Covering an area of thousands of acres, it is supervised by the emperor himself, located in the west of Jinling City, in the middle of the Yangtze River, the Jiangnan Ordnance Manufacturing Division on the Egret Continent, from the first day of the groundbreaking, it has attracted everyone's attention.

The sulphur from the west, the iron ore from the east, and the saltpeter from the southwest are all concentrated on Egret Island. Although the banks of Bailuzhou and the Yangtze River are separated by the diversion of the river, the water surface is only more than seven or eight feet, which does not affect the operation of materials.

"Jiangnan Ordnance Manufacturing Division" is divided into four parts, each of which is separated, one is an iron factory, the other is an ordnance manufacturing division, casting weapons and non-military products, and the other is a cement factory, which is specially used for the production of cement for construction.

The other is a gunpowder factory, which goes without saying that this is a factory that produces gunpowder.

Compared with several other branches, the gunpowder factory is heavily guarded, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty was stationed here.

The four factories are separated from the outside world by high walls and mountains, occupying the north and south parts of Egret Island.

Among them, the gunpowder manufacturing division is located alone in the southern part of Bailuzhou, while the iron and weapons manufacturing divisions, as well as the cement factory are located in the north, and the two are far separated by the island and the shooting range in the middle.

As for the soap factory, garment factory, shoe factory, etc., because of the small scale, they are all located around Jinling City.

On Egret Island, the towering factory wall, the ironclad guards with guns and knives, and the slogan "Military Heavyland, Idlers are not allowed to enter" on the high wall all indicate that this is a forbidden place planned by the imperial court, which can be viewed from a distance and cannot be short-sighted.

The shooting range between the gunpowder factory and the ironworks, covering an area of several hundred acres, is located on the hill of the island, which separates the gunpowder factory from other factories and can be used for firearms testing.

"Test the gun! Beware of the heat! ”

On the overgrown shooting range, Tian Yi shouted loudly.

The sub-mother cannon has a fast rate of fire, easy to dissipate heat, and is not easy to explode. However, the disadvantage is that there is a large gap between the sub-cannon and the belly of the cannon, and the gunpowder gas is easy to leak and injure people, and the firing range is not as good as that of ordinary artillery.

"Yes, General!"

The artillery department called Shinshimichi, who was trying to test the gun, carefully lit the fuse on the fire door, and then quickly crouched down and covered his ears.

With a "peng", the gun carriage trembled violently, retreated about half a foot, and the shotgun came out of its chamber, followed by a "crackling" sound, sawdust flew, soil and stones splashed on the mountain bag, and countless small holes were punched.

"Principal, this is a large sub-mother cannon, 4 feet long, weighing 700 catties, 5 gamete cannons each, 500 iron pellets per shot, 400 steps of flat shooting, 700 steps of projectile 45 degrees, and a wide range of 50 to 60 steps, which can be used in field battles."

After a few sub-guns were tried, Tian Yi introduced them to Zhao Hong and the students who were watching from the sidelines.

The sub-mother cannons used in Jinling Wutang exercises are 30 catties and 100 catties. Now it's 700 catties, the power of the field battle is huge, and it is better to defend the city.

"Headmaster, this kind of sub-cannon is enough to defend the city. In fact, the lethality of the original artillery is enough. As long as there are hundreds of gates of all sizes, the field battle will not be lost! ”

Cao Youwen said with palpitations on the side.

This cannon went out, eroded fifty or sixty paces, and only a dozen or so guns were needed to cover the entire front of the position, which was simply not too fierce.

"You can try another 200 to 300 pounds, which may be more suitable for field combat. Of course, this kind of 700 pounds is not bad, it should be a big killer. ”

Zhao Hong said contemplatively.

After all, the opponent of the Great Song was the Mongol iron cavalry, and he had to consider the mobility of the cavalry.

"Headmaster, 700 pounds of artillery, with a gun mount, four or five soldiers can move, enough for field battles. It just can't be heavier anymore, once it's on a thousand catties, it's more appropriate to defend the city. ”

Cadet Wang Jian added a sentence based on his experience in the army.

"Your Majesty...... Principal, Wang Jian is right. An ordinary baggage chariot, loaded with grain and grass, is about five or six hundred catties, and four or five soldiers can control it. If it's too heavy, it's also a hassle to transship. ”

Wei Liaoweng, the waiter of the military department and the vice principal of the Wutang, checked and filled in the gaps for Zhao Hong on the side.

As a courtier of the Great Song Dynasty, he has always been uncomfortable with calling the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty the principal, and he feels a little abrupt. However, the students called him and the emperor so, and he took it for granted.

Zhao Hong nodded, the artillery is too light, and the range is not enough. It seems that the casting of rifled guns will have to be tried in the future.

"Principal, the 60-pound short-bore cannon has been built, do you want to pull it over again to test the gun?"

The 30-pound short-bore cannon has been tried, but the emperor is not satisfied, and wants to measure as much as possible. A 60-pound short-bore gun should be about the same.

No matter how heavy it is, I'm afraid there will be no range.

"Don't try the short-bore gun on land, load it on the ship and try it again, so that it can be tested well."

After Zhao Hong finished speaking, he picked up a sky-shattering thunder on the table and looked at it.

Short-bore guns were originally designed for naval warfare and were not at all adapted to land warfare. The bore of the short-bore gun is short, the gunpowder is used less, and there is no need to worry about the problem of fried sugar.

"Headmaster, the earth-shattering thunder is lethal and a sharp weapon in the army. But the disadvantage is that it is to ignite, which is a bit troublesome. ”

"Headmaster, there's also the fear of rain. Once you get wet, it's not easy. ”

Students Yu Yu and Cao Youwen said one after the other.

Zhao Hong nodded, this is the limitation of the times, and he has nothing to do. If we want to make a breakthrough, we still have to rely on the collective wisdom to make a plan and make breech guns, rifled guns, and tube grenades, including steam engines.

Moisture-proof paper seems to be asphalt between two layers of paper, asphalt can be obtained by dry distillation of coal or oil, both coal and oil were available in the Song Dynasty, and were used on the battlefield, and the iron factory could make asphalt.

"Your Majesty, the yellow paper produced in Xuanzhou contains cork, coated with tung oil, which is not only moisture-proof, but also insect proof, and tung oil is used for shipbuilding. Many people in my Song Dynasty use tung oil paper to make window paper to prevent rain. It can be used to avoid dampness and wetting of the earth-shattering thunder. ”

Qiao Xingjian, the attendant of the Ministry of Works, couldn't help but add a sentence on the side.

Tung oil is an oil extracted from the seeds of the tung tree and was used as a "paint" in ancient China. When tung oil is applied to the surface of wood or metal, it will soon dry out, change from liquid to solid, and form a protective film on the surface of the item, which can be waterproof, rust-proof, and corrosion-proof.

"Qiao Shilang, you are really well-informed, and you should be strong and strong!"

Zhao Hong laughed and nodded appreciatively.

In this way, the earth-shattering thunder can be "rain or shine", and there is no need to worry about storage.

However, after thinking about it, it is still necessary to solve the problem of the ignition of the earth-shaking thunder as soon as possible. Otherwise, the soldiers are all holding fire folds, and igniting the fire takes time, and the battlefield is a matter of life and death, not a long-term solution.

That tube grenade, how did it rub and catch fire?

"Let's go and see the cement factory."

Zhao Hong thought about the headache, and simply gave up.

These things should be left to the craftsmen of the Great Song Dynasty to solve. If he were to take care of everything, wouldn't he be exhausted to death?