It was already dark, and the shallow-water heavy gunboat was on its way back.
This time, Yang Fan brought the Oirat Alliance, which was behind him, into chaos, which fully proved the strength of the Jingying camp. Let these confident Taijis know clearly that Jiuyuan City is not that easy to fight.
On the platform behind the cab, the two machine guns have been covered with gun jackets. A canvas roof was raised over the platform. There is a folding table in the middle.
Yang Fan, Zhang Wudian, Huo Shi, and Zhang Fengyi were having supper.
I played a day today and was very excited. I didn't even eat. I just ate a few pancakes at noon.
Today is an eye-opener for the Zhang family. It turns out that the battle can still be fought like this.
Zhang Wudian was also a veteran of war and a scholar-type official in the late Ming Dynasty. He personally presided over the casting of the Luzon Bronze Cannon and the General Cannon. However, I have never seen such sharp artillery as Yang Fan.
"Uncle Dingyuan, why is the range of your artillery so much higher than other artillery of the Ming Dynasty, and its performance is so advanced?" Zhang Wudian asked in confusion.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fengyi put down the iron plate in her hand, wiped Hong Dudu's lips with a napkin, and looked at Yang Fan.
"Mr. Zhang, the Ming Dynasty's artillery is easy to explode, so it cannot be loaded with too much propellant. This is because when casting, a mud film is used. The mud film is moist inside and cannot be completely dried. Completely dry It will crack. Therefore, after the molten iron is poured in, the water is heated and turns into water vapor. This water vapor will enter the cannon body during the gradual cooling process. "
Zhang Wudian nodded and said: "Yes, if this is the case, there will be bubbles and hairline cracks inside the gun body. The strength will be reduced and it will be easy to explode."
"My cannon barrel is a whole piece of red-hot steel billet. I first use a water-powered forging hammer to hammer it repeatedly and process it into a cylinder. In this way, during the hammering process, the air bubbles that entered the billet during the casting process will be squeezed out. Go and bridge the cracks." Yang Fan explained.
Zhang Fengyi asked in surprise: "That's a solid steel billet. How do you get the barrel inside out?"
Yang Fan smiled and said, "Whatever you do with the barrel of Rumi Gun, I do with the barrel of the cannon."
Zhang Fengyi exclaimed: "A gun barrel requires a skilled craftsman to use a steel pillar with a drill bit and drill it out bit by bit under the hammer. It would also take a skilled craftsman a month to drill out a qualified gun barrel." .Brother Yang, your cannon is so big, who has such strength?"
Yang Fan said: "Humans can't do it, but there is a steam engine. You have also seen that such a large ship can be pushed, and it is also possible to drill the gun bore. Since we already have power, we just need some equipment."
Zhang Wudian was filled with admiration. He fired three hundred rounds of the maximum charge today, and it was a miracle that the main gun did not explode.
"Mr. Zhang, even though the main gun has not exploded, in fact, it has almost reached its design life today. The design life of this gun is 350 rounds. When we go back this time, we will dismantle the main gun and send it for testing. Bring up a new main gun."
Zhang Wudian asked: "Uncle Dingyuan, many people don't understand why you are so interested in the northwest. Isn't it the slave-building who poses the greatest threat to the Ming Dynasty? If anyone can regain Liaodong, it is possible to become a prince or a duke. of."
Yang Fan nodded, he understood what Zhang Wudian meant. So he stood up and asked the orderly to carry a stand and hang up a map.
"Mr. Zhang, look at the differences between Gansu, Ningxia, Hetao, and Monan, a place shaped like a pig's knuckle."
Zhang Fengyi was amused and giggled. This metaphor was too vivid. Because there was a Dongpo elbow right on the table. It’s super delicious, much tastier than Zhang’s own.
Zhang Fengyi made up her mind to beat up the cook when she got home. Let him waste materials.
Gansu plus Alxa, plus Ningxia, Hetao area, and Monan Mongolia, it really looks like a pig knuckle. Zhang Wudian couldn't help but smile when he saw it.
"Look, Mr. Zhang, this place is actually a core area. To the south here is the Qinghai-Tibet region. There is a snow area."
"To the southeast from here are the eighteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty within the Great Wall. There is the Han District."
"To the west here is the Western Region, the Hui District.
"
"To the north here is Mongolia, the Mongolian area."
"To the east here is Liaodong, which I call Manchu District."
Zhang Wudian was suddenly startled and stood up. Because no one has ever pointed out the strategic value of the northwest in such a vivid way. This is simply a crossroads to different worlds.
No wonder both the Han and Tang dynasties established their capitals in Chang'an, just to control this crossroads nearby. After controlling this place, the Han and Tang Dynasties became powerful and controlled the Western Regions. Even Mobei and Liaodong.
"At the end of this year, the railway will be built in Guihua City. This area will be firmly in the hands of the Ming Dynasty from now on. It will never be lost again. I will immigrate three million refugees from the customs to colonize here. Today's Ming Dynasty, there is no more The valley is full of people. They don’t have any property to settle down and make a living. If we don’t find some way out for these refugees, I’m afraid catastrophe is not far away.”
Speaking of this, Zhang Wudian also looked helpless.
Anyone who can look at the problem objectively can understand the current shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty. People who have nothing to do, after eating this meal, and people who don’t know where to look for the next meal are everywhere.
Zhang Fengyi also couldn't eat anymore. She put down the soy sauce bone in her hand and said: "These years have become more and more arid, and the fields have become extinct and have reduced production. Outside our Zhangjiabao, there are also refugees everywhere. They We had no food to eat, so we stole and robbed everywhere. Brother Yang, my grandfather and mother and I escorted grain and grass from the Beijing camp to the northwest. What we saw along the way were similar to those in Shanxi. There is no good place in the entire northwest. You said How did this happen?"
Yang Fan said with a wry smile: "The gentry has annexed land, and there are fewer and fewer farmers. Moreover, it has been more than 250 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. The population has grown rapidly, but the cultivated land has not increased much."
"The war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty caused a significant decline in the population. With the end of the turmoil, by the Hongwu period, there were 65 million people in the country. Among them, 61.75 million were civilian households and 3.25 million were military households. Now there are two Ming Dynasty households. Tens of millions of people. Do you think these extra people can be fed by the land?"
Zhang Fengyi was stunned. She had no idea that there were so many people in Ming Dynasty.
"Brother Yang, you can't kill people after they are born. Then the only way is to restrain the gentry from annexing land. How about the court issuing a decree to let the gentry allocate some land to the poor who have no land." Zhang Fengyi raised her face. said.
Before she could finish her words, her mother gave her a big blow on the back of her head.
"Mother, why did you hit me?" Zhang Fengyi asked angrily.
"You can't stop your mouth after eating, so why are you grinning?" Huo said angrily. This girl is so wild that she dares to say anything in front of Uncle Dingyuan.
