Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 167: Gun Test (Part )

boom--

The artillery in the field made a thunderous sound, and an iron bullet whizzed out from the muzzle, followed by a puff of white smoke, emitting a strong smell of saltpeter and sulfur.

Fortunately, everyone had prepared in advance and was not scared by the loud noise. Then everyone saw the artillery vehicle suddenly retreat two or three parking spaces, and some people looked at the carriage two miles away.

Before everyone could comment, Lan Yu, who had just lit the fire, let out a loud shout.

"It hit! The first shot hit it!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked forward. When the smoke in front of them dissipated, they saw that the carriage two miles away had turned into flying pieces. The entire vehicle was smashed to pieces!

"How amazing! He is indeed a gunner trained by the Marshal himself, and he has a cannon designed by him. If this cannon was aimed at the enemy commander's tower, he would have been killed, right?"

Li Shanchang saw that the artillery was so powerful. The new artillery, coupled with the artillery techniques compiled by Lu Jin himself, had such a powerful effect in the first demonstration. Even though he was not very good at military affairs, he could see the power of the artillery and the advantages it could bring to his own combat effectiveness.

After witnessing the power of this firearm with his own eyes, Li Shanchang has secretly decided in his heart that in addition to food and fodder, he must also focus on the production of ironworks and gunpowder. If he can continuously produce cannons for the army, what kind of achievement will this be?
If the army had an endless supply of cannons, why would there be any worries about unrest in the world in the future? If they really took over the world, wouldn't I be a founding hero? !

The power demonstrated by this new weapon, which Lu Jin had devoted much effort to develop, immediately raised the morale of everyone present.

Feng Guoyong looked at Yang Huan standing beside him and couldn't help but praise him, "Good boy, it's true that a tiger father will have a dog son. Your brother is now the commander-in-chief, leading tens of thousands of troops. You are only 14 years old, and now you have learned the true teachings of the commander-in-chief. It's true that you have learned from the commander-in-chief. The first shot was so accurate. I think you have a bright future!"

However, after Feng Guoyong finished praising Yang Huan, he did not see how happy he was. Instead, he looked nervous. Everyone looked over and found that Yang Huan was looking at Lu Jin nervously. Everyone followed his gaze to look at Lu Jin and found that Lu Jin was lying on the telescope, frowning, and did not look happy at all.

Everyone fell silent when they saw this. Li Shanchang rolled his eyes, stroked his beard and asked, "The Marshal seems unhappy, but is there something wrong? Didn't he hit it?"

Lu Jin then raised his head from the telescope, glanced at everyone, and found that everyone was looking at him seriously, then he spoke.

"Oh, nothing is wrong. I just said to start firing from an elevation of five degrees until we hit the target. I thought the first shot would definitely miss the target and it should hit closer. I didn't expect that with an elevation of only five degrees and two kilograms of explosives, it has already hit two miles. It's a little different from what I expected."

"." Li Shanchang was speechless. He didn't quite understand what Lu Jin meant. It seemed like he didn't expect to hit the target, but he hit it directly. He didn't understand what it meant, so he just asked.

"Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Will it delay our training of the artillery battalion?"

"Oh, that won't happen. Artillery is meant to be tested shot by shot, and then a firing table must be compiled. Otherwise, it will be too difficult to teach every gunner to do arithmetic and geometry. Let's test out the firing table first. Then with simple training and the ability to read, write and count, they can become gunners. Only in this way can we equip them in large quantities. This gun is meant to be tested." Lu Jin explained immediately, so that everyone would not worry about the application of this new weapon.

"That's good!"

Li Shanchang also breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Only Yang Huan came over and asked honestly, "Marshal, how should we test it next?"

Lu Jin thought about it and felt that there was no point in practicing target shooting now, and it would be a waste of resources, so it would be better to use it to test the shooting table first.

So he said, "Adjust the muzzle to zero degree elevation, and then fire upwards one degree at a time. Measure the range first, and pull the rope to measure after each shot. Measure the range first."

"Yes." Yang Huan was immediately cheered up. He had been studying mathematics and geometry in class before and had never had a chance to practice. Today he could finally have a good fight. He could shoot from zero degrees to 15 degrees and fire 15 shells at once.

Yang Huan immediately began to arrange the test of the artillery, while Lu Jin stood in front of the telescope, looking forward from time to time.

As for the unexpected range of the artillery, it was actually because Lu Jin knew too little about the relevant knowledge.

The muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons he knew about were still at the level of 6th century European wars, while the 16-pound Napoleon cannon used during the American War of Independence had already reached 900 calibers and a range of 1370 to meters, almost three miles away.

The 14-caliber smoothbore cannon that Lu Jin had thought of before should be a more "ancient" thing, so it was normal that the range exceeded his expectations.

Just now he asked Yang Huan to start firing directly from an elevation angle of five degrees. The actual range of that shot might have been more than one thousand meters, but it was blocked by a carriage halfway. Otherwise, if there was no obstruction, the shell might have flown farther. This was why he stopped letting him continue shooting and instead tested the firing table first.

boom--

Another shot was fired, and Yang Huan immediately asked someone to ride over on horseback to measure the range. Lu Jin had already seen the first landing point of the shell through the telescope. According to the markings on the shooting range, it was about 800 meters away.

After the shot was fired, everyone present was no longer as excited as before. Everyone looked at Lu Jin's expression, which was still serious. Xu Da immediately stepped forward and asked in a low voice. Although his voice was low, it was loud enough for everyone around to hear.

"Marshal, what's wrong?"

Lu Jin shook his head. "There's nothing wrong. It's just that the range of this cannon is a little longer than I expected. So I'm afraid our tactics will have to change after we equip it with this cannon."

He turned his head and looked at Xu Da. "Didn't I just say that we should start firing when the two armies are two miles apart? Now the range of this cannon is obviously more than two miles, maybe even three miles. What do you think of how to use it on the battlefield?"

"Three miles?!"

Xu Da was stunned. The military books he had studied never mentioned weapons that could hit the target three miles away, could be aimed relatively accurately, and could destroy chariots and horses with one shot. How to use such weapons on the battlefield was indeed an unprecedented problem.

When everyone heard the conversation between the two, they also thought about Lu Jin's question. Historically, when ranking military generals, military achievements are only one aspect. Military achievements alone will not rank them in the top. Even Huo Qubing, who was so powerful, was never in the top three. That's because in ancient times, worshipping famous generals required not only military achievements, but also new military theories, that is, military books and tactics.

Dynasties changed and the world changed rapidly. There were many brave generals in China, but few of them left behind military works. At this time, Lu Jin raised an unprecedented question, which is certainly worth everyone's careful consideration.

Feng Guoyong thought for a moment and immediately asked, "Marshal, we are the only ones who have this kind of artillery, right?"

"Well, of course. If nothing else, they definitely don't have it now. But this thing is just cast iron. If it is seized by the enemy, it is still very easy to imitate. Even if it can't be made as good as this, but a worse one with a shorter range and heavier weight can also be made. So we can only hide it for a while. It is only a matter of time before it is obtained by the enemy." Lu Jin nodded first, then reminded.

Feng Guo rolled his eyes and continued, "That is to say, at least before the artillery appeared on the battlefield, the enemy should not have any, and they don't know the power of the artillery. Then we may be able to use this to launch a surprise attack or ambush, and catch the enemy by surprise, and perhaps achieve extraordinary success."

Xu Da retorted, "Since the commander-in-chief said that the artillery can be easily blocked by the enemy, I think we should not put it in danger. The artillery camp should move with the army and be under the protection of the army at all times.

"Even if you want to catch the enemy off guard, you can only use it in the military formation. Maybe you can put the enemy closer. For example, when the enemy advances to within one mile, the enemy's central army should also be within three miles. The central army cannot be too far away from the front army. In this way, you may be able to bypass the front army and directly attack the enemy's central army. You can hit the bull from behind the mountain and directly kill the general and seize the flag by bypassing the front army, causing the enemy to collapse. "Didn't the Marshal say before that the size should be coordinated and the distance should be appropriate? The size of the artillery used in the artillery camp should also be different. If the size is coordinated, you can put the enemy closer, use the small cannon to attack the enemy's front army, and use the large cannon to bypass the front army and attack the enemy's central army. It may be effective."

Lu Jin nodded and said, "I did plan to do so, but the range of this six-jin cannon is beyond my expectations, so how big a cannon should be built remains to be tested."

Xu Da was stunned when he heard this, and then asked, "Then is this cannon in front of us the small cannon or the big cannon that the Marshal mentioned?"

"This is considered a medium-sized cannon, which has three calibers: large, medium and small. Cannons are classified by the size of the muzzle, called caliber, and different models are classified by the weight of the iron bullets they fire. The iron bullets of this cannon weigh nearly six pounds, so it is a six-pound cannon.

“I am also planning to build some small cannons that fire three or four jin iron bullets, which can be installed on ships for the navy to use. However, these small cannons are too weak and have a short range, so they are not very powerful for the army.

"As for the heavy artillery, it could be a 10-jin iron bullet, a 14-jin iron bullet, or even a 20-30-jin iron bullet. A 10-jin to 14-jin cannon is much more powerful than a 6-jin cannon, and the weight of the entire cannon should not exceed 2,000 jin, so it should be able to be pulled by six horses.

"A cannon with a 20-30 jin iron bullet should be called a heavy cannon. This kind of cannon can even destroy a city wall. It is a powerful siege weapon. However, a cannon like this may weigh more than 3,000 to 4,000 jin, which is quite inconvenient to transport and march, so we probably won't build many of them."

After hearing this, Xu Da had a general understanding of the size system of artillery, and he also agreed with Lu Jin's division method.

If the cannon is small and lacks power, it is useless to carry it in the army. A medium-caliber cannon is more suitable. The six-jin cannon in front of us weighs less than 800 kilograms and can be towed by four horses during a march. One cannon is just right for a squad, which is obviously very suitable.

If it gets a little bigger, like the 10-jin or 14-jin cannon, although it's more powerful, it weighs 2,000 jin and requires at least six horses to pull it, which is almost the limit of what the army can carry in the field.

For example, the heavy artillery of 20 to 30 kilograms that Lu Jin mentioned can destroy the city wall. This artillery is powerful, but it is difficult to transport. The weight of 3,000 to 4,000 kilograms is at least not something that can be carried in a field march. I am afraid it can only be transported from the rear when it is needed to attack the city.

After Xu Da had figured out the balance between power and portability, he tried to say, "If it is for the convenience of marching, I think this 6-jin cannon weighing less than 800 jin is very suitable. It has a range of two or three miles and is powerful enough to destroy the enemy's chariots and horses. If it hits the formation, at least three to five people can be killed. Wouldn't it be better to equip the entire artillery battalion with this cannon?"

Hearing this, Lu Jin shook his head and said, "No, no, no, a large caliber has its own advantages. Different cannons have different uses. You don't understand. You should read and learn more first, and then talk about it."

Xu Da frowned and asked, "General, what's the benefit of the 10-jin cannon other than its power? If the range is similar, even if the power is greater, it probably won't be much greater. To put it bluntly, it's all iron bullets, so what can it do..."

However, before he could finish, Lu Jin interrupted him and said, "You are right. The key lies in the iron bullet. Do you think that artillery can only be used to shoot iron balls that fit like this?"

"What does the Marshal mean?"

Lu Jin explained, "You don't understand the relationship between the range of a cannon and the gun body. Let me tell you this. When the weight of the iron bullet is the same and the amount of powder is the same, the longer the gun barrel, that is, the longer the caliber, the longer the range. But at the same time, the longer the barrel, the heavier the gun. Do you understand?"

Xu Da nodded.

Lu Jin continued, "Then the question arises. If I don't want to fire too far, and only need to fire one mile, then I can make the large-caliber heavy artillery shorter and lighter. In this way, even a 14-jin cannon can be made to weigh only a few hundred jin, perhaps even lighter than this 6-jin cannon, but the price is that the iron bullet can only be fired one mile.

"But this kind of cannon has another wonderful use. No one stipulates that fire guns can only fire iron bullets. When the Song Dynasty first made fire guns, they were filled with gravel and iron sand. So if I cast some small iron balls, only as big as dates, each iron date weighs one or two coins, and load hundreds of them at a time, and wait for the enemy to get close, then fire them out, what do you think will happen?"

Everyone was stunned by Lu Jin's idea. Zhu Shou said immediately, "Hundreds of iron dates were shot out in an instant, which might sweep across a large area!"

Lu Jin nodded, "I call this kind of ammunition shotgun. Because shotgun shells don't fit well, they can't be fired too far, and the range is definitely no more than a mile. But the advantage is that you can fire hundreds of them at a time. If the enemy is close, you can fire more than a dozen shots at a time, and it's guaranteed to kill several layers of the enemy in the front line.

"Think about it again at this time, is a large caliber better or a small caliber better?"

This time Xu Da said without even thinking, "A larger caliber is definitely better. The thicker the barrel, the more iron dates can be stuffed into it!"

Lu Jin nodded, "That's what I mean. Cannons have many uses. They are just a tool for launching things. As for what they launch, that varies. For example, you can cast a hollow iron ball in the shape of an eggshell, fill it with gunpowder, leave a fuse, light it and shoot it out. Let it fall into the enemy's formation and explode. When the iron shell shatters, it will be like a blade flying around. How many people can this cannon kill?"

“It turns out it can be done this way!!!”

Xu Da suddenly realized what was wrong. Compared with Lu Jin, he was just a weapon user. No matter what weapon Lu Jin gave him, he would think about how to use it to exert its greatest power.

But Lu Jin was different. He first thought out the tactics, how he wanted to fight, and then what kind of weapons should be made to achieve this effect. This is the difference in the level of vision. Xu Da himself would never have the same idea as Lu Jin.

Thinking of this, he suddenly reflected that perhaps he did not understand this kind of firearm well enough, otherwise he would be able to think of many clever uses for it.

So Xu Da, in the spirit of learning, asked Lu Jin again, "General, in addition to the six-jin cannon and the short-barreled cannon, what other types are there in this artillery camp?"

Lu Jin glanced at him, thought for a moment, then pulled out a form from the booklet in his hand and handed it over, "Well, take a look for yourself."

Xu Da took it and looked at it. He saw that it was filled with the caliber sizes of various artillery pieces, the weight of the shells, the weight of the artillery pieces themselves, and the length of the artillery barrels. There were actually more than a dozen types in total.

Starting from the smallest one-pound cannon, the caliber is 37 mm, the bullet weighs four taels, the cannon is two feet long, and the cannon weighs only 52 pounds. Such a small cannon can be carried by one strong person, and it is even easier for two people to carry it.

Even larger are the three-pound cannons, whose shells weigh three pounds and four ounces, and whose length is three and a half feet and weight 450 pounds. When mounted on a gun carriage, it can probably be easily pulled by a donkey and carried by several people.

Further up are the medium-caliber and heavier cannons that Lu Jin mentioned.

Just by looking at the size and weight of the various artillery pieces in this picture, Xu Da realized many problems, and he immediately understood what Lu Jin meant.

This picture introduces the size and weight of artillery. If you study it carefully, it is not difficult to find the applicable scenarios of various artillery. For example, those small cannons with three or four kilograms of iron bullets weigh from dozens of kilograms to no more than four or five hundred kilograms. Lu Jin said that he planned to install this kind of small cannon on a boat, but Xu Da thought that it might also be possible to use it in the mountains and forests. Such a light cannon is perfect for carrying over mountains and ridges.

In addition, Lu Jin just mentioned a method of shortening the barrel of a large-caliber artillery to make it lighter, so that it can be used to fire large-caliber shells or shotgun shells. Can the six-jin cannon be done in the same way? Can the six-jin cannon be made lighter? Even if the range is shortened and can only be fired one mile away, if the weight can be controlled within three or four hundred kilograms, it would be great for use in the mountains!

After looking at this table, Xu Da finally understood why Lu Jin said that he had to try it first before deciding on the caliber of artillery to be equipped.

There are so many ways to use artillery!

(End of this chapter)