Kingdom of Heaven and Han

Chapter 457 Artillery
Five miles west of Xinye City, a large area is circled, which is dedicated to the study of artillery.Casting and testing are all here, and it is a place with a very high level of secrecy in Wang Xiaohunting Army.When Xinyejun City was established, Wang Xiaolie established it here, and it has been more than two years.

In the yard outside the official hall, under a big ginkgo tree.Song Yan brought several of the most important researchers to introduce the performance of the artillery to Wang Xiaolie, Li Yanxian and Wang Ruohai.On the elm tree outside the courtyard wall, at some point, the first cicada of the year came out, and it called twice from time to time.

Song Yan said: "Following the order of the township, the general and others have determined three types of artillery after many tests. All of them have produced prototypes."

Wang Ruohai said: "How powerful are these three cannons?"

Song Yan said: "According to the order of the township, all three types of guns must be able to travel with the army. The largest one weighs [-] catties. Adding the gun mounts and carriages, the total weight is [-] catties. Ten catties are used in wartime. The projectile is shot at three hundred paces. When marching, it takes three good mules to keep up with the army. The medium cannon weighs [-] catties, and the gun carriage and carriage weigh about [-] catties. The same is Use three healthy mules. The small cannon weighs fifty catties, and the cannon carriage is omitted, only the simple gun carriage weighs no more than seventy catties. It can be dragged by one strong mule, and it is enough to catch up with the army."

Li Yanxian said: "A seventy-jin cannon can be carried by a human. Why bother with a healthy mule?"

Song Yan said: "Zhenfu requires that the cannons must go with the army, but mules are still required. But when pulling, gunpowder and projectiles can be placed in the cart."

Li Yanxian nodded.For other kinds of guns, separate carts are required to pull gunpowder, which is equivalent to more than two carts.This kind of small cannon can be loaded with gunpowder and shells in a car, which is indeed much more convenient.

Wang Ruohai said: "You said the cannon shoots [-] paces, how many paces do the other two shoot?"

Song Yan said: "Both the cannon and the medium cannon can reach up to [-] paces, and when used, they shoot at [-] paces. Small cannons are different. Most of the time they fire many small projectiles, and they can reach up to [-] paces. Fifty steps to two hundred steps."

Wang Ruohai nodded.He said to Li Yanxian: "It's enough. The Jin army's bows and arrows are all within a hundred steps. Most of the time, they shoot arrows within fifty steps. As long as they pass a hundred steps, they can stop the Jin army."

The function of the cannon is largely similar to that of the crossbow in the previous army.Before starting the battle, choose a safe distance according to the range of the gun, and set up your own formation.If the army formation is within the range of the opponent's artillery, it will be easily dispersed by salvos, and the battle will be impossible.

Wang Ruohai and Li Yanxian didn't know how to use the artillery.So the first thing they pay attention to is range and power.As long as the range of the artillery exceeds that of the golden army's bows and arrows, it will definitely have a great effect.

Wang Xiaolie said: "In the past, there were stone cannons and bed crossbows in the army, which were very powerful, but they were manpower-intensive. Now it is different. The stone cannons have been changed into cannons, and it is much more convenient to fire. They are also lighter and can be marched with the army. The resulting changes in combat methods cannot be explained clearly in one or two sentences. So when I asked them to make artillery, I especially emphasized that they must march with the army and be truly usable.”

Wang Ruohai said: "A ten-jin bullet is really not small. I just don't know what it looks like in real use."

Wang Xiaolie said: "Shao Ling and Niu Gao will be here tomorrow, and then we will try shooting. Today, let's take a look at the cannon and get to know it."

In Wang Xiaolie's plan, in addition to field artillery, there are actually city defense artillery.However, the Jin army's ability to attack fortifications is not good. As long as there are fortified cities, it makes no difference whether there are city defense artillery or not.With limited resources, first focus on the manufacture and equipment of field artillery.

With guns and without guns, it is a qualitative change for the army.With artillery, the formation, organization, formation, and defensive and offensive forms of the entire army will undergo great changes.At this time, Wang Xiaolie was reorganizing the army, and it was very timely for the artillery to mature.

Asked some more chores.Wang Xiaolie said: "In the shed over there, there are newly-made artillery pieces. Let's go and have a look."

A bamboo shed was built on the west side of the yard, and soldiers were guarding the door, so that no one else was allowed to approach.There are three cannons inside, and seven mules are tied outside the shed, all in complete sets.

After entering the shed, Wang Ruohai asked Song Yan: "This is your new cannon?"

Song Yan said: "Return to the council, yes. The cannon on this side has been installed, and the carriage and carriage have already been installed. The medium and small cannons on the other side have already been installed. As long as you drive a healthy mule, you can Pull away."

Walked up and took a look.Li Yanxian asked: "Why are the colors different? The small cannon seems to be made of iron, while the other two are made of copper."

Song Yan said: "Du Tong's eyes are as bright as a torch. The two larger ones are both made of copper. The small cannon is made of wrought iron."

"Why?" Li Yanxian asked strangely after stepping forward to take a closer look.

Song Yan said: "If it is easy to use, it is of course made of iron. Not only is it light, but it is also very strong, and it will not explode—"

"What's Bomb Explosion?" Wang Ruohai interjected after hearing this.

Song Yan said: "The so-called blasting the barrel means that there is too much gunpowder and it explodes in the barrel. This is extremely dangerous, and if it is not good, it will hurt people. If the barrel is not strong, it will be even more terrible. If one is not good, the people around the cannon People's lives are in danger!"

Wang Ruohai was speechless after hearing this: "Is it so powerful?"

Wang Xiaolie said: "Gunpowder is a sharp weapon, and it is no small matter to blow it up. You can't use artillery as casually as before."

Wang Ruohai nodded.He said: "Since iron is better and iron is much cheaper than copper, why can't the cannon be made of iron?"

Song Yan said: "I don't know, but it takes a lot of work to make a cannon barrel with iron. And even if the cost is not considered, it is impossible to make such a large cannon barrel with our current technology. So the cannon has to be cast, and it must be made of copper." .If cast with pig iron, the quality is too poor."

Wang Ruohai and Li Yanxian nodded.

Turning around the cannon, Li Yanxian asked: "Since the thicker the barrel of this cannon, the farther it hits and the more powerful it is, why not make a bigger cannon? I just heard you say that it was hit by a cannonball over there." The pill is half the size of the cannon, but the weight is about the same, so the bigger the cannon, the better?"

Song Yandao: "The governor's instructions on this matter must be clear, and it must be able to march with the army. Our current cart, the cart is suitable for three horses. A three-horse cart can pull two thousand catties. It's hard to pull."

A three-horse cart, or three sets of carriages, in China is a horse in the middle, with a horse on each side to help pull it.After marching for a period of time, change the horse in the middle to the side, and the horse on the side to the middle.And so on and on.

This is the characteristic of Chinese two-wheeled carriages.The horse driving the shaft not only has traction, but also bears part of the weight of the cart, which is very tiring.After switching to the side, it is equivalent to taking a rest, and changing the horse next to it.This allows you to travel long distances without rest.

European four-wheeled carriages are different. The three horses are all used for traction, and changing positions is not very useful.

After the founding of New China, China imported three sets of carriages from the Soviet Union.After arriving in China, the four wheels were changed to two wheels, the load capacity of the car was greatly increased, and it could work for a long time.

Four-wheeled carriages can improve comfort, but in most cases, the load is much lower than that of two-wheeled vehicles.If it is to transport goods, of course it is better to use a two-wheeled vehicle.If you pull people, it is better to have a four-wheeled vehicle.

The large carts in the Song Dynasty included Taiping carts, four-wheeled carts, and more-wheeled carts.This is a big cart, and most of them use human power instead of animal power.Most of the vehicles used for long-distance transportation are two-wheeled.

This truth is very complicated, and it is difficult to explain clearly in a few words.The working people have long understood this in practice.For example, on the wheelbarrows commonly used in rural areas in the past, when the goods to be transported were heavy, the pushing side would be loaded heavier.In order to make it easier, a cloth belt will be tied to the handlebar and hung around the neck of the pusher.This cloth belt is called a car loop, which is a common agricultural tool.

In order to adapt to this kind of two-wheeled carriage, the vehicles under Wang Xiaolie had at most three horses, and it would be difficult to arrange more horses.The weight of a horse-drawn cart does not exceed one thousand catties, while that of three horses weighs two thousand catties.

(End of this chapter)