1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 87 A bolt from the blue
Compared to the two shortcomings mentioned above, Peng Gang was more concerned about the barrel life and production output.

The simplest and most effective way to test the lifespan of a musket barrel is to simply fire it until it is completely worn out.

Peng Gang hardened his heart, took out a homemade flintlock pistol and some inferior gunpowder he bought from the Green Standard Army, and made all the team members line up to fire the gun and practice.

After three days of firing, when the flintlock musket had fired 800 shots, the muzzle of the flintlock musket showed obvious deformation and enlargement.

Peng Gang carefully inspected the gun and felt that continuing to fire it was too dangerous, so he fixed the flintlock gun to the wooden frame and tested it by pulling the rope to fire it.

Hearing that Honglian Village was testing new guns, Zhou Songqing, who loved guns dearly, made a special trip from Shangdongtang to join in the fun.

After watching for a while, Zhou Songqing, who was already itching to fire, stepped forward to examine the muskets and laughed, "Mr. Peng, this is nothing! You could fire at least two or three hundred shots!"

After the New Year, Peng Gang's lectures were no longer limited to academic subjects; he often told historical stories to his students in class.

In their spare time, Zhou Songqing and some of the soldiers from Shangdongtang would occasionally come to Peng Gang's school to listen to Peng Gang tell stories.

When they heard about Wei Qing and Huo Qubing's great victories over the Xiongnu and their sealing of the Wolf Mountain, and Qi Jiguang's resistance against the Japanese pirates, they were filled with excitement and exclaimed that it was exhilarating. They believed that a true man should be like these generals, driving out barbarians and protecting his country.

Of course, the story that caused the greatest emotional turmoil and the most grievances for Zhou Songqing and the students in the classroom was the story of Yue Fei being recalled and ordered to commit suicide by Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou, with twelve gold tablets.

Every time they hear this story, they get so angry that they curse Zhao Gou as a foolish ruler and Qin Hui as a treacherous minister, wishing they could tear the emperor and his minister apart alive.

By now, Peng Gang has started telling them stories about Sun Chengzong, Li Dingguo, Yan Yingyuan, Zhang Huangyan, Xia Wanchun, and others.

It is no longer the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong era. The rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty has been weakened, and there are many people in Guangdong and Guangxi who have joined the Heaven and Earth Society to rebel.

The land of Guangxi is currently engulfed in war, and the people are struggling to survive. Their gratitude towards the Manchu emperors has long since faded, and the topic of anti-Qing sentiment is no longer a taboo subject for them.

Zhou Songqing had attended Peng Gang's classes, so he sometimes addressed Peng Gang as "Mr." instead of calling him "Director of the Group" less and less.

"You can fire another two or three hundred shots? Are you sure?" Peng Gang was surprised; this guy was willing to risk his life to fire a gun.

"I've been a musket shooter for over a decade and have fired countless muskets. If I didn't have this much skill, how would I have survived until now?" Zhou Songqing said confidently.

"Since we're going to fight anyway, can I have some fun fighting instead?"

Peng Gang thought about it again and realized that Zhou Songqing had been a Green Standard Army musket user for more than ten years, and he used crudely made muskets with a high risk of exploding.

Zhou Songqing's ability to live to this day, full of energy, must be due to his mastery of judging the condition and lifespan of gun barrels by examining them.

Otherwise, they would have been either dead or crippled long ago.

Leave professional matters to professionals.

"Take it and shoot if you want, but I'm warning you beforehand, don't blame me if it explodes." Peng Gang handed the flintlock musket to Zhou Songqing, asking him to test the barrel's lifespan limit.

"Life and death are predestined, I know that principle." With the musket in hand, Zhou Songqing seemed like a different person, appearing very confident and composed.

"Could you give me a tael or two of gunpowder to fire?"

Peng Gang knew that Zhou Songqing had a particular fondness for this and liked playing with firearms.

He brought three ounces of gunpowder for Zhou Songqing to fire, letting him have his fill of gunpowder.

Zhou Songqing calmly fired a full 220 shots, and only when the sun was about to set did he come to find Peng Gang with the flintlock musket whose barrel was already riddled with holes.

"What a fine gun! Our craftsmen are quite skilled! They can make such a good self-propelled musket! Who says only foreigners can make self-propelled muskets!" Zhou Songqing was very excited and thrilled, still feeling quite impressed.

"With Green Standard Army gunpowder, this gun could easily fire a thousand shots! With such good foreign gunpowder, it could definitely fire seven hundred shots! It will never explode!"

A barrel life of 700 rounds, while not comparable to the 2,000-3,000 round life of a genuine gun, is still sufficient.

Zhou Songqing was risking his life to test him, and to express his gratitude, Peng Gang gave Zhou Songqing five taels of silver.

Zhou Songqing took the silver, hesitated for a moment, and asked Peng Gang if he could have a self-propelled flintlock gun made in Honglian Village. He said he didn't need the silver.

From teaching the second group members how to use muskets, to assisting him in developing a musket operator's manual, and now helping him test the barrel life of flintlock muskets.

Zhou Songqing had helped him a lot, and Peng Gang readily agreed to Zhou Songqing's request, giving him a flintlock gun made in Honglian Village, without taking back the five taels of silver.

The flintlock musket, a replica of the Brownbes, finally passed the acceptance test.

Peng Gang was both excited and happy, and announced: "The flintlock guns manufactured by our Honglianping Arsenal have passed the test! From today onwards, the arsenal will go all out to produce flintlock guns, and for every flintlock gun produced, a bonus of three taels of silver will be awarded."

Tang Zheng and the group of craftsmen responsible for reverse engineering the Brown Bass were also overjoyed and felt a great sense of accomplishment. While the craftsmen were replicating the Brown Bass, Peng Gang would occasionally visit the arsenal to check on the progress and situation.

All the processes combined take an average of three hundred man-hours to produce a flintlock musket.

In other words, it would take a craftsman ten hours a day and a month to make one flintlock gun.

Given that the yield rate will certainly not reach 100%, production will be further reduced.

God provided him with eleven craftsmen in total, and with the craftsmen he gathered himself, Peng Gang now has forty-three craftsmen.

Although there were quite a few craftsmen, only thirteen of them were capable of making firearms and casting cannons.

Of the thirteen craftsmen capable of making muskets and casting cannons, eight were provided to him by Feng Yunshan.

To increase production, Peng Gang instructed Tang Zheng to break down the process and time, and to use an assembly line for manufacturing. Each craftsman would only be responsible for one of the following processes based on their expertise.

Barrel forging and drilling/grinding.

Manufacturing and assembly of breech-operated systems (flintlocks).

Gunstock carving and processing.

Parts fabrication (bayonet lugs, guard rings, nails, screws, etc.).

Final assembly and adjustment (assembling all components, polishing, adjusting the locking points, and testing the flint position).

As for the surface treatment and engraving, which have lower technical requirements, he specifically arranged for two craftsmen from outside the arsenal to be in charge.

In order to train more craftsmen, Peng Gang required them to take on apprentices. After the apprentices completed their apprenticeships, the master would receive 20% of the commission for every flintlock gun they manufactured.

Having grasped Peng Gang's meaning of assembly line manufacturing, Tang Zheng suddenly remembered that Peng Gang hadn't named the new guns yet: "Boss, you haven't named the flintlock guns we're making yet."

"Let's call it the 'Breaking the Enemy's Gun'," Peng Gang said after a moment's thought.

The spring famine of the 29th year of the Daoguang reign was even worse than the previous year, and not a drop of rain was seen after the New Year.

Peng Gang was very worried about this.

The flow of the river on the other side was already pitifully small.

If it doesn't rain again, the water-powered forging hammer that took three months to build will become a useless decoration.

"Last year there was a great flood, this year there is a severe drought. Heaven is truly not giving the people a way to survive," Luo Dagang sighed.

"Without natural disasters or man-made calamities, can the submarine force now recover to over a thousand men?" Peng Gang handed over the last forty taels of gold to Luo Dagang to purchase supplies.

Since it was the second time, Peng Gang was already very skilled. He had prepared the list for Luo Dagang long ago. This time, he only wanted to buy military supplies, steel, and compasses.

The submarine force expanded rapidly.

In the context of the Heaven and Earth Society uprising, in the past, Luo Dagang, with an armed force of a thousand men under his command, would definitely have seized the opportunity to rise up.

Influenced by Peng Gang, Luo Dagang is no longer in a hurry to follow the crowd and start a rebellion. Instead, he is stationed in Lema to train troops and accumulate strength.

"I only regret that I don't have enough money," Peng Gang said helplessly.

The day after Luo Dagang left, Wang Dalei and his family arrived in Honglian Village in a very disheveled state, bringing back terrible news.

"Master, you've been expelled from the guild in Xunzhou Prefecture, and our charcoal shop in Jiangkou Market has also been shut down by the government!" Wang Dalei said breathlessly.

"What is Wang Ji good for?! Isn't our charcoal business protected by him, the inspector of the Huangjiang River?!" Peng Gang, who was proofreading the "Common Characters Dictionary" in the teahouse, was so angry when he learned that he had not only been expelled from the guild but also had his charcoal business shut down that he jumped up from the bench.

"Did I just feed all the money I gave him during holidays to the dogs?!"

"Inspector Wang said the Huang family wants to harm you, and there's nothing he can do," Wang Dalei replied, head bowed. He had already spoken to Wang Ji. "Or perhaps we could try talking to Magistrate Yang?"

Peng Gang waved his hand and said to Wang Dalei, "Since it's Huang Tizheng who wants to mess with me, going to Yang Xun won't help."

Impatience won't solve the problem, so Peng Gang tried his best to control his emotions, forced himself to calm down, and sort out the cause and effect of the matter.

(End of this chapter)