The New Destiny of the Ming Dynasty

In fact, most of the Ming army in this era already produced their own gunpowder.

Furthermore, because the storage and transportation of finished gunpowder are dangerous, especially since it is prone to accidents when exposed to fire, gunpowder is usually prepared on short notice just before the battle.

Normally, the three main components of gunpowder are stored separately: nitrate clay, sulfur, and charcoal.

When Yang Zhen and his entourage came to Ningyuan from within the Great Wall to take up their posts with Governor Fang Yizao, they knew that saltpeter was in high demand and hard to come by. They thought that they might be able to sell it for silver when they arrived in Liaodong, so they collected a lot of saltpeter along the way.

Although Yang Zhen did not place much importance on firearms, many of his subordinates were skilled in using them, such as Pan Wenmao, Zhang Guogan, and Zhang Chen.

During their time stationed in Ningyuan, these people followed Yang Zhen and were like orphans. If they needed to use firearms, they had to make their own gunpowder, so they had all produced some and had some stock.

The only problem was that the boiling method was very rudimentary, and the purity of the saltpeter was not high.

These supplies, like the sulfur and charcoal powder in the camp, are now under the control of Zhang Degui, the chief steward of the advance battalion.

On this day, after the advance battalion newly formed musketeer, artillery, and grenadier teams, the artillery team used the most gunpowder. Together with the 800 jin of finished gunpowder allocated from Ningyuan City, it was all given to the artillery team.

Currently, it is Pan Wenmao, the adjutant on the left wing of the artillery unit, who is in charge of management.

Therefore, on the morning of the fourth day of the third month, Pan Wenmao, who had received Yang Zhen's unconditional support, left Yang Zhen's residence and went straight back to his own post. He immediately summoned his capable subordinates and assigned them tasks.

He couldn't worry about anything else for the time being, and soon directed his men to set up stoves and pots, plunging headlong into the task of boiling saltpeter and purifying it.

Of course, Yang Zhen also knew that a little bit of high-purity nitrate wouldn't change anything in the short term. Without large-scale, mass production, the current small-workshop-style production method couldn't possibly play a role in turning the tide in the current crisis in Liaodong.

Moreover, even if Pan Wenmao is right, given the current situation, with only one day left, it's questionable how much can be produced.

However, no matter what, it's better to have something than nothing, and good things come to those who wait. As long as you're on the right track, you don't have to worry about how far the journey is.

After arranging things for Pan Wenmao, Yang Zhen felt a little more confident. At this moment, after the excitement, he was also more sleepy. He was just about to lie down for a nap when he heard a commotion outside.

"My lord! My lord! Commander! The cannons are here! The artillery carriages are here! Lots of artillery carriages! And muskets too!"

A moment later, Yang Zhan'ao's voice came into Yang Zhen's room: "My lord! General Zu, Commander Li, and Captain Yang have also arrived!"

No sooner had Yang Zhan'ao finished speaking than someone at the door said, "Yang Xiezhen! I almost delayed your important matter! But I have managed to accomplish my mission! I have obtained everything you requested!"

The voice was tired, apologetic, and a little excited. As soon as Yang Zhen heard the voice, he knew that it was Zu Keyong. He didn't care about his fatigue and immediately got off the kang (a heated brick bed).

As soon as Yang Zhen stood still, he saw Li Lu and Yang Shen, their faces beaming with joy, escorting the haggard-looking Zu Keyong into the house.

These three people probably don't know yet that Yang Zhen led Zhang Degui and Pan Wenmao to see Governor Fang Yizao and Supervisor of Military Supplies Yuan Shu in the middle of the night yesterday.

Li Lu and Yang Shen believed that Zu Keyong had finally persuaded Zu Dashou's younger brother, Zu Dale, and Zu Keyong also believed that his persistent pleas had worked.

In fact, Yang Zhen knew that if it weren't for the personal letter Fang Yizao wrote to Zu Dashou in anger late last night, they probably wouldn't have gotten a single cannon even if they had begged on their knees until dusk today.

However, Yang Zhen didn't want to say it out loud. Since Zu Keyong was so kind-hearted, he didn't want to embarrass him.

Upon seeing Zu Keyong and the others enter, Yang Zhen quickly stepped forward, grasped Zu Keyong's hand tightly, and said emphatically, "Brother Zu! Enough with the formalities! I owe you a favor!"

"Hey—what are you saying, Yang Xiezhen! Didn't we say before that we're all in the same boat going north with you!"

"These breech-loading cannons, tiger-squatting cannons, and nine-headed bird guns, including the muskets you asked for later, are plentiful in Deputy Commander Zu's car and artillery battalion! They're stationed in the city, so they won't need them for the time being! Originally, transferring them was just a matter of the Marshal's word!"

"But—alas, as you probably know, Wu Xiezhen has a lot of ideas. He said that the army is preparing for war and supplies are in short supply, and he also intends to allocate and use these things! As a result, when it came to Deputy Commander Zu, he hesitated back and forth!"

"The commander-in-chief is very busy with military affairs, and even I can't just see him whenever I want! So it was delayed until midnight last night!"

"It was my carelessness! If only we had started this sooner, we almost messed things up! Luckily, good things come to those who wait, and I got it all for you! Come on! Yang Xiezhen, let's go take a look!"

Upon hearing what Zu Keyong said, Yang Zhen immediately took a step and followed him outside. In a short while, the group arrived at the gate. In the morning light, inside the east gate and under the city wall, rows of breech-loading cannons, tiger-squatting cannons, and the legendary nine-headed bird-shaped muskets were parked side by side!

What surprised Yang Zhen most were the five "Nine-Headed Birds".

The so-called "nine-headed bird" was actually an extra-large musket. According to later calculations, it was about three meters long and weighed about thirteen or fourteen kilograms. One person could not operate it and it required two people to carry it, so it was also called a "lifting gun".

Meanwhile, this type of gun has a three-foot-three-inch-high triangular support, which is connected to the gun body by a rotating device, allowing it to be aimed in different directions.

What's most surprising is that this musket, known as the "Nine-Headed Bird," had an effective range that even reached 200 meters in later times.

Logically speaking, this should be an absolute military and national strategic asset.

Unfortunately, this type of musket, known as the "Nine-Headed Bird," was extremely expensive to manufacture, very inconvenient to load, and its bullets were slightly larger than ordinary gun bullets, but far smaller than artillery bullets.

To many, this thing is flashy but impractical, not as lightweight as a shotgun, and not as powerful as a cannon. It's like a chicken rib – tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.

Therefore, apart from the period when the country was powerful and the imperial court supervised the construction of a batch during the Wanli era, they were gradually phased out later. Now, they can only be seen in the Shenji Battalion, which is equipped with the most advanced equipment, and the Liaodong Army, which is second only to the Shenji Battalion.

This kind of gun might be useless to others, but to Yang Zhen it is an extremely rare treasure.

As the saying goes, "To shoot a man, shoot his horse first; to capture a thief, capture his king first," on the battlefield, killing the enemy commander with a single blow has always been the most effective tactic.

Therefore, ever since he heard about the existence of the 9-headed sniper rifle, he had the idea of ​​training snipers and specially set up 9-headed snipers and their deputies when assembling artillery units.

This time, under the pretext of heading north to rescue Songshan, he obtained so many firearms from the Liaodong army in Ningyuan City, which was a truly unexpected surprise.

While Yang Zhen was looking at various firearms accompanied by Zu Keyong and others, Zhang Degui and Xu Changyong also arrived after hearing the news.

As various equipment gradually arrived, everyone in the Provisional Ningyuan Vanguard Battalion was overjoyed.

Knowing the value of firearms, Zhang Degui quickly instructed Yang Shen and others to assign each of the breech-loading cannons and tiger-squatting cannons to the pre-selected gunners and gunners, according to the previously arranged left and right flanks of the artillery unit.

In no time at all, the ten tiger-squatting cannons, the ten breech-loading cannons, and the five nine-headed bird cannons were broken up and carried away by the gunners, gunners, and snipers on the left and right flanks of the artillery unit.

Both the tiger crouching cannon and the breech-loading cannon are small cannons. The heavier breech-loading cannon, including its four submachine guns, weighs only around 200 pounds. A breech-loading cannon is handled by four people. Although it is a bit strenuous to lift, it is not a big problem.

As for the Tiger Crouching Cannon, it was actually like an iron-cast bucket, or like a bell of medium size, with a large caliber but a short barrel.

Therefore, the weight is not great. The smaller ones weigh only a few dozen kilograms, and even the largest ones weigh only a hundred kilograms. With three people in charge, it is not a big problem to carry them for a short period of time.