back to ancient times to be emperor

Chapter 375: Initial Cannon Completion ([-])

Lu Chengqi nodded and said, "It's okay, let's go and see how far this cannonball can hit."

The emperor's words are the imperial decree, once Jinkou opened, who would dare to disobey?The job of running errands naturally fell on the two apprentices.The Arms Supervision also has stables, this is for the latest news to be delivered in time.I never thought it would come in handy at this time.

A thinner apprentice brought the horse from the stable, then got on the horse, waved the whip, and let the pretty good horse canter towards the direction facing the cannon.

The wait was long. Lu Chengqi picked up a solid shell from the side of the cannon and weighed it in his hand. It was no different from the solid iron balls of later generations. It was heavy in his hand. He reckoned that the solid shell would have five Like six catties.

Seeing Lu Chengqi's expression of interest, Tang Xun quickly explained: "Your Majesty, these are six-pound shells, and there are also eight-pound, ten-pound, twelve-pound, and sixteen-pound shells..."

After hearing this, Lu Chengqi didn't say anything, but put the heavy shells in his hand back to the original place, and then took a closer look at this huge cannon. It was almost the same as the Qing dynasty cannons that later generations saw in Humen. Except that there is no wheel to push it.

Moreover, it was not the breech-loading gun that Lu Chengqi imagined, and the rifling was not depicted, so the shooting accuracy was not flattering.If Lu Chengqi was familiar with history, he would know that this type of cannon was the most popular Hongyi cannon in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.This kind of artillery has obvious advantages and disadvantages.But it is not liked by Lu Chengqi, because its disadvantages are thick, big, and stupid. Although its power is good, it can't hit people, it can't fight in the field, it can only be used to defend the city, and it is useless.Lu Chengqi believes that no matter how sharp the artillery is, it will be cracked by the enemy without mobility.In addition, this artillery uses solid ammunition, which has low lethality.In addition to firing a few shots when the enemy is not prepared to make them retreat in shock, there is no large-scale lethality.Once the enemy has figured out the characteristics of this artillery, if they adopt the crowd tactics, the Hongyi cannon can't defend at all.In the end, you still have to rely on bows and crossbows, relying on close combat to solve problems.Then what is the significance of developing artillery?

Lu Chengqi was silent for a while, then turned to Shen Kuo and said, "Shen Qing, you also felt the power of this cannon just now, right?"

Shen Kuo nodded, and Lu Chengqi continued: "Does Shen Qing think that such artillery can be installed on a new type of warship?" Shen Kuo is a rigorous scientist after all. After careful consideration, he said slowly: "Your Majesty , if there is only one such cannon, there is absolutely no problem. But I remember that according to His Majesty's request, this new type of warship must carry at least ten cannons. But if they are all such cannons, I think it will definitely not work Although the new warship has a keel that fixes the hull, Shi Caichen can feel the power of this cannon. Even at a distance of [-] meters, the ground trembles slightly. If ten such cannons are installed on the new warship, the ship will It would be strange if the body was not shattered!"

It is said that the bystanders are clear, and the authorities are confused.When Su Song and Tang Xun heard this, they knew that the artillery had been judged to have failed.Their original intention of casting cannons was also for new warships.But after the actual operation, they stepped into a misunderstanding and became obsessed with the power of artillery.So they lengthened the barrel of the artillery to one foot, and the barrel became thicker and thicker, in order to hold more gunpowder.The actual effect is also amazing. After adding six dendrobium nitrates, 12 taels of sulfur, and one dendrobium to four taels of black and gunpowder, and loaded with ten catties of solid shells, it can shoot ten miles away.This is the theoretical range, and the actual effective range should be around three or four miles.But such power has already made them obsessed. After only one day of experimentation, they excitedly went to Lu Chengqi and said that the cannon had been cast.

As everyone knows, this kind of artillery is far from the ideal artillery in Lu Chengqi's mind!In Lu Chengqi's opinion, it is already very good that this artillery can have a range comparable to that of the bed crossbow.Of course, the premise is that such artillery must have a range of lethality.Otherwise, it has neither lethality nor long-range. Such artillery is equivalent to waste, and it is not as useful as the bed crossbow!

Tang Xun gave a wry smile and said, "Your Majesty, the minister is guilty!"

Lu Chengqi didn't feel much disappointed, after all, he had no reference.Only relying on the plausible artillery theory taught by Lu Chengqi and an abstract design drawing, Tang Xun and Su Song have created such a big guy, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a genius.

Seeing their loss of confidence, Lu Chengqi quickly said: "This cannon is just my idea. The fact that the two Qings can really build this cannon is beyond my expectation. Look at that apprentice It has not yet turned around, and the range must be extremely amazing. If the two ministers seriously improve, reduce the weight and recoil of the artillery, and the firing speed will be faster, and the range will be two miles away. It can be used in field battles or mounted on warships. It was a successful artillery piece.”

The subtext in Lu Chengqi's words is that this cannon can only be used to defend or attack the city.As for the field battle where the two armies confronted each other, not to mention dealing with the enemy's cavalry, even against the enemy's infantry, it was difficult enough.If it is an explosive bomb, the situation is better, at least it has a certain lethality.But it still uses solid bullets, so it hurts.Just like eating chicken ribs, there is no meat to eat, but it is delicious to discard. In real field battles, it is not as practical as bows and crossbows.

After what Lu Chengqi said, Tang Xun and Su Song thought about how to improve the artillery.

Shen Kuo also understood the principle of artillery, and frowned, saying: "Your Majesty, this may not be easy!" Shen Kuo is a man of few words, and his subconscious meaning is that it may not be easy to make the artillery that Lu Chengqi said .The characteristic of the front-loading smoothbore gun is that the loading speed is slow. Just increasing the rate of fire can only cultivate the proficiency of the gunners.For the rest, it’s okay to say, to reduce weight, recoil, etc., as long as the barrel is thinner, the barrel is shorter, and the gunpowder and gunpowder loaded are less.

Su Song also commented: "Master Shen is very right. I have tried many times with Tang Shilang. The rear-mounted artillery that your majesty said is too dull for the minister to cast. Only the front-mounted artillery can have such a stable range. , even if the loading of the shells is slower..."

Tang Xun nodded and said, "That's right, the gun door of this rear-mounted gun will deflate the gun body, and it can't shoot far at all!"

Frowning, Lu Chengqi asked in doubt: "How is it possible?"

Seeing that he didn't believe it, Su Song swore to prove that he was right: "If Your Majesty doesn't believe it, I will immediately take out the waste cannons that were cast a few times ago, and I will tell Your Majesty after looking at it!"

(End of this chapter)