Jiangnan Arms Manufacturing Department, since the first year of Xingqing, when Emperor Zhao Hong of the Song Dynasty implemented the New Deal on Jiangnan East Road, this place has become the logistics base for the supply of firearms in the Song Dynasty. Countless artillery thunder powders are produced here. From here It was transported to the border roads and the army of the Song Dynasty.
And even though the Daye Iron Works that emerged in recent years replaced the Jiangnan Arms Manufacturing Division and became the largest steel production base in the Song Dynasty and the production center of steam engines, the status of the Jiangnan Arms Manufacturing Division was still unchallenged. It was still the center for firearms research and development in the Song Dynasty. and production centers.
The steam engine R&D center, firearms R&D center, firearms production base, iron factory, gunpowder factory, etc. on the island all demonstrate that this is the most secret military center of the Song Dynasty, and it is unique.
Standing under the arbor of some towering trees next to the shooting range, drinking several bowls of hot tea, and feeling the mountain breeze blowing, Zhao Hong felt a chill.
Compared to the steamy atmosphere of the iron smelting workshop and the machinery department, the shooting range with tall trees and shade is already a paradise.
"Your Majesty, with the firearms we have now in the Song Dynasty, we can already look down upon the world. Isn't it a little too persistent to waste people and money on this?"
Beside the shooting range, the ruling minister Zou Yinglong said suspiciously while stroking his beard.
Casting silver and copper coins, issuing national bonds, and establishing banks are all just to save a little money. The research and development of firearms and steam engines all costs money every day, so why bother?
"Mr. Zou, this is wrong. In the Battle of Hanzhong, tens of thousands of Tatar cavalry attacked together and almost broke our Yangzhou defense line. If the firearms are sharper, why fear the Tatar cavalry?"
Feeling that the fruits of his and the craftsmen's labor had not been taken seriously, Tian Yi retorted with a straight face.
"Zou Gong, developing firearms is like sailing against the current. If you don't advance, you will retreat. In a few years, all countries in the world will be using and forging firearms. We, the Song Dynasty, must be at the forefront of the world so that we can be invincible. Human wisdom , never underestimate!”
Zhao Hong smiled slightly and rescued Zou Yinglong and Tian Yi at the same time.
Beside the shooting range, several artillery pieces were mounted on monorail gun carriages. The barrels of the guns were shiny and shimmering with cold light. The barrels were thick, but the caliber was extremely large.
"Your Majesty, please look!"
Tian Yi went over in person and opened the bolt doors at the rear of several breech-loading guns one by one. Zhao Hong went over, bent down, and saw the thread-like breech structure of the gun breech. The inside of the gun barrel was shiny, and he could see the front at a glance. Zhao Hong nodded lightly.
He also came across the breech-loading gun's breech block structure online, but he didn't expect the craftsmen of the Arms Manufacturing Department to be able to make it. This may be the advantage of time travellers.
"Your Majesty, the use of threaded breechblocks has solved the gas leakage problem of breech-loaded cannons. Although the locking time of threaded breechblocks is longer, it is still much faster than the loading speed of front-loaded cannons. Usually front-loaded cannons fire two rounds For artillery shells, the breech-loading cannon can fire three to four rounds. Moreover, the breech-loading cannon has a longer barrel and a longer range. It is also imperative for the breech-loading cannon to replace the front-loading cannon."
Tian Yi's face glowed brightly and he introduced him to Zhao Hong.
In the Battle of Hanzhong, if breech-loading cannons could have been used on the battlefield earlier, many soldiers might have died less.
"Is this a short-bore artillery piece? Is this an explosive projectile?"
Zhao Hong's eyes turned to the large-caliber artillery that was obviously shorter and the huge shells.
"Your Majesty, yes, this is a short-bore artillery. It is three feet long, has a range of two miles, and has a charge of 5 kilograms. The artillery gun weighs 500 kilograms. With the monorail gun mount, it weighs about 700 kilograms. It can move and shoot quickly on the battlefield. It should be a weapon for field battles.”
After introducing the artillery, Tian Yi pointed at the artillery shells and talked with great enthusiasm, saliva flying everywhere.
"How heavy is the shell? Is it easy to load it?"
"Your Majesty, the bomb weighs 20 kilograms. There are more than 1,000 iron pellets of different sizes inside the bomb. Strong soldiers can load it without any problem. When the medicine package is ignited, the burning flame ignites the fuse. After the bomb flies out, the fuse ignites. The gunpowder inside the shell explodes, and the steel fragments and iron pellets exploded by the explosion kill the opponent."
"Can you ensure that the fuse will be ignited and explode?"
Zhao Hong continued to ask. It is indeed not a problem for young and strong men to load 20-pound shells.
"Your Majesty, the shells have the same misfire rate of 5%-10% as the Thunderbolts. However, even then, the shells will kill the opponent just like the solid iron balls."
"How lethal is it? Have you tried it?"
20 kilograms of shells, 5 kilograms of gunpowder, 1,000 iron pellets, plus the shell fragments produced by the explosion, the lethality is worth looking forward to.
"Your Majesty, if you want it to be more powerful, you can make bigger shells and increase the caliber of the artillery. I will make arrangements when I get down."
Tian Yi looked at Zhao Hong, who was stroking the cannonball and couldn't put it down, with a smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, would you like to try firing a few shots?"
"How many shots?"
Zhao Hong asked back, with a strange smile on his face.
Explosive bombs are another epoch-making weapon. This is called indiscriminate bombing. The Song Army's advantage on the battlefield is likely to expand again.
He smiled slightly and said: "Mr. Lin, as for the power, you will only know after trying it."
Lin Tianyou perked up and said loudly: "Everyone, get ready, start testing bombs!"
Hu Yiping went into battle personally and led a group of craftsmen to start working.
Craftsmen first put the medicine package into the medicine chamber, and then put the cannonball with the wooden pallet into the front chamber from the front.
Hu Yiping carefully inspected it and was relieved when he saw that one end of the fuse was facing forward and the bottom of the wooden tray was close to the medicine bag.
The shells were loaded, the breech block was closed, and the powder bag was punctured. Tian Yi took the red-hot iron drill and placed it on the fire door.
Zhao Hong opened his mouth subconsciously and covered his ears.
"Peng!"
White smoke rose, and the shells came out of the barrel, soared into the sky, and landed whistling among the targets. Everyone was wondering if the cannonball was misfiring. A violent explosion sounded, and everyone's ears buzzed. Zhen Dexiu was startled and fell to the ground.
Zhao Hong and others all laughed. Zhao Hong stepped forward and personally helped Zhen Dexiu up.
"Your Majesty, this explosion is like thunder from the sky!"
Zhen Dexiu patted his back lightly and laughed awkwardly.
"Mr. Zhen, this is a bomb. It's going to explode, of course with thunder!"
Zhao Hong stepped forward with long strides.
"Go over and have a look!"
Arriving at the site of the explosion, there was a deep, charred pit on the ground, surrounded by dozens of people.
The ground was scorched black, and a small pit had formed. Countless holes were made in the armor of the targets dozens of steps around, and many wooden targets were broken into pieces.
"Oh my God! If hundreds of explosive bombs were exploded at the same time, wouldn't it be thousands of casualties?"
Xuan Zhen was frightened. Compared with solid iron balls, this explosive bullet is more lethal. The key is that the opponent cannot avoid it and the defenses are useless. It can be a weapon for field siege.
"Tian Yi, how many 20 kilograms of bombs can be made in one month?"
The ministers were shocked, Zhao Hong nodded with satisfaction and asked.
Explosive bombs will be a weapon used by the military in the future and will replace some of the solid iron ball artillery in the military.
The reason why he didn't ask about the production of breech-loaded artillery was because the Jiangnan Ordnance Manufacturing Department was skilled in artillery production technology and could produce hundreds of breech-loaded cannons a month, so there should be no problem.
"Your Majesty, the craftsmen and hired workers of the Arms Manufacturing Department can make at least five thousand explosive bombs a month. If we are preparing for a big war, it will take at least half a year to prepare."
"It takes half a year! Don't rush, just take your time."
Zhao Hong nodded and was not in a hurry to urge Tian Yi to speed up production.
"Bring it here!"
Tian Yi shouted into the distance, and several craftsmen hurried over. The things they held in their hands made Zhao Hong's eyes light up.
Isn't this a flint-fire gun and a thunderbolt?
"Your Majesty, please take a look! This is a flintlock gun with customized gunpowder. Your Majesty, please take a look."
After Tian Yi introduced him, he nodded to the craftsmen under the tree, and then shouted to several other craftsmen holding firecrackers.
"Fang Er, you guys, let's get started."
Zhao Hong also stepped aside and watched carefully.
The craftsman under the tree stared at the pendulum on the table next to him. It seemed to be keeping time. Since the advent of the pendulum, the way people do things in the Song Dynasty seems to have become much more precise.
Last time in Lin'an City, Zhen Dexiu had already shown him the flint-fire musket and the draw-tube thunder. This time he could finally see them.
"Yes, Your Majesty! Yes, the landowner!"
Fang Er and others saluted Zhao Hong and others together, then picked up flintlock guns and walked to the side. Tian Yi shouted "Start", Fang Er and others began to load ammunition. After a drill, they pointed at the target, " "Crackling" started.
The sound of firecrackers continued and gunpowder smoke filled the air. Fang Er and others fired more than a dozen rounds before they stopped.
"Your Majesty, Fang Er and the others are all retired soldiers in the army. They can break armor with a hundred steps and can hit four times a minute. If the soldiers practice regularly, they may be faster than them."
Tian Yi introduced it to Zhao Hong.
"Tian Yi, good job!"
Zhao Hong gave Tian Yi a thumbs up.
After training, soldiers can fire about four times a minute. If it is like the three-shot burst in later generations, shooting once every five to ten seconds, the bullet stream is denser and faster than the artillery, and the lethality is greater.
The three major battlefield weapons, the tube-type thunderbolt, the explosive bomb, and the flintlock gun, the future battlefield is already in the hands of the Song Army.
The craftsmen picked up the thunderbolts one by one. Under the gaze of Zhao Hong and others, they unscrewed the back cover and pulled down the match rope. White smoke rose up. The craftsmen ran forward with the thunderbolts in their hands. They were thrown out one after another.
The sky-shattering thunder smoked and rolled in the air in a parabola. They landed one after another, with rumbling explosions and muffled thunder.
The craftsmen threw three rounds of thunderbolts in succession. When the explosion stopped, the target area was a mess, filled with broken shrapnel and splinters of wood.
"The Thunderbolt doesn't need to be ignited. It's so fast, fierce, and easy to carry. It's really a weapon for killing enemies!"
Zou Yinglong's face turned pale and his body was trembling slightly.
"In the Hanzhong War, if there were tube-type thunderbolts, coupled with explosive bombs, there wouldn't have been so many casualties!"
Xuanzhen sighed quietly, expressing his feelings.
"You are right, but not entirely right. The army is equipped with these sharp weapons, which can change the situation of the war. Even if there are tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Tatar cavalry, our army is not afraid. But in the final analysis, talents are the foundation. This is the foundation for the invincibility of our Great Song Dynasty King!"
Zhao Hong said loudly, feeling excited.
Well-trained soldiers, professional soldiers with strict military discipline, who have a sense of honor and patriotism, and are not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice are the ones who always have the upper hand on the battlefield.
"Sorry, I just changed the chapter name."
