Chapter 289: Telescope

"How many flintlocks has the Weaponry Division delivered to you as of now?"

After coming out of the Zhihui Yuan, Zhao Xu asked Chang Wei casually.

"There are over twenty thousand."

Hearing this number, Zhao Xu felt satisfied in his heart.

It seems the Weaponry Division will be able to deliver thirty thousand flintlocks on schedule.

"What about the artillery?" Zhao Xu asked again.

While manufacturing flintlocks, the production of artillery had not stopped.

"During this period, the Weaponry Division has mainly been delivering field artillery; now the entire Army has one hundred and eighty pieces of field artillery." Chang Wei grinned.

He was very satisfied with this number.

Even for a major battle, such a large amount of artillery is enough.

Zhao Xu nodded.

According to his plan, the total number of field artillery for the entire Army should reach three hundred and sixty pieces.

Although he can mass-produce artillery, there is no need for the Army to build too many.

This thing is a major drain on Silver; one could say that when the cannons roar, ten thousand taels of gold are spent.

Furthermore, artillery values quality over quantity.

Ten thousand firearms are trash in front of one hundred cannons.

In the Battle of Sarhu during the Ming Dynasty, it was claimed there were over a thousand cannons, but in reality, most were small guns like firearms, which did not gain an advantage against the Red Barbarian Cannons of the Qing army at the time.

And the Qing army's Red Barbarian Cannons were imitations of the naval cannons of the Netherlands at that time.

Therefore, unless the enemy has artillery of the same level as his, there is no need to compete in quantity.

Otherwise, it is enough to just keep the number of artillery within an appropriate range.

When it is truly needed, just let the Weaponry Division explode its production capacity.

Moreover, this is only the field artillery in the Army.

If the siege cannons are counted in, the scale of artillery in Yanzhou is already quite considerable and absolutely sufficient.

After all, a siege cannon mounted on a gun carriage is a heavy cannon.

With a plan in mind, Zhao Xu said at this moment: "For this upcoming battle, besides these two pieces of weaponry, I have another sharp weapon to entrust to you."

Chang Wei was delighted and rubbed his hands, about to ask what it was.

Zhao Xu interrupted him directly, "The same as before, keep it secret for now; you will know in two days."

"Your Highness, you are going to make this subordinate unable to sleep well at night again," Chang Wei said with a bitter face.

Zhao Xu chuckled twice, and thinking of the battle drawing closer day by day, he said: "You had better arrange the battle for Jinzhou first; there is not much time left."

Upon hearing this, Chang Wei's expression immediately became serious.

This is official business, so there can be no joking around.

"Yes, Your Highness." He responded.

Leaving the North Camp directly, Zhao Xu did not return to the Prince's Mansion but went to the Beifang District.

Not long after part of the Weaponry Division moved into the Nanfang District, the Workshop of the Prince's Mansion moved to the North Camp.

Besides that, the manufacturing of cement and glass was also separated from the Weaponry Division and moved into the Beifang District.

The place he was going to this time was the Glass Workshop among them.

"Your Highness."

As Zhao Xu arrived, the manager of the Glass Workshop immediately came to greet him.

Currently, all the workshops in the Beifang District are Prince's Mansion Industries.

Therefore, every workshop has a manager in charge.

These managers are under the jurisdiction of the trading firm.

Although the managers are not officials, they are equivalent to clerks and are paid with Silver allocated by the Prince's Mansion.

"No need for formalities." Zhao Xu raised his hand and walked straight into the Glass Workshop.

At this time, the craftsmen in the Glass Workshop were still working in full swing.

Red molten glass was rolling in the furnace.

The craftsmen continuously used blowpipes to pick out the molten glass to blow it directly or insert it into molds for blowing.

Arriving in front of a craftsman, this craftsman had just taken a section of molten glass from the furnace.

The craftsman working with him immediately brought over a mold with a round hole.

From the round hole, he could see some patterns.

After the red molten glass was inserted into the mold, the craftsman began to blow.

Once the blowing was finished, a standard glass bottle was completed.

If there were any non-standard ones, the craftsman would take them to the furnace to heat them up and reshape them.

Currently, the wine bottles and perfume bottles used by the trading firm are all made using molds combined with blowing.

And these things were all in the books he gave to the Glass Workshop.

Picking up a cooled glass bottle, Zhao Xu nodded with satisfaction.

Then he said to the manager of the Glass Workshop: "The goods of the Glass Workshop cannot stop at these; they need to be diversified. Besides simple glass cups and glass bottles, you must also manufacture more exquisite glassware, such as exhibits like porcelain."

The manager of the Glass Workshop nodded and responded.

Thinking of the main business of this trip, he said: "I have an important matter to entrust to you."

After speaking, he ordered for paper and a brush to be brought, and began to draw on it.

The manager of the Glass Workshop watched carefully; the thing Yan Wang drew was a circular object.

However, this circular object has two curved surfaces, with a thickness about that of a little finger.

On this circular object, Yan Wang had also marked the dimensions.

"This thing is called a Tuotoujing; I have already marked the dimensions and such for you, so have the craftsmen make it out of Glass," Zhao Xu said.

Now, whether in the Nanfang District or the Beifang District, all have uniformly adopted the system of weights and measures he provided.

Therefore, the person in charge naturally understood the dimensions he marked.

At the same time, the Glass Workshop also has precise rulers, and even Vernier Calipers are available.

Manufacturing it according to the dimensions he provided is not a problem.

"Tuotoujing." The person in charge scratched his head.

Yan Wang has many ingenious ideas; this is something all officials in Yanzhou are clear about.

So, although he did not understand this object,

he knew it must be another very impressive thing.

Thus he said, "Yes, Your Highness, I will have people make it right away."

Zhao Xu nodded, briefly mentioned some key points for manufacturing, and returned with Xu Lie.

The thing he wanted to give Chang Wei this time was none other than a Telescope.

After possessing the ability to manufacture Glass, manufacturing a Telescope became possible.

In his mind, he had ready-made manufacturing templates for the Telescope's Tuotoujing, which he could just give to the craftsmen.

After all, with the dimensions, this was no longer a complicated problem.

In ancient times, there were jade-carving craftsmen who could polish jade into jade beads.

Even if the Glass produced by the Glass Workshop was a bit rough, they could still have jade craftsmen polish it to a standard.

After all, the tools used to polish jade could also polish Glass.

In the modern era, sandpaper could be used to polish Glass.

But in ancient times, the tool for polishing jade was called a Tuo.

This is a disc-like tool, the material of which is natural abrasive, such as sandstone.

Two days later, the person in charge of the Glass Workshop delivered two Tuotoujing, one large and one small, to the Prince's Mansion.

Zhao Xu examined them and, sure enough, they were a bit substandard.

So he ordered someone to make a trip to the Nanfang District.

Among the craftsmen in the Nanfang District polishing Flintlock parts were veteran jade craftsmen, and he also bought two Tuo tools from jade craftsmen in Yancheng.

After another two days of polishing, the two Tuotoujing reached Zhao Xu's hands, exhibiting perfect curvature.

This was the Tuotoujing he wanted.

Next, he ordered a carpenter to make a cylinder out of mahogany and cut it in half down the middle.

He had grooves carved at the distances he required.

Finally, he fitted the two Tuotoujing into the grooves, joined the wooden pieces back into a cylinder, and tightened them with iron hoops.

A perfect Telescope was born.

With this, in the coming battles, they would be better able to anticipate the enemy's movements.