golden scales

As early as the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, there were flower bombs. The reason why there has been no large-scale equipment is simply that it is not practical.

The first is the complex and dangerous operation.

Flowering bombs need to ignite the shells in advance, and the fuze to detonate is usually a hollow reed tube with built-in powder twist.Before loading, cut out the corresponding length according to the distance of the target to be shot.

Before firing the cannon, the gunner must first ignite the fuze on the shell from the muzzle, and then quickly ignite the fuze on the fire door to launch.As a result, a flame may be generated when the propellant is ignited, and the flame will rush from the gap between the shell and the barrel to the front of the shell, which can easily ignite the exposed powder twist, leading to an early explosion or even a blast.

The second is that the power is too small.

In order to ensure that the gunpowder explodes directly without being affected by the high temperature of the barrel, the shell case must be thickened.The shell case is too thick, and the fired shell is either a dud, or it can only blow the shell case in half, and a puff of smoke comes out, and the iron nails and iron pieces inside can't shoot far.

More directly, the only reliable use of flower bombs is to add herbs such as croton, arsenic, and wormwood to make smoke bombs-called poisonous smoke balls by the Song people, which are used to attack the eyes, mouth and nose of enemy troops.This type of shell can only be fired with large-caliber short-bore mortars such as Poisonous Fire Flying Cannon, Flying Destroyer, and Feishan Shencan. cannon.

As far as Zhu Cihong has seen and known, there are 54 types of artillery alone and hundreds of types of shells.The warehouse of Shenjiying is simply a museum, and it is impossible not to admire the creativity of craftsmen in this era.

However, because there is no overall management, these complicated weapons and equipment will only increase the logistical pressure except for temporary use.Moreover, without large-scale and long-term actual combat tests, it is impossible to form tactical routines, and it is even more impossible to summarize classics.

Famous generals in the past dynasties paid attention to the rational allocation of ordnance.For example, Qi Jiguang only used bird guns and tiger squat guns in the selection of firearms for field troops.Li Rusong, a general of the Ming army during the Japanese Invasion in Renchen, preferred the three-eyed blunderbuss and the Wansheng Frang machine-the Frang machine blunderbuss used by individual soldiers.Zhu Cihong was obviously influenced by Napoleon's exposition of "the king of war", and his vision for future wars is that all guns will be fired, and then the horseshoe will step over and the war will end.

The fantasy is plump, but the reality is too skinny.

"Instead of using artillery to launch the current flowering bomb, it is better to make it into a grenade." Zhu Cihong said: "But that can only be equipped with individual soldiers, let's talk about it later. The flowering bomb I imagined is a long barrel with a pointed tip. Let Franji The subgun and the warhead are clenched tightly so that the warhead flies far when the propellant is ignited. The warhead should be divided into two layers, the outer layer is insulated and the fuse is added, and the inside is the gunpowder chamber. The fuse will be ignited before firing , cover the warhead, and wait for the fuse to ignite the gunpowder chamber, the warhead has been fired. The sub-gun can be returned to the furnace for rebuilding."

Zhu Cihong gave a general idea, but felt that he could not express his meaning perfectly, so he called Min Ziruo, asked him to fetch charcoal pen and paper, and drew it on the spot.This kind of shell looks very similar to the conical shells of later generations, but the ignition of the gunpowder in the warhead is very primitive, just avoiding the sparks generated by the propellant to affect the explosion time of the gunpowder.

More simply, it is an elongated blooming bomb.

"Well, it looks like the Fran cannon also needs to be changed." After Zhu Cihong finished drawing, he found that the loading problem was a problem. He ordered someone to call Xiao Tugeng, but he didn't stop. He continued: "The shell and the barrel must fit, but they can't Stuck. There should be rifling in the inner diameter of the gun barrel to ensure the stable flight direction, faster speed and longer range of the shell after firing. Therefore, the sub-gun cannot be fixed here, and there must be a slide rail to push the shell into the barrel. Then ignite... ..." After Zhu Cihong finished speaking, she fell into deep thought for a long time.

There is already a circle of people around, looking at the sketch and sketching the launch process in their minds.

Sun Chuanting thought it was good after reading it.Compared with the current Frangler of the Ming army, the female gun has not changed much, and pushing the shells to load is just adding a drawer and tenon.But the blunderbuss can only be used once, and if you go out with this cannon, you can get several taels of silver.

Xiao Tugeng got the order to hand over the troops to the deputy general, and hurried back to the village by himself.

Zhu Cihong and others have already moved the meeting site from the wall back to the Shenming Pavilion.Shenming Pavilion is called a pavilion, but it is actually a small courtyard, which also has a courtyard, wing rooms, and a main house.Because it followed the old system of Hongwu, it was only named "Ting".When Zhu Cihong was in Fengjia Village, this was his temporary residence and office.

After Xiao Tugeng reported, he entered the main house and reported loudly.

Zhu Cihong looked up, and quickly called him over, without asking about the record of this battle, he asked straight to the point: "Do you think this kind of explosive bullet can be used?"

The drawing that Xiao Tugeng saw was the third edition after improvement, and it was clear and clear.For a professional who has been focusing on firearms for a long time, the composition of various firearms and ammunition has been put in his mind, and his source can be seen immediately.

"I've never seen this kind of blooming bomb before." Xiao Tugeng tilted his head slightly, "It's made into a long tube, I think it is to store more medicine and increase the explosive power."

"Yes, that's why thin shell casings are used." Zhu Cihong said, "So the heat insulation layer must not be missing, so as to prevent the gunpowder in the warhead from igniting in advance."

Xiao Tugeng looked at it, and said, "It doesn't look like a problem, but I don't know what the effect will be after making it."

"Send this picture back to Laizhou as soon as possible, and let Tang Ruowang try it together." Zhu Cihong said: "It doesn't matter if the bombs explode, people must ensure their safety."

"As ordered!"

The Firearms Division was not a purely combat department when it was at the bureau level. It also had the task of testing firearms and summarizing firearms tactics.Although Zhu Cihong classified the Technical College as a private name, no one other than him has such a clear distinction between public and private, and they all work for the crown prince anyway.

Xiao Tugeng took the sketch and left without any delay.

Zhu Cihong supported the table and looked at the other sketches on the table, and also took the opportunity to relax his brain.This was a habit he developed when he was in the palace. Once he switched to the state of reviewing "inventions", he could temporarily forget the pressure from the outside world and gain complete tranquility.

"Report~battle damage report!" Xiao Mo stood at the door.

This time Liu Fangliang brought a lot of food and supplies, and the seizure report has not yet been completed.Because of the high efficiency of the green shirt doctor and the role of the soldier's name tag, the battle damage report was sent to Xiao Mo after layer upon layer of statistics.Xiao Mo knew that if the battle damage was sent after the capture, no matter how great the battle result was, the crown prince would not smile, so he sent the battle damage report first.

Zhu Cihong pulled out his energy from the tranquility, and said, "Report."

"In the battle of Fengjiacun, the initial statistics of our army's battle losses are as follows: the 66th headquarters of the 48st Guards Battalion, 52 were killed, 32 were seriously injured, 41 were slightly injured, and [-] people were missing. It is the unit with the highest battle damage in the [-]st Guards Battalion." Xiao Mo added: "The [-]th headquarters killed [-] people, seriously injured [-] people, and lightly injured [-] people. The [-]th headquarters slightly injured two people." It has entered the final stage, and there are almost no casualties.

"This time, there are 120 rounds of combat establishment, [-] combatants, and the death rate is about [-]%." Xiao Mo said.

The charcoal pencil in Zhu Cihong's hand paused for a moment, then took a deep breath, and said: "Our army's current combat effectiveness is worthy of being a powerful army in the world. Because of this, every soldier is extremely precious. Immediately enter the post-war summary, any one Small links are crucial to the great cause of restoring Shenjing! Just like this charcoal pencil."

Zhu Cihong raised the charcoal pencil in his hand, and said: "You are all important ministers in important positions, you should have already got it."

Everyone's eyes fell on the charcoal pencil, and they nodded.

Although this pen is said to be a charcoal pencil, it is actually not much different from the pencils of later generations.

Zhu Cihong ordered someone to do it when he was in the palace, and when he arrived in Denglai, he happened to use the abundant graphite resources in Shandong nearby and mix it with clay to make wear-resistant and durable refills.The wooden strips, which were originally cut by hand by craftsmen in the palace, are also made by hand-cranked cutting machines, which can also dig out standard grooves.Finally, it is glued with glue, and it can be used after painting and drying in the shade.

Compared with the pencils of later generations, although it is a bit rough, it is the first manual workshop in the East Palace system to put into mass production, and the number of managers alone is equal to that of operators.

From a strategic point of view, charcoal pens can improve writing efficiency, increase the speed of cultural popularization, and are suitable for use in special environments.

At the same time, this workshop is also a training base for enterprise managers. (To be continued.)