Li Yan asked Wang Renjie, "How much does this cannon weigh?" ”

"Including the gun carriage, a total of seven hundred and twenty pounds." Wang Renjie replied.

Li Yan thought about it, it was more than two hundred pounds heavier than the Frankie gun they were using now, but it should still be okay as a field artillery. He instructed: "You use this cannon to train well, and try to train a few more artillery crews." ”

"Yes! The lowly must urge them to train hard. Wang Renjie clenched his fists and agreed.

The artillery test firing is over, but today's test firing is not over. The next thing to be done is the test firing of the tiger squat cannon, the clay mold made this time, and there are many clay molds of the tiger squat cannon. Because the tiger squat cannon has less propellant and low chamber pressure requirements, it is not made of copper, but wrought iron.

This time, I made thirty tiger squat cannons in one go. The barrel of this tiger squat cannon is relatively thin, and it doesn't use much iron. But its backing plate was a square of thick iron, weighing forty pounds, with a hemispherical pit in front of it. There is also a round ball on an iron rod at the tail of the barrel, which can be placed in this ball pit to place the barrel.

There is a one-inch-long iron tip at each of the four corners of the bottom of the seat, and after the seat is placed, it only takes a few feet to hold the seat to the ground. When firing, there is no need to worry about the seat plate sliding due to recoil.

In addition to the barrel and seat plate, there was a two-legged bracket. The feet of the bracket are made in the shape of a tiger's foot, and there is also an iron tip underneath. There is a high and low machine on the bracket that adjusts the elevation angle in the same way as the gun, but the bolts on this one are longer, so the angle that can be adjusted is also larger. The bolt has a latch at the top of the bolt, which can be used to secure the hoop on the barrel. The gun hoop is installed on the barrel in advance, which is basically fixed and cannot be moved.

Li Yan looked at the simple and complex tiger squat cannon, and asked with some hesitation: "Is there no problem with this?" Will it jump as soon as it is launched? ”

Ma Chaodong replied: "We have tried it before, and it will not move, it is very stable." ”

Li Yan nodded and said, "Then let's start and see how far it can hit?" ”

This time, it was not Wang Renjie's artillery to operate, but the people from the gunpowder workshop to cast it. After all, this is the ability of Ma Chaodong and others to set off fireworks, and it is normal for them to teach their subordinates.

Li Yan and the others still retreated behind the earthen wall in the distance. Since Ma Chaodong and the others have already tried these tiger squat cannons, then these cannons should be no problem, and the range is basically certain, and there will be no situation where the wall will collapse like the three-inch cannon just now.

This tiger squat cannon is just a little difficult to set up the cannon, and it is necessary to level the land. As long as the cannon is set up, it's simple. All you have to do is take a flowering shell, light the fuse, and put it through the muzzle.

The flowering projectile is made of a flat bottom, and although the propellant inside does not increase much, it can make the bottom of the projectile and the bottom of the barrel come into contact, so that the direction of force on the projectile is the same as that of the barrel.

After putting the flowering shell in for a while, the cannonball was fired into the sky with a "bang". And you can see that the tail of the flowering bomb dragged three short strips of cloth, flying into the distance.

With the stabilizing effect of the cloth strip, the blossom bomb flew steadily in the air, and then landed at a distance of one hundred and thirty paces. After bouncing on the ground, it immediately exploded with a "boom".

Li Yan nodded with satisfaction and said: "It's okay, I originally thought that I could only take a hundred steps, but now I have reached nearly one hundred and fifty steps, so it is very useful." ”

Wang Renhui said: "The problem now is that after some flowering bombs hit the ground, the paper shell may be shattered, and it will not be able to explode." So I can only try to adjust the lead inside to the ground and explode. But this tiger squat cannon is to be fought far or near, and I can only control one time, so~"

Li Yan thought about it for a while and understood what Wang Renhui meant. So he instructed: "You set the detonation time of the maximum range, and the other ranges can be fired at a larger angle, so that the shells can take more time in the ascent." But this is still going to be tested, and you'd better sort out a table of how many ranges to launch at what angle, and of course, to determine the time of the explosion. ”

Wang Renhui nodded and said, "Okay, I will do my best." ”

Li Yan also knew that this thing was not easy to do, and encouraged: "Don't have a burden, as long as you have perseverance and perseverance, there is nothing bad to do." However, you should be careful when testing, and it is best to make a replacement bullet to avoid accidents. ”

"General Xie cares, we will be very careful." Wang Renhui and others clasped their fists and said.

Li Yan ordered: "Okay, let's have a salvo and see how the effect is." ”

Fortunately, the firing of the Tiger Squat Cannon is easy, and it is not difficult for thirty artillery groups to fire at the same time. It's just that it will take some time to level out the launch position.

Taking advantage of this time, Li Yan asked, "Can this range be increased?" ”

Wang Renhui shook his head and replied: "No, if you add more propellants, the paper shell will not be able to bear it." ”

Li Yan asked Blacksmith Zhou, "Hollow iron projectile, can you make it?" ”

"I haven't done this, let's go back and try it." Blacksmith Zhou has just won the reward, and now he is very confident, and he doesn't have so many problems as before, but goes back to find a way to solve it himself.

Li Yan instructed Wang Renjie again: "Send people to various county towns to take a look, there are also some artillery there, to see how the quality is." In particular, we have to look to see if there is a Frankie gun of the same type as the one we use. A slightly smaller one is fine, but the key is to make sure that the power is sufficient. If the quality is good, get it back, and leave the rest in place to defend the city. Those cannons are too miscellaneous and messy, and they need to be examined. ”

Wang Renjie clenched his fists and said: "Obey orders." ”

When Li Yan finished explaining, it was just ready.

Thirty tiger squat cannons were lined up, each ten paces apart, and three hundred paces away. Fortunately, the test range is large enough, otherwise it really can't be put down.

After the three drums of "knock", "knock", and "knock", the gun crew lit the fuse, and then put the flowering shell through the muzzle, and then dodged far behind.

"Bang", "bang", "bang" and "bang" sounded continuously, and the projectiles flew out one after the other. After that, a series of explosions erupted at a distance of one hundred and thirty to more than one hundred and fifty steps.

"Boom", "boom", "boom" sound continued one after another, sending smoke and dust flying and black smoke billowing out of the area.

"Wow~"

Everyone involuntarily made a sound, and this continuous explosion seemed to be powerful, as if everything in that area would be torn to pieces by the explosion.

Li Yan was slightly disappointed, the biggest difference was actually nearly thirty steps, which was not close. However, the effect of the salvo is still good, and it should be able to collapse enemies that have never seen it.

"Well, that's good." Li Yan said: "You should hand over all kinds of precautions and skills to the artillery as soon as possible, and your people should still focus on the production and improvement of gunpowder, and do not waste manpower." ”

Wang Renhui was stunned for a moment, and then had to clench his fists: "Okay, the lowly position will be taught to the artillery as soon as possible." ”

Li Yan noticed Wang Renhui's emotions and said with relief: "The positions are different, but they are all the same people in the army." The military needs the contributions of various posts, and if they do their jobs well, they will be rewarded for their meritorious service. ”

"Humble duty understands. Please rest assured that the general will definitely do his job well. Wang Renhui immediately expressed his position.

...