In addition, Guo Dajing also gave some vague explanations about his business dealings with the Lin family and his own business.
In short, Guo Dajing hopes that Mao Wenlong will not take those two paths, which will cause serious consequences. Although these are not within his control.
In the letter, Mao Wenlong also asked about the action to regain Jinzhou next year, reminding Guo Dajing not to take risks if he was not sure. But Mao Wenlong also said that if he needed assistance from his headquarters, he would do his best.
Guo Dajing took out a pen and paper and began to write a reply to Mao Wenlong.
Next year's military operations will also depend on Jianlu's actions. If Huang Taiji leads his troops to attack the Mongolian tribes, then Guo Dajing will never want to give up this opportunity.
As for the assistance from the Dongjiang Headquarters, Guo Dajing hoped that the navy could be sent to assist in the battle.
The defensive counterattack at Lushun Fort alone was not enough to deal a heavy blow to the Jianlu. Guo Dajing had already formed a bolder and sharper combat plan in his mind, which required the navy to transport troops.
Of course, he didn't want to make it too clear now. He just thanked Mao Shuai and said that he was making intensive preparations and would be ready to take action when the time comes.
In addition to sending letters, Mao Wenlong also shipped a batch of Liaodong specialties such as ginseng, mink, pine nuts, etc. This was intended as compensation, and he also intended to establish a long-term relationship with the so-called Lin Jiayi merchants.
After Guo Dajing finished writing the letter, he was going to ship another batch of grain to Pidao. If not all supplies were available, Mao Wenlong must have some tricks and methods to get the grain.
After handling official duties, Guo Dajing took a few soldiers out of the military camp and headed to the artillery training ground.
The Hongyi cannons purchased from the Macau Bugalao Cannon Factory include bronze cannons and iron cannons. In terms of price, the bronze cannons are definitely much more expensive. However, the bronze cannons are durable and difficult to explode, which is not the case with iron cannons.
The advantages.
The thousand-jin Hongyi cannon can only be regarded as a relatively light one, equivalent to a nine-pound cannon. The Hongyi cannon on Ningyuan City weighs two to three thousand kilograms, and should be a twelve-pound cannon.
Guo Dajing was not prepared to continue buying such a heavy and expensive thing. But now that he had bought it, he needed to train qualified artillerymen to maximize their power.
Money is the main problem. If there is no shortage of money, then the more the better.
Guo Dajing planned to transport all the Hongyi cannons to Lushun Fort, and teach the Jianlu a lesson in the next year's battle.
The effective range is more than 500 meters, and the furthest range is three miles, which can completely cover the trench breastworks under the city. The most commonly used catapult carts for building captives will be ineffective under the attack of trebuchets and Hongyi cannons.
Coupled with the shooting of heavy muskets, the Jianlu soldiers wearing heavy armor would inevitably suffer heavy casualties when charging into the formation.
New weapons can exert their greatest power and achieve the greatest results when they are used for the first time. Because the enemy does not understand it and uses its most accustomed fighting method, it is inevitable to incur huge casualties.
When machine guns first appeared on the battlefield, frontal charges by infantry groups were still the most common tactic. In World War I, there was a record of killing and injuring tens of thousands of people in one day.
Therefore, either don't use it, or let the enemy be caught off guard, bleed enough, and kill enough people.
Guo Dajing entered the training ground as usual, very low-key, staying not far away, watching the training while listening to Santos teaching techniques.
The advanced point of the Hongyi cannon is not only the casting technology, but also the cylindrical lugs on both sides of the center of gravity of the cannon body, which can be used as an axis to adjust the shooting angle of the cannon.
If the amount of gunpowder is used, the range can be changed. It is also equipped with a front sight and a rear sight, and the ballistic trajectory is calculated according to the parabola, with high accuracy.
Seeing Guo Dajing coming over, Santos did not greet him and continued to explain the artillery technique.
Guo Dajing still admires Santos' professionalism.
Of course, learning skills from others is also his specialty. Others may not understand a parabola after hearing it several times, or how to use simple tools such as triangles and squares. He just picked up what he learned in junior high school.
Behind the scenes, Guo Dajing has sorted out most of what Santos said and is simplifying it into a booklet, correlating things such as shooting angle, charge and range.
For soldiers who have not received much education, it should be simpler and easier to train them by rote memorization or looking up data with a booklet.
"The fineness of the artillery shells determines the range and accuracy of the artillery. The stone bullets used for training today are still rough and not as good as iron or lead bullets."
Santos' words reached Guo Dajing's ears. He lowered his eyes and memorized them secretly.
The fit of the shell or bullet determines the air tightness, which is a difficult problem for front-loading smoothbore artillery and muskets.
Guo Dajing had no choice but to use stone bullets for artillery. Although iron bullets could be recycled, the purchased iron materials were barely enough to make weapons, and using them to make artillery shells was obviously beyond the financial resources.
You know, if you want to make cannonballs, one hundred and eighty rounds for each cannon is the most basic quantity. How much iron is needed for twenty cannons?
Of course, there is no way to solve the air tightness problem. Guo Dajing decided to buy linen cloth, soak it in extracted whale oil, and use it to wrap the cannonballs.
The same operation is used for muskets. Wrapping lead bullets in oil-impregnated silk cloth or deerskin can increase the range and accuracy.
What’s the cost? Guo Dajing sighed secretly, put aside the musket for the time being, and only made improvements on the shells.
An Kecheng and Jin Zhongguo were also among the artillery trainees. Because of their high cultural level, they came in late, but they learned quickly and have become junior officers.
Regarding the power of the Hongyi artillery, the two of them went from shock to envy, and even more regretfully. It was a pity that the country's court could not learn from its shame and strengthen its armaments.
If North Korea also had such artillery and placed it at the top of the city, how could it be so easy for Jianlu to break through the city?
It's a pity that the small Guanglu Island has such sharp firearms. How can a country withstand foreign aggression if its weapons and equipment are so crude?
Of course, the two of them also admired Guo Dajing very much.
Hiring Westerners and purchasing muskets and artillery is not only about financial resources, but also requires a long-term vision and the courage to break through the shackles of tradition without fear of what others say.
North Korea's culture originated from China, and its ideas are also very similar. The Ming Dynasty's contempt for the Western Barbarians came from the superiority mentality of the great central power, and North Korea was similar.
The Ming Dynasty experienced several twists and turns in the process of introducing Hongyi cannons. The biggest resistance came from the conservative forces in the DPRK.
Those civil servants and censors who read the books of sages did not look at the power of firearms, but only relied on ancestral traditions and established laws and conventions.
The most popular objection is that advanced firearms are regarded as "wonderful skills and ingenuity" and that war cannot be fought solely by relying on the power of firearms, without respecting the way to defend the war. "National plans must be based on law."
Moreover, there are some who attribute the explosion of artillery chambers to an ominous omen and a warning from heaven, and then use nonsense to obstruct and oppose it.
Guo Dajing has no such resistance. He is the boss on the island and can do whatever he wants.
But in the eyes of Jin Zhongguo and others, they seemed to be unique. Of course, the sharpness of the artillery and guns also suppressed different voices, leaving people speechless.
"Professor, can this artillery fire explosive shells?" An Kecheng asked humbly: "It should be possible to light the fuse at the muzzle and fire at the same time, right?"
Santos nodded and said: "It can indeed be done, but it is too dangerous. The explosive shells loaded with gunpowder are very easy to explode prematurely under the high pressure of the gun barrel..."
With a long barrel and high chamber pressure, it is indeed very dangerous to fire explosive bullets. Guo Dajing understands this truth.
If you want to open the shells, you must use a smoothbore artillery with a short barrel, a large shooting angle, a low muzzle velocity, and a high arc trajectory, that is, a mortar.
Now, due to limited funds and costs, Dongjiang Town is manufacturing a large number of trebuchets to replace mortars and launch mines with leads.
Making mortars was Guo Dajing's next plan. After all, trebuchets were bulky and inconvenient to transport and move, while light trebuchets did not have enough range.
There is no technical difficulty in the manufacture of mortars. Even the simplest barrel shape has similar performance to later generations of thunder cannons. The projectile charge, explosives, and barrel are all simple explosive ejector.
It doesn't need to be as thick as a gasoline barrel. What is needed is that it is light and flexible so that people can run around carrying it and can launch it when it is set up.
That's right, what Guo Dajing needed was a weapon similar to later mortars, suitable for use in mountainous and forested areas.
As for next year's Jinzhou battle, Guo Dajing believes that the red barbarian cannons, heavy muskets, trebuchets, mines and other weapons are enough for the soldiers to drink.
We cannot become fat by eating one thing at a time. The development of weapons and equipment must also be based on our capabilities and planned as a whole.
The thing that Guo Dajing had the most high hopes for was the heavy musket. Those who hit it were either dead or maimed, and the range was far greater than that of bows and arrows. Guo Dajing felt satisfied when he thought about the scene where the soldiers and captives were flying with flesh and blood.
Santos's lecture came to an end, and the artillerymen began to practice loading and firing again. Guo Dajing estimated that it would take nearly three minutes to fire one artillery piece, which was really unsatisfactory.
Compared with the muskets that fired every thirty or forty seconds, Guo Dajing did not think that the Hongyi cannon was more powerful in killing.
A thousand-jin Hongyi cannon can buy almost thirty heavy muskets, and how much damage can a big ball cause when fired with one cannon? In the time it takes to fire one cannon, thirty heavy muskets can fire five or six shots.
However, this cost-effectiveness evaluation is obviously not comprehensive enough and does not take into account the deterrent effect of Hongyi cannon on the enemy.
"General Guo." Santos put his hands on his chest and saluted Guo Dajing.
Guo Dajing returned the gift and said with a smile: "Mr. Santos is used to living on the island. Although the conditions on our island are limited, we will try our best to satisfy our needs."
Santos smiled slightly on his old-fashioned face and said, "Fortunately, life on the island is not as difficult as I thought when I came down."
After a pause, he added: "Thank you, General Guo, for sending -"
After circling the space twice randomly with his hand, Santos remembered and continued: "Texas Braised Chicken, very delicious."
Guo Dajing smiled and nodded, and said: "When there is a chance, someone will buy it from Shandong and bring it to the island."
"But -" Guo Dajing changed the topic and joked: "Mr. Santos has to pay according to the price."
Santos smiled and waved his hand and said, "Thank you, General Guo, for your kindness. Please wait until I want to eat."
This foreign devil is so stingy. He only wants to treat you to food, but he won't be willing to spend money on it.
Guo Dajing secretly slandered, casually asked about the training situation, and revealed that there might be a major military operation in March or April tomorrow.
"Is it a field battle, an siege, or a defense?" Santos asked seriously: "General Guo also knows that the cannon is characterized by a slow rate of fire and a heavy body, so it is most suitable for siege warfare and defensive warfare.
"
Guo Dajing answered truthfully: "It is a defensive battle. Cannons are set up on the top of the city to bombard the attacking enemies from a high position. Moreover, there are trenches and fortifications outside the city as the first line of defense."
"That's no problem." Santos said: "Please transport the artillery to the city one month before the war. I will take the artillery to conduct survey and measurement, and conduct live ammunition test firing."
"Okay, I will give you time to familiarize yourself with the position and adjust the artillery." Guo Dajing agreed happily, chatted a few more words, and then turned and left.
This Santos likes fishing, or sea fishing. For this reason, he is not stingy with money and often rents small sailboats to go out to sea.
Guo Dajing was generous with the bride price and took care of food and other matters as much as possible, in order to allow Santos to teach artillery well without reservation.
Therefore, there is no inconvenience for Santos living here, but he feels that it is very simple, very leisurely, and even safe. Because there is no need to sail on the ocean, which is full of dangers.
After working for a few years and earning enough money, he would like to return to China and at least become a small rich man.
………………
Everyone in the world is interested in profit. Individuals have their own ideas and pursuits, and they also have their own life that they think is suitable.
Even if you are suffering and struggling on the edge of life and death, that can still be called life.
Everyone wants to change, and everyone hopes to live a better life. But sometimes, if you just have imagination, don't take risks, and don't work hard, you will never realize it.
Zhang Bang, a Han commoner in the Jianlu-controlled area, was currently crawling in the cold withered grass, holding a five or six-year-old child in his left hand. As he crawled, he tilted his head from time to time to look at the movement of a small fort in the distance.
This is a small road in the mountains, or it is not a road at all. You have to go through the dense forest of weeds to cross the Jianlu blockade.
Precisely because they had been walking such a secret route, Zhang Bang and others were able to avoid Jianlu's blockade and continue their arduous march toward the destination where they could survive.
Finally crawling through the relatively open weeds, Zhang Bang got into the woods, hid behind the trees, and waved vigorously to his companions.
Although the child was small, he was very sensible. He sat on the ground with his big eyes, looking at his elder brother without saying a word.
One, two, three... figures appeared one after another, with the same posture as Zhang Bang, crawling forward loomingly in the withered grass.
The movements were a little clumsy, even laborious, but everyone was careful and used their little physical strength.
For the Liao people who escaped from the Jianlu-controlled areas, the biggest difficulties were physical strength and food and drink issues.
The long period of starvation made it difficult for their physical strength to last; the barren mountains and ridges along the way also made it difficult for them to survive.