At the end of September, the corn in the Lake District has just matured, bending the green stalks. The fragrance of grains carried in the wind, and large flocks of birds came to smell the fragrance.
Farmers in the village were mobilized, sleeping in the fields day and night, killing birds and animals that stole the corn. This hard work lasts for more than ten days, until the corn is completely ripe, and the farmers will go to the fields to harvest.
In this era, in order to increase the yield as much as possible, corn has always been harvested late. Fresh and tender corn is a luxury for the nobles. Most of the corn eaten by the common people is old, yellow and hard, and one bite of it raw can break one's teeth. From an agricultural perspective, this is to give full play to the post-ripening effect of crops. You have to wait until the leaves turn yellow, the bracts turn white, and the stems are completely dead before you can harvest one or two more buckets.
On this day, in the southeast of the capital, a large group of warriors wearing armor and holding bows, carrying strange golden-brown copper beasts, passed through the field stalks. The farmers along the way knelt on the ground in awe, not daring to look at the warriors. The villagers of Gyeonggi always have more knowledge. Even if there is no flag in today's battle, they must be the top nobles, even the supreme king!
Soon, the warriors disappeared behind the hills in the southeast. The farmers whispered a few words in low voices and continued to guard the farmland in the village. Waiting for the sun to rise into the sky, a roar of a giant beast suddenly sounded from the hills in the southeast, and then two more!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The voice was as loud as thunder, but also had the low tone of metal trembling. Then, there was a snap of the tree breaking. The villagers knelt on the ground in fear, facing the southeast direction, and prayed devoutly to the Lord God.
"God bless you!..."
"God bless you!"
Seeing the results of the shooting, the king was extremely excited. He roared excitedly, like a roaring jaguar. Behind him, Bertard opened his mouth in shock, and was absent-minded for a rare long time.
"Your Majesty, this is the gift of the Lord God! An indestructible artifact! The Sun Eagle Cannon!"
The director of the Bronze Bureau, Tiripi, looked excited and his face was full of irrepressible joy. He walked out from behind the cannon manipulator and stroked the golden-brown copper beast that was still smoking. The surface of the copper beast flashed with golden light, and its tentacles were scorching hot, just like his blazing chest.
"The gun weighs 500 kilograms, the projectile weighs about 2 kilograms, the caliber is 8 centimeters, the gun length is 1.2 meters, the aiming range is 500 meters, and the maximum range is 2-3 miles! Within 2 miles, there is no place in the world where the stone bullets can fall. Warriors can resist! If you block it, you will die, just like the big tree in front of you!!"
After speaking, he pointed forward. The cannon just fired flew over 1 mile and hit a big tree on the hill, directly breaking the tree in two! And he had tried it before, but even the strongest bronze heavy armor was as weak as newly made hemp paper in front of this condor cannon!
"2-pound eagle cannon, 2-pound eagle cannon, I finally created a truly epoch-making weapon! A real bronze cannon!!"
The king's excitement could never calm down. Because only he can truly know the significance of this bronze cannon to American civilization!
"This is the weapon in my hand that can really break through the colonists' plate armor! In front of it, even groups of plate armored infantry have lost their irresistible aura and become bulky and fragile! This is also the only weapon that can threaten the colonization A weapon for sailing ships! Even though it only weighs 2 pounds! With it, I have mastered the truth and justice against Westerners! It will become more powerful!..."
Deputy Director of the Military Industry Department, Chalape, stared at the Supreme King carefully with his eyes widened. This was the first time he had seen the king lose his composure.
"Haha, the Sun Eagle Cannon, a real bronze cannon!"
Two steps away, Tiripi was also laughing, like a child who had created a favorite toy, his whole body shaking with joy. All this is really not easy!
Since September last year, when he started making cannons, he has encountered hundreds of failures in a row. He has built more than a hundred clay molds alone! Seeing that the six-month period required by His Majesty was about to expire, he had been under tremendous pressure and even thought about committing suicide. Fortunately, His Majesty led the army to march north, leaving him enough time to continue exploring slowly.
All this time, he had room and board in the workshop, forcing the craftsmen and apprentices to work overtime day and night. Everyone overcame countless difficulties and suffered countless hardships, and only in June last year did they build the first qualified Sun Condor Cannon! The weight of the Condor cannon continued to increase, from 250 kilograms to 500 kilograms, and the inner diameter increased from 6 centimeters to 8 centimeters. It was only by casting the 1-pound cannon into a 2-pound cannon that all barrel leaks were eliminated, even if When placed in water, there are no bubbles at all.
After building the first condor cannon, everyone immediately sent a letter to the north to report the belated good news. Then, based on this successful experience, the clay mold and cannon casting process were adjusted. Bronze cannons were cast and melted one after another, and it was not until August this year that 10 usable condor cannons were cast from more than two hundred clay molds!
His Majesty once said, "If you cast a cannon out of clay molds, and you get two or three out of ten, you will be called a national expert!"
Thinking of these words, Tilippi simply wanted to look like "poof" on His Majesty's face. Obviously if you cast ten and get one, you are a rare craftsman blessed by God! He generously promised his craftsmen and apprentices, "As long as you can cast a qualified eagle cannon from ten clay molds, you will be directly promoted to a first-level divine priest regardless of your original identity!"
In two full years, he only promoted 8 people and forged 10 cannons! Yes, out of the 10 cannons, he cast 2 by himself.
Chalape looked at His Majesty who was talking excitedly to himself, and then at his younger brother who kept giggling. He didn't know what to say for a moment. He approached Bertard carefully and asked softly.
"Dear Holy Eagle Warrior Commander, should we call your Majesty..."
"Shh!"
Bertard reached out and stopped, shaking his head slightly. A pure smile appeared on his face.
"Just let Your Majesty be happy for a while longer."
"Yes, you are right!"
The two of them just waited quietly in the test firing range. There are three condor cannons, three squatting tiger cannons, and more than thirty craftsmen operating the cannons in the gun range. Outside the artillery field, there were a full five hundred bodyguards, closely guarding the surroundings. Further away, there was a patrol of samurai squads, driving away merchants or villagers who tried to approach.
After a long time, Shulot finally calmed down. He walked out from behind the protective earth wall, stepped forward in person, and touched the 2-pound eagle cannon. The inner and outer surfaces of the eagle cannon were polished smooth, glowing with the golden light of bronze. He looked at it carefully for a while before asking seriously.
"Tiripi, have you estimated the lifespan of this condor cannon?"
"life?"
"How many rounds can the barrel fire?"
Tilippi blinked, thought for a while, and smiled.
"Your Majesty, we have tested hundreds of rounds, and there is no damage to the barrel of this Condor Cannon. It seems to be more stable. It is estimated that there will be no problem if it fires more than a thousand rounds!"
"More than a thousand rounds?"
Shulot thought for a while and nodded. The artillery in front of me is only 2 pounds, the charge is only 2 kilograms, and the barrel length is only 1.2 meters. The gun's bore pressure is not high, its barrel is extremely thick, its bronze quality is very good, and smoothbore guns don't need to worry about rifling wear...it can shoot more than a thousand rounds, and there is really no problem.
Although the current poundage of bronze artillery is still very small, it has formed a comprehensive crushing advantage over the wooden cannons used by the alliance. The range, accuracy, and service life of bronze cannons are much higher than wooden cannons. The air tightness of wooden cannons is low, and their kinetic energy is attenuated greatly. Their lifespan is usually only a few dozen rounds, and the distance is no more than a hundred or ten meters. They are simple temporary firearms. Generally speaking, the two are not products of the same era at all.
"Tiripi, what is the success rate of cannon casting now? How long does it take to cast a qualified condor cannon?"
"Your Majesty, the current success rate of cannon casting... is about one in ten. But the craftsmen are making rapid progress."
Although Tilipi complained about His Majesty in his heart, he did not dare to show it at all. At this moment, he lowered his head slightly and looked respectful.
"As long as there is enough copper, we can start working on dozens of clay molds at the same time...On average, can we produce one condor cannon a month?...Ah, no, if we work overtime, two cannons will be no problem!"
Seeing His Majesty's eyebrows raised, Tiripi quickly added.
Shulot thought deeply and nodded slowly.
"1 in 10 success rate...2 doors per month..."
In the early stages of a technological leap, the success rate of manufacturing is always low. After all, this was the first successful cannon-casting attempt in the entire Mesoamerican civilization! As long as zero breakthroughs are made, technical experience will continue to accumulate, and the manufacturing success rate will steadily increase.
"Tiripi, you just said that the weight of this condor cannon is 500 kilograms?"
"...Yes, Your Majesty."
"Can you make it lighter? A 500-pound cannon is too difficult to carry with the army. I'm afraid there will be problems when traveling over mountains and ridges."
Shulot frowned slightly. Now that there is no reliable alpaca beast, we can't let the alpaca carry the cannon, right?
"Your Majesty, the bronze workshop can try to reduce the weight of the cannon. But we must first ensure that the barrel will not leak..."
Tilippi looked embarrassed and replied carefully.
Hearing this, Shulot understood. The kingdom's technology and craftsmanship levels are not up to par, and it can only develop in a stupid, big, black and crude direction. This is the way for future generations to make money. If movement and cost are not considered, the Condor cannon can be doubled and weighed 4,000 kilograms, and a 10-pound and a half long barrel cannon can be produced.
During this era, "terrible" 18-pound long-barreled guns () and 10-pound semi-long-barreled guns (demi-) had appeared in Europe, and iron bullets were used to replace stone bullets, which were used in tragic battles for fortresses.
The standard 18-pound long-barreled gun weighs 4,500 kilograms, has a caliber of 13-14 centimeters, and a gun length of 3.5 meters. One shot "erodes" twelve or three miles. Of course, the effective aiming distance is only about 3 miles. The common 10-pound semi-long barrel gun weighs 3,000 pounds, has a caliber of 10-11 centimeters, a gun length of 2.6 meters, a maximum range of 9 miles, and an effective range of 1.5 miles. These are the current most advanced artillery manufacturing levels in Europe, and they are continuing to make rapid progress.
However, for Central America, which has terrible terrain, there is no need to worry about these European "heavy artillery". The difficult rain forests and complex mountains will turn all heavy artillery into immovable scrap metal.
At the beginning of casting the cannon, Shulot had a clear idea. The empire's future artillery must be mainly light infantry artillery. Thinking of this, he looked at the side of the Condor Cannon again. They were three short and lightweight Tiger Crouching Cannons with a length of 0.4 meters, a diameter of 4 centimeters, and a weight of 100 kilograms. The Tiger Crouching gun body is tightened with copper hoops and equipped with fixed copper claws. This kind of cannon is much easier to cast than a long-barreled cannon, and it is also easier to carry.
"Tiripi, how powerful is this tiger crouching cannon?"
The king asked with a smile.
A confident smile appeared on Tiripi's face. He stretched out his hand and pointed at the earth wall behind him.
"God bless you! Your Majesty, please retreat behind the earth wall. I will let the gunners test-fire the Rain God Tiger Crouching Cannon!"
"Okay! God bless you!"
A long wind blew, bringing the smell of gunpowder smoke in the air. The king sniffed twice and showed a sincere smile. This kind of breath is so intoxicating, full of the power of light and justice.
7017k
