Datang: What's wrong with my fief being a billion points larger?

The development of firearms was Li Yuanji's top priority, and everything else had to take a back seat.

Especially in today's predicament, the impact of the advantages of firearms is enormous.

Then Li Yuanji looked at Liu San.

"Besides the gun, is there anything else?"

He has already seen guns now, and the musket is almost enough to enter the rifle era. Although the performance is still a bit poor, the first step has been taken, and things will get better and better in the future.

Li Yuanji was already looking forward to the firearms that would come later. He didn't believe that the Firearms Bureau had only produced guns.

After all, guns and cannons are all connected. At the very least, even if nothing else has happened, cannons have definitely made progress.

Liu San then took Li Yuanji to another testing site. When Li Yuanji arrived, he already had an idea in his mind, because this was a place for testing cannons. The site was very large, and cannons had been placed on the side.

"Your Majesty, we have also developed slightly smaller cannons. According to the calibers you mentioned, there are 30mm, 60mm, and 80mm cannons."

Liu San came up to Li Yuanji and introduced several types of artillery to him. Li Yuanji was amazed at the ones he saw. What amazed him was the 30mm caliber artillery, because this thing was very similar in shape to the mortar he had in mind, and Li Yuanji immediately became interested.

"Liu San, first tell me what this 30mm cannon is all about."

Li Yuanji was really interested. He just wanted to know whether this small cannon that looked like a mortar was the mortar he was thinking of.

As for why Li Yuanji asked Liu San to make these small-caliber artillery after having large-caliber heavy artillery, it is because these small-caliber artillery are lighter and more convenient to carry.

Heavy-caliber artillery is used for sieges, large-scale battles, and defense, but in many cases, those large-caliber heavy artillery moves very slowly. Now he doesn't have a large truck to tow such artillery, and it is difficult to keep up with the army when moving.

This also means that the army at the front has to wait if they want to use large-caliber heavy artillery. Sometimes the military situation is urgent and there is no way to wait, so they can only attack first, and these large-caliber heavy artillery become decorations.

This is also the only bad thing Li Yuanji thinks about the large-caliber heavy artillery. This artillery is indeed powerful, but it is also difficult to transport.

Therefore, light artillery must be developed. Generally speaking, these easy-to-transport artillery are more needed in major wars than large-caliber heavy artillery. The ease of transportation alone makes it a must.

As for the power, it is definitely smaller than that of large-caliber heavy artillery, but as long as it is sufficient and the firepower coverage is sufficient, it is fine.

In addition to this reason, his army is now preparing to begin transformation. The development of guns has reached this point, and he must gradually begin to abandon cold weapons and adopt hot weapons as the way of combat.

As the army begins to transform, these small artillery pieces will become very important, as this involves the army's strike capability. Without the support of artillery, the strike capability will still be insufficient relying solely on the guns in hand.

He couldn't equip a team of several hundred people with large-caliber heavy artillery. If he really did, and had to pull the artillery forward, he would have to devote one-third of his combat power to pulling the artillery. How would he fight then?
And what if it's a team of a hundred? Do they really not need artillery? That would be a bit too awkward when attacking.

In addition, machine guns have not yet been designed, so small artillery must be equipped to the lower-level troops to truly complete the transformation.

The 30mm artillery in front of us now looks light. Only two or three people are needed to carry it and it will not delay the army's marching speed at all. If it is distributed to the lower levels, even a small team of dozens of people will at least have a stronger strike capability.

Liu San looked at the small cannon in front of him and said with a smile: "My lord, this is designed based on the concept of the mortar you proposed before. Put the shells in from the barrel, and there is a pull ring at the bottom. Pull it to fire.

As for the king's proposal to set a primer and fuse on the artillery shells, it has not yet been done.

Now this cannon still uses the same firing method as the previous 120mm caliber heavy artillery, but the muzzle is raised, and the bracket under the barrel can be adjusted at any time to change the height of the muzzle.

This small cannon was able to be made because the steel produced by the Iron Bureau was better than before and would not explode easily.

The shells used by this artillery are somewhat similar to the bullets used by the gun just now, but they are no longer lead bullets.

But this shell does not have that copper shell, so when it is fired, the entire shell flies out together.

The maximum artillery range is 800 meters, but the accuracy can only be controlled within 500 meters.

Within 500 meters, you can use this crosshair to measure and aim, and the error accuracy will not exceed half a meter. "

Li Yuanji was quite satisfied after listening to these data. Actually, he was not very satisfied. It was just that after a long time of tinkering with this thing, although the shape was changed to a mortar, the inside was still the same cannon.

Moreover, the maximum range is 800 meters, and the effective and accurate range is only 500 meters. For a cannon, at a distance of 500 meters, Li Yuanji can only say that it is barely usable.

"Liu San, why can't we use the fuse primer directly?

You still use a firing pin to ignite the fuse, so why can't you put the firing pin directly at the bottom of the barrel, put the shell in, and let it fall to the bottom of the barrel and trigger it directly, wouldn't that be possible? "

Li Yuanji was very confused about this. He really couldn't understand it. The Firearms Bureau had mastered the technology to this level now. Could it be that this problem could not be solved?

Liu San felt bitter when he heard this.

“Your Majesty, what you said is indeed possible, but with the length of the current gun barrel, the force of the shell after it is inserted cannot allow the firing pin to ignite the primer with great force, unless the gun barrel is lengthened.

But after lengthening the barrel, it no longer matches the length of the mortar that Your Majesty requested, so we did not choose it. "

Li Yuanji was stunned after hearing this. After all this time, it turned out to be his fault?

The mortar-like artillery in front of us now has a barrel that is actually taller than a grenade launcher, and shorter than a real mortar. According to what Liu San said now, if it is truly made in that way, it will be slightly longer than a mortar.

But it is shorter than the long-barreled mortar.

Li Yuanji suddenly understood something. It seemed that he really couldn't make a definite conclusion when he told Liu San and others about it in the future. Once he made a definite conclusion, such problems would arise.

Li Yuanji stopped talking and started to let Liu San experiment.

When he adjusted the angle, put in the shell, and started pulling the ring at the bottom of the barrel, Li Yuanji felt it was weird no matter how he looked at it.

The shell flew out and directly hit the target three hundred meters away. Li Yuanji looked at the power and found it was indeed small, but the pinpoint strike capability was still good.

Li Yuanji then asked Liu San to start adjusting the direction and make a real mortar as soon as possible.

Next, Li Yuanji personally looked at the power of the 60mm and 80mm artillery. After the shells were changed, their ability to hurt people was enhanced. As for other powers, Li Yuanji thought they were at least okay.

In terms of transportation, the transportation of 60mm artillery is relatively convenient. The transportation of 80mm artillery uses horses and manpower, and the speed will not be too slow.

After watching them all, Li Yuanji was generally very impressed. With the appearance of these artillery pieces of various calibers and sizes, the army would have more options to choose from in future wars.

After reading them all, Liu San asked someone to take out another kind of firearm, which stunned Li Yuanji.

It was because what Liu San took out was nothing else but a grenade. Yes, a grenade, not a hand grenade.

Liu San then demonstrated it to Li Yuanji again. He unscrewed the sealed package at the tail, straightened the fuse, and pulled it open. The fuse inside was triggered, and the gunpowder began to burn. Then he threw the grenade out, and it exploded after about seven or eight seconds.

Li Yuanji was immediately happy when he saw this scene. In the current combat mode, the role of grenades is no less than that of artillery.

"Haha, good job, well done! This time the firearms worked great!

Liu San, you should follow what I just said, make the necessary improvements, and for the rest, start full production immediately!"

Li Yuanji's heart was burning with excitement. He just wanted to equip the army with all these firearms and complete the transformation of the army as soon as possible. By then, he would have an army with hot weapons. He didn't believe that Li Er would have anything to fight him with.

Given the current combat mode of cold weapons, isn't it equivalent to a living target in the face of hot weapons?

After learning about the situation at the Firearms Bureau, Li Yuanji was very happy. The Firearms Bureau is now very different from the past. With the drawings and principle technologies he developed later, the bureau has made rapid progress in the past two years.

After coming out of the Firearms Bureau, Li Yuanji immediately went to the Ironware Bureau.

Li Yuanji came to the Ironware Bureau much less frequently than to the Firearms Bureau. The Ironware Bureau was more responsible for the basic supply of steel, producing more steel and increasing steel production.

When they arrived at the Ironware Bureau, Liu Mingsheng welcomed Li Yuanji in.

"Your Majesty, you didn't even tell me you were coming so I could welcome you."

"No problem. I know the Iron Bureau is busy, and I can't waste too much of your time."

Li Yuanji looked at the people from the Ironware Bureau who had been working silently in front of him, and felt a little emotional. The Ironware Bureau could be said to be the most tiring of these special departments, and it was also the cornerstone of all the special departments.

"Mingsheng, I have seen the contributions made by the Iron Bureau. Without the Iron Bureau, there would be no current development.

Later I plan to select some people with worthy contributions from your Ironware Bureau, Firearms Bureau, Navigation Bureau, and Research Institute and confer titles on them, so you should be prepared.

This title was bestowed by me, not by the Tang Dynasty, so you must be mentally prepared."

Li Yuanji did have this idea. The contributions of these special departments could be said to be enormous. Although they were treated very well on weekdays, they must be rewarded as they deserved. These people had to see that they could be promoted on tracks that were different from the past, which would make them more passionate.

In the past, when scholars and poets were in power, these skills were considered to be not worthy of being accepted by the upper class. Only people from poor families or those who came from poor backgrounds would do these things.

Although there are people who come from wealthy backgrounds, they are relatively few in number.

Upon hearing this, Liu Mingsheng and others knelt in front of Li Yuanji. They all looked extremely excited and were particularly moved in their hearts.

"Your Majesty, we are able to enjoy the treatment we have today because of you. We have never thought about anything else while working for you.

Now that Your Majesty is willing to confer titles upon us, the humble officials, we are deeply touched.

On behalf of all the officials of the Ironware Bureau, I would like to thank the king."

Liu Mingsheng and others were truly moved. How many people from ancient times to the present could obtain the title of nobility in this regard?

But now, Li Yuanji has begun to confer titles on several of their departments. Although it is not known how many people will receive the titles, at least this gives them hope and lets them know that their previous efforts are worth it.

As for the fact that it was Li Yuanji who conferred the title, not the imperial court, they did not care about it at all.

They were not interested in the titles conferred upon them by the Tang Dynasty court. Here, only the titles conferred by Li Yuanji were real, recognized by everyone, and approved by the government.

The Tang Dynasty court?

In their eyes, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty will sooner or later be their king.

As for Li Er?

He is nothing but a usurper.

Li Yuanji looked at Liu Mingsheng and others and helped Liu Mingsheng up.

“Wake up, you have made so many contributions, you deserve this.

Although I come to the Ironware Bureau less often and not as frequently as I go to the Firearms Bureau, I am aware of the importance of the Ironware Bureau and the contributions you have made.

Okay, I'll just tell you about this first, someone will come later, before that, don't say anything to anyone else."

Liu Mingsheng nodded with emotion. He knew very well that the fact that the royal edict had not been issued yet meant that the matter had not been finalized. Even though Li Yuanji had said so himself, it would be his fault if he spoke carelessly to others.

Li Yuanji calmed down Liu Mingsheng and others, then went inside to watch.

After walking around, I didn't do anything, just walked around and looked around, but my body was already covered in sweat.

Especially in the steel-making room, it was really hot. The people inside were rotated every two hours, all with bare chests, and the sweat never stopped.

Li Yuanji looked at all this and could only appease them. Should he let these people stop doing it?

He really couldn't say these innocent words.

Coming outside, Li Yuanji looked at Liu Mingsheng.

"I heard from Liu San that the quality of steel produced by the Iron Bureau is better than before. When did they achieve this?"

Speaking of this, Liu Mingsheng's face was full of excitement.

“My lord, it is true. Not only the quality, but also the production capacity has been greatly enhanced.

As the demand for steel grows, even though the Iron Bureau has already been set up, its production capacity is still insufficient.

Half a year ago, we discovered another steel-making method, the converter steel-making method, which has greatly increased steel production.

However, the steel produced in this way had a quality defect. After three months of exploration, Chen and others found that adding a certain amount of alkali into the boiler could effectively improve the quality of the steel again.

I am still leading people to perfect this set of technology. Once it is perfected, I believe it will be able to meet the needs of various places now." (End of this chapter)