Yan County, Wang Ying’s house.

The rooster crowed three times.

It was still dawn, so Wang Ying sat up from the bed.

His wife, Wang, was awakened and looked at him, "Why is it so early today?"

"Your Highness has returned from Shanggu County. Yesterday someone handed me a message asking me to go to the Military Affairs Office early, saying that there is something new to be developed." Wang Ying rubbed his eyes and yawned, but his voice was full of excitement.

"Then I will warm you up some porridge, and you can go after eating it. Your Highness's affairs cannot be delayed. Our family can afford a yard in Yancheng now, and it depends on your highness's appreciation for you." Wang stood up in dress.

When Wang Ying was in a downturn, he had not changed his clothes for five years, and he always repaired them again and again.

She thought she would be so poor all her life, but she didn't expect that his husband, a fool, would be appreciated by His Highness the King of Yan and became an official in a blink of an eye.

After eating the porridge, Wang Ying sorted out his official uniform and was about to go out. At this time, a black shadow blocked the door.

"Dad, you can also take me to see Your Highness. You can serve your highness tea and water." said the black shadow.

"While staying there, your highness is short of what you can bring tea and water like this?" Wang Ying scolded angrily.

The black shadow is not someone else, but his son Wang Chong.

"Husband, just take him there. Chong'er is not young anymore, so he should let him go out to do something." Wang begged.

Wang Ying frowned. His son Wang Chong traveled with him since childhood. He was influenced by his eyes and did not like classics, history, and literature, but also preferred various skills.

Since the King of Yan took over Yan County, poor families also had the possibility of studying and becoming an official, so he asked his son to study and become an official in the future.

But Wang Chong still had difficulty changing his nature, and even asked to go to the Military Affairs Office.

He was already desperate about Wang Chong's journey to study and become an official. He sighed and said, "Let's go, I'll ask Your Highness for my father to see if I can make a mess for you in the Military Affairs Office, otherwise it will be difficult for you to get married."

The father and son arrived at the Military Affairs Office.

At the entrance of the office, he saw a guard of the royal palace standing.

He hurriedly took Wang Chong in.

"Your Highness, the emperor is guilty and he is late." Wang Ying looked ashamed.

Zhao Xu sat in the position where Wang Ying usually sat.

He raised his head and smiled and said, "It's not that you are too late, but that I'm here too early. It's okay. I'm going to inspect the Military Affairs Office."

Then he glanced at the boy beside Wang Ying.

Seeing that he had a little similarity to Wang Ying's eyes, he knew that Wang Ying had a son, who was seventeen years old and had not yet married.

"Wang Chong, a grass-roots king, has seen Your Highness." Seeing Zhao Xu staring at him, Wang Chong immediately saluted.

"No gift." Zhao Xu looked up and down at Wang Chong.

Wang Ying hurriedly said: "Today, the military officer came to the Military Affairs Office, and the dog son insisted on coming over. Because he kept shouting to serve His Highness, the military officer agreed. It would be good to leave him in the Military Affairs Office to do odd jobs."

"Your Highness, who is young and strong in Yan County now wants to serve Your Highness? Caomin has been experiencing with his father since childhood and has also seen various skills. If Your Highness dislikes him, Caomin is willing to do his part for Your Highness."

"Oh, is that?" Zhao Xu smiled.

In ancient times, it was very common for a son to inherit his father's business.

Wang Chong's words are not self-proclaimed.

Nodding, he said, "Since that's the case, you can stay by your father's side to assist him."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Wang Chong was happy, and Wang Ying also smiled.

"Your Highness said that there is something new to be developed today, but I don't know what it is?" Wang Ying remembered the important matter.

Zhao Xu pointed to the drawing on the table and said, "It's this, artillery!"

"Arson!" Wang Ying and Wang Chongwang looked on the drawings.

Wang Chong said: "Why is this a bit like a musket?"

"The principles are similar, but the power is very different." Zhao Xu said, "The musket can only drive stone bullets a hundred meters, while the cannon can drive iron bullets three or four miles, or even further."

Wang Ying and Wang Chong were stunned when they heard this, which was beyond their imagination.

"If Your Highness Zhenru said, if this gun is out, wouldn't it be a corruption of the enemy?" Wang Ying said.

Zhao Xu nodded without comment, "Today, the King of Japan is here to teach you the skills of making artillery, and you can focus on it and create it."

After saying that, he turned on the page below and drew a craftsmanship picture on it.

The craft drawings are also marked with text, which Zhao Xu wrote in his own language in order to make Wang Ying understand as much as possible.

"Iron mold casting cannon method!" Wang Ying said.

Then he looked down, "The method of casting cannons in iron mold is divided into four to seven sections according to the size of the cannon. First, the mud cannon is produced, and the iron mold is made according to the number of mud cannons. Each section of mud shape is divided into two petals. The wooden board rotates the inner surface to make the surface smooth and the shape is regular, and then dry and set aside.

Place prefabricated handles into the mud shape, and cast them together with the iron mold when pouring.

When turning cast iron molds with mud, put one section of the mud onto a mud plate, fill one of the petals, dry it, cover the mud plate, tighten the mold, and get the first iron mold after pouring."

While reading, Wang Ying nodded.

He gradually understood the key points of these words with the drawings.

Wang Chong said: "Your Highness, isn't this just using mud to make a cannon first, and then using mud cannon to pour out an iron mold? That's how you do it if you have agricultural tools."

Zhao Xu nodded when he heard this. The iron model is not a new thing, and the ancients had already mastered it.

The iron mold casting method is just to borrow this mold to enable the artillery to achieve low cost and mass manufacturing.

This method was invented by an official named Gong Zhenlin in the late Qing Dynasty.

He participated in the Opium War and felt that the powerful ships and cannons of the great powers in the Opium War, he worked hard to develop this method of making cannons.

However, the Qing court at that time was not only corrupt, but also had very limited technology.

Pig iron is used to build cannons. Although the output of cannons has increased, the quality has not improved and they often explode.

This also led to the fact that this art of making cannons was not valued.

Now, he took out this method.

In this way, he can build artillery in large quantities at low cost.

Moreover, due to the skill of refining liquid steel that the Military Affairs Office has conquered, steel cannons can be made of.

After all, liquid steel technology only appeared in the 18th century and matured in the mid-to-late 19th century. After that, it was used to build guns and cannons on a large scale.

Although his crucible steelmaking method can only be said to be primary and has low yields, it is enough for him.

In the 16th to 19th centuries, the main material of artillery was iron, which was not hard enough, and its disadvantage was that it was easy to explode.

So many countries chose to use bronze at that time.

The bronze is tough and the cannons are very reliable.

But the disadvantage is that it is expensive.

Steel avoids these two disadvantages, which are cheap and tough.

"Since that's the case, I will wait for your iron model." Zhao Xu said to Wang Chong.

Wang Ying's personality is a bit restrained and dull, but Wang Chong seems to be the opposite of his father's personality.

For him, it would be better for the Military Affairs Office to have a young man.

It can liven up the atmosphere and serve as a talent reserve.

"Yes, Your Highness." Wang Ying said.

The father and son had made clay molds and other objects by themselves before.

This thing is no stranger to them.

Zhao Xu nodded and remembered another thing.

He called Wang Chong over again and said a few words in his ear.

"Can this be like this?" Wang Chong was happy.

"Dare you dare? This is very dangerous." Zhao Xu smiled.
Chapter completed!