The prince stared at the long black iron rod a little strangely, and when he was strange in his heart, someone suddenly shouted, and then he saw smoke suddenly coming out of the end of the black iron rod! This was followed by a loud "boom", which frightened the prince into trembling.

Before he could figure out what was going on, someone shouted, "Hit!" Hit! "It was shouted in Mongolian, and the prince could understand it, but he was still confused, what did he hit?

"A, look over there." Kublai Khan raised his horsewhip and pointed to a large tree a hundred paces away. The skin of the trunk was shattered into pieces, revealing the white core inside.

"Let's take a closer look." As Kublai Khan spoke, he rode forward, and Erda hurriedly rode his horse to follow.

When he got close to the big tree that had been shot, he found that the trunk had not been shattered, but had been pierced entirely, and the wood chips were scattered all over the back of the tree.

"How?" Kublai Khan smiled and asked, "If there are 15,000 of these guns, my Mongol army may sweep all directions?" ”

"Fifteen thousand...... Lift the gun!? Erda took a sharp breath and turned her head to look at the lifter that had just finished shooting. Two Han soldiers were loading the gun with H medicine and projectiles, ready to shoot again.

Kublai Khan's statement that "10,000 guns" is not a bluff, but will soon be there. After mastering the great cities of the Western Regions such as Samarkan, Buhuara, and Yulong Jiechi, Kublai Khan's Mongolia already had a large number of craftsmen who could build the Lifting Gun on a large scale. However, building a hammer is a craft after all, even if tens of thousands of blacksmiths do their best. Fifteen thousand new-style lifters could not be made in more than a year.

However, once the construction was completed, all the Han Eight Banner Army equipped with Kublai Khan. The firepower of Kublai Khan's army could immediately go up to the next level.

In addition, Kublai Khan eliminated all the camel guns - this thing is not much better than lifting the guns. The price is a lot more expensive, and it is a bit of a scramble to load ammunition and control the camel alone.

As an evolved version of the camel gun, the bronze big gun has also been successfully cast, which was made by Han craftsmen who brought it to the Western Regions from the Central Plains and are now the masters of the Eight Banners. In fact, they also used to cast cannons, which was not difficult for the coppersmiths of the Han land, and the metallurgy of the Han people was actually the way of casting.

It's just that when they were in the Central Plains, they were third-class men who could be thrown out as scapegoats by Master Semu at any time, so naturally they did less and made fewer mistakes.

And now, they have risen to the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty. can ride on the head of the color eye person as a prestige, and the officials responsible for casting cannons are also the Eight Banners Han officials of Yishui, of course, they are all united. Three-inch heavy guns of large calibers and light guns of one and a half inches have already been cast. The former was used to siege and defend cities, and the latter could accompany the Mongol cavalry to maneuver.

With the two sharp weapons of arquebus and artillery, Kublai Khan's Han Eight Banner Army has completely realized firearms! They actually became the first army to enter the era of hot weapons in this time and space.

And the combat methods of Kublai Khan's Mongol army have also undergone earth-shaking changes because of the appearance of this completely firearmed Eight Banners Han Army. A formation of firearms in the front and horses in the rear was formed, and firearms harassed the enemy. Tactics of horse team impact.

Seeing the surprised expression on Hu'er's face, Kublai Khan laughed. The feeling that things have not gone well since the rise of Chen Dexing has finally disappeared. With a strong army of firearms, there is also a strong Mongolian horse team. Where else in the world can't you go? That Chen Dexing, if he is the king and hegemonic in the east, forget it, if he dares to come to the west. Hehe, then let him taste the power of Mongolian firearms!

He patted his belly. smiled: "I'm a little hungry, so I'm here today." Go back to dinner! Hu'er replied, tomorrow I will take you to see the Eight Banners Firearms Army in Felt City, which is very powerful with thousands of guns firing at the same time, and a hundred cannons firing in unison. ”

……

The gunshots did not only sound outside the city, but almost at about the same time, a gunshot rang out in the school yard of Jiangdu City, thousands of miles away.

"Bang!"

Somewhere in the school yard, a target fell in response.

There were guards training in the school grounds, perhaps because of the strict discipline, or perhaps because they had long been accustomed to the sound of gunfire, and no one looked at them too much, still practicing queues and tactics on the school grounds.

Farther away, the Guards cavalry were riding carefully selected tall horses, holding their horse lances, rehearsing their charges.

Flying dust, neat formations, long horses, roaring gunshots, all these are mixed together, showing that it is also an army that is moving towards a new era.

This army has been making progress in the past nine years, not in one step, but in a steady and steady way. Tactics similar to those of the Spanish phalanx infantry have now been developed. It is only one step away from the modern line infantry who are lined up to be shot.

The person who fired this shot was none other than Chen Dexing, the son of the Great Tomorrow, who was holding a five-foot-long arquebus weighing 20 pounds in his hands. There was also a wooden shelf in front of him for holding the gun. THIS RIFLE IS TOO HEAVY, AND THE CALIBER IS TOO LARGE, ALMOST SEVEN MINUTES (MORE THAN 20 CM), AND THE PROJECTILE FIRED IS TWO OR TWO. The recoil is so great that even a strong man like Chen Dexing almost didn't stand firm when he fired this arquebus for the first time.

However, such a large gun, the projectile is indeed very powerful, and the target 70 steps away fell in response, and a piece of steel armor hanging on the target was knocked out of a big hole.

"Sage, do you think this arquebus is any good?" When the pierced steel armor was sent to Chen Dexing, a small man standing behind him wearing Confucian clothes, with a big head and a very thin body took a few steps forward, and said with a smile on his face, "If you can use this musket instead of the bow and arrow, the combat power of my Ming Xiong soldiers should be able to reach a higher level." ”

This guy with a big head and a small body is Meng De, a technician in Nanfen Iron in the past, and now he is the presiding professor of the metallurgical department of Mingdu Tiandao Academy. This musket was created by him and several students from the Metallurgical Department of the Mingdu Tiandao Academy.

Because a few years ago, a student named Su Zikui invented "distilled spirit" and became rich overnight, and became a millionaire in just a few years. It greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of the teachers and students of Mingdu Tiandao Academy for scientific research. Meng De is one of the best, on the one hand, he is studying the iron smelting of sulfur and phosphorus, and on the other hand, he is also studying muskets with students.

The study of phosphorus and sulfurization is actually a process of trial and error, and the musket is a matter of design. The former needs to be explored slowly, while the latter can be successful in a short period of time. Now that Meng De has succeeded, all he has to do is to persuade the Ming War Department to place an order.

Unfortunately, the new Shangshu Land Rover of the War Department did not look down on this arquebus, on the grounds that it was not as good as a bow and arrow - and this is also true! In fact, the biggest role of this arquebus is armor piercing. It can pierce steel armor from a distance of 70 paces, which no bow or arrow can do.

But the enemies of the Ming army were all unarmored or lightly armoured, and they could only shoot with bows and arrows, and there was no need for such powerful muskets. Moreover, once the Ming army was equipped with arquebuses in large numbers, it meant that bows and arrows were also eliminated. In this way, the medium-range firepower of the Ming army actually decreased.

After being rejected by Land Rover, Meng De had no choice but to find Chen Dexing with his arquebus.

"This arquebus is very good," Chen Dexing smiled slightly, and then handed the gun to the attendant guard next to him, "but it is more suitable for the enemies of the Ming Dynasty, because they can use this weapon to break through the steel armor of the Ming Dynasty." ”

"Sage, sooner or later, the enemies of the Ming Dynasty will also have steel armor." Meng De seemed to be a little anxious, and said thoughtfully, "And the arquebus can also be used against the enemy's shield." A steel plate a little thick could not stop the projectile of an arquebus at a distance of a hundred paces, and if it was replaced with a shield, the same effect could be achieved. ”

"Meng Qing, don't worry, I will persuade the Land Evil Tiger to purchase it." Chen Dexing smiled indifferently, "It's not that the Ming army needs this firearm so much, but this firearm...... In the future, there will always be a replacement for bows and arrows. ”

Meng De let out a long breath, and his face was suddenly full of smiles, as if he was a profiteer who had just made a big deal, "You are still a saint, you are wise, this arquebus will definitely be useful in the future!" ”

"The arquebus will continue to improve!"

Chen Dexing thought about it and said: "It's inconvenient to shoot the arquebus, so let's change it to flint." In addition, the weight and projectile of this arquebus are too large, and the weight is best seen in half, and three or four points of the projectile are enough. In addition, it is advisable to have a short knife on the barrel of the musket. By the way, the ammunition should also be improved, wrap the H medicine and the projectile together with a piece of paper......"

Meng De opened his head, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "Sage, these improvements of yours are too much, right?" Some of them are easy, but if they all have to be changed, there is no one for three years and five years, and it will not be successful......"

Chen Dexing also laughed, he gave improvement requirements according to the smoothbore guns of later generations. If Meng De can take it out immediately, then the Ming army can really go to play and line up and shoot in one step.

It's just that it's really not easy, and many things have to be redesigned and experimented repeatedly, which costs money and time.

"How much does this arquebus cost?" Chen Dexing turned his head and asked Meng Dedao.

"One hundred, including a stand, a poke, and a three-foot arquebus." Meng De quoted a price and looked at Chen Dexing with some apprehension.

Arquebuses are made of wrought iron and wood, and the main cost is labor, and there are not many craftsmen who can make them, so the price is not cheap.

"Oh, got it." Chen Dexing nodded, "I will persuade the War Department to buy up to 20,000 pieces, but this price is ...... You'll have to go and talk to the War Department yourself. In addition, all the patents for this arquebus will be purchased by the War Department. In the future, there will be other trading houses that will produce such firearms. (To be continued......)