"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Accompanied by several dull cannon sounds, the next moment, there were several somewhat dull whistling sounds in the air, accompanied by the whistle several black shadows swept through the air, followed by a series of heavy objects touching the ground.

"Tom...... Tong...... ......"

The sound of the impact sounded a bit like the muffled sound of a shell falling to the ground, and the moment the shell landed, the grass clippings flew in the target area.

However, the shell did not explode.

"It's done! It's done! ”

Before waiting for the explosion over there, Dai Cang, who was far behind the explosion-proof sandbag, shouted excitedly. At the moment when his words fell, suddenly, a violent explosion sounded, and I saw three explosions of black smoke rising from the target area one after another.

"The timing of the fuse is too long!"

Looking at the smoke cloud rising from the explosion, Zhu Mingzhong said to himself.

"Two more shots, change the time to ......"

Recalling the time from the launch of the cannonball to the landing just now, Zhu Mingzhong turned his head and said.

"Change to three seconds."

Just as the gunner was about to drill holes in the shell guide, Zhu Mingzhong walked over and said.

"I'll do it!"

He then took the nail drill from the gunner's hand and drilled a hole between two and three seconds before shoving the fuse into the top of the shell.

This cannonball is very different from the usual spherical cannonball, it is teardrop-shaped, and in addition to the special cannonball shape, its tail also has a tail fin.

Not only was the cannonball completely different from the ordinary cannonball, but even the cannon was different from the cannons of the past, compared to the cannons of the past, it did not have a gun carriage, the barrel was almost four feet high, and the barrel was supported by a bipod, and there was a wooden gun mount at the end of the cannon, which to outsiders looked like a mortar.

"Mortars are somewhat similar to mortars, but the similarities are ballistics, and they are different in use."

Mortar is an artillery weapon with a very long history, and there are records of mortar artillery being put into actual combat use as early as the thirteenth century. Due to its curved trajectory and ability to fire from behind cover, mortars can be used to hit targets hidden behind them through strong walls, and are also ideal for dealing with enemies hiding in trenches.

In fact, in the artillery sequence of the Loyal Army, in addition to the most widely used nine-pound field gun, the largest number of equipment is probably the 18-pound mortar gun, the shell fired by this mortar weighs 18 pounds, and the barrel is only one foot and three inches long. The barrel of the eighteen-mortar cannon is cast in bronze, and the weight without the base is only 129 catties. When firing, the gun is placed on a level surface, and the recoil of the gun is transmitted to the base plate through the short thick lugs located at the tail of the barrel, which is then absorbed by the ground. But the simple structure was also inconvenient, because there were no gun wheels, and if you wanted to change the direction of the guns or move the position, you could lift them up with four artillery gunners.

Compared to field guns, because the mortar cannon is too short, it can only be used for curved firing. The short and thick barrel could not make full use of the propellant's propulsion, so in order to ensure sufficient range, the mortar gun was generally much more loaded than other guns of the same caliber. Taking the 18-kilogram mortar gun as an example, the propellant it is loaded with weighs 4 kilograms, and the maximum range when it fires a grenade at a 45-degree elevation angle is only about 300 zhang. And in order to withstand the power of the propellant, the barrel thickness of the mortar is much thicker than that of other guns. Despite this, because of its extremely simple structure and light weight, the mortar cannon can still be regarded as a "light" artillery, and it is also an extremely "cheap" weapon, and it is precisely because of this that the eighteen-pound mortar cannon will become the "brigade gun" of the loyal army, and each brigade is equipped with two mortar cannons to provide fire support for it.

The combination of a short barrel, low muzzle velocity and curved ballistics determined that the mortar was not an "accurate" weapon at all. But the larger caliber meant that the grenades fired had a larger charge, which to some extent compensated for the lack of accuracy, which made the mortar an excellent choice for attacking fortifications. The reason why the loyal army is equipped with a large number of mortar cannons is to try to attack the city with the help of it, after all, every city in the country has a thick city wall, compared with the field artillery, the mortar cannon shells are heavier, and it is naturally more effective to bombard the city wall, and the more effective is for the artillery bombardment inside the city, it is more powerful.

During an exercise, after witnessing the use of mortars by the troops, Zhu Mingzhong naturally thought of the mortars of later generations, in fact, the mortars are the modern version of the mortars, but they are lighter.

Therefore, after watching the exercise, Zhu Mingzhong drew a drawing of the mortar, of course, only borrowing the mortar structure and principles of later generations, but improving it according to the characteristics of the times. For example, its gun mount is the same as the mortar, and the base is made of thick wooden planks. In short, when creating mortars, it is based as much as possible on the technical conditions of this era.

"We use mortars to attack the city, is to use 18 pounds of artillery shells to bombard the city wall, and this mortar is used to bombard the enemy, that is, when fighting, bombard its formation, just like this mortar, its barrel weighs no more than 100 catties, the total weight is not more than 200 catties, although it is a little reluctant to carry it by manpower, but it is very easy to transport it with mules and horses, and each squadron can be equipped with two to three mortars in the future."

While learning from the application of mortars in later generations, Zhu Mingzhong tied the medicine bag with a rope, and tied the propellant to the tail of the bullet tail.

Because of the high cost of nitric acid and sulfuric acid production, the propellant used in mortars is still black powder. Instead of a smokeless propellant, this also resulted in the mortar's range not being comparable to that of later mortars.

"In this way, a brigade has 9 mortars, and a battalion has 27 mortars, and when fighting the enemy, 27 mortars can fire hundreds of shells in just a few tens of seconds, so that it is bound to shatter the enemy's formation, so that our army can attack it in a complete formation......"

The reason why mortars are equipped is to take advantage of its rate of fire to dump as many shells as possible on the enemy's head in the shortest possible time, and to maximize the damage of the enemy. At the same time destroy the enemy's formation, creating opportunities for the offensive of the infantry.

After handing the loaded shells to the gunners, the gunners immediately ran to the side of the gun position, and would first tear open a projectile bag, and then stuff the shells into the barrel from the muzzle.

Again, with the sound of several cannons, the black projectiles flying out of the muzzles of the three mortars flew straight into the distance, and almost two seconds later, two shells exploded in the air about two feet above the target one after another, and the location of the explosion was just above a tree, because the shells exploded in the air, so when the smoke cleared, although the tree was still standing, all the leaves on the tree were gone, and some branches were also blown off. However, the other shell exploded after it was grounded, apparently when the cone-shaped wooden fuse on the head of the shell was not set.

Since it is this kind of cone wooden fuse that is not very accurate in timing, it is an epoch-making invention in this era, this is Zhu Mingzhong's invention, it is this simple wooden fuse that drills holes in the middle until both ends are permeable, and then fills the hole with gunpowder, so that the artillery of the Loyal Army has a weapon to break up the enemy's formation - flowering shells. This fuse requires the gunner to calculate the time it takes for the shell to fly according to the required range, and then cut the fuse to the appropriate length according to the calculated data, so that it explodes at a predetermined distance as much as possible. However, because the uniformity of the fuse is very poor, the consistency of the loading is difficult to guarantee, so the combustion rate of each fuse is not fixed, which leads to the fact that many times the explosive projectile fired can only rely on luck to ensure that it will not detonate at a predetermined distance - and because of this, gunners are often used to intercepting the fuse for a longer time than the scheduled detonation time. This also led to the fact that in the first round of test firing, it took a full two seconds for the shell to explode.

"Omitted, this ...... This is really a god, not to mention anything else, if on the battlefield, the cannonballs fired by the brothers are like the cannonballs you shot, either they are blown up in the air or they are blown up when they hit the ground, I am afraid that they can blow up the Qing army without even fighting! ”

When he came to the target area and looked at the several craters that were blown up, Guan Pengcheng looked at the tree in surprise, but wherever it was touched by shrapnel, all white wooden stubble was exposed.

"But no, the two shells that exploded in the air just now, if they were on the battlefield, they could kill at least hundreds of people!"

"The firing range is three hundred zhang, although the range is not as good as the field artillery, but after all, this cannon is a brigade artillery, just like the military gate said, each brigade is equipped with a few guns, if dozens of cannons are aimed at the enemy together, then the effect, the effect can be more than doubled, it is estimated that there is no need to even shoot a gun, just by using artillery bombing, the Qing army can be blown up!"

Guan Pengcheng, who refused to let Dai Cang be in the limelight, also jumped up and added loudly.

As a soldier, he knows very well that the advantages of this mortar, if it can be equipped in large quantities, are likely to rewrite the way the war is conducted. Although the guns of the Loyal and Righteous Army now rely on the sharpness of their own firearms, the effective range of the guns is less than fifty zhang, and the range is longer than that of the guns, and the power is greater, but the number is very limited, although the mortars are specially equipped with a certain number of mortars for the siege, but the shooting accuracy of the mortars is very limited, and now the mortars are not only lightweight, but also can be as commonly equipped as mortars, and their accuracy is quite pickaxe, not like the original mortars, on the battlefield is completely by luck.

"Isn't that it?"

As an artillery instructor, Li Duyuan, as a student of Dai Cang, naturally didn't care about Dai Cang's limelight, and followed closely to echo on the side, but his words seemed quite professional.

"Although the original 18 pounds of mortar shells are more powerful, but there is no accurate head, but the current mortar is different, not to mention the range can be adjusted, and the accurate head is quite high, at least not worse than ordinary artillery, if it is in a war with the Qing army, a few miles away, when it is in formation, the mortars are concentrated, and then with the intensive fire of the mortar a burst of shells, the morale of the Qing army can be blown up at least five or six percent, at this time, and then with the fire of the gun in line to shoot, The chaotic Qing army is naturally not the opponent of our firecrackers, and at that time, our loyal and righteous army will basically use artillery to bombard it for a while, and then send the infantry up. ”

Isn't this the artillery bombardment and infantry rush of the 17th century?

Li Duyuan's words made the corners of Zhu Mingzhong's lips rise slightly, and he thought of a rather vivid basic principle of infantry tactics in later generations, but these six words seem simple, but there is a lot of knowledge in them, after all, the use of artillery involves a lot of mathematical knowledge, although the artillery department has been established in the martial arts hall now, but the teaching materials are still extremely simple, if you want to establish modern artillery, you must master modern artillery technology.

In Napoleon's time, artillery was not only a manual task, but also a technical arm, and it was necessary to make quick and accurate calculations in order to win in artillery battles. It can be said that it was France's strong mathematical attainments that made the French artillery invincible in the European war.

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in France, cold weapons still had a major advantage in the army, so mathematics was of little use. But early artillery and navy were more mathematically demanding. And the quality of officers is much more than ballistic calculations and trigonometric functions. It is particularly important to note that during the Napoleonic period, half of the mathematicians represented by Laplace were from the army, and France used the helmsman of the field to look up to the stars in the rise of empires.

It is necessary to find a way to improve the teaching materials of artillery! Establish a modern artillery training system. Especially the system of education of artillery officers. After all, in this day and age, artillery is the most important weapon. Whether it is the army or the navy. Artillery can be said to be the foundation of the army's combat effectiveness, and artillery officers with good numbers are the soul of artillery units.

Thinking of the artillery textbooks that were introduced to China at the end of the 16th century and the early 17th century using the artillery section in the lecture hall, Zhu Mingzhong's mind suddenly floated, and he almost instinctively thought of sending students to Europe to learn artillery. After all, the Europeans have already established a basic artillery discipline in comparison to the Chinese.

But the question is, even if he is now sending students to Europe, are there schools or military academies where students can study artillery?

Even if there are schools to study in, are there qualified students who are proficient in mathematics now? Not to mention anything else, even in the training of cadets of the artillery department of the Wutang, they need to be taught mathematics from scratch, otherwise, they will not be able to learn ballistics and other artillery knowledge at all.

Ignorance of 17th-century Europe made Zhu Mingzhong's mind sink, so that in the following time, he was not as enthusiastic about this mortar as before.

Weapons have always only played an auxiliary role, the key is to establish a complete scientific system, Western artillery technology is ahead of China, not just in weapons, but in the whole system, not just one or two advanced weapons, and the backwardness of China in later generations is also the overall backwardness of the entire system.

It's all about education!

In the 19th century, starting from Prussia, European countries have established compulsory education based on compulsion, which opened the rhythm of Europe's overall lead over East Asia, and when Japan wanted to save the rich and strong and implement the reform law, education was also put in the first place. When people in later generations summarized why the Westernization Movement did not become the Meiji Movement, many people attributed the reason to the system of the two countries and the determination to change, but in fact, the most essential difference is that the Westernization Movement first chose foreign guns and cannons, while the Meiji Restoration put "knowledge" in the first place from the beginning, and the desire for knowledge must promote education. At most, it is possible to imitate a few weapons that look similar, but in fact do not meet the actual needs. Even if it is imitated, it is only imitated with the help of foreign foreigners.

At a time when the Qing Dynasty was immersed in the large number of foreign guns and cannons it had purchased and the various foreign guns and cannons that it was able to manufacture, Japan had accumulated the power of its progress through education, turning workshops into factories, and replacing foreign foreigners with its own technicians, thus realizing the modernization of the country step by step. This is the reason why Japan has come from behind, and even after World War II, Japan has also contributed to the rise of the country through its emphasis on education.

It can be said that for any backward country, if it wants to achieve national take-off, it must learn and draw on the advanced ideas, theories, science and technology of the developed countries in the West as much as possible, and use them for their own use. To do this, education must be given top priority. Education "takes precedence" and uses the advanced achievements of education to guide economic development.

Although it shows that it knows this inevitability, but the current China is different from the Meiji government faced with the dynasty, Meiji politics is faced with the reality that the West is ahead of the East in an all-round way, so that Japan imitates the European and American capitalist countries, introduces advanced scientific and cultural knowledge into the country, and replaces the traditional Confucian education of the traditional "Four Books and Five Classics", and it can be said that the first choice of its educational reform is to open the door to learn from the advanced countries of the West.

But now, compared with the East, the West is more advanced than the East, only in certain fields, and now the West is also learning from the East and learning Confucian culture.

I am afraid that the reckless "quest for knowledge and the world" will only backfire!

When he returned to Qinghe in the carriage, Zhu Mingzhong's mind was still tumbling in matters related to education, perhaps, now through the transformation of spinning machines, looms and other machinery, is driving the chain of the industrial revolution little by little, but Zhu Mingzhong does not want to be limited to this, he does not want the future development of China to be like the United Kingdom, through almost a hundred years, through continuous technological accumulation, innovation, through the development of industry and commerce to stimulate the development of technology, science and education, To slowly push for this change.

He hoped that China would be able to make up for its own weak links in the short term by learning from the West, and then shorten the time period from 100 years to 50 years or even less through the strong guidance of the state. Previously, he had pinned this hope on promoting a technological revolution by advancing industry and commerce.

But now, thinking of the rise of Prussia and Japan, which are backward countries, Zhu Mingzhong naturally thinks of an issue that has been ignored for a long time.

Educate!

We can promote the development of the country through education!

Establish compulsory education like Prussia and Japan!

Establish compulsory education!

At the same time that this thought emerged, a wave of doubts surged in Zhu Mingzhong's heart.

But is it possible to establish a nationwide compulsory education that was the same as in the 19th century? After all, it's the 17th century!

Was it possible to establish a complete system of compulsory education in 17th-century China?

And what should this compulsory education system teach students? What should students learn from this? If these problems are not solved, the so-called rejuvenation of the country through education is nothing more than a joke.

Zhu Mingzhong, who was thoughtful, kept his brows locked when he returned to the government office, and as soon as he arrived at the government office, and before he even came out of his thoughts along the way, someone reported it again.

"Zhang Shangshu, the secretary of the Ministry of War, asks to see him."

The sound of the announcement over there made Zhu Mingzhong's mood a little dull.

What should come is always coming!

From the moment he learned that Li Ziyuan had defected to Zheng Chenggong, he knew that Zhang Huangyan would definitely send someone to Jiangbei.

Now it's finally here!

For some reason, Zhu Mingzhong didn't want to meddle in this matter, but on the other hand, this matter was related to the relationship between Zheng Chenggong and Zhang Huangyan.

If it is not properly handled, it is likely to provoke a conflict between the two families.

"Hey, it's a bit tricky......"

Shaking his head, Zhu Mingzhong sighed helplessly, in fact, he had already learned the news more than half a month ago, after all, now Jiangbei has opened two telegraph lines, and there is a telegraph station in Pukou, opposite Nanjing. Through those telegraph lines and intelligence stations stationed in various places, Zhu Mingzhong learned the information of Nanjing and other regions as soon as possible, and then made various preparations in a targeted manner.

Therefore, since learning that Li Ziyuan betrayed Zhang Huangyan, this side has already predicted what might happen. It was also from that time that Zhu Mingzhong had been waiting for Zhang Huangyan's secret envoy.

Some things are always unavoidable, although Zhu Mingzhong is not willing to wade into the troubled waters this time, but for the sake of the future of Daming, he has to participate in it.

"Let him wait first,"

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Mingzhong said again.

"Tell him I'll see him later, and let him wait."