Zhang Dezhi introduced at the side: "This little cannon is a squatting tiger cannon.
It was invented by General Qi Jiguang when he was fighting against the Japanese.
The total gun length is 75 centimeters and weighs 36 kilograms.
Two soldiers can easily lift it, and it mainly fires shotguns, hundreds of shotguns at a time.
This kind of gun is very useful against dense enemies, it can effectively penetrate heavily armored enemies, and it is even more lethal against unarmored enemies."
Su He looked at the Tiger Crouching Cannon. This was an ancient mortar that could be used to support firepower at the company and platoon levels.
Zhang Dezhi patted the medium-sized artillery piece and said, "This cannon is larger than the one I cast for the Wei Institute.
It is more powerful and is very suitable for military operations.
It has a diameter of 75 mm and a total length of 1.2 meters.
It only weighs 800 kilograms and can be pulled away on wheels with a horse."
Zhang Dezhi pointed to the heavy artillery and introduced: "This cannon is the current mainstream red cannon, which is specially used to defend cities and attack fortresses.
It has a diameter of 110 mm and a total length of 2.5 meters.
This cannon weighs two thousand kilograms."
Su He looked at the three kinds of cannons in front of him, the cyan luster was so dazzling.
As long as the firearms factory can mass-produce cannons, let alone the Ming Dynasty official army, even if the Jiannu cavalry comes, he will dare to fight a tough battle with the Jiannu cavalry.
"Let's go to the artillery training ground and try the power of the cannon."
Su He made a request that the power of the cannon should be tested after it was cast.
Don't produce a batch of products that look very powerful and will blow up after a few shots.
Zhang Dezhi cast five cannons of each type. For these fifteen cannons, nearly 20,000 kilograms of copper were used.
Bronze cannons are too expensive to make and are a waste of money. They must be burned to be worth the money.
Su He asked the messenger to notify Zhang Yuliang to take the cannon to test the cannon.
Zhang Yuliang's artillery battalion has not gone to the front line, but is currently training artillery.
Attacking ordinary villages does not require artillery, a powerful weapon.
Only when the troops surrounded Yimen Fort would artillery be used.
Zhang Yuliang ran over with a face of surprise. Looking at the cannons in front of him, he said in surprise: "Dad, you are really good at casting so many cannons."
With these cannons, his artillery battalion is not empty and can go on the battlefield.
Zhang Yuliang immediately ordered his soldiers to carefully carry the bronze cannons for fear of bumping them.
The Tiger Crouching Cannon can be carried away by two soldiers, and the medium-sized artillery can be easily pulled away by a horse.
The heavy artillery required four horses to pull the cart, and the ruts pressed into the loess, sinking 10 centimeters deep.
When Su He saw this situation, he worried about the transportation of heavy artillery.
In addition to water transportation, it can facilitate the transportation of heavy artillery.
Heavy artillery was transported by horse-drawn carriages on a road that was entirely dirt. If it rained lightly, there would be no way to transport the heavy artillery.
The research and development of cement is urgent, but there is no lime mine nearby, so we can only wait until the mine is found.
Lime had limited uses in the late Ming Dynasty and had little mining value.
The gentry who had the ability to mine mined high-value minerals such as gold, silver, iron ore, and copper.
Horse-drawn carriages pulled the cannon to the artillery training ground.
The artillery training ground is right next to the military camp and is a very wide piece of yellow land.
There are many wooden targets in the artillery training ground, which are placed very regularly, with targets placed every ten meters.
The artilleryman unloaded the cannon and placed it as required.
"start testing."
Su He gave the order, and the artillerymen began to load the cannon with ammunition and install long match ropes.
The artillerymen hid in distant trenches and lit the cannon's matches.
After a few cannon shots, these three cannons can be used normally.
Zhang Dezhi rushed over with the craftsmen. The bronze cannon had not cooled down yet, and the gun body was heating up.
He took out a small hammer and tapped it left and right, listening to the echo from the metal.
Zhang Dezhi conducted a detailed inspection. He walked to Su He and said excitedly: "Commander Su, after my inspection, there are no cracks in the cannon.
They are all qualified cannons and can be used normally."
Su He smiled happily when he heard that the cannon was successfully cast and that the firearms factory could mass-produce cannons.
Su He thought about the configuration of the artillery, and deployed the Tiger Crouching Cannon to the platoon level.
Medium artillery is mainly equipped with artillery battalions and used for battlefield support.
Heavy artillery is mainly used to defend and attack fortified cities. It is not in use now, but it must be cast in advance to train soldiers.
"Mr. Zhang, you must produce cannons as soon as possible. Production of ninety Tiger Crouching Cannons, thirty medium cannons, and ten heavy cannons."
Zhang Dezhi accepted the order and happily took the people from the firearms factory back to cast cannons.
Su He and Zhang Yuliang continued to stay at the artillery training ground.
Su He looked at the cannons and ordered: "Let's take out two of each of these three cannons for violent testing.
Gradually increase their charges to see how much will explode.
Select the appropriate charge amount based on the maximum charge required.
Try to prevent the cannon from exploding, maximize deterrence, and use fate as long as possible."
Zhang Yuliang heard Su He's instructions and directed the artillery to gradually increase the cannon's charge.
After several rounds of experiments, they found the maximum charge of the cannon.
The test cannon also exploded directly from behind, and the fragments shattered in all directions.
After careful calculation, Zhang Yuliang also found the optimal charges for the three cannons.
Su He looked at the power of the cannon's blast, which was more powerful than a grenade.
If this were to happen on the battlefield, nearby artillerymen would be injured and killed.
If the quality of the cannon is not good, no artillerymen will be willing to use it.
In the late Ming Dynasty, the artillery quality of the official army was not as good as that of Jiannu.
Not even 10% of the imperial court's allocation for a cannon was spent on casting the cannon.
Su He watched the artillery charging process and put forward his suggestions to Zhang Yuliang.
"I have a suggestion. Calculate the amount of gunpowder required for each type of cannon and wrap it with silk.
Silk, a material that has been burned by fire, leaves almost no residue.
When using it, first pack the silk, then use a tool to cut it through the fire door and put the match rope inside.
Artillery with a little training in this way is the same as elite artillery.
Every artilleryman does not need to rely on his own experience to calculate the amount of charge."
Zhang Yuliang thought carefully about Su He's suggestion.
"Commander Su, we can specialize in producing a thin silk for wrapping gunpowder.
This kind of gunpowder bag is usually wrapped in oil paper, and the oil paper can be opened directly when used.
The gunpowder bag is stuffed into the cannon, and the soldiers carry some bulk gunpowder with them, pour a small amount of gunpowder from the cannon's fire door, and finally load the matchlock.
Thin silk cannot block the burning of gunpowder, and the gunpowder outside can easily ignite the gunpowder inside the silk bag.
In this way, the amount of charge is more accurate, and the gun will not misfire due to nervousness of the soldiers."
Zhang Yuliang proposed better improvement plans based on his own experience.
"Let's go to the warehouse and look for this kind of silk."
Su He and Zhang Yuliang took action immediately and went to the warehouse to look for silk.
Among the silks seized in the warehouse, only two pieces of silk were as thin as cicada wings and very transparent, and they met the requirements after testing.
Su He asked the guards to take away both pieces of silk.
He guessed: "This should be a mosquito net."
I didn't notice the slip of paper that fell from the silk, which said "Special Sichuan Brocade - Exclusively for Jiaofang Division".
The quantitative gunpowder charges were solved, and the artillery continued to test the range of the cannon.
After multiple rounds of testing, they obtained detailed data on these three types of cannons.
The effective range of the Tiger Crouching Cannon is 430 meters.
The medium-sized artillery solid projectile has an effective range of 1,600 meters and a maximum range of 2,400 meters.
The effective range of shotgun is 980 meters.
The effective range of heavy artillery solid projectiles is 2,800 meters, and the maximum range is 3,600 meters.
The effective range of shotgun shells refers to the distance at which they can penetrate heavily armored enemies.
The effective range of a solid bullet refers to the distance at which it exerts its maximum power.