December of the fourteenth year of orthodoxy, Yushan Town.

In the recruit training camp of the Yushan Town Guard Guard, the first batch of 120 gunners recruited by Hu Dexing were practicing intensively, and the 12 gunners recruited by Liu Juntao from Qingzhou Mansion served as instructors, each of whom was responsible for the training of 10 gunners.

And the artillery used by everyone in practice is only three for the time being.

Liu Juntao was not in a hurry to cast artillery, and it was the cold winter season, and it was not the best time to cast artillery.

If you want to cast artillery, it is best to wait until midsummer, so that you can take advantage of the hot weather in midsummer to dry the molds and tires of the cannon to prevent hollows in the cannon body.

On this day, Liu Juntao brought a team of guards to the new barracks, ready to take a look at the gunners' drills, Hu Dexing also rushed over when he heard the news, and accompanied Liu Juntao to look around in the new barracks.

"Jun Tao, now there are one hundred and twenty newly recruited gunner apprentices in the new barracks, and they are being trained by twelve gunners from Qingzhou Mansion, and it is estimated that they can achieve a small success in two months, and they can be out of the division in half a year."

Listening to Hu Dexing's introduction, Liu Juntao said with a smile: "Half a year! It happens to be the summer of next year, and then the Yushan Military Bureau and the Xuzhou Military Bureau can start casting our own artillery, and our battalions in Yushan Town can also form their own artillery battalions! ”

Hearing this, Hu Dexing also said excitedly: "Okay! When the time comes, our Yushan Town will have soldiers, cavalry, and artillery, not to mention Shandong, even if you look at the entire Ming Dynasty, all the battalions in our Yushan Town will also be a first-class strong army! ”

Liu Juntao nodded, and his heart was also surging.

As they spoke, the two came to the training ground, only to see a team of ten apprentices being trained, a gun was placed in front of everyone, and a gunner was pointing at the gun and explaining loudly.

"If the artillery wants to open fire and bombard the enemy, it takes a process. The first is to clean the chamber, to use a wooden stick and coarse cloth to clean the chamber, without a trace of impurities and debris; Then there is the charge, when the charge is to cover the ignition hole with a leather gloved hand, then load, and then use the push rod to push the solid, must be pushed tightly, without leaving a trace of gap; Then it's about aiming, and after aiming, you light the arquebus and fire. ”

Liu Juntao and Hu Dexing also stopped to the side, listening to the gunner's explanation.

And Liu Juntao pondered: "The process of firing this artillery is also relatively cumbersome, and in the future, you can refer to the orthodox nine-year-old bird gun, and the artillery team will also fully implement the fixed ammunition such as paper shell fixed ammunition, so that the firing speed of the artillery can be greatly improved!" ”

Thinking of this, Liu Juntao began to think about whether it would be feasible to use paper shells if the shells wanted to use fixed ammunition, after all, the volume of the shells was too large, and it was very likely that too much residue would be left behind if the shells were used.

"If you can't use paper shells, what kind of material should you use?"

Just as Liu Juntao was thinking, the gunner began to explain the specific aiming matters again.

"The artillery body is equipped with a star and a door on the front and back, which can be compared a hundred steps away, and the star, the door and the target must be three points and one line, so that the shot can be accurate!"

"Such a small cannon, each shot uses three taels of gunpowder, filled with a large lead, weighing about one catty and six taels; If you change it to a small lead, you need to fill 100 pieces, and each small lead piece weighs four coins. After loading, aim at the star and the door, and put the muzzle one inch higher flat, the big lead can bombard one or two miles away, and the small lead can bombard more than 200 steps away; If the muzzle of the gun is raised three inches, the large lead can bombard a full two miles away, and the small lead can bombard two hundred paces away, and the bombardment area can reach more than 40 paces wide. ”

Liu Juntao listened quietly, and said secretly in his heart: "The range of the small cannons equipped in these Ming armies is still a little closer, far less than the range of the red-clothed cannons and big Buddha Lang machines in the late Ming Dynasty, which can reach several miles away!" Moreover, the power of these small cannons is also quite limited, and they can only be used to destroy specific parts such as city gates and towers during the siege of the city, and they are still powerless for the thick city walls. In field warfare, the deterrent power is far greater than the actual power, and it can only scare the enemy's soldiers and horses, and many enemies cannot be killed in a big battle. ”

In such a situation, Liu Juntao was even more determined to pay attention to casting large-caliber artillery, and as for the mobility of large-caliber artillery, it can be solved by artillery trucks and mules and horses.

At this time, Hu Dexing said: "Jun Tao, there is a team of apprentices over there who are firing guns, let's go over and take a look." ”

Liu Juntao nodded and said, "Okay!" Let's take a look. ”

With that, Liu Juntao and Hu Dexing came to the north of the training ground, which has been transformed into a live-fire range, and the surrounding houses and personnel have all been emptied to avoid accidental injuries.

In addition, the shells used in practical operation are relatively small, which are training shells, and the amount of gunpowder refilled has also been reduced by one-third.

"Fill the list!"

"Reload!"

"Reloaded!"

"Seventy steps from the target, ready!"

"Put!"

"Boom!"

After a loud bang, Liu Juntao and Hu Dexing saw that the cannon opened fire suddenly, and a cannon instantly concentrated the target seventy paces away, and immediately smashed the wooden target into pieces.

"Hit the target!"

Liu Juntao saw that a shot hit the target, so he smiled and said to Hu Dexing: "Not bad! It seems that these gunners have done a good job, and tonight they will give everyone a bowl of good wine! ”

Hu Dexing said with a smile: "Hehe, everyone should be happy now." ”

"However, after all, the training ground is limited, and when the apprentices are almost done, it is best to take everyone outside to practice live-ammunition, so that everyone can also experience the atmosphere of actual combat in the field."

"Okay, I'll make a note of it."

The two were talking, and suddenly saw Liu Zi'an walking quickly, looking very unsightly, Liu Juntao and Hu Dexing both jumped in their hearts when they saw this.

Hu Dexing frowned and whispered, "Something happened!" ”

Liu Juntao waved his hand and said, "Go!" Go over and take a look. ”

When the three of them met, Liu Zi'an was just about to speak, Liu Juntao pointed to the reception room next to him and said, "Let's talk about it when we go in." ”

After the three of them entered the house, Liu Zi'an said in a deep voice: "General, Hu Sicheng, I have found out the whereabouts of the thieves in Ye Zongliu's department!" ”

Since Liu Juntao was already a guerrilla general officially appointed by the Ministry of War, everyone in Yushan Town changed the name of Liu Juntao to the general, instead of being called General Lian.

"Where?"

During this period of time, Liu Juntao has been asking the Investigation Department to look for the traces of the thieves in Ye Zongliu's department, but there has been no news, and Liu Juntao has some worries in his heart.

At this time, he suddenly heard the news that Ye Zongliu's thieves had arrived, and Liu Juntao was also nervous.

Liu Zi'an said with an unkind face: "General, Hu Sicheng, a thief riot suddenly broke out in Yanping Mansion in Fujian, and the thief leader Deng Maoqi led his troops to attack the city and plunder the land, and the surrounding officials and troops were unable to resist. And Ye Zongliu's thieves suddenly appeared in the army of Deng Mao's seven subordinates and became the leader of Deng Maoqi's subordinates! ”

Liu Juntao and Hu Dexing were dumbfounded when they heard the news, they didn't expect that Ye Zongliu would run to Fujian, and successfully join up with another army of thieves, this is a big deal!

Moreover, Liu Juntao is also vaguely anxious, that Deng Maoqi is not a good stubble, and he has also left a name in history, making a big fuss in Fujian, turning the southeast coast upside down.

Now that Ye Zongliu and Deng Maoqi are two thieves together, they don't know how much bloody rain they are going to set off!

Thinking of this, Liu Juntao said to Hu Dexing and Liu Zi'an: "Now that the garrison on the Fujian side can't resist it, the imperial court will definitely mobilize reinforcements from the surrounding provinces, it is impossible to the north, Nanzhili is very close to Fujian, and the imperial court will still protect Nanjing, and it will not mobilize the soldiers and horses over there." Therefore, the greatest possibility is to transfer troops from Shandong, Henan, Zhejiang, Guangxi, Guangdong, and other places. ”

Hu Dexing frowned and said, "In other words, we must also be ready to be requisitioned and transferred south by the imperial court!" ”