Daming pirates

As a result, with the addition of these craftsmen and the improvement of various tools, the boathouse on Nanri Island quickly resumed its functions.

Today, in addition to two docks, the Nanri Island Dockyard has built three slipways on the beach. When the docks are not available, ships can be towed ashore and cleaned and repaired on the slipways.

In more than a month, more than half of Sea Wolf's ships were thoroughly cleaned and renovated. The attachments on the bottom of the ship were shoveled away, making their ship much more nimble.

After winter came, Sea Wolf's ships basically received an overall repair, making Sea Wolf's fleet much more capable, including Ma Xiao stationed in Nangantang, who was also replaced by Wang Hong.

The ship underwent repairs, allowing the personnel of the third team to take a period of rest.

As a result, a rotation system was formed in Nangantang. The garrison personnel were rotated every three months. Some people in the province stayed there for a long time and suffered, while some people did not have to go anywhere, which caused injustice.

At this time, good news came out from the artillery industry. With the joint efforts of Blacksmith Lei, Blacksmith Zhang and others, the first cannon cast by Seawolf was finally declared successful.

On the day when the artillery work officially started casting, Yu Xiaotian did not leave the artillery work for a whole day. He stayed in the artillery work the whole time and personally watched the casting of the first cannon.

The opening for pouring molten iron was opened, and the molten iron immediately flowed out. Two people caught it in a crucible. After the pot was full, they immediately carried it away. Another crucible was placed where the molten iron was coming out, and they continued to collect it.

molten iron.

Two people carried the crucible filled with molten iron onto a platform. The iron frame for the cannon had been erected and buried in the mound, leaving only a mouth for pouring molten iron.

Under the command of Blacksmith Lei, the craftsman poured molten iron from the pouring port into the cavity of the mold. One pot of molten iron was about fifty kilograms. After pouring six pots of molten iron, the cavity of the iron mold was completely filled.

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The next step is to cool down and wait for the molten iron to gradually solidify. The advantage of the iron mold is that when the molten iron is injected, no moisture will be excited out, and the casting process is relatively safe.

Although it was already the end of November and the outdoor temperature was already very low, the heat wave still hit the iron work shed. Yu Xiaotian's heart was high and he was sweating profusely as he stared at everyone at the scene.

steps, for fear that an abnormal situation would occur and their previous efforts would be wasted.

But after all the molten iron was poured, nothing unusual appeared on the scene, which made Yu Xiaotian feel relieved.

After the molten iron solidified, Blacksmith Lei immediately called on his craftsmen to open up the mound of soil, revealing the iron fan. The temperature of the iron fan was still very high at this time, and the heat was scorching when you walked near it. The craftsmen wore protective gear to prevent burns.

It is very thick, and the cotton clothes need to be wetted with water.

Following the roar of Blacksmith Lei, the upright cast iron mold was carefully brought down by the craftsmen. While the temperature of the cannon body was still very high, Blacksmith Lei personally went to the battle and began to cut the outside of the cannon mold piece by piece.

The iron frame was peeled off, and people quickly lifted the cannon mold away. Gradually, a dark cannon with a smooth surface appeared in front of everyone, and a cursory look at the outside of the barrel of the cannon revealed not a single blowhole.

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There was a cheer immediately in the work shed, and some people were already preparing to celebrate their success in casting the cannon, but Yu Xiaotian raised his hand to stop the cheers of these people, because he knew that there was still a very important process that had not been completed.

, this gun only peeled off the outer iron mold, but the shaped barrel mud core inside has not been removed, so the success of this gun is not yet known.

Then the work shed became quiet again, and the only sound was the sound of Blacksmith Lei and one of his blacksmiths using tools to take out the clay core from the gun barrel.

Thanks to Blacksmith Lei's efforts, it was not difficult to take out the core before the gun body had cooled down. Soon, Blacksmith Lei took out all the cores from the barrel.

A cannon was basically formed, and Yu Xiaotian breathed a long sigh of relief. It seemed that there was nothing wrong with his memory. According to the method he gave, Blacksmith Lei and the others successfully used the iron mold to cast the cannon.

A cannon was cast. Although it had not yet been thoroughly inspected, he could tell that there should be no major problems with the cannon.

But the work is not finished at this time. The iron cannon must also go through the annealing process. If it is directly placed at room temperature, the cooling rate will be too fast, causing the cannon wall to become brittle and increasing the risk of explosion. This

Craftsmen of the era have understood the importance of annealing.

For this reason, Blacksmith Lei also built a large annealing furnace for the artillery. Everyone worked together to move the still hot cannon body into the annealing furnace. After leaving it there for a day, it could be taken out to start the next process.

Yu Xiaotian then encouraged the craftsmen, left the work shed and returned to his residence. A few days later, Blacksmith Lei found Yu Xiaotian accompanied by Blacksmith Zhang with a flattering expression on his face.

As for Yu Xiaotian, he quickly knelt down and said:

"Your Majesty! Congratulations, Master! Our first cannon is ready! Master, please go and check it out!"

After hearing this, Yu Xiaotian jumped up with a whoosh like a spring under his buttocks. He rushed out of the residence in three steps and two steps at a time. His hat strap was askew and he ran all the way to the artillery fire.

As a result, Blacksmith Lei and Blacksmith Zhang, who were expecting to be praised, ran all the way behind and chased Yu Xiaotian back to the artillery work.

As soon as Yu Xiaotian entered the cannon, he saw a smooth-looking iron cannon in front of him. This iron cannon was placed on a stand, which seemed to be a special display.

Yu Xiaotian quickly walked closer and carefully tested the temperature of the cannon's body. By this time, the cannon had already cooled down.

Because the outside of the entire gun body was originally cast from an iron mold, the surface is already quite smooth. Now it has been carefully polished by Blacksmith Lei and others to remove a small amount of burrs on the surface. The gun body appears much smoother from top to bottom.

After checking from front to back, Yu Xiaotian did not find a single blowhole, which made him very satisfied.

Just judging from the appearance of this gun, looking at all the artillery currently owned by Seawolf, there is no gun that can be compared with this gun in appearance. This further illustrates the iron-frame cast cannon.

The advantage of this method is that it basically completely avoids air holes and air hole defects on the cannon body caused by water vapor.

However, Yu Xiaotian is not satisfied with looking at the workmanship of this gun solely from its appearance. The most important thing that can truly tell the quality of this gun is the condition of the gun's internal bore.

So he immediately had several whale oil waxes lit, and used a bronze mirror to reflect the light onto the inner wall of the gun barrel. With the help of the light, he got closer to the muzzle and carefully observed the condition of the inner wall of the gun barrel.

After the gun core was taken out and annealed, the gun's bore was carefully polished by Blacksmith Lei with special tools, making the inner wall of the gun bore very smooth. From a visual inspection, Yu Xiaotian also felt the same

No pore defects were seen on the inner wall of the barrel.

Then Yu Xiaotian was still not at ease, so he ordered a tool specially designed to detect the inner circle of the gun bore, and probed into the gun bore to measure the inner circle of the gun bore inch by inch. In the end, no problem was found with the inner circle of the gun bore.

Yu Xiaotian was afraid that the cannon bore would not be straight enough and the cannon body would have deformations that could not be observed with the naked eye, so he asked them to cast an iron rod with the same diameter as the cannon bore in advance.

After inserting this iron rod into the gun bore, the iron rod, which is almost the same as the inner diameter of the gun bore, was easily sent to the bottom of the gun bore.

If there is a situation where entry is impossible, it means that the barrel of the cannon is not straight enough. Even if it can be used, it will seriously affect the accuracy of the cannon.

However, after inspection, Yu Xiaotian also found no problems with the barrel. He nodded with satisfaction and continued to observe the appearance of the gun.

The appearance of this gun completely abandons the appearance of ancient Chinese cannons. It is completely Western-style artillery in shape. It is a standard Hongyi cannon. From the muzzle to the breech, it gradually becomes thicker from thinner to the breech, and the inner wall of the barrel remains unchanged.

Down, the wall from the rear to the muzzle gradually becomes thinner, which meets the requirements of the gun's bore pressure. The part of the muzzle is thickened, which is equivalent to strengthening the muzzle to prevent the muzzle from being collapsed when the gun is fired.

There are two lugs cast on both sides of the gun body at the center of gravity, which can be easily installed on the gun carriage or gun carriage. This is also one of the important elements that distinguish Chinese and Western artillery. Previous Chinese artillery did not have such lugs.

This also provides convenience for adjusting the height and angle of the muzzle, making the artillery easier to install.

At the same time, the upper sight and front sight of this gun are also cast, so that when aiming, the gunner no longer needs to use estimation methods and experience to aim. He only needs to use the rear sight and front sight to find the target and form a three-dimensional

After clicking on the line, you can aim at the target more easily, and the launch will be more accurate.

With a showy expression on his face, Blacksmith Lei approached Yu Xiaotian with a sneer and said, "I would like to inform you, Master Qi, that the muzzle of this cannon is two and a half inches thick, its body is five feet long, and it weighs three hundred kilograms. Once

It can charge two and a half kilograms of powder, and can be filled into a six-kilogram seal. The young men have already cast dozens of iron bullets and polished them. As long as the boss is happy, they can put them on the gun cart and test the cannon at any time.

!”

Yu Xiaotian already knew these data without him having to tell him, because he was basically involved in formulating these data himself. The first cast iron cannon was actually designed by him based on the data of the Western six-pounder.

Although this kind of gun has a small caliber, it is more suitable for practice.

And although this kind of gun is a light artillery, it is definitely not suitable for use as the main gun to fight against Western warships, but it is quite powerful when used against its peers.

What's more important is that this kind of gun is of moderate weight and power. It can not only be used on ships, transferred to land gun carriages, but also used as land guns. When necessary, a horse or a mule can pull it.

For marching, if it is heavy, it will not be easy to use on land.

This is also one of his plans for the future. He can't stay at sea forever. As long as he pursues development, he will land sooner or later. When the time comes, he won't be able to improvise, not to mention that he still has a big plan in his heart that needs to be paid off as soon as possible.

After all, this six-pounder is the weapon he needs most right now.

So he straightened up and rubbed the cannon with his hands. He could not suppress the excitement and joy in his heart, but he did not dare to show his emotions too much. He said as calmly as possible: "At the moment, it seems that this cannon is still made."

Not bad! You have worked hard these days! But whether this cannon can be used, whether it is easy to use, and whether it can fire accurately cannot just be judged by sight and mouth. You will only know if it is a mule or a horse after it is pulled out for a ride!

Come here, put this cannon on the cannon truck, and take it out to test the cannon tomorrow morning! If this cannon can be used, then I will not treat you badly, and I will definitely reward you heavily!"