It’s okay to develop new weapons in advance and build technical reserves!
It’s okay to equip elite troops in small batches to explore new tactics!
However, it is not necessary to redress the army in large quantities!
When other countries in the world began to equip rifled guns with Mini bullets in batches, it would be too late for Ming Dynasty to switch to breech-loading rifles.
For generation difference, just one generation is enough. There is no need to pursue absolute advancement of weapons!
By then, the Ming Army’s arms production prices should be able to come down!
At the very least, the production price of bullets must be reduced, otherwise the Ming Dynasty will simply not be able to afford the equipment.
Zhu Hongyu turned to look at Liang Jinan and asked.
"What is the arsenal's solution to the problem of air leakage in this rifle?"
Liang Jinan said.
"Your Majesty, for the problem of air leakage in rifles, the arsenal's idea is to find a solution in terms of processing accuracy!"
"As long as the processing accuracy is sufficient, there should be no air leakage problem!"
Zhu Hongyu pondered for a while, and then spoke.
"Change your thinking, change the material of the bullet shell, and try using metal fixed bullets."
"The cartridge cases of metal fixed bullets can be made of copper. Copper metal has a certain degree of ductility. When the gunpowder explodes in the cartridge case, the cartridge case will be enlarged and deformed, so that it can fit the gun bore to the greatest extent."
"After the kinetic energy of the gunpowder explosion is vented, it can be restored to its original shape by virtue of the resilience of copper itself to prevent jamming."
"In this way, the problem of air leakage in the rifle can be avoided to the greatest extent!"
There is a reason why copper is used as the raw material for metal fixed bullets.
Few metals can match the ductility and resilience of copper!
Even in the 21st century, copper bullets are the mainstream. The reason why Rabbit uses steel bullets instead of copper bullets is not because he doesn't want to use them, but because the price of copper is too high.
Hearing this, Liang Jinan had a thoughtful look on his face, but he still spoke.
"Wei Chen understands and will arrange for people to conduct experiments later!"
Zhu Hongyu nodded with satisfaction after hearing this.
Although copper is relatively expensive, Ming Dynasty now has several large copper mines in Nanyang, so it doesn't care about this.
And more importantly, if Ming Dynasty wants to produce a bullet, the biggest cost is not the copper metal, but the primer.
The primer is the bulk of the cost of the bullet. Although copper is expensive, it is nothing compared to the primer.
But the primer production technology of this era is just like this, and no one can do anything about it.
And more importantly, copper cartridge cases can be recycled and reused, unlike paper cartridge cases that can only be used once and then become useless.
Although the cost of metal fixed-loading bullets is higher than that of paper-cased fixed-loading bullets, it is not as high as imagined.
Zhu Hongyu gave the order, but he didn't know when the results would be achieved.
Although he is not in a hurry that's all!
At present, the weapons and equipment of the Ming army are sufficient, and there is no need for large-scale replacement.
Zhu Hongyu took the experimental gun again and continued to play with it, no matter how much he liked it.
Liang Jinan said from the side.
"Your Majesty, I have some other achievements in the research and development of firearms. I wonder if Your Majesty would like to take a look?"
Zhu Hongyu nodded slightly and said.
"Okay, let's start arranging specific experiments!"
"I finally came here for an inspection. Everyone is busy preparing to welcome you. If you want to show me your research results, of course I have to take a good look."
After Zhu Hongyu finished his instructions, Liang Jinan went to make arrangements.
Not long after, someone came to the testing site with a variety of firearms.
"Your Majesty, these are the two lances we have developed!"
A researcher came to Zhu Hongyu and introduced their research results to Zhu Hongyu.
It was visible to the naked eye that this researcher was quite nervous.
Even my forehead is sweating!
After all, he is facing the emperor now, the emperor of tomorrow!
He held two rifles in his hand, one was a double-barreled breech-loading shotgun, similar to a troll.
One is a breech-loading rifle with a shortened barrel, firing single-point bullets.
The researcher first took the double-barreled breech-loading shotgun and introduced it.
"Your Majesty, this breech-loading gun uses paper-cased shotguns!"
"Each bullet contains twenty to thirty small lead bullets, which can cause effective damage to unarmored targets within a range of fifty meters in front of you."
"The method of use of this gun is..."
As he spoke, he ordered someone to use this shotgun and aim at a distant target to start the experiment.
The barrel of the gun was separated from the bolt, and the bullet was inserted from the rear of the barrel!
Then the barrel and bolt are reattached and the trigger is pulled!
There was a loud bang and smoke filled the air, and dense pellets were shot from the muzzles of the two barrels, leaving a dense black dot on the target fifty meters away.
You can imagine what kind of damage these bullets would cause if they hit people.
All I can really say is that before trolls, all living beings are equal!
The researcher was still introducing other things to Zhu Hongyu.
"The design of this gun was inspired by the three-eyed gun, but because it was to be rear-loaded, one barrel was removed..."
The reason why one barrel needs to be removed is entirely because of the way this shotgun is loaded, air leakage is already very serious. If there is an extra barrel, the air leakage problem will only become more serious.
Zhu Hongyu picked up the double-barreled shotgun and prepared to test-fire a shot himself to experience how the Ming Dynasty version of the troll was used.
Seeing this, the researcher on the side quickly stopped him.
"Your Majesty, no!"
"The air leakage problem of this shotgun is very serious. I'm afraid it will damage His Majesty's dragon body!"
When Zhu Hongyu heard this, he also stopped what he was doing.
Zhu Hongyu would never admit that he was afraid of pain!
But he still spoke.
"The research and development direction of this double-barreled shotgun is also to try to use metal fixed ammunition!"
"In terms of procurement, let's produce two hundred of them first, along with the corresponding ammunition, and equip them for the army to explore new tactics!"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Then there is the breech-loading rifle with a shortened barrel.
Because the barrel of this gun was shortened, its range and power were reduced.
But compared to the shotgun, it is much better!
If the shotgun and the short-barreled lance cooperate with each other, alternating between far and near, they should be able to produce good results on the battlefield of mounted combat.
However, the specific tactics and tactics still need to be explored!
When it comes to war, the most taboo thing is to take things for granted!
In addition to rifles and lances, then there are pistols.
Researchers in the firearms research and development department have created a six-shot revolver.
It's just a pity that the shooting accuracy of this pistol is limited, and the air leakage problem is also serious.
The only advantage may be that it can be fired continuously!
After Zhu Hongyu thought about it, he decided to purchase a batch of equipment for his guards.
This thing is only used by guards.
As far as he knew, the biggest role of pistols on the battlefield was that they were used by officers to commit suicide in defeat.
In fact, what Zhu Hongyu is looking forward to most is the appearance of the Great Compassionate Gatling Bodhisattva.
But it is a pity that the Ming Dynasty has not yet been able to produce metal fixed ammunition. The Great Merciful and Great Compassionate Gatling Bodhisattva is still considered a lifetime series.
After inspecting the results of firearms research, Zhu Hongyu then went to inspect artillery research.
The Ming Dynasty's artillery research direction was also rear-mounted.
However, due to the precedent of the Franco machine gun, the Ming Dynasty's research direction of breech-loaded artillery was on the right path of metal fixed-mounted artillery shells from the beginning.
With the advancement of machining accuracy and breech block technology, the Ming Dynasty's breech-loaded artillery now has a certain degree of practicality.
The main achievements of the artillery research and development department are not artillery of various calibers and different types of metal custom-made shells.
But the breech technology!
Under Zhu Hongyu's guidance, the development direction of Ming Dynasty's artillery breechblocks was mainly two types, one was the threaded breechblock and the other was the wedge-type breechblock.
Both types of breechblocks have their own advantages!
Zhu Hongyu personally inspected two live-fire firing tests. In the rumbling sound of shelling, due to the limited processing accuracy, the range and power of the rear-mounted artillery were somewhat worse than those of the previous-mounted artillery, but the advantage in terms of rate of fire was fully revealed.
After inspecting artillery research and development, Zhu Hongyu then went to inspect different weapon research and development departments such as gunpowder research and development, landmine research and development, rocket research and development...
While inspecting, he used his later insights to point out the research and development direction for the R&D personnel!
Finally, Zhu Hongyu went to a secret factory for inspection.
The research projects in this factory are no longer guns and artillery, but armored vehicles that appear to be technologically advanced.
As the name suggests, it is a car equipped with armor!
The reason why it is not called tank is because tank is actually a transliteration of the word, which means water tank in English. It is not appropriate to use it here.
During World War I, the British gave the tank such a name in order to deceive others!
When the Ming Dynasty began to prepare for research, Zhu Hongyu personally named it an armored vehicle.
Although it sounds like the technology is very advanced, it is actually not as advanced as imagined.
Since a steam engine can drive a train, it is also normal to drive an armored vehicle without rails.
Zhu Hongyu saw the test prototype of the armored vehicle in the factory!
A big black iron lump!
It is driven by a steam engine and has crawler wheels. Its attack method is a small-caliber rear-mounted cannon. The turret can be driven by mechanical power to rotate forward, backward, left, and right.
The steel plate wrapped in the outer layer is not too thick. The thinnest part is even only half a centimeter. It is mostly used to protect against some arrows or musket bullets.
Once a cavalryman collides with it or is hit by a cannonball, the steam armored vehicle will be overturned in an instant.
It's not that Zhu Hongyu doesn't want to make the armor thicker, but the current power of steam engines is limited, and armored vehicles cannot use large steam engines for mobility.
If the armor is thicker, the steam engine will not be able to run!
But even so, the armored vehicle's driving speed is not much different from the speed of a person walking, slower than a horse.
Typical of this is a thin-skinned, big-stuffed, fast-looking product!
Not practical at all!
To put it bluntly, the performance of the steam engine is still limited!
At present, Daming's research and development of armored vehicles is actually just accumulating technology and design.
We have to wait until the diesel engine technology is completely mature before this armored vehicle can be put into actual combat.
At present, the armored vehicle can only be driven once in Nanjing and used by the imperial court to decorate its appearance.
Once on the battlefield, it can play a role in scaring people!
After the inspection, Zhu Hongyu led the team back to the imperial city, preparing to discuss the matter of galloping with his little wild horse.
Overall, Zhu Hongyu was quite satisfied with his inspection of the Ming Dynasty Royal Arsenal this time.
Zhu Hongyu is quite satisfied with the research and development progress of each department!
Whether it is guns, artillery or armored vehicles, the research and development progress is very good.
Zhu Hongyu believes that in his lifetime, he will definitely be able to see the Ming Dynasty's steel torrent sweeping the world.
When the time comes, he will also build a Ming Dynasty Royal Museum in Nanjing to collect precious treasures and symbols of royal power from various countries around the world for public display in Nanjing.
Especially the Eight-Nation Allied Forces in history, not a single one of them can even think of running away!
…
Sichuan!
After decades of war in Sichuan and Sichuan, the population dropped sharply to an alarming level.
It even required the imperial court to immigrate people from the outside world before the people's livelihood in Sichuan and Shu could be restored.
Outside Chengdu, Wangjiaweizi!
This is a brand new village, a village built spontaneously by the people who newly moved to Sichuan.
The Ming Dynasty replenished the population of Sichuan and Shu. Not only did the government organize densely populated areas to immigrate to Sichuan and Shu, but also large local clans voluntarily organized immigrants to Sichuan and Shu after being qualified to purchase mature fields in Sichuan and Shu.
The villagers of Wangjiaweizi are a group of people who immigrate on a clan basis!
After arriving in Sichuan and Sichuan, they were not separated, but were properly resettled according to the original clan as the most basic production unit.
The reason for this is not that Zhu Hongyu did not know the impact of the clan's expansion on the imperial power.
But he knew that although Sichuan and Sichuan were familiar lands, they were too dilapidated now.
In many places, there are more wild animals than people!
In such a place, if Zhu Hongyu did not want to suffer too serious population losses during the immigration process, he could only allow the local area to hold together for warmth.
The existence of clan is reasonable!
To put it bluntly, clan is just a grassroots organization, and there is no need to demonize it too much.
As long as the guidance is good, the clan's rule over the court will be beneficial!
To a certain extent, clan power can also be regarded as a means of protecting farmers' rights and interests.
Although there is oppression within the clan, externally, clan power is an individual's biggest backer.
At the very least, if there are outsiders who want to bully the clan members, the clan will definitely come forward.
Although the people of Wangjiaweizi had just arrived in Sichuan, they had just settled down not long ago.
However, due to the fertile land in Sichuan and Sichuan, the weather was good last year. In addition, the imperial court adopted a tax-free policy for immigrants, so their lives are still very good now.
After last year, almost every household had a surplus of grain.
The New Year is approaching, and the villagers in Wangjiaweizi have begun to prepare for the New Year, preparing to have a good New Year.