prosperous age

Chapter 38

While Wei Guangde was packing his accompanying luggage, in the study of the Zhang family not far away, the conversations between several speakers were also going on.

"What kind of weapons are needed, you can ask them here, as long as there are some in the warehouse of the guard, I can find a way to get them for you."

Zhang Qing, the commander who sat behind the desk, glanced at the few people in the room, they were all trusted people, and then said to Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng.

A little direct, Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng couldn't help but look at each other.

What kind of equipment is needed? The two of them talked privately when they had free time two days ago, but to be honest, in this era, there are really no good weapons to deal with grassland nomadic cavalry.

The infantry has too many shortcomings against the cavalry, not to mention the guards who lack tactical training, it is even more unbearable.

"Father-in-law, the last time we were in Zhenjiang, we saw the kind of mother-in-law artillery equipped by the capital guards. I wonder if we can find it? If we can equip a large number of this artillery, we can bombard the enemy continuously and repel the Tartar cavalry. Easy as pie."

On this occasion, it would definitely be inappropriate for Wei Meng to speak out, and it would be better for his brother-in-law to come forward, so when the two looked at each other, Wei Meng winked at Wu Zhankui and asked him to speak.

This is also an effective way to deal with the Tartar cavalry that they finally came up with after several days of discussion. That is the artillery used by the Jingying troops seen in Zhenjiang. Each artillery has several cartridges and can be equipped in advance. ammunition.

At that time, they just watched the gunners of the Beijing camp maintain the artillery from a distance, and raised a cartridge from the back of the barrel. After the two got closer, they realized what it was.

The rear half of the barrel was open, as if the belly of the cannon was exposed, completely different from the cannons they had seen before.

When in use, put the cartridge directly into the belly of the gun behind the barrel, fix the position and then ignite the fuse to fire.

The very special thing about this gun is that it loads the ammunition from the back, not the front load like the existing firearms.

"Do you want, do you want the Franc cannon?"

Hearing Wu Zhankui talking about mother-in-law cannon, Zhang Qing knew what it was.

To be honest, he had also heard of that kind of thing before, which can launch multiple rounds of shelling very quickly, and it is indeed a military weapon.

You know what you know, but Zhang Qing still frowned when he heard his son-in-law and his brother-in-law asked for such a sharp firearm, obviously very embarrassed.

"Father-in-law, is this kind of artillery difficult to get?"

Seeing his father-in-law's reaction, Wu Zhankui asked hesitantly.

But this time before Zhang Tongzhi opened his mouth, Zhang Shigui, who was standing next to him, said, "The cannon you are talking about is called the Folang Machine Cannon. It was obtained from the Folang Machine Cannon in Guangdong during the Zhengde Dynasty. It is indeed very sharp."

Hearing that the cannon was obtained from Frangji, both Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng felt their hearts sink.

If you buy it from the barbarians, the price will not be cheap, let alone such a powerful weapon.

Since the price is not cheap, it is obviously impossible for the Ming army to have too much equipment, and their Jiujiang Guard must not be able to get it.

There are so many cannons, if you think about it, you should know that it must be the priority to supply the Beijing camp and the border town, but Zhang Shigui's next words gave them a glimmer of hope.

"The Beijing Military Weapons Bureau and the Nanjing Military Weapons Bureau have already begun to imitate this kind of firearm. The ones you see used by the Nanjing Jingying should be the Folang machine guns made by the Nanjing Military Weapons Bureau."

"Brother Shigui, can we get this kind of artillery?"

Wei Meng hurriedly said excitedly.

"Hey."

The result was Zhang Shigui's sigh.

"The production of that kind of artillery is not large now, and the priority is to supply border towns and Beijing. The south is Nanjing Jingying and some coastal guards. There are a small amount of equipment for trial use.

I also asked about this kind of artillery when I visited the Duke's Mansion in Nanjing before, but I couldn't get it at all. "

Hope is completely cut off, Zhang Shigui's words are very clear, there is no need to think about the Folang machine gun.

"Besides, I also heard people say in the Duke's Mansion that the firing speed of this Frang machine gun is very fast. Each Flang machine gun is equipped with five to six sub-cannons, which can be pre-loaded with gunpowder and shells, and fired in turn when in use. , the soldiers behind just reload the fired sub-drugs.

The advantages are very prominent, and the disadvantages are also obvious. The main reason is that this cannon can not shoot far, with a range of less than [-] steps, which is almost similar to a hard bow.

Although the Military Weapons Bureau also tried to change it, but the effect was very little.

With such a shortcoming, even if the Tartar cavalry entered the firing range, they might not be able to finish firing the cannon, and the people would have rushed to the front. "

But then Zhang Shigui said: "If there is a city to rely on for defense, there is no problem at all, and you can shoot the Tartars continuously."

After hearing about the shortcomings of the Franco cannon, Wei Meng actually didn't take it seriously. As long as it can be reloaded and fired quickly, and as long as there are enough cannons, a few rounds of continuous artillery fire can defeat the Tartar cavalry on the opposite side.

Don't think that the Ming army is the only one who is timid. In fact, in the face of life and death, it is easy for individuals to make choices.

For those who lead troops like Wei Meng and Wu Zhankui, they know very well that as long as their comrades around them continue to fall, no matter how strong they are, they will not be able to bear the fear of death.

However, it seems impossible.

This cannon is so expensive that even if Emperor Jiajing really wanted to take revenge on the Northern Expedition, it would only be equipped for the main battle frontier army, and it would be impossible for them to transport Zibing.

Moreover, according to their assumptions, in the face of the impact of the Tartar cavalry, the lack of artillery is of little significance except to hear the sound.

Yes, the result of Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng's discussion for a few days was that Han Xin ordered as many troops as possible, and with enough artillery, he could crush the Tartars' charge.

Although it is very suitable for the centralized use of artillery in later generations to carry out key strikes, it is useless and does not meet all the conditions.

Just kidding, to equip the transport troops with a large number of main battle weapons, Emperor Jiajing's head was caught in the door to do this.

"If it's a small amount, it should be possible to get this old face out of Nanjing, but according to what you said, it will take a lot of Franc machine guns, so it's impossible."

Zhang Qing opened his slightly cloudy eyes and glanced at Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng, but he still cut off their thoughts directly.

"Uncle Shi, is there any definite news from Mr. Xu that we Jiujiangwei are definitely going to the north?"

Hearing that he couldn't get the Franc cannon, Wei Meng still raised the question that he was most concerned about.

"The regulations set by the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, we have to escort the food and grass from Huguang and Jiangxi to the front of the army. The only hope now is that the imperial court can't afford military expenses and troops, so that it is possible for His Majesty to cancel this Northern Expedition. plan."

Speaking of this time, Zhang Qing's mood will naturally not get better. It is too risky to go to the north to fight, otherwise he would not rush to invite his cronies to discuss this matter.

"Grandpa and Dingguo's mansion also passed the gas, but there is no way, Yubi hand-picked."

Zhang Qing's last words completely blocked Wu Zhankui and Wei Meng's escape route, now they can only find ways to improve the combat power of their soldiers, there is no other way.

(End of this chapter)