Aztec Eternals

On the fertile soil of historical accumulation, human civilization continues to grow like a big tree. People's awareness of the world is constantly improving, like a growing root system, providing a steady stream of nutrients for the growth of civilization. The development of science and technology is all the way upwards, like a dense canopy under the sun, constantly moving towards cutting-edge bifurcations and subdivisions.

In Schlott's view, the progress of human technology is a tree-shaped network. Many technologies move forward in a straight line and require the front as the cornerstone. Take European hydraulic machinery in this era as an example. It requires excellent ironmaking technology as a front, because copper and bronze lack toughness and elasticity, and cannot be used as mechanical parts, such as fragile springs.

And some technologies are leaps across the ages, relying on the level of human cognition, just like the gunpowder already used by the alliance, or the bronze artillery now. They don't need iron as a foundation, but only need the guidance of the prophets, and they can realize the leap of military technology in the hands of American civilization, and burst into a roar that spans the ages!

Thinking of this, the king smiled and stretched out his hand, touching the rough and cold killing weapon in front of him. This is a 1-pound falcon cannon, or eagle cannon, cast according to his design.

In Europe in this era, the 1-pound Eagle Cannon, as a classic light field gun, has just been born. It has the power to defeat all field enemies, with a maximum range of more than two miles and an accurate range of more than two hundred meters. The eagle cannon weighs between 200 and 400 kilograms and is maneuverable enough. It is the favorite of nautical explorers and elite infantry squads, and will continue to be used until the Thirty Years War more than a hundred years later.

Chalape watched all the time, and when he saw the king's smile, he quickly tugged Tiripi's sleeve. Tilippi paused for a moment, then stepped forward bravely, and explained carefully.

"Your Majesty, this is the Sun Condor Cannon you asked us to cast. Its length is 1.2 meters, the internal diameter is 5 centimeters, it is made of bronze 250 Jin, and it has a matching hardwood bracket. Follow your instructions, with the help of gunpowder craftsmen Next, under the witness of the holy eagle warrior chief, we conducted a trial shooting. The shooting range of 1 catties of stone balls fired with 1 catties of gunpowder is shorter than your requirement. The range is about 50 meters."

Tilippi's voice gradually weakened, but it still clearly reached Shulot's ears. The king's smile froze immediately. He looked at Bertard, and the warrior commander nodded slightly. Then the king squeezed his hand silently, and asked in a deep voice.

"Tell me again, what is the range?"

".50 meters."

Facing the chill in the king's eyes, Tiripi fell to his knees with a "plop". He urgently explained loudly.

"Your Majesty, the Holy Eagle Warrior Commander can testify! We use a sufficient amount of the best bronze, and the clay form is also fine enough. It's just that during the firing of the cannonball, the cannon will emit a cloud of smoke. The craftsman of the wooden cannon said that this is because the metal cannon body is not loved by the gods, which weakens the power of Thor. Only the wooden cannon body has life and can bear the power of the gods."

"Smoke. Leakage"

Shulot did not get angry, nor did he pay attention to the competition among the craftsmen. He just frowned and checked again. On the outer wall of the bronze gun body, some small holes can be vaguely seen.

"Bring buckets of water!"

The personal guard immediately went to the well in the workshop and fetched a bucket of clean water. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the king ordered the cannon to be erected, and then water was poured into the upper opening. Soon, some extremely fine water jets leaked from all parts of the cannon body, accompanied by the surprised murmurs of the craftsmen.

"The gun body trachoma is small and uniform"

Looking at the leaking barrel, Shulot fell into thought. Casting bronze cannons is far simpler than casting iron cannons, and the 1-pound eagle cannon is the most basic light cannon. Trachoma of this degree is not serious.

"Take a brass rod!"

Shulot shouted again. Then, he personally poked the copper rod into the muzzle of the gun, felt a little bump and resistance on the inner wall, and nodded slightly.

"The bore is not smooth enough and needs polishing."

Tilippi's eyes widened, watching the king's operation with surprise. The image of the other party has gradually changed from an authoritative king who forcibly guides him to a half-expert with a little knowledge of craftsmanship. Then, the undeniable voice came and turned into the authoritative king again.

"Tilipi, let me see your casting process!"

Tirippi bowed his head respectfully. He obediently led the crowd to the place where the cannon was cast, and first pointed to a 1.2-meter wax pipe.

"Your Majesty, the following Condor cannons are still in the preparation stage. This is a cannon barrel made of wax blocks, and the inner bore has been drilled out. The overall size is about the same as that of a real bronze cannon barrel."

Hulott nodded, and the lost-wax method of making clay models is very common in metal crafts in Mesoamerica.

"Your Majesty, after the wax cannon is made, it must be wrapped with clay and filled with clay inside, leaving only the feeding port at the end of the barrel. This is the clay mold. After the clay mold is completed, just heat it to let the wax inside When the tube is melted, you can get a molded clay mold barrel!"

Tilippi pointed to two clay molds that had already been formed, and explained in detail.

"Your Majesty, I've thought about it for a long time. According to my experience in casting bronze pots, the hole in the cannon body leaks air and water. It should be that the drying time of the clay mold is not enough! We have never cast such a huge bronze vessel before, and the clay mold just dried one. It’s less than a month. For this row of new Condor cannons, please allow some more time, Your Majesty, let us dry the mud film in the shade for three months!”

Hearing Tilippi's analysis and inference, Xiulot was surprised. He stared at the real casting master, affirming him for the first time in his heart.

From the countless time-traveling novels of later generations, Xiulot knew that the biggest problem with the early casting of cannons was that the clay molds used were not good enough.

The clay mold of the artillery has high requirements on humidity, soil and casting skills. Clay molds are made of compacted clay, and the moisture inside the clay is difficult to dry out. During the casting process, the water vapor in the mud film is heated and transpired, which will produce honeycomb-shaped holes on the barrel, causing air leakage or even blasting the cannon when it is fired. Therefore, the moisture inside the clay mold needs to be naturally dried in the shade. With the increase in the weight of artillery, the time required to dry in the shade also increased from several months to half a year. If you encounter the rainy season with high humidity, the drying time will be further extended.

"Tiripi, your idea is very good! The previous months were rainy seasons with abundant precipitation, the air was humid, and the mud film needed to be dried for a longer period of time. The problem with the trial-produced artillery is your responsibility, but you can forgive it! Now it is precipitation September is less, and the rainy season will end in October when the harvest is abundant. I will give you another four months to complete this batch of condor cannons!"

Hearing this, Tilippi was greatly relieved. Chalape also showed joy on his face. The two looked at each other and knelt down to salute at the same time.

"Your Majesty, thank you for your tolerance! Your mind is like a boundless lake."

"Continue, finish the craft!"

Tiripi stood up, walked to the bronze furnace, and continued to tell.

"Your Majesty, after the clay mold of the gun barrel is completed, you can light the furnace and melt the bronze to cast the cannon. You see, there is a deep pit next to the discharge port under the furnace, which is for placing the clay mold. We will put The inlet of the clay mold of the artillery is facing upwards, and it is placed in the earth pit”

Tiripi waved while talking. Two apprentice craftsmen carefully put the clay mold of the cannon into the pit with the muzzle facing upwards.

"Then, fill the pit well, and then use clay to make a pottery pipe connecting the outlet of the furnace and the inlet of the mud mold of the gun barrel, and guide the molten copper water into this step. In this step, the heat should be controlled, and the copper water will flow out. The speed should not be too fast, so as not to distort the gun core in the mud mold, and then wait until the copper water in the mud mold cools down naturally, then take the mud mold out of the soil, and finally break open to get the gun.”

Xiulot patiently listened to the process of casting the cannon, and recalled several little-understood nouns and fragments in his mind.

"Natural cooling. I seem to remember that there is a saying in casting guns called water-cooled self-tightening. It should be to make the mold of the gun core hollow and add water to it, so that the gun barrel is cooled and tightened from the inside out, which greatly improves the quality. , The clay mold cannot be filled with water, it should be an iron mold.

The iron fan clay mold is a one-time use, and it needs to be broken open to get a cannon. The surface of the iron fan is smoother, can be used repeatedly, has no water vapor, and has very little trachoma. Tie Fan water cooling is the killer weapon for the traversers to cast cannons! Well, iron fan is relatively easy, and the metal workmanship during the Ming and Qing Dynasties is about enough. However, water cooling requires a very high technical level, and it should not be realized until modern times. And the most important thing is that there is no iron in my hands yet. "

Shulot shook his head. He sorted out the craftsmanship of casting cannons in his mind for a moment, and ordered.

"Tilipi, remember my words! In addition to increasing the drying time of the clay mold and polishing the inner wall of the barrel, the barrel of the Condor Cannon can also be thickened again, and the amount of bronze can be increased from 250 jin to 300 jin! After the casting is completed , if there is no water leakage, add five copper hoops to the gun body for reinforcement! Qualified bronze cannons should also be equipped with claw nails and copper studs for fixing when firing!"

Bertard had already taken out the pen and paper, drew the internal polishing, the thickening of the gun barrel, the five copper hoops and the fixing accessories, and then handed over the paper drawing to Chalape. Chalape smiled gratefully, and the warrior commander smiled back gently.

After talking about the key points of craftsmanship, Xiulot pondered for a while, and a sentence from memory came to mind.

"If you cast cannons with mud molds, if you cast two or three out of ten, you will be called a national player!"

Although I don't know when this sentence came from, what is the size of the cast cannon, whether it refers to a copper cannon or an iron cannon, but we can still get a glimpse of the difficulty of casting a cannon. For American civilization, in the early exploration of casting cannons, only enough quantity can be used to randomize qualified quality.

Thinking of this, Xiulot made up his mind and ordered solemnly.

"Charape, Tiripi, listen!"

Hearing these familiar words, Chalape's knees shook, and he pulled his clan brother to kneel down again.

"It takes time for the clay molds to dry in the shade. In the past few days, you have to work hard to make clay molds of 40 Condor cannons first!"

Tiripi was shocked when he heard the words. He looked at the king in front of him and asked in shock.

"Your Majesty, the clay molds of 40 Condor cannons! 300 catties of bronze each, that's 12,000 catties! Add in the 48,000 catties of bronze armor, and it's 60,000 catties of bronze! The bronze warehouse in the warehouse has accumulated For several years, it is less than half of this amount, and this is not counting the consumption of a large number of bronze farm tools."

"Tilipi, this is Wang Ling!"

Shulot interrupted the casting master, and sternly reprimanded him.

"Although you are busy with all your strength! As for the bronze ore, I will start to solve it next, and the production of the workshop will not be delayed!"

There was an instant silence in the workshop, and everyone lowered their heads, obeying the king's will.

"Tilipi, the clay mold of 40 Condor cannons, as long as you can successfully make 5 usable ones, you are considered qualified! If you can make 10, I will promote you as a military nobleman, and let the metal family have two guns. expensive!"

The king said indifferently, and then his face was terrified.

"If by February next year, you haven't even produced five qualified condor cannons, then prepare to face the alliance's military law and sacrifice yourself to the main god!"

Hearing the king's will, Tilippi first showed joy, and then beads of sweat oozed from his forehead. Kneeling on the ground, he struggled to open his mouth after a long while.

"Your Majesty, I obey your will and am willing to die for you!"

"okay!"

Shulot watched for a moment, then nodded slowly. Afterwards, he looked at the master craftsmen kneeling in front of him with an extremely serious expression, and his words could not be violated.

"Charape, Tiripi, your task is very heavy! I will give you another hundred coppersmiths captured in the city of Ivacio! These four hundred coppersmiths will arrive within two days. Those who escorted them There are two hundred warriors who will be stationed around the workshop to closely protect your safety."

The so-called garrison protection naturally has other meanings. After taking over the task of the bronze cannon, the bronze workshop has become the most secret military location in the feudal kingdom, and also the most important place in the entire American world!

"From today, the area of ​​the bronze workshop will expand, the number of people will increase, and a layer of walls will be built. All craftsmen will be included in the Kingdom Legion and will be subject to military law management! Without permission, you are not allowed to leave the craftsman's camp for half a step!"

"Tirippi, casting cannons is related to the future of the alliance and the survival of the world. You have a heavy burden from the gods on you, and you need to devote all your energy to study it wholeheartedly. If you can make continuous progress in casting cannons, I promise Your future as a hereditary noble!"

The king's voice softened. He patted the casting master's shoulder lightly, and a smile appeared on his face that made him tremble again.

"It takes four months for the clay mold of the Condor cannon to dry in the shade. During this period, you need more practice and experimentation. Well, here is another drawing of the cannon, you can go back and study it. The length of this cannon is only 40 centimeters , with a caliber of 4 cm and an outer diameter of slightly more than 10 cm. It is short and thin, and weighs only a quarter of that of the Condor Cannon. It is estimated that the clay mold will only take one month to dry in the shade, and the difficulty will be much less than that of the Condor Cannon. Give you two months , build the first sample cannon!"

"Ah, I follow your will. Your Majesty, what should I call this kind of artillery?"

"Well, there are eagle warriors and tiger warriors in the alliance. The eagle warriors are the army of the sun god, and the tiger warriors are the army of the rain god. The eagle soars in the sky, and the tiger crouches in the forest. Now that there are sun eagle cannons, this kind of The name of the cannon is Yushenhu Squatting Cannon!"