"Fire—"

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

At the exercise ground, Empress Elizabeth, Crown Prince Peter and his wife, Count Razumovsky, Field Marshal Apleksin Jr. and others were watching the military exercises of the local garrison from the top of a hill.

After a round of shelling, about 5 percent of the 12-pounder infantry guns could hit a preset target 300 yards away.

"Half and half"

Peter muttered.

Because I was sitting comfortably on the top of a mountain with an awning, and I was using a gold monocular, I could see quite clearly.

"Your Highness, considering the direction of the wind and the distance, fifty percent of the hits are already very good"

Marshal Apleksin Jr. said respectfully, but in a cold tone.

"But as far as I've heard, Frederick the Great's artillery could do seventy percent"

"Prussian artillery is more advanced than ours, you have to understand this"

"If it's just because of the difference in the artillery itself, it's simple"

Peter replied dismissively.

"Why is our artillery inferior to Prussia's?"

Queen Elizabeth asked, putting down her golden monoculars.

"Back to Your Majesty, the Prussians, after the Silesian War, invented a new type of ranging tool, which is more accurate than the existing ones in our country, but... It's hard to get a spy."

"Alexander. Ivanovic? ”

The Empress summons the bald Spy Leader who sits in the back.

"This and this tool must be obtained in the shortest possible time"

For a while, she didn't bite the word 'ranging', so the empress stumbled.

"Yes, Your Majesty"

"Hey, do you want me to write to Frederick the Great and ask for one?"

Peternoyah said.

"What do you say! Do you think Frederick II was just like you (stupid)? ”

The Empress glared at Peter.

"I think Frederick the Great, with his pride, would have agreed."

"Your Majesty, I will start from the side of Austria, the enemy of Prussia, Austria has been desperately developing artillery in order to prevent the invasion of Prussia, and I believe it will be easy to get it."

The mysterious clerk said confidently.

"I see, instead of increasing the accuracy of artillery measurements, it is better to directly increase the range of artillery, even if the opponent hits accurately, as long as I shoot far, I can completely blast it away before the opponent hits me."

Peter looked very understanding.

"Your Highness, if you want to increase the firing range of the artillery, in addition to increasing the caliber, it is also to increase the length of the barrel, but in this way, the weight of the gun will also increase significantly, and the requirements for manufacturing technology and transportation will also increase sharply."

The field marshal hastened to explain from the side.

"No, no, what you said is too troublesome, I think we can try to modify gunpowder and cannonballs"

Peter pouted.

"I just looked at the table below, and the total time it took for the artillery to open the gun from receiving the order to attack was more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds, and this is not counting the time to adjust the gun position, because it was all corrected in advance. The artillery under Frederick the Great could reduce this time to 1 minute and 20 seconds. In other words, if it takes 5 minutes for the infantry to walk and shoot, our army can only fire 2 shots, while the opponent can fire 4 shots, plus the opponent's shooting accuracy is higher than ours, then the result is obvious, right? ”

"Hehe, the Prussian artillery is certainly more powerful than our army, but the infantry combat effectiveness of our army can completely offset the Prussian artillery!"

Marshal Apleksin Jr. retorted loudly.

"I'll talk about the infantry later, let's continue the topic of artillery"

Peter glanced at Queen Elizabeth, and when he saw that his aunt did not say anything, he couldn't help but relax and continue to talk about it.

"As the most powerful artillery in Europe, Prussia has begun to use the loading method of gunpowder packs that are only used on naval warships, which can greatly reduce the reloading time, and you should know this better than me, Marshal, right?"

"Your Highness said that this kind of gunpowder bag has also been tried by our army, but this method can only reduce the loading time, but in addition to the first cannon, the loading time of each cannon will increase accordingly, this is due to the fact that the canvas used in the gunpowder bag is usually not fully burned, if it cannot be cleaned up in time, it is likely to have the problem of exploding, which is extremely dangerous in wartime, so our army has not yet popularized it"

As a field marshal, the professionalism of Apleksin Jr. was still there, and it was not fading from the perennial bureaucratic life.

"Marshal, you're right, and that's what I'm going to say next. The Prussian artillery thoroughly implemented Frederick the Great's idea of quick victory and tried to solve the battle faster than the enemy, but if it was delayed for a long time, the Prussian army might have problems, which was the main reason why Frederick the Great was strict and strict in managing the army, frequently conducting platoon training and executing harsh punishments. What I really want to say, though, is that with a slight improvement on the basis of the powder pack, the problem of the marshal can be solved"

With that, Peter picked up a bottle of red wine on the table next to him.

Pull the cork with a bang.

"By inserting a cork of the same size as the breech after the powder pack, the powder pack can be fully combusted. Don't interrupt me just yet! And this has the added benefit of flying farther. Isn't it beautiful that without changing the weight of the gun itself, not only reduces the reloading time, but also increases the firing range? ”

"Your Highness's idea..."

The field marshal hesitated.

"If it is according to His Highness's idea, the weight of the gunpowder pack must be readjusted, and the cork must be basically the same, otherwise there will still be an explosion..."

"What's the bother of doing a few more tests?"

Peter laughed.

"By the way, I don't think you have to use canvas, you can use kraft paper soaked in oil, so that the combustion will be more complete and the embowel will be more convenient. Besides, if you're worried about waterproofing and moisture-proof, wouldn't it be nice to put it in a thin-skinned lead bucket, the weight is actually about the same."

"Hmm... I think His Highness's idea can be tried, but I'm afraid it is not suitable for a large number of troops in the short term."

The field marshal thought for a moment, pouted and nodded.

"If the test results are good, give priority to the border with the Ottomans, after all, it only increases the procurement burden, and there is no big change."

The Empress looked Peter up and down a few times, and then decisively.

"Yes, Your Majesty"

Marshal Apleksin Jr. immediately bowed in response.