Wentang

Chapter 473
In addition to cannons, firearms are firearms, which are called firecrackers in China. Speaking of which, firecrackers are the weapons that really change the way of fighting. Naturally, Yue Shan will not forget this kind of thing.

The science book taken away by Li Shimin also has two structural diagrams of firecrackers, one is the most primitive matchlock firecracker, and the other is flintlock firecracker.

This time Li Shimin only took out the cannon but not the firecracker, Yue Shan also asked what happened by the way.

Li Shimin explained briefly before he understood what was going on.

The most primitive firecrackers are very powerful, and their long-range attack ability is not as good as that of bows and arrows.

Regardless of whether it is a matchlock or a flintlock, the effective shooting distance does not exceed 100 meters, while the effective attack distance of the bow and arrow is between 100 meters and 120 meters.

Loading gunpowder is also a waste of time, and it cannot be used in rainy and snowy weather.

Back then, Huaer's foreign gun team was wiped out by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with cold weapons.

Of course, there are also advantages, such as simple operation, easy to explode soldiers, and the alternate attack firepower of the round fire method is stronger than that of bows and arrows, especially when combined with artillery to complete the explosive weapon.

In addition, bows and arrows are particularly labor-intensive. Generally, archers shoot more than a dozen arrows, and their arms will become sore and weak, so they have to step back to rest.

This is also one of the reasons why a quiver can only hold twenty arrows, and it is useless to hold too many arrows.There is no such restriction for firecrackers, as long as the ammunition is sufficient, you can shoot at will.

But still the same sentence, productivity determines everything, and the productivity of the Tang Dynasty could not mass-produce firecrackers.

One is the lack of steel production. There are too many places in the country that need steel for a game of chess, and the limited steel production cannot be used for weapons and equipment.

The steel allocated to the military is also used to make things like swords, guns, armor, arrows, etc., and very few can be used to make firecrackers.

If there is not enough steel, how can we talk about making firecrackers.

The second is the problem of production technology.Yue Shan drew a lot of lathes, but he didn't study this aspect himself, he just read the structure diagrams in books.

And because he was not professionally qualified, he only took a rough look at it, and didn't take a closer look at the internal structure.So the lathe he drew is not only very simple, but also incomplete in structure.

Thanks to the capable people among the craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty, based on his idea and simple structure, a modified version of the lathe was created.

It's just that the performance of these lathes is very impressive. It can only be said that it is barely usable. It needs further improvement to manufacture firearms in large quantities.

And making firecrackers by hand, the efficiency is indeed quite slow.

The real situation is that the power of firecrackers is not as powerful as bows and arrows if there is not enough quantity, and at this time Datang really has no way to mass-produce firecrackers.

For various reasons, it will take many more years for this magic weapon to come out.

However, to Yue Shan's relief, Li Shimin had seen the advancement of gunpowder weapons before, so he did not give up the gunpowder, but formed a special research team for the gunpowder to research and improve it.

After talking about the issue of firearms, Yue Shan thought for a while and changed the topic to another direction.

"The Dizhou Navy already has enough long-distance sailing capabilities, and can send people to try to find good seeds in Dongsheng Shenzhou."

Li Shimin said in surprise: "Really? Didn't you say you would wait until after the Turks were destroyed?"

Yue Shan replied: "The plan can't keep up with the changes, and the development speed of the Navy has exceeded expectations. At that time, we needed ships without ships and people without people. I thought it would take at least five to ten years to form a fleet capable of long-distance sailing. I didn't expect it to be so fast. It only took three or four years to have it all.”

Li Shimin laughed and said, "Haha... It seems that you, Yue Cuilan, guessed wrong sometimes. If that's the case, then do as you say. But, who are you going to let lead the team there?"

Yue Shan hesitated and said, "Sun Fucai."

"Sun Fucai?" Li Shimin asked back as if he couldn't believe it.

"Yes, he has been studying in the Dizhou Navy for the past two years. He has personally participated in several voyages and has rich experience. The key is that he used to be someone close to the empress who is worthy of trust." Yue Shan explained.

In fact, there is one thing Yue Shan didn't say, that is, this person is ruthless enough to be ruthless to others and ruthless to himself.It is conceivable how much a landlubber would suffer when he suddenly ran to the sea to become a navy, but he gritted his teeth and persisted.

He took the lead in the encirclement and suppression of pirates several times. According to Liu Rengui, he had at least a dozen wounds on his body.

On a long voyage at sea, there is no way to persevere if you are not ruthless.

Li Shimin pondered for a while before saying: "If that's the case, let him go back to Beijing."

"Here." Yue Shan said happily.

After chatting for a while about Dongsheng Shenzhou, Yue Shan left. After returning home, he found Liu Rengui waiting for him.

What a coincidence, just as he was about to send someone to find him, he came by himself.

But Yue Shan didn't directly talk about his own affairs, but asked: "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

Liu Rengui smiled flatteringly: "Well...Master, can you tell the saint to give me some of the Shenwei cannons."

Yue Shan's heart moved, this guy is going to put the cannon on the ship, right?If this is the case, then this brain is too terrifying.

"Shenwei Cannon? What do you want this thing for?"

"I want to try installing it on a ship. If it works, we can destroy enemy ships from a few miles away." Liu Rengui replied.

Sure enough... Yue Shan took a deep breath, none of these people who can make a name for themselves in history is simple.Being with these people is stressful.

"Your idea is good, but not right now." Seeing that Liu Rengui wanted to say something else, he waved his hand and said, "Listen to me first."

"The recoil force of the current cannon is too great, and the ship will be shattered within a few minutes. To get the cannon on the ship, we must find a way to strengthen the hull, and at the same time, we must find a way to develop a cannon with less recoil force."

"Whether it is to develop a stronger ship or a cannon with less recoil, it will take time, and it is unlikely to have results in the short term. There is even no time to study these in the short term."

"The production of cannons is very low and we must give priority to meeting the needs of the army. I don't have time to study the cannons used by sea ships. The task of your navy is also very heavy. The saint has just assigned you a task, and then you don't have the energy to study it. .”

Liu Rengui was taken aback, and quickly asked: "The sage has given us a new mission, what kind of mission?"

"Do you remember the world map?" Yue Shan asked back.

"Remember." Liu Rengui nodded heavily, even if it turned into ashes, he would remember it.

"Your new task is to send a fleet to Dongsheng Shenzhou." Yue Shan said.

"Dongsheng Shenzhou? This... is too far away. Our fleet has never been to such a far place before." Liu Rengui hesitated for a while and said: "And, what are you doing so far away?"

(End of this chapter)