At the beginning of the civil castle, the Ming God of War was a little panicked

Chapter 404 Kongming Lantern, Expedition!

Six of the ten lights flew away, and one performed a live performance and spontaneously ignited in the air.

At the end of the second test, only three lamps entered the target area as planned.

Of the bricks tied under the three lamps, only one fell into the target area.

This time the experiment was not aimed at manning, but bombing.

If you want to drop the bomb to the target position, you need not only accurate calculations to make the Kongming Lantern fly over the target, but also a set of devices to control the fuse.

Through calculation, the flight time of the Kongming Lantern was obtained. When it reached the target, the fuse was ignited and the bomb fell off.

The entire process needs to be controlled extremely strictly, and any flaw in any link will not allow precise bombing.

Of the three lights that had just entered the target area, only the brick tied to one of the lights landed accurately on the target area. For the other two bricks, the first fell early, but the third fell late.

From this perspective, only one of the ten lamps succeeded.

However, this only one has given everyone enough confidence.

The next step is to find the problem, analyze and summarize, and adjust the plan.

Regarding the determination of the airflow, the length of the lead wire, the sensitivity of the snap mechanism...

All the details need to be constantly adjusted, constantly experimented, accumulated data, adjusted again, experimented again...

This process is extremely cumbersome. Fortunately, the Academy of Sciences is not short of people or money, and the manufacturing process of Kongming lanterns is not difficult, but the daily experiments require at least hundreds of lights, which consumes too much material.

Belin and Meichun tried to use paper, but the paper lamp was too light, and it would drift away with a little airflow, the direction was completely uncontrollable, and it was easy to spontaneously ignite, so they had to give up in the end.

Later, not to mention cow and sheep skins, there were no more dog skins on the market!
A huge Kongming lantern rose up. This lantern was about the same size as the one Mei Chun had made, and people could sit inside.

On the outside of the lampshade is written Observation One in large characters, indicating the purpose of this lamp.

Moreover, the rattan frame at the bottom is tied with a rope, just like flying a kite, firmly tied to the ground.

After about two quarters of an hour, Observation-[-] landed slowly.

"The wind force is five to six, the wind direction is southeast, and the wind speed is nine to twelve!"

After getting the data, each group immediately took out paper and pen to calculate, and then came up with the data.

"Attention all groups, No.17 experiment, and the first live ammunition exercise, a total of [-], let go now!"

"No. [-] is released!"

"No. [-] is released!"

"No. [-] is released..."

In the evening, the sun is slowly setting, and the night is gradually covering the sky.

The exercise area has long been sealed off, and no one is allowed to approach it. Within a radius of a hundred paces, there are a large number of scarecrows and some temporary houses.

One after another Kongming lanterns rose and slowly drifted past.

After half a month of hard work, the air current measurement technology has become more and more mature. Most of the [-] lanterns released this time sailed according to the established route, and only a few were left behind.

"No. [-] has arrived at the target area!"

"No. [-] has arrived at the target area!"

"Number three deviates!"

Thirty lamps, sixty recorders, in groups of two, one of whom stares at his own lamp with a telescope, and the other is responsible for recording.

"Number Four has arrived at the target area!"

"Number five deviates..."

"No. [-]...not good, the bomb carried by No. [-] fell off early!"

boom!
The bomb carried by the No. [-] lamp fell and exploded the moment it hit the ground.

Mei Chun was taken aback, and hurriedly asked, "Go and see if anyone was hurt!"

"Don't panic!"

Belin pressed his shoulders and said: "The people in the surrounding tens of miles have already been evacuated, the sixth group has made a record, go back to find the problem, and the experiment will continue!"

"No. [-] has arrived at the target area!"

"Anomaly No. [-] has exceeded the predetermined altitude and has begun to lose control..."

Boom!

Boom!

Under the night, the flames in the mountain depression soared into the sky, and a series of explosions occurred.

Twenty of the bombs carried by the thirty lamps landed on the target area accurately, with a hit rate as high as [-]%.

Early the next morning, Zhu Qizhen was overjoyed when he saw this data.

"A small Kongming lantern can defeat a hundred thousand soldiers!"

Belin said: "It's just that the control of the upper airflow is not enough now, and it is greatly affected by the weather. I think it can't be put into actual combat for the time being. We need to intensify the experiment and further increase the hit rate of bombing."

"Enough is enough!"

Zhu Qizhen put the experimental data aside, and said seriously: "What are you fighting for?"

Belin was taken aback, and said, "Is it weapons and equipment?"

Zhu Qizhen looked at Mei Chun again, and asked, "Come on!"

Mei Chun thought hard for a while, and then said: "Is it a tactical technique?"

"What you two said is right and wrong!"

Zhu Qizhen nodded, shook his head again, and said: "From my point of view, what is being paid is money and food!"

Bellin and Mei Chun looked at each other, seemingly puzzled.

Zhu Qizhen continued: "Weapons and equipment are important, as are tactics and techniques. However, these are all based on money and food. Let me ask, if there is no money and food, where can we get weapons and equipment? If the opponent is strong and strong, the consumption will be exhausted." You, where did you get the tactics?"

"King Ning's attack on Uzang on the front line, the reason why he was repeatedly frustrated is not because our army's equipment is not good, nor is it a problem of technique and tactics, but the price to be paid is too high."

"You guys can do a calculation. What is the configuration of our army? How much is a rifle, how much is a bullet? Artillery, shells, all kinds of military supplies...these are all silver. Is that bird in Us hidden? Even if you take down the place where you shit, so what if you take casualties?"

"Whether a thing is beneficial or not, you can't just look at the result. If you shoot a rabbit with a bow and arrow, you must have made a profit. However, if you shoot a rabbit with a rifle, the wasted bullets can be exchanged for silver, which is enough to buy two. It’s a rabbit, do you still think you’re making money?”

Belin suddenly realized, nodded and said: "I understand, as long as Wusizang can be captured, even if the hit rate of Kongming Lantern bombs is not so good now, but as long as there are enough numbers, this tactic is still effective!"

"exactly!"

Zhu Qizhen smiled and said: "Compared to guns and cannons, the cost of Kongming lanterns is really too low. Even if the hit rate is lower, just make more. Compared with the consumption of the front line, this little money is simply a drop in the bucket! "

Beilin bowed and said: "Just now, this minister was too bookish and was critical of technology. The emperor's words were like enlightenment, which made this minister suddenly enlightened!"

"It's not too late, you go back and count the manpower, and leave tomorrow!"

"Yes!"

Zhu Qizhen looked at Mei Chun again, and asked, "The Qing family's injuries..."

"Go back to the emperor, the minister is ready!"

"How can it be so fast if you hurt your muscles and bones for a hundred days?"

"The minister only injured his arm, but his legs and feet are still fine, so it doesn't affect him."

Looking at Mei Chun's longing look, Zhu Qizhen knew in his heart that the Kongming Lantern was the result of his own research, and of course he didn't want to miss the first actual battle.

"Okay then, you go together!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)