Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 430 Mortars and Torpedoes

Chapter 430 Mortars and Torpedoes
Li Yi nodded slightly, and then continued to look at other research and development results of the arsenal.

For example, new pistols, shotguns, etc.

Soon, Li Yi walked in front of a cannon.

Wu Zhong hurriedly took a few steps forward and began to introduce.

"Your Majesty, this gun is named Type 51 150mm naval gun."

"The caliber of the gun is 150mm and it is suitable for various types of shells, such as explosive shells and armor-piercing shells."

"The barrel is 30 times the caliber, the effective range is 3 kilometers, and the firing rate is one round every two minutes."

"Including the turret equipment, the total gun weight is 11.25 tons."

"Within the effective range, as long as a hit is achieved, devastating damage can be inflicted on the enemy warship."

"Even a steam ironclad ship equipped with protective steel plates would be severely damaged once it was hit by a shell."

The Tang army’s current artillery is mainly divided into two types.

One is land artillery and the other is naval artillery.

Among them, the calibers of land artillery mainly include 75, 100, 120, 150 and so on.

Among them, the 75-caliber artillery is an infantry support gun with a smaller caliber, higher mobility, and a direct-fire trajectory. It is mainly used to support infantry firepower at short distances.

The 100 caliber is a field gun. Although it also has a direct-fire trajectory, its firepower and range are slightly stronger than the 75 caliber infantry support gun.

Artillery with a caliber of 120 and 150 are considered heavy artillery.

It can fire in a straight trajectory or indirect trajectory, and its power is quite considerable.

It’s not that we can’t produce a caliber higher than that, but there’s no need to produce it.

If the caliber of the artillery was larger, it would be too heavy and difficult to transport, and it might even fail to keep up with the marching speed of the troops.

Not suitable for infantry use!

But for naval guns, the 150 caliber is just the beginning.

And the caliber of artillery also began to increase sharply.

With the technical conditions of that era, it was difficult to control the weight of artillery. The caliber of land artillery could only be 20 at most. If it was larger, it could not be transported.

But what about naval guns? There are many with 40 or 50 times the caliber.

Because there is no need to worry about the transportation of naval guns.

Just pursue caliber and lethality.

Li Yi looked at the huge object in front of him, touched it, and felt the cold touch of the metal.

Then he said.

"Try firing two shots!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhong immediately nodded in agreement.

Then preparations for the test firing of the artillery began.

Soon, accompanied by the operation of the operator.

The muzzle began to rotate to adjust the shooting parameters.

With a loud bang, smoke and dust rose around the gun mount.

A shell mixed with smoke and fire shot out from the muzzle, whizzing towards the designated shooting range.

Amid a loud bang, a small brick building selected as the target of the artillery attack was crushed by flames and shock waves.

A large amount of smoke and dust was blown away by the shock wave.

Everything within a radius of dozens of meters was razed to the ground.

When the smoke and dust cleared, a large pit with a radius of more than ten meters appeared on the spot.

The soil in the big pit had been blown soft, and if you turned it over slightly, you could see hot air coming out.

Looking at the killing effect of this shot, Li Yi's eyes were full of satisfaction.

This is just a 150-caliber naval gun.

You know, in addition to the 150-caliber naval guns, the Tang Dynasty also had larger caliber 200 and 220-caliber naval guns.

The killing effect must be stronger than it appears now!
Afterwards, Li Yi continued his inspection in the arsenal.

Next, he inspected several naval guns, coastal defense guns, and railway guns of different calibers one by one.

Well, it's the kind that's used on trains.

It can also be understood as a land-based heavy artillery that does not require transportation.

The killing effect is equally amazing!
Then, there were two new weapons that Li Yi was most interested in on this trip.

One is a mortar and the other is a torpedo.

Wu Zhong brought Li Yi to a table and pointed at a short-barreled, double-caliber cannon on the table.

"Your Majesty, this is a new type of mortar that we developed according to your instructions."

"The biggest difference between this new mortar and previous mortars is that this mortar uses an integrated shell with its own primer and propellant."

"When in use, you only need to put the shell in from the muzzle, and then use the inertia generated by the shell falling in the barrel to hit the firing pin at the bottom of the barrel with the primer at the bottom of the shell to complete the firing."

"Although the new mortar has a short range and is not very accurate, it is lightweight, weighing less than 15 kilograms, and can fire indirect ballistics."

"Also, the firing rate is very fast!"

"If used for infantry support firepower, it can even directly delegate the artillery firepower unit to the squad level."

"This will definitely be of great significance in improving our army's frontline firepower and increasing the army's combat effectiveness."

Li Yi heard this and said with a smile.

"Haha, the Qing family has made an indelible contribution to the success of Jingshan Arsenal."

Li Yi was not surprised that the arsenal was able to develop mortars.

Because the Tang Dynasty’s current technical capabilities are not bad, especially in the military industry.

Li Yi bought things from the mall, most of which were invested in military industry.

As for civilian use, it only has a little bit of influence.

Wu Zhong said a little embarrassedly after hearing this.

"I am ashamed!"

"This new type of mortar has already surpassed the scope of mortars in terms of both power and purpose. Your Majesty, please give it a name."

After hearing this, Li Yi thought for a while, then spoke without blushing or breathing heavily.

"Well, when using this new type of mortar, you need to be very close to the enemy, so you can kill the enemy in close range, so let's call it a mortar!"

Historically, the real mortar was invented by the Russians. During the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese suffered a loss and began to try to imitate it. After the imitation, the Japanese named it a mortar (po).

Later, when it was translated into Chinese, it became "mortar" due to misinterpretation.

You should know that in ancient China, the word "逼" has never been pronounced as "pai".

This time, Li Yi was creating a character out of thin air.

But it doesn’t matter. He is the emperor, and he has his own habits. Others just have to learn to adapt to them.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhong clasped his fists and said.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Seeing this, Li Yi just smiled and nodded.

"Okay, stop flattering me and take me to see the torpedo."

Wu Zhong nodded in agreement, then took Li Yi to a warehouse.

Compared to weapons like guns and cannons, torpedoes are more sophisticated.

Therefore, it cannot be placed in the open air and must be stored in a warehouse to be properly preserved.

Soon, Li Yi was taken to the warehouse.

What appeared before his eyes was a long and thin object covered by a tarpaulin.

Wu Zhong personally stepped forward to lift the tarpaulin for Li Yi and began to introduce him.

"Your Majesty, this torpedo is named the Sea Shark Type 1 High Explosive Torpedo."

"The torpedo is 2.4 meters long, has a charge of 105 kilograms, and is driven by a built-in engine that drives a twin propeller at the tail."

"Although the current torpedoes can only move in a straight line and cannot turn, their killing effect is very strong!"

"If we can get a hit, we can even sink a 3,000-ton steam ironclad ship with one shot."

Li Yi asked in surprise after hearing this.

"Has it been tested?"

Wu Zhong shook his head.

"Your Majesty, we have not yet conducted field tests. However, according to our calculations, once this amount of explosives explodes, the killing effect will definitely be enough to sink a steam ironclad ship."

There are only a few steam-clad ships in the Tang Dynasty now, so it is naturally impossible to take one out and hand it over to the arsenal for experiment and blow it up for fun.

That cost is too high!

The only way to simulate it is by calculating the explosive equivalent.

Li Yi heard this and said with a smile.

"fine."

"The war in Nanyang will start soon. We will have a chance then..."

After the Netherlands and Spain realized that the Tang Dynasty was eyeing Southeast Asia, they also dispatched forces from their homelands to reinforce Manila and Batavia.

Among them, there are both land armies and naval fleets.

As far as Li Yi knows, there is now a steam-powered ironclad ship in Manila and Batavia respectively.

Although its performance is not as good as that of the Tang Dynasty's steam ironclad ships, it is definitely better than those old sailing battleships and armed merchant ships.

This is just right, as it will give the Tang army's new weapons a target to be used.

……

After completing the inspection of the arsenal, Li Yi set off back to the Old Summer Palace.

However, he had just returned to the Old Summer Palace when Foreign Minister Guo Songtao came to seek a meeting with him.

"Your Majesty, the envoys of England and France are meeting with me."

Li Yi's expression changed and he asked.

"Oh, what did you say?"

Guo Songtao spoke.

"In reply to your Majesty, the British and French envoys said that they had promptly severed ties with the Netherlands and Spain."

"I hope that Datang can approve their application for arms trade."

Li Yi's expression changed immediately when he heard this.

Well, he knew that Britain and France were definitely colluding with the Netherlands.

Otherwise, Britain and France's statement this time would mean they would sever ties with the Netherlands. Wouldn't that be a cover-up?
But in the end, Li Yi still said.

"Well, the Qing family can give them an answer."

"Just say that I have approved this arms deal."

"It's just that I hope Britain and France won't make any more unwise decisions regarding the Netherlands and Spain."

Guo Songtao nodded immediately.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I understand!"

After he finished speaking, Guo Songtao continued.

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing."

"The Russian envoy presented a letter of credence to the Tang Dynasty, saying that Russia will send an envoy to the capital of the Tang Dynasty."

"Now, the delegation has set off. I hope the Tang Dynasty can receive them."

Hearing this, Li Yi frowned slightly and asked.

"Do you know the purpose of the Russian embassy?"

Guo Songtao thought for a moment and then replied.