"If the Chinese had the specific environment of Europe and the United States, instead of being in a vast region cut off by deserts to the north, cold snow-capped mountains to the west, jungles to the south, and vast oceans to the east, the situation would be completely different. That will be the Chinese, not the Europeans, inventing science and technology and capitalism. The names of great figures in history will be Chinese, not those of Galileo, Newton and Harvey, among others. ”

…… Needham.

In June of the third year of Jingkang in the Great Song Dynasty, on both sides of the Zhanghe River, the green willow branches swayed with the wind, and the green on both sides of the river spread out, stretching for several miles.

The sky is as blue as washing, a few white clouds are wandering peacefully on it, the mountains are layered, lush and green, and all kinds of peach blossoms and apricot blossoms are in full bloom. Swallows skim the water, butterflies fly, fishermen fish alone on the boat, a landscape painting.

The sound of "Peng" broke the surrounding tranquility, and the birds in the trees were frightened, and "fluttering" fluttered their wings and flew high.

At the test range, the muzzle of the gun flashed out, a pungent white smoke floated up, and everyone covered their ears and looked forward.

The iron pill roared out, and the wooden planks in the distance were shattered, and the sawdust flew in a terrifying manner.

After the cannon fired, a short young man in black picked up a wet mop in a bucket and extinguished the sparks in the barrel first. A tall craftsman took a dry mop and wiped the water from the barrel of the gun.

The two craftsmen restarted reloading the ammunition, adjusted the angle and carried out the next fire.

"Pong! Ponto!"

The sound of artillery continued to sound, and the craftsmen tried to fire six or seven times in a row, and the effective range of both guns was basically about 1,000 steps, and the farthest was about 1,200 steps. The cannon body was a little hot, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

When everyone came to the target, they saw that the iron bullets had penetrated or shattered the wooden planks, and they were rolling everywhere, and the wooden planks had been broken and could only be used for cooking.

Although the artillery was tried countless times, everyone was still terrified. If this cannonball hits a person, I am afraid that the flesh and blood will be blurred, and there will be no human appearance!

Solid bullets injure people with ricochets, while shotguns cover an area. However, on the battlefield, in the face of the Jurchen cavalry, the lethality of solid bullets was much greater.

Think about the later generations, the artillery is more than five miles when it is fired casually, and the 155mm self-propelled guns are more than five miles for flat fire.

Historically, in the late Qing Dynasty, the maximum firing range of the Qing army's 3,000-pound artillery was less than 1,200 meters, far inferior to the British Army's 12-pounder field gun (1,100 catties) of about 3,200 meters. A 32-pounder gun of the British Navy can shoot a 14.5-kilogram projectile over 1,700 meters. This was difficult for the Qing army to achieve with medium and heavy artillery.

At that time, the 32-pounder gun, which was commonly armed in the British Navy, could crush or penetrate hard oak wood up to 915 cm thick at a distance of 80 meters.

The reason for this is the difference in the formula ratio of gunpowder and the way gunpowder is produced.

Wang Song's gunpowder ratio and granulation are all from later generations, although the production method of gunpowder is somewhat backward, but it is already very close. Although the range of his current artillery is not as good as that of later generations, and there is a lot of difference, it is already a huge improvement.

"God bless, once the dosage is determined, all of them will be changed to medicine kits."

Powderpowder wrapped tightly in silk was more powerful, burned sufficiently, and the breech was easy to clean. The rotten stalks of later generations are all stunts in this era. Lin Tianyou hurriedly agreed.

The most perfect condition for the launch of the cannonball is to push the cannonball to the mouth of the pipe at the moment when the gunpowder is completely burned, so that the range is the longest and the most powerful. Silk medicine packets are extremely flammable and leave very little residue, and the gunpowder is wrapped and sealed, producing more energy.

"Great official, this is the big cannon we are building now. According to your instructions, the villain groped around, and there are currently two types: 400 catties and 300 catties. ”

Lin Tianyou pointed to a slightly thicker artillery and introduced:

"Daguan, this artillery weighs 400 catties, the cannon body is three and a half feet long, loaded with 3 catties of gunpowder, and the shell weighs 7 catties and 2 taels. Below is a wooden gun carriage, the total weight of the gun carriage and the gun is about 600 pounds, a horse can pull it, and it can be used in the field. ”

He walked to a slightly smaller cannon and continued: "Daguanren, this is another kind of artillery, the cannon weighs 300 catties, the cannon body is three feet long, it is loaded with two and a half catties of gunpowder, and the shell weighs 5 catties and 3 taels. The gun and the gun carriage combined, about 450 pounds, easy to move, can be pulled out of the field. ”

Wang Song nodded, 600 catties, 450 catties, three or four stout men, can also be moved with bare hands, there is absolutely no problem in field battles.

Wang Song went up and stroked the artillery, his body was smooth, dark and shiny, just like a handicraft, which made people's hearts beat and couldn't put it down.

"God, if I'm right, this should be an iron cannon."

"Great officials have good eyesight! The cannon was made of iron, and there are not enough copper blocks in the ironworks these days, but iron is everywhere. ”

Seeing Wang Song asking, Lin Tianyou was also a little proud, and finally made a breakthrough in artillery, and he also had an explanation.

"The officials can rest assured that the artillery has been soaked in cold water for many days, and hundreds of shells have been test-fired, and there will never be a problem of exploding!"

"God forbid, the data of artillery tests, the process of casting guns, and the operation steps should be compiled into a book, so as to provide technical support and improve the quality of artillery. All the data in it is carefully recorded, including the ammunition ratio and so on. ”

Ancient Chinese civilization was characterized mainly by technological inventions. Most of the inventions and creations are not official creations with a purpose, and it is difficult to form an industry and form a general direction. Most of the inventions come from ordinary people, which are very scattered and cannot be used in a centralized manner, and the power of invention cannot be effectively exerted.

The literati of the upper class also generally emphasized literature over technology, and literature was the main profession, and few officials were interested in delving into scientific issues.

Ancient Chinese technology is basically empirical technology, which belongs to the craftsman civilization, and has formed a strong inertia, becoming an insurmountable cultural form. It is difficult for folk inventions to develop into modern science without the support of systematic theory and basic disciplines.

During the Song and Song dynasties, economic development, especially in the Southern Song Dynasty, had to encourage economic development to maintain the normal operation of the court in order to survive, which also led to the unprecedented development of the country's industry and commerce, and the gap between the rich and the poor increased.

The Song dynasty crossed to the south, and Zhao Gou of the Song Gaozong wantonly persecuted the meritorious heroes, killed the military ministers, and took a corner of Gou'an, resulting in the failure of the great cause of national reunification, and the centralization of power and autocracy was unprecedented.

The people suppressed hardship and low national consciousness, and the Confucian science represented by Zhu Xi appeared on the scene, "preserving the principles of heaven and destroying people's desires", "the golden mean" was popular, recognizing "heaven" and not "man", the logic of truth was attributed to the position of power, only recognizing the monarch and father and not recognizing equal rights and interests, "three outlines and five constants", Confucianism reversed the category of moral preaching in previous dynasties, standardized the people's thoughts and behaviors from etiquette and even laws, and forcibly instilled them, seriously imprisoned the people's thinking and thoughts, and stifled the most important social creativity.

The foundation of the prosperity of the country and the nation lies in the cohesion of the people and the progress of technology.

The Great Song Dynasty had a prosperous economy and a developed level of science and technology, but the imperial court was autocratic and corrupt, and the gap between the rich and the poor was great, resulting in the people living in poverty and being trampled by the iron horsemen of the ferocious nomadic fishing and hunting people. In the final analysis, the cohesion of the people is no more. In order to restore the cohesion of the people, equality in economic status is the foundation for the establishment of cohesion among the people.

The Great Song Dynasty is not limited to land annexation, the gap between the rich and the poor is huge, the rich have a land of hope, and the poor have no place to stand, how can the cohesion of the people be said?

Just like the Manchu Qing Dynasty in later generations, they were stubborn and closed off the country, and in front of the British ships and cannons, the gate was opened, and the First Sino-Japanese Naval Battle was defeated by Japan after the Meiji Restoration. The most important thing in the country's technological progress lies in the openness of the people's minds.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Chinese astronomy, medicine, especially physics related to labor and production, and other science and technology achieved unprecedented and rapid development, and the progress of this science and technology was first of all due to the political speech environment of "a hundred schools of thought contending" at that time, and this "hundred schools of thought" speech environment was the need of the times to disintegrate and break the old slave ownership system such as "well fields" and establish feudal systems such as land privatization.

Since the twelfth century, the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties in China have spared no effort to strengthen autocracy and distort Confucian culture.

Imprisoning thoughts, centralizing power and controlling the people, the upper strata are rotten, the people are poor and helpless, the upper and lower levels are separated, and the sand is scattered, how can we open up the wisdom of the people, enrich the country and strengthen the people, and even enrich the country and strengthen the army?

Wang Song wants to provide these people with a relaxed environment, so that they can concentrate their energies and delve into these "scientific" problems without distractions, and form "science" from "technology".

"God bless, the golden people poison the people, and time is running out. How many cannons will be made this month? ”

"Back to Xianggong, according to the current progress, fifty or sixty heavy artillery pieces and more than 100 small cannons can be built in one month."

Wang Song nodded, three iron factories, six refining furnaces, the speed is basically like this.

Seeing the two masters of Populus euphratica next to the artillery, as well as the two craftsmen, one black and one fat, Wang Songchun laughed.

"God bless, these two brothers are both artillery-makers, otherwise you wouldn't have brought them over."

"Don't hide it from the big officials, these two brothers are craftsmen recruited last year. The two brothers are not very old, but they are highly skilled, and they have a lot of research in casting cannons, and the villain specially brought them over to meet the big officials. ”

In the land of Hebei, there is no shortage of blacksmiths. Of the five major iron-making places in the Northern Song Dynasty, there are three around Handan alone, and there are countless craftsmen with craftsmanship, and people with superb memories also abound. This also makes the technical ability of the iron factory outstanding, and the weapons produced are also of good quality.

Artillery casting, from ironmaking, gunpowder, and molding, is a very complex process, and no one can fully master it in a short time. These two people can pay attention to some doors in a year, and it seems that they have some ability.

Wang Song carefully looked at the two craftsmen, one tall and one short, with knotted muscles, unusually strong, and thick bones on his hands.

"Xianggong, the tall and fat one is called Liu Hongjin, a native of Jizhou; The black and thin one is called Zhang Xuezhi, a native of Xiongzhou. ”

Wang Song nodded and pondered: "Two brothers, there is a long way to go to fight against the northern captives. Our army is newly created, and everything is waiting to be developed, so the two of you will serve in the army and serve as artillery generals. ”

The two were overjoyed, stepped forward together, clasped their fists and bowed: "Thank you villain!"

When the people went down, Ma Kuang came up and asked softly:

"Xianggong, are you really not going to meet Dong Xian and them?"

"Not at the moment, the news of my comeback, don't disclose it to anyone for the time being, I don't want to have anything to do with the imperial court."

Ma Kuo nodded and said regretfully: "It's a pity that tens of thousands of elite soldiers of the Hebei Loyal and Righteous Army have arrived. If Xianggong can control them in his hands, why worry about the thieves not being destroyed!"

"Iron still needs to be strong!"

Wang Song said coldly: "From now on, I will break off with the Great Song Dynasty, and everyone's well water will not interfere with river water." My loyal army is still a loyal army, and the Xuanfu Division is still the Xuanfu Division, but it is not subject to the control of the Great Song Dynasty. ”

Ma Kuo was secretly surprised. Wang Song came this time, making it clear that he wanted to humiliate the Song court.

The Great Song Dynasty established him as a "false loyalty", and he did not praise or belittle, he directly chose to fight back.

Ma Kuo finally put his mind at ease. Wang Song was disheartened, no longer entangled with the Song family, set up his own door, and the great cause of resisting gold would not come to an abrupt end.