I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

Jiang Zuo whistled and sang as he rode in a carriage for a while. After going around several winding mountain roads and making sure that no one was following them, he and Yang Feng arrived at the gate of the gunpowder factory.

There were many government runners guarding the gate.

"Master Jiang."

The yamen runners bowed in unison.

Jiang Zuo got off the carriage and looked around vigilantly.

This gunpowder factory is located behind the mountain and is extremely hidden.

But we are in an extraordinary period recently, and we cannot guarantee that the people of the Six Garrisons Army will find this place, and then the imperial court will occupy this good place again.

"Tell the brothers to patrol carefully and no strangers are allowed to approach Qianshi Mountain."

Jiang Zuo warned earnestly.

The yamen runner leaned forward and replied, "Don't worry, sir. I have already dispatched several more teams to patrol every day and night according to your request."

Jiang Zuo nodded with satisfaction and then entered the gate.

After passing through several mechanical doors, they finally arrived at a large open space.

This place is extremely vast and is an important place for them to test new weapons.

There were about ten "big iron pipes" placed in front of the venue, with wheels underneath.

What you see before you is the cannon developed independently by Anding County. Jiang Zuo gave it a simple name - Anding Cannon.

In fact, this type of cannon was made by Jiang Zuo using his memories of his previous life and with reference to the Red Cannon.

The place where he is now has no more sophisticated instruments and technologies to produce better and more powerful cannons. This kind of stable cannon is already the most advanced heavy weapon.

You should know that the elite army of the Great Yan State only used large catapults to attack cities.

If this type of stabilized cannon can be mass-produced, it will definitely become a crushing weapon.

If there were dozens of such cannons, the Mobei barbarians would be completely defeated.

If there were hundreds of such cannons in Jiangzuo, he would make the current emperor dare not say a word.

If there were thousands of gates, he, Jiang Zuo, would be the emperor!

But based on the current output, Jiang Zuo probably cannot become the emperor.

What's more, he had no intention of rebelling, and he made these powerful threats purely to protect his larger business.

"Sir, these are the twelve new stable cannons that have been built in the past few months. Please check them out."

Yang Feng stepped forward and said.

Jiang Zuo walked forward and looked at these Anding cannons carefully.

Now their manufacturing technology has indeed become much more sophisticated.

The production of these twelve cannons consumed a large amount of copper and iron in Anding County.

According to the current production efficiency, it will take several years to achieve the goal of 100.

What's more, the arsenal is now occupied and some iron mines are almost exhausted.

Lack of resources is a big problem...

"Did the gun explode this time? Were there any casualties during the journey?"

Jiang Zuo asked.

During the manufacturing process before this, several people were seriously injured due to improper operation. Fortunately, when the fuse was ignited, these people were far away and did not lose their lives.

"My Lord, it didn't explode, but the accuracy was too poor. I was going to hit the pit at the foot of the mountain. Guess what happened?"

"how?"

"Blow up the factory toilet!"

"..."

The range was calculated precisely by Jiang Zuo. If the barrel was manufactured correctly, how could it be deviated so far?

Jiang Zuo stepped forward, carefully inspected the barrel, and measured it repeatedly to make sure it was fine. He said, "You must have seen it crookedly. Fire two more shots and let me see."

Yang Feng ordered his men to take out the cannonball, which was a large solid iron ball weighing more than ten pounds.

Everyone loaded the propellant, made sure it was sealed, and then took a ten-foot-long bamboo stick, put incense and candles on the end of it, and then everyone stood far away and started to light the fire.

Jiang Zuo stepped back repeatedly and covered his ears.

"Aim at that pit and fire!"

boom!

The fuse burned out and the cannon was fired with a deafening bang, raising clouds of dust from the area.

The loud noise echoed throughout the valley, and even a few echoes could be heard in Anding County.

After a while, Jiang Zuo stepped forward and asked, "Did you get it?"

Someone rode a horse and looked towards the point where the shell landed. After a while, he came back and rode back to report: "My Lord, it's more than ten feet off the target."

Ten feet?

Jiang Zuo calculated roughly and it was only about twenty or thirty meters.

Although there is still a big gap, it is a lot of progress compared to hitting the toilet.

It does not require absolute precision. As long as the number is sufficient and a saturation strike can be carried out, accuracy is not important at all.

“This is the one.”

Jiang Zuo pointed at the Anding Cannon and confirmed the manufacturing plan.

If this cannon could be fully equipped in the army, the scene would be truly shocking.

It is said that all fear comes from lack of firepower.

If these cannons can be used in large numbers, coupled with the mass production of flintlock rifles, the barbarians in Mobei will be like fish on the chopping board, at which point they will be slaughtered by the Dayan army.

"Move the production line of flintlock rifles to the gunpowder factory as well. But remember that there must not be any open flames around to prevent accidents."

Jiang Zuo ordered.

Judging from the current situation, it will be difficult for the Arsenal to return to their hands anytime soon.

"Yes, sir." Yang Feng said, "Then how many flintlock rifles do we want to produce in the second half of the year?"

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment and asked, "How many new and old ones do we have now?"

Yang Feng thought about it and came up with a rough number: "There are more than 300 new flintlock rifles in total, and there are only more than 500 old ones still in our hands. The other old rifles are now in the old arsenal, which is under the control of the Six Towns Army."

"This is definitely not enough. We must speed up production efficiency. We need to produce more than 200 units this month."

Now that the military power of Anding County has returned to Jiang Zuo's hands, relying solely on these 800 or so flintlock rifles is definitely not enough.

Jiang Zuo predicted that after a few days, the Six Garrisons Army would definitely have a big battle with the Mobei barbarians, and Jiang Zuo would definitely lead his troops to help at that time.

Yang Feng came to Jiang Zuo again and reported: "Sir, there is very little sulfur left in the factory. I am afraid that the output of gunpowder will drop a lot. I have sent people to search all over Dayan a few days ago, but there is no news yet."

Jiang Zuo had already anticipated this.

The mineral resources within a hundred miles of Anding County have already been explored thoroughly.

The nearest sulfur mine to Anding County is probably in Mobei.

But that was Mobei, where the people were tough and fierce, and hundreds or thousands of northern barbarian cavalry would come to harass from time to time.

Without being able to pacify Mobei, Jiangzuo would not have been able to open mines in Mobei.

Therefore, Jiang Zuo came up with a plan, which was to cooperate with the tribes in Mobei and let them help Jiang Zuo find strategic materials such as sulfur and iron ore, and Jiang Zuo would then exchange them with food and salt.

The leader of the Karen tribe is now imprisoned in Anding County. If he is willing to agree to cooperate with Jiangzuo, other tribes may follow suit, and the efficiency of Jiangzuo's musket and cannon production will be greatly improved...