In the next few days, Yang Zhen was still busy. First, he visited the site to inspect the project progress of the west gate, south gate, and east gate of Songshan. Then he went to see the construction of the Sailor Camp Sandbank and the Anchor Bay Boat Camp at the mouth of the Xiaoling River.

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With Yang Zhen's supervision, as well as the large number of mules, horses and carts brought back by Yang Zhen and the participation of a large number of horsemen, porters, coachmen, and camel workers, the progress of adding bastions and barbicans began to accelerate suddenly.

At the same time, the construction of the island-circling fortifications on the sandbar of the Sailor Camp at the mouth of the Xiaoling River is nearing completion, including the deep trenches and high fortresses on the outside, the watchtowers on the island, the wooden stockade, the solid dock on the river side, and the granary on the top of the sandbar.

Complete with barracks and barracks.

In the twelfth lunar month of winter, the surface of the Xiaoling River and the estuary area, including the sea surface where the entire Sailor Camp sandbar is located, will freeze.

The thickness of the ice depends on the degree of coldness in winter. The heavy artillery of the Manchu Tatars may not dare to risk setting foot on the ice, but the horses and infantry of the Manchu Tatars should be able to cross the ice.

Yang Zhen kept urging Yu Liangtai's fleet stationed on the sandbank island to step up the construction of fortifications around the island, not to prepare for possible floods in the summer, but to cope with possible attacks by the Manchu Tatars in the winter.

Including the Zhimao Bay Peninsula where Qiu Zhenhai's troops are stationed, although it is a little further into the sea, it is still possible to encounter an ice attack by Manchu Tatars in winter, so there cannot be any relaxation.

Yang Zhen took a boat out to sea from the mouth of the Xiaoling River. He first looked at the fortifications around the island on the Shuiwanying sandbank, then took a boat south along the coast, landed at a pier at the southern end of the Anchor Bay peninsula, and inspected the fortifications and camps on the peninsula again.

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The docks in the harbor have been built, and in several small dry docks dug near the coast, large, dilapidated ships are waiting for repairs. There are people standing guard on the watchtowers on several hills in the distance.

The semi-underground houses built on the hillside against the mountain, row after row, layer by layer, are still a sight to behold, as if a huge village has been built next to the mountain and the sea.

At the foot of several mountains and on the flat areas on the coast, there is a lush green field. The large sorghum field that was transplanted and replanted to the Zhimao Bay Peninsula due to the construction of the bastion and urn city has already spread to one person.

How high.

Arriving at the northernmost point where the Zhimao Bay Peninsula connects to the land, Yang Zhen was very pleased to see that the long ditch and high fortress he had envisioned had been completed.

The narrowest part of the peninsula, which is more than two miles wide, has been cut through the middle, and an artificial trench more than one foot wide has been formed in the cut-off area.

Only a stone arch bridge was built above the trench to allow two-wheeled mules and horses to pass, serving as a convenient passage between the peninsula and the mainland.

On the side of the trench against the peninsula, there is a high embankment-shaped wall made of rammed sand, gravel and soil obtained from digging the trench. Although it is not as tall, thick and solid as the masonry-clad city wall, it is as wide as the other side.

The trench is deep enough to defend.

At the very least, the iron cavalry that the Tatars are proud of cannot rush across or jump over in one go. If a fort is built on the inside of the embankment and a few guns with a faster firing rate are set up, then it will be more difficult to defend such fortifications.

Got it.

When Yang Zhen arrived here, he stood on the embankment and looked around. He immediately ordered Zhang Degui, who was accompanying him, to take out ten of the new Fo Lang machine cannons from the artillery team and give them to Qiu Zhenhai's Anchor Bay Ship Camp for reinforcement.

defense.

The biggest advantage of the Fo Lang machine's main cannon is that its rate of fire is much faster than that of ordinary artillery. A main cannon is often equipped with four to six sub-cannons, and the rear ignition is also much more efficient than ordinary artillery.

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Due to the marriage between Miss Qiu and Yang Zhen, Zhang Degui and Qiu Zhenhai, Yang Zhen's top confidants, have had a lot of contact with each other during this period, and their relationship has become closer and closer.

Therefore, after receiving Yang Zhen's order, early the next morning, that is, on June 21, Zhang Degui asked Yang Shen to select ten Franco cannons, together with the matching sub-cannons and ammunition, and transported them to the anchor.

Wanchuanying was handed over to Qiu Zhenhai.

On the same day, that is, on the morning of June 21, Yang Zhen finally had time to summon Pan Wenmao and Wang Shoutang, who were responsible for armaments production, to the General Military Mansion for discussion and inquire about the production progress of guns, ammunition and artillery.

When Yang Zhen left Songshan, the ironworks and ammunition factory in Songshan City fully followed Yang Zhen's instructions and did not stop work or production for a day.

The previous shortage of raw materials has been greatly alleviated with the resumption of use of lead bullets and the successive opening of Heishigang Mine and Hongluoshan Mine.

Including the method of casting cannons from iron molds that Yang Zhen had previously asked the Iron Works to test, he finally figured out a simple and easy method. First, cast iron molds from clay molds, and then cast copper or iron cannons from the iron molds.

It was on the first day after Yang Zhen returned to Songshan that the ironworks produced the first set of mortar iron molds, that is, iron casting molds, that Wang Shoutang was satisfied with and had no flaws.

With this set of iron molds matching the inner core and outer shell, the rest becomes much simpler.

Because all that is left to do is to try to melt as much molten copper or molten iron as possible, then cast and cool it again and again.

From the day Yang Zhen returned to Songshan City, in just five days, the ironworks used a set of mortar iron molds that had just been recast to cast and cool down the molds at an average rate of two per day.

Six bronze cannons and six iron cannons were produced, and a total of twelve large-caliber mortars were produced.

What the new large-caliber mortar exactly looks like, and whether it meets his previous assumptions, Yang Zhen has not yet seen it with his own eyes, so he has no way of judging.

However, when he listened to the reports from Pan Wenmao and Wang Shoutang and learned that the ironworks had figured out an effective process for casting iron cannons, he was already very excited.

This means that as long as there are sufficient copper and iron resources, he can quickly and in batches copy some of the classic muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons he knows.

"What is the caliber of the mortar you newly cast from the iron mold? How long is the barrel? What is the total weight of the barrel? Also, have you tried it? How far can it shoot, and what is its range?"

After Yang Zhen heard Wang Shoutang's report on the successful test of the Iron Fan cast cannon, he fired a barrage of questions at Zhang Degui, Pan Wenmao, and Wang Shoutang, who had been staying in Songshan City during this period.

Facing a series of questions that Yang Zhen excitedly asked, Zhang Degui and Pan Wenmao looked at each other for a moment, and soon turned their attention to Wang Shoutang's face.

A good career can rejuvenate people, and this saying could not be more appropriate for Wang Shoutang.

When he was taken aboard by Yang Zhen's men and had no choice but to follow Yang Zhen's men to Songshan City, Wang Shoutang at that time looked like a bad old man who had been through many hardships.

However, just a few months passed. Wang Shoutang, a craftsman who had lived in a wealthy family for most of his life, suddenly became one of the military commanders of the Zhengdong Camp. He was already a man between guerrilla and garrison.

A dignified military attaché of the imperial court.

This change in status directly transformed Wang Shoutang from a grey-faced and slovenly old man into a vigorous and graceful old man. Even the gray hair on his temples seemed to have turned much darker.

Let's say that Wang Shoutang saw Yang Zhen asking excited questions, and Zhang Degui and Pan Wenmao also came to see him. He nodded with a smile, stroked his carefully groomed goat's beard, and then said to Yang Zhen:

"According to what your Excellency said before, no, according to what the Governor said before, the size of the new cannon we built this time is the same. The caliber of the cannon is four and a half inches, the length of the cannon is three feet and six inches, and the weight of the cannon is zero to three hundred kilograms. If

In the future, if a gun mount base is added, the total weight is expected to be about 400 kilograms! The bronze cannon will be slightly heavier!"

When Wang Shoutang said this, he saw Yang Zhen nodding and frowning, as if he was thoughtful, so he continued:

"As for how far the new cannon can shoot, that is what the governor said, what is the effective range of the new cannon, I am ashamed to say that I still don't know.
Chapter completed!