"Let's go and have a look!"
Chongzhen couldn't wait. After a while, he saw the final granulated gunpowder in another workshop.
These granulated gunpowder are only the size of rice grains, and at least from a sensory perspective, they are relatively uniform.
Chongzhen grabbed some and observed them carefully, his eyes full of surprise.
"Xu Aiqing, you really gave me a big surprise. You have actually achieved this. I really can't wait to see the power of gunpowder."
"Your Majesty, I think the test site is ready. I would like to ask your Majesty to move there!"
"Proving ground?"
"Your Majesty, in order to facilitate the study of the power of various firearms, I have chosen a valley in Baiwang Mountain specifically for the testing of various firecrackers, the explosion of gunpowder, etc.
In the valley, sheltered by the surrounding mountains, it is safe and hidden, and will not disturb residents. This is one of the reasons why the Firearms Research Institute was built here. "
"good idea!"
Chongzhen felt a little emotional. He was indeed a technical master and he did everything flawlessly.
"Xu Aiqing, arrange for someone to take Zhou Yuji and others to the testing site!"
After the arrangements were made, everyone got on their horses. After walking along the road opened between the two mountains for a full two-quarters of an hour, another heavily guarded checkpoint appeared.
After the inspection, everyone entered the valley, and what they saw were various targets, tools, artillery, muskets, etc.
Some craftsmen were standing under some sheds holding firecrackers and waiting to discuss something.
Xu Guangqi led Chongzhen to a high wall three meters high and half a meter thick with some small observation windows. A wooden barrel filled with gunpowder was also carried over.
"Your Majesty, the tests fired this time include fire guns, bird guns, three-eyed guns, Folang machine guns, tiger crouching guns, general guns, etc. We are behind this wall and watching through the lookout to prevent the barrel from exploding. .”
"Well, let's get started, be safe!"
Although it was nonsense, Chongzhen still gave an instruction.
It's been almost a year since he traveled back in time, and it wasn't until this moment that Chongzhen actually saw the loading and firing process of the fire gun.
Xu Guangqi on the side is also explaining the structure of the fire gun, which is roughly divided into: gun chamber, medicine chamber and tail.
The sergeant filled his medicine jar from the gunpowder barrel and went to the other side of the wall.
I saw the sergeants first installed a firing wire on the tail, and then used a bamboo tube to get some gunpowder from a large powder barrel and put it into the gun's mouth.
Then he pounded it with a small stick, and finally put the lead from the mouth of the gun.
"Dean, everything is ready!"
"Just do the usual testing!"
After Xu Guangqi responded, one sergeant was responsible for the support and aiming, and the other sergeant took out a fire stick, blew it and then lit the fuse directly.
As the fuse burned, traces of black smoke emerged, and the hearts of Chongzhen and others also burned.
Looking at the entire loading and launching process, although Chongzhen was speechless, there was nothing he could do about it.
Three-line tactics solve the loading problem, and the number of firecrackers solves the accuracy problem.
If Jiannu firearms were to develop, the current thinking on firearms tactics would probably evolve into the queuing-to-shoot tactics that have been popular in Europe for two hundred years.
Set up formations to shoot, and whose formation collapses first, the other side will start to charge.
"boom!"
"boom!"
"boom!"
…
Loud noises were heard, and tongues of fire and thick smoke also appeared.
A quarter of an hour later, the test results of the gun came out.
The maximum range of the bird gun has been increased from the initial two hundred steps to nearly two hundred and fifty steps, and the effective range has been increased from sixty steps to eighty steps.
Don't underestimate the effective distance of these twenty steps. If you use a three-line strategy, you can increase the number of launch opportunities by six times.
Just imagine, if there are 5,000 bird gun soldiers, working in groups of two, that would be 2,500 fire guns.
Six chances, that's fifteen thousand guns. Even if the accuracy is worse, the quantity can make up for the lethality.
…
An hour later, all the prepared firearms were tested.
The maximum range of the Tiger Crouching Cannon was increased from 150 feet to 180 feet, and the effective range was increased from 25 feet to 40 feet.
The maximum range of the general cannon has been increased from 300 feet to...
…
Looking at the compiled data, Xu Guangqi said softly: "Your Majesty, granular gunpowder is about twice as powerful as powdered gunpowder."
"Thank you for your hard work, Xu Aiqing!"
Chongzhen had no doubts about the results reported by Xu Guangqi and others, but he did not express an opinion.
This thing cannot only look at the maximum range and effective distance, but also has something to do with the weight of the loaded gunpowder, the degree of compaction of the gunpowder, the weight of the lead, the launch angle, etc.
Judging from what he just saw, the amount of gunpowder loaded, angle, etc. are different for each launch, so there is really no way to give specific data.
But judging from the power of the last few types of artillery, it is possible that it has been doubled, but it is hard to say about the firecrackers.
No matter what, it is definitely more powerful than the previous powder, which is enough.
"It's just the right time to complete it. The strategy of plotting to create slaves can be changed!"
After evaluating the power of granulated gunpowder, Chongzhen sighed again in his heart.
His original plan was to force Jiannu to take the route of the historical changes in advance, because he was afraid that if Jiannu formed an alliance with the Mongolian tribes, or even directly conquered them, then Jiannu would become a complete phenomenon.
They used Tengxiang left guards and white pole soldiers to block Jiannu's troops from entering the pass, and then mobilized troops from Tengxiang's four guards, the Forbidden Army's nine guards, Changping, Zhenbao towns, Shanhaiguan and other places to surround and kill Jiannu.
Even if one is exchanged for one, two is exchanged for one, or three is exchanged for one, the strength of the slave-building troops entering the pass will still be worn away.
As long as this part of the Jiannu troops entering the pass is killed, Jiannu's vitality will be severely weakened. Facing the threats from the Mongolian tribes, if the Jiliao defense line army attacks again, they may be able to defeat Jiannu's Shengjing.
Now that gunpowder has been granulated, he has too many ways to reduce losses.
The Ming Dynasty had earthquake thunder, fire rat thunder, stone thunder, ceramic thunder, pig iron thunder, etc., but due to the quality of gunpowder and external materials, they had great limitations.
A thunderbolt is 20 centimeters in diameter and weighs 20 kilograms. Except for trebuchets, this thing cannot be sent out manually, or it can be used to defend the city.
But his current method is to use a bamboo tube, a porcelain bottle, etc., to put half a kilogram of granulated gunpowder into it, plus some caltrops, etc., to make a simple hand grenade for later generations.
Even if the power of gunpowder is not as powerful as that of later generations, the impact of the explosion can cause great damage when the caltrops are blown out.
The bombardiers are all ready-made, and the archers have extremely strong arm strength. It is estimated that throwing them fifty meters will not be a big problem.
Coupled with horse-rejection stakes, horse traps, etc., the Jiannu cavalry can also collide.
If you play harder, make it weigh ten or twenty kilograms, and throw it out with a catapult, the lethality will definitely be no less powerful than the solid bullets of the red cannon.
The most important thing is that the trebuchet is simple to make and portable, at least much lighter than the Hongyi cannon.
"Xu Aiqing, please ask someone to find some wine jars of different sizes, thicker, dry bamboo, etc., and then find a craftsman. I can help!"
