, let alone seamless steel pipes, even using fine steel to make gun barrels is impossible. The original musket barrels were made of bronze, and later they were changed to wrought iron, which is also known as wrought iron.
The artisan household system of the Ming Dynasty played an important role in its early stages, but as the Ming Dynasty had been established for a long time, the original system had become different from what it was at the beginning.
In addition, the Ming Dynasty now values civil affairs over military affairs, and it no longer attaches as much importance to armaments as before. Moreover, there are many cases of soldiers drawing empty salaries. The Military Equipment Bureau and the Armory Bureau, which are responsible for military equipment, are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works. Even the Wu Zi Ku and Guangji Ku, which are responsible for keeping military equipment, are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works.
Civil officials were more important than military officials. Most of the officials in the court knew nothing about military affairs, and they were not interested in military equipment. In addition, corruption was rampant, and it was common for the funds allocated by the upper level to be lost at the lower level. The craftsmen in the Ministry of Industry could not even get enough food on weekdays, so who would work seriously? Naturally, the quality of the military equipment of the Ming Dynasty, especially firearms, was really worrying.
The poor quality of Ming Dynasty firearms does not mean that the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty were incompetent. These are two completely different concepts.
Craftsmen like Zhao Da have inherited the craft from their ancestors. As long as they work seriously, the quality of the things they make will be absolutely first-class.
Looking at the barrel carefully, Zhu Shenzui did not find any signs of holes on the barrel wall. Moreover, the barrel was forged very solidly, with uniform thickness, and exuded a metallic luster in the sun, which made Zhu Shenzui extremely satisfied.
(End of this chapter)