Su Chengyu suddenly remembered that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, a firearms expert named Bi Hekang had designed a flintlock pistol, which seemed to be called "self-generated firearms", so he simply said, "Do you know the self-generated firearms?" ”

"Naturally, I know that there are patterns in the warehouse." Xu Tong said impatiently, "Why do you ask this?" ”

Su Chengyu didn't expect that there were drawings of self-generated firearms here, you must know that later generations only knew about self-generated firearms with a picture and a little text in the "Illustration of Weapons", and there was no other information.

He was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, "Can you make this gun?" ”

Xu Tong shook his head, turned around and locked the warehouse, "I don't have time to toss this for you." Make a new gun? It's not enough for me to buy one or two. Do you want a bird? Don't, just hurry up. ”

Su Chengyu wanted to ask again, but he heard a noise behind him.

He turned his head to see six or seven dirty men in coarse cloth shirts and thick aprons around their necks.

"Lord Xu is here! Come on. ”

"Lord Xu, the salary is agreed, and the family is still waiting for silver to buy rice!"

"How can the thatched roof of the broken shed be worth seven taels of silver?"

"Lord Xu, it was ...... at the beginning"

There was also a small official next to him who was desperately trying to stop him, "Do you have any rules?" What are you yelling about?! Give me all back! ”

Xu Tong didn't panic when he saw a few people rushing in front of him, and he didn't laugh and said, "What, do you want to rebel?" ”

He pointed to a middle-aged craftsman led by him and said, "Lu Ning, do you still dare to make trouble?" No one knows about your old bottom in Jiangxi, right? ”

When the middle-aged craftsman heard this, he immediately shrank his neck and didn't dare to say anything more. He was falsely accused and convicted in his hometown in Jiangxi in his early years and fled to Fujian, but was somehow learned about it by Xu Tong.

Xu Tong saw that he was stunned, and swept around the few people in front of him with cold eyes, "You have destroyed the workshop of the Ordnance Bureau, and I will spend more than ten taels to repair it." Only let each of you give one or two and dare to come to nonsense? ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a dark-skinned man said with a bitter face: "Lord Xu, even if I admit the punishment for one or two, you can't refuse to pay the rest of the salary." ”

Xu Tong's eyes widened, "Who said that you won't be paid?" In a few months, the money from the Ministry of Works will be given to you as soon as it arrives. It's not just that your wages haven't been paid. ”

"Master Xu, we can't leave if we don't get paid."

Xu Tong glanced at the little officials on the side, "Liu Hong, drive these people out for me." ”

"Yes, sir."

Hearing this, several rough-clothed men knelt down around Xu Tong and begged repeatedly.

Su Chengyu frowned slightly, looked at Xu Tong and said, "Who are they?" ”

The dark-skinned man saw that Su Chengyu was well-dressed and looked extraordinary, just thinking that he was an official, so before Xu Tong could speak, he raised his head and said: "This lord, some time ago, the people in Tingzhou were in turmoil, and the Ordnance Bureau summoned us and other craftsmen to help in order to make bird guns. Now that the work is finished, he said that yesterday the grass roof of the shed collapsed and each person would be deducted one tael of silver. The rest of the wages will not be paid until a few months later. My lord, my family of seven is waiting for this money to eat. ”

Only then did Su Chengyu understand that these were civilian craftsmen temporarily hired by the Ordnance Bureau.

On the side, Liu Honghu drove people away with his face, but he couldn't drag these strong people at all.

Xu Tong was surrounded in the middle and couldn't get out, frowning in disgust, and just as he was about to shout, he heard Su Chengyu say, "Lord Xu, I have a suggestion." I'll pay for your wages, and I'll repair the shed. ”

"Oh?" Xu Tong squinted at him, knowing that there was something to follow.

"You just need to lend me that shed for a few days," Su Chengyu thought for a while, and then said, "There is also a pattern of self-generated firecrackers for me to see." ”

Xu Tong's face was embarrassed when he heard this, and he said: "How can this workshop of the Ordnance Bureau be used for private purposes?" ”

Su Chengyu said in his heart that you even dared to sell the firearms of the Ordnance Bureau to private individuals, but you became reserved with a workshop? He first picked up the craftsman who was kneeling on the ground, and then leaned into Xu Tong's ear, "Fifty taels, let me use it for ten days in the workshop." ”

Xu Tong's eyelids jumped when he heard the words "fifty taels", and he secretly thought to himself, the firing rate of the self-generated fire gun was too low, and there was no follow-up after a few trial production in the early years, and it was not a confidential thing. The wages of these seven craftsmen are more than 20 taels, plus these 50 taels, one in and one out of more than 70 taels, what is there to hesitate about.

He coughed and waved his hand to the craftsmen, "Go to the workshop and wait, and the wages will be given to you later." ”

When the craftsmen walked away, Xu Tong said to Su Chengyu: "Okay, then the shed will let Su Gongzi use it for ten days." However, you will have to bear your own expenses for the consumption of carbon, wood, copper, iron, etc. ”

Su Chengyu sighed in his heart, fortunately, he is the prince of the prince, and he doesn't have to feel distressed to take out a few dozen taels of silver. You must know that 70 taels of silver is enough for a family of three to eat and wear for six or seven years.

He made up his mind with Xu Tong and asked about the wages owed to the craftsmen, only to find that Qiao Qian had a bitter face.

After inquiry, I learned that they were in a hurry to go out, and there were less than fifty taels of silver left.

Su Chengyu had no choice but to send Qiao Qian back to the palace to get the silver taels.

The shed Xu Tong lent him was very simple, surrounded by a four-foot-high wooden fence and a half-collapsed roof. The iron furnace has been turned off, a few tools are thrown on the anvil table, and the drilling rig and mill next to it have been cleaned up.

Su Chengyu first took out more than 20 taels to the craftsmen to settle the arrears of wages from the Ordnance Bureau, and then paid them two taels of silver for ten days to hire them to make guns.

These craftsmen used to earn more than two taels of silver a month, but now they have such a high salary, and they also know that the wages owed by the Ordnance Bureau are paid by Su Chengyu in advance, so naturally they are not allowed.

Among these craftsmen was a carpenter, and with the help of several others, the collapsed roof of the shed was repaired in less than half an hour. Su Chengyu only spent a few dollars of silver to buy a new beam to replace the original one that was eaten by insects.

At this time, the pattern of the self-generated fire gun was also sent by Xu Tong, a total of three, and all the small parts were clearly drawn.

But when Su Chengyu saw the size of the firecracker, he couldn't help but smile bitterly - this gun is two feet long and weighs five catties and five taels, which is clearly a long handgun for cavalry!

Only then did he understand why the self-made fire gun had not been taken seriously in the late Ming Dynasty. Most of the Ming cavalry were northerners, and they had a soft spot for the three-eyed gun that could be used as a hammer. In addition, flintlock pistols such as self-generated firecrackers are expensive, so it is reasonable to be left out in the cold.

It's a pity that experts Bi invented this kind of sharp weapon, if it is popularized in the Ming army, cavalry maneuver tactics can also be seen on the land of China.

But it's easier to build on that than to start from scratch.

Su Chengyu asked the craftsmen to build the bolt according to the drawing, and the barrel and bed were doubled on the basis of the original drawing, and the butt was enlarged to make a standard rifle.

For the army of this era, the rifle of the infantry is the core equipment, and of course it should be the focus of development.