After first deciding with Meng Guzhezhe on the best way to deal with the Jurchen relocation issue, Gao Pragmatic turned to Huang Zhiting and Liu Xin and said: "In the afternoon, I went to the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of War to talk with them about Gansu's encounter with Buriha Tudong.
Now, I have a few situations that I would like to find out from you."
Huang Zhiting and Liu Xin said in unison: "Sir, please speak."
Gao Pragmatic first looked at Liu Xin visually and asked: "Xin'er, as for Jinghua, to what extent have the Army's artillery classification and ammunition classification been done now, and can they be introduced into actual combat as soon as possible?"
Huang Zhiting also knew about this, but she was not in charge, but the Secretariat, so she also looked at Liu Xin.
Liu Xin replied: "So you want to ask about artillery? At present, the 'two plus two' classification of artillery has been completed. If necessary, Jinghua can adjust the title of future shipments at any time.
Such as 'Jinghua No. 1 direct siege gun', 'Jinghua No. 1 siege curved cannon', 'Jinghua No. 2 field direct gun', 'Jinghua No. 2 field curved gun', etc. Currently, they are ready to be divided into categories according to caliber.
There are two categories: No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 straight guns and curved guns. They are also divided into No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 field guns and siege guns according to their combat purposes.
Generally speaking, the weight, caliber and other data of siege artillery are larger than that of field artillery. The vehicles they are equipped for transportation and maneuver are also specially manufactured, and the models are different from field artillery."
The terms "field battle" and "siege" need no explanation, but what they call "straight artillery" and "curved artillery" require a little explanation.
In fact, to put it simply, this "straight gun" is what later generations call a cannon, and the "curved gun" is what later generations call a howitzer.
Non-military fans may not have paid attention to the difference between a cannon and a howitzer. In fact, since both belong to the category of artillery, their basic structures and firing principles are similar. The reason for the difference between these two names lies mainly in the type of artillery used.
Needs vary.
Generally speaking, howitzers are mainly used for parabolic ballistic shooting, which can hit targets on hillsides or behind bunkers; while cannons are mainly used for horizontal shooting. In later generations, they were generally used to attack tanks, armored vehicles and other targets, or infantry personnel traveling on the ground.
Because of such differences in use, there are significant differences in some specific details between howitzers and cannons.
For example, later cannons needed to shoot flatly against tanks, so the shells required a high muzzle velocity so that they could hit the target as straight as possible. Otherwise, the projectiles would continue to decline due to gravity. Without sufficient muzzle velocity as a prerequisite, the shells would be difficult to hit.
Hit the target effectively from as far away as possible.
The larger muzzle velocity of the shell determines that the cannon needs a longer barrel. Usually the barrel length is more than 40 times the caliber. For example, the artillery mounted on a tank is a cannon.
Howitzers use curved shooting and high-projectile trajectories, so they do not have high requirements for the initial velocity of the shells. The barrel of the artillery is significantly shorter than that of the cannon, usually about twenty or thirty times its caliber.
In addition, the shell charges of cannons and howitzers are also different. Cannons use a flat shooting angle to hit tanks, and usually have a range limit. Within this range, a higher hit rate can be guaranteed, but beyond the specified distance, it will be difficult to hit the target.
.This is because the range is only that far and generally does not change much, so fixed shells are usually used and the charge is fixed.
For howitzers, different charges can be selected according to the range of the target. If you want to hit a farther target, you can use more charge. If you want to hit a closer target, you can use less charge. It can be adjusted.
Of course, later there were also so-called howitzers, which could shoot directly like a cannon or in a curved direction like a howitzer, combining the functions of the two artillery that were originally relatively clear-cut.
For example, before Gao Pragmatic traveled through time, the self-propelled artillery equipped by various countries were basically called howitzers. However, there is no need to explain this in detail, because it is impossible to reproduce it during the Wanli era.
Before Gao Pangshi ordered the classification of Jinghua's artillery into "straight artillery (cannon)" and "curved artillery (howitzer)", the artillery technology of the Ming Dynasty was still relatively primitive, and it was impossible to separate it even if you wanted to. In fact, let alone the Ming Dynasty at that time.
, the European artillery basically didn't score any points at this time.
For example, the Hongyi cannon and the Folang machine gun introduced from Europe are all cannons. The Ming Dynasty's own Shenwei General, Tiger Crouching Cannon and other artillery that are widely equipped in the army are also cannons.
In other words, before Gao Pragmatic ordered the classification, the concept of "howitzer" basically did not exist - unless you insist that the catapult has a curved trajectory, so it is a howitzer.
Why are there no howitzers with curved trajectories at this time? Because of the demand for use. The reason why cannons are so popular is because the main type of artillery ammunition in this era is solid bullets. Solid bullets will not explode, and their lethality depends on being launched themselves.
It has direct kinetic energy, but in actual combat, it is usually necessary to count on it to produce a "ricochet" phenomenon to expand its lethality.
In this case, if you use a curved projectile to hit the back of the bunker, because the projectile is dropped from the sky, basically don’t expect the ricochet to kill - it is likely to hit the ground directly, and the lethality is...
If you don’t save one out of ten, what’s the use?
So the question is, is it because Gao Pragmatic urged Jinghua to classify artillery because there are products other than solid bullets? Yes, preliminary products have indeed been produced, which are primary grenades, or grenades with relatively primitive technical levels.
Grenade is also called explosive bomb. This thing has been recorded in China as early as the 11th century AD. It is an ammunition that uses the fragments and shock waves generated after the projectile explodes to kill or explode. But the so-called grenade at that time was really
Primitive. In fact, it can only be said that China had already made attempts in this area at that time. As for the actual combat effects... it can basically be ignored.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The internal charge of early grenades was very small, so the power was also small. After exploding, it might even just break into two halves, which is far less powerful than later generations.
It is so powerful in movies and TV shows, but in the original history it was not widely used until after the Napoleonic Wars.
Most of the time in ancient times, the projectiles fired by cannons were solid projectiles and would not explode, but they would destroy all enemies in front of them, and as mentioned earlier, they would also bounce on the ground.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon's favorite army 12-pound cannon had a maximum range of more than 1,100 meters, and its effective range could also reach 500 meters. [Note: This refers to army cannons, and the navy is another matter.]
After this kind of artillery shell is fired, it will advance forward in a gentle parabola, destroying all enemies it encounters along the way, and will also bounce on relatively hard ground, just like stones floating on the water.
Such a solid bullet is enough to wipe out an entire column of enemy troops.
In addition to being able to load solid bullets, the cannon can also be loaded with shotshells and exotic bullets. It is very useful, so Napoleon affectionately called this kind of cannon "French Girl". [Note: However, after the English translation, it became "French Daughter",
Do not know why.]
Talking about grenades, due to the backward casting technology of early grenades, the hollow shell was cast in two halves separately (leaving a fuze hole) and then put together. Due to its low strength, it cannot withstand too high a chamber pressure, otherwise it will
It would explode in the gun chamber. For this reason, grenades were generally used on large-caliber short-barreled mortars that fired in a straight direction at that time, rather than on long-barreled cannons with high chamber pressure.
Its firing method is divided into two parts. First, the fuse of the artillery shell is ignited, and then the propellant fuse is ignited. Then the grenade will hit the enemy's defenses from high altitude in a parabola.
But there are some problems at this time. For example, the artillery shell may explode over the enemy's air, or it may smash into the enemy's fortifications and then explode, or it may simply be a dumb gun, or it may even explode inside the cannon.
In the early days of the emergence of grenades, there was little we could do about these situations. Due to manufacturing process issues, not every grenade was of reliable quality, and the fuse that determined the length of time the grenade exploded was not very reliable under the technical conditions at the time.
Simply put, the main factor that determines when a grenade comes out and when it becomes a useful weapon is the level of technology.
Fortunately, although Gao Pragmatic's hands-on ability is poor, his ability to speak is not bad. As a fan of various strategic and tactical games back then, he has a certain understanding of some key technologies of grenades - although he cannot recover on his own.
, but if it only provides theoretical guidance, that would be enough.
The bullet holder, the wooden tapered tube and the overall casting technology of the artillery shell, which are crucial to the development of grenades, were almost not invented until the late 18th century in the original history. However, the actual manufacturing difficulty of these things is not unattainable. It is possible that they were invented late.
The main reason is that the urgency of the demand has not been met.
Based on highly pragmatic guidance, Jinghua Artillery Factory spent thirteen years to overcome the problem of "flowering artillery", including seven years of research and improvement on grenade technology (each technology line was developed in parallel).
Jinghua's improved grenade uses a hollow wooden tube filled with slow-burning gunpowder as the transmission tube, and relies on the high-temperature gas leakage of the propellant from the clearance (the gap between the shell and the barrel) to the front to ignite the shell fuse. But under development
During the process, it was discovered that because the field howitzer prototyped at that time was too weak, it could only rely on large-caliber mortars to show its power, or it could be used on a specially-made ten-fold caliber cannon.
This obviously did not meet the high pragmatic requirements, and even reminded him of the Confederate Army's curse on its own howitzers during the American Civil War.
During the American Civil War, the Confederate artillery commander ruthlessly belittled the twelve-pound howitzers in his regiment as "nearly useless" and "almost worthless". He believed that this howitzer was not even as good as a six-pound cannon and only had
Only useful when destroying wooden village buildings.
The commander even planned to send this howitzer back to the rear to be melted down and recast into a Napoleon cannon or a thirty-two-pound howitzer. However, due to production capacity, he was forced to give up.
China also used howitzers in the early years of the Qing Dynasty. For example, Kang Mazi used explosive bombs (grenades) during his three expeditions to Galdan, and there is a record: "When using (explosive bombs), first put the gunpowder into the medicine chamber.
Place wood in between, add an inch of soil, then put the shell into the front chamber, fill the outside of the shell with gunpowder, then separate a layer of wet soil, and finally seal the muzzle with wax. When firing, first light the fuse on the shell from the muzzle, and then
Instant ignition fuse on the door."
When the explosive bombs were used to deal with Galdan's Camel Formation, they made considerable contributions to the Qing army. Of course, what the Qing army owned and used most were various general cannons (cannons) that fired ordinary artillery shells. The explosive bombs could only be regarded as
embellishment.
This old-fashioned flowering bullet has many shortcomings. It is not only unsafe, but also takes time and materials to process. Not only did the Qing army not like to use it, but it was not commonly equipped by Western armies. During the Napoleonic Wars, the most equipment was solid artillery shells and shotgun shells (
Grape bullets) and various forms of exotic bullets, these three types of artillery shells together account for more than 90% of the total number of artillery shells.
However, as I just said, the problem with grenades lies in the processing technology, and at this point, Gao Pragmatic is cheating. In the nearly thirty years of development, Jinghua has always regarded metal processing as one of the most important directions of technological progress.
First, it has created Jinghua’s metal processing level that can definitely be regarded as the best in the world.
The "Jinghua Curved Cannon" series, which came out after thirteen years of professional research, has a grenade shape that is quite similar to a football. It is manufactured using integrated casting technology. It can now explode into thirty-two fragments relatively stably, achieving a high level of practicality.
Technical requirements put forward in the early years.
In terms of leads, because Jinghua invested heavily in mine technology in its early years, it made a breakthrough in high-quality leads more than ten years ago, and it can also produce waterproof leads (because Jinghua also studies mines).
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! With a good "explosive bomb" and a good fuse, it is not difficult to control the explosion time of the grenade. Of course, according to Gao's pragmatic habits, he originally hoped
The leads are cut to different lengths at the factory so that they can hit the specified targets as needed on the battlefield.
However, the test results were not ideal, and technical personnel from the artillery factory and the garrison who participated in the school shooting believed that this would also lead to the need to prepare various lengths of fuses in actual combat, which would greatly increase the logistical pressure and would not be cost-effective.
In the end, Gao Pragmatic had no choice but to compromise, so the gunners who were later converted to howitzers increased their training intensity. They were required to be responsible for cutting the lead of appropriate length according to the designated target distance on the battlefield.
This requires learning a lot of knowledge. Therefore, the average salary of gunners in various armed forces in Beijing reaches fifteen taels to twenty taels of silver per month, which is basically the same as the regular monthly income of the county masters in the Ming Dynasty. Think about it.
, the gunner’s salary for a thousand cannons would cost 20,000 taels of silver a month. It goes without saying how expensive gold is.
Of course, fortunately, the "Jinghua Curved Cannon" is a new product. Currently, the total number of howitzer operators in Jinghua is less than 1,000...
After listening to Liu Xin's introduction, Gao pragmatic thought for a moment, frowned slightly and said: "That is to say...for example, the No. 2 artillery is now divided into the No. 2 field direct artillery, the No. 2 field curved artillery, and the No. 2 attack artillery.
Four types: city direct artillery and No. 2 siege curved artillery? In this case, is the total number of artillery pieces too much?"
Liu Xin nodded first, but then immediately added: "It is a lot more than before, but it is not like what the master imagined. For example, the No. 1 gun is too big, so there is no field version, and the No. 4 gun is too small, there is no
Siege money.
In addition, the difference between siege artillery and field artillery is actually not big, and the caliber is universal. The main difference lies in the vehicle rather than the artillery itself. In this way, in terms of artillery manufacturing and ammunition supply, it is better to achieve multiple uses with one bomb.
There aren't many additional demands on logistics.
As for transportation, mobility, etc., that is actually a problem in vehicle manufacturing. Ming Dynasty has never been short of carpenters, so we don’t have to worry about our production capacity in this area, and the solution is not complicated."
----------
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Feng Leng Shuang Hua", "Book Friends", "Didi Kaka Club", and "First Login" for their monthly ticket support, thank you!
PS: I came back late tonight, so I should only be able to update once. In addition, I thought about it today, and for a long time to come, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I may be tight at night, so I will tentatively decide on Tuesdays every week.
There will be no make-up updates on Thursday (if I do, let’s talk about it separately). Of course, the total number of chapters to make up for updates will not change, and any amount owed will be made up.
