Chapter 87

Chapter 88: No Delay

They say that sharpening the axe doesn't delay the chopping of wood. Since Zhao Cheng had made up his mind to establish a new type of army equipped with firearms, the small revolver he had, which could only fire twenty or so bullets with a range of about thirty meters, was no longer sufficient. He needed to produce long-range, durable muskets and cannons, all of which were based on the quality of iron. Therefore, he often visited the foundry in the workshop.

"Each profession is like a mountain," Zhao Cheng had never dealt with iron and steel smelting before. In school, the textbooks only had a couple of chapters on the subject, and his practical knowledge was probably less than that of the apprentices in the workshop. However, he couldn't just remain ignorant. He had to "cook according to the rice available." Since they didn't produce iron ore locally, the foundry used processed pig iron, which was then refined into wrought iron suitable for forging, and finally made into various components.

After a few days, Zhao Cheng finally understood the "steel casting method" mentioned in Shen Kuo's "Dream Pool Essays." This method involved bundling sponge iron and soft iron sheets together, sealing them with mud, and then smelting them in a furnace. Once they were fused, they were taken out, cooled, and hammered, then put back into the furnace for further smelting. After several rounds, the result was homogeneous wrought iron. Zhao Cheng had no objections to this method. Better quality meant more effort and more money, but since he couldn't produce smokeless powder, he had to use black powder, which had a low muzzle velocity. Wrought iron barrels were sufficient. Steel barrels were better, but not necessary, as they would be wasteful. Besides, he wasn't sure if he could find tools to process steel.

The barrel is the core of a gun, and Zhao Cheng decided to use a good piece of iron to make a few barrels. When the workshop manager, Zheng Fu, heard that the prince wanted to create something new, he immediately assembled the best craftsmen to form a dedicated team. Now, he was a hotshot in the mansion, not inferior to the former chief steward, managing six or seven hundred people and generating a profit of two to three hundred thousand strings of cash annually, making him the main source of income for the prince's household.

When Zhao Cheng saw the craftsmen making barrels according to his requirements, he not only felt a headache but also aches all over his body. The process was too complex. First, they prepared a steel core about thirty centimeters long and seven millimeters in diameter. Then, they heated the wrought iron to a red-hot state, and the craftsmen hammered it around the steel core to form a barrel. During this process, they continuously withdrew the steel core to cool it with water to prevent it from welding to the outer layer of wrought iron. Finally, they removed the steel core, resulting in a cylindrical barrel. However, a thirty-centimeter barrel was too short. According to Zhao Cheng's minimum requirements, two such barrels needed to be welded together to form a complete barrel. Since the barrels were not seamless and were welded in sections, they were prone to bursting, but there was no other choice. They had to make do with the best ones.

After hammering out over ten barrels, Zhao Cheng inspected them. Apart from the bent and flattened ones, only eight were usable. However, these barrels were still rough and needed further refinement. The barrels were not straight, and the inner surfaces were rough. They needed to be smoothed with drills and files. The tool used was the most advanced "rotary lathe" of the Song Dynasty, which was entirely manual and could only process a small amount each day. The stability was poor, and the products were often off-center, with the muzzle resembling an egg. Zhao Cheng endured it, as he had no choice. Who would have thought he would end up in a time without a mechanical workshop?

The craftsmen noticed the prince's urgency and immediately split into two shifts, working day and night. After about twenty days, they finally produced five barrels. Zhao Cheng rewarded the craftsmen and, on his way back, discarded two of the barrels, as they were unacceptable even without a ruler. At home, he loaded the remaining three barrels with gunpowder and conducted a destructive test. After several explosions, fortunately, only one barrel was completely destroyed, and the other could still be used. Zhao Cheng was extremely disheartened. His journey to build an army had just begun, and he had already faced such a significant setback. He was so angry that he skipped lunch, though he ate more for dinner!

As a former special forces soldier who had undergone brutal training and survived countless life-and-death situations, Zhao Cheng would not give up. The next day, he instructed the foundry to produce better wrought iron. He spent three days in his study, leveraging his mechanical knowledge to propose a set of equipment improvements. After about ten days, they built a new rotary lathe, and the forging and polishing processes were changed from manual to water-powered, improving stability, saving labor, and increasing efficiency.

The next experiment was less disappointing. In five days, they produced five barrels, but the destructive test still resulted in two barrels cracking at the welds, with a defect rate of forty percent. Including the previous process, the defect rate was over fifty percent, but at least they had produced something.

In the following days, it seemed that the prince had had enough of the workshop and stopped visiting. However, the craftsmen in the mansion's workshop were kept busy. They would occasionally receive tasks to process small items according to drawings, supervised by two eunuchs from the inner court. Once completed, the items and drawings were immediately taken away, and the craftsmen were not allowed to leave, with meals delivered to them. The craftsmen understood that the prince needed these items urgently.

Of course, these items were what Zhao Cheng had them make. As a穿越者 who had studied mechanics, he knew that making a gun was not an easy task, especially for standardized production. Jigs and gauges were specially made, and the preparation work was tedious and meticulous. He had already completed the design work, drawing on his experience in designing agricultural machinery. After visualizing the gun in his mind, he drew each part, performed multiple calculations, and completed the preliminary design. He then had the craftsmen make each part, assemble a prototype, and conduct tests, making repeated modifications until the design was finalized. When the first qualified prototype fired a bullet, Zhao Cheng felt that these days were more difficult than the days he spent setting up a mourning hall in front of the palace.

"Prince, Prince, good news!" Time seemed to fly by, and it was now April. This day, after Zhao Cheng had just finished his morning exercise, Huang Jingchen rushed into his courtyard, shouting.

"Uncle Huang, did a gold ingot fall from the sky? Why are you running so fast? Don't you fear hurting your back?" Zhao Cheng quickly helped him sit down.

"Almost!" Huang Jingchen laughed, still excited. "This morning, I received news from the capital. Cai Jing is finally returning as chancellor. The emperor held a Lu Ming Feast for him yesterday!" He handed a note to Zhao Cheng.

"Cai Jing is back?" Zhao Cheng asked, though he knew Cai Jing would return as chancellor this year, he didn't know the exact time.

"He's back. In February, the emperor issued an edict, stating that Cai Jing, as chancellor twice, had served for a total of eight years, proposed the continuation of the Xining Reforms, worked diligently, and achieved remarkable success. He was allowed to return to his residence in Bianjing and continue to enjoy the title of Grand Tutor and Duke of Chu. In early March, the emperor sent Tong Shimin, the governor of Rongzhou, to Hangzhou to summon Cai Jing back to the capital. He arrived at the beginning of this month," Huang Jingchen replied.

"On the eighth of April, the emperor held a Lu Ming Feast at the Taiqing Pavilion to welcome Cai Jing, playing 'The Deer Cry' from the 'Book of Songs.' What does this mean? The note doesn't mention Cai Jing's return as chancellor. Why are you so excited?" Zhao Cheng looked at the note, puzzled, as Cai Jing had returned to the capital a month ago.

"Prince, you don't understand!" Huang Jingchen smiled. "The 'Deer Cry' from the 'Book of Songs' describes the early Zhou kings' respect for scholars and officials, hosting banquets and playing music to welcome them. The emperor has held two Lu Ming Feasts since his ascension. The last one was in the first year of Daguan when Cai Jing returned as left chancellor. This time, it coincides with his return."

"Oh, so that means Cai Jing will soon be back as chancellor!" Zhao Cheng nodded. His father's actions were indeed elegant. Appointing a chancellor with such subtlety, perhaps he felt embarrassed about changing his mind and used a song to prepare public opinion.

"Exactly! After Cai Jing returned to the capital, people in the court started saying he would definitely return as chancellor and resume his position. Some have already predicted that he will reform the salt voucher system and are buying up old vouchers. Should we also buy more?" Huang Jingchen asked, now regretting not buying more earlier.

"Absolutely not. You should go to the capital immediately. As soon as Cai Jing takes office and reforms the salt voucher system, exchange all the old vouchers for new ones. If you can get a higher price, that's great, but even at face value, it's fine. Don't be greedy, act quickly, and don't sell the exchanged items. Bring them back and wait," Zhao Cheng thought for a moment and gave two instructions.

"Alright, I'll follow the prince's orders immediately!" Huang Jingchen didn't ask further, now fully trusting the prince's judgment. He had proposed the idea, and he was just the messenger.

As Zhao Cheng predicted, as soon as Cai Jing took office, he began to reform the salt voucher system, restoring the old system. To attract salt merchants to the capital to buy vouchers, he not only reaffirmed the various preferential policies for salt merchants but also introduced new measures. The most significant was that the ability to attract salt merchants would be the primary criterion for evaluating local officials, with quarterly and annual assessments. Officials who did not comply with the new salt laws would not be promoted and would be strictly punished. This was similar to how many places today use investment attraction as a performance metric.

The government's good policies attracted many wealthy salt merchants, all hoping to profit. However, they found that most of the quotas had already been taken by those with connections. Just as they were feeling disheartened, they discovered that someone was selling new salt vouchers, albeit at a slightly higher price, but still acceptable and profitable. They immediately rushed to buy them.