Qi County, an artillery test range outside the city.

In the corner of the house was a simple wooden house three feet square, and the four walls of the wooden house were hung with three-inch thick wooden boards.

Li Yan, Wang Renhui, Wang Renli, and Ma Chaodong were outside the wooden house. Li Yan was holding a round firework bomb with a bump in his hand, with a long lead behind the bump.

"This has to weigh four or five pounds, right?" Li Yan picked up the fireworks in his hand and asked, "What is the diameter?" ”

Ma Chaodong replied: "The diameter of this fireworks bomb is three inches, and the total weight is four catties and three taels. This time, there was no ******, and it was filled with an equal weight of dirt. If the explosion is good, then it will be settled. ”

"How many buckshot shots are there?" Li Yan asked again.

Wang Renhui replied: "Twenty, no more, if there is too little gunpowder, there will be no explosive power." ”

Li Yan nodded and said, "Well, to achieve the best effect of explosion and killing." If you want to deal with the homeless, you can use a small piece of lead bullet or iron plate. But to deal with the enemy with armor, it is necessary to use the projectile of the firearm, otherwise the killing effect is not obvious, and it is a waste of gunpowder. ”

"Well," Ma Chaodong nodded, "The general is right, we have adjusted the amount of gunpowder in our previous tests, and if there is less gunpowder at this diameter, the explosion power will be weakened." ”

Li Yan nodded and said, "Well, it's good that you noticed it." Let's get started. ”

Ma Chaodong took the fireworks and bounced into the cabin, while Li Yan, Wang Renli, and Wang Renhui walked behind an earthen wall not far away. The earthen wall, which is five feet high and two feet thick, was specially built by Li Yan to allow the test personnel to hide.

After waiting for a while, Ma Chaodong also hurriedly came out of the cabin, and fastened the door before running quickly. He came to the earthen wall and squatted down, and said to Li Yan: "General, cover your ears, this thing is very loud." ”

"No, you don't." Li Yan waved his hand and said.

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a "boom" and it exploded. Black smoke came out of the cracks in the cabin, and the wooden planks crackled.

Li Yan and the others stood up and looked towards the wooden house. No signs of collapse were found. They waited for a while, until there was no more smoke coming out of the cracks in the planks, and then they went over to check the power of the explosion.

When they opened the door, it was still full of smoke and dust, and they waited outside for a while before entering.

Li Yan looked at the planks on the four walls and found that the planks hit by the projectile all had a pit of about an inch, and the planks had cracked. It shows that at this distance, the projectile speed is okay, but the speed is not too fast. If it's fast, it's a hole. However, if you can crack the plank, it means that the energy is okay, and it can also do some damage to enemies with armor, at least it can make them feel pain.

Li Yan nodded, picked up a deformed lead bullet, and said, "It's okay, if you fight like this, the enemy's archers can already deal with it." In the case of dense infantry, as long as the shells are dense enough, it can also achieve a lethal effect. ”

Ma Chaodong said with a smile: "With this kind of power, if you hit three or five, the enemy will be defeated." ”

Li Yan shook his head and said, "It's okay to use it for the first time, but if you use it more, the opponent will adjust accordingly." Maybe the enemy will use the same method against us, so we must not only use this new weapon, but also be able to contain the same weapon of the enemy. ”

Ma Chaodong and the three of them all nodded and accepted Li Yan's teachings.

"How far can you hit?" Li Yan asked.

Wang Renhui replied: "It should be more than 150 steps." ”

Li Yan thought for a moment and said, "Can the lead be controlled?" If it explodes before it reaches the top of the enemy's head, it won't be of much use. ”

Wang Renli assured: "Don't worry, enough length has been set aside, and it will definitely explode after it hits the ground." ”

"That can't leave too much." Li Yan reminded: "If the enemy is given enough time, if the enemy throws our bombs far away, it will have no effect." ”

"Huh?" Wang Renli said embarrassedly: "This requirement is a bit difficult and difficult to control. ”

Li Yan relieved him and said, "You don't need to be too precise, as long as there is a time range." You try slowly. The key is the lead, and each one to be done must have a similar burning rate, so that it is easier to control. ”

"Okay, let's try to do the best we can." Wang Renli nodded and said.

Li Yan suddenly thought of the power of the explosion and asked, "The formula of gunpowder should also be tried, different proportions have different explosion effects." ”

Wang Renhui said: "Well, after you mentioned it last time, we started to try. It seems that if there is more saltpeter, the power will be greater. ”

"Don't worry, you try slowly." Li Yan nodded with satisfaction: "But you have to make a good record so that you can do research in the future." ”

"Yes!" Wang Renhui and the three of them all bowed down and agreed.

Li Yan reminded: "Pay attention to rest, but insist on the literacy class at night." No matter how good your brain is, how many things can you remember? After a while I forgot about it. It's better to write it down and remember it when you look at it. ”

"My subordinates have made a note of it." The three of them agreed again.

Li Yan commanded: "Okay, just this size." Report the request to the blacksmith and ask them to get a cannon barrel as soon as possible to see if it works. ”

"yes, okay." Ma Chaodong said: "I can send it to the blacksmith tomorrow." ”

Wang Renli asked, "General, is the new Mr. Li your relative?" I see that you are very close. ”

Wang Renli is talking about the new ****, Li Dong, Huaiqing Mansion on the north bank of the Yellow River is also full of famine, and people cannibalize each other. The family is not easy to live, so the two brothers thought of Kaifeng's cousin Li Chunyu. After Li Chunyu obtained Li Yan's consent, he sent the two over. Li Yan didn't know what would happen in the future, so he had already made it clear to the two of them that everyone should be treated as if they had just met, and their kinship must not be revealed.

Although the two of them had also learned martial arts, when they first arrived, Li Yan could not arrange for them to lead the troops directly. Moreover, there are already Li Zhong and Li Mu in military affairs, and it is better for **** and Li Dong to be arranged to be civilians, after all, their careers are not only about force, but also about copywriting. These jobs also involve some confidentiality, so it's more reassuring to leave them to your own people.

Li Yan shook his head with a smile and said, "It's all surnamed Li." I saw that they read a lot, and they didn't read bad brains, so I looked at them a few times. You also have to be good at literacy, you have to have knowledge in these jobs, if you can't keep up with the development of technology in the future, then you may be eliminated. ”

The three of them looked at each other, and then arched their hands and said, "Subordinates remember the general's teachings." ”