Shen Yi was very satisfied with the progress of the shipbuilding. After all, in less than a year, these craftsmen were able to build three such large warships for him, which was not easy.
As far as he knew, a large ship of this size was already larger than General Qi Yuanjing's warship back then. Although it was far inferior to the treasure ship used by the Sanbao Eunuch to sail to the West, for now, it was already very good.
What's more, in this era, the bigger the warship, the higher its combat effectiveness. What's more important is the weapons and equipment on the ship, as well as the quality of the personnel.
But the good news is that most of the anti-Japanese troops were recruited along the coast, and they are basically familiar with water. After getting on the ship, there is little chance of seasickness. If everything goes well, in two or three months , the anti-Japanese army can form a maritime combat effectiveness.
In other words, Shen Yi should try his best to arrange the task of suppressing the Japanese within three months, so that after three months, the anti-Japanese army can go to sea and attack Huanglong.
Last year, Shen Yi only defeated Japanese pirates a few times. So far, Japanese pirates are still causing trouble in some places where the anti-Japanese army cannot reach. This year, Shen Yi will try his best to clear out all Japanese pirates in the coastal waters.
Ensuring smooth sea routes along the coast would not only make life easier for the coastal state capitals, but the court would also gain considerable income from coastal trade.
Of course, if possible, it would be best for the anti-Japanese army to attack the Japanese island. Not to mention occupying the Japanese island, at least seize their silver mountain. In this way, Mr. Shen himself and the Chen Dynasty court can almost immediately Become rich.
Whether it's people or government, as long as you have money, everything can be done easily.
After viewing the dock, Shen Yi, accompanied by Ling Su, came to a row of firearms workshops next to the dock.
As soon as you enter the firearms workshop, you will be hit by the pungent smell of gunpowder.
Shen Yi frowned subconsciously and covered his mouth and nose with his hands. Then, under the leadership of several firearms masters, he saw the artillery made by the firearms workshop in accordance with Shen Yi's requirements in an open space.
In the past, artillery was made entirely of copper or iron and was relatively heavy.
It's so heavy that it's almost impossible to carry it on a wooden boat.
At Shen Yi's request, the firearms workshop's artillery no longer blindly pursues range, but pursues lightness and accuracy.
Therefore, the base of the firearms produced by the firearms workshop has changed from metal to wood. Only the barrel is made of iron, and the caliber has also been reduced. Now it is only the thickness of a bowl.
Shen Yi took a serious look at the "sample cannon" and tentatively moved it with his hands. Although the cannon moved a little, it was very heavy and weighed about a hundred or two kilograms.
Shen Yi frowned slightly at first, then looked at the firearms master on the side and asked: "Master Zhou, is the lightest weapon this light?"
"yes."
Master Zhou is a master craftsman who specializes in manufacturing firearms in the War and War Bureau, and is also the person in charge of these firearms masters. After hearing Shen Yi's question, he pointed at the iron cannon and said in a respectful tone: "Master Shen, look, let's follow your instructions According to the requirements, the barrel has been shortened as much as possible, and even the base has been replaced with wood. If it is smaller, the power of the cannonball will not be enough."
"If the barrel is made too thin, it will easily deform and even explode..."
Master Zhou's hands were covered in black ash from gunpowder. He whispered: "Master Shen, the artillery produced by the Military War Bureau in Jiankang to defend the city often weighs five hundred or more kilograms."
"Our artillery is as light as possible, but..."
Master Zhou sighed and said: "Because the barrel is too thin, it cannot be too hot. The little people have tested it. After firing three cannonballs in a row, the barrel will overheat..."
"If you want to cool it down completely, you should probably wait for a stick of incense before using it again, otherwise it might explode."
Shen Yi lowered his head and thought for a moment, then reluctantly accepted the artillery that had a long cooldown time.
In fact, he really wanted to come up with the kind of ship cannon that the British had in the 19th century, which was not only small but also had a long range and was powerful enough.
But his knowledge of artillery is so lacking that it is difficult to even describe it.
I have no choice but to make do with it.
Shen Yi lowered his head and thought for a while, then asked: "Can it shoot through the ship's plank?"
Master Zhou gestured at the distance with both hands and said, "There is no problem within a hundred feet."
"I went to the dock to see the kind of warship you built in the dock, Master Shen. The ship's planks are too thick. If you were to hit that kind of ship, you would have to shoot from a distance of fifty feet. But according to my report, As everyone knows…”
"Japanese pirates don't have such big ships..."
Shen Yi nodded, indicating that he understood.
He asked again about the weight of this kind of ship's cannon, and learned that one cannon weighed about 170 kilograms, which is about the same as one and a half people.
To be honest, there may be no problem putting this weight on the ship. Considering the specifications of Shen Yi's three warships, it is easy to put ten cannons on each ship.
If you install ten artillery pieces on a warship, you can gain the "right of first strike" no matter what ship you encounter on the sea.
Of course, things like artillery are mostly used to intimidate and scare people.
After all, most of the Japanese pirates faced by the anti-Japanese army were small boats, and their speed at sea was relatively faster. If they were encountered on the sea, it would be extremely difficult to hit them with artillery.
The real purpose of these artillery pieces is to use these artillery pieces to bombard the Japanese pirates' nests when they approach them.
After all, most of the Japanese pirates' lairs are on islands. When the time comes, these artillery cannons will most likely have miraculous effects.
The reason why Shen Yi asked whether it could penetrate the ship's plank was not because he was asking about Japanese pirates.
He is thinking...
Can these artillery pieces penetrate the hulls of the Huaihe Navy warships?
After all, I heard that the Huaihe Navy also had many warships. When the time came, they really started to work. If they sank their warships with a few cannons, wouldn't they be taking a huge advantage?
We visited the firearms workshop all afternoon, and it was not until the evening that Mr. Shen reluctantly left the firearms workshop.
Before leaving, he also visited the firearms produced by the firearms workshop.
Unfortunately, the power is very average.
Its role on the battlefield cannot be compared to the already very mature crossbow.
It is far from being used as a mature individual weapon. For now, it can only be regarded as a somewhat fancy new gadget.
After leaving the firearms workshop, Shen Yi, accompanied by Ling Su, walked back to Yueqing County.
Ling Su followed Shen Yi step by step. When he saw Shen Yi was lost in thought, he asked: "Master Shen, what are you thinking about?"
Only then did Shen Yi come back to his senses. He glanced back at Ling Su and asked, "Ling Qianhu, you grew up along the coast for a long time. Have you ever seen foreigners?"
Ling Su was stunned and didn't realize what Shen Yi meant by foreigners.
Only then did Shen Yi understand that the term "foreigner" might not be very popular in this era, so he changed the term and asked: "Is it someone whose hair color is different from ours?"
"Well."
Ling Su reacted and said, "I've seen that before. Last year on Fuzhou Mansion Street, I saw a few of them, some with red hair, and one or two with yellow hair."
Ling Su smiled and said: "Xue Wei also called them red-haired ghosts and yellow-haired ghosts at that time."
Hearing this, Shen Yi nodded silently.
He looked up at the moon that had risen in the sky, and made a mental calculation in his mind.
He didn't know what time period this era could be compared to in another era.
If it is the middle and late Ming Dynasty...
Then it seems that those foreigners' firearms skills are good enough...