In the Baoxiang Army system, Zhang Malin is not only the commander of the First Artillery Brigade, he is also the artillery director.

As the artillery director, Zhang Malin is responsible for guiding the development of all artillery units of the Baoxiang Army. Naturally, he can also have a say in the development and finalization of new artillery.

After Zhang Malin noticed Luo Zhixue's eyes, he immediately stepped forward and said: "The five-pound cannon is okay. Although the total weight is more than double that of the two-pound cannon, it can still be used."

"But the total weight of this nine-pound cannon is more than 3,000 kilograms. It will be more troublesome when marching. A gun crew may need more than ten horses just for daily needs. If it encounters difficult terrain or has to climb a mountain shelf,

If it’s a cannon, I’m afraid it will be more troublesome.”

"But as long as it is powerful enough, our artillery unit also needs it. At worst, we can add more draft horses and send more people up to push and maneuver during the battle!"

"Anyway, both the five-pound cannon and the nine-pound cannon are used as field support firepower for multiple brigades or above. They don't need to run around the battlefield like the two-pound cannon. The slower the action, the slower."<

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Hearing what Zhang Malin said, Ding Gangyi on the side breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Don't worry, it's definitely powerful!"

Luo Zhixue also nodded slightly after hearing Zhang Malin's words: "Yes, field artillery of more than five kilograms is expected to be used as support artillery for divisions and brigade above. What we pursue is longer range and greater power. As long as it can ensure normal operation,

Marching ability is more troublesome when going to the battlefield."

As Luo Zhixue, who personally proposed the development of five-pound artillery and nine-pound artillery, he knows the advantages and disadvantages of these two kinds of artillery better than Zhang Malin, and how to use the power of these field artillery on the battlefield.

According to Luo Zhixue's strategic plan for the artillery unit of the Baoxiang Army, light artillery such as the two-pound long gun will be directly distributed to each brigade in the future.

It is under the jurisdiction of the brigade-level artillery post in peacetime, and is directly delegated to the infantry battalion in wartime. It can promptly support the infantry battalion in combat and directly support firepower as infantry.

This also means that the existing two-pound short-barreled artillery will be replaced by two-pound long guns.

In the future, larger-level establishments, that is, division and corps-level support artillery, will be composed of five-pound artillery and nine-pound artillery, and will bear the support firepower of the entire battlefield, and at the same time serve as long-range suppression artillery, at a distance of several hundred meters.

Launch artillery fire on the enemy even from a thousand meters away.

Under such circumstances, there is actually no need for the five-pound artillery and the nine-pound artillery to have the same maneuverability as the two-pound cannon. That is unrealistic.

After seeing these field guns, Ding Gangyi took Luo Zhixue to see another new type of artillery that was still in the process of design and only had molds.

That is, the large-scale short-barreled siege artillery requested by Luo Zhixue. This thing is not very attractive. It is short and thick, just like a mortar.

This newly designed mortar is expected to fire 18 pounds of matchlock grenades.

This matchlock grenade is actually very simple and has no technical content.

It is a hollow prefabricated fragmented round iron cartridge case, with gunpowder and some iron beads installed inside, and a small hole left at the top to install a match rope.

This thing is particularly dangerous when it is launched, because the fuse of the cannonball must be lit in advance when launching. If this is not done properly, for example, if the fuse of the cannonball is lit early, it will explode directly on the spot in minutes...
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It is precisely because the firing method of this thing is troublesome and dangerous, so it can only be fired by ultra-short-barreled mortars. Long-barreled field guns cannot fire this thing.

But even though it looks very silly and crude, and is extremely dangerous when used in actual combat, Luo Zhixue still instructed the Xiangyang Arsenal to speed up trial production and mass production as soon as possible. It is best to produce a few before the army goes south on a large scale.

Door.

Today's Baoxiang Army urgently needs an artillery for sieges to strengthen the Baoxiang Army's ability to attack fortresses.

Otherwise, if we go back south, we probably won’t be able to capture even Yicheng... let alone a big city like Wuchang.

For the time being, Luo Zhixue paid more attention to the low-tech mortar than the new field artillery, and decided on the number on the spot: the eighteen-pound mortar.

It's just that time is short, and I don't know if I can equip this kind of mortar before heading south.

After Luo Zhixue saw the situation at the artillery factory, he went to inspect several core branches such as the musket factory, armor factory, sword factory, spear factory, and ammunition factory.

The situation in these factories is relatively simple. The weapons and equipment produced are all fixed, and there are basically no innovations and breakthroughs, even in musket factories.

The 18mm matchlock gun used by the Baoxiang Army was developed from the Ming Army's blunderbuss, and Luo Zhixue made many targeted improvements.

Now we basically have everything we should have, and the so-called improvements that will follow are more of a trivial matter.

If you want to continue to make major improvements, you can only improve the raw materials and processing technology, and the time required for this will be gone, and you won't be able to produce any results in a short period of time.

Now some of the senior technical staff at the Baoxiang Arms and Gun Factory have been transferred to study flintlock muskets.

It's just that without a sample gun reference, it's still relatively difficult to do it. This doesn't mean that you don't know the principles.

The principle is very simple, even Ding Gangyi can give a rough outline of it.

But it is not easy to make a flintlock gun that can meet Luo Zhixue's requirements and be used on a large scale.

For example, there is a very important part in the bolt of the flintlock gun, and it is a relatively high-tech component for the craftsmen of the current Baoxiang Army: the spring!

It is not easy to find a spring that meets the conditions for use of a flintlock gun.

It is not easy to come up with a spring that can maintain its elasticity after repeated use for a long time and can be mass-produced.

Luo Zhixue didn't expect these craftsmen to finish it within a few days, or even within a few months, but as long as he kept working on it, it could be done slowly.

Now, let’s just start!

The other factories are even less interesting. The spear factory, knife factory, and armor factory are all focused on mass production, and they are not about improvement.

There is nothing to change about spears and knives. The current waist knives and 4.5-meter-long spears are quite easy to use.

As for getting better quality steel knives, the amount of equipment for this thing is actually very small. As long as heavy armored sword shield soldiers and cavalry need this thing, the sabers used by ordinary soldiers are all made of ordinary iron-steel blades.

Knife.

This kind of knife has mature technology, simple process and low cost, making it the first choice for large-scale equipment.

The same is true for armor. Luo Zhixue was interested in plate armor earlier, but now he has no interest in plate armor. The steel production is only so small, how can it be used to make steel plate armor on a large scale?

The cost is too high and the output is too low, so it’s not worthwhile.

The armor of the Baoxiang Army now uses the same cloth-faced armor as the Ming Army and Dongduo, but the cloth-faced armor also distinguishes between full-body heavy armor, ordinary armor, and half-body light armor.

The reason for continuing to use this thing is not because the cloth armor has good performance!

It is purely cost-effective and can achieve barely adequate protection capabilities in a relatively low price range.

Moreover, the technology is simple, the process is simple, and mass production is easy.

You can see how easy it is for the Baoxiang Army to produce this thing if you look at the main force of the Baoxiang Army, even the musketeers have a half-length light armor...

If the entire army were to popularize steel plate armor, then Luo Zhixue would have to capture Daye first, and then build a super-large-scale steelmaking plant...

After finishing his inspection of the Xiangyang Arsenal, Luo Zhixue stopped by the Xiangyang Machinery Factory next door to the Xiangyang Arsenal for an inspection in the afternoon.

Although there is also a machinery factory in the Xiangyang Arsenal, the machinery factory in the Xiangyang Arsenal is engaged in small machinery and repairs, specifically supporting the weapons production within the arsenal.

The Xiangyang Machinery Factory mainly produces medium and large machinery, such as large hydraulic machinery and iron-making equipment.

After all inspections were completed, Luo Zhixue returned to the General's Mansion in the city in the evening.

After a busy day, when he returned to the backyard to wash up, the maid waiting for him to take a bath was Hou Yunmeng.

The only difference from before is that this time Luo Zhixue didn't do anything in the middle of washing, but went out to eat after washing.

This made Hou Yunmeng a little uneasy, thinking that he had done something wrong.

But Luo Zhixue felt relieved after he called her in again at night.

In fact, Luo Zhixue has a good feeling for Hou Yunmeng, otherwise he would not keep her by his side.

In the past two days, Wang Qiaoer, who talks a lot and thinks a lot, doesn't stay in the inner courtyard much anymore.

After the matter was over, Luo Zhixue, who was lying down, thought that she would have to be a part of her by then, but the specific arrangements would be discussed later.

Now, he won't even give me the title of concubine.

Because Luo Zhixue is technically single, and he took concubines before marrying a wife, so a fatuous and lustful evaluation will probably not go away.

Therefore, we still have to wait for him to formally marry his wife before discussing matters related to the harem.

As for what title to give Hou Yunmeng in the future, let his wife, future princess, and queen have the headache.

After all, it is his future wife’s right to give Luo Zhixue’s other women status and treatment, and Luo Zhixue does not intend to interfere.

The male protagonist is outside and the female protagonist is inside!

The division of labor is clear.

Early the next morning, Luo Zhixue was as busy as ever. After briefly holding a ministerial morning meeting to deal with government affairs, Luo Zhixue went out with a group of guards and generals.

He is still inspecting today!

But unlike yesterday's inspection of the factory, what he was going to inspect today was the 8th Infantry Brigade.

After the Battle of Xiangyang, Luo Zhixue officially finalized the establishment of two main infantry brigades, the 7th Infantry Brigade and the 8th Infantry Brigade. The 7th Infantry Brigade was organized in Nanyang Prefecture, and the 8th Infantry Brigade was organized in Xiangyang Prefecture.
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The 7th Infantry Brigade is now about to form an army, while the 8th Infantry Brigade is a little slower, but not too slow.

However, the recruits scheduled for the brigade have completed basic recruit training, and low-level officers below the sentry level are already in place.

Under such circumstances, Luo Zhixue naturally wanted to inspect the first and second infantry brigade, and at the same time finalize the main officers such as the brigade commander, deputy brigade commander, and three battalion commanders of the 8th Infantry Brigade, so that the subsequent 8th Infantry Brigade can better

Carry out adaptive training.

Luo Zhixue still hopes to have the 7th Infantry Brigade and the 8th Infantry Brigade serve as strategic reserves when he turns back south.

If the battle goes well on the front line, then let them defend the logistics line from behind and suppress strategic locations such as Nanyang City, while allowing them more time to continue training.
Chapter completed!