[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army":3,"chapter-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-176":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Little Soldier of the Late Ming Border Army",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1205465,1561,"Chapter 176: The Hydraulic Drilling Machine","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-176",176,"\u003Cp>Having secured Wang Dou's commendation, Lai Yuanji cracked a grin — with the affirmation and praise from the newly established Logistics Division, anyone's mood would be exceedingly cheerful. Still, this achievement was not his effort alone; though Lai Yuanlong had designed the prototype drawings, the actual fabrication was carried out by Li Maosen, so the credit belonged to both of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furthermore, now that the flash pan device had been developed, another problem remained. In this era, every craftsman's technique was a secret never passed on — there was even a saying that skills were passed to sons but not to daughters. Every scrap of skill in their hands was the very means by which they supported their families and made a living.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take the military craftsmen of Shunxiang Fort, for example. Although the quality of the firelocks they produced was uniformly supervised by Li Maosen, in truth each man's method of making a firelock was still different. Every man had his own unique mastery, nearly impossible for outsiders to learn, and poaching another's skill was a grave taboo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the flash pan device had been developed, the technique belonged jointly to Lai Yuanlong and Li Maosen. To publicly disclose and contribute it — Lai Yuanlong might not mind, but Li Maosen surely had his own self-interest and would be unwilling to agree. To have Li Maosen take on apprentices himself and slowly train them in its manufacture? That certainly did not suit Wang Dou's intentions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering the limitations of the era, forcing each man to contribute and share his own techniques was an exceedingly difficult matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After examining the physical flash pan device, when Lin Daofu raised this issue with Wang Dou, Wang Dou thought for a moment and then said to Lai Yuanlong and Li Maosen: \"This flash pan device that can shield the priming powder must be implemented on all firelocks. Considering certain circumstances... let it be so: the drawings and physical specimen of this flash pan device shall be deemed the official craft of our Shunxiang Fort Armory. However, since you two have rendered such great merit, I, as your superior, must certainly reward you. Henceforth, all craftsmen of the armory must learn the manufacture of this device, and after each device is produced, you two shall each receive a certain dividend as a reward, in recognition of the great merit you have established.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Maosen pondered for a long while and asked: \"My lord means that, although this craft is to be taken into official ownership, so long as someone imitates my manufacture of this flash pan, I shall receive some dividend?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said: \"Correct, precisely so. Moreover, on the firelocks of our Shunxiang Fort, every single firelock henceforth shall be fitted with this flash pan device.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smiled slightly: \"Manager Li, Ambassador Lai, from now on, even if you two simply fold your arms and lie back at ease, you shall have no worries about food and clothing. Congratulations.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Wang Dou described was akin to a copyright income. Lai Yuanlong took it in stride, but Li Maosen was both shocked and overjoyed. He would contribute this technique, yet every craftsman would need to pay him a certain fee for the right to use it. It meant that without needing to labor, he could have a steady, unending income. This was truly... far too good a bargain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Maosen asked: \"This... this dividend, for how long a period would it last?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said: \"Initially, it shall be set at fifty years. Thereafter, even after your passing, your sons and grandsons and their descendants shall likewise have an unending income.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Maosen was even more stunned. The craftsmen all around likewise cried out in unceasing astonishment, every one of them regarding Li Maosen and his partner with the utmost envy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Young Lady Ji looked at Wang Dou in surprise, then looked again at Li Maosen and the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou looked at the surrounding craftsmen and said: \"Therefore, you workers of the armory, whatever skills you possess, simply offer them up. This sharing of dividends is far more lucrative than hoarding them for yourselves and taking on a few apprentices. Moreover, your skills will be known by more people, and your fame will spread to the four seas.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Maosen said: \"My lord, this humble one has one concern. What if someone secretly steals the craft, or is unwilling to share the dividends — what then?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Dou said: \"Poaching another's skill is a matter that corrupts the rules of the trade. It must certainly be punished. As for the related particulars, you may discuss them among yourselves and set down a charter. In sum, within Shunxiang Fort, should anyone dare to violate the trade rules, they shall all face severe punishment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Maosen rubbed his hands together, beside himself with excitement, while the craftsmen nearby also buzzed with discussion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly Li Maosen said: \"My lord, this humble one and Ambassador Lai have also jointly completed a hydraulic drilling machine. Would my lord care to see it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Shunxiang Fort Armory lay in the northwest quarter of the fort, near a river called Yaozi River, whose current was fairly swift. Not far from the riverbank, Wang Dou beheld this enormous hydraulic drilling machine — a simple mechanism of wood and stone, in which the flowing water drove a stone disc that slowly rotated the drill bit forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This hydraulic drilling machine appeared very simple, but its advantages were obvious: when drilling and reaming a barrel, it never tired. Moreover, it could maintain consistent precision and quality, unlike manual operation, which produced deviations due to fluctuations in physical strength and mental focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By Wang Dou's estimate, compared to manual labor, this simple hydraulic drilling machine increased work efficiency by at least several times, and one craftsman could simultaneously tend several such drilling machines. If there were opportunities to improve it in the future, perhaps a single hydraulic drilling machine's efficiency could be increased by more than ten times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, this hydraulic drilling machine also had its drawbacks — namely, its cost was relatively high, and during operation the drill bits frequently needed replacing. Wang Dou estimated that the cost and work efficiency of this hydraulic drilling machine were roughly one to one, but in Wang Dou's view, it was still worthwhile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to the future mass production of firearms, these costs were ones Wang Dou could bear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, given Wang Dou's current circumstances, the demand for firelocks was enormous, and Shunxiang Fort was also short of craftsmen. The promotion of machinery would not create the problem of snatching away the craftsmen's rice bowls. This, in fact, was the most fundamental reason that had hindered the spread of machinery in ancient times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at this enormous hydraulic drilling machine, Wang Dou marveled unceasingly. He asked: \"Manager Li, using this drilling machine to drill barrels, how many days does it take to drill one barrel?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Maosen made a rough estimate and said: \"In reply to my lord, in the past, using manual labor to drill a barrel required nearly a full month. But using this hydraulic drilling machine, within six days, one barrel can be drilled!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The firelocks of the Great Ming were typically octagonal in form, the body thick at one end and thin at the other — the thick end formed the breech, the thin end the muzzle. When a firelock was first forged, it was still a rough blank, and the bore inside was rough and uneven. Such a firelock naturally could not be used in combat; it was necessary to use a drill bit to enlarge and polish the bore. The skill of bore drilling was quite refined, and human strength was limited. In the Great Ming, good drill bits and files were all made of the finest \"fallen-star steel.\" Fallen-star steel was already considered top-grade hard steel at the time, but in truth its steel properties were still far inferior to those of later ages. Using fallen-star steel to drill a barrel was still very difficult, so it was understandable that it took a month to polish one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And once the bore was drilled, the work was not finished. It still needed to be scraped and burnished smooth inside with a four-edged steel rod, and the breech screw and other parts had to be made. Thus, at the time, manufacturing a single fowling piece usually required a very long time, needed a large number of skilled workers and equipment, and the output was still not very high. Most of the time was consumed in drilling and reaming the barrel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, at that time, Great Ming craftsmen were already commonly using a type of manual drilling machine — a wooden frame was built, a circular stone disc served as a flywheel, and after attaching leather straps, it was pulled by human power, causing the stone disc to drive the drill bit to rotate and ream the bore. This type of drilling machine was a considerable advance over using pure human strength, but it was still very tiring. Once improved to hydraulic power, it was like adding wings to a tiger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hydraulic drilling machine before Wang Dou's eyes was precisely an improved version of this manual drilling machine. The bore-drilling speed had been dramatically increased to one barrel in six days — this improvement in efficiency could be called extraordinarily remarkable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Li Maosen's words, Wang Dou was also taken aback: \"Six days for one barrel?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paced several times around this hydraulic drilling machine. With just this simple mechanism, one barrel could be drilled in six days?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lin Daofu and the others behind Wang Dou all discussed it unceasingly, and Young Lady Ji also curiously examined the hydraulic drilling machine from left to right.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>※\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the book friend You Long Zai Tian Ran: here the power goes out every couple of days. You, living where the power never goes out, cannot imagine it. Alas, misfortunes never come singly — the main light in my room has also burned out, and with only a small desk lamp lit, it's pitch-black. Sitting before the computer, I'm dizzy and bleary-eyed, with no creative state at all. I'll just write this much for today and make it up another day.\u003C\u002Fp>",1721,"2026-06-03T14:05:19.908Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","ef8c924c9dc7bf2ebd66ef340ff591ed10219b211fcbcadaab9c8e96d5d0fcae","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-177","a-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-chapter-175",896,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-little-soldier-of-the-late-ming-border-army-cover.jpg"]