"It doesn't matter!"
Chongzhen patted the thunder cannon gently with his hand, feeling the coldness of the barrel.
One hundred and fifty pounds is not heavy. For some sergeants in the army, they can just carry it and run away. It is even easier for two people to carry it.
It's not as maneuverable as the Crouching Tiger Cannon, but it's enough.
"How did you deal with the cannonball?"
This is the most difficult part of the flying thunder cannon. If it fails, it may explode directly.
Listening to the emperor's question, Xu Guang raised his hand, and Bo Jue, who was waiting next to him, immediately took out a straight-cylindrical object from the box next to him. The lead was actually on the head.
"Your Majesty, in order to prevent the firing of gunpowder from igniting the Heaven-Hangling Thunder, we can only make the Heaven-Hanging Thunder like this. When launching, the fuses of both the launching and the Heaven-Hanging Thunder will be ignited at the same time.
After our testing, it took almost one and a half breaths from lighting the fuse to the explosion.
The speed of firing once is about fifty to sixty breaths, mainly because the barrel is relatively thick and it is difficult to control the gunpowder directly.
Therefore, we also made a fixed charge tube, and it was wrapped in oil paper in a fixed shape, and was directly loaded into the gun barrel along with the Hongtianlei.
But the problem is that a certain amount of slag will be left inside. If it is not cleaned up in time, it will increase the probability of the chamber exploding. This is the same as the Hongyi cannon that needs to be cleaned after being fired. "
Damn it...
Listening to Xu Guangqi's introduction, Chongzhen cursed in his heart.
It's not because of the launch time and the explosion of the chamber, but because the cannonball and the gunpowder are connected together. Isn't this simply a simplified version of later cannonballs? It's really amazing.
"Who invented this method of loading gunpowder?"
"Your Majesty, it was Sir Bi Maokangbi who improved it on the basis of the fixed-loading medicine tube."
Hearing this, Chongzhen looked at Bi Maokang next to him with joy on his face: "Bi Aiqing, you surprised me again! Have you ever thought about applying it to fire guns?"
Everyone in the Firearms Research Institute was surprised again. The emperor's sense of smell was really too sensitive.
Listening to the emperor's question, Bi Maokang said softly: "Your Majesty, this minister has done experiments."
As he spoke, he took out two straight cylinders wrapped in oil paper from the box on one side, and presented one to the emperor: "Your Majesty, this straight cylinder contains two parts, the top is the lead, and the bottom is the gunpowder. ,
Use rope or glue to separate the two. Chen et al. call them fixed paper shells.
When firing, open the bottom of the paper shell a little, pour the gunpowder into the gunpowder pool of the flintlock, and then insert the paper shell into the barrel. "
After Bi Maokang finished the introduction, he took a flintlock gun from the shelf and started loading, compacting, and pulling the trigger according to the introduction just now. The whole process went smoothly.
Listening to the gunshots and touching the so-called fixed-load paper shells, Chongzhen was filled with shock.
The fixed paper shell bullet in his hand is somewhat similar to the structural bullets of later generations. It has to be said that Bi Maokang has a sensitive sense of smell and accomplishments in firearms.
Bi Maokang said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the fixed-loaded paper shell bullets look okay, but the effect when used on a flintlock gun is not ideal.
Because the amount of gunpowder fired by the fire gun is too small, it may not be able to burn all the oil paper and will leave some ashes, which will have a great impact on the next launch.
This is not like artillery, which fires a sufficient amount of gunpowder and has a large barrel caliber, making it easy to clean.
Moreover, the steps are the same as the firing of the fixed charge tube, because the blunderbuss tube is not so smooth. If the caliber of the fixed paper shell bullet is similar to that of the blunderbuss tube, then you need to pound the chamber rod to prevent it from falling to the bottom.
If it were made thinner, the airtightness would not be enough, the range would be short, and it would not be too moisture-proof.
After a comprehensive calculation, at present, the fixed-loading drug tube is more advantageous.
Chen and others estimate that after the performance of gunpowder is improved again, maybe firecrackers can directly use paper shells. "
Come on...
Listening to Bi Maokang's explanation, Chongzhen instantly felt that the fixed paper shell bullet in his hand was no longer fragrant, but he adjusted his mentality in an instant.
It was because he was asking too much and ignored the limitations of this era. It is very rare to have made such great progress in such a short period of time.
It is naturally easy to see the world from the shoulders of giants, but when you do it yourself, you understand how difficult it is.
"Since the firecrackers can't be used for the time being, let's use them on the artillery first. I believe your ability can always be improved in the future."
"I will live up to your majesty's great trust!"
Chongzhen nodded, then turned to look at Xu Guangqi and others: "Let's get back to business, let's take a look at the flying thunder cannon first!"
"Your Majesty, please go behind the bunker and watch!"
After Chongzhen and his ministers arrived at the bunker, Xu Guangqi gave instructions to the sergeant in charge of the experiment and returned to the bunker.
I saw four sergeants carrying hoes and shovels digging quickly on the ground.
Looking at the emperor's curious look, Xu Guangqi said softly: "Your Majesty, the thunder cannon is light in weight, but it fires a lot of gunpowder and the shells are heavier. If it is just placed diagonally, the barrel will easily jump and injure people.
After research, Chen and others dug a sloping trench in the ground where the thunder cannon could be placed. This could not only reduce the shock, but also reduce the power of the explosion.
If time permits, we can also place thick wooden boards or iron plates under the ditch, and then there is no need to adjust the elevation angle. In this way, the landing point of the flying thunder cannon can basically be fixed within a certain range. "
"Reliable!"
"well considered!"
"Dean Xu, you have really considered every aspect!"
…
The six cabinet ministers praised him one after another, their eyes full of approval, especially the commander of the Tengxiang Four Guards, whose eyes were even more pleased. This meant that the lives of the soldiers were at heart.
In the time it took to speak, the sergeant dug the inclined ditch, put the thunder cannon in, and aimed it at the city wall two hundred meters away that was covered with wooden figures for testing.
Install fuses, propellants, thunder...
The flag messenger waved the flag and conveyed the message. Xu Guangqi saw this and said softly: "Everyone, if the voice is loud, you should cover your ears!"
After saying that, he waved the command flag and gave the order to light the fire.
A hundred meters away, the torch was lowered, the sergeant stepped back, and the smoke rose.
Boom... The gun barrel burst into flames, and along with a large amount of thick smoke, a black thing flew out from the mouth of the gun barrel.
Rumble…
Before anyone could react, there was a huge explosion hundreds of meters away, fierce fire, earth and rocks falling, dust flying everywhere, and falling towards the surrounding area.
Xu Guangqi ignored this and continued to wave the order flag. The sergeant responded to the order and repeated the previous firing process.
