At the test site below the stage, the soldiers of the Guards continued to conduct live ammunition tests and fired six artillery shells in a row. However, just after the first artillery shell was fired, everyone in the stands was completely stunned.
Because they saw with their own eyes that the first shell was successfully ejected, and there was no accident that they were most worried about, such as the explosion of the shell!
As the cannon was ejected from the chamber, the cannonball drew a small curve in the sky, and then flew towards the predetermined target 350 meters away. However, not long after, everyone saw the cannonball directly.
It exploded in mid-air!
Exploded in advance!
Even though it exploded in advance, it did not affect the good mood of the big guys in the stands at all!
This small error in the fuze delay was nothing to the generals who were used to the shells fired from heavy howitzers exploding prematurely or even not exploding at all.
What they are more concerned about is that in the first test firing, the artillery shell fired by the Jiujin field gun was successfully fired, and it exploded in the enemy's position after the successful launch. It did not explode, nor did it just leave.
The barrel exploded, and instead of killing the enemy, it killed one of our own people first.
Lieutenant General Lei Wan, Lieutenant General Bao Yifen and other army and navy generals stood up in unison, with rich expressions on their faces!
At this time, the second and third shells were successfully fired one after another, followed by the fourth, fifth, and sixth shells!
In the first round of test firing, a total of six shells were fired from three nine-pound artillery pieces!
Without exception, these six shells did not explode. Each shell came out of the chamber smoothly and then flew to the predetermined target area.
But as Bi Zifei said personally, this kind of wooden delay fuze has a large error. Even if the artillerymen make fuzes with the same specifications in the most standard way, the actual detonation time is different.
Two shells detonated early, one shell exploded long after it hit the ground, and one was simply a dud.
Only one shell exploded the moment it hit the ground!
But does this have any impact?
No!
For the army and navy, they have long been accustomed to the unreliable match rope fuse of the short-barreled howitzer. If it can be fired and exploded, it is a success!
When it explodes above the enemy's position, use it as a grenade on the spot. If it explodes after landing, use it as a grenade on the spot. If it doesn't explode after landing, just use it as a solid bomb. As long as the shell is fired, it is considered a success.
.
Therefore, regarding the problem of different detonation times of this new type of howitzer shell, and even the occurrence of dud bombs, the generals of the army and navy said that this small problem is completely acceptable.
The point is, this grenade can be fired by long-barreled artillery!
what does that mean?
This means that a large number of five-pound and nine-pound artillery owned by the Tang Army, Navy and Guards can use grenades, and this will definitely improve the artillery power of the army.
After watching the first round of test firings, without even waiting for the second round of tests, Lieutenant General Lei Wan said directly on the spot: "Our Army wants this new artillery shell!"
Bao Yifen is not to be outdone: "Our navy is also the same. We do not need to invite bids, but purchase directly. We want new grenades of all calibers!"
These high-ranking military generals are not fools, they are all smart!
This is a good thing that can more effectively exert the power of existing artillery and greatly improve the power of artillery, but its value can be seen at a glance.
In fact, even before the new grenade fuse was developed, they had already realized the value of this kind of artillery shell. Otherwise, where do you think the hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to develop the grenade fuse came from? It was all from the Army
Given by the Navy.
In order to develop new grenades that can be used on long-barreled artillery, the army and navy each supported a large number of projects, totaling more than twenty.
Everything here costs money!
The wooden fuze project led by Bi Zifei was also led by the military. Both the army and the navy invested a lot of money. It is also interesting to talk about these financial investments. That is, although Bi Zifei used the military's money to conduct research and development
, but the patent still belongs to the Royal Institute of Technology.
Because this kind of project does not mean entrusting research and development, the military directly signs a contract with them to order samples.
It is generally divided into several stages, such as the early theoretical stage. After the theory is passed, the military will let you produce samples for preliminary testing, then mid-term testing, and post-testing.
After the test is over, the military will place an order, and then the Royal Institute of Technology will license the technology patent to the three major weapons companies, and the three major weapons companies will start production. Today, many ordnance production almost follows this model.
To put it simply, this kind of investment is more similar to support and is different from ordinary business cooperation.
Of course, although the Royal Institute of Technology has taken most of the military's R&D projects, in fact the three major weapons companies and even some other companies affiliated with the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises also have the opportunity to get them.
Anyway, the military only wants new ordnance products, and they don’t care who develops or produces them.
In the past two years, enterprises under the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, led by the three major arms companies, have been very diligent in poaching the Royal Institute of Technology and offering various generous benefits.
Such generous remuneration has indeed attracted a group of Royal Institute of Technology students to switch to these large companies!
In addition, the Royal Institute of Technology has a strict elimination system. Currently, freshmen and sophomores will basically be kicked out if they fail to pass the promotion exam for three consecutive years.
After all, the resources of the Royal Institute of Technology are also limited, and it is impossible to allow the number of students to continue to expand. When recruiting nearly a hundred students every year, and also need to retain high-quality talents, then it is appropriate to let some
It is reasonable for students with slightly lower quality to drop out of school.
However, even so, the current number of students at the Royal Institute of Technology has exceeded 500.
Even though these 500 people seem to be very few, less than the number of students admitted by Imperial College every year, these students need to conduct various scientific experiments after entering, and the cost is quite huge.
Relatively speaking, giving them generous personal treatment is nothing.
As for the senior students, they are basically at the top level, and they will not be lost at the moment. There are not many juniors, so it is also impossible to lose them.
In fact, most of these students who have failed to pass the promotion exam for three consecutive years have flowed into large companies under the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, and are engaged in research and development with generous benefits that the rich are envious of. Therefore, the three students at the Royal Institute of Technology
The annual elimination system has also indirectly introduced a lot of talents to these large enterprises of the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises.
Although these people were all eliminated by the Royal Institute of Technology, you have to look at where the Royal Institute of Technology is. The students who were eliminated are still the top talents in this era.
To attract these top talents, generally only large enterprises under the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, such as the three major weapons companies and Jiangnan Iron and Steel Company, are attracted. In addition, two universities under the Ministry of Rites and several normal schools are also their destinations.
And if they go there, it is naturally impossible to become ordinary technical talents. If they go to a normal school, the principal is hard to say, but the director of the first department is the minimum. If they go to Guozijian University or Jinling University, they will directly serve as various directors.
professor.
When you go to a company, you are basically the leader of the project!
The treatment in all aspects is not bad!
As a result, slowly, the enterprises affiliated to the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises represented by the three major arms companies have gradually acquired some technological research and development capabilities. Although they are still relatively weak, they are also outstanding in some aspects.
For example, in the field of shipbuilding, the Guangzhou Shipyard, a subsidiary of Jiangnan Arms Company, has the strongest technical strength. In terms of specific ship design, it even surpasses the shipbuilding department of the Royal Institute of Technology.
There is no way, who made the Department of Naval Architecture of the Royal Institute of Technology focus more on theoretical research. Even when they first developed the flying shear ship, they only proposed the theory, and the actual implementation was still the design team of the Guangzhou Shipyard.
Nowadays, throughout the Tang Dynasty, the relationship between various technological research and development and the military is very close. Nowadays, the new wooden fuze grenade technology is recognized, and even an order is placed on the spot. This is naturally a good thing for this project.
Even Bi Zifei, who had his eyes high above his head, at this time, with a smile on his face, once again explained in detail the details of this new type of fuze, as well as the artillery shells equipped with this new type of fuze, to several military generals.
Li Xuan said he could understand the impulse of his subordinates!
After all, new artillery shells are very important, even important enough to be a new weapon that can change the current war model!
how to change?
For example, naval guns, the naval guns on these battleships, when equipped with these grenades, can directly launch these grenades in naval battles, and then blow the enemy's wooden sail battleship into pieces.
Perhaps for the Army, the service of grenades only increases the army's firepower, but for the Navy, the large-scale service of grenades represents the emergence of a new era!
When the Tang Navy adopted grenades on a large scale, it could basically be declared that wooden-hulled sail warships were completely obsolete!
Although the current sailing battleships have not developed to the peak state of the eighteenth century, they are still very primitive and in their infancy. Western battleships are still using Galen ships.
However, even so, they are still about to end their lives!
With Li Xuan, the eternal sage from another time and space, it is absolutely impossible for the development of science, technology, war and other aspects of this era to be exactly the same as the historical trajectory of later generations.
With the grenade as a big killer, Li Xuan said that instead of playing with a stupid wooden-shelled sailing battleship, I will directly play an iron-shelled sailing battleship. When the high-pressure steam engine is developed, I will also throw the sail into the garbage heap of history.
, play with a steam iron-clad ship!
After all, Li Xuan’s dream is to conquer the world!
And if you want to conquer the world, how can you do it without an advanced navy that can defeat the navies of all countries around the world?
To defeat the world's navies, it is possible to rely on numbers, but the force level is too low, and Li Xuan feels that he has lost points.
We are time-travelling people, and we must use technology to crush them. If we can use technological advantages, we will never use quantitative advantages, otherwise we will not be able to show our strength!
If one person works for a group of people, that is what a man is called!
Imagine using an epoch-making steam-armored battleship to fight against hundreds of enemy sailing battleships alone, and then, in the eyes of the enemy's despair, kill the enemy's sailing battleships one by one with one shot.