Li Huai and Zhao Shizhen bowed again upon hearing Zhu Mo’s words, saying in unison, “We have been waiting for this day! Young Master Zhu, it’s not that the Great Ming cannot produce superior firearms, it’s just…”
“Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, I understand. First, tell me, if you two lead the charge, can you produce thirty to fifty of these firearms within a month or two?”
Zhu Mo was short on time and didn't have the leisure for their lengthy discussions.
The two seemed confident but hesitant. They exchanged glances and neither committed. After a moment of deliberation, Zhao Shizhen offered an awkward smile and said,
“Uh, well, uh, Young Master Zhu, I only have one question… are there some curved grooves inside the barrel? This… this is unheard of… what is it for? Does it make the lead ball spin…?”
Zhu Mo was startled by this question—
Indeed?
This fellow is quite capable, guessing the purpose of rifling at first glance? This proves that our Great Ming is no less advanced than the Westerners. The original drawing did not have rifling; he had added it temporarily, wanting to see if the artisans of the Great Ming could produce it. If they could, it would be a perfect advancement.
“Heh, it naturally has a special purpose, and your guess is probably not far off… However, I’d like to ask first: this small iron cone, can you tell what it is?”
Zhu Mo felt that this person’s guess about the rifling showed extraordinary intelligence, but it was only intelligence. Many people in this profession could guess such things. The truly valuable piece was the flintlock mechanism, so he wanted to test him.
Zhao Shizhen, however, smiled and said, “Young Master Zhu, Old Man Li and I figured this out long ago… We call it the ‘flint cone.’ In fact, Old Man Li said that a master in our Firearm Bureau made one during the Zhengde era. The Emperor was very keen on it and had over two hundred made then… It’s a pity… Later, Emperor Zhengde passed away, and that batch of mechanisms was taken away by a Western monk… A few years ago, Old Man Li and I made several dozen, and they are stored under the left cabinet in the armory…”
Oh?
This time, it was Zhu Mo’s turn to be greatly surprised.
He immediately took out the small iron cone inlaid with flint that he had found in the armory earlier and asked, “Is this what you call the flint cone?”
At the same time, he thought: If what they said was true, and that batch of flintlock mechanisms was taken by a Western monk, wouldn't that mean that Europe’s automatic triggers were actually passed on from China…?
Zhu Mo looked at Zhao Shizhen, then at Li Huai, his face filled with disbelief, and said again, “Zhao Shizhen, do you truly understand the power of this device?”
Li Huai looked thoughtful, gazed up at the sky, and sighed,
“Reporting to Young Master Zhu, this flint cone requires a mechanism to work together. The front part is a polished piece of flint, and the barrel has an anvil. When they strike, sparks are produced, igniting the powder and firing the projectile. Then, the mechanism is pulled back to catch, and it fires again…
Young Master Zhu, this flintlock is a truly remarkable idea, but Shizhen only told half the story… Nothing in the world is that easy! The master who made it back then was named Lin Jun; he was a genius from the very beginning of our Firearm Bureau. Unfortunately, although he created the flint and mechanism, the gunpowder was not good enough. The sparks produced by the flint were not as fast as a slow match, thus the power was insufficient… In the end, it never succeeded… What a pity, what a pity…”
Upon saying this, both firearm experts looked regretful, yet simultaneously filled with fighting spirit, as if they had already solved the problem?
Zhu Mo listened intently this time. They truly understood the principle of the trigger, and he couldn’t help but feel even more impressed—
This invention was definitely beyond Europe. The artisans of the Great Ming Firearm Bureau had invented it thirty to forty years ago, and even the system didn’t know about it! It was truly incredible.
It seemed that
The Great Ming read about in later generations was vastly different from the reality. Those scholars did not understand mechanics and completely failed to grasp the greatness of Lin Jun’s invention… And this unremarkable old man, Li Huai, could explain the principle of gunpowder burning in a confined space, which was even more astonishing! If he could optimize the gunpowder, wouldn't that be a hundred years ahead of Europe?
Thinking of this,
He couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration. He said seriously, “Old Li, you are in charge of gunpowder. Is there anything you need to tell me, Zhu?”
Li Huai bowed deeply to Zhu Mo, proudly stating, “Young Master Zhu, I have been in the Firearm Bureau for forty years, constantly working to solve Master Lin’s problems… Alas, it is a pity, Young Master Zhu, that mechanical matters are simple once understood, but if not, they are simply not understood… For twenty years… If Master Lin were still alive, his flintlock gun would have succeeded, because I have already developed ‘sand powder’!”
Sand powder?
What on earth is that?
Zhu Mo had understood earlier that Li Huai likely had a more potent gunpowder formula, but whether it reached the level of modern European gunpowder was still in question. He was now surprised:
“Quick, tell me, what is sand powder?”
“Young Master, sand powder is making gunpowder powder into sand-like granules. It burns faster. In the propellant chamber, sand powder burns up instantly, pushing the projectile far, with great force! Furthermore, sand powder is mixed with alcohol and ash. A single spark ignites it all! Master Lin didn’t have this kind of powder back then, so the gunpowder never burned completely. Sometimes it wouldn’t fire, and even if it did, it didn’t go far…”
These artisans were not good at eloquence, and they repeated themselves, but they managed to explain it clearly.
Zhu Mo now understood—
This was granulated gunpowder!
In a confined space, it could burn more completely and rapidly, which is what is found in modern bullet casings.
However, Li Huai had only roughly grasped the concept and created a rudimentary version. It was still far from modern gunpowder…
Thinking of this,
Zhu Mo felt that these two could basically produce his drawings. He joyfully said, “Old Li, so you are sure you can make my firearms?”
The two were eager to promise, but upon thinking about the rifling in the drawing, they scratched their heads. What was the key point there? They were utterly confused…
After thinking for a while,
Zhao Shizhen said reluctantly, “Young Master Zhu, if we only need to make a few dozen and they are urgently needed, we can use wax casting to etch them. But this is not a long-term solution, we can’t make many, and… and it’s hard to guarantee they will be exactly like your drawing… I don’t know how they will perform?”
Mm-hmm…
Very rigorous…
Zhu Mo nodded and smiled, “You are already very good, very good, exceptionally good! I have a new understanding of the artisans of the Great Ming…”
He pointed to the rifling on the drawing and continued,
“It’s normal that you don’t understand this… this is called rifling. When the projectile is shot out of the barrel, air will be compressed… Air, do you understand?”
Both were top-notch artisans and nodded simultaneously. Zhao Shizhen said,
“We understand. In the past, with the guns made by the Firearm Bureau, if the barrel was not smooth, the projectile would always shoot off target. Although we knew this, we couldn’t explain why…”
“Mm, it’s normal, very normal… My rifling can make the air swirl inside the barrel, making the projectile spin as well, which will make it more stable and shoot more accurately. As for how to make the rifling, how deep the grooves should be, that will require further experimentation together…”
The two couldn’t understand the terminology, but the general principle was clear in their minds. At this point, looking at Zhu Mo, they felt as if he were a celestial being, believing that this person was truly a great master of the Great Ming, not just a scholar as rumored…
However, they did not know that Zhu Mo’s shock was no less than theirs.
The technological level of the Great Ming was truly on the eve of an explosion, far more optimistic than any of the most optimistic historical accounts he had read… Artisans of such caliber, and so humble and simple, were truly the pride of the Chinese people…
Fortunately, everything in the Firearm Bureau was ready.
Zhu Mo had been in the Great Ming for over ten years and had never worked as an artisan. Now, fiddling around in the workshops of the Firearm Bureau, he found a different kind of pleasure.