Great Tang princess

Chapter 364 The Son of Fortune
After the failure of the first artillery experiment, the academicians of the Academy of Engineering learned from the pain and immediately began to ponder the problem of improvement.

The first is the issue of material selection. Although manganese steel is hard enough, it may not be better than other materials in terms of the inner wall’s ability to withstand explosions. Therefore, they decided to try different materials in many ways.

As for shells, in order to reduce costs, other types of materials have also been considered, preferably without secondary processing, so that costs can be minimized.

At the same time, Li Yuechen also asked them to make some chain bombs, the kind with an iron chain connecting two iron balls.

Li Yuechen had heard of this kind of thing in foreign museums before, and the hit rate was actually quite low. Basically, it was difficult to judge where it fell after it was released.

But one advantage is that the lethality is terrifying. During naval battles, the masts of local battleships may be directly interrupted.

And in this era, if you are facing a cavalry or infantry battle array gathered together, this thing can directly cut people up like wheat!

Such a powerful lethality is simply a rare artifact in this era.

During the experiment, the craftsmen found that there seems to be only one way to avoid this problem, and that is to change the material and thicken the gun wall at the same time.

At the same time, in terms of materials, some craftsmen proposed to use copper as the barrel.

However, Datang's copper output was not very high, and this method was eventually abandoned.

It's just that under the influence of Li Yuechen over the years, these craftsmen have also begun to learn her thinking.

Since it is not possible to use copper, it is better to use composite materials.

The inner wall of the gun barrel is made of copper, and the thickened part on the outside is made of cast iron. Isn't it enough to combine copper and iron?

This method was adopted immediately after it was proposed, and after a period of trials, the first copper-iron composite artillery was finally produced in mid-September.

But just before the experiment, Li Yuechen asked them to wait.

Because the fourth brother Li Dan's third child is about to be born, Li Yuechen intends to congratulate her.

Over the years, because Li Xian and Li Dan were under house arrest and did not go out every day, they kept adding babies to the royal family. It is estimated that several more will be born next year.

……

All the way to Prince Yu's mansion, into the backyard, I saw Li Dan walking around anxiously, the surrounding maids running back and forth, entering the house from time to time and then coming out to run away...

Indistinctly, the screams of women and midwives cheering can be heard inside the room.

Having a baby in this era is a very troublesome thing. If there is something like a dystocia, it may be a matter of choosing to keep the big and the young.

Even if it is a natural delivery, to a large extent it depends on the woman's instinct and some help from the midwife, which is also not an easy task.

Seeing his brother Liushenwuzhu's appearance, Li Yuechen walked over and grabbed his shoulder: "Okay, brother, don't worry, the delivery will definitely be safe."

"Well, I know..." Li Dan nodded, but the worried expression on his face still didn't decrease in the slightest.

Li Yuechen also knew that it was useless to say anything at this time, so he didn't continue to persuade him, and just stood by and waited with him.

Fortunately, there may not be any problems inside. About half an hour later, when a loud baby cry sounded, Li Dan outside the door finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, the door of the room opened, and the midwife ran out with a smile: "Congratulations, my lord! Another son!"

Li Dan nodded, and immediately raised his leg and walked in.

Instead, Li Yuechen handed the midwife a string of Kaiyuan Tongbao, and followed her brother into the room amidst her thank you.

After Li Dan entered the house, he did not go to see the child immediately, but sat by the bed, grabbed Concubine Dou's hand, and asked softly, "How is it? Is there still something uncomfortable?"

Concubine Dou, who was lying on the bed, was still sweating profusely, her hair sticking to her forehead in strands.

She shook her head slightly, then turned to look at her child.

The newly born children were basically the same. Li Yuechen tilted his head and looked at it. To be honest, he felt like a monkey, even a little wrinkled.

Since it's a boy, don't give it a doll when it's full moon, just give it another one.

Li Yuechen sat by the bed, slowly stretched out his hand, and gently stroked the little guy's face.

"Brother, what's your name?" Li Yuechen asked while stroking the little guy.

Li Dan also looked over at this time, and replied: "At the beginning, I thought of a name for each male and female. Since it is a boy, I named it Longji."

I rely on!So you are Tang Minghuang?

Li Yuechen looked at Li Longji in front of him with some surprise in his eyes.

Afterwards, all kinds of deeds about this supreme emperor recalled in his mind.

Although she never believed that the historical records were 100% correct, major events should still be close to each other.

It was this supreme emperor who had the Anshi Rebellion in his later years and became the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty to escape from the capital.

Later generations said on the Internet that if he could die more than ten years earlier, he would definitely be comparable to the second Taizong!

Seeing that Li Dan had gently stretched out his hand to hug him, Li Yuechen gently touched his head.

There was still a smile on his face, but he secretly said in his heart: "Boy, your throne is gone!"

Li Yuechen has already decided that he will not be made emperor!

For one thing, the lessons learned from the past have already been written in history, and this guy is definitely a typical textbook for getting older and more confused;
Secondly, she also wanted to take this opportunity to do an experiment.

She wanted to see, under the intervention of a person who shouldn't exist, whether this child of luck in this time and space could still successfully sit on the dragon chair.

If he can successfully prevent him from ascending the throne, it means that he can change history.

Then everything you do in this world is worth it!
I don't know if it was a coincidence, but when Li Yuechen made up his mind and handed Li Longji over to his brother, suddenly a "bang" thunder rang in the sky.

Li Yuechen was startled, and turned his head to look outside, thinking that a thunderbolt would strike him right?

Staring at the sky for a while, I didn't wait for the second thunder, but there was a sudden downpour of rain.

Li Yuechen breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that the thunder was not aimed at her.

……

Five days passed in a blink of an eye, and Li Yuechen came to the barracks to participate in the fifth artillery experiment.

This time, the academicians of the Academy of Engineering are basically full of confidence, and even a sense of pride can be seen from their expressions.

Although there is no experiment yet, the craftsmen who personally participated in the production seem to have a certain grasp of the result in their hearts.

Li Yuechen didn't have any nonsense, and directly announced the start of the experiment.

Geng Yunqiang pushed the shell into the black barrel, then ignited the fuse, and ran behind the bunker.

With the sound of "Boom...", a big hole was blasted out of the blue brick and concrete wall hundreds of meters away again.

The power is maintained, and the next step is to look at other data.

Everyone came to observe the artillery that had just been fired.

Li Yuechen couldn't see anything, and turned to look at Wang Gangdan.

Like last time, he took out a small iron rod and tapped lightly on the gun barrel, then looked over and listened carefully.

After a few seconds, he stood up and nodded: "Your Highness, no problem!"

"Okay!" Li Yuechen also nodded happily.

Craftsmen in this era, as long as they can say that there is no problem, then they probably really have no problem.

Because since the Qin and Han Dynasties, craftsmen will be severely punished if something goes wrong.

So even now, craftsmen have strict requirements on their own works.

Being able to say that there is no problem with his own mouth means that at least he himself can't find the problem.

And Wang Gangdan is a technical leader of the Academy of Engineering, so his words are still very trustworthy.

Then Li Yuechen asked about other parameters.

The gun barrel is four feet six inches long, the gun wall is three inches thick, and the overall weight is four hundred and seventy-two catties...

A series of data made Li Yuechen nod his head. This era is almost the same.

Looking at the thick cannon wall, Li Yuechen felt a little regretful.

In addition to the material problems, the biggest reason for the thin wall of the gun in the future is that the shell will not explode in the gun barrel.

In this era, it is impossible to make shells that can explode, so the gunpowder can only be kept from exploding in the barrel, and the shells can be pushed out with kinetic energy to cause damage.

This is not the same as the structure of firearms in the future. After all, bullets are pushed out by the explosion of gunpowder in the shell.

The cartridge case ensures that the gunpowder will not explode directly in the barrel, thereby improving safety and increasing the service life of the firearm.

In fact, this method can also be put on artillery to make rifled guns.

But in this era, it is not necessary, and the cost is too high.

Secondly... It seems that this era can't make a primer.

That thing seems to be a chemical product, not something that can be easily made.

And Li Yuechen...has never passed chemistry.

In this era, Li Yuechen sighed in his heart countless times. He knew that he should study science well in the first place!

……

Now that the experiment was successful, Li Yuechen asked them to start production immediately.

At the same time, Geng Yunqiang was called into the office.

"Now that the artillery experiment is successful, it will become a conventional weapon for the army in the future. What do you think?"

Geng Yunqiang thought for a while: "Your Highness, according to the current structure of the military, should there be an artillery battalion in each brigade?"

Since Li Yuechen took over Qianniuwei, he has always followed the modular synthesis route, so the method Geng Yunqiang came up with also fits this model.

"Of course there is no problem at the moment, but this artillery will first be placed on the walls of Chang'an and the Eastern Capital as a defensive force in the future. At the same time, because of its huge weight, it cannot carry too much when going out..."

Li Yuechen must first consider the issue of national stability.

At the very least, Chang'an and Dong must not mess up!
So in the future, it will definitely be necessary to train a special artillery unit to guard Chang'an and Dongdu.

But having said that, this matter does not mean that it can be achieved, it still needs to be done step by step.

Today's Qianniuwei still needs to train another group of people to join the Royal Dark Guard, who are responsible for intelligence.

So in terms of training content, some adjustments are still needed.

"Okay, follow this arrangement first, and make adjustments at any time in the future if there are other circumstances."

Li Yuechen poured a cup of tea while talking: "Besides, I will often go to the market to see if I have nothing to do in the future. If there are good seedlings among the prostituted children, I will buy them back, and the girls will be given priority."

Since a group of maid bodyguards are to be trained, loyalty is given priority.

Cultivated from an early age, coupled with appropriate education, should be able to cultivate a master court lady who meets Li Yuechen's expectations.

But at the same time, Li Yuechen also secretly made up his mind that one day, human trafficking must be completely abolished!

……

A few days later, Li Yuechen went back to the palace to visit his mother, and reported on the experimental results and progress of the artillery.

Wu Zetian laughed suddenly after hearing this: "With this thing, the country will have no worries!"

"Aniang, you can't say that. After all, no matter how good a weapon is, it still needs people to control it, right? So talent is more important!"

"That makes sense!" Wu Zetian nodded in agreement, "But at least with this thing, I can let go of my hands and feet."

Li Yuechen poured a cup of tea for his mother: "Speaking of which, Aunt isn't going to build momentum for her enthronement in advance?"

"We have to wait!" Wu Zetian shook his head, "We still need an opportunity."

Well, when I watched TV dramas before, I really didn't expect you to be such a stable person.

Li Yuechen felt that his mother was quite capable. In the current situation, he already had the strength to forcibly ascend the throne, but he had to wait for a better time.

"What kind of opportunity?" Li Yuechen asked a little puzzled.

"It will make them dare not have any opportunity to resist!" Wu Zetian smiled mysteriously.

Growing up so big, it seems that this is the first time my mother is playing charades with herself.

But since she didn't want to say it clearly, Li Yuechen didn't want to ask any more questions, so he changed the topic: "I have been looking for good seedlings suitable for training recently. After these people are trained, they will be responsible for guarding the interior of the palace, so they are not suitable for slavery anymore." , I don’t know Auntie..."

Wu Zetian thought for a while, picked up the tea cup and blew twice: "Then give it a title, call it the inner guard! It is also directly under the emperor's jurisdiction!"

Li Yuechen thought about it, then nodded slightly, feeling that this is not bad.

The people led by Geng Yunqiang are full-time in charge of fighting, the inner guards are in charge of the security of the royal family, and the secret guards are in charge of intelligence...

The cooperation of the three departments can ensure that the emperor has clear eyes and ears, will not be easily deceived, and can make the most correct and suitable judgment on the court situation.

In fact, generally speaking, since the fourth and fifth emperors of a dynasty, there has been a tendency for problems.

Because the emperor at this time has not seen the world in person, and may not even have stepped out of the palace in his life.

Even though he learned the art of kingship and the way of governing the country since elementary school, he was easily fooled by the ministers below because he didn't have any personal experience.

Not to mention this era, even after more than a thousand years of the information explosion, many rich second generations still don't know what kind of life the so-called bottom class lives.

This is also the reason why Li Yuechen insisted that all members of the royal family in the future should serve as soldiers.

It is to let them, like Gaozu and Taizong, see this country and society with their own eyes, and experience for themselves what is called suffering among the people!

Only in this way can they become a real good emperor!
(End of this chapter)