Only then did everyone finally understand that this ugly-looking thing was a powerful firearm. Solid iron bullets fired through gunpowder were fired hundreds of steps away, sweeping everything in front of them.
While everyone was stunned in admiration, Lin Jue sighed and said, "Oh, it can't be done. This thing is useless."
"What? This thing is so powerful, why can't the military advisor say it?" Shen Tan and others asked in surprise.
"The price-performance ratio is too low. The range is only about 500 steps, and it cost me hundreds of kilograms of fine iron and several kilograms of gunpowder. It's totally not worth it. I thought I could reach a thousand steps away, or even miles away. Now it seems like it is I'm overthinking it. At a distance of 500 steps, even building a bed crossbow can reach this distance. The power is not bad, but I'm afraid it won't be of much use against a solid city wall. All the refined iron I brought To build this, we can only build a dozen or so doors. This thing also requires a large number of manpower and mules and horses to pull and launch. With more than a dozen doors, we are afraid that we will have to spend thousands of manpower to use it. And I I don’t know how many times it can be launched. If it is scrapped after more than a dozen times, it will be a pile of scrap metal. One launch costs hundreds of taels of silver, which is not worth it. The price-performance ratio is too low. It will have to be melted down. Lin Jue shook his head and said.
Hearing what Lin Jue said, everyone nodded. It was really not worth it to spend money and manpower on such a thing. However, the power of this thing was the most powerful firearm they had ever seen. It seemed that there was no equipment that could match the power of such a big man. Compare.
"Military advisor, this thing is quite powerful. I suggest you keep it and don't melt it down. It may be improved in the future. In the future, when we have money and are not afraid of spending money, it will be useful to build more. For example, there is a Ten If there are eight gates set up on the city wall or mountain pass, it will be a nightmare for the enemy to attack." Sun Dayong said.
Lin Jue smiled and said: "As the commander of the firearms camp, you naturally hope to have a big thing in your hands. Just keep it. After all, it is the first firearm made by Luoyan Valley. It was destroyed for unknown reasons. I will give it a name. Just give it a name, just call it 'Shenwei General'. It will also be useful to make improvements in the future. This thing is at your disposal, but don't fire it anymore, it will be a waste of money."
Sun Dayong was overjoyed and quickly thanked him. Liang Qi smacked her lips in envy.
"Now is the highlight. That is the most important firearm I want to test today." Lin Jue walked towards the object covered with felt cloth on the flat ground on one side. The object was carried by a large car. It was very big, but not too heavy. It looks like. If it were all made of fine iron, the wooden cart would have been crushed to pieces.
Someone stepped forward and took off the cloth, revealing the true appearance of the thing. Everyone looked at the thing with big eyes and small eyes, and they were all confused. What was placed on the car was an iron round barrel. The object is transparent at both ends. Next to it is a circular iron piece and an iron piece with dense honeycomb-like holes. There is an iron shaft connecting the two circular iron pieces, like two asymmetric wheels. .
"What is this?" Ma Bin scratched his head and said, "It's so thick that it can be drilled into. Could it be that it is worn as armor? What are these two wheels used for? Is it some weird weapon?"
Everyone laughed loudly. It was obvious that this was not armor. A large group of soldiers were wearing iron barrel armor. What was going on?
"I guess this is a 'swarm of bees'?" Gao Muqing said with a smile.
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Lin Jue pointed out: "Smartness is like a swarm of bees."
Liang Qi and others immediately understood that the firearm called a swarm of bees had been made by Lin Jue during the battle with Heifeng Village, but it was just made of wood. Its firing power was amazing. Lin Jue was not in the mountain, and the original swarm of bees had long since disappeared.
Burnt down, a long time passed and almost forgotten this kind of firearm. After hearing what Gao Muqing said, Liang Qi suddenly woke up and immediately remembered the scene when the swarm of swarms were condescendingly sweeping down the hillside.
"At first, the swarm was made of wood. It was easy to catch fire, and the structure was loose and not durable. It was easy to fall apart. It was not easy to transport and load arrows. But this time, I used a fine iron outer cylinder. The fine iron forged is only as thick as a grain of rice and weighs
It's not heavy either. What's more important is that the inner core is fixed. After installing the arrow, insert it directly into the iron barrel. The iron pin at the back is fixed, and it can be transported and fired at will. It can be reused and will not be damaged. And
Loading is also easy. You only need to equip three to four inner cores and load them in rotation, and you can continue to launch. Of course, you need a rocket of the right size, and ordinary arrows may not be able to do it. But this is not a problem, our arrow workshop
It’s already in operation, making special arrows is not difficult.”
As Lin Jue spoke, he waved to two soldiers to help. The soldiers handed over a bundle of arrows, all of which were rockets made in advance. Lin Jue quickly inserted the arrows into the small holes in the axis one by one.
The tail was against the solid iron piece. After all the fuses were woven together, the two soldiers followed Lin Jue's instructions and stuffed the 'wheel' into the iron barrel. Pulled out the fuse and drooped it out from the small hole at the rear.
"Pull it to the hillside and try it." Lin Jue said.
The flatbed truck was pulled to the hillside, and the swarm of bees were carried down to the ground by two soldiers and placed diagonally on the grass above the hillside. The two soldiers inserted slender iron drills into the small holes in the dead corners and nailed them to the ground.
"Mu Qing, light the fire." Lin Jue smiled.
Gao Muqing agreed, stepped forward and took the blowing fire stick from the soldier's hand, and lit the fuse that was braided like a braid. Everyone quickly retreated, only to see the fuse chirping and sparking. There was a bang, and a fire broke out.
The rocket rushed out of the swarm of iron barrels with a shrill scream. The next moment, there was a loud swish, swish, and boom, and sparks of burning gunpowder rose one after another in the rising smoke. In just a few breaths, the roar
The sound had ended. The sharp whistling still continued. The arrow dragging the long tail fire was still flying in the air, and then, the sound of explosion sounded. There was a fan-shaped ground hundreds of steps below the hillside.
Smoke and firelight. The strong smell of gunpowder smoke was pungent and unpleasant, but everyone ignored it and stared blankly at the hillside below. There, within a few dozen steps of a fan shape, everything was covered by rockets. The bursts of explosions made the grass stems rise and fall.
, black smoke filled the air. A large piece of the hillside covered with weeds and trees seemed to have been scorched.
This was the first time for Ma Bin, Shen Tan, Sun Dayong and others to see the power of this 'swarm' rocket launcher. Just now they saw the arrows fired in succession, screaming like lightning, and they were already horrified. Now seeing the range and effect of the attack, they were really dumbfounded and speechless for a long time.
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"Is this...so powerful?" Ma Bin said in surprise.
"Sixty-four rockets in a row were shot out within five breaths, covering the ground within a hundred steps. The arrows were shot at an oblique angle and in a fan-like shape, maximizing the
Covering the ground in front. The gunpowder will explode at the end, increasing its power. Who can defeat such a firearm? It's awesome, it's awesome." Sun Dayong murmured.
Lin Jue laughed loudly and said: "Brother Sun observed carefully. There are exactly sixty-four rockets, slightly in the shape of a bell mouth. It is precisely to make the arrows spread out and form a fan-shaped attack. Because the gunpowder barrel is tied to the arrows, the arrows are The flying distance is deviated, and it will fly up, down, left and right, so it is more difficult to predict. However, this situation will have a negative effect on the lethality and penetration. Because of this, a small small one is added to the end of the powder barrel. Whether the medicine bag explodes in the air or among the invading enemy's troops, it will increase the lethality, or at least set their bodies on fire."
Shen Tan said: "It's so awesome. You really thought it through. Once this thing comes out, who can compete with my Luoyan Army?"
Lin Jue shrugged and said: "Don't be too superstitious about this thing. This thing is powerful, but you can't rely entirely on it. Without a favorable formation and sufficient resources, this thing is just a pile of waste. Sixty-four in one go How much does a rocket cost? Have you calculated it?"
Qin Chuncao said: "Based on my estimate, the cost of making an arrow is four hundred taels, which is four taels of silver. Adding in the gunpowder and production costs, it costs at least one tael of silver."
Lin Jue nodded and said with a smile: "As expected, the village is in charge of money and food imports and exports, and the calculations are generally good. Don't forget that these are iron-tipped arrows, and the cost needs to be increased by two yuan. Therefore, the cost of a rocket is about one or two yuan. Six Fourteen arrows, that's more than seventy taels of silver. In the blink of an eye, more than seventy taels of silver were gone."
Everyone was speechless, yes, this is simply a waste of money. To a certain extent, fighting a war means fighting for money. The Luoyan Army will soon implement a military pay system. Previously, they gave some money and food symbolically, and allocated some resources. It is used as military pay. But after becoming a regular soldier, military pay and silver must be paid. Rewards and pensions must also be paid in real money. There is no tax in Luoyan Valley. Where does the money come from? Now this firearm is so hot Money, where does silver come from?
Lin Jue said: "However, since the power is so huge, a swarm of bees must be built. My initial idea is to build thirty, which is also my estimate of the number after all the thousands of kilograms of refined iron brought are used up. What do you think? Think about it, if thirty of them were lined up here and fired in several rounds, everything in front of them would be reduced to scorched earth. The attacker would be a mosquito, and his wings would probably be broken."
Everyone imagined such a situation, and it was difficult to describe the scene in their hearts. One by one, the situation was already like this. With thirty, even thousands of troops would be defeated. This is countless times better than the blocking of bows, arrows and crossbows. .
"But thirty battles, one round is worth... several thousand taels of silver, and one battle is worth tens of thousands or even more than one hundred thousand taels of silver." Qin Chuncao said in a low voice.
Liang Qi smacked her lips and said, "Daughter-in-law, what are you talking about? Isn't it a disgrace to the scenery?"
Qin Chuncao said: "I'm telling the truth. We don't have so much money, and we don't have so much material consumption. Although we have been more stable in the past few years, apart from food, there is nothing valuable in the warehouse. We only have ten dollars. Just ten thousand taels."
Liang Qi hurriedly said: "Stop talking about this."
