The invention of firearms has epoch-making significance in the history of weapons. In reality, as early as the late Tang Dynasty, black gunpowder had been used in military affairs, and firearms such as "Flying Sky" appeared. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, during the war with the Khitan and Xixia
, firearms have been further developed. According to the "Wu Jing Zong Yao" compiled by Renzong Dynasty, the firearms at that time included "rockets", "gunpowder whips and arrows", "thunderbolt fireballs", "trebuchets", etc. Since the Song Dynasty
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, ancient artillery began to become an important equipment of the army, mainly used for attacking and defending city fortresses, but also for field battles and water battles.
In the game, with the help of the boss, the great craftsmen of the imperial court made bronze cannons. Zeng Yi and the others were originally full of expectations. The power of the bronze cannons was indeed very great. A section of the wall built by the Dengzhou navy was shattered by a run. However,
The distance was only two to three hundred meters, which was far beyond their expectations. The coffee table was a bit big. They originally estimated that it should be eight hundred instead of one thousand.
"Such a short distance is of no use!" Lao San stood aside and couldn't help complaining. The distance of two hundred meters is only a blink of an eye for a high-speed warship. How to fire at such a short distance?
After a few times, it was time to board the ship and engage in hand-to-hand combat. If the imperial warships installed such artillery, the combat effectiveness would not be improved at all, but the ammunition supply pressure would increase exponentially.
In addition to being happy, the Commander-in-Chief of the Dengzhou Navy also reacted, sighed, and said: "It is useless to equip warships with such artillery. When it comes to land warfare and siege, it may be of some use, but it is not of much use. Two or three hundred
Within a few steps, the enemy's powerful crossbow is completely within reach."
Zeng Yi pondered for a moment, "I'm experimenting with a few shots to see how long the running body will last!"
Subsequently, the artillery fired continuously many times, and the distance was always two to three hundred steps. However, what made everyone feel better was that the artillery did not explode. Zeng Yi said: "The strength of the gun body should be
That's enough. We have contacted and launched dozens of times without any problems. I estimate that there will be no pressure after launching hundreds of times. This strength is enough for the equipment, but..." Zeng Yi looked at the boss and
Those master craftsmen asked, "But the range is too close. Is this a design problem?"
Before everyone could speak, the boss said on the side: "There is no problem with the design. There is not much difference in structure from the ancient bronze cannons I have heard." In reality, the boss is a pseudo-military fan, and he has no idea how angry he is.
After hearing what the boss said, Zeng Yi and the others became even more confused.
"It shouldn't be. There's no problem, but the range is too different."
At this time, Iron Hammer stood aside and said very calmly: "No need to guess anymore, there is absolutely no problem with the material and structure. The reason why the range is so close is probably due to the shells and gunpowder!"
"Cannonballs and gunpowder?"
The boss nodded aside, "This is indeed the only possibility. We are still using stone bullets now, and the ammunition is not too regular. Maybe if we make it more regular, the situation will be better."
"Go and cast some iron bullets immediately. They must be very regular balls!"
Without much effort, several hot and very smooth cast-iron cannonballs were sent over. Zeng Yi immediately ordered to load and fire. With a loud noise, the cast-iron cannonballs were launched. This time, the distance was
Compared with the previous stone bullets, it is farther away, estimated to be four to five hundred meters, but this distance is still a bit close.
"It seems that if we want to achieve the range we want, we must work hard on gunpowder!"
As one of the four great inventions of China and an outstanding achievement in the history of human civilization, gunpowder is also called black gunpowder. Under the influence of appropriate external energy, it can burn quickly and regularly, and at the same time generate a large amount of high-temperature gas.
Gunpowder is a substance. Gunpowder is a mixture of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal. A long time ago, our ancestors had a certain understanding of these three substances. As early as the Neolithic Age, people knew charcoal when firing pottery.
It is used as fuel. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, people widely used charcoal in metallurgy. Charcoal has less ash than firewood and is higher in strength. It is a better fuel than firewood. Sulfur exists naturally and people have mined it very early. It is often used in life and production.
Contact with sulfur, such as hot springs, will release the smell of sulfur. When smelting metals, the escaping sulfur dioxide will be pungent and unpleasant.
"What is the proportion of gunpowder formula you use?" Zeng Yi turned around and asked the master craftsmen.
Those master craftsmen quickly told Zeng Yi the gunpowder formula they used. As soon as he finished speaking, a master craftsman said: "Sir, actually, the formula of this gunpowder is not certain. As far as I know, the formula of gunpowder is actually very
There are many, and the power is also different. To be honest, apart from this contact, we don’t know exactly which formula is the most suitable!”
"Then experiment one by one!"
"Sir, we have already tried several formulas that we have learned about, but the results are not very satisfactory. If we continue to experiment, we will need more formulas!"
Zeng Yi frowned for a while and then said to everyone: "You continue to experiment slowly. We will go back to the capital first and try to find more gunpowder formulas for you! This artillery continues to fire and see where its limit is.
, if the standards are met, the artillery body can be cast!"
The research on artillery is actually very close to success. As long as the problem of gunpowder is solved, your artillery can be mass-produced and equipped with navy warships. However, it is not easy to find the gunpowder formula.
matter.
Then Zeng Yi, the four of them, and Iron Hammer returned to the capital. After only two or three days away, Zeng Yi brought back the news that the problem of the cannon body had been solved.
, were all very happy. When they learned that the research on artillery only had the last step left, the problem of gunpowder, they immediately expressed the court's strong support.
From Liumen Dongchang to Jinyiwei, they all began to search for gunpowder formulas from their collections on a large scale, but the results were not ideal. Whether it was Liumen Dongchang or Dongchang Jinyiwei, the focus of their collections were martial arts secrets.
Among the things inside, gunpowder formulas are very rare, and each family can only find a few types. Taken together, more than half of them are duplicates.
Gunpowder was invented a long time ago, but it was used to make firecrackers for a long time, and it did not receive much attention from the imperial court. Even the imperial court did not do as much research on gunpowder as there was in the world. You must know that no matter Zeng Yi or others
The Thunderbolt Fire Bombs obtained from the Western Regions Raiders and the Tang Sect hidden weapons both used gunpowder.
