A corner of the Xiyuan University Hall campus has now been arranged like a shooting range. From the cram school teachers (all graduates of the Artillery School or former editors of the Hanlin Academy) to the students in the imperial examination cram school, there are , all gathered together, surrounded the city in an arc, and carefully looked at a long-barreled cannon with a weight of 10 kilograms that had been placed.
Ten kilograms in the Song Dynasty was equivalent to less than 6 kilograms in later generations. When converted into Western pounds, it was about 13 pounds. However, the famous Hongyi cannon in later generations weighed only 12 pounds.
In other words, the bullet weight of this 10-pound cannon was heavier than that of the later Hongyi cannon. However, its diameter is not as good as that of the Hongyi cannon. The diameter of the Hongyi cannon is usually about 30 times. Although the 10-pound long-barrel gun has the word "long barrel" in it, its diameter is only 20 times.
But now it is only the Song Dynasty!
Using the technology of the Song Dynasty, it seemed that it would not be too difficult to cast a bronze cannon that was seven or eight feet long, weighed 10 kilograms, and had a caliber of more than four inches.
The melting point of bronze or brass is relatively low, and the craftsmen of the Song Dynasty have long been able to cast bronze bells, bronze tripods, bronze pots, bronze helmets, and bronze statues that are much more complex than bronze cannons, and they can also polish the surfaces of bronze vessels. As smooth as a mirror. The clay molding method and the lost wax method have been used for a long time.
The only troublesome part is the processing of the inside of the barrel. Since there is no boring machine, it can only be polished smooth by hand. Fortunately, the bore cast by the lost wax method is relatively smooth, and it is not troublesome to polish. However, there is no way to slightly change the caliber of the cannon by boring the bore, and the caliber of the cannon cast from one gun to another is always somewhat different. Complete unity cannot be achieved.
Therefore, when casting cannonballs, there is a big problem. If the cannonballs are cast according to the required size, there will be a problem that the caliber of some artillery pieces is too small and the cannonballs cannot be loaded. And if the cannonball is made smaller, there will be a problem of air leakage when the cannonball is fired.
Yue Fei had a lot of trouble over this matter, but there was no good way. Now he had to make one shot at a time, that is, customize the shells for each cannon...
In addition, because the caliber of each artillery piece is slightly different, it greatly increases the difficulty of artillery sighting, and the effect of centralized sighting is very poor. The difficulty of gunner training has also increased.
Therefore, Yue Fei and Huang Wubing, the two pioneers of the world's artillery, had to spend a lot of energy training gunners, and they also had to check every cannon that was about to be put into use.
Another thing that required the personal supervision of Yue Fei, Huang Wubing, and even Zhao Kai and Wu Meiniang was the production of black powder.
For the Song Dynasty and Yijin, who had already mastered bronze casting, and even for the Western thieves of the Western Tang Dynasty, the cannon was something that could be understood at a glance and could not be kept secret for a long time.
But the secret of black powder can be kept for a while!
Therefore, Zhao Kai tried his best to keep the secret strictly from the beginning... At the beginning, the production of black powder was controlled by female squadrons and artillerymen.
Now, because the demand for black powder is increasing, and the number of artillery troops is also increasing rapidly, there are already a lot of people talking.
Therefore, Zhao Kai simply requisitioned the Shangqing Palace (a Taoist temple) in the north of Luoyang City and turned it into a castle surrounded by high walls.
A group of "long-term workers" were also recruited from the refugees who fled from the occupied areas of the Jin Kingdom in Hebei, and were circled in the Shangqing Palace. They were responsible for preparing black gunpowder, and were also responsible for the purchased fire salt (these fire salt was also high-quality). Controlled materials of high purity) are refined for the final time, and are also responsible for making various types of medicine bags, wooden tube fuses, and assembling explosive pots.
Moreover, Zhao Kai also asked Wu Meiniang to be in charge of the black powder industry of the entire Shangqing Palace in the name of the lord (taoist nun) of the Shangqing Palace.
This black gunpowder is Zhao Kai's real "core technology", and even students from Xiyuan University are not allowed to see it.
However, the 10-pound long-barreled cannon can be visited by officials, including craftsmen from the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and can be viewed up close!
Xiao Buyan is now taking a closer look at this very well-made cannon... His real name is not "Buyan", but a single name with the word "Gong". No one knows Xiao Gong's name now. of. But his father is famous, his name is Xiao Zhonggong!
Those are the famous "Eternal Loyal Ministers" and "Loyal Ministers of Two Countries". They are both loyal and loyal!
And he, Xiao Gong, is ready to go one step further than his father and become a "loyal minister of the Three Kingdoms"...loyal to Liao, Jin, and Song.
He is now coming to Luoyang to serve as a loyal minister to Zhao Kai under the orders of his father Xiao Zhonggong and Wanyan Zongqian, the father of Dajin Banbo Jilie.
However, he has not yet won the Jinshi...so he is still a loyal minister of the Jin Kingdom, so he has to carefully memorize the appearance of the cannon in front of him, and then draw it, and let Xizuo take the drawing to Daxing Mansion .
And Xiao Buyan (Xiao Gong) is getting more and more frightened as he looks at it!
He actually knows some artillery!
A "Tongzifang" has now been opened in the Kingdom of Jin. His father, Xiao Zhonggong, is now in charge of the Tongzifang and is responsible for making tubes.
However, the barrels of the Dajin Kingdom are different from those seen by Xiao Buyan. They are all short and thick, which is difficult to shoot directly and can be shot straight into the sky (the throwing accuracy is very poor.
But Xiao Buyan still used "simple induction" to summarize some experiences, such as the bigger the tube, the better!
The bigger the barrel, the bigger the mouth of the barrel. The bigger the mouth of the barrel, the bigger the pellets of the barrel. Moreover, the more medicine can be filled in the belly of the barrel, the farther it can be shot...
The principle of "bigger is better" works for "fat tubes", and it should also work for "long tubes"... This is the deductive inference method!
It turns out that Xiao Buyan also understands philosophy!
And the 10-pound long tube looks very big, it must be very powerful, right?
"Next, Yu Yunwen!"
It was Yu Yunwen's turn to look. Like Xiao Buyan, he opened his eyes and looked carefully!
Because he actually came with a mission!
His father, Yu Qi, was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Zhenghe's reign, and was a close friend of He Li, the "domineering civil servant" of the Southern Song Dynasty.
At the time of the Xuanhe War, he was serving as an official in the south of the Yangtze River. Later, when He Li gained important positions, he dragged Yu Qi into the domineering civil service system of the Southern Song Dynasty. Now Yu Qi is the shipbuilding ambassador of the Southern Song Dynasty Navy and an official responsible for shipbuilding.
Yu Yunwen, on the other hand, was Ji Yiwen, the naval shipbuilding envoy of the Southern Song Dynasty, and was already a loyal minister of Zhao Huan!
He came all the way to Luoyang this time, of course, to explore the "secret of pot and pastry" in the Northern Song Dynasty.
The current Southern Song Dynasty court is wholeheartedly pursuing "the strength of the ship and the profit of the pot"!
And this 10-pound long-barreled cannon was obviously the pot cannon that the navy of the Southern Song Dynasty urgently needed!
Because this cannon can be aimed directly at a glance... The navy of the Southern Song Dynasty now only has pot cannons, and these cannons are not accurate!
It's okay to put it on a warship to build a port, but it's not okay to build a ship that floats around on the water.
In addition, the cannons on warships in the Southern Song Dynasty were also inaccurate. So if there is a real water war, it will be useless to use cannons or cannons. He could only get closer and throw the bomb pot - the majestic navy actually became a grenadier!
Although the Southern Song Dynasty navy was able to dominate the ocean by throwing explosive pots, the hidden danger was too obvious!
What if the gold thief has the legendary "casserole cannon" that can be aimed directly?
Once the casserole cannon is on board, the "Grenadiers" of the Song Dynasty Navy will be doomed!
So Yu Qi was heartbroken and sent his son Yu Yunwen to Luoyang to take the imperial examination... However, Yu Qi did not let his son change his name, because this Yu Yunwen was a child prodigy! Moreover, I have also learned the art of martial arts in the past two years. Isn't a Luoyang Jinshi a sure winner?
If you become a Jinshi, you will be remembered forever. Wouldn't it be a pity to use a pseudonym?
And who knows Yu Yunwen?
No one in the Southern Song Dynasty knew about the shipbuilding company, so there was no problem at all in using Yu Yunwen's name to go north.
"What? Yu Yunwen? Bachelor Chen, I seem to hear Huang Wubing calling Yu Yunwen's name. Did you hear it?"
Yu Qi did not expect that his son would actually meet an "acquaintance" in Luoyang!
This "acquaintance" is Zhao Kai, the Emperor of Luoyang in the Song Dynasty! He also came to Xiyuan University Hall today - he is the hall master here! Of course, come and visit often.
And he also wanted to see what the reaction of the Southern Song Dynasty scholars (these foreign scholars were mainly from the Southern Song Dynasty) saw and heard the roar of cannons.
So he followed quietly, but he did not show his face in front of the group of scholars. Instead, he stood in a forest not far away and watched from a distance.
As a result, I didn't see a group of scholars trembling with fear, but I heard Huang Wubing shouting the name "Yu Yunwen".
This is a celebrity!
"Guan Jia, I heard this..." Chen Dong paused and asked, "Guan Jia, do you know this Yu Yunwen?"
"I don't know." Zhao Kai smiled and said, "Senior Chen, please send me Yu Yunwen's article later, and I will come and review it myself."
Don’t you know this yet?
Chen Dongxin said: Even if you don’t know Yu Yunwen, you must have friendship with his father!
"I accept the order." Of course, Chen Dong would not refute Zhao Kai's reputation. After receiving the order, he changed the subject and asked Zhao Kai: "Officers, among these people there must be fine workmen from Jinling and Yanjing... ....Is it really appropriate for us to let them see the secret of the cannon like this?"
Zhao Kai said with a smile: "It is easy to get started with artillery but difficult to master it. You can get started with just a glance, but it is not that easy to use it... Now I want the spies of the Jin people to see the power of the 10-pound cannon. They Knowing the power of the 10-pound cannon, they will try their best to defend against it and imitate it. But they can’t guard against it, and they can’t imitate it well. Even if they imitate it well, they can’t use it, so it’s better not to have it at all!”
The emergence of the 10-pound long-barreled cannon means that all castles in this era are useless and must be reinforced and upgraded... How much will this cost? How much effort does it take?
The maneuverability of this 10-pound long-barreled gun is very poor and cannot be used as a field gun at all. If the gold thieves imitate it, it can only be used to defend the city. It is of no great use and will cost a lot of money. If the gold thieves insist on dragging a 10-pound cannon into the field, their mobility will be gone!
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