Chapter 624: Siege mortar, an indestructible artifact!
"The Lord God bestowed upon me an indestructible artifact!...The cannon exploded...It exploded..."
A group of crows flew across the high sky, leaving behind a burst of "quacking" cries. Shulot sat under the ceiling of the big tent, holding a letter from the master of casting, his face turning purple. After a moment, he calmed down.
Emotions, take a deep breath and read on patiently again.
"Your Majesty, more than two years ago, you left many fragmentary and unclear divine revelations, and you also mentioned thick and short mortars specially used for siege..."
"It's a mess and unclear." Seeing such a straightforward comment, Shulot raised his eyebrows and clenched his hands.
However, this is also true. Many times, the so-called "divine revelation" is just that he puts forward an impression of the correct technical direction and then describes the shape of creation. As for how to implement it specifically and what the technical details are, it all depends on
The professional master craftsmen slowly explored and solved the difficulties one by one.
In this process, the improvement in the abilities of master craftsmen is obvious. Just like Tiripi, who is exploring cannon casting. He has been casting cannons for many years and has accumulated a lot of experience. He is even able to independently research and manufacture mortars.
"...You said that the length of the barrel determines the range, the caliber determines the power, and the weight of the gun body affects maneuverability... For heavy artillery for sieges, the larger the caliber, the better, but the range is second. Of course, siege artillery
The weight can be increased, as long as it can be transported, it will be no problem even if it is slower..."
"Based on this idea, I designed a new siege mortar. Its length is about one and a half meters, its caliber is between seven and eight inches, it is loaded with 30 kilograms of stone bullets, and its weight is more than 800 kilograms..."
Seeing this, Shulot thought hard and started making calculations.
A bronze cannon with a length of one and a half meters, with a caliber between seven and eight inches, that is, 22-26 centimeters. A stone bullet with a closed mouth is about half a catty of 6-6.5 centimeters of stone balls, with a volume of about 1,000 cubic centimeters. According to the standard density of stone
, 2.8 grams per cubic centimeter, and the closed-mouth bullet is indeed around 30 kilograms. A stone bullet of this weight, converted into pounds, can be a full 33 pounds! And if it is replaced by a closed-mouth iron ball with a density of 2-3 times, then
The power is...
"Well, the iron bullets widely used in Europe are still too luxurious for the current alliance. On the contrary, the alliance has sufficient manpower to polish stone bullets. After the stone bullets hit the city wall, there will be shattering splash damage
, more suitable for the current alliance..."
Shulot pondered for a moment, then estimated the shape of the bronze cannon on the papyrus paper.
The density of bronze is three times that of standard rock, about 8.4 grams per cubic centimeter. And an 800-pound bronze cannon is about 50,000 cubic centimeters. According to the calculation formula of a hollow cylinder, the internal diameter is 12-13 centimeters and the length is 1.5 meters. Then the external
The diameter is...
"A cannon with an outer diameter of 24-25 cm and a wall thickness of 6 cm?"
Thinking of this, Shulot's face showed surprise. Such a short, short and thick cannon is simply...
"It's just a lump of bronze! This... the kingdom's cannon-casting technology still has a lot of room for improvement! Huh... with the current technology, it's stupid, big and thick, and it's the only way to pile up the power.
The choice was made.”
Shulot held the pen and stared at the bronze cannon he drew for a while. After a while, he put a "tick" at the bottom. Then, he looked at the letter again.
"Your Majesty, the difficulty of casting this kind of stubby artillery is much easier than that of long-barreled artillery. Although it took the artillery casting bureau a year or two to build the first one. But with this template, it can be built this year.
Three...no, five!... Please wait and see, even if I risk my life and exhaust my apprentices, I will build enough siege cannons for you!"
The forthright cannon-forging master made a written statement and made a promise that was not always reliable. Then he described the details of the cannon test in a tone that was half excited and half fearful.
"During the first test of the artillery, we used five kilograms of gunpowder and fired it at the forty-five-degree angle prescribed by His Majesty. The range of the thirty kilograms of stone bullets was approximately one hundred steps, and they hit a half-pound in the soil where they landed.
A deep pit of 3 meters... The second test of the cannon, adding ten kilograms of gunpowder, took more than 200 steps, fell into the woods, and broke several big trees! Your Majesty, this kind of range is enough to bombard the city wall.
, instead of worrying about the crossbows at the top of the city!"
Seeing this, Shurot's eyes flashed. According to the parabolic formula, the range of the cannonball is related to the square of the initial velocity and is affected by air resistance. The kinetic energy given by the burning of ten kilograms of gunpowder is about twice that of five kilograms of gunpowder... No,
Including the possibility of incomplete combustion, it should be less than twice. And the kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the initial velocity, that is, proportional to the range, plus the air resistance...
"If the range of five kilograms of gunpowder is less than a hundred steps, then ten kilograms of gunpowder will definitely not be able to reach a range of more than two hundred steps...Tiripi, my casting master, you are patting your chest and talking nonsense again!"
..Moreover, such a range is a bit small even for a mortar. The air tightness during launch needs to be strengthened..."
Shulot picked up his pen and was about to write a reply to the admonishment. But after pondering for a moment, he put the pen down again without writing any criticism.
The last paragraph of the letter contains the details of the explosion of the artillery. There are only a few simple sentences.
"Blessed by the Lord God! This kind of mortar is so powerful that it is like the thunder of the Lord God. It smashes all the wood and stone, and even the city wall cannot withstand it!... The craftsmen of the Cannon Foundry Bureau and the Gunpowder Department were very excited, and everyone decided unanimously to test it.
The upper limit of the artillery range. Director Talaya also nodded in agreement and provided new gunpowder..."
"But I underestimated the power of the new gunpowder, so I added a full fifteen kilograms... Only then did the chamber explode, killing two gunners. I have already provided compensation to their families... Supreme
Your Majesty, please show mercy and forgive my ignorant mistakes!..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Seeing this, Shulot lowered his eyes slightly. Although Tilipi's barrel exploded and people died, he still has to give great encouragement to such an outstanding cannon-casting master.
, generous rewards. Of course, this will have to wait until the new mortars really arrive at the front line and show their power to destroy cities and destroy countries!
"Your Majesty, when this letter reaches you, the new batch of mortar clay molds should already be drying in the shade. This time, I will thicken the walls of the cannon again and increase the weight to one thousand kilograms.
Tighten the copper hoops on the outside! And with such reinforcement, this siege cannon will definitely be able to fire heavier stone bullets, load more gunpowder, and shoot to a farther distance! They are given by the Lord God and inspired by His Highness.
, an indestructible artifact!..."
"Huh? A thousand-pound mortar..."
Shulot picked up his pen and did some calculations. With the addition of two hundred kilograms, the wall thickness of the artillery increased by another centimeter, and the toughness would be further improved.
"Ha! Tiripi, my cannon-forging master, you are on the road of stupidity and darkness, and you will never look back..."
Shurot burst out laughing. Then he began to calculate that when shooting in a 45-degree parabola, the height of the cannonball is about half of the range. And if it can fire a 33-pound stone bullet, it can shoot to a distance of more than a hundred steps.
On the hill, the White Snake Qiu City is dangerous and difficult to attack...
"Huh! If there are such heavy artillery...all the countries and cities in the world will be like weak girls in front of the kingdom's legions, no longer able to stop them!"
Shulot looked stern and put down the letter. He stood up, walked out of the tent, climbed to the watchtower in the camp, and looked at the skyline in the northeast. There, a solid hill city was already like a tortoise waiting to be slaughtered.
Huddled tightly in the shell. At this moment, a group of warriors from the kingdom were escorting two really weak girls into the camp slowly.
