After Zhang Cheng accompanied the surveillance eunuch Li Guofu's father-in-law to see the Yunzhou gun test firing, he then went on to see the workshops of the Gunpowder Bureau, Armor Bureau, and Cold Soldier Bureau. Neither of these two places was as large as the Fire Gun Bureau.
Even the artillery bureau is not as good as the fire musket bureau. What Zhang Cheng urgently needs now is sophisticated bird muskets. As for the artillery, it is still in the development and finalization stage.
At present, according to Qi Shaobao's "New Book of Jixiao", the Artillery Bureau has trial-produced two No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 Franco cannons. After test firing, it was finally determined to mass-produce No. 4 and No. 5 Franco cannons.
, referred to as No. 4 gun and No. 5 gun.
The finalized No. 4 cannon has a unified length of three feet, a projectile weight of three liang, and a charge of three liang and three qian. Like the Yunzhou gun, it is also made in a unified format. The medicine packs and projectiles are uniformly prepared according to specifications.
The uniform length of the No. 5 cannon is one foot, the projectile weighs three qian, and the charge is 5 qian. In the future, the No. 4 cannon will be directly installed on the side chariot, and can be moved with the army for mobile operations. It can also be loaded by the cavalry on pack horses for mobile operations.
The No. 5 gun can be used by an individual soldier. When fighting with a vehicle battalion, it can be directly mounted on a tank or cart to bombard incoming enemy troops.
In addition to the No. 4 cannon, the Yunzhou Jiangying Artillery Bureau also manufactures tiger squat cannons and mortar cannons. The specifications are determined by referring to the "New Book of Discipline and Effects" and are manufactured uniformly.
Regarding artillery, Zhang Cheng had his own thoughts. He had not considered the need for defense for the time being, so he did not consider large artillery. What he needed was an artillery that was easy to carry.
Because he had ideas from later generations, he insisted that one or two artillery pieces, or even dozens of artillery pieces, had no ability to change a battle.
What he needs is hundreds, or even hundreds, of doors. Only when a certain number is reached, a fierce salvo, rapid salvo bombardment, and a certain fire coverage can have obvious effects on the battlefield.
Another thing is rockets. For this reason, Zhang Cheng even set up a rocket engineering group in the artillery bureau specifically to prepare rockets for battlefield use.
Many young people in Yunzhou have been drafted or hired to serve as apprentices and part-time workers in Yunzhou craftsman camps. Even so, there is still a shortage of manpower.
In addition, Zhang Cheng also made a request to the Artillery Bureau and asked them to set up a scientific research team to tackle critical problems like the Artillery Bureau. He also only gave one direction.
It's related to mortars. Zhang Cheng doesn't know where he's seen it. There seems to be a kind of firearm called a flying cannon. This thing is said to use a delayed fuse. The shells are cylindrical and fly out to the rear before exploding. They belong to the Ming Dynasty.
bomb.
Li Chengmao, the director of the artillery bureau, took note of Zhang Cheng's words. He also pointed out that he had heard from his senior masters before that these flying cannons seemed to have something to do with poisonous fire flying cannons.
"Okay, if you have the impression, it will be easy to handle. Right now, the main ones are No. 4 cannons and rockets, supplemented by No. 5 cannons, tiger crouching cannons, and mortar cannons. The focus is on the development of flying cannons."
Zhang Cheng determined the mission and goals of the Artillery Bureau.
…………
The Frame Bureau is as busy as the Firearms Bureau.
Zhang Cheng's army already had a batch of artillery in the Central Plains that could be used. He also begged some from the governor in Zhencheng and selected some from the arsenal on the North Road, so there was no rush.
As for bird guns, during King Qin's time, the infantry used a lot of them, but many of them were lost. Whether it was in the town or in the warehouse on the North Road, there were very few high-quality bird guns that Zhang Cheng liked, so the current demand is only
eager.
As for the large baggage trains and side chariots, they were not in the treasury. Even if they were available, they would be used by the generals early. After experiencing the embarrassment of the previous Qinwang period, Zhang Cheng vowed to have his own reserves.
What's more, after the Battle of King Qin, he also realized the importance and convenience of large baggage vehicles for transporting supplies. Furthermore, when encountering an enemy suddenly, the benefits of using large baggage vehicles and side chariots to form defense formations.
Now the focus of the Chariot and Frame Bureau is on manufacturing large baggage trucks and side chariots, because they are both for military use, and they are also used for formation defense during wartime. They not only need to be strong.
More importantly, it is manufactured in accordance with military standards. Even heavy baggage vehicles must be equipped with side compartments and compartment panels at key parts to provide sufficient defense when forming formations on the battlefield.
There is no technical content here, it just needs to be built according to regulations. What has been completed now is the frame needed by Zhang Cheng's escort pro-military headquarters, as well as the Chinese military vehicles, pole vehicles, Yuanrong vehicles, etc. have all been manufactured.
…………
The Yunzhou Jiangying camp spans both sides of the Baihe River and occupies a huge area. Zhang Cheng and the supervisory eunuch Li Guofu only picked out some important and urgently needed departments to take a look around.
In fact, Zhang Cheng's focus here is to inspect the gun bureau. His purpose is very clear. He wants to use this inspection to prompt Li Guofu to come forward and help him mobilize more craftsmen who drill and grind gun tubes, as well as fine iron.
In Shenshi, Zhang Cheng and other people came to Yunzhou Posthouse. This was his second time here. When he first arrived on Shangbei Road, he went to Dushi and rested here for one night. That night there were warblers and swallows dancing with him.
Gentleness can do things.
Nowadays, the beauty is no longer there, but there is also a monitoring eunuch, Eunuch Li, accompanying him.
With a charming smile on his face, Lu Dachun, the postmaster of Yunzhou, ushered everyone into the main hall to rest. He then smiled at the monitoring eunuchs Li Guofu and Zhang Cheng and said, "The room has been prepared for you. Do you two adults need to rest for a while? We are preparing meals here."
It will also take some time.”
Seeing that Zhang Cheng and the others were not paying attention, he smiled again and said, "I have prepared two quiet rooms in the back room. Please move to the quiet room and have tea, so as to avoid the noise here."
Zhang Cheng smiled and asked Li Guofu to take a rest in the quiet room, but he took a few more glances at the incoming agent and asked, "Lü Dachun, how many years have you been serving as the agent here?"
"Replying to Admiral Zhang, I have been serving as Yi Cheng here for six years."
Zhang Cheng originally wanted to invite Eunuch Li Guofu to go into the quiet room to rest alone, but he pulled his hand and walked into the quiet room together. Two young eunuchs had already entered the room first and were making a pot of tea.
Postmaster Lu Dachun was a very well-behaved person. He led Zhang Cheng and Li Guofu to the door of the quiet room. After seeing them enter the room, he quietly retreated out.
Zhang Cheng and Li Guofu sat at separate tables. Two young eunuchs handed them freshly brewed tea. Li Guofu slowly said: "Zhang Cheng, are you coming all the way here just to trick our family into assigning craftsmen to you?"
And fine iron."
Zhang Chengcai leisurely picked up the tea cup and put it to the tip of his nose to smell the aroma of tea. Suddenly he heard Li Guofu's high-pitched but calm voice saying these words, and he almost dropped the tea cup in his hand to the ground.
He hurriedly put down the tea cup on the table, raised his head and his eyes were fixed on Li Guofu. His thoughts flashed in his mind. Suddenly, he stood up and bowed: "Zhang Cheng has this intention, but everything is done in order to complete it as soon as possible."
The new army has no other intention than to repay the emperor's great kindness.
Otherwise, Zhang Cheng would not dare to do this even if he lent Zhang Cheng 10,000 courageous words, and I hope Eunuch Li will be aware of everything."
Li Guofu's face remained calm. He slowly picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea. After putting down the tea cup, he slowly said with a cold tone: "Get up."