Telescopes are huge weapons. They not only have great military and strategic value, but the emergence of telescopes is also a multiplier for scientific progress, allowing people to observe astronomical phenomena more clearly.
At the same time, after the emergence of telescopes, it became possible to make microscopes, and microscopes can observe microscopic phenomena, allowing people of this era to see with their own eyes what cells are and what microorganisms are, and this has a great influence on the development of medicine and even chemistry and physics.
All are extremely important.
So Li Xuan quickly searched for craftsmen who could make concave and convex mirrors among the many craftsmen in Xingquan Prefecture and Liping Prefecture. After some investigation, he finally found a glasses craftsman, and the glasses craftsman was naturally the most popular in this era.
The only person who can grind convex and concave mirrors!
This glasses craftsman named Fang Long was soon recruited into the Royal Academy of Sciences to grind more precise convex and concave lenses to make telescopes.
To make telescopes or microscopes these days, high-purity transparent glass is needed. However, this kind of transparent glass cannot be made in the Tang Dynasty, so natural crystal can only be used instead.
Well, the lenses used in glasses these days are actually not made of clear glass, but natural crystal!
That’s right, it’s an expensive natural crystal!
Because it is made of natural crystal, and most importantly, the lenses used in telescopes have relatively high magnification requirements. They require skilled craftsmen to carefully polish and manufacture high-precision convex and concave mirrors. There may be a slight error in the polishing process.
, which means that the entire crystal lens will be scrapped.
As a result, the cost will be so high that even Li Xuan feels pain!
The spectacles craftsman Fang Long had been busy for several months and wasted enough crystals to bankrupt a middle-class landowner family. The spectacles craftsman Fang Long was so stressed that he wanted to commit suicide at one point because he wasted so many extremely expensive crystals, let alone
Even after buying it for him and his whole family, it was not enough for him. He was worried that he would not be able to make the lenses for the telescope, which would eventually harm his family.
But hard work paid off. After repeated attempts at various grinding processes, Fang Long finally succeeded in grinding the high-precision lenses needed for the telescope. From this, the Tang Dynasty and even the world's first telescope were born.
!
The magnification of this telescope is not high, only four times!
However, even so, it was of great strategic significance to the development of optics in the Tang Dynasty and even the entire human race. This was not only a strategic significance for military applications, but also represented the near future of human scientific development.
A big step.
This small progress made by the Tang Dynasty in the field of optics will directly promote human beings to take a big step forward in astronomy, biology and other fields!
After the four-fold monocular telescope was produced, Li Xuan briefly played with it and immediately gave it to Hao Bainian.
At the same time, several new research projects on optical lenses, microscopy, astronomy, etc. were established in the Royal Academy of Sciences.
The research and development of optical lenses is the foundation, and the following are all applied disciplines.
The main purpose is to continue to specialize in the technology of polishing convex and concave mirrors, and to prepare for the future manufacturing of microscopes, military telescopes and even high-magnification astronomical observation telescopes!
Fang Long, the glasses craftsman who successfully manufactured the first telescope, rose to the top and became the vice president of the Royal Academy of Sciences. With his group of apprentices, he continued to study the field of optics.
At the same time, Li Xuan has not forgotten the research and development of transparent glass and mirrors. He continues to pay attention to and invest in the glass project of the Royal Academy of Sciences. However, this thing requires constant testing before he can truly produce qualified transparent glass and mirrors.
In a short period of time, Li Xuan could not see the birth of transparent glass, especially the mirror!
After this monocular telescope was delivered to Hao Bainian, not to mention that Li Xuan specifically asked him to keep it secret. Even if Li Xuan didn't tell him, he still realized the huge military strategic value contained in this object.
Today is the first time that telescopes have officially appeared on the battlefield!
Using telescopes, although they were located five or six hundred meters away, they could clearly observe every move of the Ming Army camp opposite, especially some of the Ming Army's more concealed defenses, such as hiding behind wooden fences.
The cannon with a muzzle exposed can be seen clearly.
And all this information was written down one by one!
Next, this information will be transferred to the Second Artillery Battalion. At that time, the eleven heavy artillery pieces of the Second Artillery Battalion will carry out point-and-point bombardment on these hidden artillery positions of the Ming army, destroying their artillery power.
After receiving the relevant information, the battalion commander of the Second Artillery Battalion, Chen Tufu, grinned and said: "Don't worry, General Hao, I, Old Chen, are absolutely honest in doing things. Once the artillery is set up, I, Old Chen, will take command personally, and I will definitely put these things in order."
The rebel artillery was destroyed!"
After working under Xie Ziwei for so long, Butcher Chen finally managed to get through. Although his cultural level is still not high, he already has a clear understanding of some of the knowledge required by artillery, and he can barely do it.
I am now able to write a very straightforward letter home.
This Butcher Chen was also the only one among the older generation of bandit generals who devoted himself to study and was willing to give up his seemingly bright promotion.
And now, he has finally come through!
When the artillery battalion was divided into two, he naturally became the battalion commander of the second artillery battalion with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Now the Second Artillery Battalion under his command temporarily has three artillery teams. The first team has five 500-jin artillery pieces, the second team has six 800-jin artillery pieces, and the third team has three guns captured from the Ming Army.
There are four old cannons ranging from 100 kilograms to 500 kilograms. Although the number of cannons is far from the full establishment, and the quality is also mixed, at least there are more than ten heavy cannons.
In addition to artillery, his Second Artillery Battalion also has two artillery transport teams.
Although the Second Artillery Battalion only has a dozen or so artillery pieces, the Second Artillery Battalion is actually quite large, with more than 600 troops and nearly 200 horses.
Otherwise, the commander of the artillery battalion would not surpass the commander of the infantry battalion and hold the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The artillery positions of the Second Artillery Battalion are divided into two positions. One is the position for the old artillery with a relatively short range. This position is expected to be moved forward to a distance of 200 meters from the Ming army camp. There is no way, although it is allowed
These old cannons captured from the Ming Army only had such a limited range, and they were all shotguns, with no cannons at all.
However, the artillery position of eleven heavy cannons will be set up about 350 meters away from the Ming Army camp. This place can ensure a safe distance and at the same time pose a fatal threat to the Ming Army camp!
The first 350-meter fort was soon completed. The fort in this era was naturally not very professional. In fact, it was just a small earthen platform. There were bags of sand and earth piled in front of the muzzle to resist the enemy.
The army's artillery attack is also used to resist enemy infantry and cavalry charges, serving as the last line of defense.
When necessary, the artillery battalion's own musketeers and pikemen will line up in front of the artillery, and some pike infantry will be arranged near the artillery position to provide protection.
If the Ming army wanted to attack this fort, they had to be blocked by the frontline infantry team, and at the same time they needed to rush through the artillery's own shotgun fire, and then be intercepted by the infantry phalanx protecting the artillery. Finally, when they came to the front of the artillery position, they also needed to fight with
The artillery battalion's own musketeers and spearmen fought. Only after breaking through these layers of obstruction could they completely destroy the artillery position.
In almost every Ming army that fought against the Tang army, their generals would immediately have the idea of destroying the artillery positions of the puppet Tang rebel army. However, most people would give up immediately after seeing such strict protection.
This plan.
The only exception was during the Battle of Tonggu Acropolis. The Ming Army relied on their cavalry to launch a charge. However, these Ming Army cavalry still failed to break through the flanking infantry phalanx of the Tang Army and reach the front of the artillery position.
Therefore, the artillery position seems to have poor self-protection capabilities, but it is actually under the protection of the entire army!
After all, during combat, few generals would leave these precious artillery pieces unprotected except in extreme circumstances.
After the first artillery position was constructed, the artillerymen in the Second Artillery Battalion successively pushed the five 500-jin artillery pieces of the First Artillery Group and the six 800-jin artillery pieces of the Second Artillery Group onto the fort.
This earthen fort, which was originally located on a low earth slope and was temporarily raised several meters, is seven or eight meters high from the ground. This height is enough to allow the artillery located here to command an effective range of attack.
Any target within the Ming Army camp, including various Ming Army defense facilities in the Ming Army camp.
At this time, Tufu Chen personally went to the fort, holding a small book with various parameters marked on one side, and arranging tasks for the artillerymen under his command.
"The first team will clear the east wall and gun emplacements first, and the second team will clear the west wall and artillery emplacements. After the cleaning is completed, extend the shelling to the depth behind the fort wall!"
Tufu Chen said to several artillery officers under his command: "When the army can launch a general offensive, it depends on when we can clear out their artillery and stronghold walls!"
After the instructions were given, Butcher Chen immediately ordered: "Free bombardment!"
After giving the order, Tufu Chen naturally would not ignore it, but continued to write and draw in the small notebook in his hand, and from time to time he was talking to the artillery officers around him.
This time the bombardment process will be a long-term continuous bombardment. According to his own prediction, at least hundreds of shells will be fired, so that the Ming army's wall, gun emplacements and arrow towers can be completely cleared and given a limited range.
The Ming army inside suffered the greatest damage.
During this bombardment process, it is naturally necessary to make timely adjustments based on the effects of the bombardment.
A few minutes later, the first 800-pound artillery piece that was loaded and aimed first roared, announcing the Tang Army's heavy artillery force's bombardment of the Ming Army's camp!
A solid ductile iron projectile, about four kilograms and nine taels, flew out of the muzzle, drew a curved arc in the air, and flew towards the Ming army camp!
The shell accurately landed outside the wall of the Ming Army camp more than 350 meters away. It first hit the ground hard, then bounced off the ground, and finally hit the Ming Army camp directly in front.
wall.
Suddenly, sawdust flew everywhere, and screams also sounded at the right time!