Red molten iron pours out of the smelting furnace, and the flying iron flowers reflect the bronze faces. The scorching heat permeates the workshop, making it difficult to breathe.
However, the craftsmen seemed unaware. They carefully poured the molten iron into the pre-made clay molds before proceeding with the next step.
A craftsman with a strong back and bare chest said in a deep voice: "Master Wang, I guarantee that the casting will be successful this time. If it doesn't work again, you can twist off my head!"
Wang Chen smiled and said, "It's not that serious."
After Shangguan Wuji surrendered, he immediately took out the artillery drawings he had drawn before and gave them to the military manufacturing camp for casting.
Outside Hanhaiguan, the Yan army pressed hard, and new catapults and siege engines were erected every day. Anyone could see that once their preparations were completed, they would launch a siege.
Compared to the hundreds of thousands of Yan troops, the 50,000 Han navy was undoubtedly at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers.
However, the Han navy held the Xiongguan fortress and had great defensive advantages. Therefore, the Yan army's tactical intention was very obvious, which was to use a large number of siege equipment to level the pass wall.
If you want to deal with such a powerful Yan army, the heavy crossbows and catapults in Hanhaiguan are obviously not enough.
Wang Chen believes that the artillery he "invented" will definitely give the enemy a memory that will never be forgotten!
But at the beginning, the process of casting the cannon was not smooth.
Although Wang Chen came up with drawings and casting methods, the first batch of cast iron cannons had many problems and could not be put into use.
However, the level of smelting in this world is quite high, and the craftsmen in the military manufacturing camp are highly skilled. Under Wang Chen's personal supervision, they tried and tested repeatedly at all costs, and finally figured out the correct casting method.
After the molten iron solidified, the clay mold was removed, and after being immersed in tung oil and cooled, a dark cast iron cannon appeared in front of everyone's eyes.
This cannon is nearly ten feet long, weighs several thousand kilograms, and is entirely made of fine iron.
Wang Chen knew that this kind of front-loading smoothbore cannon was best made of copper, as it was light in weight and not easy to explode.
However, Hanhai County is rich in iron ore, but there is very little copper ore, and the output is also very low, which is not enough to meet the needs of cannon casting.
Fortunately, the quality of the refined iron smelted in the military manufacturing camp is excellent.
After the craftsmen completed polishing the inside of the barrel, Wang Chen ordered the cannon to be sent to the military training ground.
Whether it's successful or not, you'll have to fire a few shots to know!
Gunpowder and cannonballs were already prepared. The former was wrapped in silk and stuffed into the cannon bore, then tamped down, and then solid cannonballs weighing more than ten kilograms were loaded into it.
He aimed at the dolls standing hundreds of steps away.
At this time, a large number of Hanhai soldiers and Yulin guards had gathered in the martial arts arena. Everyone looked at the cast iron cannon attached to the shaft with curious eyes, wondering what Wang Chen was tinkering with for this thing.
Wang Chen did not ask anyone to disperse the sergeants who were watching the fun, because the emergence of this kind of heavy weapon could greatly change the situation of future wars, and it could also boost the morale of Han Haijun at the moment.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Wang Chen personally took a torch and lit the fuse.
boom!
With an earth-shattering roar, the muzzle of the iron cannon suddenly spurted out a ball of hot flames, and the round shells instantly flew out of the barrel and shot towards the puppet array hundreds of steps away.
Since the onlookers on the martial arts field were not mentally prepared at all, they all seemed to be struck by thunder. Many people were stunned on the spot.
In fact, their performance is considered very good. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably wet their pants!
But the result of this shelling shocked everyone.
I saw a straight gap penetrated by the dense array of dolls. There were broken wreckage nearby, and a large pit suddenly appeared on the stone wall behind, with cracks like a spider web.
A black round iron ball is deeply embedded in it!
Everyone who witnessed this scene felt their scalps go numb.
Although this cannonball did not penetrate the stone wall, the wall of the martial arts arena was made of hard green granite. It was tall, thick and very solid. The effect it produced was quite terrifying.
You must know that this is not an attack by a high-level warrior, but the power of a weapon that can be manufactured on a large scale!
There were no fools among the Hanhai soldiers present. They immediately thought that if hundreds of cannons could be mounted on the walls of Hanhaiguan, would hundreds of thousands of Yan troops and a large number of siege vehicles still be a threat?
Everyone looked at each other with excitement.
"continue!"
Wang Chen checked that there were no cracks or hidden damage inside and outside the cannon, and immediately ordered the gun to be reloaded.
Several sergeants used unskilled techniques to clean the barrel and reload the gunpowder and shells.
This time Wang Chen asked someone to load it with grape bullets.
That is, shotgun.
On the martial arts field, the sound of cannons started again.
As a result, there was a rumble of cannons, and Shangguan Wuji, the commander-in-chief of the Han Navy, was summoned.
After seeing the power of the iron cannon, this sixth-level warrior fell into a long silence.
His vision is naturally brighter and far-reaching than that of ordinary sergeants.
The cannon forged by Wang Chen certainly did not pose any threat to a warrior of Shangguan Wuji's level. He was even confident of blocking the cannonball head-on with his Gang Jin.
The question is, how many sixth-order Martial Lords are there in the entire Liang Dynasty!
And as long as there are enough raw materials, such cannons can be manufactured continuously. If hundreds of cannons bombard Shangguan Wuji alone...
Can he block them all?
The most important thing is that even ordinary people can control and use this weapon!
It was precisely after realizing the role of cannon in war that Shangguan Wuji felt extremely entangled in his heart.
But he was not an ordinary person after all. He quickly suppressed his inner turmoil and praised: "This iron cannon is really a weapon for defending the city. With its existence, Hanhaiguan is unbreakable!"
"Master Wang, I have never admired anyone in my life, you are the first!"
Wang Chen smiled lightly and said, "The general is so complimentary."
A weapon for defending the city?
Cannon is not only a weapon for city defense, it is also an artifact for field warfare!
But Wang Chen had no intention of revealing this at the moment. He ordered the craftsman who came with him to test the cannon: "Go ahead and tell the military camp to start casting the iron cannon with all its strength from now on."
"Within five days, I want to see at least ten iron cannons set up on the wall!"
The military craftsman immediately knelt down on one knee and said, "Yes!"
"Go ahead."
Wang Chen nodded.
Just cannons alone are definitely not enough. They also need matching gunpowder. He had already come up with the formula and asked people to collect the raw materials for manufacturing, but there was not much time left for Hanhai City.
Wang Chen looked at the rolling snow-capped mountains in the distance, but his mind flew to the imperial capital thousands of miles away.