Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 115 When can we lead soldiers?

The reason why screw and bearing technologies should be decentralized is mainly because these two technologies can be used now.

The screws were used to connect the barrel and the wooden stock, and the bearings were used to make hydraulic boring machines for boring artillery barrels.

Bearing technology appeared very early in the West and was first used in four-wheeled carriages. At that time, the inner and outer rings of the bearings were made of hardwood, and the iron balls inside were also made of cast iron, which was not advanced.

In addition, the iron ball grinding technology in the bearing is also a key point.

In order to increase the power of artillery, in addition to cannon casting technology, improving the fit between the shells and the barrel and improving the air tightness of the barrel are also the main ways to increase the power.

Therefore, ball grinding technology can not only be used to make bearing steel balls, but also to grind artillery shells.

This thing is actually not difficult to make. You just cast a grinding wheel with pig iron, put the cast iron ball embryo in it, sprinkle some fine sand as abrasive, and grind it hard until it is ground into the required size. Water power can also be used as power.

The stone mill used to grind grains is usually engraved with criss-cross patterns in order to grind the grains into powder. However, this kind of millstone used for rounding only needs to be engraved with circular grooves.

Ordinary people probably haven't seen this kind of machine, but those who like to polish bracelets should know that this kind of machine is used to grind jade or wooden bracelets. It is also called a round bead machine, a polishing ball machine, and so on.

With boring machines and ball grinders, the error between cast iron shells and gun barrels can be controlled to within one millimeter at least, which greatly improves the airtightness of the gun barrel. It can not only increase the power of the artillery, but also reduce the amount of gunpowder used.

Because the chamber pressure is increased, the amount of gunpowder used can be reduced, saving money!
As for the vernier caliper, it is used to measure the inner and outer diameters, which is just right for measuring the inner and outer diameters of muskets, cannons, and artillery shells. Only by standardizing the ruler can standard cannons and artillery shells be made.

Lu Jin took out a bamboo ruler and a pair of multifunctional pliers, which he also brought with him when he traveled through time. He pulled out the knife on the pliers, and there was a five-centimeter scale on it. He handed it to the two of them and said.

"From now on, all things should be made according to this size. This is the ruler of my Gongshu family. The ruler we used to use was called the market ruler, which was used for transactions.

"This new ruler is called the Gongchi, or the Jianshechi. There is no cun below the Gongchi, but centimeters, millimeters, and Gonghao. It can also be called millimeters, centimeters, decimeters, and meters.

"The exchange rate for the new ruler and the city ruler is one new ruler for three city rulers."

The two took the bamboo ruler and the knife attached to the pliers and looked at them. They were puzzled and asked, "Marshal, is it necessary to change the ruler like this? Doesn't this mean that we have to change everything in the future?"

Lu Jin said affirmatively, "It must be changed. Look at the difference between my Gongshujia ruler and mine."

The two looked at the scale on the pliers and knife again. "It seems to be thinner?"

"Yes, it is precise. In the future, the things made by craftsmen should be more precise. In fact, it is not enough to measure to the millimeter. You can use it first. When you learn how to make screws, I will teach you how to make a 'micrometer'.

"You can divide the millimeters into thousands and measure the thickness of hair, silk and paper. Only then can the machine be considered useful.

"Perfect fit is the highest level of craftsmanship!"

Everyone was stunned after hearing what they heard. They didn't expect that there was such a precise ruler in the world.

After arranging the task of making samples of muskets and several types of rulers for several people, Lu Jin also organized a crash training class and asked them to take out one hour every day to attend classes with him, learning only mathematics and geometry, as well as some machining and heat treatment techniques.

One day later, the number of people in the crash course increased from four to ten, and Xu Jichuan found several goldsmiths and locksmiths for Lu Jin.

Craftsmen who make jewelry and copper locks can be trained in precision manufacturing. For the time being, let them make flintlocks, carpenters make gun stocks, and blacksmiths only need to make gun barrels. The division of labor on the assembly line can improve efficiency.

Lu Jin roughly calculated that it would take about a thousand craftsmen to produce 800 muskets per month for a battalion.

There are 200 groups of blacksmiths, each consisting of two people, which means 800 people. Each group can make one gun barrel a week, which means gun barrels a month.

These four hundred blacksmiths only need to make pipes, and another 100 people can be arranged to bore holes for gun barrels, and another carpenters can be assigned to make gun stocks, which makes a total of six hundred people.

The remaining four hundred people will make flintlocks, and each person only needs to make two per month. If they are further divided into groups, with each person only responsible for one part of the flintlock, the efficiency can be even higher.

If this workload is not completed, then it would be pure slacking.

In assembly line operations, each person is only responsible for one part. As they work for a long time and become more skilled, the output can be increased.

Find some old and weak people from the orphanage to manage logistics, do laundry and cook for them, and a gun factory would be set up.

Lu Jin was busy in full swing. He taught a class to the instructors in the morning, a class to the craftsmen in the afternoon, and handled official business in the rest of the time. He also calculated the size specifications of artillery of various sizes and asked Su Qing to build a few wooden artillery models first.

Although Lu Jin had never come into contact with a muzzle-loading smoothbore cannon, he had seen its general appearance in movies and had done some research. Moreover, the caliber of modern artillery is in the same line as that of smoothbore cannon.

For example, the caliber of a one-pound gun is 37 mm, that of a two-pound gun is 40 mm, and that of a three-pound gun is 75 mm.

One-pound cannons are useless as they are too small, but we can make some two-pound French submachine guns and place them on the navy's small ships to use as broadside rapid-fire guns.

In the army's field operations, this small caliber is useless and is not as effective as the Tiger Crouching Cannon firing shotgun shells at close range.

The medium-caliber army field artillery is more difficult to choose. The caliber of the four-pound gun is 85 mm. Based on the density of iron (7.86) and the volume calculation formula of a sphere, it can be calculated that the weight of the shell is 5 kilograms.

The caliber of the six-pound gun is 90 mm, and the shell weighs six pounds. The sizes of Western cast smoothbore guns are basically calculated based on the weight of the shells, for example, the weight of the gun is 80 to 250 times the weight of the shell.

Cast iron cannons are the heaviest and have the thickest walls, while bronze can be up to 200 times heavier. Cast steel cannons, combined with the barrel self-tightening technology, can reach 80-150 times the bullet weight, so cast steel cannons are the lightest and cheapest.

Let’s take a middle value, 130 times. The four-pound cannon weighs 650 kilograms, and the six-pound cannon weighs 780 kilograms, a difference of more than kilograms in weight.

Lu Jin didn't know the power of these two, so he simply built one of each, compared their power and portability, and then made a decision.

There are two types of large-caliber artillery, eight-pound and 12-pound, with calibers of 107 and 120 respectively, shell weights of 10 and 14 pounds, and gun weights of 1300 and 1800 pounds, which is a huge difference.

The caliber is not much different, but the weight of the gun is 12 pounds more, which brings great pressure to the field march. A -pound gun may require ten horses to pull it.
China also does not have the heavy draft horses like those in Europe. Mongolian horses are indeed cold-resistant and can withstand rough feed, but they are as short as donkeys. If they are used to pull cannons, the number of horses would have to be doubled.

As for the legendary 152-caliber 24-pound cannon, the iron ball weighs 24.8 kilograms and the cannon weighs more than 3200 kilograms, which makes it even more difficult to pull. Such a heavyweight thing can only be installed on the bottom deck of a large ship.

The Qing Dynasty did cast cannons weighing tens of thousands of pounds, but they were placed on fixed gun platforms and could never be used in field battles.

Of course, there is another way to reduce the weight of artillery, which is to shorten the caliber, that is, the length of the barrel, but this will sacrifice range and power.

The 12-pound Napoleon and the 12-pound mountain howitzer are not the same thing. The latter has a short barrel and a caliber multiple of less than 10. It can only use reduced charge and shoot at high elevation angles. Its power is much smaller, but it is very effective in firing shotgun shells at close range. The weight can be estimated to be compressed to about a few hundred pounds.

How to choose? All I can say is that each has its own advantages. Although the full-size 1800-jin 12-pound gun is inconvenient for field operations, it can be fired with a full charge and has a range of up to two kilometers.

The average width of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is 1500 meters. If this type of cannon is deployed in Anqing, it can block the entire river surface and directly fire from this side to the other side of the river.

If we build a coastal defense artillery position in Anqing and a bastion, no ship from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River can come here.
A few days passed in a flash. Early in the morning of this day, Lu Jin was practicing with Chang Yuchun with the completely finished Fang Tian Hua Ji. Not long after they started practicing, a guard came to report.

"General, those people from Dingyuan have already arrived in Liang County and will arrive in Luzhou tomorrow. Commander Ye asked us to report the news first."

"Okay, got it. Go tell Commander Zhu Shou of the First Regiment and ask him to prepare the barracks."

"Yes."

After the guard who brought the news left, Chang Yuchun asked, "Does the Marshal intend to station these 20,000 men in Luzhou City?"

"How is that possible?" Lu Jin shook his head. "Putting all 20,000 men in Luzhou would be a waste of manpower. Let them stay in Luzhou for a few days, and then send them all out after the division is completed."

At this point, Lu Jin glanced at Chang Yuchun and said, "You will soon be sent out. I plan to send both your battalions and Lan Chun's battalions to the Ninth Regiment, and then station them in Heyang, preparing to attack Wujiang and Quanjiao.

"From now on, you will be assigned to the 103rd Division and will be responsible for the battle in the east."

"The 103rd Division? Why is there so much space in front?" Chang Yuchun wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked in confusion.

Lu Jin then said, "The Shengwu Army's division numbers start at 100, and the numbers before 100 are for the Imperial Guards. The Imperial Guards will start with the 200th division, so there will be less confusion."

Chang Yuchun nodded and asked, "Then there are still two vacancies in the front. Who is the 101st? Who is the 2nd Division?"

"The First Division is the southern group, responsible for the Lujiang direction. The Second Division is the northern group, responsible for the Dingyuan and Haozhou line. The Imperial Guard Division is stationed in Luzhou headquarters, and your Third Division is responsible for the eastern line along the river." Lu Jin explained.

"How many regiments are there in that division?"

"Usually four."

"Only four?"

Chang Yuchun was immediately disappointed and said, "Doesn't that mean that one division doesn't even have 20,000 soldiers? Then don't I have to lead six or seven divisions to lead 100,000 soldiers?"

"hehe."

Lu Jin was immediately amused when he heard this, "Wake up first, you are not the commander of the Third Division. You are just a battalion commander, not even a regiment commander. Now you want to lead six or seven divisions?"

Chang Yuchun was a straightforward person. He didn't care much and said, "Why not think about it? It's not like I can't make military achievements. Marshal, when will you give me a promotion?"

Lu Jin looked at this guy, thought for a while and then spoke.

"You are now the battalion commander of a thousand households. If you make merit in the battle of Wujiang and Quanjiao, I will promote you to regiment commander. If you make merit again in crossing the river in the future, I will promote you to division commander. When you can lead 100,000 soldiers depends on whether you can fight."

Chang Yuchun was immediately excited when he heard this, "This is what the Marshal said himself, it's a deal!"

"Sir, don't joke." Lu Jin also laughed.

The next day was the second day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year of Zhizheng.

These nearly 20,000 new recruits from Dingyuan and a group of new brave generals finally arrived in Luzhou. With his little notebook in hand, Lu Jin finally had the opportunity to begin reorganizing and expanding the army.

(End of this chapter)