On the first day of the new year, Feng Chengshi came to Zheng Chenggong's mansion early in the morning.

Under the guidance of the subordinates, Feng Chengshi walked into the courtyard and saw Zheng Chenggong holding Zheng Cong and his son Zheng Jing playing with firecrackers.

Zheng Jing got his father's permission, so he didn't have to worry about being scolded by his mother, so he naturally had a lot of fun.

Bang bang, from time to time in the courtyard. Zheng Cong was frightened by firecrackers last night, and now he still has lingering feelings about it. As soon as the firecrackers sounded, he shrank his head and hid in Zheng Chenggong's arms.

Feng Chengshi stepped forward to greet him and said, "The lower official meets the general!" ”

Zheng Chenggong saw Feng Chengshi coming, hurriedly put Zheng Cong down, and said: "Hengchen, I will be recruited on the first day of the Lunar New Year, I am really embarrassed, please forgive me!" ”

"The general is in a hurry to find his subordinates, there must be something important. The lower officials dare not complain! ”

After Zheng Chenggong waved his hand to bring the two Zheng Jing brothers down, he continued, "Hengchen, how is the gunpowder workshop I asked you to organize last time?" ”

Feng Chengshi hurriedly replied: "General Hui, the lower officials have already been prepared." ”

Zheng Chenggong was very happy to hear it, nodded and said, "Okay!" Remember, this is a big deal, and it must be perfected as soon as possible! ”

Feng Chengshi hurriedly bowed down and said, "Yes, General!" ”

"Hengchen, I thought of a sharp weapon yesterday, which may be of great benefit to our army to restrain the Qing soldiers, so I am in a hurry to find you."

Seeing Zheng Chenggong so cautious, Feng Chengshi was a little curious, "Oh, what is it that makes the general value it so much, and the lower officials also want to see it!" ”

"I don't know exactly how powerful it is. I need to let people experiment with the details, it is not convenient here, Hengchen went with me to the military village to watch. ”

After speaking, Zheng Chenggong motioned to several soldiers of the Tiger Guard Battalion to take the sharp weapons that had been prepared from a side room, and prepared to go out and take a carriage to the military village.

Feng Chengshi saw the soldiers take out a basket from the room, which contained dozens of bamboo poles and several small clay pots.

Looking at those bits and pieces, Feng Chengshi was very puzzled, could this be the sharp weapon that the general said!

Although Feng Chengshi was puzzled, he didn't say it, but followed Zheng Chenggong to take the carriage to the military village.

It took the group more than an hour to take a horse-drawn carriage to the foot of a barren hill a few miles away from the barracks, far from the villages, and a good place to hide and test the power of weapons.

The Tiger Guard Battalion brought a basket of 'grenades' off the cart, leaving seven or eight soldiers to guard the carriage and horses, and the rest climbed with Zheng Chenggong to a flat ground halfway up the barren mountain.

After the soldiers were on the flat ground, after erecting several wooden planks about two or three centimeters thick one meter after another, Zheng Chenggong asked Feng Chengshi to hide behind a large rock with him, and several tiger guards erected shields in front of them to defend.

Seeing Zheng Chenggong signaling that it was time to start, a Tiger Guard soldier took out a bamboo pole from the basket and lit a fuse extending from the end of the bamboo pole with a letter incense.

At one moment, the soldier followed Zheng Chenggong's instructions and quickly and vigorously threw the bamboo pole into the wooden plank thirty meters away.

Like a loud thunderclap, the bamboo pole exploded with a bang.

The gunpowder burns in a confined space, heating the surrounding air, and the air inside the bamboo pole expands rapidly, creating an "impact force" that expands outward.

The impact was huge, not only breaking through the bamboo wall, but also spreading the stones and broken iron inside with the air current.

The explosion of stones, pieces of iron, and the sound of a horn struck the erected planks and stones.

After the smoke generated by the explosion of the "firecrackers" dissipated, Zheng Chenggong and Feng Chengshi hurriedly stepped forward to check the lethality of the "firecrackers".

The radius of the shrapnel in this bamboo pole is within three or four meters around the explosion point, and the wooden plank within half a meter of the explosion point can penetrate and shatter the broken iron of the stone, and only the hole can be punched within one to two meters, and there is no lethality two meters away.

Seeing this situation, Zheng Chenggong shook his head, the lethality of this kind of "firecracker" is very limited, and the lethality produced after the explosion is much worse than the effect he wants.

However, thinking that these firecrackers and tiles are made of the most common gunpowder for making firecrackers, it is naturally not as good as those high-explosive bombs in later generations.

Zheng Chenggong asked the soldiers to replace the damaged wooden planks with new ones and erect them again, and then asked the soldiers to continue to try, burning the explosive power of the crockpot filled with gunpowder. About two crockpots the size of fists, with the efforts of the soldiers, only remained about twenty-five meters away before falling and exploding with a thud.

The power of the crockpot bomb is a little better than that of a bamboo pole, but it is not much more effective.

Zheng Chenggong was silent for a while and asked, "Hengchen, what do you think of this weapon?" ”

Feng Chengshi looked at the planks and said cautiously, "General, in general, this weapon has more deterrent power than its lethal power. If you use it as a secret weapon, it should still have some effect. Especially when the two armies are fighting, this weapon is suddenly thrown into the enemy's army, which will definitely frighten the horses of the Qing soldiers and cause confusion among the Manchu cavalry. ”

Hearing Feng Chengshi's answer, Zheng Chenggong thought for a while, and then ordered the soldiers to bury the remaining baskets of "firecrackers" and "bursting tiles" into the ground thirty-five miles away.

The basket was buried in the earth, and it was solid with its feet.

Zheng Chenggong asked the soldier who threw the bomb to extend the fuse by about an inch, and then told the soldier to run back immediately after lighting it. And everybody, including him, had to be picked up on the ground.

The soldier used a little incense, perhaps the power of the previous explosion made him relax. Although he still ran back according to Zheng Chenggong's order, he didn't run fast.

As soon as he ran about 15 meters, the basket containing dozens of firecrackers and bursting tiles exploded instantly.

"Boom" A shocking explosion came instantly, and the soldier who ignited the fire was instantly pushed down by a wave of air.

Thirty meters away, Zheng Chenggong and dozens of people felt the ground shake violently, and they instantly felt their bodies jump when they hit the ground. The loud noise made them feel their ears thunder and their heads were a little dizzy.

The explosion rolled up a thick layer of dust that fell and covered them.

Zheng Chenggong and the others helped each other to stand up, and it took a long time for their ears to regain hearing. When the dust cleared and the smoke cleared, Zheng Chenggong hurriedly stepped forward to inspect the soldiers who lit the fire.

I saw him lying motionless on the ground, with a few pieces of broken stone stuck in his back. Zheng Chenggong reached out and probed his nostrils, but fortunately, he was still alive. It's just that there is a trace of blood flowing from his right ear, and I am afraid that he will be deaf from now on.

Zheng Chenggong sent a few soldiers to send the soldiers back to the barracks for treatment, and he and Feng Chengshi continued to step forward to observe the effect of the explosion.

The power of the explosion was staggering, all the wooden planks within five meters were shattered, and even some broken iron was deeply embedded in several trees twenty meters away.

Looking at the scene of the explosion, Zheng Chenggong walked back and forth with his hands behind his back and thought. If a single firecracker and tile can't be powerful, I don't know how powerful it is to replace it with an iron shell? If you tie them all together, the effect will be much better, but then the volume will be very large, and the soldier will not be easy to carry, and in order to ensure the safety of the user, the lead will have to be extended, and you can dodge the ground, and the enemy can still dodge, and in the end the effect is still not good.

Zheng Chenggong thought for a while and decided to make the iron grenade first, see the effect and then decide whether to mass produce it.

Zheng Chenggong said, "Hengchen, I drew a picture last night. You follow the pattern depicted in the picture and help me make a few grenades. By the way, I also want you to take those artisan blacksmiths to develop a weapon, which I call a mine. It is a type of product that will automatically explode when an enemy touches it or steps on it. I remember mentioning a mine-like weapon in the Armament Essentials, so you can learn from it. After it is made, come back and report it to me. ”

Feng Chengshi hugged his fists and said, "Yes, General." Xiaguan will do it! ”

Zheng Chenggong waved his hand and said, "Hengchen, don't worry. If this Qing army is to be defeated, we will also have a good year. Let's find someone to arrange the manufacturing after that! ”

Feng Chengshi took people to develop the grenades and mines described by the general, and Zheng Chenggong did not go home, but took the guards to Haicheng to visit and comfort the families of the wounded officers and soldiers who died bravely in the battle.