Yang Cong didn't expect that he could be promoted to three levels in less than half a year and to the right assistant censor of the Censorate of the Censorate. It seems that going to the battlefield is indeed a shortcut to advancement in official positions.

At this time, he didn't have much time to consider the issue of official positions. The governor and the governor were actually similar in power. They were both big bosses, but the governor sounded more important.

What he has to consider now is the issue of the Tartars.

During this period, he ordered the Xuanhua Factory to speed up the production of a batch of giant thunders and caltrops. Even if the Tartars counterattacked, he was not worried. With these things, it would be no problem to defend Xuanfu Town. Moreover, as long as these things are promoted, there would be no problem for other border towns in the Ming Dynasty to resist the invasion of the Tartars.

Next, we have to consider how to eliminate the Tartars, or how to drive the Tartars out of the Great Wall.

If you take the initiative, you will definitely not be able to carry the catapult, because the catapult is extremely bulky and even if you pull it with a horse, it will not be able to speed. If you take the catapult to encircle and suppress the Tatar cavalry, you will never have to think about it and you will not be able to catch up with it.

The Fire Dragon Chariot is OK. As long as you pull it with a horse, the speed is barely enough. Although you can't chase the Tatar cavalry and complete the roundabout tactics such as the roundabout siege, it is still barely enough.

However, the Fire Dragon Chariot is just a defensive weapon. After the catapult is gone, the long-range attack will be greatly reduced. It is hard to say whether it can defeat the Tartar cavalry. Therefore, it is necessary to make muskets and artillery that are easier to carry than the catapult.

The Ming Dynasty originally had this musket and artillery. Wang Xuan also recorded the manufacturing process in detail in the "Five Elements" and "Instrument Chapter". It seems that it is not very difficult to build. However, Yang Cong did not want to build the existing types of muskets and artillery, because the existing muskets and artillery were too backward and were not good at dealing with cavalry, either in terms of range or rate of fire.

The range of existing artillery is only about two miles at most, while the range of existing muskets is only two hundred steps. It doesn’t take much time for cavalry to cross such a short distance, and the loading of existing muskets and artillery is quite troublesome. If there is no preparation in advance, I’m afraid the Tartar cavalry will rush in front of you and the ammunition has not been loaded yet.

This may be the reason why the Ming army did not vigorously develop gunpowder weapons. Because of the loading speed or firing rate, the existing muskets and artillery have no advantage in front of the Tartar cavalry. If someone conducts a raid, these muskets and artillery will not even have time to load, which is equivalent to a pile of scrap iron.

This statement is not an exaggeration at all. These days, muskets and cannons are all front-loaded, that is, pour the gunpowder into it first, compact it, and then stuff the bullets or shells into it. This process takes a lot of time, especially when loading, the bullets and shells are forced into it by the barrel and barrel, which is very troublesome.

So, how much time does such a loading process take?

Yang Cong has specially tested that even the largest number of musketeers and artillery soldiers in the Shenji Battalion, it takes one stick of incense to load muskets and bullets at the fastest, and a cup of tea to load artillery and ammunition at the fastest, and it does not take such a long time for the Tartar cavalry to cross muskets or artillery ranges.

In other words, if the ammunition of muskets and artillery has not been loaded, the Tartar cavalry has already crossed the range of muskets and artillery, and the muskets and artillery are equivalent to being destroyed.

Moreover, muskets and artillery have not yet been able to load ammunition in advance, because the gunpowder is not wrapped in containers. If it is loaded in advance and then run for a while, the compacted gunpowder will soon loosen and the explosion will be much less powerful. After ignition, the bullets and shells cannot be fired, let alone killing the enemy.

Therefore, old-fashioned muskets and artillery are too backward. Taking such weapons and equipment to chase and suppress the Tartar cavalry is no different from seeking death. As long as someone raids or turns around and raids, they will definitely be beaten and cannot find the North.

So, how to speed up the reloading of ammunition?

If people of this era think about this issue, they may have to rack their brains to think about it for a few years. However, it will take only a few minutes for Yang Cong to think about it, because he knows what guns and cannons in later generations look like.

To speed up the loading speed, it is very simple, that is, to change the musket and cannon into a rear-loading type. Moreover, it is best to create simple encapsulated bullets and shells according to existing conditions. In this way, the loading speed is terrifying. Just push the encapsulated bullets and shells inward and fire will be opened immediately.

There is definitely no problem with this idea, but it seems a bit difficult to realize it in this era, because this era does not have the processing level of later generations, and there is no concept of rear-mounted muskets and cannons in our minds.

So, how to build a rear-mounted musket and artillery?

Yang Cong thought for a long time, then carefully read the "Five Elements" and "Instrument" compiled by Wang Xuan, and gradually got some ideas in his mind.

On this day, he summoned Wang Xuan, Tang Shunzhi, Zhao Shichun and other relevant officials and some craftsmen leaders to a temporary conference room in Xuanhua Factory, and was about to start arrangements.

This conference room is also a new thing at this moment, because now the officials organize their subordinates to discuss matters either in the court or in the study. Everyone stands respectfully below, while the chief official sits alone on the verge of orders.

This is to reflect the authority of the chief official. However, it is obviously not possible to discuss how to make muskets and cannons, because everyone has to look at the relevant drawings before discussing. It is obvious that it is not possible to stand there and think about it, or to look at the outline from a distance.

Therefore, Yang Cong ordered people to set up such a conference room, which was a large round table for dinner, and then the officials sat around the round table like they were attending a banquet.

At the beginning, when Wang Xuan, Tang Shunzhi and others walked into the conference room, they really thought Yang Cong was going to invite them to dinner. Yang Cong didn't make any explanation. When one came in, he politely invited someone to sit down, as if he wanted to invite everyone to dinner.

However, all the staff arrived and no one was seen serving the food. Instead, Shen Lian served everyone a huge scroll.

In the curious eyes of everyone, Yang Cong slowly unfolded the scroll and spread it in the middle of the round table.

This is a drawing of a new type of musket. It not only contains the overall structure of the musket, but also the split drawings of various parts. It is densely packed and makes people dizzy.

As soon as the drawing was unfolded, everyone showed shocked expressions on their faces.

Everyone knows that this is a musket, because there is a complete musket in the middle of the drawing. However, no one expected that the drawing could be drawn like this, and all parts drawings could be attached around the musket. This method of drawing has never appeared before.
Chapter completed!