Chapter 35: Arms Industry Development

From the exercises, Zhu Cilang felt that the firing speed of the muskets was too slow, so he thought of paper-cartridge fixed ammunition, and went to the research institute of the Armory Bureau to discuss it with Adam Schall and Sun Heding.

Adam Schall was the director of the Directorate of Astronomy and also the head of the Catholic mission, usually very busy, spending little time at the Armory Bureau.

Zhu Cilang understood as well—foreigners couldn't be relied on after all; even if the dynasty changed, it wouldn't affect them much, and history had proven this point.

But Sun Heding, as a man of the Great Ming, was different. He soaked in the research institute every day, beginning to replicate and improve the newest flintlock muskets.

Seeing Zhu Cilang arrive, Sun Heding finished his bow, then took a musket from a chest and handed it to Zhu Cilang, saying with a smile: "Your Highness, this is the new-style flintlock musket I've replicated."

Zhu Cilang took it—this musket was slightly smaller than the flintlocks used by the Yongwei Camp soldiers, about one meter and three-plus in length, weighing eight or nine jin, and its firing mechanism was far more complex than the previous flintlocks, but after testing the trigger, he found it was also much easier to operate.

It seemed that after Europe invented the flintlock, they had kept perfecting its functions—this was also why Europe could lead the world in the modern era; the saying that science and technology are the primary productive force holds true in any age.

"Your Highness, take a look at this too!" Sun Heding said as he took from a drawer a crude pistol-style firearm over forty centimeters long.

"This is a revolver!" Zhu Cilang was shocked, never expecting Sun Heding to have pulled this thing out!

"Your Highness, you recognize this revolving-fire musket?" Sun Heding was also startled, saying in astonishment.

Zhu Cilang's eyes went wide, and he said: "Master Sun, don't tell me you invented this thing yourself!"

Sun Heding waved his hand, saying: "Your Highness, this thing naturally wasn't invented by me. This was purchased by Father Schall from the Bocard cannon foundry. This musket can be loaded with four shots at once, has a range of about thirty-plus paces, can fire continuously, and can be used whether it's windy or rainy—very convenient."

Zhu Cilang was taken aback, thinking he had missed some unknown secret of history.

Zhu Cilang held the thing and examined it carefully—this so-called revolving-fire musket should be the ancestor of the later revolver.

But after finding a place to test-fire it several times, he quickly discovered quite a few shortcomings. This thing looked good but was useless in practice; the structure was too complex, and most importantly, once the bullets were spent, reloading was extremely troublesome.

Zhu Cilang said: "It can be used for officers and artillerymen to defend themselves, but it's not suitable for large-scale equipping of the entire army. If only it could be improved."

Sun Heding also nodded. He had deep knowledge of firearms and naturally saw many of the flaws as well.

Zhu Cilang described the general performance of the later revolver to Sun Heding, telling him to research along that line—who knew, he might actually manage to produce a revolver?

Zhu Cilang also told Sun Heding his ideas about rifled barrels and paper-cartridge fixed ammunition. Though he was a time-traveler, he didn't know the specific manufacturing methods, so he could only pass the ideas to Sun Heding, letting this professional do the research and testing.

Sun Heding was extremely astonished by Zhu Cilang's ideas, exclaiming in wonder again and again, with great interest.

Sun Heding said: "Your Highness, the paper-cartridge fixed ammunition you speak of is somewhat similar to granular gunpowder—far more powerful than powdered gunpowder, and also easier to store and transport. Back in the day, General Qi's Qi Family Army used something like it, and my late father also researched it during his lifetime. I think the difficulty of making it shouldn't be too great."

Though Zhu Cilang was astonished at how formidable the Qi Family Army's firearms were, he still explained paper-cartridge fixed ammunition to Sun Heding. This was a major invention in the history of musket development—it involved wrapping a fixed proportion of gunpowder together with a lead ball inside an elongated paper tube.

When loading, one only needed to bite open the paper tube, pour a little gunpowder into the flash pan, then stuff the remaining gunpowder and the lead ball all into the muzzle—one could also stuff in a piece of deerskin to ensure a tight seal.

Paper-cartridge fixed ammunition not only increased firing power but also reduced the steps of powder loading, speeding up the rate of fire.

In the Great Ming armies of the past, there had actually been similar practices—for example, in the Qi Family Army, bird-gun musketeers carried two pouches, one holding bamboo tubes with measured gunpowder, the other holding lead balls.

The Qi Family Army's method was already far ahead of other armies in the use of firearms, but unfortunately it was never popularized throughout the Ming forces.

Paper-cartridge fixed ammunition was considerably more advanced than the Qi Family Army's bamboo-tube measured powder—though the bamboo tubes were measured, the powder was still separate from the lead balls, adding an extra loading step, and the bamboo tubes couldn't be stuffed directly into the barrel, so they weren't as convenient as paper-cartridge fixed ammunition.

After hearing Zhu Cilang's explanation, Sun Heding was filled with great admiration for him. These several techniques seemed very simple on the surface, but on careful thought they held enormous significance, playing a vital role in improving and developing the performance of firearms.

Sun Heding sighed inwardly: "It seems this young Crown Prince also has extremely deep research into firearms, and his mastery is by no means inferior to mine. Working under someone who truly understands the craft—how gratifying!"

For Sun Heding's replication of the new flintlock musket, Zhu Cilang rewarded him with one thousand taels of silver, and issued an order proclaiming to all the craftsmen: anyone who invented or improved a firearm, provided it was of no small use, would be rewarded—at least one hundred taels of silver, at most ten thousand taels.

If there were major inventions or improvements, regardless of birth, one could be promoted in rank and title and granted a residence.

Spurred by this round of rewards, the craftsmen of the Armory Bureau became even more diligent in their work, and in their spare time they would also study and research various firearms. Several craftsmen who were close friends spontaneously formed research groups, and the atmosphere of scientific inquiry grew fervent.

After leaving the Armory Bureau, Zhu Cilang also inspected the Anmin Factory. Since Zhu Cilang now planned to use granular gunpowder and paper-cartridge fixed ammunition, and even wanted to make simple hand grenades, the amount of gunpowder needed was growing ever larger.

As the Great Ming's most important gunpowder depot, the Anmin Factory was of grave importance, affecting the combat power of the Yongwei Camp, so he had to take it seriously. Only after repeatedly demanding a firm grip on safety at the Anmin Factory did Zhu Cilang leave with peace of mind.

Zhu Cilang then inspected the cannon foundry. To his surprise, he found that the quality of these cannons was quite good—whether newly cast or previously cast, instances of barrel explosions were rare.

Later he learned that the Great Ming had design blueprints for all types of cannons—how long the barrel, how thick the wall—all fixed by strict standards. Craftsmen and supervising officials found it very difficult to pass off inferior goods or cut corners, which was what guaranteed the quality of the Great Ming's various cannons.

Especially the red barbarian cannons cast by the Great Ming itself—the workmanship was exceptionally fine, using boring and milling techniques, with good airtightness and high muzzle velocity. At the time, Spain and Portugal would sometimes purchase cannons from the Great Ming.

First buying from Portugal, then replicating—and the replicas turned out even better than the originals. These Great Ming craftsmen were all true talents!

Zhu Cilang's thinking had previously been stuck in the late Qing—Qing troops' self-cast cannons had become specialists in barrel explosions, with newly cast cannons bursting on the first shot being a common sight.

"It must have been that fool Qianlong who burned all these cannon design blueprints when compiling the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, which is why late-Qing cannon technology rotted into garbage," Zhu Cilang mused.

Zhu Cilang wanted to find some way to calibrate the accuracy of the cannons, but he wasn't a professional in that field—aside from knowing the later situation, he was completely ignorant of it, so he could only abandon the idea.

After returning, Zhu Cilang immediately allocated one hundred thousand taels of silver for the research institute's studies and the manufacture of firearms, with Wu Zhong, the seal-holding eunuch of the Armory Bureau, in charge. As for Companion Wu's character, Zhu Cilang knew it well—for now at least, he would never dare embezzle his silver.

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Note: When Qianlong compiled the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, the total number of books unfavorable to the Manchu Qing that were destroyed was, according to statistics, 13,600 volumes. The total number of burned books was 150,000 volumes, and the printing blocks destroyed totaled over 170 types, more than 80,000 blocks.

Besides burning books, the Great Qing also systematically destroyed Ming dynasty archives. Only slightly more than 3,000 Ming archival documents remain, mainly Ministry of War files from the Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns, with a small number of official documents from the Hongwu, Yongle, Xuande, Chenghua, Zhengde, Jiajing, Longqing, Wanli, and Taichang reigns.

The remaining no fewer than 10 million Ming archival documents were all destroyed. In addition to destroying books and archives, the Great Qing also systematically tampered with the surviving books and archives.