In order to adapt to future naval battles, Li Zhi decided to make some grenades to pop out. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

At present, the grenades that Li Zhi can make can only be black powder grenades with arquebus. To light such a grenade, it is necessary to carry a fire. Fighting with tinder is very troublesome and affects the combat effectiveness of the troops.

For field warfare, this kind of grenade is of little use, because the grenades of black powder are very heavy, at least seven or eight pounds. If it's not so heavy, it's not powerful. And such a heavy grenade can't be thrown far, it's good to be able to throw twenty meters. At a distance of twenty meters, the enemy rushed up after a few steps, and it was easy to dodge the damage of the grenade. Instead of throwing a grenade at the expense, it's better to shoot it.

So Li Zhi has not developed grenades.

But if it's a naval battle, it's different.

The space on the ship is narrow and densely populated, which is where the grenade comes into play.

In naval warfare, ships are like two cities with guardrails to block bullets, and attacking the opposing ships is like attacking a city. If the enemy dodges under the ship's side railing, the rifle will not be able to find its target, or even shoot through the thick ship's side guardrail. Broadside battles are like siege battles, and without grenades, they often have to fight the enemy hand-to-hand.

And with grenades it is possible to bombard the enemy. When the two ships approached in a naval battle, whether the other side was hiding behind the guardrail or behind the mast, throwing dozens of grenades at the other side could blow each other up. Moreover, grenades can bounce off ship buildings and blow up enemy soldiers hiding on the lower decks - the entrances and exits between the decks are small, making it very difficult to get in and out. If you don't have grenades, you can easily be held by your opponent with a few arquebuses or a few broadswords.

The earliest grenadiers in the West were configured for siege. The same is true for Li Zhi to use grenades to attack enemy ships.

In order to win the future naval battle, Li Zhi asked the craftsmen who cast the dragon tail cars to stop their work and start casting grenades—Li Zhi's warehouse had a large number of dragon tail cars, enough to meet the needs of this batch of newly cultivated farmland, and there was no need to build new ones.

The grenade made by Li Zhi weighed eight pounds, covered with cast iron, and inside was black powder and broken iron slag. The black powder ignited and exploded, sending sharp iron slags in all directions, killing and injuring enemy personnel.

A wooden handle is made under the grenade, and there is a fuse on the handle, and usually the fuse is screwed with an iron cap on it, and it is turned open when the fire is lit.

Li Zhi placed the grenade next to the scarecrow and lit it, and found that the grenade could probably kill and injure enemies who took a step around him. Such lethality is also considerable.

Li Zhi was in Tianjin, and it was very convenient to buy saltpeter and gunpowder, and Li Zhi's warehouse stored a lot of black powder materials. The craftsmen of the dragon tail car workshop made the molds and soon cast more than 2,000 grenades and popped them out. Li Zhi put the grenade into the warehouse, ready to arm the future sailors.

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On 15 June, Li Zhi went to Wangjiawan with a large group of men and horses, pulling cannons, steam engines, and specially made large bearings, to equip his new ship.

On the beach of Wangjiawan, Li Zhi's first boat is nearing completion, and all that is left to be painted and equipped with hard sails is needed. Although this ship is smaller than the giant ships of 10,000 tons in later generations, it is already a well-deserved giant ship in this era. The ship was four stories high, and from a distance, it looked like a wooden castle standing on the seashore, and it was very imposing.

Boss Wang saw Li Zhi's team coming, and greeted him from afar.

Li Zhi looked at the big ship and asked, "Boss Wang, my cannon and steam engine weigh thousands of pounds, how can I get on the ship?" ”

Boss Wang said: "Don't worry, my lord, I have already made a dirt ramp behind the ship, and wait for my craftsmen to drag and push your cannon together, and drag the cannon from the ramp to the boat." ”

Li Zhi nodded, and said to his craftsmen: "You go up and install bearings, paddle wheels, and steam engines." ”

Seeing his subordinates dragging the steam engine to the ship, Li Zhi asked again: "Boss Wang, where are the sailors who operate the ship generally hired?" ”

Boss Wang said: "This boat sailing is a forbidden business, and the boatmen are all brought out from village to village. They are all taught by familiar boatmen with newcomers. If you hire it temporarily, I'm afraid you won't be able to hire it! ”

Li Zhi was stunned and asked, "What are the key positions on the ship that need veterans?" ”

Boss Wang said: "There are no posts on the ship, and they can't be missing. However, if it is not good, the most important thing is to have a veteran fire leader, guide and rudder. The fire captain is the ship's boss and is responsible for the management of the whole ship. The guide surveys the channel and keeps the ship on course. Steering the rudder in the direction of the whole ship is also key. ”

Li Zhi's face was embarrassed for a while, and he secretly asked where to find these shipping personnel?

The boss Wang looked at Li Zhi's face and said, "The worst is the worst, please ask a new helmsman, and the adult will be the fire chief himself, but the guide is definitely wanted." If you drive around the sea without a guide, you will run aground. ”

Li Zhi asked, "Boss Wang, do you have a familiar guide?" ”

Boss Wang was stunned and said, "I happen to know one of the old guides, but my lord, you are a novice in this boat, he may not dare to go to sea with you as a novice." ”

Li Zhi said: "I will give him a lot of money to go to sea!" ”

Boss Wang licked his lips and said, "It's not a matter of money, it's a matter of life." ”

Li Zhi was stunned, and secretly said that it was really not possible for this novice to go to sea, and it seemed that he still had to find Cha Yunke to help hire an old sailor.

Li Zhi asked, "How long and wide are these two ships, and how many sailors are needed?" ”

Boss Wang said: "These two ships are eleven zhang and one foot long, one zhang and nine feet wide, and have four decks. The ship is generally equipped with a fire chief, two helmsmen, and a guide. The chief manager is one person, who is in charge of the affairs of the boat and paging on behalf of the shipowner. There is one person in the direct warehouse, who is responsible for the management of weapons. Lookout Aban is a person, responsible for the upper mast lookout. The two Si Zhen are responsible for managing the ballast stone. Big wield, two wields. There is one person who is responsible for managing the compass. The main shop, the second shop is several, responsible for directing the battle. These are the officers who are in charge of the ship. In addition, there must be forty ordinary shipwrights to operate such a large ship. ”

Li Zhi nodded, took Boss Wang to climb the ladder and got on the boat, and asked, "Where do the crew sleep on the ship?" ”

Boss Wang said, "My lord, I have never built a ship with so many cannons. Originally, the second deck was for cooking and storing water, the third deck was for sleeping, and the fourth deck was for loading. But now, my lord, you have so many cannons on the second deck, you can only store fresh water and cook in the third deck, and at the same time squeeze to sleep. If the cannon and gunpowder are properly managed, a hammock can be installed next to the cannon on the second deck. The fourth deck is still loaded. ”

Li Zhi asked again: "How many sailors can this ship carry?" ”

Boss Wang thought for a moment and said, "It depends on what course you run." If you go to sea for ten days, there is only fresh water for ten days, and there are people sleeping next to the cannons on the second deck, and this ship can carry more than 200 sailors. If you want to run long-distance routes, you will have more supplies, and there will naturally be fewer sailors who can be loaded. ”

Li Zhi nodded.

There, Li Zhi chatted with Boss Wang, while the ship's craftsmen installed the steam engine, bearings, and paddle wheel under the command of Zheng Kaida. After being busy for two hours, when Li Zhi's stomach was growling with hunger, he suddenly saw Zheng Kaida running over excitedly.

"My lord, the paddle wheel and the steam engine are ready!"

Li Zhi looked up and saw that the paddle wheel had indeed been installed on the side of the ship.

"Turn on the steam engine and see how it works!" (To be continued.) )