The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 207 Caspar Korner
The ancients actually had the concept of keeping technology confidential.

And there are quite a lot!

Good skills are passed down to sons, not daughters.

The family secret recipe is protected more closely than keeping a few mistresses.

Madam Gong Er and Wu Jialiang nodded almost simultaneously and said, "Don't worry! We have kept the gunpowder workshop and the blacksmith workshop well-kept secret."

Yue Wenxuan grinned: "It's not enough to just keep these two places secret. Important formulas often leak out from seemingly unimportant places."

Madam Gong Er: “?”

Yue Wenxuan said, "You guys are trying your best to protect the gunpowder workshop, but there's no one outside to watch over it. It won't be difficult for the enemy to find out what materials we've transported into the gunpowder workshop."

Wu Jialiang cried out "Ouch!" and instantly understood: "Yes, the transport vehicles carrying saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal to the gunpowder workshop were not kept secret. If the enemy could find out how many pounds of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal were used to make the gunpowder, they could calculate their ratio."

Yue Wenxuan gave him a thumbs up and said, "Mr. Jialiang's brain really works quickly."

Wu Jialiang: "I'm ashamed! If it weren't for Master Yue's reminder, I wouldn't have thought of it at all. I can't say that my brain is quick. It's far behind Master Yue's."

He chuckled, "Tomorrow I'll have the transport team haul all sorts of random stuff to the gunpowder workshop. Coal, lime, cotton wool, all sorts of random stuff. I'll also deliberately mix up the quantities of the main ingredients. If the Jin thieves' spies come to investigate, I guarantee they'll be completely confused."

Yue Wenxuan gave him a thumbs-up before concluding, "The soul of a firearm is gunpowder. As long as we control the formula of gunpowder, the Jin thieves will only be able to produce gunpowder that burns out with a 'sizzle' sound in a short period of time. If they can't produce gunpowder that explodes with a 'boom', there's no need to worry about them learning how to make firearms."

"Of course, technology can't be blocked forever. Human technological development is a natural process. At a certain point, the corresponding technology will surely burst forth. The talented individuals in the Jin Kingdom will soon crack the method of producing gunpowder. By then, they will be able to produce the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Bird Gun."

Yue Wenxuan is not just worrying about nothing.

At this point, both the Song and Jin dynasties were close to achieving a qualitative change in their gunpowder technology. With just a small leap in their thinking, they could transform "gunpowder that only burns" into "gunpowder that explodes."

The Jin army suffered a defeat in Jiaoshui County and saw with their own eyes that gunpowder could not only burn but also explode. They would definitely report this when they returned. After hearing this, the craftsmen of the Jin Dynasty would inevitably begin to study ways to make gunpowder explode.

They will definitely continue to adjust the ratio of gunpowder, and success is only a matter of moments.

Human technology often progresses in this way...

Many technologies are not beyond the reach of humans, but beyond their imagination. Once someone first thinks that "technology can develop in this direction," research success will occur in the blink of an eye.

When Yue Wenxuan took out firearms and beat the Jin people, it was equivalent to "helping the Jin people think of something." Then the Jin people followed this line of thought to conduct research, which was equivalent to standing on the shoulders of giants. We cannot take it for granted that the Jin people's technology will develop as slowly as in the original history.

Yue Wenxuan's thoughts drifted off, but he pulled himself back and concluded, "We need to come up with more powerful firearms before the Jin thieves figure out the gunpowder ratio and imitate the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Bird Gun."

Wu Jialiang: "Always one step ahead of them!"

"Correct!"

Yue Wenxuan smiled: "As long as we are always one step ahead of them, no matter how much progress they make, we will still beat them."

The Jin army did not return for a period of time, and the rebel army had a precious period of time for development. They had to use this time to do something.

He turned to Madam Gong Er and asked, "Madam, the first batch of blacksmith apprentices from Dongmiaozi Village were the ones who spent the longest time learning from the Immortal Craftsmen. How good are their skills now?"

Madam Gong Er quickly reported, "Several of the blacksmith apprentices have already completed their apprenticeship. They can now forge bird guns and crouching tiger cannons independently without the guidance of a master craftsman."

"Oh, that's great!" Yue Wenxuan smiled and asked, "Have they come to Jiaoshui County?"

Madam Gong Er nodded. "Yes, they are here. They also came to Jiaoshui County with the army and are making muskets for us nearby. They also brought in a group of new apprentices here in Jiaoshui County."

Yue Wenxuan nodded and said, "Tell them that I will go and talk to them in five days.
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After returning to the box, Yue Wenxuan began to prepare what he would bring to the craftsmen in five days.

The first thing to guard against is the Jin army's large-scale imitation of the counterweight catapult. This has low technical content and is much faster than researching gunpowder. The next time they attack, the Jin army will definitely have the counterweight catapult.

So the question is, what weapon in history brought the catapult down to its knees?

炮！
The Ming Dynasty craftsmen that Yue Wenxuan placed in the sand table could make smoothbore cannons, but the rebel army had always been short of iron and gunpowder. The limited mineral output was only used to build four 36-jin small tiger squat cannons, and the rest were all used to make bird guns. They were not willing to invest a large amount of minerals to make smoothbore cannons.

But it is different now.

The rebel mines have begun to widely use the "blasting method", which has greatly increased mineral production, updated the furnace's blasting technology, and improved the quality of iron. There should be enough resources to build smoothbore cannons.

As soon as this thing came out, even if the Jin Kingdom imitated the counterweight catapult, it would be useless.

Yue Wenxuan immediately gave an order to the plastic blacksmiths, asking them to start building smoothbore cannons.

In addition...

Some more upgrades to the bird guns are also needed.

To upgrade current technology, of course the smoothbore gun would be upgraded to a rifled gun, that is, a rifle.

His first consideration was to compile a set of "rifling" information to teach these craftsmen.

But if you think about it carefully, what you learn from books is always superficial. If you only give them information, it will be difficult for them to understand and integrate it, and they may not be able to make a breakthrough for a long time.

It’s safest to just invest in a scientist!
However, scientists cannot invest too modern resources. They must be in line with the productivity and technological level of the time. Otherwise, if you invest in a scientist who can make an AK-47 but there is no corresponding industrial capacity, it will be useless.

Yue Wenxuan opened Baidu and checked.

I immediately found the inventor of the rifle, Caspar Korner.

He picked up his phone and called Cai Xinzi: "Hello, is this Lao Cai? I want to customize a figurine."

"Okay, who should we be? Nezuko? Fulilian? Kano Chinatsu?"

Yue Wenxuan: "I don't want these. I want to be a Caspar Körner."

There was silence on the phone for a full five seconds. Cai Xinzi asked, "Who? Who are you talking about?"

Yue Wenxuan: "Caspar Korner!"

Cai Xinzi: "Why haven't I heard of this? Which anime heroine is this?"

Yue Wenxuan: "You only know women. This is a scientist, an Austrian, the inventor of the rifle."

(End of this chapter)