The original steelmaking level of the Ming Dynasty was not good, and the furnace temperature was not high, resulting in the forged pig iron being too brittle, the wrought iron being too soft, and it was not easy to grasp the melting point, there were many bubbles, the structure was poor, and the strength was not as good as the copper cannon, which was far less convenient than using copper. However, after the establishment of the steel mill, Daming's steel production soared, and the quality was good enough to try to use it to cast cannons.

It's just that what kind of material needs to be tried over and over again, and the proportion of the alloy is difficult to grasp.

Zhang Yong pulled the cannon and fired the cannon, it seems that there is actual progress, how can Zhu Houzhao be unhappy, he has been waiting for a long time.

"Back to Your Highness, it's still not good!" Zhang Yong said with a little embarrassment: "Two of our artillery pieces have just been blown up, and the rest are also distorted and deformed. Afraid that Zhu Houzhao would be disappointed, Zhang Yong hurriedly added: "However, our iron-core copper cannon has been successfully cast, and the effect is also very good, even if it is loaded with granular gunpowder." ”

Zhu Houzhao immediately smiled, nodded and said, "That's very good, hurry up and take the palace to have a look." ”

The steel cannon is not good, let's use the iron core copper cannon first, how can it be lower than the cost of the copper cannon, the technology of this thing, slowly improve it, it is definitely not an overnight thing.

Zhang Yong saw that Zhu Houzhao was interested, a smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he hurriedly said, "His Royal Highness the Prince, please!" Saying that, he made a gesture of invitation to Zhu Houzhao, and then hurriedly led the way in front, this is the time to show his merits to His Royal Highness the Prince, Zhang Yongke does not dare to slack off, you must know that this is a fatal thing.

If you do a good job, after such a thing, you will naturally be rewarded, and if you do it unsatisfactory, then at least you will not be punished. But if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not satisfied, then things will not be easy to handle.

Zhu Houzhao didn't say anything, you don't need to be lenient at this time, your forgiveness will only make the people below more bold and don't care about you more, you have to make them awe-inspiring, otherwise how can they be obedient.

The group soon came to the test site, where people had been arranged to place the cannon, Zhu Houzhao walked over, stretched out his hand and stroked the barrel of the cannon, the cold touch made Zhu Houzhao nod with satisfaction, turned his head to look at Zhang Yong, Zhu Houzhao asked with a smile: "Tell me!" ”

"Yes, Your Highness!" Zhang Yong hurriedly came up and explained to Zhu Houzhao: "This cannon is cast copper as the body, with iron inside, slightly curved in front and back, like a spiral, weighing 100 catties, 5 feet 6 inches long, not wedged flowers, uplifted six ways, 224 coins for medicine, 428 coins for iron, carrying a four-wheeled vehicle, 1 zhang 2 feet 1 inch long, but horses can also be carried by manpower. ”

Zhu Houzhao listened to Zhang Yong's words and nodded slightly, obviously this is a light front-loading smoothbore gun.

It's loaded with a scatter bomb, and the iron is sprayed out, and a dozen are a large piece, and the effect is basically the same as the Tiger Squat Cannon, but the power is much more than that of the Tiger Squat Cannon. The head and tail of the tiger squat cannon are 2 feet long, and 7 iron hoops are added around the body, and the head of the cannon is erected by two iron claws, and there are iron stumbling, with a total weight of 36 catties. Before firing, the cannon body must be fixed on the ground with a large iron nail, and each launch can be filled with 100 small lead or small stones weighing 5 yuan, and a large lead bullet or large stone bullet weighing 30 taels is used to press the top, and the large and small bullets fly out together when fired, and the sound is like thunder, and the lethality and radiation range are very large.

The firing distance of the Tiger Squat Cannon is not far, only about 500 meters, and in Zhu Houzhao's view, the Tiger Squat Cannon is a mortar of this era.

In the current transportation conditions, the field artillery requires convenient and fast mobility, like the Hongyi cannon in the late Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao feels that the overall road is deviated, most of the Hongyi cannon is about 3 meters long, the caliber is 110-130 mm, and the weight is more than 1 ton.

This kind of artillery is obviously a heavy artillery used by warships, and it cannot be used in field warfare when it is moved to land, and there are two situations that can play a role, that is, defending the city and besieging the city, and field warfare is absolutely not possible. The first is to defend the city, and some equipment can indeed achieve the purpose of defending the city. During the siege of the city, the opponent cowered in the city and did not come out, and our side could calmly mobilize artillery for bombardment.

However, this kind of extreme battle is actually rare, and most of the time the two sides fight each other, so field artillery is very important.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao will also build cannons, and various types of artillery form a series, forming the tactical system of the Ming Dynasty, but it is not now. Turning his head to look at Zhang Yong with a smile, Zhu Houzhao said appreciatively: "It looks good, but I don't know how it will be to fight, let people try it with a few shots, and let the palace see the power." “

"Yes, His Royal Highness the Prince!" Zhang Yong hurriedly bowed down and said, although he still had a certain grasp of the iron-core copper cannon he had built, but Zhang Yong was still very nervous at this time.

If this is done well, it is okay, but if something goes wrong, then I really can't explain it clearly.

Although he was very nervous and worried, Zhang Yong still hurriedly beckoned people to prepare, and the people below were fiddling with the cannon all day long, so they were naturally familiar with it, and quickly set up the cannon, and then began to load gunpowder and iron, and after loading, the torch was also picked up, and then he stood aside and waited quietly for Zhu Houzhao's instructions.

"Your Royal Highness the Prince, get ready." Zhang Yong came to Zhu Houzhao's side and said cautiously.

Zhu Houzhao nodded, and said expressionlessly: "Okay, let's start!" Saying that, Zhu Hou looked at the scarecrow target in the distance, not knowing what effect it would have.

With Zhu Houzhao's order, the flame ignited the fuse, and after a burst of clanging sounds, the artillery suddenly made a loud noise, boom, and there was a feeling that the ground was shaking, and a puff of white smoke rose in an instant, Zhu Houzhao could see the iron flying out like rain, although those scarecrows were wearing armor, but this time it still directly caused a very great damage to the scarecrows.

Needless to say, some scarecrows were directly blown away, and some armor was directly smashed.

Although the new plate armor used here is not the new plate armor of the Ming Dynasty, but the previous armor, this is enough to show the power. Zhu Houzhao saw this scene and nodded with satisfaction, this is very good. The weight of one hundred and ten pounds is convenient for transportation, and when it encounters difficult road sections, it can be carried over, and basically there will be no big problems.

"Zhang Yong, good job, some good Shu brocade and tea came to the womb a few days ago, go back to the palace and ask Liu Jin to send you some." Zhu Houzhao said with a smile, and at the same time did not forget to sow discord. This is called public and private, Zhu Houzhao has long been accustomed to this kind of operation, and it can be said that he is familiar with it.

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