freenovelworld Chapter 436: Fulminate Mercury Appears, Technology Tree Upgrades
Chapter 436: Fulminate Mercury Appears, Technology Tree Upgrades
"Which object?" Li Che asked curiously.
Li Che told Chen Gui so many things, including various explosives and firearms, including but not limited to breech-loading rifles, machine guns, detonators, and even tanks, mortars, and Dongfeng Express.
I didn't expect him to be able to do it, I just wanted to expand the thinking of this "explosion genius".
But Chen Gui lowered his voice and uttered two words: "Flash cap!"
Li Che's eyes lit up immediately and he felt excited.
Chen Guizi continued, "According to the method Your Highness instructed, I used mercurochrome, steamed it three times, and filtered it seven times. The crystals that finally precipitated out looked like arsenic mixed with pearl powder. Just one sniff made the tip of my tongue numb..."
"Is it done?" Li Che stood up suddenly, not even noticing that the tea had spilled on his sleeve.
"It's done!"
Seeing Chen Gui take out a thumb-sized tin box from his chest pocket, Li Che's mouth twitched wildly.
This guy is really crazy. He dares to put this thing into his clothes and carry it close to his body?
When the lid of the box was pushed open, a cold light flashed across Li Che's pupils - the pile of gray-white crystals worth less than half a penny was glowing in the shadows like the scales of a poisonous snake.
that's it!
The product of mercury and nitric acid in ethanol, the devil's key that opened the era of hot weapons in the 19th century!
The tyrant that people three hundred years later could only tame with sophisticated instruments is now curled up meekly in this inconspicuous tin box.
Just one pellet would reduce the probability of a flintlock misfiring from 30% to 50%; if a copper percussion cap were added, a breech-loading rifle would be able to sweep away the barbarian cavalry skilled in archery and horsemanship, leaving the nomadic peoples of the north unable to raise their heads again!
Not to mention the engineering detonators that split mountains and rocks, and the shrapnel shells that burned ships in naval battles...
What lies dormant in this small pile of crystals is not chemistry, but an iron ruler that will remeasure the land.
Mercury fulminate!
"Your Highness, be careful. This thing cannot be exposed to open flames. My beard was burned when I was testing the medicine." Chen Gui pointed to the charred tip of his eyebrow.
Li Che waved his hand impatiently, and impatiently took off the silver hairpin on Qiuwen's head, dipped the tip of the hairpin in some crystal, and smeared it on the candle flame beside him.
laugh--
The blinding white light illuminated the entire room, and the gust of wind overturned the papers on the desk, causing the pages to rustle.
Everyone exclaimed in surprise, and then they heard their own prince's wanton laughter mixed in with the smoke:
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
The newcomers looked shocked and worried.
They didn't understand a word the two men said, and then they saw their own prince laughing crazily. Could it be that he had gone mad?
But the old people understood in their hearts, and their eyes were full of joy.
Although they didn't understand, they knew very well that something that could make His Highness so ecstatic must be something extraordinary.
After all, when cannons and muskets were invented, His Highness was also very happy, but he was not so crazy at all.
But later on, even though the muskets and cannons did not make His Highness so excited, they were already magical weapons in the eyes of everyone.
No one knew that Li Che's fingers were trembling slightly under his sleeves - that was the trembling of touching the gears of history.
Percussion cap...that's mercury fulminate!
With this thing, you can make a more advanced percussion cap firing device, which can be used to mass-produce breech-loading guns and even early automatic weapons!
As an explosive, mercury fulminate can also be used to make time fuses or impact fuses, making explosive bombs the mainstream on the battlefield, eliminating solid bullets and completely changing the form of warfare!
Combined with black powder, you can even make simple detonator explosives for digging tunnels, building canals, and mining!
"Chen Gui, inform the Gunpowder Department that the percussion cap processing steps must be strictly guarded and raised to the highest level of confidentiality!"
Seeing Li Che's serious expression, Chen Gui did not dare to be careless: "Yes."
"Another order: The Gunpowder Department halts production of other weapons. Only a select group of craftsmen will be left producing matchlock rifles. The rest of the team will focus on developing percussion caps! We must thoroughly understand every process, ensuring quality and stability, and ensuring it can truly be applied to firearms."
Even though it was successfully prepared once, Li Che did not think that the current mercury fulminate was mature and usable.
The raw materials of mercury fulminate are not complicated, they are nothing more than mercury (mercury), nitric acid and ethanol, all three of which can be mass-produced in Fengguo.
There is a record in the Tang Dynasty's "Secrets of the Golden Elixir of the Supreme Saint Ancestor" that mercury, saltpeter and vinegar are refined together to obtain a substance called "boiling powder", which is an unpurified mixture of mercury fulminate.
Because it could not be stably reproduced and even experienced multiple furnace explosions, it was considered "erysipelas" and abandoned.
Mercury and nitric acid are both toxic and inherently risky. Mercury fulminate is also very sensitive to impact and friction, and the chance of explosion during the production process is very high.
Only by constantly purifying, specifying and legalizing the production methods can we truly master this powerful weapon!
Li Che put away a small box of mercury fulminate. After a brief moment of excitement, a hint of worry appeared on his brow.
Today's Feng State has not yet embarked on the road of industrialization, but such dangerous things have been born. It is not known whether it is good or bad.
History has taught us that the premature introduction of high-explosive weapons is very likely to lead to the collapse of civilization.
The tiny mercury fulminate may look insignificant, but it carries great danger.
The Feng Kingdom now controls mercury fulminate, which is like a child holding a pistol, extremely dangerous to both others and himself.
If we are not careful and do not keep it under strict supervision, an assassin might get some and put them in the palace...
No matter how skilled your martial arts are or how many loyal soldiers protect you, you still have to go to heaven.
"Your Highness." Chen Gui bowed and reported again, "There is one more thing."
Li Che came back to his senses: "Speak."
"Over the past few months, the Gunpowder Department and the Ironworks have been collaborating and have been able to experiment with using iron-cast cannons instead of the more expensive copper ones."
"Your Highness just said that all weapons production should be halted and all efforts should be focused on conquering fulminate of mercury. However, I believe the iron cannon issue is also very important. Could you please retain some craftsmen to continue research?"
"Oh?" Li Che's face lit up with joy. "Chen Gui, Chen Gui, you've given me quite a few surprises."
The reason why Li Che initially used copper to cast cannons was because copper has a low melting point and strong fluidity at high temperatures. It can fill complex molds during casting, forming a smooth barrel and reducing air holes and sand holes.
However, early cast iron was highly brittle, and the gun barrel was easily cracked or even exploded due to the internal high pressure generated during firing.
Moreover, copper cannons are much more resistant to rust in humid environments than iron cannons. Iron cannons require frequent oiling and maintenance, otherwise they may be scrapped due to uneven chamber pressure caused by rust.
The only drawback is that it is expensive, and Daqing has been short of copper since ancient times.
If the Gunpowder Bureau could solve these problems, it would certainly be better to use iron to make cannons. At least it would be cheaper and could be produced in large quantities.
"This matter is approved by the king. After all, there is no need for so many craftsmen on the fulminate of mercury side."
Li Che smiled and looked at Chen Gui: "Chen Gui, you are a meritorious official, you deserve a reward!"