Covering an area of several thousand acres, and built under the personal supervision of the emperor, the Jiangnan Arms Manufacturing Branch, located in the west of Jinling City, in the middle of the Yangtze River, on Bailuzhou, attracted everyone's attention from the first day of construction.
Sulfur from the west, iron ore from the east, and saltpeter from the southwest are all concentrated on Bailuzhou. Although Bailuzhou and the bank of the Yangtze River are separated by the diversion of the river, the water surface is only about 70 to 80 feet high, which does not affect the movement of supplies.
The "Jiangnan Ordnance Manufacturing Division" is divided into four parts, each of which is separated. One is the iron factory, the other is the arms manufacturing branch, which casts weapons and non-military products, and the other is the cement factory, which is specially used to produce cement for construction.
The other is a gunpowder manufacturing factory. It goes without saying that this is a factory that produces gunpowder.
The most important weapon of the gunpowder country, the gunpowder factory is even more heavily guarded than the other branches. It is not an exaggeration to say that the emperor of the Song Dynasty was stationed here.
The four factories are each separated from the outside world by high walls and mountains, occupying the northern and southern parts of Bailuzhou.
Among them, the gunpowder manufacturing branch is located alone in the south of Bailuzhou, while the iron factory, weapons manufacturing branch, and cement factory are located in the north. The two are far separated by the island and the shooting range in the middle.
As for soap factories, clothing factories, shoe factories, etc., because of their small scale, they are all located around Jinling City.
On Bailuzhou, the towering factory walls, the armored guards with guns and knives, and the slogans on the high walls that read "An important military area, no idlers allowed to enter" all indicate that this is a forbidden area planned by the imperial court, and cannot be viewed from a distance. Myopia.
The shooting range between the gunpowder factory and the iron factory covers an area of several hundred acres. With the help of the island's mountain topography, it is able to isolate the gunpowder factory from the cross-hazards of other factories. Secondly, it can be used for firearms testing.
"Test the cannon! Be careful that the heat will hurt you!"
Tian Yi shouted loudly on the overgrown shooting range.
The combined gun has a fast rate of fire, is easy to dissipate heat, and is not easy to explode. But the disadvantage is that the gap between the sub-cannon and the barrel is large, the gunpowder gas can easily leak and injure people, and the range is not as good as that of ordinary artillery.
"Yes, General!"
The artillery department called Zhenzhidao to test the cannon. He carefully lit the fuse on the fire door, then quickly squatted down and covered his ears.
With a "pop" sound, the gun carriage trembled violently, retreated about half a foot, and the shotgun shot out. Then there was a "crackling" sound, sawdust flew, earth and rocks splashed on the hillside, and countless small holes were made.
"Principal, this is a large-scale cannon. It is 4 feet long and weighs 700 kilograms. Each cannon has 5 cannons. Each shot costs 500 iron pellets. It can shoot 400 steps flatly. It can be thrown 45 degrees up to 700 steps and has a range of up to 50 meters. When you reach 60 steps, you can defend the city and fight in the field."
After testing several muskets, Tian Yi introduced them to Zhao Hong and the students who were watching from the sidelines.
The cannons used for training at the Jinling Martial Arts Hall are both 30kg and 100kg. Now it's 700 pounds. It's powerful in field battles and even better at defending the city.
"Principal, this kind of multi-part cannon is enough to defend the city. In fact, the original artillery is already lethal enough. As long as there are hundreds of guns of various sizes, it will not be inferior in field battles!"
Cao Youwen said with lingering fear on the side.
This artillery can go out fifty or sixty steps, and only a dozen artillery pieces can cover the entire front line of the position. It doesn't need to be too fierce.
"You can try another one weighing 200 to 300 kilograms. It may be more suitable for field battles. Of course, this 700 kilogram one is also good. It should be a big killer."
Zhao Hong said thoughtfully.
After all, the Song Dynasty's opponent was the Mongolian cavalry, and he had to consider the mobility of the cavalry.
"Principal, a 700-pound artillery piece with a gun mount can be moved by four or five soldiers, which is enough for field battles. It just can't be heavier. Once it weighs a thousand pounds, it will be more suitable to defend the city."
Student Wang Jian added based on his own military experience.
"Your Majesty... Principal, what Wang Jian said is right. An ordinary baggage chariot, loaded with provisions and supplies, weighs about five or six hundred kilograms, and four or five soldiers can handle it. If it is too heavy, it will also be transported. trouble."
Wei Liaoweng, the minister of the Ministry of War and the vice-principal of the Jiangwu Hall, was on hand to check and fill in the gaps for Zhao Hong.
As a minister of the Song Dynasty, he has never been accustomed to calling the Emperor of the Song Dynasty the principal, and it always felt a bit abrupt. However, he took it for granted that the students called him and the emperor this way.
Zhao Hong nodded. The artillery was too light and the range was not enough. It seems that I will have to try the casting of rifled guns in the future.
"Principal, the 60-pound short-bore cannon has been built. Do you want to bring it over to test the cannon?"
The 30-pound short-bore cannon has been tried, but the emperor is still not satisfied. He wants to make a large tube to satisfy his hunger. The bigger the better. A 60-pound short-bore cannon should be about the same.
If it's any heavier, I'm afraid it won't have much range.
"Don't test short-bore guns on land. Only by mounting them on a ship and trying them again can they be properly tested."
After Zhao Hong finished speaking, he picked up a thunderbolt on the table and looked at it.
Short-bore guns were originally designed for naval warfare and were not suitable for land warfare at all. The short-bore cannon has a short barrel, uses less gunpowder, and doesn't have to worry about bombing.
"Principal, Sky Thunder is very lethal and a powerful weapon in the military. But its disadvantage is that it needs to be set on fire, which is a bit troublesome."
"Principal, I'm also afraid of rain. Once I get wet, it will be difficult."
Students Yu Jie and Cao Youwen said it one after another.
Zhao Hong nodded, this was the limitation of the times, and there was nothing he could do about it. If we want to make a breakthrough, we still have to rely on collective wisdom and make a plan to develop breech-loaded cannons, rifled cannons, pull-tube grenades, including steam engines.
Moisture-proof paper seems to be asphalt applied between two layers of paper. Asphalt can be obtained by carbonization of coal or petroleum. Coal and petroleum were both available in the Song Dynasty and were used on the battlefield. Iron factories could produce asphalt.
"Your Majesty, the yellow paper produced in Xuanzhou contains yellow cypress and is coated with tung oil. It is not only moisture-proof, but also insect-proof. Tung oil is used in shipbuilding. Many people in the Song Dynasty used tung oil paper to make window paper to prevent rain. It can be used To prevent Zhentian Lei from getting wet."
Qiao Xingjian, the minister of the Ministry of Industry who was accompanying him, couldn't help but add something to the side.
Tung oil is the oil extracted from the seeds of the tung tree and was used as "paint" in ancient China. Apply tung oil to the surface of wood or metal, it will dry quickly and change from liquid to solid, forming a protective film on the surface of the object, which can prevent water, rust and corrosion.
"Sir Qiao, you are really well-informed and you are getting stronger with time!"
Zhao Hong laughed and nodded appreciatively.
In this way, Zhentianleike can be "unimpaired" without having to worry about storage.
However, after much deliberation, we still need to solve the problem of Zhentian Lei’s ignition as soon as possible. Otherwise, the soldiers would all be holding fire sticks, and lighting fires would take time. On the battlefield, it is a matter of life and death, so it is not a long-term solution.
How did that pull-tube grenade catch fire?
"Let's go and see the cement factory."
Zhao Hong had a headache thinking about it and simply gave up.
These matters should be left to the craftsmen of the Song Dynasty to solve. If he had to take care of everything, wouldn't he be exhausted?
