I don’t know how powerful the artillery is and how to use it. Li Yanxian and Wang Ruohai looked at each other for a while, asked a few questions, and then had nothing to say. It seems like it's a bit boring here.
Wang Xiaolie said: "Gunpowder has been used in the military for a long time. But in the past, gunpowder was flammable and mostly used to make rockets. The most commonly used ones are poison smoke balls, tribulus fireballs and artillery. Most of them are Use stone cannons to fire, or use fire to damage the enemy, or use smoke. The formula has ten or twenty kinds of medicine, which is very complicated. Today's artillery only uses three raw materials for gunpowder. One is sulfur, the other is flame salt, and charcoal. They After more than two years of trial production here, I found that except for these three raw materials, the others are basically useless."
Wang Ruohai said: "The gunpowder recipes in the army have been used for a long time and are actually useful. Can't you say they are useless?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Of course it is useful as it was used in the past. But what we use now is that gunpowder can explode, which is different from the previous use. The formula of gunpowder was produced after many trials. It’s the highest-level secret in our military, and not many people know about it.”
Li Yanxian and Wang Ruohai nodded, understanding what Wang Xiaolie meant.
The ingredients were difficult to hide, so the recipe became a secret. Now in Wang Xiaolie's army, in addition to Wang Xiaolie and Song Yan, there are also a few technicians who specialize in making gunpowder. Even Li Yanxian and Wang Ruohai don't know now.
Wang Xiaolie remembered that the gunpowder ratio was monosulfur, dinitrate, and charcoal. During the experiment, it was found that this was not the case. In retrospect, maybe it wasn't the mass ratio of the gunpowder preparation. After many experiments, it was found that the truly practical ratio is seven and a half parts saltpeter, one part sulfur, and one and a half parts charcoal. After thinking about it carefully, I realized that monosulfide, dinitrate and charcoal refer to the coefficient ratio of the chemical reaction formula.
Gunpowder made using this ratio is sufficient as propellant for artillery. Of course, the truly accurate ratio is slightly different from this ratio. There are researchers who have been conducting experiments, and the finished gunpowder produced is slightly different from this data.
The use of gunpowder is different, and the ratio will be different. Some require more nitrate, some require more sulfur, each is different. For Wang Xiaolie, everything has just begun, and many problems need to be solved in practice.
Go back to the yard and sit down. Wang Xiaolie said: "With artillery, the way of war is different from before. The organization and establishment of the army, the composition of personnel, and the way of commanding operations are all very different from before. I plan to spend a year , use the Chinese army to reorganize the artillery in the army. It is very important for the two of you to pay attention to this matter. "
Li Yanxian said: "There are twenty to thirty thousand people in the Chinese army. Isn't that too much?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Indeed. However, the number of people is small, and many things cannot be effective. As you just saw, there are three types of artillery: large, medium and small. The large cannon and the medium cannon are similar in type, both are pulled by three horses. However, the cannon is slightly smaller than the cannon. The reason for this is because the cannon is not only larger, but also much less maneuverable. In actual combat, the cannon can only be assigned to the division level. If it is assigned to the regiment level, it will It greatly affects the mobility of the army. The small cannon is not only much smaller, but the barrel is also much shorter. The use of small cannons is different from that of large and medium cannons. Generally speaking, large and medium cannons mainly shoot directly. , most of the small cannons shoot in a straight direction. Moreover, the barrel is short and uses less gunpowder, and the range is far less than that of large cannons and medium cannons. In actual combat, it is a close combat weapon. When the enemy is close, use the small cannon to fire Shotguns are extremely lethal. Therefore, small cannons are attached to battalions and used in military formations."
Li Yanxian and Wang Ruohai nodded and understood Wang Xiaolie's arrangement.
The use of artillery not only adds a sharp weapon to the battlefield, but also greatly changes the shape of war. How to arrange artillery on the front line, how to cooperate with infantry and cavalry, and how to command is a system. This system has become smoother, and the entire battlefield ecology has also changed.
Not to mention, artillery not only has to transport artillery, but also gunpowder and shells, which increases the logistics requirements. If artillery is to be truly integrated into the war system, the changes will be huge.
Wang Xiaolie said: "However, the Chinese army cannot all participate in the exercise at the moment. Artillery is not easy to make, the price is high, and we cannot all equip them in a short time. My idea is to first equip all the artillery directly under the Chinese army, including artillery. And then The first regiment below is equipped with other artillery. Just use the first regiment and the troops directly under the Chinese Army to do this. The other troops will wait."
Wang Ruohai said: "I think the cannons are all made of copper. Although the small cannons are made of iron, I'm afraid the labor is not cheap."
Wang Xiaolie nodded: "Nowadays, the labor cost of small iron cannons is high, and it is indeed not cheap. I asked them to calculate in detail. A cannon, not including mules and horses, costs about two thousand guan. A medium cannon , about 1,300 guan. And a small cannon costs more than 700 guan. Do you think, how many cannons can we build with the money we have?"
After hearing the price, Li Yanxian and Wang Ruohai couldn't help but open their mouths and didn't speak for a long time.
"If we want to build one hundred cannons, it will cost us two hundred thousand dollars. This - this -" Wang Ruohai couldn't stop talking.
Li Yanxian said: "In the past two years, the Zhenfu Division has built a lot of industries, and it should have made a lot of money, right? I often hear people say that, among other things, there are restaurants and inns in every state and county. Don’t you want to make more than a million dollars?”
After hearing this, Wang Xiaolie looked at Li Yanxian and suddenly laughed.
Wang Xiao was laughed at inexplicably. Li Yanxian asked: "Why is Zhen Fu laughing? Am I wrong?"
Wang Ruohai sighed: "It's not just wrong. It's outrageously wrong! Du Tong, you are in charge of military affairs and you are not familiar with these things. I will tell you by doing the math. Most of those hotels and inns were built within two years. Especially in the past year, all states and counties have built them. Building these hotels and inns requires capital. Until now, the Zhenfu Division has not recorded a penny in its accounts, and all of them have been capital expenditures. This does not count, Because too much has been built in the past year, not only has there been no income, but there has also been a lot of debt.”
"Capital?" Li Yanxian murmured. Only then did I remember that Zhenfusi was really doing business, so of course it cost money.
Wang Xiaolie said: "Of course it requires capital. These are Zhenfusi's properties. Without capital, where will the industry come from? It's not just restaurants and inns. Zhenfusi has built many industries in the past two or three years. In addition to A few, such as the supply and marketing cooperatives, have already made stable profits, and most of the others have to continue to spend money. Earn one million yuan? Tutong, now I still have to spend one million yuan every year!"
Li Yanxian was startled: "Such money is spent. Where does the money come from?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Of course it is borrowed. Everyone knows that taxes under the rule are not heavy, so where can the money come from without borrowing?"
Li Yanxian said: "Borrow? Where can there be such a rich man in the ten states under the rule of the governor? Where can I borrow?"
Wang Xiaolie said: "Of course there is no such rich man in the world. This money was borrowed from the people of the world. We printed the huizi ourselves, and the printed huizi was counted as a debt, and then it came into my hands. In the world, I owe as much debt to the people as there are Xiangyang Huizi."
Li Yanxian nodded, finally understanding a little bit.
Wang Xiaolie said: "Whether it is the imperial court or local officials, they all think that Yin Huizi is a profit-free business. How can such a good thing happen in the world? Whether it is our Huizi or Jiaozi from Sichuan and Shu, Only when the people recognize it can it be circulated throughout the world. Once the people refuse to recognize it, it is just a broken contract. How can we make the people recognize it? This is our responsibility. So I say, this money is borrowed from the people of the world. .”
The Song Dynasty was not unaware of the devaluation and other social problems caused by the excessive issuance of currency. The common people's 20 deposits were discovered when Emperor Daojun was in power. Correspondingly, there is also the corresponding "speech technique". But most of the local officials who issue Huizi and Jiaozi have no overall awareness. Basically, as much as the court allows issuance, then print as much as possible. If you print too much and you really can’t spend it, you will buy things at a discount from the beginning. Moreover, except for Wang Xiaolie, Huizi and Jiaozi in other places do not have fixed denominations, which makes it much easier.
According to the custom of the Song Dynasty, people with iron money are called Jiaozi, such as those in Sichuan and Shu areas. Those who earn copper coins are called Huizi, such as Wang Xiaolie.
The credit currency issued by the regime must be very careful. Don't spam unless absolutely necessary. If not, the impact will be eliminated later at a high cost. Most people understand this, but very few can do it. Some have no sense of responsibility and don't care at all, and some want to take care of it but don't have the corresponding means.
