The War Bureau is located in Anfufang on the west side of the imperial city, which is the Beichang Street in later generations, near Fuyou Temple, there are one eunuch with palm prints and one eunuch from the Admiral's Armory.

On the morning of the 26th day of the first lunar month, Xu Jin took Wang Lin'er, Xie Erjian and Qi Jingtong to the War Bureau, and the eunuchs who received the news of the War Bureau's palm print and the armory eunuchs immediately greeted them.

Xu Jin looked at it, hey, the eunuch who was in the palm seal of the War Bureau actually knew him, and it was Lai Yi who he had seen in Shangrao County. At that time, Eunuch Lai and a civil official of the Criminal Department were ordered to go to Jiangxi to investigate the matter of the Fei family, and Xu Jin met this person at a banquet held by Brother Zhu, the son of King Ning.

"Master Xu, our family has finally come to look forward to you." Lai Yi stepped forward with a smile, but he secretly sighed in his heart, four years ago, this kid was just a boy who had just passed the government examination, and in the blink of an eye, he was officially living in the fifth grade, and he was also crowned an earl, and he was deeply favored by the emperor.

Xu Jin smiled and said: "It's made Father-in-law Lai wait for a long time, and he really lacks skills in the past few days." ”

Lai Yi said with a smile: "Don't worry, Lord Xu wears many hats, isn't it normal to be busy with affairs, let me introduce Lord Xu, this is Gonggong Lu, the commander of the arsenal of our War Bureau." ”

Nalu Gongren Mo was fifty years old, his facial skin was loose, his waist was slightly slumped, his smile was more humble than Lai Yi's, and he nodded and greeted Xu Jin. Xu Jin politely followed the two eunuchs into the military battle bureau, and he could vaguely hear the sound of clanging iron in the workshop in the distance.

Lai Yi took Xu Jin and the others to their usual office location, and after they settled down with each other, he ordered the little eunuch to serve tea, and said with a smile: "Lord Xu, our conditions here are simple, so you can laugh." ”

The War Bureau is a workshop for the manufacture of weapons, and the environmental conditions are naturally average, the noise is also very high, and there is not much oil and water. As the so-called soldiers, the major affairs of the country must not be overlooked. And weapons are related to the life and death of soldiers, so they have always been strictly supervised, and it is basically impossible to cut corners to fill their own pockets, and the consequences are very serious, so the stewards and eunuchs generally do not dare to reach out to this piece, at most they save some leftovers and make a few small money.

"It's okay here!" Xu Jin smiled slightly, and asked straight to the point: "Have the two fathers-in-law seen the drawings of the flintlock pistol?" ”

Lai Yi hurriedly smiled and said: "I've seen it, the errand handed down by the emperor, how dare our family be lazy, what does Lord Xu command, our three thousand people from the military battle bureau must fully cooperate, come here, call He Bantou and Liu Bantou." ”

Soon, two black and strong middle-aged men were brought in, and saluted respectfully: "The little one has seen Grandpa Lai, Grandpa Lu." ”

Lai Yi reprimanded: "Blind, this is Lord Jing An Boxu, don't hurry up and salute!" ”

The two middle-aged men hurriedly saluted Xu Jin in fear: "The little one has seen Lord Xu." ”

Xu Jin nodded in a friendly manner.

Lai Yi said with a smile: "Lord Xu, one of these two people is called He Shuisheng and the other is Liu Duocai, they are the master craftsmen of firearms in the bureau and have rich experience. If Lord Xu needs anything in the future, he can tell the two of them. ”

Xu Jin smiled and said, "He Bantou Liu Bantou, sit down, let's talk!" ”

He Bantou and Liu Bantou glanced at each other, where did they dare to sit, and said carefully: "Lord Xu, if you have something to say, just stand small." ”

Xu Jin waved his hand and said, "It's better to sit down and talk, it's inconvenient to stand." ”

Eunuch Lai glanced at him and said, "My lord, let you sit down!" ”

He Bantou and Liu Bantou carefully sat down next to Xu Jin, and their calloused hands were cramped on their knees.

"Have you seen the drawings of the flintlock pistol? Can you have the confidence to build it? Xu Jin asked pleasantly.

He Liu and the others suddenly showed hesitation, and He Bantou squeaked and said: "Lord Hui, the drawings of the flintlock pistol have been read by the small ones...... It's not impossible to make it, it's just ......"

Lai Yi immediately reprimanded unhappily: "He Bantou, what are you doing as a big man, if it's okay, you can give a quasi-word, if it doesn't work, you can change it to someone else." ”

Xu Jin frowned imperceptibly, and said lightly: "Father-in-law Lai is a little calm, making a flintlock pistol is not making steamed buns, and it is certain that there will be difficulties." ”

"Uh...... Hehe, what Lord Xu said is true! Lai Yi awkwardly picked up the teacup and wiped it, and closed his mouth very interestingly.

"He Bantou Liu Bantou, this official came to you this time to discuss, you can speak freely if you have any questions, and you don't have to have any worries. If the drawings are feasible, then we will do it, if not, then we will modify it until it is feasible! Xu Jin's eyes were encouraging.

Seeing that Xu Jin was so easy to speak, He Liu and Liu Duocai took the lead and said: "Lord Xu, that little one told the truth, this kind of flintlock pistol is indeed a whimsical idea, especially the idea of hitting the fire with flint, which makes people applaud." But...... Reloading is a bit of a. ”

He Shuisheng interjected: "It's not just nonsense, it's just whimsical, nonsense, the person who drew the drawings doesn't understand firearms at all!" ”

Xu Jin couldn't help but feel a slight heat on his old face, and said quietly: "Why? ”

Speaking of their own expertise, He Liu and the others gradually let go, and you pointed out the impracticalities of the flintlock pistol drawings, such as the rear loading will cause the barrel to leak, easy to explode, and so on......

Xu Jin couldn't help but sweat, although he had more than 500 years of knowledge, but after all, he was not professional, he just drew drawings based on the models he had seen and the general principles, and did not combine the current level of craftsmanship in the Ming Dynasty, so it was inevitable that there would be mistakes and omissions.

Fortunately, He Liu and the others are both highly accomplished firearms craftsmen, and they can see at a glance what is feasible and what is not. Xu Jin humbly listened to the opinions of the two, revised the drawings on the spot, and finally gave up the design of the rear load, and made moderate modifications to the length and caliber of the flintlock barrel, and also modified some details.

Holding the revised drawings, He Liu and the others couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and at the same time, a layer of cold sweat oozed from their backs, daring to feel that this flintlock pistol was actually designed by the Lord Xu in front of them. However, this Uncle Xu is good-tempered, and in the face of merciless criticism, he didn't even get angry, fortunately!

Although Lai Yi was in charge of the war bureau, he didn't know anything about firearms, and he listened to it for nearly an hour, so bored that he yawned, and when he saw that the discussion was finally over, he couldn't help but perk up and said: "He Bantou Liu Bantou, now it's no problem, can you make it?" ”

He Liu and the others nodded confidently: "Yes!" ”

Lai Yi patted his thigh and said, "Okay, my father-in-law will see the results within a month!" ”

He Liu and the others suddenly looked embarrassed, and Xu Jin smiled: "Father-in-law Lai, if you want to be fast, you can't reach it, this flintlock pistol is a new process, and it must be slowly tested and run-in, and it will take at least half a year to see results." ”

Lai Yi sneered and said: "In this way, then half a year, within half a year, you have to make a batch of flintlock pistols for my father-in-law that can be used, or the emperor and the household department will not be able to explain." ”

He Liu and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief, threw a grateful look at Xu Jin, nodded and said, "The little one will go all out, and then go back to the mold." ”

"Wait a minute, the two team leaders, there are still some small things that need to be built here." Xu Jin said and asked Qi Jingtong to take out a roll of drawings.

Eunuch Lai couldn't help muttering, this Lord Xu didn't know what to toss again.

Xu Jin opened the drawing, He Liu and the others took a closer look, and immediately said lightly: "This kind of small object is very easy, and the small one can be created for adults today." ”

It turned out that what Xu Jin painted was a three-edged army thorn, this thing was the king of bloodletting, and Xu Jin planned to equip all the soldiers of the 500 battalions with one in the future for hand-to-hand combat. Based on the current medical conditions, if you are stabbed by the Triangular Army, the mortality rate is estimated to be 90%.

Xu Jin smiled and said: "This official not only wants one, but a thousand, plus a thousand waist knives and a thousand shields." ”

Lai Yi was taken aback, if Xu Jin was only engaged in dozens of weapons, the War Bureau could still provide the accounts if he fooled around, but a thousand sets were too much, and he couldn't fool around, if this matter was discovered by the top, he would have to lose his head, and said authentically: "Lord Xu, this is ...... It's not proper, the supply of iron raw materials in our War Bureau is all accounted for, that ......"

Xu Jin smiled and said: "What did Father-in-law Lai think, these weapons are not for the private use of the official, but for the equipment of the five hundred battalions, and the military department will not bother, and the official will provide iron raw materials, without spending a penny of the household department, just work hard for the military bureau." ”

Lai Yi immediately breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, and said with a smile: "I see, this is no problem, it is wrapped up in my father-in-law." ”

Xu Jin didn't talk nonsense, and immediately asked Wang Lin'er to lead the brothers of the 500 battalion to bring all the discarded old weapons stored in the old mansion of Ming Shifang.

Looking at the mountains of broken knives and guns, Father-in-law Lai's old face smiled like a chrysanthemum, in his experience, after these old weapons were returned, it was absolutely more than enough to build the weapons needed by Xu Jin, and it was estimated that there would be a lot of iron left, which was a considerable windfall.

"Lord Xu, what do you mean by this?" Lai Yi looked at the three hundred taels of silver in front of him, and he couldn't take his eyes off.

Xu Jin smiled and said: "You can't let the brothers of the War Bureau work in vain, these silver taels will improve the food for everyone." ”

He Bantou and Liu Bantou glanced at each other happily, they were paid dead wages in the War Bureau, and their monthly wages were fixed, and they rarely could get oil and water, at best, they were stealing some civilian iron tools to sell and earn some pocket money.

Lai Yi smiled and said, "Lord Xu is really polite, okay, then our family will thank Lord Xu for all the brothers!" ”

Lai Yi didn't shy away from saying it, and directly threw two ingots of silver to He Liu and the others, and said with a smile: "Let the brothers work hard, and cast the weapons of the five hundred battalion brothers as soon as possible!" ”

He Bantou and Liu Bantou were full of joy, and said energetically: "Lord Xu, rest assured, the weapons made for the five hundred battalion brothers are guaranteed to be of the best quality. ”