Chapter 91

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Liu Jun asked Zhao Shun, "What materials are still lacking for the workshop now?"

"The most lacking are still the craftsmen," Zhao Shun replied gratefully, as Liu Jun had given him a new life, so he did not intend to deceive him. "To make a matchlock gun, we need skilled blacksmiths, coppersmiths, and carpenters. And they are not just ordinary craftsmen; they must be skilled matchlock gun makers."

Liu Jun glanced at the group of people in the workshop. These were all craftsmen with some skills, selected by him to establish the workshop with Zhao Shun. "If it's just these people, how many matchlock guns can be manufactured in a month?"

Zhao Shun looked around at the group with some difficulty and said with a bitter smile, "If it's just us, it will take two months to forge a good matchlock gun."

"What?" Liu Jun was quite shocked. With over a dozen craftsmen, it would take two months to make one matchlock gun? Then his hope of the workshop producing enough to make the Nine-Headed Bird self-sufficient would just be a dream.

"The manufacturing of matchlock guns is quite complex and very troublesome," Zhao Shun explained.

"Tell me in detail what exactly is affecting the production speed," Liu Jun really hoped he could establish a workshop that could supply the Nine-Headed Bird with surplus firearms. But if a dozen people could only make one gun in two months, that would be ridiculous. Although he did not understand the manufacturing process of matchlock guns, perhaps he could offer some suggestions. At the very least, he could help solve some of the needs.

Zhao Shun, the big man from Shandong, immediately became enthusiastic when he started talking about the manufacturing of matchlock guns.

"To make a matchlock gun, we first need raw iron from Fujian, which is the most suitable for making firearms. From ten pounds of raw iron from Fujian, we can refine one pound of high-quality iron, which can then be used to make matchlock guns."

Of course, refining the high-quality iron suitable for making gun barrels was just the simplest step.

Liu Jun directly said, "Since we have few people, we should directly purchase high-quality iron, which should save some time."

Zhao Shun nodded, but this would only save a little time.

For example, to forge the most commonly equipped matchlock guns, after preparing the high-quality iron, there are four major processes. The first major process is making the barrel.

"Sir, in the book 'Tiangong Kaiwu' published by Song Yingxing in the tenth year of the Chongzhen era, there is a specific section on how to make matchlock gun barrels. It says, 'To forge a matchlock gun, first use a piece of iron as thick as a chopstick as the cold core, wrap red-hot iron around it, and hammer it into shape. First, make three sections, heat the joints to red-hot, and then forcefully join them together. After joining, use a four-sided steel cone as thick as a chopstick to turn inside, making it extremely smooth so that the gunpowder does not get stuck.' This is a manufacturing process that has been used for many years."

"In summary, the manufacturing process of matchlock guns is very complex and requires highly skilled and experienced craftsmen."

"The traditional manufacturing process uses a three-section joint method, as described in Song Yingxing's 'Tiangong Kaiwu.' The method is to first make the gun barrel, which is made by hammering refined wrought iron into sections, usually two or three sections, and then welding them into one piece."

"This process first requires preparing a round steel core about a foot long as the cold core. First, heat the wrought iron for the gun barrel to a red-hot state, then take out the heated blank and hammer the red-hot wrought iron around the steel core to form an iron tube. During the process of wrapping the iron, the steel core must be continuously pulled out and cooled in water to prevent it from welding to the wrought iron. The thickness of the iron tube should be at least three-tenths of an inch, so that the gun barrel is sturdy and can withstand continuous firing dozens of times."

Liu Jun nodded, as Zhao Shun explained very clearly and simply, and he understood it clearly.

"The second step is welding. Since long guns over three feet are made by welding sections together, this step is very important. Poor welding can easily cause the gun to explode. Whether the gun barrel can be welded seamlessly is the most critical part of making a gun. In the past, government craftsmen often cut corners and used inferior materials, leading to many accidents. The iron and copper were uneven in thickness and often exploded upon use. Therefore, a good matchlock gun requires the most experienced craftsmen for this step."

Liu Jun quickly picked up a pen to take notes.

"Welding is very important. Skilled craftsmen must heat the previously made iron tube in the furnace until it is white-hot. They also need to prepare a steel core of the same thickness as before, but longer than the length of the gun. Then, the red-hot iron tube is placed over the steel core, and the master craftsman hammers the joints of the iron tube to weld them together. While welding the iron tube, it is especially important to sprinkle white copper powder at the welding joints, as white copper powder makes the joints stronger and prevents any gaps or weak welds. The steel core must also be pulled out and cooled frequently, and then reheated with the iron tube. The final iron tube is the initial shape of the gun barrel."

Liu Jun looked at the process steps he had written down and nodded, "It is indeed very complex. Is there a simpler process?"

"There is," Zhao Shun's answer surprised Liu Jun.

Zhao Shun proudly said, "My father once passed on to me a new gun-making process from Mr. Zhao. The method I just described is the traditional process, also known as the three-section joint method. However, my father passed on to me the double-layer composite method."

"Double-layer composite method?"

"Yes, the double-layer composite method is actually recorded in Qi Jiguang's 'Jixiao Xinshu' in the section on firearms. It states that the value of a matchlock gun lies in the constant refining of iron, with two layers wrapped together. This 'two layers wrapped together' is actually the double-layer composite method."

"Is the double-layer composite method more advanced and convenient?" Liu Jun felt the three-section joint method was too complex.

"Yes, the double-layer composite method is completely different from the three-section joint method. The double-layer composite method involves wrapping red-hot iron around a steel core about three feet long. After the first layer of iron is wrapped, a second layer is added, making the inner joints of the gun barrel firmly enclosed by the outer layer, forming a composite structure."

"This method makes the gun barrel joints more solid, but it cannot produce very long gun barrels. However, the gun muzzle can be made larger, thus increasing the effective range and power. The Japanese call this type of large-caliber short gun a 'teppo,' but many craftsmen in our dynasty still believe that the longer the gun, the greater its power, such as the 'taiqiang' in your unit, which was developed under this belief."

"Has this been verified?" Liu Jun did not care about the debates among the craftsmen; he needed results.

"Of course, Mr. Zhao personally verified this. The Lu Mi gun and the Chedian gun were both made using the double-layer composite method."

"Then we will use the double-layer composite method," Liu Jun decided.

However, Liu Jun was too optimistic. Although the processes of making the barrel and welding were extremely complex, they were not the most time-consuming.

The most time-consuming part of making a matchlock gun was actually the finishing.

Initially, the matchlock guns were made in an octagonal shape, with one end thicker and the other end thinner. The thicker end was the gun body, and the thinner end was the muzzle. The sights, rear sight, and firing platform were all welded onto the gun body after it was welded. The sights and rear sight were just protrusions before processing and had no function.

The firing platform was pre-drilled with a hole for the ignition, which had to be aligned with the hole in the gun body and welded without blocking it.

At this point, the matchlock gun was still a rough prototype and needed to be re-drilled and the sights filed.

However, the technology at the time was limited. The cross-section of the steel core was not perfectly round, and the core itself was not straight, making the inside of the barrel rough and uneven. A drill bit was needed to enlarge and smooth the barrel.

Initially, the drilling was done by hand, but later, drilling machines were used.

According to Zhao Shun's introduction, these drilling machines were made of wood with a round stone wheel as the flywheel. A leather belt was attached, and human power was used to rotate the stone wheel, which in turn rotated the drill bit. The drill bit and file were made of hard steel, but after drilling the barrel, the barrel still needed to be scraped. The 'Jixiao Xinshu' records that the original hole of the matchlock gun was very small, and it took a day to scrape about an inch, continuing until the bottom, with the best result being a fully drilled barrel in a month.

A month to drill one barrel was considered fast, showing how time-consuming this process was.

The most time-consuming part of matchlock gun production was the drilling and scraping of the barrel. One drilling machine could only drill one barrel in a month.

Liu Jun thought for a moment, "What if we get more drilling machines? If one drilling machine can drill one barrel in a month, then if we get a hundred drilling machines, we can drill a hundred barrels in a month, right? If we get a thousand, we can drill a thousand barrels in a month."

Zhao Shun was stunned, not expecting Liu Jun to be so ambitious, with a hundred or a thousand drilling machines, the scene of so many machines drilling barrels was unimaginable.

"More drilling machines are not enough; we need more craftsmen."

"We can recruit more craftsmen and train them ourselves."

"That will cost a lot of money," Zhao Shun reminded him, wiping his sweat.

"Anything that can be solved with money is not a problem," Liu Jun waved his hand confidently. "What are the next steps?"

"After the barrel is drilled, a four-sided steel rod is used to scrape the inside of the barrel smooth, completing the barrel. The next step is to make the rear plug of the matchlock gun, also known as the screw, which is recorded in the 'Jixiao Xinshu': 'The screw, when turned left, goes in, and when turned right, comes out. If the gun body is long, and the lead ball is inside or the ignition hole is blocked, the rear plug can be opened to facilitate repairs.'"

This is one of the most intricate parts of the matchlock gun, second only to the sights and the firing mechanism.

At this point, the matchlock gun is roughly complete, and the final step is the assembly of the mechanism.

Under Zhao Shun's detailed introduction, Liu Jun learned that the trigger and the firing mechanism of the matchlock gun, as a whole, were made by coppersmiths. The trigger, firing mechanism, cover, and ignition cover were all made of copper, while the spring was made of steel.

After the barrel and mechanism were made, the final step was to connect the barrel to the stock. The stock was made by carpenters, using wood that was tough, absorbed little water, and did not deform or crack after drying. The connection was made using two copper bands, which, although less convenient for cleaning, could speed up production.

"The cost of a matchlock gun, including the price of iron, charcoal, copper, wood, and the craftsmen's wages, is between three to five taels of silver."

"The cost is not too high, but the time is too long," Liu Jun sighed.

After some thought, Liu Jun said to Zhao Shun, "If we divide the manufacturing process into different steps, with different craftsmen responsible for different steps, for example, the most important step of welding is done by the most experienced old craftsmen, and simpler steps like drilling, scraping, and hammering are done by less experienced craftsmen, do you think it's feasible?"

Liu Jun was suggesting a production line method, breaking down the entire manufacturing process of the matchlock gun, with skilled craftsmen focusing on the most important steps and less experienced craftsmen or even apprentices handling simpler tasks. This way, the demand for skilled craftsmen, especially the most experienced ones, would be reduced, and the quality of production would not decline.

Of course, the most important benefit would be an increase in production speed.

"This could work, but I'm afraid the quality might not be guaranteed," Zhao Shun was concerned. A matchlock gun passing through the hands of dozens of people would not be as good as one made by a single experienced craftsman.

Liu Jun smiled, "You don't need to worry about that. I have a method. Each part must be marked with the name of the maker, and a record must be kept. Each completed matchlock gun must be numbered and registered. If there are any problems during use, the responsible craftsman can be held accountable. Good quality will be rewarded, but poor quality will be punished. We will also set up quality control to inspect each step, and any parts that do not meet the standards will not be allowed to proceed to the next step. There will be both inspectors and a final inspection to ensure strict quality control."

Zhao Shun was amazed by Liu Jun's endless innovative ideas and felt that these methods were indeed effective.

"Let's immediately recruit craftsmen from various places, and send people to purchase the needed drilling machines, drill bits, and other tools. Start with a hundred machines, and purchase the copper and iron directly." Liu Jun was determined to manufacture firearms and was willing to invest heavily.

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