I was the emperor in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 627 Big

cannon doubts
The first time they saw this thing, both of them couldn't help but let out an exclamation.

"This... what is this? Could it be a cannon?"

But they have seen cannons before. Even compared with the smallest cannon, the dark thing in front of them seems too slender.

You know, the diameter of Ming's cannons is at least [-] centimeters, and the lightest one is about a thousand catties.

The cannons used to defend the city were even more exaggerated. They were several meters long, over fifty centimeters in diameter, and weighed an astonishing tens of thousands of catties.

It was hard for them to imagine that this toy-like thing that could be moved by two people was actually a cannon.

This kind of cannon is probably enough to kill a mosquito. If this kind of thing can be regarded as a sharp weapon, then wouldn't all of Daming's cannons weighing several thousand catties be regarded as magical weapons.

Li Tian probably expected the expressions of the two of them a long time ago. He stepped forward and patted the barrel of the field cannon with his hand, making a crisp sound.

He said unhurriedly,

"Of course it's a cannon, and it's a powerful cannon."

Although he still didn't believe it very much, but Li Tian said so swearingly, the two couldn't help but not believe it.

They stepped forward to check, and finally found to their surprise that the barrel of this field gun was actually made of fine steel.

Now they couldn't help but not believe it.

"Your Majesty, this cannon is actually made of refined steel."

Liu Baohe explained from the side,

"The two princes are right. It is indeed made of fine steel. It uses about [-] jin of fine steel. Its ability to withstand explosions is definitely not inferior to those bowl-mouth cannons that use a lot of materials.

But the weight is only one-third of that of the Wankou Pao, and the overall weight is less than a thousand catties! "

Hearing his words, even the relatively calm Zhang Fu couldn't help exclaiming,
"It turned out to be true, you actually made a cannon out of fine steel!"

In fact, it was no wonder Zhang Fu was so shocked.

In the past, Ming cannons were usually made of pig iron and brass.

In order to ensure that the cannon is strong enough not to explode, the cannon barrel can only be cast thick and thick. The resulting cannon is not only extremely heavy, but also of uneven quality.

Of course, it is not that the ancestors did not think of casting cannons with stronger and more durable fine steel.

But there are two difficulties that are difficult to overcome.

First of all, steel is extremely rare, and it is hard to get some. Who would be willing to use such a good thing on a cannon that is not as powerful as imagined.

The second is that steel easily loses carbon molecules in the process of smelting. If you are not a special professional and someone who understands the difference between steel and iron, it is difficult to grasp the scale during smelting.

If one is not done well, it is very likely that the valuable fine steel will be wasted.

The last point is that, in contrast, pig iron and brass do not have this trouble, not only the material is cheap, but also easy to make.

The ancients were not stupid. Although they knew that the performance of cannons made of steel might be better, the price was ridiculously expensive. For the sake of saving, they would not use such a luxurious material as steel to cast cannons.

Nowadays, the arsenal is willing to use steel to make cannons. The main reason is that at this time, the Tiangong Institute has basically mastered the process of producing fine steel on a large scale.

And with the forging hammer and more advanced calcination technology, they are already very proficient in the melting of steel and the specific gravity of the formula.

Coupled with the latest punching and forging technology, it also made the fine steel cannon possible.

Although the price of building a field cannon is relatively high at this time, with the addition of steam engines and the birth of more advanced steel smelting technology in the future, cannons cast from fine steel will become the mainstream of Ming Dynasty in the future.

After learning that this slender-looking cannon was actually made of fine steel, Zhang Fu and Zhu Yong completely believed what Li Tian said earlier.

Since this kind of gun can be called a field gun, the most important reason is that it is light, so that infantry can easily carry it.

In this way, when encountering an enemy, it can be used not only for defense, but also for offense. It is reasonable to increase the combat effectiveness several times in a straight line.

At this time, some people may ask, Da Ming also had cannons before, why didn't it improve the combat effectiveness of Da Ming's army much.

In fact, this question is easy to answer.

The main reason is the weight of the cannon.

The previous cannons were thousands of catties at least. In terms of the road conditions of this era, just moving is a big problem.

Therefore, before each battle, it is necessary to choose a high ground and set up the artillery array to wait for the enemy to hit the muzzle.

But the enemy is not a fool, knowing that the front is covered by the cannon, they can still rush forward in a daze.

Therefore, in the past, cannons were mostly used for defense, or only when they were attacking the city.

But this portable field gun is completely different.

It can be deployed anywhere on the battlefield, so that the enemy can be covered by artillery fire in all places.

Moreover, the field gun can be dragged by only one horse, and it is no problem to use it to chase the enemy.

In this way, the cannon can also play its due role in field battles and encounters with the enemy.

Therefore, Li Tian said earlier that this thing can increase the combat effectiveness of the Ming army several times, and there is nothing wrong with it.

The two dukes are considered military generals who have experienced many battles. Naturally, they can see at a glance the power of this light and small cannon.

The two of them were almost affixed to the top of the field gun.

To put it bluntly, the two of them saw so many novel and good things today, but none of them shocked them so much.

"Well, you two should be able to believe what I said earlier now!"

Although they haven't had the opportunity to test the real power of this kind of artillery, they can guess that the power of this thing must not be too small based on their intuition. Several times the combat power is still no problem.

"I believe it, I believe it this time." Zhang Fu nodded with a wry smile and continued,
"Your Majesty, I was reckless before and questioned your decision. This is my negligence. I am willing to pay any price for my previous disrespect!"

Li Tian smiled and helped him up.

"Okay, you were able to comfort me like this before, which is enough to show your loyalty. How can I blame you for such a trivial matter?"

Zhu Yong was actually quite embarrassed at this time, but who made him thick-skinned enough? He approached Zhang Fu with a smile and said,
"Old Zhang, you are good at everything, but you are a bit too petty. Who is our Majesty, you can get tens of millions of taels of wealth with a backhand, and feed thousands of new troops. For His Majesty, it is not worth mentioning at all."

(End of this chapter)