Zhang Cunren was very cautious and did not underestimate the enemy in battle.
They watched helplessly at the head of the city as the Ming army surrounded Hangzhou and set up camp outside the city. They even dug trenches and built earthen walls far away from the city, setting up stakes and trees to block the horses. Then they sent troops to approach Hangzhou.
The city is preparing to fill in the ditch under the city.
It was obvious that the Ming army was preparing to fight steadily, encircling first and then attacking.
These actions made Zhang Cunren frown even more. The other party acted very steadily, leaving him with few opportunities. When Bolo attacked Hangzhou from Jiangning, he forced King Lu Kaicheng to surrender in the first battle, but Hangzhou city did not use many troops. After the war, Boluo
Luo relied on his military strength and did not do much to strengthen the military defense in Hangzhou. Apart from setting up some camps in the north of the Qiantang River, the city of Hangzhou was not strengthened much.
There are no plum blossom piles, sheep and horse walls, dry moats, or moats.
Just as it looks from the outside, Hangzhou is a prosperous southeastern town, not a war fortress.
Just as the Ming Dynasty did not expect that the Qing army would first attack Beijing and then Nanjing and then directly take Hangzhou within a year, the Qing army also did not expect that after they captured Hangzhou, the Ming army would still have the ability to counterattack.
Hangzhou's defense is far inferior to any fortress on the Nine Sides. If it were an important town on the Nine Sides, it would not only have a tall city wall with an Wengcheng enemy tower and archery tower, but there would even be a trench moat outside the city wall, and a half-man-high sheep and horse wall outside the river to block the enemy.
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Even at far points, countless plum blossom stakes will be erected, and many large pits will be dug to prevent the siege troops from easily reaching the city, let alone their siege equipment that threatens the city wall.
The one or two miles in front of the city wall will be a death zone, and the siege troops will suffer countless casualties before they actually reach the city wall.
Even most fortresses will set up fortresses and camps outside the city to support and contain the enemy and prevent them from focusing on attacking the city. When necessary, the city will send cavalry out of the city at any time.
Even until the last moment, the city defenders will not stand guard in the city. They will place some of the infantry in front of the city wall, with their backs against the city wall. There will be cover by archers and crossbowmen on the city, and there will be cavalry in the city ready to respond at any time.
It is a three-dimensional defensive battle.
But now, the city of Hangzhou seems to be undefended.
Fortunately, facing such a tall city of Hangzhou, the Ming army was also a novice. Although there were many veterans in the imperial camp, Hangzhou was so big and the city walls were so high that it felt like there was no way to start.
But Zhu Yihai was not in a hurry to capture Hangzhou, so he was not in a hurry to attack by force. This time he regarded it as a practice and followed the steps.
Those who set up camp and dug trenches and walls, those who built ladders and arrow towers, those who were preparing to fill ditches and push down walls, those who patrolled the camp to guard against enemy attacks, those who intercepted on the periphery, and those who went to raid the surrounding areas. Anyway, Hangzhou is the center.
, within a radius of a hundred miles, Ming troops were everywhere.
Zhu Yihai brought the imperial camp from ten towns to eight towns. In the Qiantang Bay and Qiantang River was the imperial camp Zhoushan Navy, and on the shore were soldiers and horses from various towns.
Soldiers from the Beijing Camp and Zhejiang Camp also came, and they were responsible for the outer perimeter.
There was a loud bang.
There was finally a response from the city of Hangzhou.
Zhang Cunren counterattacked with a red cannon.
Zhu Yihai stood in the distance, watching the cannon blast far away, but it did not cause any damage. At this time, the Ming army was still far away from the city wall, so the cannon was just powerful.
After one shot, there was no more sound.
"There are many red cannons in the city of Hangzhou. Zhang Cunren was originally General Guan Ning. He was very good at using artillery. He would take the cannons wherever he went. He never spared any effort. According to intelligence, there are now 12 red cannons in Hangzhou.
, the Tatars are known as the mighty general cannon."
"This cannon is made of copper. It has an iron core and a copper body. It is thin at the front and thick at the back. It is more than seven feet long and weighs 3,900 kilograms. It uses five kilograms of medicine and has a ten kilogram iron core. It is installed on a four-wheeled gun cart. It is very powerful."
Zhu Yihai was not moved after hearing this.
During the Chongzhen Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty used to imitate a large number of red cannons and even established a new firearms unit in Denglai. Unfortunately, due to the rebellion of the New Army of a Chicken, Kong Youde corrupted Shandong and crossed the sea to the Qing Dynasty with many New Army and artillery guns. went.
But after that, the Ming Dynasty continued to cast cannons. By the time Chongzhen was hanged, thousands of red cannons of various types were said to have been cast. However, the Qing army also attached great importance to artillery. Not only did they accept Kong Youde, but they also cast a large number of red cannons. As early as the Fourth Chongzhen Period, In 2000, the Qing army imitated its own red cannon and named it General Tianyou Cheer.
Immediately, the Wuzhenchaoha Artillery Force was formed. From then on, the Tatars must bring red cannons with them when marching. During the decisive battle of Songjin, the Qing army used hundreds of red cannons to bombard the Ming army's Jinzhou Tashan and other fortresses. .
After the Battle of Songjin, the Ming army fell behind the Qing army in terms of artillery.
After entering the customs and occupying Beijing, they quickly established a new cannon factory in Beijing, with extremely high cannon casting output.
As far away as Hangzhou, Zhang Cunren had twelve red cannons.
Of course, Zhu Yihai did not panic, because just before he launched the Battle of Hangzhou, Bi Fangji had returned from Macau. He did not come back alone. He brought back 800 French hired musketeers, gunners, and Twenty-six red-coat cannons cast by the Macau Bogarao Cannon Foundry.
When it comes to cannon casting, the Bugalao Cannon Factory was known as the first cannon foundry in the Far East at this time. Its technical level and efficiency far exceeded those of the Qing army and the Ming Dynasty, which had only learned to cast cannons for more than ten years.
At this time, although there were many cannon foundries in Guangdong, Fujian, established during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, the quality was indeed better than that in Macao.
The twenty-six red cannons that Lao Bi brought back this time were made from 24-pound naval guns imitating British sailing naval guns. Their caliber and weight were stronger than the red Yi cannons, which were imitated from 18-pound naval guns. many.
Lao Bi spent a long time in Macau on this trip, but he successfully completed his mission.
He proudly introduced the guns to Zhu Yihai, with a caliber of 148 mm, a shell diameter of 140 mm, a barrel length of 2.9 meters, and a total weight of 5,000 kilograms.
When the shooting angle is four degrees, the range can reach 1,350 meters. When the shooting angle is raised to eight degrees, it can reach 2,250 meters. And if it is at a distance of 100 meters, the 24 pounds The solid projectile fired by the cannon could penetrate five feet of oak.
Five feet, that is 1.52 meters, this penetration ability is still very strong.
"How does it compare with the red cannons in the Tatar city of Hangzhou?"
Lao Bi got the information provided by Zhu Yihai and told him with certainty that the artillery of the Qing army in Hangzhou should be imitated from the 18-pound naval gun. Its caliber ratio showed that its performance was at most that of the 24-pound gun. three quarters.
"Actually, I think we should buy more three-pounders and other smaller guns, which are suitable for field maneuvers. These eighteen-pound and twenty-four-pound cannons are too heavy to transport. I came from Macau and transported them by sea. Fortunately, the short journey from the Qiantang River to the city of Hangzhou is very troublesome. It is difficult to pull eight horses, and it has to be restricted by the terrain and roads. This kind of artillery is very inconvenient on the battlefield."
"And a twenty-four-pounder cannon costs as much as thirty of our three-four-pounder cannons. It's too expensive."
The price quoted by Lao Bi to Zhu Yihai was 5,000 taels of silver for a twenty-four-pound cannon, which was indeed expensive. Lao Bi also said that he had worked hard to get the gun factory to get a discount, saying that the original price was 6,000 taels.
Door.
However, as far as Zhu Yihai knew, the cost of casting a four-pounder cannon in the UK was at most fifty or sixty taels. Even if the twenty-four-pounder cannon was increased thirty times, the cost would be less than two thousand taels.
But those red-haired ghosts once sold four-pound cannons for one thousand taels, and they still dare to ask for two hundred taels each, so it is indeed normal for them to sell these twenty-four-pound cannons for six thousand taels.
Lao Bi could buy one door for five thousand taels, but he didn't cheat Zhu Yihai.
But Zhu Yihai bought twenty-six of them at once, so why can’t he get a group purchase price?
In fact, in terms of technical level and other aspects, the artillery factories in Guangdong and Fujian have no problems at all in imitating these cannons, and they are even better in terms of technology.
But there is a very critical problem, that is, technology is technology, and casting is casting. When it comes to mass production, many old mistakes are made again. Officials deduct materials, casting management is not in place, etc., which reduces the qualification rate of their cannons.
not tall.
The cost of a cannon is extremely high, but the result is that the pass rate is too low, so it is meaningless.
Although some cannons are shipped out of the factory after passing the test, the Ming Dynasty has a culture of people being careless and thinking about how to take advantage of corruption. Zhu Yihai is really unwilling to throw money into it. He would rather buy more expensive ones and use them first, and then find ways to recruit craftsmen later.
, set up a gun factory by ourselves, strictly control management, technology, etc., improve casting technology, reduce casting costs, and increase casting efficiency and output.
Fortunately, Zhu Yihai can still afford 130,000 taels of silver.
Although the four-pounder cannon is cheap, light and maneuverable, the problem is that if you set up thirty four-pounder cannons to bombard the city wall, the effect will not be as good as one twenty-four-pounder cannon.
It can only be said that the four-pounder cannon is good for field battles but not good for siege.
For the major Western powers competing for sea power at this time, the dozens or hundreds of cannons on their sail warships not only competed for the long range of the cannons, but also emphasized the speed of fire.
For example, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France all pay attention to the training of gunners. It is said that the rate of fire of British naval guns can be one shot per minute, which is twice that of the romantic French.
In close combat, gunners often fire two or three projectiles at a time, or solid bullets and shotgun shells, in order to achieve maximum destructive effect.
By this time, both the Ming and Qing armies targeted eighteen-pound naval guns. These naval guns, collectively known as red cannons, were far more powerful than the various Fran cannons, general cannons, and Weiyuan cannons that had been imitated in the early years.
Wait, even the usage scenarios are similar, used to attack cities and demolish strongholds.
The Qing army liked to use red cannons to bombard the city to clear the way, and the Ming army actually put these cannons on the towers of the city walls to defend the city.
I have to say, it was a blast.
It was originally a naval gun. The bigger guns were fixed on the ship anyway. During the land war, the Europeans used smaller guns. However, both the Ming and Qing Dynasties kept making larger guns. It didn't matter whether they were heavy or not. What they wanted was that the bigger the better.
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The hundreds of mercenaries brought by Bi Fanji last time were all well paid. They served as instructors and received instructor salaries. They often wrote letters to their families in Macau and boasted about them.
So this time when Bi Fanji was in Macau, many people took the initiative to look for him and wanted to work for Lu Jianguo.
It has to be said that the Thirty Years' War in Europe did create a group of outstanding veterans. Macau, which was occupied by the Portuguese, often had to deal with threats from the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch, the British, etc., so it built forts and built artillery factories to recruit employees.
Soldiers, Bi Francis easily recruited 800 mercenaries.
"Do you need me to have someone pull up the cannon and show His Royal Highness this advanced artillery?"
Zhu Yihai nodded, "First pull up a door and blast it to respond to the Tatars in Hangzhou City."
Although the 24-pounder gun was quite powerful, it was by no means the most advanced. There were also 32-pounder and even 42-pounder guns on the sailing battleships.