Nanming: I can build wonders

Chapter 123 Polu Type 1 Long Barrel Cannon (Please subscribe!)
In this combat operation into Fujian, Zheng Kezang discovered a weakness of the Guards, that is, the land artillery did not have a big gap with the Qing army.

The only two advantages are the high-quality sugar gunpowder and the use of short-barreled artillery shells. The land artillery itself does not widen the gap.

In particular, there are fewer types of small guns, which leads to poor mobility of the guards. Thanks to the coast of Fujian, the speed of marching is accelerated by shipping.

The first formal battle into Fujian was not over yet, even if Zheng Kezang had an idea, he couldn't go back to the Dongning General Manufacturing Bureau to realize it.

Fortunately, before Zheng Kezang gave instructions, the artillery factory of Dongning Manufacturing Bureau developed a new artillery by itself!
Thanks to the production of short and heavy guns, the artisans of the artillery factory have accumulated new technologies.

A few days ago, the craftsmen of the artillery factory devoted themselves to the production of short and heavy cannons. After the production was over, the craftsmen were thinking whether they could apply the casting method of short and heavy cannons to Hongyi cannons!
So, they reported this idea to Su Laocheng, the first craftsman of Dongning General Manufacturing Bureau, and Su Laocheng rewarded each of these craftsmen who were willing to use their brains two taels of silver on the spot.

Recently, he has been investing in the use of steam engines and the next step of research and development, ignoring the research and development of artillery. When these craftsmen reminded him, he immediately realized that this was an opportunity for Dongning land battle guns to be updated.

The casting method of the short heavy gun is efficient and simple: first cast a solid cylinder with better ductility cast iron, machine it into the shape of the barrel with a lathe, then use a drilling machine to drill the barrel directly from the solid iron column, and continue to use a boring machine to expand the barrel. caliber.

With the new casting method, the machining accuracy of the cannon is more refined, the inside of the cannon bore is smooth and straight, and the tube wall is thinner.

This method is applied to Hongyi cannons, which can significantly improve their performance. By the way, Hongyi cannons are actually long-barreled cannons.

In order to encourage them to manufacture cannons with better performance, Su Laocheng said: "As long as you succeed in developing it, I will apply to the king, and each of you will be upgraded by one rank. Work hard!"

Su Laocheng's big cake made the craftsmen of the artillery factory full of enthusiasm, and the promotion of rank was not just a matter of face, but real money.

The higher the rank, the more money you get.

Encouraged by Su Laocheng, the first product they produced was the 12-pound cast steel cannon.

Su Laocheng saw the first 12-pound cannon forged by dozens of craftsmen with all their efforts, and found that it was still a bit heavy, weighing [-] catties. Including shells and other materials, at least eight horses were needed. Serve it.

And once the artillery position is fixed, it will be a little more difficult to transfer, but it is already very difficult.

Because an ordinary 12-pound gun weighs at least two thousand catties.

Moreover, iron cast cannons are advanced technologies these days, and currently only the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain and other countries have mastered them.

Although Su Laocheng is a little dissatisfied, in fact, the steel cannon made by Dongning Manufacturing Bureau is now the most advanced in the world!
After experiencing the test firing of short and heavy artillery, Su Laocheng has a relatively comprehensive understanding of artillery.

He caressed the cold cannon body: "The cannon is a good cannon. It is good for attacking and defending the city, but it is not enough for fast maneuvering and roundabout."

Dozens of cannon craftsmen were exhausted from casting cannons in the factory all night. Someone asked: "Su Gong, shall we continue to manufacture this style of cannons?"

"This cannon is very good. You don't need too many cannons of this weight. We need to develop a lighter cannon!" Touching the barrel of the 12-pound cannon, Mr. Su's image of devouring the city walls of the Qing Dynasty already appeared in Teacher Su's mind.

He wanted the lives of the Tartars more than the walls.

"Thanks for your hard work everyone, you have half a day off this afternoon, take a good rest first, and come back tomorrow!" Su Laocheng was also very satisfied with being able to do this.

In order to improve the mobility and play a better role in field battles, Su Laocheng asked the Artillery Factory to build a batch of six-pound long-barreled cannons to try.

Armed with horizontal boring machines, steam engines, and nineteenth-century steel, craftsmen quickly produced smaller cannons.

Its gun barrel is 1.5 meters long and weighs more than 500 kilograms. About five or six people can easily lift it up. It is no problem to run 50 meters.

In this way, the maneuverability of the six-pound gun is greatly improved, and it can also play a greater role in complex terrain.

The six-pound gun was soon transported to the barren mountain where the test was fired. "Has the performance been tested?" Su Laocheng asked the craftsman in charge of the test.

"Su Gong, after preliminary tests, this gun fires live ammunition, and its effective range can reach 800 meters, and its power is much lower than that of the twelve-pound gun." The craftsman replied honestly.

"Really good!" This time, Su Laocheng was finally satisfied.

However, after taking a look at the gun mounts that the craftsmen equipped the six-pound gun, Su Laocheng felt that there was still room for improvement.

So he said to the craftsmen: "In the artillery research project, the gun mount is also added to try to make the gun mount lighter without affecting the performance of the artillery."

"What Su Gong said is true!" The craftsmen of the Artillery Factory quickly wrote down, this must not be forgotten.

"Everyone, please build a hundred of these six-pound guns first. If the power is not enough, then make up the number." After thinking about it, Su Laocheng decided that the Guards must have a huge demand for this kind of field gun.

This thing is definitely a great weapon to deal with land battles and Tartar soldiers.

Moreover, the live ammunition has a range of 800 meters, which is also lethal to fortifications.

Moreover, this cannon is really light, and it can be dragged around by a few horses. After all, it only weighs more than 500 catties. If there are three horses, it can be easily pulled.

The new cannon, the king must like it very much!
Later, he was written a production application and submitted it to the Ministry of Industry. Generally, the Ministry of Industry would directly approve his application.

Just when Zhangzhou Mansion was won, Zheng Kezang was hesitating whether to fight Quanzhou Mansion or not. A fleet from Dongning Mansion surprised him.

That's right, the General Manufacturing Bureau of Dongning brought in one hundred six-pounders and ten twelve-pounders, as well as a letter from Su Laocheng.

Zheng Kezang was also a little moved by what was lacking. These craftsmen finally innovated on their own. It feels like their own children have grown up and will be fed back by crows.

Su Laocheng's handwriting is ugly. After all, he became a monk halfway. In the letter, he asked for credit for the artisans of the Artillery Factory. He hoped that Zheng Kezang would reward them well. Don't let their enthusiasm cool down, so that they can develop more for the Guards. New cannon!
In addition, in the letter, Su Laocheng hoped that Zheng Kezang could name the new gun.

This is of course no problem, he immediately called Qin Zhiguo: "Zhiguo, these are new cannons tailored by Dongning Manufacturing Bureau for your artillery battalion, I call them Polu Cannons!"

"Good cannon! Good name!" Qin Zhiguo stroked the dark cannon intoxicatedly. The battalion commander of the artillery battalion has always been a person who understands cannons.

"Don't touch it, pull it back and practice more before you can go to the battlefield!" Zheng Kezang urged.

(End of this chapter)