"The biggest problem with artillery is steel! Unlike weapons such as swords, the barrel of a gun needs to achieve a balance between toughness and sturdiness, and while maintaining sturdiness, it is especially difficult to weaken toughness! Yan Liben shook his head and said.

"Don't have a clue?" Zou Yu asked with a frown. Originally, I thought that steel appeared, and there should be no problem with the barrel, but now I know that the military industry is really not so simple.

"At present, after many experiments, the steel is indeed better, but the progress is not much, and it is released continuously, that is, about thirty cannons! Of course, if you use it intermittently, you should be able to use it for a long time. Yan Liben replied.

"Is there a solution for the craftsman? Or the direction of research? Zou Yu continued to ask.

Although it can be used intermittently, it can improve the use time, but this is only a temporary solution to the problem, and it is impossible to stop there and not study, after all, if you want to fight for a long time and with high intensity, you still have to use good artillery.

"The barrel cannot be used for a long time, mainly because the impact force of the artillery is too great when it attacks, so it is possible to thicken the wall of the pipe or reduce the shell, which can also improve the service time." Yan Liben explained.

"No! Reducing the number of cannonballs will be even less destructive to the city wall; Thicken the walls of the tubes, which undoubtedly increases the weight, and the volume of the gun is even greater, so it is too cumbersome to transport! Zou Yu shook his head and objected.

Now the smallest artillery pieces are more than a thousand pounds, and it takes four war horses to pull it, and it has to be escorted away by one or two dozen people.

"As a result, we have to continue experimenting with steel formulations." Yan Liben shook his head helplessly.

"Let's make twenty artillery pieces first and send them to Luoyang for defensive purposes!" Zou Yu thought for a moment and said.

"It takes 100,000 catties of steel to do this! The steel on the other side of the reservoir will have to wait again. Yan Liben said.

"Wait, wait! Anyway, the construction of the reservoir cannot be completed in one or two years, so there is no need to rush it! Or guarding Luoyang, it's more important! Zou Yu shook his head and said helplessly.

"Lord Wang, in the opinion of his subordinates, there is no need to place artillery in Luoyang." Yan Liben said.

"Why?" Zou Yu asked curiously.

"My subordinates found that the biggest role of artillery is still deterrence! There are only a limited number of people who can really kill. ”

"Yes, this is indeed a shortcoming of the current artillery, so I asked you to continue researching." Zou Yu nodded in agreement.

Therefore, the subordinates think that it is better to build ten artillery pieces and place them in Jinyang! On the day of the prince's accession to the throne, in front of the public, bombardment will be carried out! Naturally it can deter the enemy! Let no one dare to hit Jinyang's attention, let alone make enemies with the prince! Yan Liben suggested.

When Zou Yu heard this, he immediately understood, isn't this a military exercise! Deterring the enemy with strong force, although it cannot destroy the enemy, the enemy will also be afraid and dare not invade.

"Wouldn't this expose our strength!" Zou Yu frowned.

"My subordinates have been supervising the production of artillery for a long time, and they have a lot of experience, such a technology, outsiders can't learn it in a short time, even if it's exposed, it doesn't matter!" Yan Liben said.

"Huh! You're right, it's me thinking too much! Even if they knew, they wouldn't be able to do it, but in the future, Jinyang will not be clean, and I don't know how many spies will come. Zou Yu said with a smile.

If you want artillery, not only the steel problem, but also gunpowder, Zou Yu for gunpowder, attaches great importance to the issue of secrecy, the collection of materials is separated, the raw materials are refined and a group of people, and finally mixed into gunpowder, but also selected several times.

The craftsman supervised the production and experimentation of muskets and artillery, and he didn't know the gunpowder formula at all, so Zou Yu thought about it and settled down.

Of course, there is no doubt that showing it will definitely attract prying eyes, but it is not without its benefits! At least the people under the rule, after the soldiers saw it, their morale must have increased greatly! It is more beneficial for himself to ascend the throne.

"Don't worry, the prince is not worried, there is absolutely no problem with the craftsman supervisor, they are all personally selected by his subordinates!" Yan Liben assured.

"I don't worry about the people who are the craftsmen and supervisors, but I am worried about their safety, inform them that they must be accompanied by guards when they travel in the future, and all the other craftsmen and supervisors will move to the same community! It's easy to take care of their families, and I don't want to be threatened by their negligence. Zou Yu reminded.

"Whoa!" Yan Liben bowed gratefully. Such a well-thought-out leadership is unconvincing.

"I will increase the number of protective personnel around you, remember to bring the same when traveling, don't be too troublesome."

"Hmm!"

"That's right! Musket research, can there be progress? Zou Yu diverted the topic and asked.

"Not yet! The primer you mentioned is completely out of the way. Yan Liben said apologetically.

Zou Yu knew that the guns of later generations all used bullets, and the premise of using bullets seemed to be that the bottom of the bullet was equipped with a primer, and when it was hit, the primer would push the bullet and kill and injure the enemy.

Whether it's a primer or something else, it seems that smokeless gunpowder is needed next! And explosives! Zou Yuzhi also played with the trigger-type earthen gun when he was a child, but if you ask him how to get explosives, he will be blind.

Just remember that dynamite is needed nitroglycerin! This is something that is refined from oil.

These dangerous things, of course, are still handed over to those Taoist priests who can't eat Dan to get them, as for no progress, this is what is expected, if you really want to get it out immediately, Zou Yu may have to suspect that he has crossed over.

The explosives didn't come out, the primer, and the bullets didn't progress, this first generation of black powder, it seems that there is still a long way to go, this is a lifetime series, Zou Yu is not surprised, so he didn't continue to ask about rifling.

"On the musket side, there has been a slight progress." Yan Liben said.

"Oh! Show me! There was no ask, but there was a surprise, Zou Yu hurriedly asked.

"The most troublesome thing about the use of muskets is loading, so my subordinates wondered if they could put gunpowder and ammunition together, and when they were used, just put them in." Picked up a musket and took out a round object that was thicker than his thumb, and Yan Liben introduced it to Zou Yu.

"This is a thick paper soaked in grease, and the gunpowder, ammunition, and fuses are loaded in advance, and when you use it, you only need to clean the barrel slightly."

"Nice idea!" Taking the palm-long ammunition, Zou Yu sighed.

"This is all the credit of you, Lord Wang, if it weren't for your proposal to make bullets, because you can't make a primer, your subordinates would think of this." Yan Liben said impressively.