On the third day of the fifth lunar month in the fiftieth year of Qianlong's reign, just after eight o'clock in the morning, we were five miles north of Baerhu Gate in the north of Jilin City.
A group of Manchu and Qing officials were already standing at the gate of the cannon foundry, as if they were waiting to welcome some big shot.
Not long after, a group of two hundred armored cavalrymen came slowly from the direction of Baerhumen. In the middle of the group was a huge green baize-carrying sedan.
As the ceremonial guard passed by, pedestrians on both sides of the road knelt down and kowtowed. After the procession passed by, they got up and continued on their way.
When the team arrived at the entrance of the artillery factory, the waiting Manchu officials and the foreman of the artillery factory knelt down to salute.
As three trumpets sounded, the sedan curtain opened, and a middle-aged man with slender eyes, white face and slight beard walked out, wearing a four-clawed python robe, a yellow mantle, a ruby top on his hat and flower feathers for his eyes.
Shining brightly in the morning light. It is none other than the first-class Jiayong Marquis, co-organizer of the bachelor, Jilin General Fukang'an.
In early February of the fiftieth year of Qianlong's reign, the Military Aircraft Department made Qianlong's edict known to the world. He appointed the great scholar A Gui as the minister of economics and strategy to control the military affairs of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Shengjing. He appointed the great scholar Fu Kang'an as the general and admiral of Jilin.
Jilin, Heilongjiang and other places recruited troops and horses.
At this time, outside the gate of the gun foundry, a group of responsible officials and craftsmen leaders knelt down and worshiped. Fukang'an raised his whip and said: "Everyone, get up." After saying that, he walked straight and entered the gate of the gun factory. The soldiers behind him
He and his counselors also followed.
A group of people walked into the artillery factory and saw white smoke filling the air and steam in the air. It was a completely different world from the outside of the artillery factory. Thousands of blacksmiths, carpenters and helpers were all busy. There was the sound of hammering, sawing and hammering.
The sound of hitting was continuous.
At this time, when everyone saw Fukang'an arriving, they all put down their work and were about to pay homage. Fukang'an said to the accompanying officials from the Ministry of Works: "There is no need for a formal ceremony. It is normal to work separately."
The official quickly shouted to the craftsmen in the field: "Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
"Thank you, sir!" The craftsmen bowed to Fukangan, then lowered their heads and continued working.
The accompanying officials from the Ministry of Industry introduced the various courtyards on both sides to Fukang'an as they walked: "Sir, please see, here is where the general cannon is cast, and the place next to it is the copper furnace. On the right is where the second general is cast.
Next to the cannons, cannons, and cannons is the iron furnace. The yard you just entered is where the cannon carriages are made. The yard to the east is where the cannons are cast."
The internal layout of this artillery factory was modeled on the artillery station on the east side of the Lama Temple in Beijing. At this time, there were several arsenals like this in the north of Jilin City, including those making muskets and rockets (used for burning fortresses and grain and grass).
), making flower bombs, etc.
Everyone walked up to a newly cast general cannon. Fu Kang'an looked at the cannon carefully and asked the responsible Ministry of Works official: "Has this cannon been tested?"
"My lord, this cannon was just cast the day before yesterday and has not been performed yet."
After hearing this, Fukangan was noncommittal. He stepped forward and touched the cold body of the cannon, and then asked: "How much does this cannon weigh?"
"Three catties and five taels."
In the 21st year of Qianlong's reign, the Ministry of Industry reported and the emperor approved, the Qing government determined the "Zimu artillery, Weiyuan artillery, Jingfen artillery, decisive victory artillery, victory artillery, Xingying artillery, Jingping artillery, Ti Xing artillery, iron artillery".
85 types of artillery, including "Xingbao" and "Jinghai cannon", are the standard weapons of the Eight Banners and the Green Camp.
In terms of the shape of artillery, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties divided artillery into light and heavy artillery according to the weight of the gun body. For example, those from 560 kilograms to 7,000 kilograms were considered heavy artillery, and those from 390 kilograms to 20 kilograms were considered heavy artillery.
The seven-pound cannon is a light artillery. Western artillery of the same period was mostly classified by caliber, caliber or shell weight, such as long-barreled cannon, mortar, 3-pound cannon, 6-pound cannon, etc. Among them, the caliber of long-barreled cannons are all in
More than 15 times.
In actual use, the artillery varieties of the Qing army were mostly named after the production batch rather than the shape. Even two cannons with the same name built in the same province in different years often had a huge difference in the weight of the gun body.
Heavy artillery is generally made of brass with six coppers and four zincs (for every six kilograms of red copper, four kilograms of Japanese lead is put into it, which is then melted into pots and then cooled and taken out to become brass, which can only be made by people.) While light cannons are made by people.
Use wrought iron produced in Fujian or Shanxi.
The smelting methods for the tube materials of firearms in the Qing Dynasty were mostly made in the Ming Dynasty. The copper furnace or iron furnace in the artillery factory was close to the casting workshop. When Fukang'an and his party walked to the courtyard where heavy artillery molds are produced, a group of gunsmiths saw
They were making clay molds. The accompanying official from the Ministry of Industry was about to introduce it, but Fukang'an stopped him with a wave of his hand. He had been in battle for many years and was no stranger to the use of artillery, but he still knew little about production.
At this time, several carpenters were in the yard, concentrating on putting mud on a gun mold. The gun mold, which was made of fir wood, was placed on a wooden shelf about half a person high, with long wooden cannon molds made at both ends.
There are two iron rods tied to the shaft head that is one foot out; when the iron rods are pulled, the gun mold will rotate slightly.
Fukang'an noticed that the wooden mold had already been equipped with wooden lugs, hoops and flowered inscriptions, and the entire gun body was painted with a layer of black stuff.
"What is this?" Fukangan asked, pointing to the dark coating.
The official from the Ministry of Works quickly replied: "That's fine coal ash."
At this time, the craftsmen first picked up a handful of wool from the basket and shook it out, then filled the mud bucket on the side with yellow mud, and then spread the mud-covered wool evenly on the surface of the cannon mold with a thin round-mouthed wooden board.
Apply a thin layer. Several craftsmen applied it very carefully. Once one side was applied, they turned the iron rod to continue applying.
"This muddy water is made from fine gum yellow mud and sifted fine sand. Each layer of wool can only be applied one inch thick. Wait for the mud to dry before continuing to apply it. Repeat it many times before it can be shaped."
A general next to Fukang'an asked: "How thick should this wool be applied?"
The official said: "The thickness of the clay depends on the diameter of the gun. If the diameter of the gun is five inches, the mold clay should be eight inches thick."
"Oh." All the military attachés suddenly realized that there was so much detail involved in just making a mold.
Fukang'an ignored this and walked into the main room of the courtyard. He saw four craftsmen inside, using tools to wrap iron bars on a cannon mold.
The official did not wait for him to ask questions, and explained softly: "When the mud is two-thirds thick, thick iron bars must be tightly wrapped from beginning to end. After wrapping, apply the mud according to the previous method. Apply the mud until it is tenths of the thickness.
At nine o'clock, large iron bars as thick as fingers are evenly placed on the mold to make bone marrow. Now they are making a permanent general cannon, which requires sixteen iron bars, and then uses an inch wide and five minutes thick iron hoops.
, evenly apply eight hoops. Then apply mud according to the previous method. After applying the mud, let it dry in a cool place."
Seeing that Fu Kang'an and others were listening carefully, the official raised his hand and said, "Sir, please follow me." Everyone followed the official out of the room and came to another courtyard. Before entering,
I heard a "dong-dong" knocking sound coming from inside.
Fukang'an walked into the yard and saw several craftsmen struggling to knock out the wooden core of a cannon mold with big wooden hammers. After a while, the wooden core was knocked out. A craftsman took a small shovel and knocked it out of the brazier at his feet.
Shovel out the charcoal fire and put it into the mold. The purpose of this is to dry the clay mold and to burn the wooden earrings, hoops, flower heads and other parts.
Fukang'an asked curiously: "How to place the base and tail bead of this gun?"
The official said: "After the clay mold has cooled, use a feather broom to sweep out the ash. Then stabilize the bottom of the wooden blunderbuss mold, install the tail bead, apply mud according to the previous method, and wait to dry. Finally, take out the bottom of the wooden mold and use charcoal fire
The tail beads are fired and can be cast in the kiln after cooling."
A clerk accompanying him said: "According to this procedure, wouldn't it take several months to cast a cannon?"
The official said: "That's right. According to the regulations, the large-size mold has to wait four months, the small-size mold three months, and the small-size mold two months before it is completely dry and can be cast."
Fukangan asked with a puzzled expression: "How many cannons have been made now?"
The official replied: "There are five cannons for General Yonggu, twenty cannons for General Shengong, fifty cannons for General II, five soaring cannons, and thirty-one cannons for twins and twins."
The so-called "Second General Cannon" is an iron cannon about 1.5 meters long, with a muzzle diameter of about 5 centimeters and a weight of 120 kilograms. The "Sky Cannon" is actually a mortar cannon.
It ranges from one hundred kilograms to seven thousand kilograms; the Zimu Cannon is the Folangji of the Ming Dynasty. It weighs ninety-five kilograms and is made of pig iron. It is a standard weapon within the Eight Banners and cannot be equipped by the Green Battalion.
At this time, Fukang'an's face was gloomy, and he was obviously very dissatisfied with the progress of the cannon casting. After being silent for a long time, he said: "It's still too few. My warship is about to be launched. What can I do if the cannon can't keep up?"
The official bowed and said: "Sir, I have written a report the day before yesterday and submitted it to the Admiral's Office and Lord Admiral. I hope that a group of gunsmiths can be dispatched."
"How much is missing?"
"Right now, there is no shortage of copper, iron, and coal. There are at least three hundred more craftsmen who can keep up."
"I think what you are most lacking right now is mold makers, right?"
"My lord is wise."
Fukang'an waved his hand and said: "I'll give you another five hundred men! I just want to be quick! The army will go north in July. If you dare to delay my artillery, I will take your head!"
The official bowed and saluted with a serious look on his face: "How dare you disobey your order!"
After inspecting the production of the artillery factory, Fukangan and his party watched the performance of the cast artillery in the afternoon. On the test firing range where the cannons were rumbling, a foreigner with a high nose and blue eyes wearing a Qing military attaché uniform was particularly eye-catching.
.
This person's name is Antony Sederi Nikov, and he is a member of the 7th "Tsarist Russian Office in Beijing" (the 7th Orthodox Beijing Missionary Mission sent by Tsarist Russia to the Qing Dynasty). There are two reasons why Fukang'an recruited this Anthony priest.
, firstly, he wanted this person to be an envoy to persuade the "Oros" at the mouth of the Sila River to surrender; secondly, this person was proficient in using quadrants, and wanted him to compile the firing list for the new artillery.
I saw that Priest Anthony was holding a strange instrument in his hand. He had to conduct some measurements and adjustments on each artillery before letting people fire. After observing the impact point of the artillery shells, a pen note on the side was
Record data in a booklet.
Fukang'an looked at it for a while and then ordered someone to call the priest Anthony over.
"Priest An, is this quadrant okay to use?"
"Dear Lord Marquis, the workmanship of this quadrant is very exquisite. With it, it will be very easy to make the shooting table. It's a pity that there is only one. It would be nice to make a few more."
Fukangan just smiled and did not answer.
This "gun measuring quadrant" was imitated by Fukang'an at the request of Qianlong, and there were only two of them in the entire Qing Dynasty. One was placed in the internal affairs treasury, and was occasionally used for the new artillery firing table of the Beijing Artillery Bureau.
Production, one is here. If it is used up here in Fukang'an, it must be returned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs after returning home.
It is said that the "quadrant", as a measuring tool when artillery is fired, has been brought to China with Western missionaries since the late Ming Dynasty, but it has not been widely promoted and is rarely recorded in literature.
The quadrant held by the priest Anthony is entirely made of copper. It is less than a foot tall and is connected to a triangular black sandalwood base.
The entire instrument consists of two quarter circles (quadrants) with a right angle of 90 degrees. There is a hollow square column with a scale on the base. There is a small hole in the middle of the square column that can move up and down. One quadrant
The instrument is located at the top of the square column, and the other is located at a 90-degree right angle at the side and below. At the center of the two quadrants, there is a falling line made of copper bars. When the base is placed in a horizontal position, front, rear, left and right,
The scales of both falling lines are at vertical zero.
When using it, place the quadrant at the end of the gun barrel, and determine the elevation angle of the muzzle through the scale of the upper quadrant's fall line; there is a small hole on the hollow horizontal column in the middle, through which the muzzle is connected to the
The stars there match.
The advanced level of this "Gun Quadrant Tester" is that, firstly, it uses a 360-degree dividing circle system instead of the 48-degree gun gauge measurement, which has higher requirements for the testing accuracy of the artillery launch angle; secondly, the "Gun Quadrant Tester"
The "meter" is composed of orthogonal two-sided quadrants. One side can easily measure the launch angle of the cannon, and at the same time, the other side can be used to perform aiming operations on the target.
After seeing off Fukang'an and his party from the shooting range, Priest Anthony continued the work of compiling the shooting watch. At this time, he felt that he was very lucky to finally leave the closed monastery and follow the famous Marquis of the Qing Dynasty to the north.
By the way, record the geographical scenery along the way.
Although there are only ten clergy members in the seventh "Tsarist Russian Office in Beijing", there is a lot of trouble at all. There are internal fights all day long, and there are quite a lot of conflicts. For example, Orlov, deputy director of the "Russian Office in Beijing"
The resentful director, Joachim Shishkovsky, the head of the missionary mission, wrote two letters back to China to complain, requesting that the director be sent back and replaced by himself. However, the "deputy director" continued to accuse
, he himself was deported first.
But on the other hand, what gives Pastor Anthony a headache is that since mid-September last year, the missionary group's situation in Beijing has suddenly become extremely bad.
This is probably mainly because Zhao Xin and others were regarded as Oros by Qianlong.
After the defeat of Fukang'an, the petty Qianlong ordered the sealing of the monastery in Beijing in anger and prohibited the Orthodox missionaries inside from going out. At the same time, he also asked the infantry commander to set up a heavily guarded sentry at the Yamen and set up a heavily guarded sentry on the gate of the embassy.
A death warrant was nailed to deter the people of Beijing who dared to enter the monastery.
After the incident happened, "Director of the Beijing Office" Joachim Shishkovsky was very angry. He wrote three letters in a row and asked someone to take them back to the country, demanding a strict investigation into who was damaging the relations between the two countries. He said in
The letter repeatedly mentioned that because of the blind and ignorant provocative actions of some idiots, he and other members of the "Beijing Office" became hostages of the Qing Empire and were strictly controlled in Beijing, completely under house arrest!
After a private discussion among the priests, they decided that the most suspicious subjects were the fur traders and fish traders in Kamchatka. After much deliberation, it might have been Rastochkin who had gone on an expedition to the island country to do it!
In 1773, through fishing activities in the Far East, Rastochkin keenly felt that there might be opportunities to obtain huge profits in the south. So he used his private property and sponsorship from other nobles and businessmen to purchase equipment.
He ranked first in the sailing ship "Nicholas", and his behavior was recognized by the Imperial Prime Minister and the local commander in Kamchatka, and he became a naval captain in Tsarist Russia.
He went on an expedition to the island country in 1775. However, the Nicholas on its first voyage capsized in the Sea of Okhotsk. On the second trip, the fleet encountered a typhoon near Urup Island. In 1778, Rasto
Chikin's fleet successfully sailed to Kunashir Island (Kuniashiri Island), and under the guidance of the Ezo people here, came to Akkeshi to start negotiations with the Matsumae Clan, but the Matsumae Clan, who did not want to cause trouble, said
, trade issues can only be discussed in Nagasaki, and they will not lead him to Nagasaki.
All the priests finally agreed that it was this damned fishmonger who was responsible for the mess! Didn’t he know that sabotaging the relationship between the two countries without the authorization of the Queen would lead to the gallows!