Chapter 229 3. Can the Matchlock only Be Made of Hemp?

"Reserve fund? How much do you need?" After listening to Kobayata's analysis, Yoshiharu Yamauchi also knew the necessity of ensuring the survival of small self-employed farmers. Weddings and funerals are all major events, and he is willing to help if he can. Although he must pay for the wages, he is still willing to spend this amount.

Moreover, this reserve fund system is not a new thing. From the Warring States Period to the Edo Period, many daimyo lords set up such special funds in their territories. Generally, it is used to subsidize poor samurai, or to subsidize smart and motivated samurai youths to study, or to open local elementary schools.

This policy has a long history and has been implemented for at least three or four hundred years. Because it is aimed at ordinary poor samurai, the daimyo lords are relatively restrained, and the impact is too great, so no one dares to take advantage of this money. Even the Shimazu clan and the Mori clan borrowed money to invest in it to ensure operation.

"Not a cent, not a cent!" Kobayata said loudly!

"Koyata, there is no joking in front of the king. How can we lend money without capital?" The chief accountant of Yamauchi, who was listening, finally spoke.

"Please give me one year, Your Highness, and give me 3,000 kan. I will return all of it to Your Highness after one year. The profit generated will be the capital."

Yamauchi Yoshiharu and the chief accountant of Yamauchi were a little confused. According to their estimates, the capital must be at least 3,000 to 5,000 kan to get this thing done. But what business can immediately double the capital or even make more money in one year? This is too difficult.

"Koyata, do you already have a plan?" Yamauchi Yoshiharu was a little puzzled. Although Koyata's ability to manage politics and finances had long been spread throughout Kanto Koshin, such a high-profit thing is always unreliable.

"What do you think is the most profitable?" "Of course it's the gold mine. If you dig it well, you can get thousands of taels of gold with a capital of several hundred kan a year, which is ten times the profit." The Shinshino Gold Mine produces thousands of taels of gold every year and is one of the pillar industries of the Yamauchi family.

"Gold is not everywhere, and there will always be a day when it will be mined out. It is not a long-term business." Xiao Pingtai looked like a master, calm and composed.

"Those that can make money are raw silk, silk cloth, war horses, iron cannons, etc., which are expensive and sell well." Yamanouchi Yoshiharu mentioned several relatively expensive products produced in Yamanouchi territory that can be exported.

"Although it is not right, it is not far off." Xiao Pingtai finally said this pretentious golden sentence.

"Your Highness, what are the disadvantages of iron cannons?" When Xiao Pingtai heard Yamanouchi Yoshiharu talking about iron cannons, he began to expand on this line of thought.

"Iron cannons, they cannot be used in rainy days, foggy days, strong winds, and humidity." Yamanouchi Yoshiharu began to list a series of unusable things.

Of course, Xiao Pingtai did not interrupt him, but waited quietly for the leader to finish speaking, and nodded from time to time to show his agreement.

Iron cannons, also known as matchlock guns, are products after hundreds of years of development of gunpowder weapons. Although the flintlock will soon replace it, the matchlock is still a very advanced firearm in East Asia.

But since it will be replaced, it must have a lot of flaws. Apart from the inevitable reasons such as manufacturing process, such as the good quality of British steel and the inferior quality of Spanish steel, its biggest flaw lies in its ignition device!

Since it is necessary to ignite gunpowder and use the energy generated by the explosion of gunpowder to push the lead bullet out, whether gunpowder can be ignited during wartime has become a top priority. The iron cannon that cannot be ignited is better than the fire stick.

But the setting of the iron cannon is to install gunpowder in an open gunpowder pool, and then press the ignited matchlock into the gunpowder pool by pulling the trigger, ignite the gunpowder and complete the shooting.

The current black gunpowder is afraid of strong winds and moisture. Once the wind and rain come, the gunpowder will become ineffective, blown away and soaked. But not only that, even the matchlock used for ignition is very precious. It is easy to extinguish if it is too wet, and it will burn quickly if it is dried. If the wind is too strong, it will easily go out. If there is no wind, the high temperature will directly ignite it.

So it is said that water and fire are ruthless, and playing with firearms is equally ruthless. There are risks everywhere, and there are minefields everywhere. If you make a mistake, you will go to heaven to see God, and the death is extremely tragic.

However, Xiao Pingtai is not good at making flintlock guns, and the iron cannon workshop of the Yamauchi family produces 40 to 50 iron cannons and more than 20 gun barrels per month. One iron cannon is worth 12 taels of gold, or 12 strings of Yongle coins, or more than 48 strings of evil Japanese coins. It is already a big business that makes a lot of money every day, and Yamauchi Yoshiharu likes it very much. It is unrealistic to stop the production and development of flintlock guns directly, so it is better to try to improve the iron cannon.

Although the iron cannon is produced by Yamauchi, most of the matching gunpowder, lead bullets, and matchlocks still have to be purchased in Omi or Sakai, because these things cannot be produced in Shinano.

Gunpowder is made of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter, and lead bullets can be made by melting lead ingots. Xiao Pingtai's goal is to make a matchlock.

Matchlocks are generally made of hemp ropes made of hemp fibers or cloth ropes made of cotton cloth strips. They are soaked in acid (potassium nitrate, lead acetate), fully soaked and dried, and then they can be used for slow burning. Of course, there are also examples of using castor oil or petroleum to soak hemp ropes in other parts of the world and then use them as matchlocks.

However, Japan has no petroleum at all, so there is no need to think of those strange methods. If you want to improve the quality of matchlocks, you still have to think of ways to improve the matchlocks themselves, and Xiao Pingtai has indeed had a plan for this method.

First of all, it is fire resistance. The fibers in hemp and kapok are definitely much more fire-resistant than grass fibers. Of course, raw silk is more fire-resistant, but hemp and cotton are already very expensive. Using raw silk to make ropes is really like burning gold. So the choice of materials is actually very narrow, and even cannot be changed.

Then we consider the problem that the wind will extinguish it, and it will not light up when it is wet. This is actually a problem, that is, the material selection of the matchlock needs to be more adaptable to the battlefield, more weather-resistant, and more convenient and practical for soldiers in harsh environments.

After going around in circles, Yamanouchi Yoshiharu and Yamanouchi Shuketou were finally understood by Xiao Pingtai. It seems that Xiao Pingtai wants to do the matchlock business, and the weapon matching business is indeed not bad.

However, although hemp and kapok are not too expensive, they can be sold for 40 or 50 yuan when twisted into a matchlock, which seems to have huge profits. But Qingzhu, or Qingma, is sold exclusively by Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu's brother-in-law Uesugi Terutora, who is a man who settles accounts with his brothers. The price of hemp fiber is not cheap, plus the labor and acid, a pair of tinderbox can't make much money.

How can it be possible to double 3,000 kan in a year? It's impossible! If tinderbox can make a lot of money, Uesugi Terutora would have done it long ago, and there would be no turn for the Yamanouchi family.

"What if we don't use hemp, but use grass?" Xiao Pingtai smiled slightly.