our family is gone

Chapter 471: Seizing Military Power

Patton was ready to increase the intensity of their training. He would directly double the training intensity and use gunpowder and cannonballs to feed a group of qualified gunners.

Anyway, there are extra cannons, and the overheating of the gun barrels cannot stop him.

Only in this way can we live up to the trust of the lord.

Those artillerymen were still immersed in the admiration of the lord just now, and they may not know that they will undergo more rigorous training next.

We just demonstrated tactics such as alternating firing and salvo firing of artillery, and also demonstrated the effects of solid bullets and grape bullets.

But Lance soon discovered that there was a different kind of shells among the piled shells.

"Is this a stone bullet?"

Lance went over to pick one up and weighed it. It was a piece of stone polished into the shape of a ball. It was relatively rough and weighed far less than an iron bullet of the same size.

Making iron bullets is much simpler than casting cannons. Lance has always been stocking up on iron bullets. Under normal circumstances, there will not be enough for training.

"The training bombs I approved should be iron bombs... Is there any problem with the supply of materials?" Lance turned to look at Patton and asked, "Isn't there such a thing in the report you sent me?"

All materials needed for military training must be reported to the Military Supplies Department in advance, and he will then approve the amount. It can be said that the amount consumed is registered.

The Munitions Department is an independent unit in the army. Without his nod, no supplies can be transferred. This is a key to his grasp of military power.

When he left for artillery training, all he received were iron bullets.

Why did it turn into a stone bullet when I came back?

Either the Munitions Department approved this batch of stone bullets without his order, or Patton got them from somewhere else. In both cases, he touched his bottom line.

The military is governed not by law but by military regulations. Military courts govern the military, and severity is not the same concept.

If there is a problem in this system, it is not as simple as going to a labor camp or beheading, but rather going to a sanatorium.

Not to mention that he was about to prepare for a big operation. You told him that there was a problem with military supplies?

Lance was not in a hurry about this issue, but was waiting for Barton's explanation. I believe he had a reason for choosing to train Stone Bullets.

Noticing the lord's gaze, Barton seemed a little helpless and had no choice but to explain.

"There is no problem with the sufficient supply of gunpowder and iron bullets, and these stone bullets were made by using the discarded building stones during my spare time when I led the artillery training..."

As Patton explained, Lance also understood that Patton had actually been leading the artillerymen to use waste materials to make stone bullets during their spare time during training.

Because there was only one cannon for training before, and it didn’t consume much, it wasn’t worth having the workshop specialize in producing it.

Moreover, stone bullets are easy to make and the raw materials are available everywhere.

What's more important is that Hamlet didn't have so many resources to waste at the beginning. His initiative to lead the artillery to squeeze out time to make stone bullets was more of a pressure-sharing move.

Because the artillery consumes too much, but no effect is seen at all, it has caused some discussion among the army.

Gunpowder and iron bullets were rationed by logistics, and stone bullets were made by ourselves. This frugal habit continues today, so these stone bullets do not appear in the books.

Logically speaking, Patton had exceeded his authority by going beyond the munitions department to make warheads, but he did not commit corruption or deprivation. This situation was more because Lance did not give them a clear plan before.

So whether this matter is big or small depends entirely on what Lance says.

Lance's strictness towards the military destined the system to have many problems without him. He went away for a few days and Greendale did not touch military affairs, which would lead to lags and even affect the training.

"I will go back and issue it as soon as possible. The stone bullets will be produced and supplied soon, so don't let the soldiers do these things anymore. The training is tiring enough. Let them have a good rest during the rest time."

In the final analysis, this matter was still due to his failure to do a good job, and it was difficult for Lance to pursue the matter further.

He has always believed in leaving things to professionals and not to give random orders if you don't understand. Therefore, he only approved supplies and did not interfere too much in artillery training.

Of course, it was also related to the previous situation where a bunch of people in the artillery were surrounding a cannon, so even if he intervened, it would be useless.

But now we need to pay attention to it. Patton's mention of the importance of stone bullets also attracted Lance's attention.

Today's artillery does not have a caliber. The poundage used to distinguish artillery refers to the weight of the front-loaded warhead, which is generally an iron bullet.

For example, the six-pound cannon currently equipped by artillery refers to a solid iron bullet loaded with a weight of six pounds.

And this is related to the amount of gunpowder loaded and the power of the artillery.

It’s not like Lance didn’t know about stone bullets. The reason why he chose iron bullets is very simple. Because these bullets can be reused. After shooting, you can pick them up and take a second round. When they are deformed, they will be reheated and come out as brand new. Cannonballs.

Moreover, he fought all the way and collected a lot of scraps of copper and iron. The quality of these scraps to make equipment was not good, so melting them into iron bullets would be the most efficient.

"Tell me why you use stone bullets?"

"Because it's cheap." Barton opened his mouth and said an answer that didn't surprise Lance.

And he also explained the specific situation later.

Patton was not only an outstanding graduate of the Gunnery Academy, but also worked his way up from the grassroots level. He had also participated in the war. He still had a certain understanding of the actions of artillery on the battlefield.

Of course, after completing a round of shooting in training, you can easily recover the artillery shells, but in fact, you rarely have the opportunity to recover them on the battlefield. Only when the battle is over, and you have to win, can you have the right to clean the battlefield.

If they lose the battle or make a tactical retreat, it is equivalent to discarding that part of the artillery shells. In this era, the production of metal is still very low, otherwise Lance will not need to import iron ingots from Totnes.

It can be said that with iron bullets and gunpowder, every time a cannon is fired, what flies out is not the cannonball, but money!
Not to mention that iron bullets are expensive to make and the process is troublesome, so the warheads consumed in such a battle are difficult to replenish, which puts great pressure on logistics.

And once you encounter a tough battle and face the enemy's fortifications, using iron bullets may be reused by the enemy.

At this time, the benefits of stone bullets are reflected. First of all, they are cheap to make and can be fired casually without any pain.

Moreover, the process is simple and the raw materials can be found everywhere. Even if the logistics cannot keep up, they can be quickly replenished by the soldiers accompanying the army.

During a critical battle, the stone projectiles will break into pieces after hitting a hard object, leaving no room for secondary use.

In the final analysis, it comes down to two words - cost.

"How does the power compare to iron bullets?"

"When I was in college, I tested many kinds of stones. Among them, granite has the best effect, which is no worse than cast iron. Moreover, the broken fragments can also cause damage. Even the processing is relatively more difficult because of the hardness of this stone. Not low."

Lance was not fooled by Patton's words. In fact, cast iron cannonballs were simpler to form than stone projectiles. The high cost was due to the metal material itself and the consumption of smelting metal.

Stone bullet processing sounds very simple, but in fact it is not easy to make a stone into a round ball by hand. Polishing is very labor-intensive.In modern times, the craftsmen who hand-made stone bullets would be praised as the gods of stone bullets.

The cost is low mainly because the stone is not valuable.

The more important point is that manpower is worthless.

That time cost is basically negligible.

Lance was quite aware of this. There are so many refugees now. Let alone paying them, they only need to take care of the food. They can do whatever you ask them to do.

"Practice at your own pace." Lance didn't mean to deny this situation, because he was the beneficiary of this situation.

Without this free labor force, if each worker counts the money, the money he needs to spend to open up the wilderness is simply not what Hamlet can afford today.

"My lord, look here." Barton also knew that he had escaped, and when he saw the lord relenting, he changed his attention.

Lance also took the opportunity to look over. It was also an artillery piece, but the barrel of this kind of gun was much shorter, but the muzzle was very large. It looked like an iron barrel mounted on a gun truck.

"These are the latest three mortars delivered. Compared with those cannons..." Patton followed up to introduce the situation of the mortars and their advantages and disadvantages.

Because the two processes of breech-loading and rifled have not yet been pointed out, current artillery can be collectively called front-loading smoothbore guns, and there are distinctions when broken down.

Cannons refer to those artillery pieces with long barrels and straight and low trajectory, which are the six-pound guns now equipped by artillery.

Because it is mainly used in field battles, it can also be called field artillery.

The cannon's firing angle is not large and its trajectory is straight, so it is easily limited when encountering obstacles.

The mortar has a large firing angle and a high ballistic arc, so it is mostly used to bombard targets that are close to each other and are separated by obstacles such as city walls, making it impossible to shoot flatly.

There are also shortcomings.

Cannons have high bore pressure and high initial velocity. For example, the six-pounder currently equipped can have an effective range of 500 to 800 yards. This is only a conservative charge amount.

If you go to the extreme and increase the charge, you can even hit enemies a thousand yards away.

However, the low initial speed of the mortar and its high parabolic trajectory meant that the attack range could not be too far. According to Patton's verification, it was only within the range of 100 to 200 yards.

"It is risky to use a cannon to shoot explosive bombs, because the chamber pressure is high, which can easily cause various accidents and even cause a fatal explosion.

However, the characteristics of the mortar are very suitable for throwing explosives such as bombs and explosive packets. It can cause more damage to some fortifications, but it is more difficult to use, and it is usually used as an auxiliary. "

Lance listened. Patton repeatedly mentioned the difficulty of using artillery. If this problem is not solved, it will be difficult for artillery to achieve combat effectiveness.

“In this way, data on the two variables of the amount of gunpowder and the firing angle of the artillery are collected, and then corresponding to the ballistic trajectory and impact point, and then a table is made and a graph is drawn.

They don't necessarily need to understand the principle, they just need to write down a few sets of data to ensure that there is not too much deviation. "

Lance used a very simple method, which was to control variables and let statistics help find patterns.

First decide whether it can be used, and then figure out how to solve whether it is usable or not.

After inspecting the artillery training, Lance felt a little uneasy for no reason.

During this period of time, I focused most of my attention on other places, including outposts, beast caves, leprosy, and the occult.

Although attention is also paid to the construction of the army, the focus is mainly on the Guards.

The main body of the action being prepared now is the army. It is necessary for him to conduct a survey of the current army and get a new understanding of the situation.

The original plan was to go to the school, but now I went directly from the artillery camp to the training camp to inspect.

The recruitment of refugees has always been carried out in an orderly manner, and the recruitment of soldiers has also never stopped. Every day, people are attracted by the generous offers, but very few can join them.

Because the average refugee's health is so poor, they have to work for a month or two before they can regain their health.

That's right, the refugees who came to Hamlet to work were actually able to maintain their bodies. You must know that Lance is not a philanthropic person, and the labor of reclamation is still intense.

Of course, the food is not bad, bread and fish are the most common, and eggs and milk are also good.

After a month of labor and protein supplementation, although they are not very strong, it is enough to make them look like human beings.

One can imagine how outrageous their previous lives were.

And this also made them feel the glory of Hamlet, and they inevitably worshiped the lord who saved them.

Therefore, the seeds in the training camp usually perform well on farms or in wilderness development, and these people are more or less fanatical.

And this is just a training camp. If they want to actually join the army, they need to go through a period of brutal training, and even less can stay.

All recruits will enter the training camp, and selections will be made based on the situation during the completion of basic training. Talented people will be given priority for admission.

If you are good at horsemanship, go to the cavalry, if you are good at shooting, go to the infantry, if you are good at water skills, go to the navy, and if you are good at arithmetic, go to the artillery. After picking a round, you will be assigned.

After coming out of the training camp, each branch of the military trained separately, and the navy went directly to the ship to practice at sea.

Because their training requirements and methods are very different, it would be unreasonable to insist on managing them together. Only during joint training can we see them practicing together and running into each other, and their training tactics complement each other.

So the training camp is more of the cradle of the army.

Lance's entry into the training camp did not cause much commotion, and those people did not look surprised by his appearance.

Because when Lance was at Hamlet, he basically took time to come to the training camp whenever he could.

Teach them how to fight, how to use weapons, what strategies to use when facing different enemies, and how to target the enemy's weaknesses to defeat the weak.

Teach them to understand the structure and principles of the human body, as well as first aid on the battlefield, whether for themselves or their teammates.

If anyone wants to challenge the power of the lord, Lance would not mind going there himself and letting them experience what it means to be powerful!

It can be said that almost everyone in the training camp was beaten by him, but it did not alienate him from the students.

On the contrary, it made these people even more fanatical, because I had never heard of any noble lords mixing with ordinary people like them.

Lance's activities here have also firmly grasped these recruits. They all know the lord and know who gave them all.

(End of this chapter)