The artillery range of the craftsman camp on the west bank of the Baihe River in the north of Yunzhou Fort covers an extremely wide area. On the west bank of the Baihe River, less than a hundred meters to the west, there are many large and small earthen forts of different heights.
When I got closer, I discovered that there were several artillery carriages and side chariots placed between these forts. There were straw huts set up on top of them, presumably to protect them from wind and rain.
Li Chengmao, the director of the artillery bureau, introduced: "Commander, I am following your instructions. We have prepared some No. 4 cannons and rockets here, as well as a few No. 5 cannons, tiger crouching cannons, and mortar cannons.
Now we have borrowed four tanks from the Chariot Bureau. According to the previous design, two No. 4 cannons are installed on each tank. Two sets of rocket boxes, No. 5 cannons, etc. can also be installed on the tanks. , but considering that it is relatively light, it can be mounted on the gun emplacement at any time as needed in times of war. "
"Well, that's right. It's very thoughtful. Let's go up and have a look."
Zhang Cheng walked forward as he spoke. He could clearly see that this was a side-chariot. The vehicle was divided into two layers. The lower layer was equipped with two boxes of rockets on the outer side. It was paved with box boards. On the side box above the rocket boxes. The pallet carried two No. 4 guns.
In addition, the erected carriage board is also quite thick, which can prevent strong bows and hard crossbows from being penetrated. There are also several preset perforations on the carriage board. The sergeant can drive a musket and cannon behind the board to shoot at the incoming enemy. of enemies.
The lower layer is a rocket, the middle layer is a No. 4 cannon, and the upper layer is a perforation hole for a cannon. It is a three-layer three-dimensional firearm defense array. The shooting distance is different, and it is a real three-dimensional firearm strike force.
Zhang Cheng couldn't help but nodded, with a smile on his face. If these chariots are equipped with hundreds of riders, why should they be afraid of tens of thousands of Tartars? I have 10,000 elites who can defeat tens of thousands of them.
"Commander, why don't you try the cannon!" Li Chengmao asked.
Zhang Cheng waved his hand, pointed at the artillery mounted on earth forts of varying heights, and asked Li Chengmao, "No hurry, what kind of artillery are they over there?"
"Back to the commander, there are No. 4 and No. 5 cannons on those forts, as well as tiger squat cannons, mortar cannons, and even those guys called flying cannons that the general mentioned." Li Chengmao said with some pride.
"Oh, the flying cannon is made?"
Zhang Cheng was also excited. He had only heard that there seemed to be such a thing, but he couldn't tell the specific content. He didn't expect that it would be made.
"Yes, Marshal, we made a flying cannon."
"Have you tried firing it? How was the effect?"
"In response to what the Marshal said, Mr. Shi and the villain personally conducted the test firing, and the results were very good. They are close to what the Marshal said."
Zhang Cheng looked at the many artillery pieces in front of him. He waved to Shi Tiegen and asked, "Have the test firing data of other artillery pieces, rockets, and rockets been recorded?"
Shi Tiegen replied: "Commander, I have recorded it truthfully. The results of the test firings of each cannon are different, and some have been improved twice."
"Choose one of each cannon and shoot it to see."
As Zhang Cheng issued the order, the sergeants who were preparing to test-fire immediately took action. They were divided into several groups, each guarding an artillery piece, starting with the No. 4 cannon, followed by the No. 5 cannon, tiger squat cannon, and mortar cannon, and fired one by one.
There were roars and bursts of smoke rising, and the gun range was filled with smoke. Everyone covered their mouths and noses, and some even coughed uncontrollably.
Looking in the distance, the small mounds of earth or straw-man targets standing there were all staggering after being bombarded by solid cannons. However, Zhang Cheng stepped forward and stretched out his hand to gently touch the barrels of each artillery piece.
"Well, yes, this artillery is useful."
As he spoke, he asked Shi Tiegen, who had been following him: "Master Shi, in your opinion, is there room for improvement in these artillery pieces?"
"Come back to the commander, the artillery currently installed here are all improved. Each gun has been test fired three times. The measured temperature changes of the barrel are very uniform. It should be ready for mass production." Shi Tiegen said. replied from the side.
"Well, let's finalize the shape first, and speed up the production of No. 4 cannon. Before the end of the year, we must ensure that there are at least 120 No. 4 cannons, 120 boxes of rockets, at least 100 No. 5 cannons, and the tiger crouching cannon and mortar cannon are each no less than six Ten doors.
The manufacturing progress of the artillery here must not be lower than the manufacturing speed of the tanks at the Chariot and Frame Bureau. At least the tanks must have cannons available. Baggage vehicles can temporarily not install artillery, but tanks cannot. "Zhang Cheng said decisively.
He then added: "Now, let's see what's going on with the flying cannon."
"This flying cannon is said to be powerful, but it is not troublesome to make. This cannon is made of cast iron. The barrel is one foot four inches long, the muzzle is three inches wide, and the middle belly is slightly thicker. There is another section at the tail of the cannon. A wooden handle of two feet and three inches is enough.
The cannon it fires is cylindrical, only four inches long and two and a half inches thick. The outer wall is made of iron. The inside is filled with poison, iron slag, or flying stones, and the fuse is placed at the bottom of the cannon. The explosive ignited the cannon and at the same time, the fuse was ignited, and the cannon flew into the middle of the enemy's formation and exploded, causing widespread damage.
But this flying cannon has one flaw. The fuse of this cannon is difficult to prepare. Either it will explode early or it will explode late. It is difficult to grasp the time accurately, and it may even explode the chamber. "
"Exploded chamber?"
Zhang Cheng pondered. He had never thought about this problem. He only vaguely remembered the name of such a bomb. He only knew the outline, but the problem of the fuze was indeed difficult to solve.
"Let's go and take a look at these flying cannons and cannons first."
Everyone followed Li Chengmao to a cannon that looked like a hammer. Lin Fangping only took one look at it and said, "Why does it look like a hammer?"
"Back to Mr. Lin Qian, this flying cannon is indeed a hammer. If the enemy is close, it can really be used as a hammer to hit the enemy." Li Chengmao explained hurriedly.
Zhang Cheng came closer to observe the flying cannon carefully, and suddenly said: "Li Chengmao, can a bracket be installed on this?"
"If I tell you back to the commander, I have indeed considered this matter, but the cannon needs to adjust its angle back and forth to select a suitable shooting range, but it is not suitable for fixed legs." Li Chengmao replied.
Zhang Cheng thought for a while, and it was indeed the case. Then he remembered that the early mortar brackets in later generations were the ones with adjustable angles. It was really difficult to solve during the Ming Dynasty. It seemed that the only way to rely on the sergeant's hand was to hold it.
He knelt down and picked up a cylindrical cannon, held it in his hand and looked at it carefully. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, and saw Zhang Cheng standing up.
Shi Tiegen and Li Chengmao hurriedly took a few steps forward, wanting to hear what Zhang Cheng had to say, but Zhang Cheng remained silent and walked around the launch site holding the cylindrical cannon in his hand.
After a long time, he stopped and asked Li Chengmao, who had been following behind him: "After the cannon is fired, is it stable in flight?"
"Coming back to the commander-in-chief, most of them are stable, and some are unstable."
"Mutou, just wooden..."
Zhang Cheng started talking to himself and suddenly exclaimed: "Wooden pipe, hahaha, just wooden pipe will do..."
"Wooden support...wooden pipe...?"
