"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After Xu Guangqi left work and saluted, he immediately said: "Since last year's Grassland War, the Firearms Research Institute has produced a total of 200,000 kilograms of granulated gunpowder, of which 20,000 kilograms are for spare use, and the rest have been made into various firearms.
As of now, there are 80,000 palm mines, 4,000 bombs each for sky-blasting thunder and flying thunder cannons, and 18,000 flint mines.
There are 40,000 flintlock muskets and 1.2 million fixed charge tubes, all of which have been distributed to the Tengxiang Four Guards, the Forbidden Army, and the Beijing Camp.
There are 600 Folang machine guns, 800 tiger crouching cannons, more than 400 flying thunder cannons, 250 general cannons, and 300 Hongyi cannons, of which 220 are transferred to Xinjiangkou On the equipment warships of the Navy, Denglai Navy, and Nanhai Navy,
Of the remaining 180, 60 were transferred to the Danlu Guards, Zhenhai Guards, and Zhuyi Guards stationed at Dagukou, Tianjin, to defend the entrance of the Yellow River, and 60 were transported to Wusongkou, Shanghai County. Used to defend the Yangtze River estuary,
The remaining sixty are still in the capital and are to be transferred to the estuary of the Pearl River in Guangdong. However, they have not been transported yet. They are thinking of sending them to the Pearl River when the Nanhai Navy returns.
As for the chariots and heavy fire oil tanks, the Ministry of Industry is responsible for them. I don’t know the specific numbers! "
Seeing Xu Guangqi and the emperor looking at him, Fan Jingwen, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, immediately said: "Your Majesty, as of today, there are already 320 tanks, more than 800 fierce fire oil tanks, and a fuel reserve of 10,000 taels. More than a thousand kilograms,
At present, they are all transferred to the Beijing Camp for storage. The daily production of fuel is about three hundred kilograms. If necessary, it can at least reach one thousand kilograms! "
hiss……
Everyone in Wuying Hall took a breath. They really didn't expect there to be so many firearms.
Immediately, everyone became excited again. There were so many firearms and they were not afraid no matter how many more troops there were from the three parties.
They also understood why Sun Chengzong said that he could not hold on during the sand table drill just now. So many firearms fired in a salvo that all defenses were crippled.
Chongzhen frowned. The firearms reserve of the Firearms Research Institute still did not meet his needs.
Others are fine, except that the number of thunder cannons and thunder bombs is a bit small.
The four hundred thunder cannons only have 4,000 thunder bombs, with an average of ten bombs per gun. They have to fight through three lines of defense all the way from Guangning and attack several cities, with an average of dozens of thunder bombs per city.
With so few artillery shells, what kind of fire coverage is there?
Is the Ming Dynasty short of silver? No shortage! Short of manpower? It’s not a shortage either! Short of materials? Not to mention, in that case, what are you waiting for if you don’t use fire coverage?
"Xu Aiqing, there are less flying thunder bullets. It doesn't have to be made of granulated gunpowder. Improved black powder will also work.
Let me give you a bottom line. Before the expedition in April, one thunder cannon should be equipped with at least one hundred thunder bombs. Can this be achieved? "
"Can!"
Xu Guangqi did not hesitate at all. Ordinary black gunpowder can be produced on the assembly line at least 500,000 kilograms a month. Making 40,000 to 50,000 thunder bombs is really not a big problem. The big deal is to transfer two or three thousand households from the Yulei Camp. Come and help.
"In addition, the sixty Hongyi cannons allocated to the Pearl River also went out with the army. If the official roads can be pulled by horse-drawn carriages, they should be pulled by horse-drawn carriages. If they cannot be carried by horse-drawn carriages, they must be carried to the front line."
Chongzhen's voice was sonorous, powerful and extremely firm.
No one objected because they knew that this was an important guarantee for attacking the Liaohe defense line and the Yalu River defense line.
The Ming Dynasty lacked everything except men. A Red Yi cannon weighed three thousand kilograms, and thirty people were enough to carry it. Tens of thousands of people were recruited to carry the Red Yi cannon. It could be sent to the front line no matter what, and the speed was not high. slow.
"Hey, that's not right!"
Just when everyone was thinking, Xu Guangqi's soft moan suddenly sounded, causing everyone to look over.
Chongzhen frowned slightly, looked at Xu Guangqi and asked doubtfully: "Xu Aiqing, what's wrong?"
Xu Guangqi thought for a moment and said softly: "Your Majesty, the matter of moving the Hongyi cannon may have been solved. This matter should have been reported to you by Wang Zheng, the director of the Industrial Research Institute, sir..."
"It's okay, just tell me. Wang Zheng will come back and I will personally explain it. At this time, let's talk about it first, so that we can have a clear understanding!"
Hearing what the emperor said, Xu Guangqi cupped his hands, walked to the desk next to him, picked up a pen, and started drawing. In just a moment, a car that looked like a carriage without a carriage appeared on the paper.
"Your Majesty, I talked to Wang Zheng about the Metallurgical Institute some time ago. Their Industrial Research Institute has developed a gun carriage for transporting Hongyi cannons and general cannons.
The artillery cart has three wheels, two large and one small. The wheels are enlarged and widened. Dean Wang named it a three-wheeled field artillery cart.
The entire vehicle is made of copper and iron, weighing about a thousand pounds. Although it is a bit bulkier, it is more advantageous in that it does not need to be reinstalled. It can be fired directly on the gun carriage, and it is much more convenient to turn around and so on.
Dean Wang did not report it to His Majesty. He thought it was still being debugged. Maybe there would be good news in a few days. "
"Haha...Wang Aiqing is quite calm. She can still handle such a big event!"
Looking at the drawings in his hands, Chongzhen was very happy.
Although he didn't quite understand the structure of the carriage, with Wang Zheng and Xu Guangqi's abilities, they wouldn't be able to fool him, so they would definitely be able to use it.
"Your Majesty, Dean Wang's three-wheeled field artillery truck is a timely gift!"
"The emergence of field artillery vehicles has given Hongyi artillery, which can only defend city walls, the ability to fight in the field. This is a great increase in our strength."
"There are flying thunder cannons nearby, tiger crouching cannons, Folan cannons, and small general cannons in the middle. There are big general cannons and red cannons in the distance, as well as offensive and defensive firearms such as palm thunders and sky-blasting thunders. I, Ming Dynasty, The development of firearms will definitely far exceed that of overseas barbarians."
"Your Majesty, I suggest that after Dean Wang has accurate results, the artillery carriages are built, and the Beijing army can start again. With the support of long-range Hongyi artillery, it doesn't hurt to set off a few days later!"
…
"feasible!"
Chongzhen nodded and looked at Xu Guangqi: "Xu Aiqing, regarding the three-wheeled field artillery carriage, you will go to the Industrial Research Institute on my behalf later and convey my meaning to Wang Aiqing, as soon as possible!"
"I obey the decree!"
After Xu Guangqi responded, Chongzhen pondered for a moment: "This time, I am the imperial commander of the Northern Expedition. Yuan Ke was appointed as the Grand Marshal of the Northern Expedition and promoted the matters of the Northern Expedition. Li Guopu accompanied him. Sun Chengzong was in charge of the capital, commanding the cabinet and six ministries, and was responsible for logistics and government affairs.
After a while, the cabinet went to Qin Tianjian and asked them to choose an auspicious day for the expedition. The cabinet issued a petition and sent it to Dongnuan Pavilion to summon the world. "
"In addition, the four tribes in Liaodong are ordered to be vigilant and guard against the Jianu, Fusang, and Mongolian tribes taking the opportunity to make a surprise attack. If they are attacked, they must be on the defensive. Do not attack without authorization if you are not fully sure. Recharge your batteries and wait for my arrival in person!"
