On this day, everyone from the Emperor and the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty to the seven ministers, the governors of the Dudu Mansion, and the general soldiers in Beijing, as long as they were qualified, regardless of whether they were related to the military or not, all heard the news and rushed to the test square of the Nanjing War Bureau. Looking forward to seeing Xing Guogong’s latest invention.
Before the appointed time came, everyone who wanted to watch had arrived, and everyone was talking excitedly.
"I heard that the latest firearm invented by the Duke of Guo can make the nomads only love peace from now on, and no longer like to dance with guns and sticks!"
"No, I have also heard this saying, saying that from now on the grassland people will become good at singing and dancing!"
"Cavalry is the most powerful unit. Are these firearms that powerful?"
"Yes, the speed of the cavalry can cover great distances in the blink of an eye. Once the speed increase is completed, how many bullets can the firearm fire at this speed?"
"That's what I say, but since Your Majesty and the Duke have high hopes for this, they must be able to restrain the cavalry!"
"It's hard to say, maybe it can deal with the cavalry, but to say that it can restrain the cavalry and make the grassland peoples only love peace from now on is too exaggerated!"
"..."
Among these discussions, there is a very obvious feature. Even civil servants generally believed that the newly invented firearms by Duke Xingguo could restrain cavalry. However, most of the generals present, especially the army generals, did not see it that way and were skeptical about it.
It's not their fault. In fact, once the speed of the cavalry is increased, it will be too fast. Even if there are breech-loading guns that have begun to be equipped with troops, and the rate of fire is greatly improved compared to previous firearms, it is impossible to say that they can restrain the cavalry!
Since ancient times, cavalry has always been the dominant force on the battlefield. What rate of fire would be required to make the cavalry withdraw from the battlefield from now on?
Anyway, these generals can't imagine how fast the best firearms would be to restrain the cavalry!
In the midst of their discussion, someone suddenly shouted: "The Duke is here!"
Upon hearing this, the scene suddenly became quiet, and everyone turned to look at the Bingzhan Bureau test room.
I saw a few people from the military affairs department behind Duke Xing Guo, dragging something over.
Upon seeing this, many people immediately started talking again.
"Hey, is that an artillery piece? Why doesn't it look like a gun at all?"
"Yeah, how can a gun have two wheels so big that it can be towed?"
"Haha, this gun is definitely powerful, I can guarantee it!"
"If we regard artillery as a gun, it's hard to say. But then again, how fast can this rate of fire be?"
"Yes, the most important thing in restraining the cavalry is the rate of fire, not the power of the bullet. Can this cannon-like gun work?"
"..."
Emperor Chongzhen and Prince Zhu Cixiang had seen them in documentaries and recognized them immediately. Both of them were immediately overjoyed.
The two of them were deeply impressed by the power of this firearm from the first sight.
Emperor Chongzhen was a little more reserved due to his status. Even though Prince Zhu Cixiang was already an adult, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Wow, that's really awesome!"
When some generals heard this, they couldn't help but turn their heads and look at him. Although he didn't say anything, most people were thinking that the prince had never fought in a war and did not know the difference between a gun and a cannon. I thought that if a gun was made like a cannon, it would be very powerful!
"I've kept you waiting!" Zhang Mingwei walked into the crowd and said to them with a smile.
He just rechecked the Maxim heavy machine gun and found no problems. There was a high probability that there would be no problems in the test, so he was in a good mood.
His Maxim heavy machine gun, called the Maxim-Tretyakov machine gun in later generations, had two wheels to facilitate marching.
But for people who have never seen it in this era, is a gun with two wheels still a gun? That's a cannon!
No, Wang Chengen, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, said jokingly to Zhang Mingwei: "My lord, we just heard a lot of ignorant comments, saying that this is a cannon and not a gun!"
There was a bit of pride in his words. Because he is not one of those inexperienced people. He was also one of the few people in the world who had seen this firearm.
Zhang Mingwei smiled after hearing this and said: "It's a gun or a cannon. You'll know after a while of looking at it!"
He obviously didn't care and asked Emperor Chongzhen: "How about we start?"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he waved his hands enthusiastically and said, "Sir, please open your eyes quickly!"
"Yes, let's open everyone's eyes quickly and let them all know how powerful this gun is!" Prince Zhu Cixiang echoed equally excitedly.
Most of the generals were a little embarrassed when Wang Chengen said this, but there was nothing they could do, and they were somewhat unconvinced. After fighting for so many years, the Duke is familiar with the series of ordnance he invented before. No matter how powerful the gun in front of him is, how powerful can it be?
To restrain the cavalry and let the cavalry withdraw from the stage of war from now on, this must be an exaggeration by the literati!
Therefore, they all wanted to see with their own eyes how powerful this artillery-like firearm was!
After Duke Xingguo gave the order, the people from the war bureau arranged the firearm, pulled out a long cloth bag from a box, and inserted it into the firearm.
At this glance, the civilians and military officers who were watching were all curious. It was different. It was definitely different from what they had seen before.
Zhang Mingwei looked at their looks and said with a smile: "If you want to see more clearly, you can stand behind them and watch."
They were in the observation post, more than ten meters away from the firearms operation area.
Although he could see it, curiosity still drove civilians and military officers who had never seen it before to flock to him. Among them, those generals are the first. Li Laiheng, Li Dingguo, Li Guo, etc., these generals in Beijing were the first to rush over.
When they passed by, the bullet belt was already installed.
Li Laiheng and others were a little surprised when they saw the metal bullets on the bag. Although they have never seen it, they can see from the installed bullet belt that it seems to be really different from ordinary breech-loading guns!
Then, a scene that surprised them even more appeared: one of the people from the war bureau actually carried a bucket to add water to the barrel of the gun...
What's happening here?
For a moment, all the civil servants and generals who saw this scene were a little dumbfounded.
They have never heard that guns have to be filled with water, so how can they shoot? Can it still be played loudly?
Many people subconsciously want to say something like this. However, in the face of Duke Xingguo, he finally endured it.
However, it can be seen from their expressions that they have great doubts about this kind of gun!
It can even be said that, except for a few people who have seen the Maxim heavy machine gun going wild in documentaries, everyone else has more or less doubts about the firearm in front of them.
At this time, the personnel of the Military War Bureau who operated the muskets signaled to Duke Xing that they were ready.
Zhang Mingwei obtained the consent of Emperor Chongzhen and gave the order to fire.
"My lords, the sound is a bit loud. It will be better if you step back a little!"
After hearing the reminder from the people in the War and War Bureau, the civil servants really stepped back a little. However, Li Laiheng and other generals did not take it seriously. Instead, they stared at it without any intention of retreating.
The people from the Bingzhan Bureau had already warned them and ignored these adults. Just when they were about to shoot, they suddenly heard a shout: "Wait, let me shoot!"
After hearing this, everyone looked around and found that the speaker was actually His Highness the Crown Prince. For a moment, everyone was a little dumbfounded.
Seeing Emperor Chongzhen looking over, Zhu Cixiang quickly explained excitedly: "Father, this is the most powerful firearm in the world, and it will definitely go down in history. I want to be the first person to fire it!"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was moved. As the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he could never go to the battlefield, but after getting addicted to it, the first person to shoot this heavy machine gun made the eyes of these courtiers go blind. It seemed that he was really happy.
So, he scolded him with a stern face: "As the Prince of Ming Dynasty, is this okay for you?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cixiang's excitement was immediately poured with cold water.
Before he had time to answer, Du Yinxi, the chief assistant of the cabinet, also quickly advised: "His Royal Highness the prince has a body of thousands of gold, so you can't act recklessly!"
After hearing this, other civil servants agreed one after another. In short, it is a gentleman who does not stand in danger, which made Zhu Cixiang blush and realize that he was wrong.
Li Laiheng and other generals were different. Zhu Cixiang's words reminded them that no matter how much they doubted the weapon, there was no doubt that Duke Xingguo and the emperor valued it. If this weapon is really the most powerful weapon in the world as the prince said, wouldn't it be wonderful to fire it yourself?
With this thought in mind, these generals began to make requests one by one. As a general, there is no reason to refuse.
For a moment, several people in the war bureau looked at each other, watching these generals seize the opportunity to shoot in front of the emperor.
After a while, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand and shouted: "It's just shooting and pulling the trigger. What do you think about such a simple thing? Have you all forgotten your identity?"
After saying this, Li Laiheng and others became embarrassed, and the scene suddenly became quiet.
Then, Emperor Chongzhen stood up, clapped his hands, and said with a smile on his face: "I should fire the first shot!"
"..." As soon as he finished speaking, the people present, whether civil officials or military generals, were all dumbfounded.
Zhu Cixi's eyes widened as he stared at Emperor Chongzhen, and said in great surprise: "Father...Father..."
I just made it clear that if a gentleman does not stand behind a dangerous wall, the emperor will do it himself.
Emperor Chongzhen was in a good mood. Seeing that these ministers still wanted to persuade him, he smiled and said: "Don't worry, or you can ask sir, is there any problem with me firing this gun?"
