After taking a look at the new test site of the Firearms Bureau, it was already dusk when Han Gang returned to the capital.

Although the location of the test site was a bit far away, Han Gang was still satisfied with the results of the inspection.

Under the auspices of Fang Xing, although this test site is simple, it has already started to operate very well. Although there are indeed many problems, in Han Gang's opinion, no amount of problems can hide the value of the test field.

This test site can be said to be the first step in the formalization of the design and production of military weapons.

The design and production of the armament superintendent in the future cannot be like a divine arm bow and a horse chopping sword, after playing a set in front of the emperor, he got a license to distribute it in the army. Although Han Gang has also been a beneficiary, he has always believed that professional testing is an indispensable part of the process of accumulation and improvement rather than licensing from the top.

The construction of the artillery test site has only just begun, and it is only the first one. In the planning, it is mainly the test site of the tiger squat cannon, and after the development of the mortar cannon and musket in the future, the test can also be carried out here. However, at that time, special rails for transportation must be put on the table, and confidential items such as gunpowder and artillery cannot be loaded and transported on the official road by horse-drawn carriages.

However, field artillery and urban defense artillery with a longer firing range need a larger test site, otherwise the firing range and other data cannot be counted at all. The range of several miles at every turn, and the test field, which is only one mile square, cannot be restrained at all. The conversion relationship between the angle of fire, the charge, the weight of the shell and the firing range had to be obtained by large-scale testing, and it was impossible for the gunner to play with personal experience.

It's just that there is no way to find a larger open space near Kaifeng Mansion in a short period of time to test it. Even if there are old military camps to use, there are too many people around, and it is still impossible to ensure the secrecy of the data of experimental weapons. For a short period of time, I can only temporarily use the test site here to shoot at the dirt mountain.

Back in the capital, Wang Juqing dismounted and said goodbye one step earlier, and Han Gang was going to go to the political hall to see the situation and go home.

Han Jiang went home one step earlier. The prime minister has always gone home before he leaves, whether it is the queen mother or the imperial history, they all turn a blind eye and ignore him. Zhang Qi is only a little more than ten years younger than Han Jiang, but he can't learn Han Jiang's big name, and he comes and goes on time every day. However, when Han Gang came back, he was just about to go home, and they all walked to the main courtyard.

Seeing Han Gang coming back, Zhang Qi stopped and greeted Han Gang: "Yukun, how is the situation?" ”

The two political participants stood in the main courtyard and spoke, and the people who followed Zhang Qi and Han Gang dispersed two or three zhang away, with the two of them as the center, and vacated a circle. and the officials running in the government hall also bypassed the road far away.

Han Gang looked left and right, shook his head and said to Zhang Qi, "Are we realgar?" ”

Zhang Qiha said with a smile: "Wormwood is almost inseparable." ”

"They know the story." Han Gang said: "The situation of the tiger squat cannon is not bad. More than 1,000 doors a year are not a problem. ”

"It's cheap and good, it's the same as Yukun's plate armor."

"We have to wait until the cost of ammunition comes down to be able to afford the cheap and good quality."

"It doesn't seem to be more expensive than arrows......

"It's about the same now, and it can be a little cheaper in the future."

The training of the Divine Arm Bow consumes arrows, and the heavy crossbow itself is also easy to damage, while the artillery is made of copper, iron, and metal, which is stronger than the bow and crossbow. Gunpowder and projectiles are now a little more expensive than arrows, but as soon as there are more things, the cost will immediately come down.

Zhang Qi knew a little bit about it, "'Erluer, people's fat and people's ointment', the cost of this weapon is also the people's fat and people's ointment, and the price is the best." ”

"But how to cooperate with the crossbow array to fire, we have to wait for training. It's not good for training, and no matter how good the weapons are, they're scrap metal, and it's a waste of money. ”

"The tiger squatting cannon, Zhang Qi has also seen it. It is easier to use than the Divine Arm Bow and the Bed Crossbow, and it will be done after a few glances, and it is not as laborious as the Bed Crossbow and the Divine Arm Crossbow. Zhang Qi and Han Gang sat down face to face, "Actually, according to Zhang Qi, it doesn't take five people, two or three people are enough." ”

"It's better to have more people and be more stable. When marching, take turns carrying artillery on their backs without losing strength. ”

"I see." Zhang Qi nodded, and suddenly said again, "By the way, the palace sent people out to invite Yukun several times before." ”

"Before Han Gang went out, he should have already reported it." Han Gang asked strangely, "What's the matter?" ”

Yang Jian didn't say. Zhang Qi said lightly. Since the envoy didn't say it, from the perspective of the courtiers, it was not convenient to ask. He was about to say something more when he suddenly raised his eyebrows, "People are coming." ”

It was Yang Jian who came over, maybe he had been listening to the news, and when he learned that Han Gang had finally returned, he hurriedly trotted over.

"Politics is finally back." Yang Jian saluted Zhang Qi and Han Gang, and said to Han Gang impatiently, "The Queen Mother has a decree, please participate in politics and go to the small hall of the East Gate as soon as possible." ”

Han Gang didn't immediately receive the order, but asked first, "What's the matter?" ”

"The Queen Mother wants to know about the situation of the Firearms Bureau, so that the villain can wait here to participate in politics."

According to the project in charge, the jurisdiction of the ordnance supervisor and the general supervisor is in the hands of Han Gang. Han Jiang and Zhang Qi will not interfere.

But if the Queen Mother wants to know about the development of the Ordnance Prison, why not send an envoy? The eunuchs in the imperial city, picking a few at random are more reliable than the foreign ministers.

Han Gang could read what he wanted to say from the face of Zhang Qi on the other side.

Generally speaking, the Queen Mother believed more in foreign ministers than in the palace, which was not a bad thing for the courtiers, and it could even be said to be a good thing - as long as they did not trust someone exclusively.

"Obey."

After 'someone' received the order, he said hello to Zhang Qi again, and then went from the side door to the small hall of the inner east gate.

Han Gang has always known that the Empress Dowager attaches great importance to artillery.

The divine arm bow, the horse chopping knife, and even the plate armor and spaceship were all favored by the first emperor Zhao Ji, and the weapons in the army were distributed, only artillery, which appeared after the queen mother took charge of the country.

Moreover, in terms of momentum and power, artillery far surpasses other weapons, and is not comparable to swords, guns, bows and crossbows.

At the beginning of the Jinmingchi test launch, above the lake, the roar of artillery was earth-shattering, and the ability to destroy the target and the speed of re-firing far exceeded the bed crossbow.

The Queen Mother's excitement afterwards could be heard from her words.

Han Gang went to the test site outside the city, and when he came back, he had to ask for details, which was not surprising.

When Han Gang came to the small hall of the inner east gate, it was already time for the imperial city to be locked, but the queen mother was not impatient.

gave Han Gang a seat, gave Han Gang tea, and said: "It's hard to participate in politics today." ”

"This is a matter within the minister's duty, and it's just a half-day back and forth."

Zai Fu is the top of the country and has never moved lightly. On-site inspections are a habit of Hangang, not a custom of the Zaisuke.

However, Han Gang, with the value of artillery and the importance that the Queen Mother attaches to artillery, is indeed worthy of a political minister, and spends a day inspecting the test site.

"I wonder what's going on?"

"Everything went well. The reports of the Ordnance Supervision and the Firearms Bureau are not false, and if there is no accident, it will not be difficult for the Tiger Squat Cannon to be 1,000 guns within the year. ”

"That's very good, and the Firearms Bureau deserves a heavy reward."

"Your Majesty, please don't wait until you're done. Whether it is a reward or a punishment depends on the result. ”

"I know it." Behind the screen, he sighed first, and then cheered up again, "Participating in politics, I heard Cao Chan the day before yesterday that someone in the Firearms Bureau offered a cannon that can fire eight-inch shells?" ”

The two sentences of the ordnance prison were Cao Yu, who was the nephew of the deceased Ci Shengguang Xian Cao Hou. In the chief officer of the Beijing Hundred Division, there will be two people in the hall every day to report the affairs of the division, and a few days ago it happened to be the day of the ordnance supervisor to report the report, and Cao Chan entered the hall.

"Yes, but it's just drawings. With the current level of the Firearms Bureau, it is a bit difficult to build. ”

"I look at the artillery that I entered when I participated in politics, isn't there a cannon with a bigger muzzle?"

"What the minister entered was a mortar, shaped like a stone mortar, with a large mouth and a short body. However, what has been advanced in the bureau in recent days is in the same form as field artillery and urban defense artillery. Because its cannonballs are as smooth as pomegranates, it is called howitzers. Field artillery and city defense artillery are all types of howitzers. Every time the diameter of the grenade used is doubled, the weight will increase to eight times the original size, and the four-inch grenade will have more than 10 catties, and the eight-inch grenade will reach nearly 100 catties. ”

Now the caliber of field artillery is four inches, and the caliber of urban defense artillery is six inches, and even if it is large, it is seven or eight inches.

Of course, the thicker and longer the weapon, the more deterrent. One is holding a dagger and the other is holding a saber, giving people a completely different feeling. And the size of the muzzle wine glass and the size of the sea bowl are also not the same level.

If you first use ordinary four-inch cannons to blast the earth and rocks of the city wall sideways, and then let a dozen oxen drag up with heavy guns of caliber and the size of a cylinder, the defenders in the city will immediately disarm and surrender. Han Gang also described such a picture to others, but the heavy cannon like a water tank is only a mortar after all, and it does not need too long a range, nor does it need a long gun body, and at the same time, the requirements for the strength of the barrel are not high, just a large caliber.

For example, the artillery of the howitzer system such as field artillery and urban defense artillery, if you want to make the caliber larger, its own weight is almost 10,000 catties.

If the artillery is based on 10,000 catties, there is no precedent at all. Whether it is bronze or black iron, in the most common casting-Zhong Ding, thousands of catties are the most, three or five thousand catties are already rare, and the largest iron tripod is only more than eight thousand catties, which is still in order to celebrate the new Son of Heaven on the throne and the victory of Liao, based on the Yin Ruins Fang Ding, and magnified because of vanity, it was cast.

Moreover, the main part of the gun carriage is also made by the mold casting method, and the weight is equivalent to the gun body, so that it can withstand the recoil after the gun is fired. In the simplest terms, multiple gun bodies require multiple gun trucks.

After listening to Han Gang's explanation, the Queen Mother calmed down, "That is, it can't be made?" ”

"It's hard. And when it was made, it was too heavy to be placed in the city. However, once it is successfully built, after this tempering, the skills of the master craftsmen in the Firearms Bureau should be able to reach a higher level."

That kind of artillery will definitely not be able to be made well now. But Han Gang understands that some money, although it is definitely wasted, should also be spent. Skill reserves, whether they succeed or fail, can be accumulated, and in the process of research and development, it is possible to get some surprises.

"In that case, don't be stingy with the money."

"The minister understands, please rest assured."