My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 162 Bastions and Cannons

Su Ze's memorial included the design drawings of the bastion.

A bastion is a castle with prismatic protrusions along the edges of its four walls, where gun emplacements are erected for defense.

Moreover, unlike ordinary city walls, the walls of the bastion were very wide, specifically designed to mount cannons.

Below the city wall is a moat or ditch, and in front of the ditch is a gentle slope.

None of the four elders understood why Su Ze would propose building such a strange castle.

Even Zhao Zhenji, the most knowledgeable military strategist, stroked his beard and said:

"This raised bastion looks like a rampart or a barbican?"

When Zhao Zhenji said this, all the Grand Secretaries nodded in agreement.

Horse-face walls are protruding sections of city walls. The purpose of these walls was to house archers and shoot down enemies who attacked from the blind spots below the city.

Many city walls from the Ming Dynasty had horse-face walls, so when Zhao Zhenji said this, the four Grand Secretaries probably understood the function of Su Ze's bastion.

However, after the memorial was sent to the palace, the emperor sent it back to the cabinet, demanding that the cabinet investigate the feasibility of the bastion.

The four Grand Secretaries had no choice but to summon Su Ze to the Grand Secretariat again, and also summon several officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works to listen in. This kind of Grand Secretariat questioning of officials on specific issues was also called "Tangdui" in the Tang Dynasty, which means "Zhengshitangduiwen".

When Su Ze entered the cabinet, he saw many familiar faces.

Besides the four Grand Secretaries, Minister of War Huo Ji and Minister of Works Lei Li were also present.

That's right. The bastion is related to military affairs and construction, so it's normal for these two to be present.

In addition, there were some Ministry of Works officials present, and Su Ze saw Fu Shun and Wan Jing, who had helped him repair his house.

The two secretly gave Su Ze a smile, and Su Ze nodded slightly in return.

This scene reminded Su Ze of his thesis defense in his previous life.

In the main hall, discussions usually take place on specific issues, and the atmosphere is relatively relaxed. Gao Gong first set the tone by saying:
"His Majesty has requested the Cabinet to verify the matter of the bastion, so I have invited officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works to come here."

"Let's start by asking the Ministry of War."

At this moment, a Ministry of War official stood up and introduced himself:
"Hanlin Su, I am Dai Xu, the Chief Clerk of the Department of Military Affairs of the Ministry of War. I have a few questions I would like to ask you."

The Ministry of War's Department of Military Affairs was responsible for maps, military systems, city walls, garrisoning, training, and military expeditions. Supervising the construction of military buildings was the Ministry of Works' business, but the Ministry of War was responsible for acceptance inspection.

Therefore, the head of the Office of Personnel Management is also a professional.

"Please ask, Master Dai."

"Su Hanlin, the protruding part of the bastion, like the rampart, is for mounting artillery for defense, right?"

Su Ze nodded in agreement, and then Steward Dai asked:

"But why build a gentle slope in front of the trench? Wouldn't that make it easier for the enemy to attack?"

Everyone looked at Su Ze; this gentle slope was indeed the most incomprehensible feature to them.

Su Ze said slowly:
"The cannons fired downwards from the city wall, just as Su once wrote in the Yuefu Xinbao. Everything has gravity, and the cannonballs fired from the muzzle will be thrown downwards. This gentle slope was designed to better shoot down the enemy."

Upon hearing this, the four Grand Secretaries and the Ministry of War officials nodded repeatedly, but the Ministry of Works officials present felt a chill run down their spines. Su Ze had even considered this!

Dai Xu then asked:
Why was the bastion designed in a diamond shape?

Su Ze was naturally prepared for this question.

He took out a prepared drawing and said:
"Gentlemen, please look. If the protruding parts of this castle were built in square or round shapes, then there would be blind spots for cannon fire in those areas."

"But if it is set in a diamond shape, then there will be no blind spots in the entire castle."

Su Ze gestured, and everyone quickly understood the benefits of using a rhombus shape.

The purpose of Suze's bastion was not for the appearance of a castle, but to ensure that firepower could cover each other and that there were no blind spots in the entire castle.

Su Ze said:

"Using cannons to protect the city, and the city to shield the cannons, this is the bastion designed by Su."

"On the bastion walls, various gun emplacements such as breech-loading cannons and general cannons were set up to fire at the enemy at both long and short ranges, in addition to archers and crossbowmen for close-range defense."

"If a bastion is garrisoned with a thousand men and has sufficient food and ammunition, even an enemy a hundred times larger cannot take it down."

hundred times?
Zhao Zhenji and Huo Ji, the Minister of War, both frowned, thinking that Su Ze was bragging.

But Su Ze knew he wasn't bragging.

Bastions, also known as Renaissance castles, were the nightmare of all attackers before the advent of heavy artillery.

In East Asia, there was a classic bastion siege battle called the Battle of Zeelandia, which was the most arduous battle Zheng Chenggong fought to recover Taiwan.

The attackers were Zheng Chenggong, while the defenders were the Dutch.

In this war, Zheng Chenggong deployed 20,000 troops for landing and mobilized all his ships, while the defending Dutch numbered less than a thousand.

Zheng Chenggong committed almost all of his troops to this battle. Despite such a disparity in troop strength, the Dutch held out for more than half a year before finally being defeated due to the exhaustion of food and ammunition.

Nowadays, the Mongols on the grasslands have almost no firearms, so building a bastion in Dongsheng Prefecture can indeed withstand a hundred times more enemies.

The Ministry of War was very satisfied, but the Ministry of Works spoke up.

The speaker was Wan Jing.

Wan Jing cupped his hands and said:

"Su Hanlin, according to your plan, artillery should be placed in the bastion, but how can the artillery be transported to Dongsheng Prefecture?"

Everyone looked at Su Ze; clearly, this was an important question.

Su Ze said lightly:
"Just cast the cannons directly in Datong."

Wan Jing said:

"Although Datong has coal, Su Hanlin probably doesn't know that the iron from the north is not suitable for casting cannons. It's not even qualified to make general cannons, let alone breech-loading cannons."

"The imperial court wants to cast arquebuses and cannons, and will use Fujian iron. However, if the cannons are to be cast in Datong, the Fujian iron will have to be transported to Datong, which will cost too much."

Minister of Works Lei Li also nodded.

Fujian Iron and Steel refers to steel produced in Fujian Province.

The firearms produced by the Ming Dynasty are a mixed bag.

In his book "New Book of Military Tactics", Qi Jiguang complained that the arquebuses produced by the imperial court were prone to exploding and were not as good as the arquebuses captured from Japan.

In his book "Western Methods and Divine Machines" written at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Sun Yuanhua directly stated that Fujian iron should be used to make arquebuses and breech-loading cannons, and that northern iron should never be used.

Su Ze smiled slightly. This is a problem with iron smelting technology.

The reason why iron in the north is not good now is because the coal with a high sulfur content was used in the smelting process in the north. At that time, people did not realize that coal with a high sulfur content would make iron materials brittle.

Su Ze had already prepared a plan for this.

He said to Lei Li and Wan Jing:
"Su has a way to make the materials used in the Beijing Railway Bureau superior to those used in the Fujian Railway Bureau!"

Everyone present looked at him in surprise, especially Huo Ji, the Minister of War, who asked:

"really!?"

Su Ze nodded and said:

"Absolutely true!"

Everyone looked at Su Ze, their expressions filled with shock.

How come you even know how to cast cannons?
Su Ze, of course, knew the reason for the shock of everyone present. In fact, the Ming Dynasty had long recognized the advanced nature of artillery, which had played a significant role in Zhu Yuanzhang's war to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty.

However, the cannons used in the early Ming Dynasty were the Great General Cannons.

The so-called "General's Cannon" was made by binding iron bars together with iron hoops to form the cannon barrel. You can tell from the name that this kind of cannon had very poor airtightness, and the range and power of the shells were insufficient.

During the reign of Emperor Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty, the Portuguese, who had just arrived in the West, fought a naval battle at Tuen Mun with the Ming Dynasty.

Although the war ended in victory for the Ming Dynasty, it also made the Ming Dynasty realize the power of artillery. The artillery used by the Portuguese at that time was named the "Flangji Cannon".

The Ming Dynasty quickly realized the value of the breech-loading cannon and began to use it.

Also during the Zhengde era, when Wang Yangming, the master of Neo-Confucianism, led troops to quell the rebellion of Chenhao, he used breech-loading cannons in battle, which "shocked the surrounding area and terrified the rebels," resulting in a great victory.

The breech-loading smoothbore cannon is composed of three parts: the barrel, the breech, and the sub-barrel.

When firing, gunpowder projectiles are first loaded into the sub-cannon, then the sub-cannon is placed into the cannon body, and the sub-cannon's ignition port is ignited for firing.

However, due to the casting technology of that era, the airtightness of the breech-loading cannon was also poor.

What Su Ze really wanted to place on the Dongshengwei Bastion was the Red-Clad Cannon.

The Hongyi Cannon, also known as the Hongyi Cannon, is a long-barreled, spindle-shaped muzzle-loading cannon.

After the fuse was installed in the cannon, gunpowder and shells were loaded into the muzzle. Because the cannon body was cast in one piece, its airtightness was much better than that of the General Cannon and the Frankish Cannon, and its power was also much greater.

The Ming Dynasty does not yet have red-coated cannons.

Historically, the Hongyi cannon was introduced to China by the Dutch and Portuguese during the Wanli era.

However, Su Ze was still very confident that he could forge the Hongyi Cannon ahead of schedule.

The reason is simple: firearms of that era, whether in the East or the West, were actually quite technologically advanced.

It's just using gunpowder to push iron pellets.

The much-hyped Urban cannon was nothing more than a larger iron ball launcher, simply loaded with more gunpowder and firing larger shells.

The performance of artillery is actually affected by the material of the barrel and the casting process.

Even the casting process itself isn't complicated; the Chinese have been using the lost-wax casting method since the Bronze Age.

The real difference in artillery performance came in the 18th century when the West began using the borehole method to manufacture artillery. At that time, the airtightness and manufacturing speed of artillery reached a new level. Coupled with the invention of new gunpowder, this led to the powerful artillery of modern times.

Therefore, the limiting factor for the performance of Ming Dynasty cannons was actually just one thing—materials.

And so, a debate about the bastion was veered off-topic by Su Ze into the casting of cannons.

Seeing this, Grand Secretary Li Chunfang coughed and said:
"quiet!"

Li Chunfang looked at Su Ze and asked, "Can you really use Northern Iron to cast cannons? Can you cast cannons that are no less powerful than those made with Fujian Iron?"

Su Ze immediately said:

"I am willing to guarantee that I will be able to build cannons that far surpass those of Fujian Ironworks."

Li Chunfang nodded and said:
"In that case, let the Ministry of Works cooperate with you in casting the cannons. We can discuss the bastion issue after the cannons are cast."

Li Chunfang then looked at Su Ze and asked:

How long does it take to cast a cannon?

Su Ze thought for a moment and said:
"Return to the Grand Secretary, at least a month."

"so long?"

Su Ze said:

"To answer the Prime Minister, to produce better Northern Iron than Fujian Iron, we need better iron furnaces. Casting cannons doesn't take much time, but building iron furnaces does."

Li Chunfang nodded and said:

"Minister Lei, then please ask the Ministry of Works to cooperate with Su Zilin in building the iron furnace he mentioned."

Lei Li said warmly to Su Ze:

"If Hanlin Su needs anything, he can come directly to the Ministry of Works. Fu Shun and Wan Jing, you must obey Hanlin Su's orders."

Fu Shun and Wan Jing quickly agreed.
-
After the court session ended, it was time to leave the office, so Su Ze simply went straight home. As soon as he arrived at the door, he saw his wife waiting for him.

Su Ze felt a warmth in his heart. After getting married, he finally felt like he had a home and a greater sense of belonging to this era.

Seeing that her husband was about to go to the study, Zhao Lingxian did not disturb him, but personally brought him a bowl of soup to fill his stomach.

Once seated at his desk, Su Ze opened the [Portable Ming Dynasty] app. The outcome of today's debate was exactly as Su Ze had anticipated.

——[Simulation Start]——

A day later, the memorial entitled "Request to Repair the Bastion and Re-establish Dongsheng Guard" was sent to the Cabinet. The Cabinet convened a meeting and asked the host to explain the role of the bastion.

Officials from the Ministry of Works raised the issue of artillery transportation, and the construction plan for the bastion was left unresolved.

——[Simulation End]——

[Should I spend 500 prestige points to force the memorial to pass?]

[Remaining Prestige: 366 points.]

In fact, Su Ze could have chosen to wait until he had enough prestige points before taking action.

However, Su Ze ultimately chose to abandon the use of prestige points to enforce the order.

Based on this result, it is clear that the imperial court was unwilling to build bastions, not because bastions were bad, but because it believed that transporting artillery to bastions would be too costly.

To put it bluntly, it's a cost issue.

Therefore, instead of wasting those precious 500 prestige points, Su Ze might as well solve this problem directly.

Su Ze's solution to this problem was to improve iron smelting and cannon casting techniques.

Didn't they say that the Northern Railway couldn't cast cannons? If that problem is solved, then building the bastion will be a natural next step, right?

Su Ze did not believe that the officials in the court could not see the benefits of the bastion.

Furthermore, improvements in iron smelting technology can also reduce the weight of artillery.

In the history before Su Ze's time travel, the cannons cast by the Ming and Qing dynasties were much heavier and more cumbersome than those of the West.

This was actually due to the backwardness of iron smelting technology, which meant that Ming and Qing cannons needed thicker barrel walls to prevent the cannons from exploding.

Therefore, Su Ze has been designing new iron smelting furnaces.

This time, Su Ze deliberately steered the conversation toward the issue of cannon casting, and then made a bet in front of the four elders.

This led to Li Chunfang getting the Ministry of Works to cooperate in casting cannons for him.

Su Ze smiled. If this new type of iron smelting furnace could be successfully developed, it would not only solve the problem of cannon casting, but also give the Ming Dynasty a real chance to enter the industrialization stage.

Steel is the backbone of the industrial age.
-
The next day, Su Ze went directly to the Ministry of Works.

Wan Jing and Fu Shun held Su Ze's iron furnace design drawings.

Fu Shun, a pure civil engineer, spoke from a construction perspective:

"Building the refractory furnace isn't difficult, but how do we make the roof? And what about the bellows?"

Wan Jingze was far more cultured than Fu Shun. After looking at Su Ze's design drawings, he asked in bewilderment:

"Su Hanlin, is this some kind of steel-making method?"

(End of this chapter)