I want to be emperor

Chapter 191 Flintlock

In the earliest days, that is, during the Funiu Mountain period, Luo Zhixue and Sun Chengli agreed very much, that is, they needed a light artillery.

A light artillery that can be maneuvered in the mountains, and can even be disassembled and carried by people when necessary.

At the same time, this kind of small artillery needs to be able to hit the enemy three to 400 meters away.

Under these two tactical requirements, the [-]-jin artillery was produced.

This kind of light field gun with a total gun weight (barrel, gun mount and leading vehicle) of only [-] kg almost perfectly met the tactical needs of the rural protection army at that time.

However, after the above two tactical requirements are met, the power of this artillery is relatively poor.

The projectile fired weighs two and a half catties. The projectile seems to weigh a lot, but the diameter is not large. At the same time, because the barrel is relatively thin, the firing charge is not much.

The lethality at a distance of 400 meters is barely enough, but after a distance of 500 meters, the lethality of the artillery drops rapidly. As for the distance of 800 meters, the kinetic energy of the shell's end is already invisible... …

If this kind of artillery is only used as support firepower for hundreds of people, that is, as support firepower for infantry battalions, then it is naturally enough.

However, the Rural Protection Army directly used this artillery as a tactical field artillery, directly providing long-range fire cover for the entire army, and often launched shelling on the enemy phalanx at a distance of more than 500 meters or even 600 meters.

The result was that the shells passed through, but their lethality was insufficient. Even if they hit the enemy's phalanx, they could not kill a few people.

This disadvantage was fully reflected in several large-scale battles after the Rural Protection Army went south.

Especially during the battle in the eastern suburbs of Yuzhou City, Zhang Malin once commanded the artillery to attack the enemy cavalry more than 500 meters away, and then crossed half of the battlefield to attack the enemy's left wing He Renlong which was 700 meters away. department.

During the shelling process, the hit rate is actually quite impressive, but the damage caused is relatively limited.

It's just that all of this was covered up in the face of the enemy's lack of countermeasures, low morale, and extremely poor ability to withstand casualties.

If a strong army with a stronger sense of combat came here, the other party would probably be able to bear this level of shelling and kill them.

After the Battle of Yuzhou, Luo Zhixue wanted to create a more powerful field artillery.

The two-and-a-half-pound field gun has its advantages as well as its disadvantages.

Its future should be directly down to the brigades, directly providing medium-fire artillery support for infantry battalion-level troops, rather than being a higher-level field artillery that provides fire support for the entire battlefield and provides long-range fire cover for its own army .

The field artillery that is responsible for providing long-range firepower for the entire army must be a more powerful field artillery.

Luo Zhixue said to Ding Gangyi: "Two types are to be trial-produced first. One is a medium-sized field gun with a shell weighing four to five catties; the other is a large field gun with a shell that weighs nine to ten catties."

"The standard effective range of these two types of artillery needs to be at least 150 feet, and the hit rate and lethality within 250 feet to [-] feet must be kept at a relatively high level. At a distance of [-] feet, a certain hit rate and Lethality."
"The new cannon can be directly cast in bronze, without too much consideration of the cost of raw materials, even 1000 taels of silver or even 2000 taels of silver is fine."

"And these two new types of field artillery must first follow a principle, that is, they must be able to maneuver with infantry on the march. Field artillery that cannot maneuver with the army is meaningless to us!"

"In addition, we should also try to manufacture large-scale short-barreled artillery for siege use. Now our two-and-a-half-jin small artillery is too ineffective in siege, and it is difficult to use it. Even medium and large field artillery may not be of great use. .”

"We must have special super-large siege guns for siege functions. We plan to trial-produce medium-sized siege guns and large-scale siege guns. The shells fired by medium-sized siege guns weigh between sixteen and twenty catties. , To be able to move quickly with the army."

"The shells fired by the heavy siege artillery must be between 45 and [-] kilograms. The power of this artillery is important, and the requirements for maneuvering speed can be lowered, but it must also be able to pull the march on the official road."

"The specific shell weight, gun weight, and detailed dimensions of these types of artillery, you need to gather people to figure it out."

"In addition, it is necessary to trial-produce a flowering bomb specially for the siege artillery. The outer iron shell can be filled with gunpowder and iron beads, ignited with a matchlock, and relying on the explosion of the shell to kill the vital forces of the enemy's city."

While Luo Zhixue was talking, he directly picked up a document from the table and handed it to Ding Gangyi: "I have already listed the general requirements above, and how to do it later will be able to trouble you and the many technologies of the arsenal. personnel."

Ding Gangyi took the document with his hands outstretched, and glanced at it briefly. Some tactical requirements of the four types of artillery were already written in detail on it, and even a rough drawing was drawn...

Seeing this, Ding Gangyi doubted whether the general in front of him was more proficient in mathematics, science and miscellaneous science than himself, otherwise, how could he come up with these things.

After Ding Gangyi took it over, Luo Zhixue in front of him still didn't stop. He picked up the teacup and took a sip of water, then Luo Zhixue continued: "This is probably the end of the cannon issue, and the musket must continue. Flint-fired muskets have been used."

"Have you ever heard of fortitude?"

Ding Gangyi said: "Report to the General, and my subordinates have heard about it!"

Speaking of this, Ding Gangyi hesitated a little and said: "Based on what my subordinates know, the ignition rate of flintlock guns is quite low compared with matchlock guns. Ten shots can only fire five or six shots. On the contrary, matchlock guns can only be fired if the soldiers are trained properly. , if the matchlock is properly kept out of moisture, ten shots can fire nine shots, or even eight shots if it is not good enough."

"In addition, flint is hard to find. In the event of a large-scale war, it may be difficult to guarantee the supply of flint!"

Luo Zhixue said: "I am also aware of the many defects of the flintlock gun, but this gun can be used in windy and cold weather. At the same time, this type of gun does not have a matchlock, and it can also make the musketeers line up closer!"

"Flintlock, the future has a lot to do!"

Listening to Luo Zhixue's words, Ding Gangyi still didn't quite understand it. It was an advantage to be able to continue firing in windy and humid weather, but he seldom fought in bad weather!

Under the windy weather, no one would foolishly run out to fight a decisive battle!
And wet weather is nothing more than the rainy season in the south, such as the rainy season in the Jiangnan area. When it comes to the rainy season, what should be considered is not whether the musket can be fired, but whether the road is muddy. There is a problem with transporting supplies
It is necessary to fight in the Jiangnan area during the rainy season. Marching and logistics transportation can directly drag a large army to death.

Especially for an army like their Rural Protection Army equipped with a large number of artillery and carriages, it is even more deadly.

Therefore, Ding Gangyi felt that Luo Zhi's theory of flintlock guns could be used to fight in strong winds and cold waves.

It would be great if the flintlock could still be used in heavy rain, but unfortunately the flintlock is not that capable!

As for making the formation of musketeers tighter, he couldn't even imagine the use of a tighter formation of musketeers. Anyway, the musketeers are now dispatched under the protection of spearmen to continue to output firepower, and to carry out formation rounds. shoot.

It is certainly beneficial to have a tighter formation, but the benefits are not that great.

In Ding Gangyi's view, the two small advantages of flintlock guns being available in some bad weather and being able to form a tighter formation are completely negligible compared to the disadvantages of the current flintlock gun firing rate. .

Not to mention that the industrial department of the Township Protection Army doesn't know much about flintlock guns, but the technology of matchlock guns is already very mature.

Considering the production cost issue and the Flint supply issue that Ding Gangyi had mentioned at the beginning, Ding Gangyi felt that if the person sitting above him was not Luo Zhixue, but someone else told him that the fusiliers had a bright future, he would call him a fool ...

But, it was Luo Zhixue who said that the flintlock was promising. Even if he had some contempt in his heart, he couldn't show it. On the contrary, he still tried his best to think about why Luo Zhixue would say that.

However, Ding Gangyi just read a few more Western books translated by Xu Guangqi and others, and he knew something about mathematics and machinery to some extent.

More importantly, Ding Gangyi is not a soldier!
It is difficult for him to consider the advantages of the flintlock from a tactical point of view!
Compared with matchlock guns at the same technical level, what is its biggest advantage?
range?No, in fact, the two are only different in the firing mechanism, and the quality of the barrel and the caliber affect the range more.

power?This thing is the same as the range, and the firing mechanism has little effect.

Under the same technical conditions, the range and power of flintlock guns will not be much stronger than matchlock guns.

rate of fire?The shooting steps of the two are similar. The theoretical rate of fire of the flintlock may be a little faster, but the speed is very limited. The actual rapid fire of the two is not far behind.

What affects the rate of fire more is the training level of the soldiers themselves. Ordinary musketeers shoot twice a minute, and elite musketeers can do three shots a minute, regardless of whether it is a flintlock or an arquebus!
precision?all the same shit...

Judging from several key performance data to measure the quality of a gun, such as range, power, rate of fire, and accuracy, in fact, flintlock guns do not have any obvious advantages over matchlock guns.

There are even many defects, such as lower firing rate than matchlock guns, more troublesome flint supply, and even higher production costs.

Not to mention many costs such as technology research and development, production line modification, and troop replacement.

However, there is a little advantage of the flintlock, but the arquebus is unforgettable!

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(End of this chapter)