Under the guidance of Priest Nader, the first cannon in Shuangyu Port was finally cast. Today, we will prepare for the test gun. However, although the workshop for casting the gun is in Nanyang Town, the test gun cannot be here. First,

The place is too small, and secondly it is too dangerous. After all, even Priest Nader cannot guarantee that this cannon will succeed.

In addition, when Zhou Chong tried the cannon, he did not go alone, but brought Wu Shi and Ma Liang. Speaking of it, privately casting artillery is a serious crime. Zhou Chong should have kept it from the Jinyiwei no matter what, but Shuangyu Port was originally

It was so loud that the sound of his gun test sounded, and the entire port could almost be heard, and it could not be hidden at all. Moreover, he had already tried Wu Shan in words before, but the other party told him very directly that if someone else had it, it would definitely cause the court.

But Zhou Chong didn't have to worry. As long as the cannons he forged were not transported back to the Ming Dynasty, there would be no problem.

It was precisely because of Wu Shan's guarantee, and it was impossible to hide it at all, so Zhou Chong simply lit up the cannon workshop very generously, and he didn't expect that Wu Shi and Ma Liang had contact with cannons when they were in the capital.

When I heard that Zhou Chong's cannons were actually made by Folang Jiren, I was very interested. I insisted on following and seeing how they were different from the Ming Dynasty cannons.

The location for the shooting test was in a small valley east of Nanyang Town. It was rarely visited and there were cliffs on both sides. In this way, the sound of the gun would become much smaller when it was heard, so that it would not disturb ordinary people.

When Zhou Chong, Ma Liang and others arrived at the valley, Priest Nader was taking several craftsmen involved in casting artillery to make the final adjustments to the artillery. Zhou Chong and others did not come forward to disturb him, but stood aside

Looking at the cannon in front of you.

"Young Master. Why is this artificial artillery of the Folang machine so unique? It looks completely different from the artillery of our Ming Dynasty. However, it is much lighter." Before Zhou Chong could see the structure of the artillery, Ma Liang next to him spoke first.

He had a brother who was in charge of the Shenji Camp among the Imperial Guards. The Shenji Camp was a special firearm unit of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, he was familiar with artillery and muskets. So after watching for a while, he found the artillery in front of him and

The difference between the Ming artillery.

At this time, Zhou Chong finally looked up the entire cannon several times, and then looked at the parts placed around the cannon. Although he didn't understand artillery, he was hundreds of years more than the people of this era.

After seeing, I quickly figured out the operating principle of the entire artillery, and at the same time I also understood the difference between this artillery and the Ming artillery.

Simply put, the Folang machine cannon in front of Zhou Chong is actually a rear-mounted smoothbore cannon, while the Ming Dynasty cannon is the most primitive front-mounted smoothbore cannon. There is naturally a huge difference in the structure of the two.

For example, the most important thing about the Daming artillery is a barrel, and there is a fire gate on it. When used, the shells and gunpowder are placed in the barrel. The fire rate of the artillery is very slow. However, the structure of the Folang machine cannon in front of Zhou Chong

But it is much more complicated. The entire cannon consists of a barrel, abdomen and a sub-cannon. When firing, the gunpowder projectiles are first filled into the sub-cannon. Then the sub-cannon is put into the abdomen and ignits the sub-cannon fire door for firing.

Compared with the Ming Dynasty artillery, the rear-mounted Folang machine cannon barrel is thinner, the caliber is smaller, and the weight is much lighter. Of course, the power is relatively poor. However, this kind of cannon has achieved fixed ammunition, and one cannon is ready.

There are multiple sub-cannons that can be continuously fired when used, and the firing rate is several times faster than ordinary front-mounted cannons. Moreover, the sub-cannons are also cast iron, and they bear the pressure of gunpowder explosion during firing, reducing damage to the abdomen.

Even if the sub-cannon is damaged, it can be replaced immediately with other sub-cannons, which improves the life and operability of the cannon.

Zhou Chong saw this kind of Folang machine cannon in later generations in history books, but as far as he knew, this kind of cannon seemed to have been introduced during the Wanli period, and the Ming Dynasty generally called it the mother-child cannon.

The key is that it is not easy to explode. This is undoubtedly great news for the Ming Dynasty, which has poor iron quality. Therefore, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, this kind of mother-child cannon was widely used.

, together with the Red Cannons, became the most commonly used artillery in the Ming army.

Zhou Chong waited for a while, and Priest Nader finally adjusted the cannon with the craftsmen. Then he walked to Zhou Chong and bowed and said, "Dear young master, the cannon has been debugged and can be fired at any time. Now I

Let’s explain the structure of this cannon to you!”

Zhou Chong nodded when he heard this. Although he was very familiar with the structure of the Flor cannon, Ma Liang, Wu Shi and others around him were still not clear. Zhou Chong had already planned to use this Flor cannon as

The gift was given to Emperor Zhengde. Now let Ma Liang and Wu Shi learn about this kind of artillery, so that they can also prove themselves in the future.

Next, Priest Nader pointed to the Flor cannon and explained the structure of the cannon. It was basically the same as Zhou Chong knew. The entire cannon was cast separately and finally formed a complete cannon. However, Ma Liang and others

He was very interested in the strange artillery in front of him, and even asked Priest Nader a few questions. Finally, he couldn't wait to urge Priest Nader to test the shooting as soon as possible.

Zhou Chong also wanted to see how powerful this cannon that had just been successfully tested. After seeing him, Priest Nader nodded, he immediately picked up the sub-cannon next to the cannon, then put it into the belly of the cannon, and then put it in the abdomen of the cannon, and then put it in the

An extremely long gunpowder lead was placed in the fire door, which made Zhou Chong and others retreat.

Because even the Priest Nader was not sure about this test, and it was likely that it would cause a blowout. For safety reasons, Zhou Chong and others all retreated dozens of steps away. There was a temporary earthen wall built here, which was very thick.

Even if the cannon explodes, it will not hurt the person behind the earthen wall.

After Zhou Chong and the others hid behind the earth wall, Priest Nader, who was alone next to the cannon, immediately lit the lead, then threw down the torch and ran over. Just as he hid behind the earth wall, he couldn't hear it far.

The cannon at the place made a "boom" sound. When Zhou Chong stretched out his head from behind the earth wall, he found that the entire cannon was surrounded by gunfire and there was no sign of the cannon at all.

"How is it? Did it succeed?" This was the first time Zhou Chong watched the cannon shooting at close range. Naturally, he didn't know whether the cannon was successful, so he immediately asked Priest Nader beside him.

I saw Priest Nader stretching his head to look at the direction of the cannon shooting, then turned his head to look at the cannon surrounded by gun smoke, and said strangely: "Young Master Zhou, you should have heard the sound of the cannon shooting, but

But I didn't see the shells landing at the expected landing point, which was a bit strange!"

Priest Nader said as he stood up and was the first to walk towards the cannon. Zhou Chong and the others wanted to see what was going on. They all followed up. At this time, the smoke of gunfire was almost dissipated. When Zhou Chong and the others walked to the cannon.

I just discovered that the entire gun surface looked intact and there was no blow-off problem they were worried about in advance, which made everyone feel relieved. Regardless of whether the gun test was successful or not, at least the cannon itself was still very strong.

However, compared to Zhou Chong's optimism, Priest Nader frowned. He walked to the cannon and took out the cannon inside and looked carefully. Then he observed the muzzle of the barrel, and even

After the barrel cooled down, he reached out and touched the two ends of the barrel several times.

Seeing the performance of Priest Nader, Zhou Chong asked worriedly: "Master Nader, the artillery is also good, and the shells have been fired. It seems that the test firing of the artillery is still very successful, right?"

Hearing Zhou Chong's words, Priest Nader said with a laugh and cry: "Mr. Zhou, artillery is a weapon. We need to shoot shells where we need them, not just shoot them out."

Zhou Chong actually understood what Priest Nader said, but he didn't have much hope for the first test shot. In his opinion, as long as the shells can be shot safely this time, then this test

The shooting was successful. As for any other problems, we can find a way to solve them later. However, it seems that Priest Nader's expectations for this first test shooting are much higher than his.

At that moment, Priest Nader and several other craftsmen conducted a serious inspection of the artillery. At this time, the person who ran out to look for the shells finally came back. At the same time, he also carried the shots back. The test-fired shell was only fired.

After going out for more than two hundred steps, it was much smaller than the range of one to three miles that Priest Nader estimated. No wonder he did not see the shells falling to the estimated landing point.

Priest Nader also finished inspecting the artillery. He walked to Zhou Chong with some frustration and said, "Report to Mr. Zhou, this test shot failed. Although the shells were successfully thanked, the range was extremely high.

Short and not very powerful. As a result, our inspection found that there was a problem with the connection between the sub-cannon and the barrel, and there were problems such as air leakage. As a result, the speed of the cannon ejected did not meet expectations, so the range was naturally much shorter.

.”

Hearing the explanation of Priest Nader and seeing the other party and several craftsmen looking dejected, Zhou Chong smiled and comforted: "Master Nader, you don't have to be too discouraged, although this test shot is for you.

It failed, but it had met my expected in advance. After all, this was just the first test of the first artillery we tried to produce. As long as the shells can be shot out, I will be very satisfied. As for the problems that arise, you

I already know the reason, so the next thing is how to solve this problem. I believe you can solve this problem as quickly as possible!”

While saying the above, Zhou Chong walked up and patted the shoulders of Priest Nader and several craftsmen. This was a manifestation of trust in people. After hearing Zhou Chong's words of comfort, Priest Nader and others looked good.
Chapter completed!