Chapter 31 - 12: The Room on the Inner Side of the Corridor
In the classic novel "The Three Musketeers" by the French literary master Dumas, the four musketeers, including the protagonist, wield matchlock guns.
However, the story of "The Three Musketeers" is set in the first half of the 17th century, by which time light matchlock guns were completely obsolete, and the standard equipment distributed by the King’s Guard, which the protagonist D’Artagnan served, were heavy matchlock guns.
These guns were about as tall as a person from muzzle to stock, weighing between 8 to 11 kilograms, with a caliber of 18~22mm, making them difficult to handle for those not strong and sturdy.
Due to the overly long barrel and overly heavy body, heavy matchlock guns were extremely difficult to operate. To tackle this issue, they were usually equipped with a stand to aid in aiming, with the trigger held in the middle of a "U" shaped groove to balance the gun’s weight, thereby speeding up loading and saving physical effort.
Besides the stand, a fully equipped matchlock gunner also had to carry a bullet pouch, gunpowder bottle, priming flask, match cord, and a ramrod for ramming the lead bullet into the gun barrel.
These necessities severely affected the performance of the matchlock gunners in close combat.
Except for going into battle, when performing routine peacekeeping work, they usually used their swords more than their guns.
The other long gun hanging in the room is a typical heavy matchlock gun, well-maintained. Both the gun body and the often-used flash pan, powder pan, trigger, and the serpentine lever that clamped the match cord were wiped very clean, showing the gunner’s importance on it.
Returning the light matchlock gun to the wall, Chen Zhou picked up the butt of the heavy matchlock gun, rested it against his shoulder, tried to pull the trigger, and checked the gun’s condition.
The trigger moved the serpentine freely, with a noticeable resistance, neither too loose nor too stiff.
Obviously, this was a gun that could be used in actual combat, not just a shiny piece of silver decoration.
Focusing on the mechanical sight that stood out on the muzzle, Chen Zhou pretended to aim, recalling the complex usage steps of the matchlock gun.
The words he read and the diagrams he saw were buried deep in memory, and retrieving them became quite vague.
He vaguely remembered that the matchlock gun had to be muzzle-loaded; first, packing the powder and lead bullets tightly into the barrel, then loading the priming powder (used to ignite the firing charge) into the flash pan, finally locking the gun barrel’s end into the stand, adjusting aiming posture, lighting the match cord, and pulling the trigger after aiming.
Under the mechanism of the trigger, the serpentine holding the burning end of the match cord fell downward, touched the gunpowder in the flash pan, igniting it and firing the projectile.
The whole procedure sounded dizzy enough and became even more complex due to the gun body’s weight during actual operation.
It wasn’t Chen Zhou boasting; he believed that besides himself, if there were others who took up the challenge and got hold of the matchlock gun, they might not understand how to use it without one or two weeks.
Compared to common modern firearms, the counterintuitive aspects of the matchlock gun indeed were numerous.
Especially the muzzle loading, powder separation, these two tasks, people unfamiliar with matchlock guns might rack their brains and still not figure them out.
Fortunately, Chen Zhou had a strong desire to study during college, liked borrowing books, and had a good memory, enabling him to utilize these knowledge sources.
Carrying the matchlock gun, he searched around the room for the necessary accompanying equipment.
The first thing he opened was a horn-shaped gunpowder barrel.
Peering inside, there was a layer of waterproof oil paper, loosely filled with dark gunpowder, emanating the distinctive smell of saltpeter and sulfur.
At this time, the matchlock gun used the classic gunpowder formula "one sulfur, two saltpeter, three carbon" – black powder.
This historically significant gunpowder was simple to make but unstable, with a flash burn temperature reaching over 1000 degrees Celsius instantly, providing immense destructive power.
It’s no exaggeration to say, if a single spark fell into the gunpowder barrel now, Chen Zhou would be torn into pieces by the explosion in an instant, bits everywhere, even the aft castle of this ship wouldn’t be spared, at best resulting in collapsed walls and roofs; at worst, leveled to the ground.
Dealing with such substances requires utmost vigilance and respect, after all, life comes only once.
Chen Zhou carefully pinched a pinch, rubbing lightly, confirming that the black powder used as priming was dry and wouldn’t affect usage, he then closed the barrel lid, and opened the cabinet in the room.
On the upper shelf of the cabinet were the gunner’s clothes and miscellaneous portable items like dagger belts, while the lower drawers contained bags of lead bullets and bottled priming charge. These were the "good partners" of the matchlock gun, and Chen Zhou silently memorized their positions.
On the long table, Chen Zhou discovered a small barrel of wine and a large wooden cup.
The wooden cup, having held wine for years, was heavily imbued with its flavor, emitting a booze aroma from afar.
"Letting a drunkard manage the gunpowder, I really don’t know whether to commend your trust or curse you for being careless..."
With his nose itching from the alcohol smell, Chen Zhou sneezed and put down the matchlock gun from his shoulder—it had been weighing down his arms, making them sore.
Then he lifted the lids of two wooden crates in the room’s corner.
One of the boxes contained four small barrels of gunpowder, five light matchlock guns, a short gun, and three iron crowbars, along with a large bag of lead grape shots.
The other box was filled with thin lead plates. Chen Zhou tried to move it but couldn’t shift it even a bit.
Counting the number of lead plates in the box, he estimated based on experience that the whole box weighed at least five to six hundred pounds. If he wanted to transport them ashore, they would have to be moved in multiple shipments, requiring considerable effort.
"I wonder why they loaded so many lead plates onto the ship. Could it be to make lead bullets?"