"Your Majesty, Dean Xu Guangqi of the Firearms Research Institute and Mr. Sun Yuanhua and Bi Maokang are waiting outside Qianqing Palace!"
"pass!"
In just a moment, the three of them entered the Winter Warm Pavilion.
Seeing the four cabinet elders and the Minister of War gathered in Dongnuan Pavilion, the three of them were suddenly shocked. These five people could mobilize troops and horses together.
I originally thought that the emperor wanted to hear about the research progress of the Firearms Research Institute, but I never thought that it would be a war.
"I will see you, Your Majesty!"
"I've met a few adults!"
The three people immediately saluted the emperor, and then bowed their hands to the five people and said a ceremonial greeting.
Chongzhen said to Zheng Zhiqi: "Zheng Aiqing, tell Dean Xu and the others about this big hugging tube."
After Zheng Zhiqi responded, he cupped his hands towards the three of them and said softly: "My lords, this firearm is called a large gun. It was brought back from Fuso...please check it out!"
Zheng Zhiqi quickly and simply explained the holding style tube again, and then handed over the drawings.
The three of them are all experts in making firearms, top figures in the Ming Dynasty. With drawings, objects, and explanations, they understood the principles in an instant.
Then the three of them briefly exchanged a few words over the drawings, and then they understood everything.
"What do you think of Fuso's iron cannon?"
"remarkably brave!"
"It's all fancy but useless!"
"They are neither fish nor fowl, a cannon is a cannon, a cannon is a cannon, the road is astray!"
Xu Guangqi and the other three lightly uttered a comment, and everyone also laughed.
The comments are simply too accurate, and most of them are disdainful.
"Although this thing is a bit outrageous, if there are enough of them, it can also walk sideways. Who doesn't have wet shoes when walking along the river? Sooner or later, they will blow themselves up!"
Xu Guangqi shook his head, and then said: "However, the manufacturing process and smelting of this thing can be used for reference. I can try it in the courtyard later!"
"Yes, this kind of large arrows with fire arrows gave me some ideas. If gunpowder and arrows are combined, the stability and accuracy of the projectiles can be solved, or this large barrel can become a weapon in war.
Specifically for city walls, chariots, shield vehicles, etc., the arrow is inserted into the city gate, and then explodes. Tsk tsk...it must be much more powerful. "
stick fire arrow
"Sun Aiqing, your idea is feasible. After some research, it would be good to use it on warships. Small warships such as red dragon boats, eagle ships, and net shuttle ships are extremely fast, but they are too small to install artillery.
If this thing can be researched, it would be absolutely feasible to equip a ship with three or five gates and use small warships to conduct sneak attacks. "
"I obey the decree!"
After Sun Yuanhua responded, Chongzhen looked at Xu Guangqi and the others: "My dear friends, based on your estimate of the drawings and craftsmanship, is it possible for Fuso to equip it in large quantities?"
"Not very likely!"
Xu Guangqi shook his head: "This thing is a large Vulcan gun, but the quantity cannot be stacked. With this 80mm caliber, it will take at least three months to make one.
Moreover, it may not be usable directly after making it, which is time-consuming, plus it is not very safe and takes a long time to launch.
The Fuso is a bit bigger and has fewer firearms. It is estimated that two or three hundred doors of such a powerful thing can shock the heroes. There is no need to do too much. "
"That's good!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Although firearms can destroy cities and cause mass destruction, in the end they still require hand-to-hand combat. If there are too many of these, it will still cause heavy casualties.
After chatting for a few words, Zheng Zhiqi left Dongnuang Pavilion. Chongzhen looked at Xu Guangqi and the others, and his expression became serious.
"Xu Aiqing, you may not know that North Korea has been destroyed by the three parties of Jiannu, Mongolian tribes, and Fusang.
The cabinet speculated that they did this ostensibly to occupy North Korea's territory and alleviate the food shortage. The real purpose was to target North Korea's firearms technology, and then the three parties joined forces to attack the Ming Dynasty! "
hiss……
When the three of them heard that Korea had been destroyed, they were all shocked, and their faces instantly became serious.
Xu Guangqi said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, although North Korea's firearms technology has gone astray, it has been developed for more than two hundred years. The technical foundation is there. Combined with Fuso's firearms technology and Jiannu's research on firearms in recent years, it is impossible to I really can produce a large number of firearms.
The cavalry of the Jiannu and Mongolian tribes is extremely powerful and has few opponents. If they add fire blunderbuss or even artillery, they will definitely be invincible. They are a huge threat to the Ming Dynasty! "
"So, I need a lot of artillery to crush them with numbers."
Listening to the emperor's question, everyone immediately focused their attention on Xu Guangqi, their eyes full of anticipation.
Looking at everyone's expressions, Xu Guangqi suddenly felt a great deal of pressure on his body.
"Your Majesty, if you don't summon me to see you today, I will come to report to Your Majesty in a few days!"
Xu Guangqi's tone was very calm, but Chongzhen's heart suddenly lightened. Could it be that his premonition was about to come true?
Sure enough, the next moment Xu Guangqi continued: "Your Majesty, since the Wu family, a smelting family in Suzhou, returned to Beijing, we have combined the smelting techniques recorded by their family and conducted hundreds of smelting operations.
According to the current progress, iron mold cannon casting technology can be realized within three months at the latest.
Once realized, Chen estimates that the Firearms Research Institute can produce more than a hundred qualified Hongyi cannons, or more than two hundred large general cannons, and at least a thousand small general cannons, tiger crouching cannons, etc. in a single month. "
PS: Don’t think that casting cannons with iron molds is as simple as replacing clay molds with solid iron pillars. If it were that easy, it wouldn’t have appeared two hundred years later. The main reason is the restriction of molten iron. I can only say that iron molds are more efficient than clay molds. It is high, cost-effective and time-consuming, reduces the burns of craftsmen during the production process, increases the yield of finished products, and the quality will be better than clay molds.
"Your Majesty, the technology brought by the Wu family is not just as simple as iron molds. According to their ideas and equipment, the performance of iron will be greatly improved. Although it is not as good as Su Gang, it is definitely much better than what we have now."
call……
Everyone's breathing became rapid in an instant, their eyes turned red, and they stared at Xu Guangqi and the other three people as if they wanted to choose someone for their liking.
Even Chongzhen couldn't sit still and stared at Xu Guangqi closely.
What does it mean for iron to be of good quality?
It means that the weapons produced are of good quality and require less maintenance;
This means that the probability of damage on the battlefield is low and the chance of survival is high.
Why do so few Hongyi artillery and general artillery take part in field battles?
It's just because it's too heavy, and because to ensure that the barrel doesn't blow up, the thickness of the barrel can only be increased, ranging from two to three thousand kilograms at a lighter weight, to five or six thousand kilograms, or even ten thousand kilograms at a heavier weight.
It is inconvenient to transport, seriously affects the marching speed, and is also easy to be attacked by the enemy.
If the quality of the molten iron is better, the quality of the manufactured artillery will be better, the probability of the barrel exploding is lower, and the barrel can be slightly thinner, which will weigh less and make transportation and marching easier.
This is only one of them. The other is that the idea that Chongzhen has been holding in his heart for two or three years can finally be tried.
PS: The humble author begs for updates...
