Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 210 Suilin
"What's so difficult about this? There's no reason why we Tang people can't make what the Western Yi can make?" He Liangtao took the flintlock pistol and praised Haikou without even taking a closer look.

This is the gun of the commander of the Spanish Second Fleet, Cullen, and uses a Parthian gun. From the appearance, the most striking feature of this gun is the rear push-up main spring exposed on the outside of the gun body.

Because the main spring is external, He Liangtao can roughly understand the operating principle of the hammer. After pondering for a moment, he pointed at the main spring and said to Lin Hai: "I think the most difficult thing to make in this gun is the reed. It must be You have to have enough elasticity to get angry.”

"Deputy Director He is indeed the chief craftsman of the Construction Department. His words are very insightful." Lin Hai nodded after hearing this.

In fact, the instant-fire matchlock machine also has energy storage reeds, but the requirements for elasticity are not as high as those of flintlock guns. After all, a matchlock only needs to make the match rope come into contact with the ignition powder, but a flintlock gun needs friction to make a fire. If the force is not enough, the splashed sparks will not be enough to ignite the ignition powder.

Because of this, the reed of the instant-fire matchlock machine can be made of copper, but the main spring of the flintlock gun must be made of spring steel. Many keyboard warriors in later generations even believed that the Qing Dynasty failed to equip flintlock guns because they could not make qualified ones. of spring steel.

Lin Hai knew little about ancient metallurgical technology, so he could only ask He Liangtao: "Then do you think we can make a qualified reed?"

"It's still the same sentence. If the Western Yi can make it, the Tang people can naturally do it." He Liangtao is still full of confidence, "The Western Yi have some wonderful skills, but when it comes to smelting iron and steel, for us Tang people, that is simply It’s not worth a penny.”

In fact, what He Liangtao said is absolutely correct. China had pig iron smelting technology as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, which was 1,900 years earlier than Western Europe. As for the pig iron softening technology that emerged during the Warring States Period, it was 2,300 years ahead of Europe.

In terms of steelmaking, the fried steel method that appeared in the Western Han Dynasty was the only technology in the world that could efficiently produce wrought iron and steel for a long time. At the same time, other places in the world could only make steel through block iron carburization, and The furnace must be destroyed to remove the lump of iron smelting, and the production efficiency can be imagined.

Lin Hai did not speak too fully, mainly because it was still nearly 80 years before Western European countries began to install flintlock guns on a large scale. In addition to cost and inertia, was there any other reason why he did not clear.

Compared with the more well-known French bolt action, the biggest features of the Parthia bolt action are: first, the external rear push-type main spring; second, the use of double sear cocking devices arranged up and down; third, the strike plate adopts a Straight structure with vertical stripes.

In fact, the type of gun that Lin Hai remembered was the French gun that just came out a few years ago, and it has become mainstream in Europe except Spain and Portugal. The Parthian gun mechanism is widely circulated in the Iberian Peninsula and the Tianfang Sect world. After the flintlock gun is fully mature, there are only two schools. It can be said that each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

"Take it step by step, don't be anxious, I must use the flint gun." Lin Hai said and added, "Besides, how expensive can it be? It's not as good as a self-generated fire gun like Hao Jing's steel wheel. Is it expensive?”

At least the bolt he saw now was different from what he remembered. He didn't know if it was the most advanced percussion flintlock bolt in Western Europe.

As for why a sword like the Damascus sword cannot be made? That is really not the fault of steelmaking technology. The only blame is the poor quality of domestic iron ore. In fact, the Utz steel in India disappeared after the high-quality iron ore was dug out.

"The chief is right. The trigger of this gun is far more complicated than that of a bird gun. In addition, steelmaking is quite labor-intensive, so the price cannot be lowered." He Liangtao replied, playing with the flintlock pistol.

In short, before liquid steel was obtained in the Western industrial era, China's iron smelting and steelmaking technology was comprehensively leading. All the steel smelting technology trees that existed in the world at that time were in China, and every branch was far ahead.

The crucible steel-stewing method in Persia and India is one of the special block iron carburizing processes, which can indeed obtain the steel most suitable for weapons in ancient times. In fact, this steel-stewing method has been spread for a long time in ancient China. Mo Xie, a general in the late Spring and Autumn Period, may have adopted this technology.

He Liangtao didn't know much about flint. After hearing Lin Hai's words, he started to flatter him: "The chief minister has seen thousands of miles, and He was so impressed that he fell in admiration."

"In addition to reeds, flint may be another problem." Lin Hai then reminded that after all, there is a theory in later history circles that the Qing Dynasty did not promote flintlock guns because China did not have high-quality flint mines.

"Very good, we need this strength. Imitation is only the first step, and we need to continue to improve in the future. The first is to increase the firing rate, and the second is to reduce the cost. As Deputy Commander Wu said, if possible, such a gun I want to promote it throughout the army.”

However, the talk about high-quality flint mines is also a rumor, which is completely based on unfounded conjecture from the British man Macartney. There was one and only one reason why the Qing Dynasty did not promote flintlock guns, and that was because it was not conducive to using the Manchus to control the Han. After all, even their opponents, the Burmese, had already equipped them in batches.

"No, not really." He Liangtao waved his hands repeatedly, "I have dismantled the steel-wheel igniting gun, and it is much more complicated than this one."

"Make sure to complete the mission." He Liangtao really didn't think it was difficult to use the flintlock gun. What he cared more about was the iron-moulded cannon.

"Don't give me a high hat. After all, this matter still depends on the master craftsmen of your construction department." Lin Hai cursed with a smile and then said, "Is giving you half a year enough?"

In general, the performance of the French bolt action is still better, but the structure is also more complex, and there are more parts that require fine processing, such as screws. Therefore, later generations of salted ducks were once equipped with mature French bolts, but they soon returned to the old way. This fully demonstrates that the Parthian bolt is extremely cost-effective.

After all, for flintlocks, flints are consumables. A piece of flint needs to be re-sharpened after about ten rounds. After being sharpened five times at most, it will be completely scrapped. Therefore, every flintlock soldier needs to carry more than ten flints with him. Spare flint.

In addition, the French bolt's strike plate and medicine tank cover are two independent parts that are linked together, instead of the one-piece L-shaped automatic plate cover like the Parthian bolt. The wiper board is turned at an angle so that it can avoid the movement route of the flint, which is equivalent to adding an extra layer of insurance.

"This reed must be made of steel. The specific process still needs to be explored, but it should not take long." He Liangtao directly pointed out the general direction. In fact, the main spring of the Western European flintlock gun is just steel, while in China As early as the Song Dynasty, steel similar to modern spring steel could be made through hundreds of steel-making techniques.

"That's it." The reason why Lin Hai is not interested in the spring wheel gun is because the cost is too high, and the complex structure leads to a high failure rate. At least the infantry cannot afford to equip it.

"Okay, I've finished reading this musket. Next, I want to discuss with you how to use it." Lin Hai looked around at everyone, and then said to He Liangtao, "You also come together, and for the time being, you can be the ghost guy. Tongshi.”

The ghost guy Lin Hai was talking about was Valdez. This man was a cavalry sergeant in the Flanders Army more than 20 years ago. At that time, the Parthian gun machine had just matured. After the defeat at the Battle of Nieuwpoort by Nassau Maurice's Dutch army, Valdes went to New Spain and later was sent to the Philippines.

Viper led the way, ushering everyone into a conference room in Guandu City. Fruit refreshments were already placed on the conference table.

After everyone sat down, Lin Hai was the first to speak: "First of all, what I want to explain to you is that I plan to set up a small-scale cavalry unit for sentry, harassment and pursuit. In addition to scimitars, the main weapons are The kind of gun I just asked you to see."

"Chief Commander, I think this is okay in the early stage, but in the end our cavalry still needs to be able to ride and shoot." Wu Guoyi continued to explain, "Muskets need to be loaded after all, and using them immediately is not as convenient as bows and arrows. Even if you can carry multiple muskets, , but after all, it’s not as many arrows as it can carry.”

"We'll talk about the future later..." Lin Hai said noncommittally, "At least for now, there is nothing more suitable for our cavalry than the flintlock pistol. It is the only long-range weapon that can be used with one hand on horseback."

This was the biggest reason why Lin Hai insisted on using flintlock pistols. In fact, it was very early for cavalry to use muskets. Long before the flintlock, some European cavalry used a light matchlock called a hook gun, but it was extremely inconvenient to use the matchlock on horseback.

Later Qing troops also liked to use matchlock guns on horses. Since their equestrian skills were far superior to those of the Westerners, they could even complete the loading while galloping on their horses.

But the requirements for equestrian skills were quite high, so much so that when Daoguang saw Lin Zexu's memorial saying that the cavalrymen had also learned to load matchlock guns on horseback, he wrote the word "abominable" with a red pen next to it.

In fact, this is a traditional skill of the Junggar shotgun cavalry. During the reign of Qianlong, they would even carry bows, arrows, matchlocks and lances at the same time. At the same time, Third Brother's cavalry could also operate matchlocks on galloping horses, so juggling on motorcycles has a long history.

But this is obviously a luxury hope for Lin Hai. At least currently, he does not have such a high-quality source of cavalry soldiers, and the only thing he can learn from is the experience of the Western devils.

"Lao Wa, I would like you to ask, what is the situation of the cavalry of the Flanders Army?" Lin Hai really didn't know what the situation of the cavalry was like more than 20 years ago. He was more familiar with the cavalry of the Napoleonic period. I also know a little bit about the Swedish and HRE cavalry in the Thirty Years' War.

After listening to He Liangtao's translation, Valdez replied respectfully: "Dear General, I wonder what you want to know? As your loyal servant, I will definitely tell you everything you know."

Comrade Lao Wa has completely given up the idea of ​​returning to China, and from now on he can only take refuge in Huiyou Company. Seeing that he was a little reserved, Lin Hai waved his hand and said, "Don't be nervous. Just say whatever comes to your mind. I have plenty of time to listen slowly."

"Then please allow your servant to introduce the composition of the Flanders cavalry first. First of all, there are light cavalry, some of which are equipped with lances, and the other part are horse-hook gunmen equipped with muskets..."

Valdez himself was a horse-riding grappler, but despite their name, they no longer used grapples that relied on match ropes to ignite. Their main weapons were a pair of pistols and a short-barreled carbine, both with flintlock machine guns.

"Wait...you mean there are still lancers in Spain, and they are classified as light cavalry." Lin Hai became a little interested. This is somewhat similar to the French lancers in the Napoleonic era.

"Yes, Spain was the only Western European country that still retained lancers twenty years ago. In fact, their main function was still to rush into battle, while the mounted hook gunners were closer to the role of traditional light cavalry, responsible for guarding, Heavy tasks such as reconnaissance, harassment, pursuit, and fire support are sometimes accompanied by charges.”

Lin Hai was a little bit confused when he heard this: "So the ones with good armor are heavy cavalry? The ones with bad armor are light cavalry?"

"Your Excellency is not wrong to say that, but it mainly depends on the status. For example, the Flanders Army has 15 heavy cavalry companies, which are military bands composed of knights and nobles. They have no ability on the battlefield. Its only purpose is to provide decent positions to the local pro-Spanish Dutch nobles..."

"Keep talking." Lin Hai couldn't help but smile when he heard this. This was quite similar to the nobles in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

"The other part of the heavy cavalry is mainly German mercenaries, also called black-shirted knights. Their equipment is similar to that of horse-hook gunmen, but they may have a few more pistols. More importantly, they have three-quarter armor and horse-hook gunmen. Gunmen generally only have breastplates and helmets, and some have no armor at all.”

Lin Hai did know that the black-shirted knight could be regarded as the ancestor of the lancer cavalry. He once pressed the traditional Western European lancer cavalry to the ground and rubbed it hard during the French Huguenot War. This also directly caused the Lancers to withdraw from the stage of history in Western Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the Lancers began to shine.

The armored knights in the Thirty Years' War and the cuirassiers in the War of Naples can be regarded as direct descendants of the blackshirt knights. Of course, their tactics have long been completely different. The cuirassiers mainly use cold weapons to charge, while the blackshirt knights use the semi-circle tactics that are difficult to describe in words.

"So what are the most commonly used cavalry tactics of the Flanders Army? I mean how to break through the infantry square." Lin Hai then asked.

"The black-shirted knights will form a deep attack queue. When the first few rows rush to be thirty yards away from the infantry square, they will turn their horses to the left and fire to the right with their pistols. We call it a semi-turn tactic... …”

Valdes then added: "This is actually a tactic used by the arquebus cavalry in the past, but they just changed the right turn to the left turn. Because the arquebus requires the use of both hands, many people can only fire to the left. The opposite is true for pistols, most people only fire with their right hand.”

Well, Lin Hai felt excited again. This Western devil's martial arts on horseback was really amazing...

It doesn’t matter if you can’t shoot left or right. This is only reserved for a very few elites in the East Asian monster room. However, even a pistol that requires no training at all can't fire left and right, which makes it a bit difficult.

But after thinking about it, Lin Hai felt that it was quite good. Isn't what he needs most now just this kind of cavalry system that has extremely low requirements on equestrian skills?

(End of this chapter)