The cannon was pulled by mules to the wilderness west of Wild Dog Ridge.
There is a vast expanse of snow-capped mountains and fields.
Zhang Yanling ordered people to measure with their footsteps and set up targets in the distance of Lixu Land. It was nothing more than using carbon ash to draw a black circle on the snow as the target area.
A total of eight target bombardment areas were set up, with a total of five target ranges from Li Xu's place to two miles away. This was to test the long range of the new gun. The range of the Folang machine gun was basically within two miles.
Although the new gun has made some improvements, the basic caliber size has not changed, so it is reasonable to set these targets.
The other three targets are to test the accuracy of hitting over obstacles and in areas that are out of sight, so that Zhang Yanling can calculate the trajectory and correct the ruler.
In fact, the rear sight of the Fo Lang machine gun is designed, and there is also a front sight at the front, which can be used for aiming and shooting. However, Zhang Yanling still had to add this unsophisticated method in order to make the shooting more accurate and form a simple shooting Zhuyuan. Fo Lang
There is no precise angle value for the aiming of the cannon.
Everyone was waiting with excitement and anticipation for the cannon to be fired. Even Axiu and Xu Youtang came to join in the fun, waiting to test the cannon with fear and excitement.
After the cast iron of the cannon base was firmly nailed to the ground with eight iron rods, everything was ready, and Zhang Yanling gave the order to install the cannon.
Zhao Yuancheng took it upon himself to insert the sub-cannon into the barrel behind the mother cannon, lock the circlip, and close the cover door.
Xu Gao watched Zhao Yuancheng's movements intently, fearing that he would operate improperly. This was the first new counterfeit cannon. Although Xu Gao was confident, he was still a little nervous after all. After spending a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, Zhang Yanling was able to do it every three days.
Cannon, delving into exchanges is for today.
"The visual distance of the target is 700 steps, the elevation angle of the muzzle is ten degrees, and the rulers are aligned. It is ready!" Zhao Yuancheng inspected it with two personal guards and shouted loudly.
The ruler mentioned here is not the kind of laser ranging ruler used in later generations, but a moving iron frame that is used to limit the angle of the muzzle and is set up according to different angles. Simply put, a rectangular iron frame is erected at the muzzle.
Previously, it was level with the base of the cannon. Move the upper horizontal bar and judge the muzzle angle by observing the scales on the iron bars on both sides. This is the simplest aiming method.
Unless the distance is extremely close, you only need to aim directly. A distance of seven hundred steps is already needed.
Zhang Yanling reached out and took the burning torch from the guard's hand, and strode forward.
"Everyone should stay thirty steps away. It's best to find a bunker." Zhang Yanling said loudly.
Everyone knows that this is for safety reasons. The newly made cannon is made of different materials than the Folan cannon, and no one knows what will happen. If the chamber explodes, everyone around will probably suffer.
Everyone retreated one after another. Chen Shi said, "Master Hou, how about I take some of this shot?"
Zhang Yanling waved her hand and said with a smile: "How can I let you come at such a moment? Don't steal my limelight. Get aside."
Zhang Yanling knew that Chen Shiyi was concerned about his own safety, but at this time, even if there was danger, Zhang Yanling would not let others do it for him. What's more, he fully believed in Xu Gao's smelting and casting skills.
Chen Shiyi refused to step back and stood aside. Zhang Yanling ignored him, picked up the torch, took a breath, and reached out to light the match.
The sparks were dazzling and the smoke was rising. The sound of burning match ropes was clearly audible. Zhang Yanling dropped the torch and turned around, opening his mouth slightly. This was a standard posture to prevent loud noises from deafening his ears.
"Boom!"
A loud noise resounded in the wilderness. The ground where everyone was standing shook violently. Everything on the ground around the artillery jumped from the ground at the moment the cannon was fired. Smoke, dust, snow and fog filled the entire place in an instant.
The sound of cannons echoed in the wilderness, and the sound of cannons was as continuous as the roar of tigers and the roar of dragons.
Hundreds of steps away, flowering cannonballs exploded on the snow, kicking up large clouds of snow, mist, earth and rocks, like New Year's fireworks blooming on the snow.
This shot shook the world. On the seemingly empty snowy wilderness, dozens of pheasants hidden in the grass flew up, clucking and screaming. Dozens of hares fled wildly in the snow, panicking and choosing their way.
"Successful. Hahaha. It's awesome. Brother, this cannon is so powerful." Xu Youtang yelled and rushed over.
Zhang Yanling asked in a deep voice: "Yuan Cheng, did you hit the target?"
Zhao Yuancheng held a telescope and looked ahead. After the snow fog and smoke cleared, he said in shock: "Oh, I missed it. It hit about forty or fifty steps away from the circle."
"Ah?" Everyone was dumbfounded. The error was so big.
Xu Youtang said in shock: "What's wrong? Missed? Isn't this a powerful explosion?"
Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly and said: "What's the use of having a powerful explosion? How can it be successful if the error is so big? If it is hit within the circle, the error will be only ten feet, but the lethality will not be reduced. If there is a deviation of forty or fifty steps, it will not be possible."
"What's going on? Let me check the angle of the ruler. I've clearly checked it clearly." Zhao Yuancheng said loudly.
Zhang Yanling said solemnly: "It doesn't matter, the new scale needs to correct the numbers. I designed the scale based on the range angle of the Fran cannon. Now it seems that the two are not universal. Our cannon is more powerful, and the angle seems to be longer."
Smaller. Reload, muzzle angle is nine degrees, check whether the base is firm, and prepare to fire!"
Zhao Yuancheng promised in a loud voice, quickly checked it with two personal guards, and reloaded the other sub-cannon. Zhang Yanling lit the match rope again.
This time, the explosive bomb accurately hit the ground in a circle more than 700 steps away, exploding a large mud pit.
After two shots, Xu Gao stepped forward and inspected the components. Except for the fact that the gun body was warm, everything else was normal.
Then one cannon after another, the continuous roar echoed through the mountains and fields, like belated New Year's firecrackers roaring in the wilderness. People in the Yegouling Arsenal and the people of Zhaojiazhuang all stood at the entrance of the village and on the wall to watch.
. They watched in stunned silence as the cannon blasted smoke and dust from the ground in the distance, causing their ears to ring and their ears to dazzle.
Zhang Yanling only fired three cannons and determined that there was nothing wrong with the cannon's material forged from new fine steel. It was no worse than the Franco machine cannon made of copper, and there was no danger of the barrel exploding.
After that, it was handed over to Zhao Yuancheng and Chen Shiyi for test firing. He recorded the test data and re-set the angle.
This kind of test firing is actually very valuable. It not only tests whether the newly cast cannon is successful, but also tests its performance and power. It can also master a large amount of shooting data and form a set of data templates for shooting procedures and aiming. Its value is self-evident.
.
Originally, I only planned to test-fire a dozen rounds of artillery shells, but in the end, I slowly used up all the two large boxes of artillery shells.
With only the last solid shell left, Zhang Yanling planned to test the new cannon's ultimate range.
"Add half a kilogram more gunpowder, the muzzle angle is 45 degrees, and the target is the forest three miles away." Zhang Yanling ordered.
"Is it so far? I'm afraid it's a bit difficult. It's also dangerous to install more gunpowder, but don't take risks." Xu Gao said hurriedly.
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Don't you have confidence in the new cannon you made? I think the material is strong enough and I am confident. You see, after more than 20 cannons, there is no deformation or abnormality at all. I think I can give it a try
.Besides, if you don’t have confidence, why is the gunpowder room designed to be much larger than the Franco machine gun? Isn’t it just to hold more gunpowder?”
Xu Gao smiled and said: "You have discovered all this. I do think so, but I am really not sure."
Zhang Yanling said: "It's okay. If you don't try the extreme range, how can you know the maximum range and power of this new cannon? What I want is not the same cannon as the Folan cannon, but a cannon with a longer range and higher accuracy. This way I can
Consider it a success.”
Xu Gao gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, let's give it a try. But you can't take the risk. I'll light the fire. If it explodes, it's because I'm not good at it, and I deserve to die."
Zhang Yanling laughed and said: "What are you talking about? How can I let you take risks? Of course I will do it."
Xu Gao said: "That doesn't work. If you don't agree, I can't agree."
The two were in a stalemate, Xu Youtang said with a smile: "Don't argue, I'll take the shot. I have confidence in dad, and I also believe in the judgment of my eldest brother. I have wanted to order a shot for a long time. If anyone disagrees, I will do it in the future
Ignore him again."
Zhang Yanling chuckled and said, "Okay, then Youtang will light the fire."
Xu Gao was helpless and glared at Xu Youtang. Xu Youtang made a face at his father and urged Zhao Yuancheng: "Brother Yuancheng, hurry up and prepare the powder. Here's the torch, bring it."
Zhao Yuancheng and others quickly completed the work of reloading the sub-cannon, adjusting the shooting angle, and reinforcing the base. In order to ensure safety, Chen Shi ordered someone to drag a flatbed cart over and block the back of the cannon. He ordered people to remove the sandbags that pressed the cart.
It forms a low wall.
Zhang Yanling was speechless, thinking: If it really exploded, how could these things stop it?
Everything was ready, and the new cannon was raised at a theoretical maximum ballistic angle of 45 degrees. Xu Youtang stepped forward, holding the torch, and said with a smile: "I'm lighting the fire, daddy, brother, you guys stand back."
Zhang Yanling shook his head and smiled: "We are here to accompany you."
Xu Gao also said: "Daddy won't leave. If something happens, will dad still be alive?"
Xu Youtang smiled and said: "I don't care, I'll order it."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "Just order it."
Xu Youtang no longer hesitated and reached out to light the match.
The match rope burned, and smoke rose everywhere. The pungent smell of gunpowder filled the air.
Xu Youtang seemed to be too excited. Looking at Hua Hua standing there in trance, Zhang Yanling stepped forward, grabbed her hand, threw the torch in her hand to the ground, pulled her and ran behind.
Xu Youtang didn't know that standing near the breech was actually very dangerous. It wasn't the danger of exploding the barrel, but the fact that the sealing problem of this type of cannon could not be completely solved. Every time it was fired, hot smoke would overflow from the junction.
, people standing nearby will be burned and scalded. The correct way is to retreat behind the cannon after igniting it, turn your back and open your mouth to defend yourself.
Zhang Yanling rushed over and pulled Xu Youtang over. Knowing that there was no time to take a defensive stance, Zhang Yanling hugged Xu Youtang and threw her down on the snow.
"Boom!"
The loud noise was earth-shattering, like thunder. The bodies of Zhang Yanling and Xu Youtang, who were crawling in the snow, seemed to be thrown up. The violent vibration made their internal organs tremble. The two people were choked by the smoke and dust.
Coughing all the time.
"Are you okay?" Zhang Yanling shouted loudly.
"It's okay, it's okay. Brother, are you okay? I was so stupid that I forgot to step back. I was really confused." Xu Youtang said hurriedly.
Zhang Yanling heard that her voice was normal and hurriedly pulled her up. Axiu and others rushed over from a distance, thinking that something had happened and yelling loudly. It was not until they saw Zhang Yanling pulling Xu Youtang to her feet that she felt relieved.
Zhang Yanling's body and face were covered with dust, and she could be called a disgraceful face. Xu Youtang was busy patting him, but Zhang Yanling was busy caring about the range of the shot.
"Did it hit? How far is the shooting range?" Zhang Yanling asked loudly.
"Reporting to the Marquis, it hit the slope behind the forest, about three and a half miles away from here. I saw the snow and fog that was thrown out." Chen Shi raised his telescope and shouted.
"Are you serious?" Zhang Yanling said happily.
"I'll go take a look. The distance is too far. It's all white and I can't see it clearly." Chen Shiyi immediately ran away in the distance.
Soon after, Chen Shi ran back and shouted loudly from a distance: "It's absolutely true, there are many roads in three miles, only a few more."
Zhang Yanling was overjoyed and let out a long sigh. He never expected that the new cannon was so powerful. With half a kilogram of gunpowder added, the solid iron bullets could shoot so far. This has completely crushed the range of the Folang machine gun. Although it may not be necessary to do so.
It's risky, but it's extremely important to have the ability to bombard your opponents to the limit at critical moments.
If you are more than a mile beyond the opponent's range, you can completely take the initiative. With long hands and short hands, you can even severely damage the opponent outside the opponent's range when encountering an enemy who is also equipped with artillery. This is the result Zhang Yanling hopes for.
"The appearance of the artillery is intact, and it does not appear to be damaged. However, it needs to be carefully inspected. This cannon can no longer be fired. It must be sealed for inspection." Xu Gao had already carefully inspected the barrel and body, and said in a deep voice.
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "This is the first cannon we have cast. It can be called a cannon of meritorious service. Of course I want to offer it up. I think it will be placed in the yard of the cannon casting workshop as a scene for admiration. How about it?"
Xu Gao stroked his beard and said with a smile: "You are right, this is the honor of our cannon casting workshop. Congratulations, Lord Marquis, we can start to quickly imitate the Folan cannon."
Zhang Yanling was extremely excited and nodded repeatedly.
Xu Youtang laughed and said: "Our cannon is more powerful than the Folang machine gun, so why call it the Folan machine gun? Why don't you give me a majestic name? What is the Folang machine? It's really a mouthful. It seems to be someone else's prestige."
of."
"That's very true. Please give me your name, Lord Marquis." Everyone around said.
Zhang Yanling nodded, stretched out his hand to touch the warm and smooth cannon body, and thought for a moment: "The sound of this cannon is very loud and intimidating. It is like the sound of a tiger roaring and a dragon roaring. It would be better to just call it a dragon roar. We will improve the casting later."
It’s called Tiger Roar. How about it?”
"The dragon roars, the tiger roars. What a good name. When I cast the next batch, I will forge the two characters dragon roar to correct the name." Xu Gao nodded in praise.