Chapter 723 822 Discussion
"Mr. Wei Ge, this cannon"
Qi Jiguang stood up and pointed at the cannon beside him, stuttering and said: "How far can this cannon shoot? How powerful is it?" How’s the power?”
Look Seeing that Qi Jiguang's face was still flushed and he looked very excited, Wei Guangde smiled and said: "Don't be excited, the real cannon hasn't come out yet, and I'm still studying the casting method.
So I didn't test the cannon. , just a fake. ”
"Then this cannon can be taken to the school ground for testing. It is spacious there."
Qi Jiguang said immediately when he heard that this cannon had not been tried before.
“Come here.”
I almost laughed out loud when I heard that Qi Jiguang wanted to take the cannon to the school field for a test.
Although it is not that there are no wooden cannons these days, they are all small cannons with a small charge and average power. Don’t even think about the range, and they will be useless after not being used for many times. They will definitely be used again. Exploded chamber.
As for the use of materials such as bamboo and wood to make firearms, it is not that it has never happened before. The earliest firearm, the sudden fire gun, was actually made of giant bamboo. Its basic shape is: the front section is a thick bamboo tube; the expanded part in the middle is The gunpowder chamber has a small fire hole on the outer wall; the back section is a hand-held wooden stick.
According to "History of the Song Dynasty·Military Chronicles": In the first year of Kaiqing's reign, "another musket was built, with a giant bamboo as a tube and a nest inside.
However, with the development of firearms, the power of firearms made of materials such as bamboo and wood can no longer meet the needs, and copper and iron have become The first choice for firearm materials
However, perhaps it is also due to this development history that after receiving the task of making cannons from their own ministers, the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty first found a carpenter to make a prototype cannon, or in other words, they made a cannon. Model.
Wei Guangde led Qi Jiguang to the muzzle, pointed at the muzzle and said: "Put your hand in and touch it. ”
Qi Jiguang was suspicious, but he still put his hand into the muzzle according to Wei Guangde's words. The wooden touch was instantly transmitted to his brain, and his mouth opened slightly.
“This cannon is actually just a prototype cannon made of wood, with a layer of copper covering the outside.
You know how to cast a cannon, right? It was just to catch up with this parade, so it was temporarily
Although it is a fake. , but the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of War is indeed trial-producing such a cannon."
Wei Guangde looked at Qi Jiguang happily and continued: "The request I gave them for this cannon is very simple, that is, it must hit at least two miles. , the further away the better.
The new firearms made by my Ming Dynasty must have a farther and farther range.
Although the rate of fire of this cannon is not as good as that of the Folan machine, it doesn't matter. Let the people from the Ministry of Industry make the cannon first. Once the needs are met, let them find ways to increase the rate of fire.
But the craftsmen over there told me that if it were made like a Franco cannon, the range would be greatly reduced.
I just asked them to do this considering the layering of firepower. "
" Mr. Wei Ge, did you propose to build this cannon? ”
Qi Jiguang understood the origin of this cannon. It was originally intended to participate in the Grand Parade and show the strength of the Ming Dynasty's military industry in front of the emperor.
He was still wondering why the wooden cannon was sent here, and it didn't work.
I understand now.
At the same time, he also strongly agreed with Wei Guangde's firepower stratification.
Although the word is a bit new, he can still understand it easily.
After all, this concept had already appeared in China's war history during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and it reached a very high level in the Song Dynasty.
In the infantry formations of the Song Dynasty, archers and bows were formed in hierarchical formations, with ranges ranging from dozens to hundreds of steps.
In the first year of Xining, Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty issued an edict to the army of Zhu, Hebei Province to teach and read the law. All bows are divided into three grades, with nine buckets being the first, eight buckets being the second, and seven buckets being the third; crossbows are divided into three grades. Two stones and seven buckets are the first, two stones and four buckets are the second, and two stones and one bucket are the third.
With this formation, the Song army can build a huge arrow net by firing all bows and crossbows, destroying all life in the net.
The pinnacle of the Song Army's military industry was the Divine Arm Bow and the Eight Ox Crossbow.
The Divine Arm Bow, also known as the Divine Arm Crossbow, is a weapon used by individual soldiers. It was invented by Shenzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. The bow is three feet three feet long and the string is two feet five feet long. It has a range of more than 240 steps. It is said to be the best weapon among other weapons. Less than that, it became one of the standard weapons of the Song Army's crossbowmen.
The Eight Ox Crossbow, also known as the Three-bow Crossbow, is the most lethal bow and arrow weapon that appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty, comparable to modern rocket launchers. It has a long range, up to 1,500 meters. After the craftsman Wei Pi improved it during the Tianbao period of the Northern Song Dynasty, it once reached 1,536 meters! The use of the Baniu Crossbow requires at least 10 soldiers to operate it, who are responsible for aiming, cocking, pulling the trigger and other steps. It is incredibly powerful.
As a long-range weapon, the Baniu Crossbow can also be used as a tool for soldiers to attack the city, because the bow and arrow of the Baniu Crossbow are as thick as a modern javelin and can be shot into the city wall to form a ladder for climbing the city wall.
Because of the great power of the Eight Ox Crossbows, when Li Jilong learned that Xiao Dalin surrounded the northern city of Chanzhou on three sides, he asked his soldiers to transport a few of them to the city wall in order to intimidate and kill Liao from a distance. military.
Of course, it was precisely because of the development of military technology in the Song Dynasty that when the Song army fought against foreigners, the imperial court would even directly issue military formation maps and directly intervene to direct front-line battles.
It must be said that they themselves were enchanted by this powerful military formation and felt that the land covered by arrows was indestructible and invincible.
However, the Song Dynasty eventually became history, so neither Wei Guangde nor Qi Jiguang thought that they could dominate the battlefield and conquer the world by developing advanced weapons.
"Yes."
Wei Guangde nodded and admitted in front of Qi Jiguang that he was the initiator of this cannon.
“If you can defeat the enemy from a distance without fighting him knife-to-knife or gun-to-gun, why not use it?”
Wei Guangde immediately asked.
Seeing this cannon, Qi Jiguang's excitement gradually cooled down and returned to normal.
It seemed that Qi Jiguang was already thinking about the use of this weapon. As expected, he soon asked: "Mr. Wei Ge, is this cannon equipped for the city or for soldiers to use in the field?"
Qi Jiguang asked this question mainly because he saw this cannon mounted on a gun carriage, which was rare in the Ming army, so he asked this question.
"Of course the frontier troops use it. Whether they are defending the city or fighting in the field, they can kill and injure the enemy. When the enemy forms a formation, several artillery fires at the same time, forcing them to retreat a longer distance and launch a charge as a whole team. ”
Wei Guangde explained with a smile: "Of course, the main purpose of this cannon is to be mounted on a warship to fire it from a long distance to destroy enemy ships.
After all, it can hit two or three miles, but shotguns cannot, and iron bullets can't Fighting a military formation is just an alley, and fighting a boat is an alley. "
"With this firearm, the coast will no longer be harassed by Japanese pirates."
After all, Qi Jiguang has been fighting Japanese pirates all year round, so Wei Guangde said that this cannon is mainly used on warships. , the first reaction was to use it to fight Japanese ships.
In fact, at this time, except for Wei Guangde, no one in the Ming Dynasty realized that the Xiyi people would eventually become the biggest threat to Chinese civilization.
The distance between east and west is far away. Although European countries have started to seize colonies, they are still restricted by backward transportation and communication technology and cannot form large-scale military forces in the Far East.
Being able to assemble dozens of warships and one or two thousand soldiers is already the limit.
The coastal officials of the Ming Dynasty also seemed to have discovered the truth about the other party's foreign power and internal impediment during their contacts with them, so they did not regard the Xiyi people as a threat.
However, when Wei Guangde thought of the Hongyi Cannon, in addition to asking for credit from Emperor Longqing, he did have the idea of strengthening the Ming army's naval and land military strength.
Without strong armed forces and the ability to intimidate surrounding areas, it is not enough to call it a "prosperous dynasty".
Wei Guangde had no intention of creating a prosperous Ming Dynasty. That could only be judged by future generations. All he wanted now was to claim credit.
The purpose of opening the sea was to eradicate the Japanese invasion and make money on the way. Once done, it would be the support for his cabinet. The military power has become stronger, and he has the ability to plan and plan for victory in foreign wars.
“This cannon, the Ordnance Bureau will build ten of them to participate in this parade and incorporate them into the Shenji Battalion.”
Wei Guangde said again. .
Knowing the details of this cannon, Qi Jiguang certainly would not consider releasing this cannon during the drill. He would just show it and pull the cannon past the grand parade, so he nodded.
"How is the joint training of the border army? In addition to bringing this thing, I also want to see the drill of the border army."
Wei Guangde continued.
"After repairs, we had a joint training yesterday. Because it was carried out according to the Ming army's battle formation, it went smoothly. You can go to the school field to have a look."
Qi Jiguang answered with cupped fists. .
"Is it a drill like that of the Fifth Army Camp?"
Wei Guangde asked casually, walking towards his horse as he spoke.
Soon, the group entered the capital camp and arrived at the school grounds with cheers and crowds.
Wei Guangde was no longer interested in other military exercises, but asked Qi Jiguang to take him directly to see the joint training between the frontier army and the Beijing camp cavalry, and the cannon was also sent to Shenji camp by Qi Jiguang arrange.
Sure enough, it was pretty much what he thought. The frontier infantry formed the central army and were supported by cavalry on both wings. However, this time the cavalry was supported by the cavalry from the Beijing camp, so the strength of the two wings far exceeded that of the fifth military camp. .
"The cavalry of the Beijing camp will participate in the parade three times. Can the horses withstand it?"
Looking at the drill of the new army formation, Wei Guangde suddenly thought of the cavalry of the Shenshu camp of the Beijing camp and other drills in addition to his own formation. In addition, there were two joint trainings, so I was a little worried about the physical strength of the horses in the Beijing camp.
"Tiange Lao, the quality of the Beijing Camp's war horses is the best among the Ming Dynasty's army. In the past, it was just that the forage was not good, so the physical strength declined.
In recent months, the Ministry of War has allocated enough horses It turns out that the war horse's strength has recovered, and the war horses participating in this performance are all carefully selected, so it won't be a problem."
Qi Jiguang replied hurriedly.
As Prime Minister, he had actually considered these details early on, and was already sure of them after conducting multiple batches of tests.
And as the date of the grand parade approaches, the materials for the horses are becoming more refined, just to ensure that these horses will not fall off the chain at the last moment.
The nobles in the capital already have a tacit understanding, so no one has the courage to take action on these fodder.
At noon, two sheep were slaughtered next to the training ground. Wei Guangde had lunch here and watched the frontier troops train together twice in the morning and afternoon before returning to the city with satisfaction.
Riding back to the city, Wei Guangde did not accept Qi Jiguang's request to arrange a cavalry escort.
Just kidding, in the capital city, if a cabinet minister like him is not safe, then the world will be in chaos.
Wei Guangde didn't think it was very glorious to bring the Beijing cavalry through the city.
The weather was good. When Wei Guangde left the capital camp, he relaxed his horse's rein and walked slowly, not galloping like he did when he came out in the morning.
In the vast world, Wei Guangde only felt relaxed.
But with his current status, enjoying the autumn scenery in the suburbs of Beijing was already a luxury. Soon his thoughts returned to last night.
Chen Ju came, and he also brought news about the Supervisor of Ceremonies, and found out that Gao Gong seemed to be teaming up with the inner court Chen Hong.
Although I don’t know how Teng Xiang and the others identified the traitor, since the eunuchs in the palace were all targeting Chen Hong, there would be nothing wrong.
In fact, Wei Guangde has always been worried that Feng Bao and Zhang Juzheng will unite and the inner and outer courts will work together to suppress them. Therefore, he has invited Feng Bao many times over the past year and also sent expensive gifts during the solar terms. However, Feng Bao Paul's attitude is extremely ambiguous.
According to the results of his surveillance, Zhang Juzheng seems to be doing the same thing as him, but Zhang Juzheng does not seem to have joined forces with Feng Bao. Everyone is still looking for allies in the inner court.
Feng Bao's asking price made him scratch his head. These eunuchs were not easily bribed. They had a huge appetite that was difficult to satisfy.
Moreover, eunuchs are also extremely fickle. If they are being conciliatory with you today, they may become ruthless tomorrow.
But the inner court has lost the eunuch Li Fang, and Chen Ju's status in the palace is not high now. It is difficult to rely on him as a pillar, so he can only win over Feng Bao.
Wei Guangde did not expect that the Feng Zhang Alliance did not come out, but the Chen Gao Alliance came out first.
Wei Guangde does not think that his appearance has changed much history. According to the current trajectory, Wei Guangde has more or less guessed that perhaps the Feng Zhang Alliance finally defeated the Chen Gao Alliance, Zhang Juzheng and Feng Baocai in the Game of Thrones Finally taking control of the political power, Zhang Juzheng also used this to implement reforms.
Winning over Feng Bao means that his alliance with Feng Bao will replace the Feng Zhang Alliance to defeat the Chen Gao Alliance, and Zhang Juzheng may also find new allies in the inner court, and they will continue to fight fiercely. .
Just thinking about it gives me a headache.
When Wei Guangde got home and dismounted from his horse and entered the house, the housekeeper Zhang Ji greeted him.
"Master, Mr. Chen Ge sent someone to send a post and invited the master to come over for a banquet tonight."
"I got it."
Wei Guangde didn't pick up the post, of course he He knew why Chen Yiqin asked him to go, but he didn't know what Chen Yiqin and Teng Xiang talked about last night and how they went.
"Prepare hot water for me, I want to take a bath."
Wei Guangde just ordered and entered the backyard.
That night the bright moon hung high and the lanterns were first lit. Wei Guangde came to the Chen Mansion in a sedan chair and was led into the flower hall.
"Brother Zhengfu and Brother Yifu, I have kept you waiting for a long time. I will apologize first."
"There is no need to apologize. Just three drinks on the wine table as a penalty."
Wei Guangde came in and saw Yin Shizhen had arrived, so he bowed his hands and saluted, but Yin Shizhen took over and asked Wei Guangde to drink three cups first.
Three glasses, but they are all small wine glasses. In fact, they are nothing, so Wei Guangde just smiled and said: "Okay, okay, it's up to you."
"You should know it, right?" . ”
After Wei Guangde sat down and chatted for a few words, Chen Yiqin brought the conversation to the main topic of the evening.
Wei Guangde knew what he was talking about and naturally nodded.
"You were not in the cabinet this morning, so I talked to Zhengfu about this."
Wei Guangde knew that this was the highlight, and it should be Chen Yiqin's response after discussing with Teng Xiang last night.
"When Gao Suqing returns to the court, Your Majesty should still trust him in every possible way. In the near future, we must try our best to follow his wishes and not conflict with him.
But the most worrying thing is that there are people in the cabinet They will turn to him and join forces to deal with us"
(End of Chapter)