"A flintlock gun that doesn't need a match?"
Xu Guangqi looked at the gun in his hand and carefully stroked it. When he saw the ignition setting, he was quite interested. After fiddling with it for a while, he still couldn't find the right way. The young man reached out his hand and took the flintlock gun, turned the cylinder hard, and then handed it to Xu Guangqi.
"There is no gunpowder. Don't worry about it going off by accident."
Xu Guangqi took the gun with some caution, then moved the muzzle away and pulled the trigger with his finger. With a bang, the flint struck the torch, creating a string of sparks. If there was gunpowder in the torch, then it could definitely be ignited, thus activating the gun and achieving the purpose of shooting.
"Exquisite beyond compare! This thing is exquisite. It doesn't need a match or an open flame. This will reduce a lot of trouble. I've seen a musket in my hometown. The soldiers always complain that the match burns too fast or that it's inconvenient to use it. It's humid in Jiangnan and windy in the north. It's not convenient to use muskets. If we have this gun, it will greatly benefit the country! "
Xu Guangqi's eyes flashed with surprise. "This gun, can Marquis Xiao make it?"
The young man nodded. "When the Dongwu Kingdom was pacified, the Dongwu rebels hired a team of Frangians to assist in the battle. After those Frangians were killed, one of them obtained this flintlock gun. Marquis Xiao felt that it was very important and used his own wealth to hire craftsmen to make a replica. Finally, the replica was successful."
"That's great! That's great! If we have this gun, the burden of the Jiubian and Liaodong armies will be greatly reduced! If this gun can be used in the Ming Dynasty Army, then the Ming Dynasty Army's combat power will be greatly improved! Marquis Xiao's action will benefit the present and the future! Please accept my bow on behalf of Marquis Xiao! "
Xu Guangqi stood up excitedly and deeply bowed to the young man. The young man quickly stood up and helped Xu Guangqi up.
"Mister Xu, don't be too excited. There's one more thing you haven't seen."
Xu Guangqi raised his head and asked in confusion, "There's more?"
The young man lifted the muzzle of the flintlock and brought it to Xu Guangqi's eyes, motioning him to look inside the barrel. Xu Guangqi looked inside, puzzled.
"Eh? There seems to be something in this barrel … This is … "
Xu Guangqi stuck his finger into the barrel and almost couldn't take his finger out.
The young man smiled and said, "This is called rifling. It is also a magic weapon that Marquis Xiao obtained from Franco Jiyi's flintlock musket. Mister Xu also knows that the barrel of a musket and a flintlock musket are the same. The difference lies in the wheel used to activate the musket, and this rifling is an important item comparable to the wheel.
When using a musket normally, gunpowder and lead bullets need to be loaded into the muzzle and pressed down with a rod. Then, it is ignited and successfully fired. The lead bullets are certainly not as big as the muzzle of the musket, nor will they be wider than the width of the barrel.
Thus, when the gunpowder is ignited and the lead bullets rush out of the barrel, the direction of the shot is much different from what we expected. We basically don't know where it will fly beyond 50 steps. The accuracy is extremely poor. "
Hearing the young man say this, Xu Guangqi also nodded.
"That's right. Some old soldiers have said that for new soldiers, they might not even be able to hit accurately within 30 steps, let alone 50 steps. The accuracy is extremely low, and we often don't know where the bullets will fly to.
Although the lethality of a musket is greater than a crossbow, the range is too short. If we were to fight against the Jurchen cavalry, we wouldn't have the time to use the musket and the blade would already be at the neck. There is no way to contend against them. Thus, the soldiers of the nine borders are not willing to use muskets. "
The young man opened his mouth and said: "That's right. Marquis Xiao deeply felt the weakness of muskets on the battlefield in Korea. Thus, after arriving in Myanmar, he began to study the rifling.
You see, the function of this rifling is to allow the lead bullets to follow a fixed direction. Whether it is shooting accuracy or shooting range, both are greatly improved.
When we use this kind of rifled musket, the lead bullets we use are like this. You see, compared to the barrel, it is slightly bigger. When we use it, we need to use this kind of mallet to hammer the lead bullets in! "
The young man took out a lead bullet and a small mallet from the box and demonstrated to Xu Guangqi how to hammer the lead bullet in. Xu Guangqi's eyes lit up as he watched.
"Those old soldiers and masters all said that with this rifling, when the lead bullet is shot out, it will be shot in a straight line and will be accurate. Unlike a musket without rifling, the lead bullet will fly in all directions. The accuracy and shooting range of this rifled musket far surpass that of a musket.
Also, this is the door, and this is the front sight. When shooting, the soldiers will use one eye to aim, and with the front sight and the door in a straight line, the shooting accuracy will be greatly improved. We have done some experiments and found that this rifled musket can fire at more than 200 steps, and can even be more accurate at longer distances. "
"200 steps?!"
Xu Guangqi exclaimed in surprise: "There is actually such a magical weapon in this world! How can firearms be so powerful? This … this is simply … "
At this point, Xu Guangqi suddenly frowned.
"Taking it from Francesco's hands, doesn't that mean that Francesco already possesses this magical weapon? And has it already been assembled? "
The young man sighed in his heart. Both Lord Ye and Marquis Xiao really knew people well. Both of them spoke of Xu Guangqi's concern for the country and the people, and his long-term vision. Others would only lament about how magical this firearm was, but he could imagine the threat that the Francesco people posed to Daming by using this firearm.
"Sir, please rest assured. Marquis Xiao has previously dispatched an ocean fleet to the European continent of the Francesco people in the land of Taixi to travel and investigate. The specific information we have obtained is that the main weapon used by the Francesco people is still the musket, which is not more advanced than Daming's. Although this rifled musket is strong, it cannot be mass-produced."
"Marquis Xiao has already been to the European continent? This … why can't this musket be mass-produced? "
"Not to mention the extremely high requirements of craftsmanship, the rifling is not something that can be done by ordinary craftsmen. It requires an experienced craftsman to spend a lot of time to do it. Marquis Xiao has only obtained 500 to 600 such muskets in the past three years. The cost of a rifled musket is about six taels of silver."
"Six taels of silver? So expensive? "
Xu Guangqi estimated the price and swallowed his saliva.
"Yes, so even if the production can keep up and be mass-produced, the cost is too high. Therefore, only Marquis Xiao's guards can be equipped with this kind of firearm. Most of the Ming Dynasty Army in Myanmar still use muskets. On this point, the Francesco people are the same as us, so there is no need to worry for the time being."
Xu Guangqi nodded and said, "Oh."
"Sir, there is also this. Look."
The young man took out another object and handed it to Xu Guangqi. Xu Guangqi took a look and was very surprised.
"This is … a knife? A dagger? Or a dagger? "
Xu Guangqi had never seen such a knife. It was quite sharp and had two edges, but it was a little short. It was definitely shorter than the sword used by the average person, but it did not look that short. Therefore, it was very strange. It did not look like a weapon used by one person. It was not long enough, but it was not short enough either.
Xu Guangqi looked at the young man with a puzzled expression.
"This is not a dagger, nor is it a dagger. This thing is called a bayonet. It is used together with the flintlock. Look here, there is a device to load and unload the bayonet."
The young man pointed out a few small devices under the barrel of the flintlock for Xu Guangqi to see. Xu Guangqi was quite surprised. He did not think that there were so many details on the flintlock. The young man put the snow-white bayonet on the flintlock. Xu Guangqi immediately found that the gun was a lot longer. It looked like a handgun!
The kind that can assassinate the enemy!
The young man held the flintlock gun with a bayonet. He stood up and raised the flintlock gun for Xu Guangqi to see.
"The function of this bayonet is to protect the soldiers when the enemy has rushed to the front or when the flintlock gun is unable to fire. With a bayonet, even if the flintlock gun cannot be used, it is not just a stick. It can be used to kill and defend. Marquis Xiao has personally taught the guards a set of bayonet skills to use."
Xu Guangqi stood up excitedly and took the flintlock gun in his hand. He could not help but look at it from top to bottom.
"Today I have learned something new. In the past, I thought that the flintlock gun was really a useless thing. But today, seeing this flintlock gun, I am really a frog at the bottom of the well. I did not know that the world is so big and there are so many strange things. I did not know that firearms have reached such a level! It seems that in another few decades, we will have to abandon the sword, spear, spear, and halberd. "
"Mister's words are too much. The things that our ancestors have been using for thousands of years cannot be abandoned just because we say so. The weakness of these firearms is also very big. First of all, it cannot be used when it rains. Once it rains, nothing can be used. Therefore, even if our soldiers have flintlock guns, Marquis Xiao has given each of them a machete. Once the flintlock gun cannot be used, they can pull out the machete and fight with it."
Xu Guangqi nodded and praised: "Marquis Xiao's thinking is really far-reaching. He can actually think of this. If the imperial court can popularize this thing, I, the Daming, will not have to worry about the injustice of the Northern Barbarians. If Great Ancestor Cheng Zu had such a sharp weapon during the northern expedition, there would be no Mongolian Jurchen now! Ai! "
As he said this, Xu Guangqi revealed a worried expression.
"The current situation is like this. It is not something that can be changed by Mister alone. No matter how many flintlock guns there are, no matter how sharp the weapon is, if people become dull, tired, lazy, or greedy, the weapon will still be useless. In the end, the weapon still needs to be used by people. Everything still depends on the people."
The young man memorized the words that Xiao Ruxun taught him and repeated them to Xu Guangqi.
When Xu Guangqi heard this, his face revealed a worried expression. After a while, it turned into a dejected expression.
"Even if Xu Guangqi has the heart to save the country, it is only a matter of one stroke. Even if he becomes a Jinshi, if he does not pass the Three Cauldrons Jia, does not become a Shu Jishi, does not become a Hanlin, and does not work hard for twenty or thirty years, he will not be able to realize his ambition. Even if he has a body of knowledge, he will not be able to use it. What you have said is true. Guangqi is ashamed!"
Then, Xu Guangqi looked at the young man.
"Did Marquis Xiao say those words just now?"
The young man nodded his head and smiled bitterly.
"It is exactly what Marquis Xiao said. I do not know more than three to five hundred words. Marquis Xiao forced us martial artists to learn. In Myanmar, Marquis Xiao forced every military officer to know at least three hundred words, and the soldiers to know at least one hundred words. Otherwise, they will be beaten. Everyone was forced to learn. The more words they know, the more rewards they will receive.
Marquis Xiao also recruited some old scholars and scholars from all over to Myanmar to teach us martial artists and teach the children how to read. It is not too important to us whether we read or not, but at least we must be able to read and write, and understand the imperial edicts. Then, we will not be easily deceived by people with ulterior motives. "
Xu Guangqi was stunned. After a while, he smiled bitterly again and again.
"Since ancient times, rebellions have mostly bewitched the people. There are three hundred thousand scholars in the world, and they eat the imperial rations for free. But they are not even as good as a martial artist. A martial artist can help the people eliminate illiteracy and open their minds, so that the people will not be easily deceived. But we scholars are still fighting for power in the imperial court! This causes rumors to spread everywhere, and the people are in a panic! "
Xu Guangqi held the gun in his hand and stood up.
"If reading is not to educate the people, then what kind of books are they reading? If an official does not make decisions for the people, then what kind of official is he? What Duke Ye said is not false, what Duke Ye said is not false! "
The young man saw that the time was right, so he took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Xu Guangqi.
"Mister Xu, Marquis Xiao said that if I said those things just now, Mister Xu can think of Franco Jiyi's threat to the Daming, can think of the help of sharp weapons to the Daming, and can think of the drawbacks of the court officials' power struggle, then it proves that Mister Xu has the heart to care for the country and the people, as well as the talent to benefit the country and the people.
Marquis Xiao asked me to hand this letter personally written by Marquis Xiao to Mister Xu. Marquis Xiao said that he really admires Mister Xu, who can read but not read too much, can think of the interests of the people, and is willing to do things for the people.
He doesn't dare to delay Mister Xu's future, and he doesn't dare to delay Mister Xu's participation in the imperial examination. He only hopes that Mister Xu, if you have time in the future, come to Myanmar to take a look, and perhaps Mister Xu will learn something. "
The young man handed the letter with both hands. Xu Guangqi's lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn't say anything.
After a moment of silence, Xu Guangqi put down the gun and took the letter with both hands.
"Guangqi understands, please thank Marquis Xiao on my behalf."
"I will definitely bring it! Mister Xu, Marquis Xiao will give this flintlock gun to you. Marquis Xiao said that, with the current financial situation of the court and the thoughts of the officials, it will be impossible for this gun to be used in the Ming Dynasty Army within ten years. Taking it out too early will not only be of no benefit, but it will also bring trouble to yourself.
Xu Guangqi silently looked at the letter and the gun, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Marquis Xiao's kindness, Guangqi is unable to repay it, and I am deeply ashamed."
"Mister Xu does not need to be ashamed. As long as Mister Xu still has the world and the people in his heart, that is enough, and Marquis Xiao will be very happy."
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