Rise From the Humble

"Sir, do the books in the Hanlin Academy's library record gunpowder formulas, and do they contain records about thunder, fire blunderbuss and other firearms?" Ou Zhige couldn't restrain his excitement and asked impatiently.

"Of course there is. The Hanlin Academy Library is the royal library. All the most valuable classics of the Ming Dynasty are collected in it. There are hundreds of classics on gunpowder, blunderbuss, artillery and other firearms. Each one is of immeasurable value. , in particular, there are dozens of the latest, most cutting-edge, and most confidential firearms classics developed by the Ming Dynasty, as well as more than ten firearms classics on Europa, Franconian, Red-haired Yi and other foreign countries that have been carefully collected. It's even more valuable." Zhu Ping'an replied without hesitation, and openly mixed the private goods among them, without blushing or panting at all.

There are naturally firearms classics in the Hanlin Academy library, but they are all old antiques from the Song and Yuan Dynasties, with little value for reference and inspiration. There are simply no firearms classics that are the latest, most cutting-edge, and most confidential that were developed by the Ming Dynasty. As for Europa There is not even a single firearms classic from each country.

The reason why Zhu Pingan said this was to find a reason for his knowledge of firearms that transcended the times.

Hearing Zhu Ping'an's words, Ou Zhige became even more excited. Oh my god, there are hundreds of firearms classics... dozens of the latest, most cutting-edge, and most secret firearms classics developed by the Ming Dynasty... more than ten books The firearms classics on Europa and other foreigners that I have carefully collected are so exciting. However, there is one question. Ou Zhige asked nervously, "Have you read all these classics?"

The collection of books in the Hanlin Academy is a treasure mountain. Mr. Zhu once entered the treasure mountain, but I don’t know if he got the treasure in the treasure mountain. He wouldn’t enter the treasure mountain and return empty-handed, right? If Mr. Zhu obtained the treasure in the treasure mountain, then he would also have the opportunity to ask for advice. Doing your own research on firearms is of great benefit.

But if Mr. Zhu enters Baoshan and comes back empty-handed, then he will definitely be heartbroken to the point of bleeding.

Therefore, Ou Zhige was particularly nervous.

"When I was in charge of the Hanlin Academy Library, I didn't have many official duties and had plenty of time. I carefully read and studied these classics, especially the dozens of latest, most cutting-edge and European firearms classics from the Ming Dynasty. I even read through them. Several times. I am naturally a person with a good memory. Although I cannot say that I have a photographic memory, I can memorize most of the content after reading it two or three times. I have read dozens of firearms classics several times, and now I have about I can still remember about 70% to 80% of the contents.”

Zhu Ping'an noticed Ou Shangge's nervous expression, so he smiled slightly and said softly.

Hearing Zhu Pingan say that he had read it several times and memorized about 70% to 80% of the content, Ou Shangcheng stood up from his chair in excitement, and then without warning, he knelt down in front of Zhu Pingan, He kowtowed sincerely and said, "Please teach me, sir. Ou Zhige, a common man, is willing to be your lackey in this life."

"Master Carpenter Ou, please come up quickly. It doesn't have to be like this. Master Carpenter Ou is the master craftsman of our Zhejiang Army. Naturally, I know everything and can talk about it. I can't call it 'teaching'. I just read some books. Some of them are in the books." It’s just knowledge. We discuss and exchange with each other. As for the actual operations of preparing gunpowder and forging firearms, we have no experience. These still need to be researched and explored by Master Ou. If our discussions and exchanges can inspire you, Master Ou, we will have a better understanding of firearms. The research is helpful, which is a great good thing for our Zhejiang Army, and it is not in vain that I studied hard for many months in the library."

Zhu Pingan stood up quickly, bent down to help Ou Zhige up, and said with a gentle smile.

"Thank you, sir. The common people will live up to your expectations and work hard to research practical firearms." Ou Zhige said confidently.

"I read too much content back then, and it was a bit confusing and unsystematic for a while, so I'll just talk about whatever comes to mind. Anyway, there will be plenty of time in the future. I will come often to discuss firearms with Master Ou," Zhu Ping'an said. .

"Please give me some advice, sir." Ou Zhige said excitedly.

"Let's talk about the gunpowder formula first. Most of the current classics record that the gunpowder formula is 80% saltpeter, 10% sulfur, and 10% charcoal. It is exactly the same as the one studied by Master Ou. This is the most common and mature gunpowder formula in the Ming Dynasty, and its power is also It is more powerful than other gunpowder formulas; however, I carefully studied the gunpowder formulas of Europa and other foreigners, and found that after hundreds of years of research, the foreigners finally determined the gunpowder formula to be 75% saltpeter, 10% sulfur, and 10% charcoal. Half, they call it 'black powder', saying it is the best ratio of gunpowder and the most powerful. Foreigners emphasize that the most essential advantage of gunpowder is explosion. The purer the gunpowder ratio, the greater the power of the gunpowder explosion. It is taboo to add clear oil and other combustion-supporting impurities, otherwise the gunpowder will become impurities and greatly reduce the power of the gunpowder. Foreigners emphasize that the greatest lethality of gunpowder is explosion, and there is no need to increase the damage such as poisonous smoke. If poisonous smoke and other substances are added, the gunpowder will also become impurities. Chemicalization, greatly reducing the lethality of gunpowder. One of the latest and most cutting-edge firearms classics from the Ming Dynasty specifically studies the black gunpowder of foreigners, and I highly praise it."

Zhu Ping'an picked up the tea cup, took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, and spoke slowly, taking the opportunity to push out the epoch-making black powder.

"The proportion of black gunpowder is 75% saltpeter, 10% sulfur, and 15% charcoal. If the proportion of saltpeter is reduced, and the proportion of charcoal is increased, the power will be much higher. I will have to study and verify it myself later. Take a moment. If the power of this black powder is really great, then the weight of the Thunderbolt can be reduced. By the way, there are also fire guns. With the increased gunpowder, the power and range of the fire guns can also be improved."

"Yangyi said that the most essential advantage of gunpowder is explosion. The greatest lethality of gunpowder is also explosion. The purer the gunpowder ratio, the greater the power of gunpowder explosion. There is no need for clear oil to support combustion and no poisonous smoke. I have this idea. Let's do some research and verify it. If this is really the case, then my previous research has taken a detour, but it doesn't matter, it's still too late to correct it now."

After hearing what Zhu Pingan said, Ou Zhige seemed to be stunned, his face was excited and he was mumbling something.

Zhu Pingan did not interrupt Ou Zhige and waited quietly for the end of his brainstorming.

"I'm sorry, sir, the grass people got excited and went a little crazy."

After a while, Ou Zhige came back to his senses from Zhu Pingan's words and hurriedly apologized to Zhu Pingan.

"Mr. Ou's words are serious. Oh, I remembered that Europa and other foreigners have a special point about the production of gunpowder. That is, after they prepare the black gunpowder, they also add water to the black gunpowder, stir it, dry it, and use it. Rollers and other tools grind the gunpowder into granules. It is said that after the black powder is granulated, the power can be nearly doubled, and the granulated gunpowder is easy to transport, is not susceptible to moisture, and has a uniform burning rate."

Zhu Pingan patted his head and continued.

"Gunpowder granulation, I really want to see it in a book. Granulated gunpowder can have such great benefits, doubling the power of gunpowder. No, I have to study it carefully." Ou Zhige heard about the advantages of gunpowder granulation. Finally, I became even more excited and crazy, and I couldn’t wait to study it right away.