Chapter 27 Artillery Demonstration
"Dear Lord Paul Graiman, we are extremely sorry for the death of your father. We had no choice but to fight at that time..."
"Port Fulan will still exist as your territory, but if you can reward us with her as a place to live, we are willing to offer our loyalty to you..."
"Collect every quarter We will dedicate half of your property to you, and we guarantee that the money you receive will be much more than the taxes you received before..."
This is the Shark Gang entrenched in Fulan Port A letter was sent and Paul had it read to the people at the meeting.
After reading the letter, everyone in the hall was very happy. These pirates were really delusional and had a dream of splitting the earth and separatist rule, especially when the Alda army had an absolute advantage.
Paul took the letter and tore it into pieces with all his strength. "It's simply ridiculous."
Not to mention that the pirates after the defeat were not qualified to challenge him. Just because of the revenge for killing his father, Paul couldn't let them go, otherwise how could he survive after the news spread.
"Sir, two fully equipped infantry battalions have been trained. Please order troops to recover Fulan Port and completely wipe out these pirates." Bryce expressed the wish of most officers.
The count did not agree: "Don't worry, they are already locusts after autumn and can't crawl around for a few days. Let us test the newly developed firearms first. If it works well, our army will With more power, it’s time to test the knife with these blind pirates. "
Everyone was very curious after hearing this. The muskets and grenades were already an eye-opener. They didn't know what novelty the little earl had come up with.
At this time, the earl was very high-spirited. After working hard day and night on the papermaking workshop built near the lord's castle, the paper produced was finally ready for use, and a set of feasible technological processes were summarized. Manager Ford took the With the first batch of manufactured paper being sold all over the world in the Northwest Bay area, some sales were finally opened.
Nobles and businessmen discovered that this new type of paper was indeed of high quality and low price. You could buy a large stack of it for just a few bucks, and it was not a pain at all to use it for writing, drawing, correspondence and accounting. It was comparable to Those expensive parchments are much easier to use.
Another big buyer of paper is the monasteries in various places. In this era, monasteries also have some educational functions, so the demand for paper is naturally very large.
The paper produced now is still relatively rough and fragile. Paul ordered the craftsmen in the workshop to continue to improve the papermaking process and customize different prices according to the product quality to meet the needs of customers from different classes.
Once the market opens up, money will come. Although at the current stage it is only sold in the northwest bay area and the profits are still very small, the future is bright.
Of course, just like what happened on earth, papermaking will eventually leverage the monopoly of cultural knowledge by the nobility and the church and benefit the people at the bottom. "I can be considered as pushing the wheel of history." He felt a little proud in his heart.
......
In the forest camp that was used to train new recruits, the original temporary tents and low fences have disappeared, replaced by houses with masonry structures. With brick walls as tall as a person, this place has been transformed into what the count calls a "military base."
The internal security forces in Huxin Town have also been expanded. Now the internal security forces are full of a squadron. Two platoons of internal security soldiers are stationed here. Outside the wall, soldiers leading wolf dogs are working day and night. He stopped and looked around.
In an open area near the base, Marlowe, Herman, Kelly and others in charge of weapons research and development were fiddling with something, surrounded by soldiers on strict guard.
If there are any Earthlings nearby, they will be able to recognize that the thing they are playing with is a front-loading bronze cannon in the style of the early 19th century.
The overall structure of the artillery was simplified and designed by Paul with reference to the "travel artifact" on the Internet in his previous life - the Napoleon Cannon. The structure of the gun mount carrying the gun body is very simple, consisting of wheels, main shaft, gun tail mount and pitch The device consists of four parts. The pitching device consists of a screw connected to the gun tail and an adjusting handle. The muzzle can be raised or lowered by simply turning the handle.
The conversation between the Earl and a group of officers came from a distance: "I am going to name this place 'Area 51'. Don't ask me what Area 51 means. In short, it is called Area 51..."
After hearing the sound, Marlowe and others hurried over to greet you: "Sir, you are finally here, I am ready here."
I saw the young count running to the bronze cannon and lovingly "stroking" the cannon body from beginning to end.
Everyone: "..."
Paul cleared his throat and said: "Uh-huh! I've brought everyone here, and then it's up to you."
< br>Marlow slapped his chest and responded confidently: "Yes, sir." Thanks to the "contribution" of the pirate captives in the previous experiment, he was very confident in this public demonstration.
A double-layer brick wall was built 100 meters in front of the artillery, which was the target of this test firing. Marlowe ordered the gun crew to take their positions, and everyone hid behind a low wall behind the artillery to watch the firing.
The 7-person artillery crew carried a bucket of water to the artillery and operated the artillery in accordance with the established steps for each person to be responsible.
First, use a long artillery brush with wool wrapped at the top, dip it in water and extend it into the muzzle to clean the remaining sparks after the last firing. It is not necessary for the first firing, but in order to avoid the artillery from subsequent firings Forgetting this step can cause an accident. This step is strictly required to be performed in every launch.
Then use a brush to reach into the barrel to wipe away the moisture left in the previous steps, then stuff the propellant bag wrapped in flannel and a solid iron bullet into the barrel, and then use the loading rod to compact the ammunition. This completes the filling.
Entering the ignition stage, first use a thin iron cone to probe into the ignition hole at the rear of the gun and puncture the propellant package to facilitate ignition.
There are two ways to ignite a fire. One is to insert a cotton fuse and then light the fuse. It takes a while for the fuse to burn. The advantage of this method is that it is safer.
Another way is to fill the ignition hole with gunpowder, use an ignition rod, and use the match rope wrapped on it to ignite the gunpowder in the ignition hole. The advantage of this method is that it can be fired quickly.
This demonstration used a fuse firing method. After lighting the fuse, the gun crew members quickly covered their ears.
As the burning fuse rapidly shortened, the gunpowder was eventually ignited.
“Boom!!!”
A deafening roar was heard from the four-pound bronze cannon, and the powerful recoil caused the cannon body to move back a lot. Everyone standing behind the low wall was shocked, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to tremble slightly at that moment.
“Ah~~” Lord Count looked intoxicated.
When the thick smoke generated by the launch dissipated, everyone saw the scene ahead clearly. A terrifyingly large hole was opened in the thick brick wall.
Everyone gasped, this power, if a cannon were fired into the crowd...
Most of them immediately ran over to observe the artillery carefully, and including Schroeder Several people surrounded Marlowe and asked questions.
"After our many tests, this thing can shoot more than a thousand meters."
"Fire larger shells? Shoot farther? Of course, but the premise is that we are allocated more experimental funds. "
"If you are skilled, you can fire 2 to 3 shots per minute, but frequent shooting will make the barrel overheat."
Marlow raised the corners of his mouth while suppressing his inner excitement. While responding to the officers' questions. Such a sharp weapon was actually made by my hands. The original choice was indeed the right one.
"A sharp weapon for the military and the country! A sharp weapon for the military and the country!" the old knight Schroeder exclaimed.
"Big is beautiful~~Big is beautiful~~" Captain Holman murmured to himself while touching the barrel of the cannon, as if he had opened the door to a new world.
"Marlowe, try firing a shotgun to open their eyes again."
"Okay, lord count!"
(End of this chapter)