Outside Luoyang City, Zhe Yanzhi looked at the artillery set up and said to Wang Ruohai: "Counsellor, is this an artillery piece? It looks extraordinary! I heard people say that this thing is much more powerful than the bed crossbow, and fewer people use it. , it is truly a divine weapon on the battlefield!"
Wang Ruohai said: "I thought it was powerful when I first saw it, but after seeing it more, I thought it was nothing more than that. Artillery is indeed much more powerful than bed crossbows and stone cannons. One cannon can penetrate several people. However, if you want to use it well, you must also Let’s see how the general arranges it.”
Orihiko circled the cannon several times and nodded repeatedly.
This cannon is made of copper. It looks so big and must be very heavy. I don’t know how much copper was used. Used extensively in war, it costs a lot of money.
Wang Ruohai looked at Zhe Yanzhi and said nothing. From the beginning, Wang Xiaolie did not regard artillery as a secret weapon, but instead equipped the army with large quantities of artillery. After using it a lot, everyone discovered that this thing is very useful on the battlefield, but it still depends on how to use it. If you don't use it properly, it won't work at all. Used well, it can kill the enemy to the maximum extent, especially suppress the enemy.
These new weapons are of great use on the battlefield. But for commanders, these effects cannot be overstated. Otherwise, it would be easy to rely too much on new weapons and lose the advantage on the battlefield. Or the tactics are too deformed and cannot give full play to the role of new weapons.
Historically, when Europe began the Industrial Revolution, most countries in other parts of the world were closed and backward due to various reasons. Especially in China, during the Opium War, the politics were dark, the army was disorganized, and the weapons were backward. The results were incredible to future generations.
It is precisely because of the historical examples of European colonization of the world that many people pay too much attention to the quality of weapons. Some people even regard this technological gap as the basis for dividing civilizations. Fighting with sticks and stones is a stage of civilization. The use of cold weapons, swords, guns, swords, halberds and bows and crossbows is another stage of civilization. The use of thermal weapons, muskets and cannons is another higher stage of civilization. And so on, technology has been used to divide civilization upwards.
How could civilization be just technology? Human civilization, in the final analysis, depends on how people live. It is a bit ridiculous that people's living conditions cannot be improved, even to the point where they can travel in space, and there is still slavery.
The famous science fiction writer Liu Cixin often talks about dimensionality reduction. When talking about dimensionality reduction, I like to give an example. It is said that there was a family in a colony in Africa. There are two men, one woman and one child in this family. Somehow they offended the surrounding tribes, and fifteen hundred knights on horseback surrounded the family. The family's only weapon was the Maxim machine gun that had just been invented at that time. As a result, this family used this Maxim machine gun to kill two-thirds of the invading knights, and the remaining third ran away.
Wang Xiaolie is a serious person and he really tried to look up this story, but unfortunately he couldn't. When I thought about it later, the story seemed a bit ridiculous with one machine gun targeting fifteen hundred people. How long can the newly invented Maxim machine gun be fired continuously? One machine gun has to suppress 1,500 people. Are these 1,500 people fools? Don't be too stupid, they need to be in a very good formation to kill two thirds of them.
The story may or may not have it. Even if there were, it would be impossible for 1,500 cavalry to be suppressed by one machine gun. A lot of details must have been deleted, leaving only this gimmick. How can it be that there are just a few small tribes that can quickly pull out 1,500 cavalry at once?
But technicalism is not advisable. A new weapon may change the situation of war, but the outcome of the war must also require other factors.
What is a high-level civilization? It can never be divided based on technology. You cannot say that you are a stone civilization and I am a bronze civilization, so I am more advanced than you. What does the so-called destruction of you have to do with you? It sounds domineering, but this should not be said by a civilized person.
Civilization should not just be changes in the use of tools and weapons, but should have other things. We cannot think that because I am a bronze civilization, I cannot easily wipe out your stone civilization. The gap is too small. If I were an iron civilization, it should be easy. If it still doesn’t work, then it’s time for me to be a gunpowder civilization. This kind of thinking actually ignores the more important things of civilization.
In previous lives, due to the changes of the times, people were not very serious about knowledge, and people often used such specious examples. Or, in order to attract attention, they deliberately popularize some knowledge that seems correct but is not actually explained clearly.
For example, when people introduce their homes, they will say how poor they are. Someone came out to popularize science and said that in ancient times, not everyone could be called poor. Some people may even say that in ancient times, you were not qualified to be called a poor family.
What dynasty was it in ancient times? How long has it been, and in which dynasty can one not claim to be a poor family? When did ordinary people not have the right to be called poor? After the Tang Dynasty, the family disappeared, and ordinary people could certainly call it a poor family. And the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, aren’t they ancient times?
History is already very complicated. Future generations should not make complicated history seem plausible just for this or that reason.
After looking at the cannon carefully, Orihiko asked: "I heard that the cannon can shoot iron pellets. I wonder how it shoots?"
Wang Ruohai said: "Du Cheng stays away from the artillery and lets the gunner fire one shot."
After Zhe Yanzhi left, Wang Ruohai ordered some simple wooden dolls to be placed a mile away and ordered the gunners to charge.
Watch the gunner open the porcelain jar on one side and pour out the artillery. Zheyan asked: "Counsellor, what is this? It should be gunpowder, right?"
Wang Ruohai said: "Exactly. The gunpowder used in artillery is different from that used in fireworks. Don't get confused."
Orihiko nodded, not knowing what the difference was, but just keeping it in mind.
After filling the gunpowder and loading the iron bullets, the gunner took the red-hot iron bar and stood up.
The commander on one side raised the small flag in his hand and turned to look at Wang Ruohai and Zheyan.
Wang Ruohai said: "When the artillery is fired, the ground will inevitably shake. Please be careful."
After speaking, he nodded to the commander.
The conductor took out his whistle, put it in his mouth, and blew loudly. As the whistle blew, the small flag in his hand quickly popped down.
The gunner held the iron bar and nodded the fuse, and saw black smoke rising.
Zhe Yanzhi waited on tenterhooks, not knowing when. Just when I felt a little anxious, I heard a muffled sound, and the iron pellets in the barrel flew out of the muzzle and flew straight to the wooden doll a mile away. Immediately afterwards. Black smoke rose above the cannon, and the smell of gunpowder smoke filled the surrounding area.
