Lighting the fuse, Han Zhen retreated twenty steps away and hid behind cover.

Rumble!!!

A deafening loud bang rang in everyone's ears, and the earthquake trembled.

Under the strong recoil, the entire giant cannon, which weighed more than three tons, suddenly moved back two or three meters, and the originally straight muzzle was tilted up a lot.

Waiting for the thick black smoke to dissipate, Han Zhen did not look at the power of the cannonball this time, but checked the giant cannon first.

The outermost layer of a dozen iron hoops showed no signs of loosening.

Immediately afterward, he inspected the wooden barrel again, and when he saw that no cracks were found, he was relieved.

Generally speaking, shoddy wooden cannons are basically disposable, at most two or three times, and they cannot be used, because the wooden barrel cannot withstand the force generated when the gunpowder burns. Even if it is a leather cannon, it can only be used a dozen times.

The three giant cannons in front of me are carefully made by craftsmen, and they are impeccable from the selection of materials to the craftsmanship.

The hollowed-out wood is inlaid with a copper core, and the hardness of the iron wood itself is extremely high.

Even if you can't use it hundreds of times like an iron cannon, if you use it thirty-five times, there should be no problem.

"County Magistrate!"

At this moment, Liu Qi, who was under the city wall in the distance, was waving his hands and shouting at him.

Han Zhen mounted his war horse and galloped towards the city wall.

After a few dozen steps, I saw a large hole in the upper left side of the city wall.

After approaching, Han Zhen took a closer look and found that the cannonballs had penetrated two feet into the rammed earth layer in the city wall.

Although it was several times more powerful than the last time, the damage caused to the thick city walls was negligible.

Even if the cannonballs were changed from stone to iron balls, there would be no qualitative change.

He now understands why the cannon was invented a long time ago, but by the time of the Ming Dynasty, the development of artillery was not continued.

Because the domestic city is too strong, it is often five or six meters thick, such as Yingtianfu, Tokyo City and other big cities, the city wall is even more than ten meters thick, and even a carriage can run on the city wall.

What the fuck is this?

Liu Qi was very excited, and said excitedly: "Artifact, it's really an artifact!" If a thousand artillery pieces are fired in a salvo, it only takes three or five rounds, and the city of Tokyo can't stop it! ”

Thousands of guns?

Han Zhen looked at him like a fool and asked, "Do you know how much this cannon costs?" ”

Liu Qi said blankly: "How much?" ”

"A bucket-thick piece of iron wood alone is as high as hundreds of guan, plus copper core iron hoops, and the labor costs of craftsmen, and the cost of a cannon is not less than a thousand guan."

The key money is secondary, this wooden cannon is unstable and can theoretically be fired dozens of times, but no one knows how.

If you don't use it a dozen times, it will be scrapped, and you have to risk blowing up the bore.

This is just the cost, the huge cannon is heavy, it takes at least two ox carts to transport a cannon, plus a dozen soldiers to move, thousands of artillery, people eat and chew along the way, and the transportation cost has to be millions.

Liu Qi said with regret on his face: "Then you won't make it?" ”

"Build!"

Han Zhen said in a firm tone: "It will definitely be built, but it won't be built so much, fifty doors are enough." ”

Judging from the current power, it is not possible to bombard the city wall, but it is no problem to replace it with all-iron cannonballs to bombard the city gate.

Once the city gate is blasted open, it will be a huge blow to the morale of the defenders.

"But I'll have to try more."

Han Zhen said, set up his horse and returned to the three giant cannons, changed the distance from 300 paces to 500 paces, and slowly tested the range and the amount of gunpowder filled.

Two hours later, the three cannons had fired no less than fifty times.

And in order to avoid the barrel being too hot, resulting in deformation, one cannon will be replaced with another cannon after the shot.

The results of the final test showed that the effective firing range was 800 paces, and if it exceeded 800 paces, it would be impossible to get the head, and the longest firing range was two miles.

This data is much stronger than the third bow bed crossbow.

The longest range of the three-bow bed crossbow is only 800 steps, the actual effective range is only more than 300 steps, and the accuracy of more than 300 steps is invalid, and whether or not it can hit the target depends entirely on luck.

Liu Qi completely lost his contempt at this moment, and his eyes looking at these three giant cannons were full of fanaticism.

Reaching out and gently touching the giant cannon, as if stroking a lover, he said excitedly: "With such a terrifying range, when the two armies are fighting, they can completely shell the commander of the opposing Chinese army, and once it hits, the enemy army will collapse!" ”

"This is the real army of ten thousand, take the head of the enemy."

Huang Kai just briefly fantasized about the picture, and couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

In the past, when the two armies fought, the commanders were all in charge of the Chinese army, and they were protected by the personal guards and elite regiments.

Therefore, it is extremely difficult to kill the generals and capture the flag.

When you can kill the generals and capture the flag, it means that the opponent's Chinese army has been completely defeated, and it is very difficult.

But now with artillery, everything has changed.

The ultra-long-range range greatly reduces the difficulty of slashing.

"Yes, indeed!"

Han Zhen nodded in agreement.

After testing the cannon, he summoned Yuan Craftsman again and instructed: "You have done a good job this time, the reward is 10,000 taels, and all the craftsmen who participate will be rewarded." ”

This bounty of 10,000 taels of gold naturally cannot be gold, but copper coins.

It's just a different way of saying it, it sounds better.

Otherwise, according to the gold, Song Huizong's reward would have to go bankrupt several times.

"Thank you, County Magistrate!"

Craftsman Yuan and a group of craftsmen bowed down to thank them.

Han Zhen asked, "By the way, is it really impossible to make a giant cannon forged from wrought iron?" ”

There is no way to eliminate the bubbles generated when the molten iron is condensed, but the forging process is very mature at this time, whether it is cold forging or hot forging.

Craftsman Yuan was puzzled: "The county magistrate, it's not a micro-minister's resignation, but he really can't do it." The cannon is too big to be forged in one go, so it can only be forged in sections, and the airtightness after combining it has become a problem again. ”

Han Zhen was a little disappointed, but he grasped the point of his words: "What do you mean that smaller iron cannons can be forged?" ”

Craftsman Yuan replied: "It depends on what the county magistrate says, and how small it is." ”

Han Zhen commanded: "Three feet long, six inches in the muzzle." ”

Hearing this, Craftsman Yuan pondered for a moment and said unsurely: "With such a size, there should be no problem, you can use hot forging to make a rough model first, and then use cold forging to refine it." ”

"Good!"

Han Zhen was overjoyed and ordered: "You try your best, if you can make it, you will be rewarded." In addition, a giant cannon of this specification will be made for another fifty pieces. ”

"Weichen takes the order!"

Craftsman Yuan responded with his fists in response, and then led the craftsmen to leave in a hurry.

The small artillery described by Han Zhen was intended to be used as a field artillery, and the ammunition was a shotgun such as iron nails and thistles, which were specially used to break the opponent's heavy cavalry charge and heavy infantry phalanx in large-scale field battles.

Such a field artillery has a long range and a wide strike range, and if one shot goes down, a large area can die on the opposite side.

Countless times stronger than a firearm canister and can be operated by only two soldiers, it is equivalent to a reinforced version of the Swedish leather cannon.

If it can be done, hundreds of doors will be built by then, and the damn will be bang!

Pig iron is worthless, 30 wen a pound on the market, and if you actually mine and smelt it yourself, the cost is only a dozen wen.

In addition to the low cost, more importantly, the pure iron cannon has a long service life, and if you are lucky, you can fight hundreds of cannons.

After instructing the soldiers to move the three artillery pieces to the armory, Han Zhen found Liu Qi again and asked, "How did Han Shizhong and the others persuade them to surrender?" ”

Liu Qi smiled: "The heat is almost over, I have been hanging them recently, and there is only one opportunity left." ”

During this time, Han Shizhong and Wu Jue had already walked out of the prisoner of war camp, but they were still one step away.

Hearing this, Han Zhen chuckled and said, "Okay, then I'll add you a handful of firewood." Recently, many prefectures and counties have played an excerpt, saying that under the rule of bandits and strong Liang disturb the people, you take 3,000 soldiers out for a trip, clean up all the bandits in Shandong, and earn some pork money for the soldiers by the way. ”

"Order!"

Liu Qi's eyes lit up and he replied loudly.

Han Zhen waved his hand: "Go." ”

……

The sun goes down.

Han Shizhong and Wu Jue held a piece of grass in their mouths, squatting in the shade of a tree not far from the school grounds, and watched the soldiers drill boredly.

Wu Jue said with emotion: "The intensity of the training of the soldiers of the Qingzhou Army is several times higher than that of the Western Army. ”

"Isn't it strong to have a dry meal and meat?"

Han Shizhong pursed his lips, his tone a little sour.

Since ancient times, under the full food and salary, there has been no weak army, let alone such treatment as the Qingzhou army.

The key point is that in the last war, the Qingzhou Army only practiced for three or four months, and if they were allowed to practice for another year, they were afraid that their combat strength would be even stronger.

At that time, even without relying on firearms, the Western Army will be far from being an opponent.

During this time, Liu Qi didn't know what he was busy with, he hadn't seen anyone for a long time, and the two of them were really idle, only to feel that their bones were a little rusty.

The barracks could not be left and the scope of activities was limited to the vicinity of the prisoner of war camps.

At this moment, Liu Qi's figure appeared in the field of vision of the two.

Han Shizhong raised the weeds in his mouth and asked, "What are you busy with these days?" ”

"Busy experimenting with new firearms!"

Liu Qi replied a little mysteriously.

New firearms?

Han Shizhong and Wu Jue glanced at each other, and they saw the shock in each other's eyes, but they didn't ask.

Liu Qi crossed his hands on his hips and asked in a casual tone: "I just received an order from the county magistrate to let me lead troops to exterminate the bandits in Shandong, are you two willing to go together?" ”

Bandits?

Han Shizhong and Wu Jue were suddenly moved.

"This ...... It's not good, after all, the two of us are prisoners, and I'm afraid it's not convenient to go with you to suppress bandits. If your county magistrate knows, you will be punished. Han Shizhong said hesitantly.

"What's inconvenient, you two can be trusted."

Liu Qi waved his hand and said confidently: "Besides, the county magistrate is not informal, and he will not punish me for this little thing." ”

Hearing this, Wu Jue's expression twisted and said, "That...... Okay, I'll go and have a look, and I'll be distracted. ”

He was really suffocated, and since the last celebration banquet, he already had the intention of defecting to Han Zhen.

Seeing this, Han Shizhong also pushed the boat down the river and said, "Okay, then let's go together." ”

"Let's go!"

Liu Qi was overjoyed.

First, he led the two to the armory and took two sets of iron armor.

An hour later, Liu Qi ordered 3,000 soldiers and horses and left the barracks.

I'm sorry, I've been delayed a little bit today, and there's another chapter later.

(End of chapter)