Chapter 462 The possibility of building artillery
In the age of cold weapons, deaths on the battlefield were actually very small.
Most of them died from infection after being injured. Compared with direct killing, injuries have a greater impact on the military.
As long as the musket has a range of more than a hundred steps and can hurt people, it can be used on the battlefield.
When he came outside the palace, Zhao Xing saw Chen Kui, and behind him were two soldiers holding wooden boxes.
"Meet Your Majesty!"
Chen Kui saw Zhao Xing coming out and saluted quickly.
"No gifts!"
Zhao Xing waved his hand and said: "I heard that the sudden musket has made progress, let me take a look."
"Yes!"
Chen Kui responded, opened the wooden box in the hands of the soldiers behind him, and took out a bronze-colored object that was as thick as an adult's arm and looked like an iron rod.
"The common people followed your majesty's instructions and used iron to make them instead of bamboo tubes. It could be used at first, but the range did not change. Later, the power of gunpowder increased, and the common people replaced it with new gunpowder, and the range was improved."
"It's just that the new gunpowder is very powerful. If the amount is small, the range will be reduced. If the amount is too much, it will easily crack. So I tried to use bronze and some iron, and the effect was very good..."
Although Chen Kui was nervous when facing Zhao Xing, when he talked about his professional field, he forgot about his nervousness. He looked excited and talked endlessly.
"Ahem..."
Cao Mian coughed a few times and interrupted Chen Kui, reminding him: "Let's demonstrate it first and let His Majesty see its power."
"The common people talked too much for a while, and I hope your majesty will forgive me."
Chen Kui came back to his senses and realized that he had talked too much, so he quickly bowed.
"It's okay, I like to hear it." Zhao Xing said cheerfully.
Zhao Xing is still very patient with such talents.
Asking people to find some thick and light armor for decoration, Zhao Xing and Chen Kui started chatting.
The musket is just an overkill, what Zhao Xing wants to get the most is the flintlock gun.
Regarding these, Zhao Xing only knows the general principles, and the specifics need to be studied.
After sending Chen Kui to the firearms supervision department, Zhao Xing asked someone to give Chen Kui some of the principles he had written about muskets for him to study.
He wanted to know what progress Chen Kui had made in this regard.
The musket technology is very simple, but when it was revealed, it was replaced by the matchlock gun.
But in terms of lethality, the matchlock gun may not be greater than the musket.
The accuracy of the burst gun is difficult to guarantee, but when it sprays a large area, the lethality can be imagined.
However, there is a huge drawback: it is very slow to replace the gunpowder and fill the gravel.
Although the matchlock gun is also slow, it is much faster than the musket.
As for the flintlock gun, it is better to use. After all, the matchlock gun needs to be ignited, and it is not easy to use in windy and rainy weather.
This is also the reason why firearms still need to be used in conjunction with cold weapons in the early Ming Dynasty.
However, the results were not ideal, and Chen Kui's research on muskets made little progress.
The main reason is that the internal structure of the musket is still a bit complicated. Zhao Xing only has a rough theory and does not know the internal structure.
To put it simply, the gunpowder can be regarded as a simple version of gunpowder, which uses gunpowder to spray out gravel.
There is nothing too high-tech, but muskets are different.
"Your Majesty, the musketeers don't have a clue yet, but after reading the description of the artillery, they feel that it is possible to build a bronze cannon." Chen Kui said.
"Really?"
Zhao Xing was overjoyed when he heard this. Although artillery was built in this era, it was the kind of artillery that fired iron eggs and had limited power.
But this thing is still very useful in the cold weapon era.
It can be used whether it is siege or field battle, the most important thing is the range.
Although he didn't know the range of the early artillery, it should be over a thousand meters, right?
Although the bed crossbow has a range of more than a thousand meters, it is expensive to build and very difficult to operate. The most important thing is that there are certain requirements for the terrain, and it can basically only be used to defend the city.
"The ordinary people can't guarantee it, so they can only try their best. However, if you want to make artillery, you will definitely not be able to just use iron. I'm afraid you will also have to use bronze. The cost will definitely not be low." Chen Kui said.
"It doesn't matter, no matter how much it costs, I will provide it." Zhao Xing said without caring.
Copper was a trading currency in ancient times. It was used during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It was not until the Han Dynasty that it officially became the mainstream currency.
Even in the Qing Dynasty, it was still in use.
The reason for this is that the Central Plains dynasty lacked gold and silver.
Although there is, it is not enough for the entire country to circulate as currency.
The Han Dynasty was okay because business was prosperous and a large amount of silver flowed into it.
Like in the Ming Dynasty, the circulation of gold and silver was even prohibited.
A cannon weighs hundreds of kilograms anyway. Even if some iron is added, a lot of copper is consumed, and the cost is indeed expensive.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
But for the effect, Zhao Xing feels that it is completely worth it.
If that doesn't work, go attack the island country. Anyway, there is a lot of money there.
When the artillery was built and equipped with the artillery technology of the Song Dynasty, the island countries simply could not resist it.
Therefore, Zhao Xing didn't care about this at all.
Zhao Xing was worried that Chen Kui just read the brochure and did not understand enough, so he told him in detail the theories he knew.
When the chamberlain came over to report that he was ready, Zhao Xingcai ended the process without saying anything and asked Chen Kui to practice.
Chen Kui took the order and started playing around.
It took about half a cup of tea before Chen Kui finished it.
Chen Kui is already very skilled, it took him so long.
Even if ordinary soldiers undergo rigorous training, they may not be much faster than him.
At this time, even if the enemy is on foot, he can rush forward before the gunpowder and stones are assembled for the second time.
There is almost no possibility of using it a second time on the battlefield.
But this thing is cheap to make, just make more of it. Spray it once before fighting. Not to mention the lethality, it is full of deterrence.
"Your Majesty, the common people are going to have a fire."
Chen Kui reminded him, and after getting Zhao Xing's permission, he lit the fuse at several wooden stakes hung with iron and light armor about a hundred and fifty steps away.
"Bang..."
There was a loud noise, the gun fired a pungent smell of gunpowder smoke, and a ding-dong-dong sound came from the distance.
When the smoke cleared, Zhao Xing stepped forward to check.
There were only a few traces of stones on the heavy armor, but they were gone after wiping them with your hands.
The light armor was not damaged where there were iron pieces, but it was broken where there were no iron pieces.
Zhao Xing was speechless. He thought Cao Mian said that light armor could not withstand it because it could penetrate it.
Only now do I understand that it is because the light armor does not have iron plates in other places except for important parts.
But thinking about it carefully, Zhao Xing felt relieved. After all, it was just a stone. It was unrealistic to penetrate the iron sheet.
It was said that whether the stone could withstand this power, even the materials used to make the musket could not withstand it.
Even this is enough. At worst, the stones should be soaked in feces first.
Even if you just scratch the skin, you will be infected afterwards.
Don’t underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. Although the ancients didn’t know what bacteria were, they still knew how to deliberately let their arrowheads rust, or soak them in feces when shooting.
Cao Mian looked at Zhao Xing with some anxiety. He had not made any progress for so long, and he made such a big mistake last time. He was afraid that Zhao Xing would not be satisfied with the result this time.
(End of chapter)