The gun warehouse is located below the deck. It was left over when Han Du specially asked Tang He to build the ship. It is divided into upper and lower floors. The two floors of the gun warehouse are filled with cannons, as well as projectiles and gunpowder wrapped in oil paper.
These gunpowders are not gunpowder, but black gunpowder prepared by Han Du according to the optimal ratio.
Why doesn't Handu use collodion? There is no other reason than that collodion is too expensive. If Handu uses it to launch such solid projectiles, it is simply not cost-effective and cannot be used. It is a real waste of money.
Although black gunpowder is much less powerful than collodion, it is mainly due to its low price. If the power is not enough, it can be solved by loading more gunpowder.
Even so, Handu refined the artillery to the extreme. The artillery was cast in the same size and made of fine steel. With the large amount of steel produced by the blast furnace, casting hundreds of cannons was just like playing. The projectiles were also made according to the
They are cast in standard sizes. Although it cannot be said that they are exactly the same, at least the naked eye cannot tell any difference. There is also gunpowder. Each package is wrapped in oil paper and has been weighed in advance.
Standard weight of gunpowder.
"The cannon is in position, ready." The sound of the cannon being ready came from the gun warehouse.
Han Du picked up the telescope and looked at it again, and immediately ordered: "Load on the starboard side."
"Starboard loading."
"Hurry up......"
"Hurry up and run, don't be like an old lady and take your time..."
Under the urging of the commander of the artillery warehouse, the soldiers started running nervously and orderly. Those who ran slowly were inevitably kicked by the commander in the buttocks, but fortunately it was not serious.
However, no matter how much they were urged, this was the first time these soldiers used artillery. Therefore, it was still full of loopholes, and it was not fast and effective at all.
Some of them stooped and tried to push the cannon out, but did not push it until they reached their waists; some of them stuffed the entire gunpowder package into the cannon before tearing the oil paper; some of them could not tell the left and right sides clearly.
It was the starboard side, but he ran to the port side.
Anyway, there are problems everywhere and full of loopholes.
But even if they were to blame, they could only blame Handu. No one had ever allowed them to test-fire, and some had only entered the gun warehouse several times to practice. There was no way, even just one practice with real guns and live ammunition was enough to make them
Han Du felt heartbroken. More importantly, Daming could not withstand such training.
The Navy has always been a wealthy branch, and it is not something that rich men and handsome men cannot afford. The Ming Dynasty Navy is now so poor that it loses its pants, so it is naturally impossible for it to be wasted casually.
However, the shortcomings of not having undergone strict live-fire training are now highlighted. The speed of loading the artillery is really too slow. After waiting for a long time, Han Du could only feel the commotion in the gun bunker under his feet, but there was no news of being ready for a long time.
information.
Han Du looked into the telescope and saw that the Japanese pirate ship had passed the optimal attack angle. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. If this happens again in the future, the commander of the gun warehouse should pull out the handle and shoot him.
In desperation, Han Du had no choice but to continue to order, "Send the order, full right rudder."
"Full right rudder!"
"Raise the mainsail."
"Raise the mainsail!"
Following Han Du's continuous orders, the person turning the helm pushed hard to push the rope, twisting the rope and making a creaking sound. The person raising the sail was as nimble as a monkey, moving quickly along the rope on the mast.
He hung the rope of the main sail on the pulley. As the pulley rattled, the main sail was quickly raised.
Seeing this, Han Du couldn't help but think that if the cannon warehouse had such speed just now, the Japanese pirates wouldn't have been able to escape.
But it doesn't matter, the initiative is still in my own hands until now. One advantage of the fast speed of the warship is that it is not easy for the Japanese pirates to catch up. I have enough time to wait for the cannon warehouse to be loaded.
When the Japanese pirates saw the Ming Dynasty warship, they still refused to contact them and still looked like they wanted to escape. They even stood on the ship arrogantly, yelling and waving their samurai swords, looking ferocious.
There were even a few lagging ships that didn't care about anything and rushed towards the Ming army's warships. It was as if the Ming army was now a piece of fat meat. They couldn't wait to rush forward and take the fattest bite.
.
It’s no wonder that the Japanese pirates had this idea, thinking that even if the Ming army they encountered didn’t have the upper hand, they wouldn’t be intimidated. Didn’t they rush in and fight them as soon as they saw them?
Although these three warships are not occupied now, due to the height of the warships, they are not without the power of the post station. However, they want to escape uncharacteristically, which has to make the Japanese pirates wonder whether there are people on board these three warships.
There is no fighting power at all.
Only in this way will you be so eager to escape.
Just as the Japanese pirates were charging over happily, Han Du's long-awaited voice finally came.
"Loading completed."
"Loading completed."
When Han Du heard this, he quickly picked up the telescope. Looking at the Japanese pirate ship in the camera, he kept calculating the position and distance in his mind.
Holding my breath and concentrating, the surrounding wind, waves, gun barrels, and Japanese pirates' sounds all seemed to disappear for a moment. The entire sea seemed to have quieted down.
"Fire!" Han Du suddenly waved his arm.
Jiang Ming immediately roared towards the cannon warehouse below, "Fire!"
Boom! Boom! Boom~
There were continuous rumblings, and the artillery roared. Long white smoke columns spurted out from the muzzle, followed by iron balls.
The sudden sound of cannons stunned the Japanese pirates.
Japanese pirates are basically wandering warriors from the Japanese country. Now that the Japanese country is in the Warring States Period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties, countless Japanese pirates have to risk going to the sea to find a living.
These Japanese pirates had never even heard of cannons, let alone seeing them. After all, even when the Japanese fought in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, they did not have such sharp artillery as the Ming army.
Therefore, when the Ming army opened fire, the Japanese pirates did not understand what was going on. In their impression, bows and arrows could not be shot from such a long distance. However, there was a huge uneasiness that enveloped everyone's hearts.
The Japanese pirates who were shouting wantonly suddenly became silent.
At a distance of only two miles, the cannonballs arrived in an instant.
When the cannonball fell into the sea, it immediately splashed up a high water column. The water column fell on the Japanese pirates, turning them into drowned rats. Even the sails were soaked by the water column.
These are the luckiest ones.
A cannonball hit the waterline of the Japanese pirate ship, instantly creating a big hole. Seawater rushed in, but within a dozen seconds, you could see the ship tilting significantly.