Could it be that there is heaven besides humans, or gods besides immortals?
After hearing what his eldest son said, Chongzhen couldn't help but fall into doubt and contemplation.
This is something and a problem that I have never thought about. If it is true, it is shocking news.
But verification was more difficult than those unsolved cases, so Chongzhen decided to start researching from the ancient suicide notes he could get...
A few days after Qu Xuanpin and Chen Yongji became pavilion elders, they discovered that the Beiting Military Aircraft Department was simply a fairyland on earth, and everyone's workload was not heavy.
Basically, the various ministries and yamen can solve most problems. If you encounter really difficult problems, you can submit them to the Military Aircraft Department for negotiation. If you are unsure, you can report directly to the emperor.
For anything that is not particularly urgent, you can save it first and wait until Monday when you go to court.
The Military Aircraft Department adopts a rotating duty system and does not require everyone to work here every day.
Cabinet members who do not have their own yamen use this place as a common office space.
But Song Yingxing was nowhere to be seen. Apart from routine duties, Old Song was basically spending time at the Academy of Sciences.
If you really need something, you can call him directly. Otherwise, for Song Yingxing, who has regained his strength, the new bound book is more attractive.
After the initial conditions were met, Emperor Haojing decided to split up the Academy of Sciences after careful consideration.
Separate all the original military industrial research departments and establish a military research institute to be responsible for the research of technological weapons.
The person who served as the dean had already thought about it and asked Sun Yunqiu to do it.
First of all, as a prince-in-law, he is one of his own, so he feels more at ease.
Secondly, he studied under Bo Jue. Although he is only forty years old, he has more than twenty years of work experience.
In the next three years, when you are young and strong, you will not be quickly exhausted. At least you can play an exemplary and leading role.
When the Military Research Institute was first established, several early projects were already in the works, making it easier for Sun Yunqiu to get started.
For example, the machine gun developed by Dai Cang and Dai Zi based on the design drawings given by Emperor Haojing has now taken preliminary shape.
It's just that the rate of fire is "astonishing", equivalent to "up to" two rounds per second, but other aspects are pretty good.
The appearance characteristics are obvious. This is an imitation of the Hotchkiss or Type 92 heavy machine gun, but the caliber of the Ming Dynasty version is about ten millimeters.
Including the tripod, the entire gun weighs up to 90 kilograms. The disadvantages are obviously obvious, but the advantage is that it is very stable when shooting.
The reason for copying this thing is that the spring of the magazine cannot meet the performance of later generations, let alone the magazine bag, both of which will jam.
Only by slowly feeding the strip of bullet plate inside can the machine gun continue to fire, and it is also easier for the secondary shooter to observe whether the bullet plate has been deformed.
And in the early days, this machine gun was just like the steam engine of the year. Whether it could work or not depended entirely on mood. Two rounds per second was the highest rate of fire...
The low rate of fire makes this machine gun have an advantage, that is, the barrel is not easy to heat up quickly, so it can achieve sustainable firing!
In the short term, Emperor Haojing does not plan to increase the rate of fire.
The reason is simple, a high rate of fire means a large consumption of bullets.
The beasts on the front line don't have such scruples. They will definitely use it to death when they see such a treasure.
An improved version is also under development, but according to Emperor Haojing's regulations, the rate of fire cannot exceed 300 rounds per minute.
Since the King Division will be stationed in the Xianbelia region in the future, Dai and his son and members of the project team have spent a winter in the Northeast to test the performance and problems of the machine gun in extremely cold environments.
Emperor Haojing has read the relevant test reports and on-site recorded images. Generally speaking, it is OK. It is just that the machine gun needs to be lubricated with more oil at low temperatures.
The father and son had previously conducted tropical climate tests on Qiongzhou Island, and the passing of the extreme cold test meant that this machine gun could be put into small batch production.
In order to reduce logistical pressure, the bullet size and caliber are the same as those of a breech-loading rifle, and a bullet plate holds twenty rounds.
The maximum range is three hundred steps, and the effective range is about two hundred steps, or three hundred meters, which is theoretically enough.
As for how to transport a machine gun weighing nearly 100 kilograms, it usually requires at least four strong men to lift it.
However, this small problem is not a problem for Emperor Haojing at all. It can be solved with the cart used by the aunts to buy groceries.
After removing the tripod and placing the gun body and the tripod on two carts respectively, the weight pressure on the infantry will no longer exist.
Of the other eight people in a machine gun squad, half are responsible for transporting bullets and the other half are responsible for transporting supplies and daily necessities for the squad.
The purchase price of a machine gun is one thousand taels, which is not cheap at all.
But after Zheng Zhilong saw the live ammunition shooting, he ordered 500 bullets at once, plus matching bullets and parts, and also reserved the right of priority for the next purchase.
As long as the infantry has a bunch of these things, combined with the Folan machine, the squatting tiger cannon, the rifle, and the grenade, then the enemy cavalry will really not be afraid of starvation, and they will die if they dare to rush over.
Compared with the Zheng family, which mainly engaged in naval warfare, Emperor Haojing's Wang division was in greater demand.
For infantry and vehicles alone, it is estimated that the purchase volume will not be less than 2,000.
Including strongholds and ships, the number may be as high as 5,000, or even more.
However, before the advent of the machine gun, the tribes on the grasslands had been beaten to the point where they could sing and dance well...
After Emperor Haojing fired on the spot and no problems occurred, the machine gun was deemed to have passed the inspection.
Although it has only symbolic meaning, it is an indispensable link.
Compared with similar weapons from later generations, this machine gun born in the 28th year of Haojing is already equivalent to a giant panda that needs to be protected.
But after all, it was built and can provide relatively sustained firepower output to the infantry.
Performance improvement is something that will happen in the future. Anyway, let’s equip the losers first.
When they are almost used, they will be packaged and sold to Zhang Xianzhong in exchange for animal skins. At the same time, let him use a machine gun to "snap" the enemy gang...
This is not only true for machine guns, but also for other weapons. Generally speaking, the advanced weapons used by the Ming Dynasty's army don't actually cost much, because there are buyers who can buy them.
The Ministry of War has already received permission to sell all captured and eliminated weapons in exchange for money to purchase new weapons.
The advantage of second-hand goods is that they are affordable and available in large quantities.
As long as the other party can come up with money or equivalent, Zheng's fleet can deliver the goods to your door.
In the next twenty years, in addition to mortars, the Ming Dynasty King's Division was equipped with only three types of artillery, the small Folang machine, the front-loading bronze imperial cannon, and its enlarged breech version of the 171-caliber heavy artillery.
Infantry firearms will also be updated. Front-line combat troops will all use magazine-type or revolver rifles, plus revolver blunderbuss, and machine guns will soon be installed.
Only the second-line and local garrison troops will be equipped with flintlock muskets, but within ten years, they will gradually be replaced.
All old matchlock guns have been eliminated, either exported to overseas customers at wholesale prices, or given to people who went north to open up wasteland.
In order to encourage the people who went to Xianbelia to open up wasteland, Emperor Haojing, after looking at the inventory of the Ministry of War, decided that in addition to land, as long as the family population reached ten people, they could get a matchlock gun.
Of course, you can also choose cold weapons including bows and crossbows, which are very important and necessary for self-protection in Xianbelia where wild beasts are everywhere.
The number of matchlock guns is limited, so it is first come first served. You can choose any cold weapon. As long as Yimin likes it, he can even choose a tomahawk.
Originally, Song Yingxing's two sons, the eldest son Song Shihui and the second son Song Shiyi, were in charge of the Academy of Sciences' vehicles.
Lao Songtou is over 80 years old, and his two sons who were born early are naturally not too young.
But this time the head of the family became lively again, allowing the eldest son and second son to feel at ease and continue to work with the younger members of the project team.
However, given his age, Emperor Haojing did not intend to let the two brothers continue to work for him for several more years.
After all, the third generation of the Song family, such as the eldest grandson Song Weike (the eldest son of Song Shihui), the second grandson Song Weiji (the eldest son of Song Shiyi) and others have become the backbone of the project team.
It's just that these two little old men have no intention of going home to serve their elderly father, because his father has returned to work at the Academy of Sciences and can still go to court...
What's more, this time they obtained the structural diagram of a tracked vehicle from the emperor, which was really attractive to the two brothers.
The Academy of Sciences has not studied similar transmission structures before, but because its internal structure is too complex, far beyond that of bicycles, it has always been in the exploratory stage.
Now that they have detailed drawings, they can get twice the result with half the effort. The two brothers are confident that they can lead the young people to build the Ming Dynasty's first tracked vehicle and even a tracked tank within ten years.
The aircraft project team is personally in charge of Sun Yunqiu, who loves astronomy. Embarrassingly, the progress is relatively slow.
Biplanes built so far can only fly about one mile at a time.
If it's further away, it all depends on the pilot's character...
The final analysis is that the weight of the steam engine is too large, resulting in insufficient lift for the aircraft.
After using the first-generation internal combustion engine, this problem was solved.
However, because the first-generation internal combustion engines and the first-generation steam engines were very temperamental, the flight distance did not increase much.
In the past, coal was used to explode the cylinder, but now oil is used to explode the cylinder.
Members of the project team are already used to this.
Of course, no one would have thought that the first batch of aircraft in the Ming Dynasty were all seaplanes.
The reason is very simple. It is easy to make an emergency landing on water and the pilot will not be killed directly!
The speed of the aircraft is not too fast, so the damage of the water wall to the pilot is relatively limited.
The pilots participating in the experiment have not died directly due to hitting the water, and drowning is even less likely.
Firstly, the water depth of the man-made lake is very shallow, and secondly, there are search and rescue ships all over the lake, so rescue can be carried out immediately.
Although the job of a test pilot is very dangerous, it is still a hot job because the pay is particularly good.
The basic salary alone is thirty silver coins per month. If everything else is taken into account, that's fifty silver coins.
The Academy of Sciences also provides food, accommodation, and clothing. As long as you join the job, you will have meat every meal, which is equivalent to the food and treatment of an officer.
There is also a snack every night, which ensures two meat, two vegetarian and one soup. On weekends, you can even have braised pork elbow.
Aside from the fact that you can't be overweight, this is pretty much a dream job for a bold and bold foodie.
Of course, someone who can become a test pilot must not be illiterate.
On the contrary, not only do you need to be literate, but you also need to understand climate and wind direction, as well as basic mechanical knowledge, and write a relevant report after each test flight.
Basically, test pilots are selected from the pilots of the airship force of the Air Force, and they belong to the elite of the elite.
In the future, the establishment of an aircraft force and the training of pilots in batches will be the same standard.
In view of the slow progress of the aircraft, Emperor Haojing did not join the aircraft carrier construction plan in the eighth batch (1676-1682).
Otherwise, it would be a bit embarrassing if the aircraft carriers are already in service but can only carry submarines.
In the ninth batch (1682-1688), it was planned to use the Bismarck hull to build a 10,000-ton aircraft carrier.
It will also be equipped with the first-generation steam catapult, which works on the same principle as the trebuchet.
Power can come from battleship boilers, or specialized boilers can be installed.
Emperor Haojing thought that it would take seventeen years to build a qualified biplane.
If the development progress of aircraft is faster than the construction speed of aircraft carriers in the future, at worst, it will be enough to directly convert a Bismarck semi-finished product into an aircraft carrier.
After autumn, in addition to Sun Yunqiu staying in Beidu, the project team will also go to Qiongzhou, which is sunny all year round, to continue related experiments.
There, you can combine work and leisure, and you can also eat cheap seafood and fruits. It is the favorite of the members of the scientific research team...
In the initial stage, the Military Academy set up five project groups: firearms, ammunition, aircraft, vehicles, and ships. Optical equipment for observation and sighting still belongs to the Academy of Sciences.
As long as the equipment is successfully developed, the equipment will naturally be ready-made and ready for use.
The Wang Zha project does not exist on paper and is run by a secret team led by Bo Jue.
It is planned to open an enriched uranium refinery in Datong or Yulin areas where raw coal is produced.
The former is closer to the northern capital, making it easier to coordinate and command.
Although the latter is far away, its location is relatively remote and it is not easy for the wind to leak.
There is no need for Bo Jue to be stationed in the local area in the early stage, because a bunch of power plants must be built first, and then the drying barrel factory.
Uranium ore is all shipped from Australia, and no less than a thousand tons have been accumulated.
They were all piled up in a piece of desert south of the grassland, and a cordon was set up around it.
It is declared as the King's Master's shooting range. If anyone enters, they will be responsible for the consequences.
Emperor Haojing preferred to set up a factory in Yulin, because the future Wangzha test site would definitely be in the northwest.
By the way, Xu Jiufu, the new governor of Shaanxi, can also supervise the illegal mining of resources in northern Shaanxi, which is already serious.
Reports about oil thieves, coal thieves, and even gold thieves there have been reported frequently. These all happened when Zuo Maodi was in office.
Shen Xun goes to inspect every year and punishes a group of people, but under the temptation of huge profits, it is impossible to form effective suppression.
After the Wangzhao Factory is established, Emperor Haojing will no longer tolerate these guys digging their own mines.
If the guarantee is not complete, one day these guys will lose their minds and start stealing royal uranium ore!
This is not alarmist. As long as something is valuable, those guys in northern Shaanxi will not dare to steal anything!
Their good days are coming to an end soon. When a certain emperor's factory is built, all thieves will cease to exist.
Because there were thousands of soldiers from the Guards Battalion and a garrison brigade following the factory, and with vigorous rectification, things like before would never happen again.
