While he was talking, a soldier suddenly came to report that the cannon sacrificial ceremony was ready. [Read the latest chapter] In order to deal with the firearms of the Kun thieves, Foshan sent ten newly cast Hongyi cannons. He Rubin asked people to choose an auspicious day and personally sacrifice the cannon and test the cannon.
Today is an auspicious day. He Rubin and his staff came to the school grounds. All the main generals under his command were here, and Lu Yizhong was also here, looking around. I saw ten gleaming blue cannons mounted on newly made old elm two-wheeled and double-legged cannon carts, which looked very honest and strong. An offering table was set up in front of the cannon, with a red paper tablet on it with the inscription "The Great General Cannon's God's Table". In front of the tablet are placed three animal offerings, sake, incense burners, candlesticks and other items.
He Rubin took the garrison commander Li Mo Dao, who held the firearms battalion, to wash his hands and burn incense, and bowed three times to the God of Artillery. He also recited a prayer prepared by his staff in advance, then picked up the wine flask, filled the cup, and poured it on the ground. The ten gunners first knelt down to salute the commander-in-chief and others, then walked to the cannon, knelt down and kowtowed three times before coming over to push the cannon.
The next step is to practice artillery - the so-called "cannon fire". Newly cast cannons must be trial-fired as usual, which is a very common thing in weapons manufacturing. However, once the cannons are used, traditional weapons such as siege machinery and trebuchets used in China immediately pale in comparison, and it is inevitable to be infected with the disease. The cannons have become mysterious and come up with various rituals. Since the Yuan Dynasty, cannons have been titled and sacrificed.
He Rubin attaches great importance to the cannon sacrifice. On the one hand, he believed that this would help improve morale, and on the other hand, he also wanted to know how powerful the Hongyi cannons manufactured in this province were. He came into contact with the Red Yi Cannon earlier. When the Red Yi Cannon was first introduced during the Tianqi Year, he had seen test firings, learned Western gunnery, and even made a firearms book of his own.
At that time, the technology for imitating Hongyi cannons was already quite mature. The cannons produced in Li Luoyou's foundry were modeled on cannons borrowed from Macau, and Ma Yangchun, a German missionary who was harboring in his family, was always there to give him guidance. After returning from Lingao, based on what he saw and heard at the Lingao Artillery Factory and the advice of the Europeans around him, he made some local equipment and also applied the technology of boring the cannon bore. Therefore, the Hongyi cannons produced are obviously better than other cannons.
"These cannons are well cast," he praised. He had already seen that these cannons were relatively light Hongyi cannons, "Who made these?"
"My lord, this is made by the Li family foundry in Foshan." Li Modao reported, "His foundry is different from other foundries, and the cannons are particularly excellent."
He Rubin thought for a moment and asked, "Is it that Li Luoyou?"
"Exactly. I was very flattered when I heard that he was making cannons. I specifically asked Fujun to write a letter and let Fo Langji lend him the cannons to imitate."
"No wonder he makes good cannons. Shopkeeper Li is half a foreigner." He Rubin said with a smile, "I heard that when he was young, he worked as a waiter for the foreign monk Fo Langji in Haojing, and he was quite close to the foreign monk. What’s the difference between Fo Langji and people?”
Everyone laughed. Everyone knows that He Rubin is very disgusted with foreign religions. Of course he is very disgusted with people who are Christians and have deep connections with the Christian community in Macau.
"Please give me your instructions," Li Mo said with his knife crossed in his hands, "Do you want to perform cannon immediately?" After receiving He Rubin's consent, Li Mo waved his command flag:
"My lord, you have your life. Let's test the cannon immediately."
Following the order, ten gunners immediately ran over and pushed out one of the cannons. The Hongyi cannon is very heavy. Even for such a light artillery that shoots five-pound shells, the barrel of the gun weighs 1,500 kilograms. In order to make the cannon carriages durable and durable, the materials used were particularly thick and heavy, and many iron nails were added to the cannon wheels. Hoop, the whole artillery is very heavy and heavy, and it is quite difficult for ten gunners to push it.
The gunners pushed the cannon into position, and one of them first measured the angle with a blunderbuss gauge. The Hongyi cannon is actually a cannon, and generally fires at a smaller angle of fire for maximum range.
The gunner loudly reported: "The gun gauge is six points higher." Then a gunner used a hammer to hammer the triangular wedge between the barrel and the gun frame, causing the gun body to gradually rise.
The gun gauge is six points higher, which is roughly equivalent to a 45-degree angle of fire, which is the elevation angle used by the smoothbore cannon at its maximum range.
"The cannon is six cents tall, and its bullet can reach one thousand and fifty-three steps." He Rubin said to his staff and generals, "If it is seven cents tall, the bullet can reach a short step." He himself wrote "Western Fire Attack Artifact", I know this stuff by heart.
Li Modao said respectfully: "What you have seen is very true."
After the gun body was raised to its position, the gunner shouted again: "Two pounds and six ounces of medicine."
The other two gunners quickly picked up a porcelain jar from the pit. This kind of porcelain jar is specially used to hold gunpowder. It is glazed both inside and outside, with a tie neck for fastening, and a cane and bamboo cover on the outside for easy handling. The gunner opened the sealing clay of the can, uncovered the sealed porcelain plate, used a wooden measuring spoon to measure the gunpowder one spoon at a time, and poured it into the gun chamber. A gunner used a long pestle to poke the gunpowder into the bottom of the gun chamber, and fired at the gun near the bottom of the gun chamber. Insert a fuse made of paper and gunpowder into the door, continue to charge the gunpowder, tighten it, install a wooden code, and then load the iron bullet.
Li Modao asked everyone to retreat ten feet away, and many other soldiers also retreated far away, making preparations for emergencies. Li Modao only stepped back a foot, waved the small flag in his hand, and said:
"point"
A gunner lit the fuse with a torch. The gunners immediately retreated to Li Modao, looking nervously at the short fuse that was hissing and sparking.
Although the cannon was very powerful, the cannon casting at that time lacked process management, and the materials for cannon casting were also mixed, so the quality could not be guaranteed; the gunners who lacked experience studied Western gunnery books that were translated without considering the conversion of weights and measures... This made Many artillery pieces will explode on the first shot. Often many people were killed or injured.
The fuse burned into the fire door with hissing sparks. Suddenly, the fire door flashed red, and then the muzzle spurted fire and made a loud noise. Everyone felt the ground beneath their feet shake, and suddenly there was thick smoke in front of the cannon. When the cannon fired, the staff and soldiers instinctively bent their waists, and the gunners also squatted down.
Li Modao bent over and opened his mouth quickly when he saw the red light. After the cannon fired, he quickly ran close to the cannon, inspected it and touched it with his hand. Feeling relieved, he hurried over to report:
"My lord, the cannon body is intact."
He Rubin, his staff, and generals approached. Check the gun body and gun mount, they are as strong as ever. Very satisfied. A moment later, a soldier galloped back from the mound two miles away to report: the cannonball flew over the mound and broke a tree behind the mound.
"Kun Thief claims to have sharp firearms, how does it compare to this cannon?" He Rubin said with a smile.
"No matter how sharp the Kun Thief's cannon is, it can't be more sharp than this." Chang Qingyun said.
"Haha, this is just a small cannon with five kilograms of bullets. If it were a big cannon that fired fifteen kilograms of bullets, it could destroy three or four miles with one shot. No matter how sharp the Kun thief's firearm is, it can only be like this." He Rubin said confidently, "Li Guard, how many cannons does the firearms battalion have now?”
"Report to your lord: Including these ten Hongyi cannons, the total number of new and old cannons is one hundred and sixty-four."
"Tiger crouching cannons and the like are not included. Excluding these small cannons, how many are there?"
"Reporting to your lord: there are thirty-eight of them."
"Okay." He Rubin was quite satisfied. "Here are the latest samples of Western artillery shells sent by the Ministry of Industry. You can try them one by one. If they are useful, please immediately order the artillery factory to make more."
"Yes, sir."
This batch of new artillery shells was cast under the auspices of Tang Ruowang and was trial-fired by armies equipped with Hongyi cannons in Liaodong, Gyeonggi, Shandong, Fujian, Guangdong and other places.
This batch of artillery shells have different names, including the so-called roaring dragon shells, refined shells, drill shells, and chisel shells. There are all kinds of strange things. Li Modao loaded and fired one by one, but no one could see the specific effect of the newly delivered strange shells, and their range was much shorter. Only the huge whistling sound made by the Roaring Dragon when it ejected made everyone think it had a certain deterrent effect.
As for the chain bullets, which are divided into two parts after being fired, with a chain in the middle; the split bullets with a fixed iron bar in the two hemispheres, and the broad bullets with four hemispheres held by chains on the iron buttons in the middle, look at They were very powerful, but the range was much shorter. The staff felt that instead of shooting these shells, it would be better to shoot ball shells and shotgun shells directly.
"Li Shoubei, what do you think of these shells?" He Rubin asked.
"Sir, the sound of roaring dragon bullets is like a dragon's roar, which can intimidate the enemy. However, it is not the right way. As for other things..." Li Modao felt that these strange-shaped shells were of no use. It’s a waste of material, but the shot can’t reach far.”
"Foreign monks know how to come up with some weird stuff to deceive people." He Rubin said with a smile, "We don't need this bunch of messy stuff."
He Rubin then inspected the firearms camp. This firearms battalion was specially set up to deal with the Kun bandits. It mobilized many artillery pieces and built many new artillery carts. He Rubin was very satisfied to see that the firearms camp was neatly organized, the armor and weapons were well-equipped, and the soldiers were either practicing or maintaining their equipment. They were busy and there were no idle soldiers.
"Li Shou Bei"
"Sir" Li Modao hurried up.
"You lead the troops well."
"I fully respect the power of the tiger"
Ru Bin nodded, "I heard that you are good at using firearms. Kun Thief has a reputation for being sharp with firearms. What do you think?"
"Reporting to your lord," Li Modao said cautiously, "I have never seen the firearms of the Kun thieves. I have only heard that they have huge cannons, and one cannon can reach more than ten miles. In my opinion, these rumors are often exaggerated. place."
"How can I see it?"
"Bizhi has been in the army for sixteen years. He started out as a three-eyed gunman and has handled countless large and small firearms. However, the range of firearms is often exaggerated. Based on what I have seen from the cannons I have used over the years, the range of the Zhongflang machine gun is It can only take two hundred steps, and the tiger's crouching cannon can only take thirty or forty steps. But in the book, it is said that it can reach several miles or tens of miles. That is to say, in the case of Hongyi cannon, it has a difference of one thousand catties, two thousand catties, and five thousand catties. , in fact, the longest range of the projectile is only three miles. Even if the cannon is huge, it may not shoot far."
He Rubin admired his words quite a lot, thinking that they could only be said by someone with actual combat experience. He took a look at the thirty-year-old officer. This man has a Chinese character face, a tall, muscular body, and a powerful figure. At first glance, he looks like a general who is good at fighting in battle.
"Have you ever fought in battle?"
"Reporting to your lord, Beizhi once accompanied Lord Zhou in the Xi Army Camp to conquer the Sarhu. After the defeat of the East Route Army, Beizhi led his brothers to defend the high hill and defended the enemy with firearms until it was getting late and the soldiers were slacking off. , just now he broke through the siege in one go." Li Modao was very proud of this period of history.
"The defense in Liaodong relies heavily on firearms." He Rubin asked, "Now that the firearms of the Kun thieves are not under my control, and the enemy and we are both in danger, how should we arrange the firearms?"
Li Modao's face turned red with excitement. The Commander-in-Chief asked him for advice, and it would be a great honor to tell him. He had thought about this matter many times before, and then he composed himself and said:
"Based on my humble opinion, although the Kun thieves have tens of thousands of troops, they are either Fujian and Guangdong traitors or coerced common people, a rabble. They will not dare to fight in the field with our army. The Kun thieves' plan is nothing more than what Hong Mao did in Penghu. The trick is to set up a fortified stronghold and install heavy artillery to defend a corner of the territory. Our soldiers always surround the rear. The enemy's artillery range is almost the same as ours. Our soldiers can dig trenches and advance to half a mile or one mile in front of the enemy's stronghold wall. The trenches must be wide. It is deep enough for the artillery carriage. Our artillery moves forward from the bottom of the trench and reaches the wall of the village gate. Our artillery can reach the enemy, but the enemy's artillery cannot hurt me."
"What if the bandits go out of the city to seize the cannon?"
"At each artillery position, two teams of infantry are deployed, equipped with squatting tiger cannons and three-eyed guns. They are ready to fight at any time. Our soldiers have deep trenches to hide themselves, and the enemy's artillery cannot reach them. If there is a shortage of troops, we can send fresh replacements at any time."
He glanced at He Rubin and said quickly: "It's just a humble opinion to work in a humble job."
He Rubin had never heard of such a tactic: digging a trench on the ground, and having artillery soldiers walk at the bottom of the trench. I originally thought of dismissing it as "ridiculous", but now I think this method may not be useless. If the thief Kun refuses to retreat, he can still give it a try.
But he doesn't say it's good or bad. He left expressionlessly among the stars.
Li Modao carefully sent the general soldier away. There was some uneasiness in my heart: I didn't know whether my remarks made the Commander-in-Chief happy or unhappy, or whether they were to his liking. He Zongbing himself was promoted to a garrison rank after sixteen years of service. He recently became a battalion general again and was very concerned about his future.
"Sir, are you satisfied with the firearms camp?" As soon as He Rubin left, several of his closest confidants, Mr. Qian, gathered around him.
"How do I know?" Li Modao said impatiently, "You guys have taken care of the brothers one by one. It seems that this time we are going to fight against the Kun thieves and our firearms camp will have a big fight."
After his men dispersed, Li Modao took a look at the various strange-shaped shells waiting for the soldiers to recover. He walked over and squatted on the ground, carefully looking at the cannonballs cast by the foreign monk. Although the new cannonballs performed poorly when fired, Li Modao vaguely felt that these cannonballs had their own purposes, but he didn't know it.
"If there is someone around me who knows Western artillery skills, I can ask him clearly." Li Modao thought to himself.
When it comes to Western artillery, He Zhen is certainly the number one person in the Guangdong and Guangxi armies, but he is just a small guard, how dare he casually ask Master Zhentai for advice.
"After the gun barrels have been cleaned, prepare to harness the horses and return to camp." He ordered the soldiers to clean the gun barrels and pack away the items.
The soldiers brought in the newly purchased Sichuan horses and harnessed them to the cannon. The Sichuan horse is small and weak. This kind of artillery carriage is very heavy and heavy, and there is no artillery front carriage. The horses pulling it not only have to pull it forward, but also bear the weight on the back. The efficiency of using animal power is very poor, and it takes seven or eight horses to pull it. Li Modao knew that local Mongolian horses were very rare, and Jiangnan and Guangdong did not raise mules, so he had to use Sichuan horses to make up the numbers.
"This horse is too weak, not as strong as a mule." A boss next to him said.
"This is the Xiaochuan horse from the south. It is smaller than the donkeys in Shandong." Li Modao said, "It can't even match a donkey when it pulls a cart. It can carry goods on mountain roads, but it can't pull a cart or a cannon."
"I see there are a lot of cattle here, so I might as well use cattle."
"Cows are too slow." He shook his head. "And they are easily frightened. On the battlefield, when a cannon is fired, if a cow is frightened, wouldn't it be bad immediately?"
However, the ox has great strength, and its strength is greater than that of the Sichuan horse, which can barely drag the cannon. However, there are more than 30 cannons in the camp that weigh more than 1,000 kilograms. Each person needs four oxen, which means more than 100 oxen, and there are corresponding civilian husbands. I don’t know if He Zhen is willing to spend this extra expense.
After returning to the camp and setting up the cannon, Li Modao went to the gunpowder factory at the foot of Ya Xi Niang Mountain. About five or six miles away from the military camp fort, there was a large shack, which was a gunpowder manufacturing workshop. Materials for making gunpowder: sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter are shipped day and night from all over the country. Occasionally, other things are also shipped, including dried human excrement, poisonous Chinese herbal medicines such as aconite, and lime tung oil. kind.
As the commander of the firearms camp, Li Modao was most concerned about the supply of gunpowder. Although the officers and soldiers did not lack gunpowder, the quality of gunpowder varied widely. The gunpowder was so poor that it could only emit a puff of black smoke, and the cannon fell off the barrel once it was ejected. Sometimes the gunpowder was too strong and exploded directly in the barrel, often causing heavy casualties to the gunner.
During this expedition, He Rubin entrusted him with the task of manufacturing gunpowder projectiles. He commanded the firearms camp. Gunpowder projectiles were a matter of life and death and must not be ignored.
There were many large iron pots in the shed, cooking something, emitting an unpleasant smell. Li Modao knew that this was purifying nitrate and sulfur.
Not far away, there are three large stone mills, pulled by Sichuan horses, to crush charcoal; there are many people pounding the ashes there, and many people are sifting the ashes to sift out fine black powder. . Others added sulfur, nitrate and other things to charcoal powder according to the prescribed proportions to make gunpowder.
The prepared gunpowder powder was put into the stone trough, and the craftsmen used thick wooden pestles to continuously pound the gunpowder powder in the stone trough. An old craftsman sat aside, twisting the powder with his hands from time to time, and adding some water. The gunpowder powder should be pounded as finely as possible. Li Modao remembered that the book stipulated that the gunpowder powder should be pounded more than five thousand times, and he didn't know how the craftsmen counted it.
Some craftsmen spray slightly viscous water soaked in wheat onto the spread gunpowder powder, and then use a bamboo sieve to shake out gunpowder particles of various thicknesses. v! ~!
