The gun warehouse is located below the deck. It was left behind when Han Du specially asked Tang He to build the ship. It is divided into two floors, the upper and lower floors. The two floors of gun warehouses are filled with cannons, as well as projectiles and gunpowder wrapped in oil paper. These gunpowders are not gunpowder, but black gunpowder prepared by Han Du according to the optimal ratio.
Why doesn't Handu use collodion? There is no other reason than that collodion is too expensive. If Handu uses it to fire such solid projectiles, it is simply not cost-effective and cannot be used. It is a real waste of money.
Although black gunpowder is much less powerful than collodion, it is mainly due to its low price. If the power is not enough, it can be solved by loading more gunpowder.
Even so, Handu refined the artillery to the extreme. The artillery was cast in the same size and made of fine steel. With the large amount of steel produced by the blast furnace, casting hundreds of cannons is just like playing. The projectiles are also cast according to standard sizes. Although they cannot be said to be exactly the same, at least the naked eye cannot tell any difference. There is also gunpowder. Each package is wrapped in oil paper and has a standard weight of gunpowder that has been weighed.
"The cannon is in position, ready." The sound of the cannon being ready came from the gun warehouse.
Han Du picked up the telescope and looked at it again, and immediately ordered: "Load on the starboard side."
"Starboard loading."
"Hurry up......"
"Hurry up and run, don't be like an old lady, taking your time..."
Under the urging of the commander of the artillery warehouse, the soldiers started running nervously and orderly. Those who ran slowly would inevitably get kicked in the butt by the commander, but fortunately it was not serious.
But no matter how much they were urged, this was the first time these soldiers used artillery. Therefore, it is still full of loopholes, and it is not fast and effective at all.
Some of them stooped and tried to push the cannon out, but did not push it until they reached their waists; some of them stuffed the entire gunpowder package into the cannon before tearing the oil paper; some of them could not distinguish the left and right sides, and they clearly said It was the starboard side, but he ran to the port side.
Anyway, there are problems everywhere and full of loopholes.
But even if they were to blame, they could only blame Handu. No one had ever allowed them to test-fire once, and some had only entered the gun bay several times for practice. There was no way, even just one practice session with live ammunition was enough to make Han Du feel heartbroken. More importantly, Ming could not withstand such training.
The navy has always been a wealthy branch, and it is not beyond the reach of rich and handsome men. The navy of the Ming Dynasty is now so poor that it loses its pants, so naturally it is impossible to waste it casually.
However, the disadvantages of not undergoing strict live-fire training are now highlighted. The speed of loading the artillery is too slow. Han Du waited for a long time, and all he could feel was the commotion in the cannon warehouse under his feet, but there was no news that it was ready for a long time.
Han Du looked into the telescope and saw that the Japanese pirate ship had passed the optimal attack angle. I couldn't help but sigh in my heart. If this happens again in the future, the handler of the gun warehouse should be dragged out and shot.
In desperation, Han Du had no choice but to continue to order, "Send the order, full right rudder."
"Full right rudder!"
"Raise the mainsail."
"Raise the mainsail!"
Following Han Du's continuous orders, the person turning the helm pushed the girder with all his strength, twisting the rope and making a creaking sound. The man who raised the sail was as nimble as a monkey. He quickly hung the mainsail rope on the pulley along the rope on the mast. With the clatter of the pulley, the mainsail was quickly hoisted.
Seeing this, Han Du couldn't help but think that if the cannon warehouse had such speed just now, the Japanese pirates wouldn't have been able to escape.
But it doesn't matter, the initiative is still in your own hands until now. One advantage of the fast speed of warships is that it is difficult for Japanese pirates to catch up. I have enough time to wait for the gun warehouse to be loaded.
When the Japanese pirates saw the Ming Dynasty warship, they still refused to contact them and still looked like they wanted to escape. He even stood arrogantly on the boat, yelling and waving the samurai sword, looking ferocious.
There were even a few ships that were lagging behind. They didn't care about anything and rushed towards the Ming army's warships. It was as if the Ming army was just a piece of fat meat now, and they couldn't wait to rush forward and take the fattest bite.
It's no wonder that the Japanese pirates thought this way, thinking that even if the Ming army they encountered didn't have an advantage, they wouldn't be intimidated. Didn't you rush in and fight them as soon as you saw them that time?
Although these three warships are not occupied now, due to the height of the warships, they are not without the power of the station. But they wanted to escape uncharacteristically, which had to make the Japanese pirates wonder whether these three warships had no combat power at all.
Only in this way will you be so eager to escape.
Just as the Japanese pirates were charging over happily, Han Du's long-awaited voice finally came.
"Loaded."
"Loaded."
Han Du heard this and quickly picked up the telescope. Looking at the Japanese pirate ship in the camera, I kept calculating the location and distance in my mind.
Holding your breath and concentrating, the surrounding wind, waves, gun barrels, and Japanese pirates' sounds all seemed to disappear for a moment. The entire sea seemed to be quiet.
"Fire!" Han Du suddenly waved his arm.
Jiang Ming immediately roared towards the cannon warehouse below, "Fire!"
boom! boom! Boom~
There were continuous booms and the roar of artillery. Long columns of white smoke erupted from the muzzle, followed by iron balls.
The sudden sound of cannons stunned the Japanese pirates.
Japanese pirates are basically wandering warriors from the Japanese country. Now that the Japanese country is in the Warring States Period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, countless Japanese pirates have to take the risk of going to the sea to find a living.
These Japanese pirates had never even heard of cannons, let alone seeing them. After all, even when the Japanese were fighting in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, they did not have such sharp artillery as the Ming army.
Therefore, when the Ming army fired artillery, the Japanese pirates did not understand what was going on. In their impression, bows and arrows cannot shoot from such a long distance. But there was a huge uneasiness that enveloped everyone's hearts.
The Japanese pirates who were shouting wantonly suddenly became silent.
At a distance of only two miles, the shells arrived in an instant.
The cannonball fell into the sea and instantly splashed up a high column of water. The water jets fell on the Japanese pirates, turning them into drowned rats. Even the sails were soaked by the water jets.
These are the luckiest ones.
A cannonball hit the waterline of a Japanese pirate ship, instantly creating a big hole. The seawater rushed in, but within a dozen breaths, you could see that the ship was tilting significantly.
