Leather-wrapped bullets are much easier to load than pure lead bullets, but they still require a lot of force (after all, it still physically changes the shape of the projectile), so the rate of fire is certainly not as fast as a smoothbore gun.

Xu Shiyang planned to equip these rifled guns with future drafters to replace bows and arrows.

In this way, when attacking, the skirmishers in front of the large formation can use the advantage of range and accuracy to shake the opponent's formation.

It's better to have some precision marksmen, who can be early snipers, attacking the enemy's officers or heralds, drummers, and so on.

"After I'm gone, training must not stop, this is more important than weapons!"

Thinking of the precision shooter, Xu Shiyang couldn't help but command:

"You can conduct a big competition of the whole army, and the strongest soldiers will be assessed in all subjects, awarded the title of 'advanced', and given them financial subsidies, and I will also give limited consideration to these people for promotion in the future."

An officer hurriedly agreed.

This young master has always emphasized that he would rather wait for people to be equipped than to be equipped with people, this is something that everyone knows, and there is no need to ask again.

"Commander, it's here." Xu Er pointed ahead and reminded in a low voice.

Xu Shiyang raised his head and saw a waterwheel slowly rotating under the thrust of the water, lifting the splash of broken jade into the canal that had already been dug.

"It's on the water! It's on the water! ”

The artisans and onlookers cheered loudly.

This waterwheel is indeed a good thing, with it, it can divert water to places that could only be irrigated by manpower, which is equivalent to changing dry fields into paddy fields, who doesn't like it?

Xu Shiyang stopped and stood far away, not disturbing the cheering crowd.

Let them be happy for a while, Xu Shiyang himself also likes the heartfelt cheers of his subordinate fort people, for him, every time this cheer sounds, it means that he has taken a small step forward, which is far more pleasant than all kinds of operas.

'Now that you've got a waterwheel, it's time to prepare a hydro forging machine next, right?' ’

Xu Shiyang squinted his eyes and thought proudly:

Although I am not ahead of my time, I am already ahead of my time. ’

The problem now is that there is still a huge shortage of raw materials. ’

It depends on how much benefit I can get back from this trip to Jiangnan and promote the continued development of these machines." ’

'Come on, this dog's world, who is afraid of whom! In a few years, you can see how I you! ’

……

The Zhang family's so-called Rizhao private port is actually not in Rizhao County.

Their port used to be called Jiacang, which was a naval patrol station in the Great Zhou Dynasty, which was abandoned after the Great Zhou Dynasty moved south, and was picked up by the Zhang family, who was a local hero.

Later, the Zhangjia expanded the private port and directly incorporated the nearby Futuan River estuary into the port area, so that if the inland family wanted to go to sea in Rizhao, they could directly load the goods onto a small boat and transport them to the Rizhao private port by river to transfer to a large ship, which could save a large part of the freight.

Xu Shiyang went to Rizhao Private Port, which was also a ferry, and for the Xu family, who carried too many heavy items, river transportation could reduce the land route by one-third, which was already quite good.

On the fifth day of March in the twelfth year of Jianxing, Xu Shiyang and Xu Shiliu, who were about to go down to the south of the Yangtze River, arrived in Rizhao.

Since Xu Shiliu will not come back after going to the south of the Yangtze River this time, the head of the Xu family and his wife will also follow him to Rizhao this time, to give his most beloved youngest son Zhuangxing.

Especially the wife of the head of the house, holding Xu Shiliu's hand, chattering and not knowing what to say, gave him a bulging package when he came.

Xu Shiliu's mother had little to do with Xu Shiyang, so he was able to find an opportunity to inspect his ship first.

It was a medium-sized ship of about 550 materials, or about 200 tons if the displacement of later generations was calculated.

According to the calculation method of the ship of more than 1,000 tons after the founding of the People's Republic of China, this ship may only be regarded as a sail transport boat.

However, at this time, 200 tons is already a big ship that can be ranked as the main force wherever it is obtained.

Xu Shiyang stinky named this only big ship that belonged to him completely "Dengyingzhou" armed transport ship.

For this vital operation, Deng Yingzhou has been in the Zhangjia's dockyard since his last return from Jiangnan: scraping off the parasites on the bottom of the ship, repainting the tung paint, and overhauling all the planks, masts, sails, and cables.

In addition, Xu Shiyang also temporarily added a lot of long-range firepower to the ship: there were 2 2-kilogram magic cannons on each side, and 1 4-kilogram bronze cannon.

With a total of six cannons, it can definitely be called the most powerful single ship firepower of this era, and there is no one.

Maybe it was because he was tired of being with his wife and children under the big sky, which would damage the majesty of the head of the family, Xu Muhe told Xu Shiliu a few words, and then walked on the deck of Dengyingzhou and inspected the brand-new ship with Xu Shiyang.

When he saw the cannons arranged neatly on both sides, Xu Muhe's pupils shrank, and he turned his head and asked Xu Shiyang: "What are you doing with so many cannons?" ”

"Jiangnan has the largest and busiest ports in the world, and there are also the largest number of pirates in the world, and I don't want to put my life on those people who won't attack me."

Xu Muhe stretched out his hand to pat the conical tail of a general cannon converted into a naval gun, and pointed at the new soldiers who were lining up to board the ship with his chin: "Pirates and pirates? I see you yourself with bad intentions. ”

This time, only the crew necessary for the voyage was retained, and most of the necessary fleet escorts in the past were replaced by new army soldiers.

In addition to the gunners of the six guns, there are also 10 old Xuanfeng led by Xie Bao, as well as 10 divine soldiers led by Xu Er and 10 trap soldiers led by Lu Zhishen.

Lao Xuanfeng was all equipped with long knives, bows and arrows, and there was no armor piercing, and there was no place for armor on the ship.

The Divine Soldiers are mainly armed with arquebuses and waist knives.

The so-called trap soldiers are newly formed infantry in the nature of death squads composed of slaves and common people. Lu Zhishen was counted as a deserter and demoted to a commoner, so he became the captain of the trap, and there are several Tartars who have performed well recently in this unit, including Pu Luhun, who was bullied by Zhao Lin.

The trappers had no standard weapons, they were all armed according to their own habits, and if they were on the battlefield, they were the kind of meat shields that were the first to charge and the last to retreat.

But for those who have sinned or are slaves themselves, being able to go to war is an opportunity to get back on their feet, and it's worth taking advantage of.

With so many elite soldiers and powerful firepower, it would be a joke to say that Xu Shiyang didn't have any idea about the merchant ships traveling to and from Jiangnan.

"I admit that if I encounter a widow or something, they don't mess with me, and I don't necessarily let them go."

"After all, this time I went to Jiangnan, and I really might not be able to get assistance."

Xu Shiyang bared two rows of snow-white big teeth, squinted his eyes and said lightly:

"But I'm not going to return empty-handed."