The rise of the prince

Chapter 389
It was Zhao Si who invented the method of fixing the ammunition package and the shell together with a cork frame to reduce the difficulty of launching.

The gunner began to measure the distance, used the quadrant to determine the shooting angle, and then loudly announced the shooting parameters based on his experience. The No. [-] and No. [-] gunners at the rear of the gun carriage began to adjust the up, down, left, and right positions through the wooden bolts behind the gun carriage.

The No. [-] gunner was responsible for a very important job from beginning to end, which was to block the fire door with his leather-gloved fingers.

This is the method that Zhao Si summed up after several times of almost killing people.

Because after each firing, the firing powder will leave residual sparks in the gun bore. If the fire door is not blocked at this time, the air will quickly return and the residue will burn violently.

After reloading, the chamber may explode. At the beginning, there were several such accidents. Although the strength of the Xiaogang in Wangfu was good, the chamber did not completely explode and hurt people, but some soldiers were smashed by the heavy barrel that fell from the artillery carriage. Broken leg bone, falling permanently disabled.

After several desperate experiments, Zhao Si finally discovered the way and gave a solution.

That is, there is a special person who is responsible for covering the fire door all the time, so that the air will not flow back, and the residual sparks in the gun barrel will not burn.

As a result, another artilleryman was added to the original seven-man squad. He wore a leather glove on his right hand and was responsible for blocking the fire door with his fingers. Since then, no such accident has occurred.

After the shooting elements are set, No. [-] gunner will load the shells received from No. [-] into the muzzle, and then No. [-] will use the pusher to push the fixed shells and propellant to the bottom of the barrel.

The No. [-] and No. [-] gunners cut the fuses and put them in through the fire door, so far the preparation for firing is completed.

The No. [-] and No. [-] gunners quickly left the muzzle position and ran to the rear with their backs to the muzzle, and then the gunner gave the order to shoot. At this time, the No. [-] gunner, who was in charge of blocking the fire door, lit the fuse with an open flame, and then the orange flame flashed, and the gun body shot down. Trembling, retreating along the way, and then shaking the ground.

Ten cannons fired one after another, the shells whizzed past, and a burst of smoke rose in the distance. More than 400 meters away, many straw and wooden targets were shot to pieces, and some were shot too far, about ten meters away from the target. Discount the bushes in the rear.

After the firing was completed, the No. [-] gunner blocked the fire door, and the No. [-] gunner hurried forward to clean the barrel with a cannon brush.

After the barrel was cleaned, everyone returned to their positions.

With the first order, the eight members of the artillery crew who had hit the most sideways just got down and did fifty push-ups.

Li Xingzhou nodded in relief. With the continuous efforts of everyone, the artillery of the new army has become more and more professional and standardized.A standardized and professional process is the combat effectiveness. Everyone knows what they should do on the battlefield, so they won't be in a hurry.

He beckoned to Dutou.

"I've seen the prince!" Du knelt on one knee in the dust.

"If you wear armor, you won't have to kneel in the future."

"Thank you, my lord!"

"Now how many times can you launch within thirty breaths?" Li Xingzhou asked, thirty breaths is almost one minute.

Dutou said: "Reporting to the lord, the best artillery team can fire three to four times, and the worst cannon can also be two or three times. I dare to guarantee that the worst can also fire twice within [-] breaths!"

Li Xingzhou nodded. It is already very powerful that the front-mounted cannon can do this.

"Not bad, keep working hard!"

"Yes!"

Looking at the soldiers on the battlefield who kept repeating the firing procedure, his heart was full of pride. Now the new army has listed the artillery in the [-]th capital and the third battalion, and new artillery will continue to join in the follow-up. His goal is the sixth battalion with [-] artillery pieces.

"What does the empress think about this?" In the Kunning Palace, the empress was holding the emperor's shoulders, because it was still the empress dowager's funeral, and the empress was still wearing plain clothes.

The queen said: "I think this is a good thing, didn't the crown prince say, this is a matter agreed between Xingzhou and Wang Tong, they are the son-in-law, and the relationship between the son-in-law and the son-in-law is so harmonious, there is no reason for your majesty not to fulfill it."

The emperor leaned back, and the heaters at the four corners were watched by court ladies who were fanning lightly, so that even though the autumn cold was strong outside the hall, the inside of the hall was still warm.

The emperor half-closed his eyes, nodded his head and said: "That's right, this kid Xingzhou has made a lot of achievements. Concubine Tian gave him the word Pingnan at the beginning, and he really used it well. Now there are memorials from all over the world, praising the Tian family." , the people in the capital are also spreading praises everywhere.”

Speaking of this, the emperor seldom laughed, and said in a low voice: "Yesterday I took Wei Li and Fu An out of the palace quietly. After walking around, there are storytellers, singers, and readers everywhere, all talking about things in the south. Don't think about it, how long has it been, and the folks are still spreading it, and whenever it is mentioned, they say that I have vision and the ability to know people. I dared to send him to the south for what Xingzhou did in the past. The chaos in the south, hehehe."

"Isn't it? If it wasn't for His Majesty's knowledge of people, that kid from Xingzhou wouldn't have had such a chance." The Queen laughed.

The emperor smiled and shook his head: "You are also picking what I want to hear. But the truth is this. If Xingzhou can solve the chaos of the Jiangzhou generation, it must be a great thing for my royal reputation. What’s more, it’s still been said that if you do more meritorious service, it will add fuel to the fire, and the more it burns, the more prosperous it will be, and the country and society will be more stable.”

As he spoke, he leaned forward slightly, picked up a memorial from the table and handed it to the queen, the queen looked at it intently, "Furthermore, look, this is Yu Chengan's notebook, and it also talks about the situation in Jiangzhou. Shuxing took it back, and he must also feel that Jiangzhou can't ignore it, so he came up with a note.

According to this booklet, the situation in Jiangzhou is not that serious. As long as there are some methods and people with some skills, it is probably not a problem. You said that Xingzhou's skills and methods can be handled by him? "The emperor laughed.

The queen nodded after reading the scriptures: "According to what Yu Chengan said, the Jiangzhou incident is just the beginning of chaos, and it really should be dealt with early, and it is only a temporary disturbance. It is not a big problem. Xingzhou can indeed be let go."

The emperor nodded: "Now what I want to think about is what kind of identity is appropriate for him to go. If the imperial envoy can't control that much, if it is to appease the ambassador, the Ningjiang government officials will definitely not agree, and they will not cooperate with Xingzhou. .”

The queen laughed: "Your Majesty thinks too much, how can it be so difficult? Didn't the Jiangxian army of the generation of Ningjiang Prefecture be transferred to the north to guard against the Liao people? That's it."

The emperor nodded after listening, "Indeed, the transfer envoy is different from the appeasement envoy. It is in charge of the military that defends the territory and does not take power. Just do it."

Wang Tong had been waiting for Zhang Rang to bring him the Jurchen musk that he had promised since the Mid-Autumn Festival, but there was no one to visit the two of them one after another.

At first he thought maybe he was busy with official duties and didn't have time to come. After all, he didn't have to go to court, and all the ministers in Beijing and China had to go to court.

But as he kept echoing the words of Yu Chengan, Zhang Rang and others that night, he felt more and more something was wrong. Although he couldn't tell what was wrong, he always felt that something was wrong.

This subtle uneasiness made him absent-minded, and he was often distracted when he and his wife were traveling in the capital, and he couldn't remember the bet with Li Xingzhou in a moment of anger.

(End of this chapter)