Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The cornucopia was brought over, and it was a little excited to see Ju Ming. He kept circling around its owner, and then put his head to the side and rubbed against it.

"Your nose is getting better and better."

Ju Ming untied his waist pocket, grabbed a handful of beans and spread them in his hands. He immediately stretched out his mouth to eat.

This horse is already sixteen or seventeen years old, which is actually not too old. It has just left its prime.

A few of the carefully cared for war horses can even serve for twenty years.

As long as Ju Ming lived in Tokyo, he would go to Tian Si Jian Ranch several times a month. Firstly, he feeds his own war horses with his own hands, and secondly, he also practices riding and shooting to prevent his martial arts from becoming rusty.

Wanyan Zongfu led his horse over, carefully looked at the cornucopia of beans next to Ju Ming, and said, "It's a good horse, but it's a pity that it's too old."

Ju Ming smiled and said: "Its body is still strong and healthy, how do you know it is old?"

Wanyan Zongfu said: "After a war horse is fifteen years old, its incisors grow very quickly. The prince's good horse has longer incisors than a mature horse, but it is not particularly long. It should be between fifteen and twenty years old. .”

"You have really good eyesight!"

Ju Ming sincerely praised him, and then deliberately provoked him: "One day I will raise troops to attack the Kingdom of Jin and go to the capital. If you can surrender the city quickly, I can make you a horse-raiser."

Wanyan Zongfu was furious, but he didn't show it at all. He only said: "We will talk about the future. Do you want the prince to shoot first?"

Ju Ming said: "Guests are invited first."

Wanyan Zongfu got on his horse with a bow in hand. The treasure bow in his hand should be a trophy from the Liao Kingdom.

Most of the bows and arrows in the Jin Kingdom were used on both horse and feet. The bow body was relatively narrow, short and delicate, and the pulling force was not actually strong, making it easy to shoot quickly while riding a horse. But its arrow is slender, has a long flight distance, and has strong penetrating power.

The Khitan bow has a wider body and stronger pulling force, making it easy for warriors to use it.

There is no best bow and arrow, only more practical ones.

For example, in the Song Dynasty, because cattle were valuable for farming, the Northern Song Dynasty allowed the use of sheep tendons to make bows. Although this thing is not as powerful as the beef tendon bow, it is highly praised by the soldiers at the bottom. It does not require high arm strength of soldiers, and can be combined with the population advantage of the Song Dynasty to train archer troops on a large scale.

The Qing bow of later generations was very powerful, but in the south it was not very practical. Daily maintenance was the biggest problem.

Wanyan Zongfu ran out on horseback, and the first arrow hit the ninth ring, the second arrow hit the eighth ring, and the third arrow hit the ninth ring...

For a nobleman who doesn't often go to the battlefield, this achievement is very impressive. After all, his competition partner was not Yang Zaixing, but the equally pampered Prince Zhu.

After shooting ten arrows, the total is seventy-six rings.

Wanyan Zongfu rode back and even asked people to put away the arrows and put them all back into his quiver.

He ran to the auditorium where Zhu Guoxiang was sitting and handed over his hands. He then came to stand in front of Ju Ming, looked down at Ju Ming who was standing on the ground and said, "You're showing off your embarrassment!"

This move was somewhat rude, but it was not a dispute of temper, but a show of force after a show of force.

The hidden meaning behind it, to put it bluntly, is that the Kingdom of Jin is not afraid of war, and if peace talks are not possible, then it will stay with it until the end.

The civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty were very angry when they saw this, and some even wanted to compete with Wanyan Zongfu in wrestling.

Ju Ming smiled slightly: "Bring me my weapon!"

I saw a guard rushing towards me holding a long box. Bai Sheng opened the lid of the box and took out the weapon, and respectfully held it in front of Ju Ming.

Wanyan Zongfu suddenly changed his expression. This is a gun!

Although he has never seen it on the battlefield, he has already heard about it.

Wanyan Zongfu glanced into the wooden box and found that there were other things in the box, such as a pair of iron tools (bullet-making molds) that looked like pliers.

Since it is not manufactured on an industrial assembly line, there must be errors in the barrel caliber of the musket.

Therefore, each musket came with a bullet maker, and the soldiers received not lead bullets, but mass-produced lead weights. It is easy to make your own bullets by heating the lead block before fighting and extruding it with a bullet-making mold.

This conflicted with mass-making paper-cased bullets, leaving musketeers with two choices: either insert paper-cased gunpowder and bullets separately, or make their own paper-cased bullets before the war.

It is also simple to make homemade paper shells. Open one end of the gunpowder paper tube, put the lead bullet in, and then use the excess paper shell to wrap and secure the lead bullet.

It is because of the use of paper shell bullets that the Daming Musketeers can shoot once a minute, and the elite Musketeers can shoot once in 50 seconds or even less.

Otherwise, every three to five minutes is normal.

Because there are too many distractions in actual combat, and it is easy to get confused due to emotional stress.

Modern people use old-fashioned matchlock guns for testing. Without any interference and without using paper bullets, if there are no mistakes in the whole process, the fastest speed can be more than 20 seconds.

There is also a small bag in the wooden box containing already made paper lead bullets.

The gun in front of me was specially made, and even the handle of the gun was inlaid with gold and silver wires and gems.

Moreover, it is a muzzle-loading flintlock gun!

Wanyan Zongfu was surprised and asked: "May I ask the Ming Dynasty Crown Prince, is this considered riding and shooting?"

Ju Ming asked in reply: "Riding a horse and firing a gun, what else is it but a mounted archery?"

Wanyan Zongfu was immediately speechless.

"Armor!"

"yes!"

It's not about armoring a person, it's about armoring a target.

The prince was frugal and used only discarded armor. The rusty armor pieces were put back together. Although it was difficult to use in combat, it was no problem to use it for test firing.

Ju Ming first cocked his flintlock gun, then stuffed the paper shell bullets into it, stabbed it firmly with a prong stick, and then got on his horse.

Countless spectators stood up one after another, and a few even held civilian telescopes. Even the officials were extremely curious.

There are many stories about firearms circulating in Tokyo, and many people have seen muskets with their own eyes. But usually the muskets are carried on the soldiers' bodies, and people only see their form but don't appreciate its power.

It is said that when Emperor Zhu traveled overseas, the immortal granted him three volumes of the Book of Heaven, among which firearms were in the Book of War.

This is an immortal weapon!

Ju Ming was seen galloping on horseback for a while, then suddenly reined in his horse and slowed down, stopping when he was close to the target.

Cornucopia stamped its hooves on the spot, its horse rising and falling.

Ju Ming simply jumped off his horse, stood and aimed at the target covered in scrap armor.

No one laughed at him, because the focus was no longer on riding and shooting, but on showing off large open firearms.

Push aside the hammer and pull the trigger.

"boom!"

Smoke rose and bullets flew out.

It hit the target, but it was a little bit off. If you took off the armor and took a closer look, you would probably only get one or two rings.

Ju Ming tore open the paper shells with his teeth, loaded them and stabbed them firmly, then continued to mount his horse and run, then dismounted and shot again.

It still didn't miss the target, Prince Zhu had obviously practiced it.

Moreover, this flintlock gun is specially made and is made by skilled craftsmen. Its firing rate can reach 85%, and misfires are rare.

The third shot finally missed the target.

Ju Ming did not continue shooting, but rode back and laughed at himself: "I have neglected practice recently, and my skills are a bit sloppy, but it makes you laugh."

Wanyan Zongfu didn't dare to laugh. He quickly ran to the target and felt cold when he saw the pierced Zhajia vest.

What about riding and shooting?

It’s the age of firearms!

Envoys from Xixia and Goryeo were also invited to observe the target.

The attitude of the Xixia envoys was more respectful. After all, they had suffered heavy losses and stared at the musket in Prince Zhu's hand with jealousy.

However, this was the first time the Korean envoy met, and he had a deeper understanding of the Ming Dynasty's military force. He was eager to return home and tell other officials.

Ju Ming boasted proudly: "In the past, fire cannons needed to be ignited with match ropes, but today's fire cannons can be fired with flint. Within five years, I will make 30,000 flintlock fire cannons and let them line up like spearmen." When encountering an enemy attack, they were divided into three rows and fired in turns. By the time the third row of muskets was finished, the soldiers in the first row had loaded their ammunition and fired continuously in a cycle!"

As soon as these words came out, the Xixia envoy was so frightened that his face turned pale.

Wanyan Zongfu had actually been on the battlefield, and he could imagine the situation of musketeers arrayed and firing non-stop. Which army in the world can resist?

Ju Ming, holding his musket, galloped around the audience and shouted as he approached the auditorium: "The Ming Dynasty will be victorious! The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"

"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"

"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"

No matter whether it was civil or military officials or ordinary people, they were all shouting with such loud and powerful voices that the envoys from various countries fell silent.

In fact, Ju Ming is bragging.

First, it was impossible to build thirty thousand flintlock muskets in five years.

Secondly, although time-travelers have provided guidance and bypassed the wrong route of the spring-wheel flintlock gun, and directly developed a hammer-type flintlock gun, the average firing rate is now only 70%. Unlike what the envoys from various countries imagined, the musket seemed to be able to fire again and again.

Finally, the cost of a flintlock gun is higher than that of a matchlock gun.

The real significance of the flintlock gun is that it can increase the rate of fire and can be arranged in close formations.

Matchlock guns cannot be arranged in a dense formation. Firstly, they can easily explode and accidentally injure others. Secondly, they may ignite friendly matchlocks. This resulted in the matchlock's three-stage firing being unable to effectively cover the battlefield. Six rows of rounds were required to achieve the effect.

In addition to the three-shot advantage of the flintlock gun, it can also be equipped with a bayonet and use hollow formations to deal with cavalry, which is also something that the matchlock gun cannot do.

Ju Ming also thought about making and installing a flintlock musket, but he lacked mechanical knowledge and could not solve the air tightness problem for the time being, which could easily cause the musketeer to be burned all over his face.

Wanyan Zongfu returned to the audience and said sincerely: "The sharpness of firearms is unparalleled, and no one can defeat it without personal bravery."

Wanyan Xiyin said: "So it is more important to negotiate a peace, reduce the number of troops and first clear the Yelv Rock to quell the civil unrest that often arises in the country. We should also encourage farming to hoard food and grass, and let Dajin craftsmen also imitate firearms. Only when internal and external troubles are resolved, can we Firearms versus firearms can block the front of the Ming army."

Wanyan Zongfu said worriedly: "The military power of the Ming Dynasty is so strong that peace talks may not be possible. Even if the peace talks succeed, Prince Zhu's asking price will not be low."

Wanyan Xiyin said: "Let's stabilize everything first. We have lost troops and generals in the past two years, and we can't continue to suffer defeats. I heard that the east and west armies are afraid when they see the Ming army. Even the generals are unwilling to face them. Against firearms. In the past, they would charge to the death even if they were facing mountains of swords and fire. Now when they encounter the Ming army, they all look forward and backward, for fear that they will eat shells if they charge forward."

Wanyan Zongfu turned to look at the auditorium next door. The Ming Prince was returning to his seat with a flintlock gun, and even handed the gun to the crown prince and concubines around him to watch.

For a moment, Wanyan Zongfu also wanted to transform into a princess and hold the flintlock gun in his hand to observe.