Chapter 282: Flintlock

Chengde Workshop.

After Xie Yu left, Zhao Xu appeared here almost every day.

As the days passed, the time for the military expedition to Jinzhou drew ever closer.

His greatest concern was the production of the Flintlock, so he often supervised it in person.

Currently, there are two places where Flintlocks are being produced.

One is the original Directorate of Weapons, which is small in scale.

The other is the current Nanfang District, which is large in scale.

In the workshops along the river in Nanfang District, there are now fifty Hydraulic Drills in operation.

His plan with Wang Ying is to expand to one hundred.

Adding the twenty at the Directorate of Weapons, one hundred and twenty drills can bore one hundred and twenty gun barrels daily.

That makes three thousand six hundred in a month.

However, even so, this quantity cannot meet the requirement of thirty thousand in three months.

Therefore, the bulk of the gun barrels must still rely on the craftsmen's Hand-cranked Drilling Machines.

At this moment, he is in the workshop where the Flintlocks are produced.

This workshop consists of three sections.

The courtyard on the left is filled with Hand-cranked Drilling Machines, which is where he is currently located.

The one on the right is the courtyard for manufacturing the firing mechanisms.

The middle courtyard is responsible for assembly, operating in an orderly manner.

"Your Highness, thirty more Hand-cranked Drilling Machines were added yesterday; there are now three hundred here. One craftsman can finish one every three days, totaling three thousand a month. Another batch of Hand-cranked Drilling Machines is currently being manufactured, so thirty thousand Flintlocks should not be a problem," Wang Ying said.

The craftsmen, apprentices, and laborers provided by Yan Wang this time had been a huge help to him.

With numerous carpenters, the manufacturing of both the Hand-cranked Drilling Machines and the Flintlock stocks had kept pace.

This is the benefit of having many hands.

"That is for the best." Zhao Xu felt slightly more at ease.

The Hand-cranked Drilling Machine is strenuous work; human strength is limited after all.

Thus, the drilling is very slow, taking three days to produce one.

It is currently winter, yet the craftsmen operating the drills are drenched in sweat.

"How is the wear on the Drill Bits?" Zhao Xu looked at a pile of discarded Drill Bits in the corner.

Wang Ying said: "Following Your Highness's instructions, the subordinate took lard and applied it to the Drill Bits. The consumption of the Drill Bits has decreased somewhat, but basically, it still takes about three for every gun barrel. Fortunately, these Drill Bits are simple to manufacture; they can be taken to be re-smelted and forged, and then they can be used again."

Zhao Xu nodded; Drill Bits are consumables, and there is no way around that.

With the current crude handicraft industry, he can only produce crudely.

After watching the craftsmen drill gun barrels for a while, Zhao Xu said: "By the way, you said five hundred Flintlocks could be delivered today?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Wang Ying made a gesture of invitation, "Please follow this subordinate."

Hearing this, Zhao Xu felt a surge of anticipation.

Although he had the knowledge of how to make a Flintlock in his mind, he had never actually seen a real Flintlock.

He followed Wang Ying into the middle courtyard.

Wang Ying arrived at a room in the courtyard guarded by soldiers.

Entering the room, Wang Ying lifted the wooden crates on the floor.

Inside lay Flintlocks with brown Muto and silver gun bodies.

The gun barrels and firing mechanisms of these Flintlocks had been completed previously and were just assembled yesterday.

"Not bad." Zhao Xu revealed a satisfied smile.

He took a Flintlock out of the crate and examined it carefully.

The overall style of the Flintlock was exactly as he had imagined, absolutely belonging to the category of magnificent fine goods.

Seeing the smile in Yan Wang's eyes almost overflowing, Wang Ying could not help but smile as well.

The successful manufacture of the Flintlock, just like the Artillery last time, gave him a full sense of accomplishment.

However, these Flintlocks had just been assembled and had not yet been test-fired.

So he reminded him: "Your Highness, would you like to test these Flintlocks, just like the Artillery test?"

"Of course." Zhao Xu's gaze remained fixed on the Flintlock.

Guns and cannons are a man's romance; this saying applies to Zhao Xu as well.

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Seeing this thing, he found it quite precious.

He decided to keep one at the Prince's Mansion to play with.

After thinking for a moment, he said: "Let's go to the South Camp to test the guns and let the soldiers see the Weapon they are about to use."

He believed that once they saw the power of these Flintlocks, they would definitely train more actively.

Wang Ying was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it, he understood Yan Wang's meaning.

Responding with a "Yes," he ordered the laborers to carry the crates and, under the escort of soldiers, headed toward the South Camp.

On the way, Wang Ying said: "Your Highness, this subordinate has made some Lead Bullets according to the caliber of the gun barrels, but pinching them one by one is really too slow. The ammunition required for thirty thousand Flintlocks is massive; what should be done about this?"

"Do not worry, this Prince has a method; I will tell you after the gun test," Zhao Xu said.

Hearing this, Wang Ying stopped asking.

He sighed inwardly, truly nothing can stump Yan Wang.

The group arrived at the South Camp.

Chang Wei was also there at this time; upon learning that Yan Wang had brought Flintlocks, Chang Wei and the generals immediately grinned.

Although they had been training the soldiers in Battle Formations according to the methods taught by Yan Wang during this period,

they only felt these formations were ridiculous and frustrating, unable to grasp where the power of these formations lay.

Their enthusiasm had also declined somewhat.

Even though they knew that what Yan Wang did always had a reason.

But without seeing it with their own eyes, they still could not comprehend it.

Therefore, upon learning that Yan Wang had brought Flintlocks, they immediately perked up.

They wanted to see what this Flintlock actually was.

"Your Highness, let this subordinate see what this Flintlock looks like?" Chang Wei rubbed his hands together, his face full of entreaty.

Qin Shan, Guan Tong, and the others were the same, circling the wooden crates, only stopping short of directly reaching out to open the lids.

The soldiers nearby also heard this; although they dared not move about at will, they pricked up their ears.

Zhao Xu and Wang Ying exchanged a glance and decided not to be secretive anymore.

He opened a crate himself, took out a Flintlock, and tossed it to Chang Wei.

Seeing the Flintlock flying toward him, Chang Wei was startled and hurriedly caught it with his hands.

Qin Shan and the others immediately crowded around him, craning their necks to examine it.

Some generals reached out to touch it, but were slapped away by Chang Wei and pulled their hands back.

"Is this the Flintlock? It's truly beautiful, but how is this used? Is it the same as Artillery?" Chang Wei pointed the Flintlock at himself and peered into the muzzle.

"More or less." Zhao Xu took another Flintlock from the crate and said, "But it doesn't need a matchcord."

Turning his head, he said to Wang Ying, "Bring some ammunition over."

Wang Ying then opened two more crates.

One crate contained Granular Gunpowder, and the other contained silver Lead Bullets.

"Your Highness, can this Flintlock really penetrate Armor?" Qin Shan asked.

At this time, Chang Wei handed the Flintlock to the generals to pass around and look at.

"Why don't you put on some Armor and try it out?" Zhao Xu said to Qin Shan as if playing a prank.

"This subordinate wouldn't dare." Qin Shan immediately shrank his neck.

Zhao Xu stopped joking with everyone.

He said sternly, "Order five hundred soldiers to come over; today I will let you witness the power of your Flintlocks combined with the Battle Formations you have been practicing."

The generals nodded, their eyes filled with anticipation.