Xishan Wanggongchang, firearms testing base.
This is an extremely open area. Cold wind blows and some gravel occasionally falls from the mountain wall.
"Your Majesty, I, Shi Pu, kowtow to you!"
"Your Highness, I, Li Shulin, kowtow to you!"
The Minister of Works Shi Pu gave instructions on all the affairs of the Ministry of Works early in the morning and went to Wang Gongchang to supervise the manufacture of firearms.
Li Shulin followed closely behind. Since the development of new firearms, his talents have been greatly utilized. Moreover, the emperor gave him money and people when he asked for them, and the progress was very smooth.
"My dear ministers, please stand up!"
Zhu Qizhen was fine, as these firearms were all developed according to his own manuscripts. However, Zhang Fu, Chen Ying and others behind him seemed to discovered a new continent. They picked up the flintlock rifles beside them and started playing with them, marveling at them.
"Wouldn't it be easier for a gun barrel this long to explode?"
"Yes, and this wooden handle is too short. It's not safe..."
"Where is the fuse? Why can't I find it?"
Seeing everyone's curious faces, Zhu Qizhen said, "Lord Li, please tell us about it!"
"yes!"
Li Shulin stepped forward and introduced the characteristics and uses of the flintlock rifle to everyone.
"The flintlock uses the flint on the hammer to produce sparks to ignite the gunpowder chamber. I have improved the granular gunpowder and glued the gunpowder and the projectile together. When loading, you only need to load the ammunition from the front chamber. Be sure to make sure the projectile faces outwards and never load it upside down. Then use a cleaning rod to push it to the firing chamber and it can be fired."
Everyone formed a circle and watched Li Shulin's operations closely.
"Your Majesty, the reloading is complete. Please test fire!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "That's right!"
Li Shulin held the loaded rifle in his arms, aimed it at a wooden target in front of him, and after taking aim, he decisively pulled the trigger.
boom!
There was a clear explosion, and the target shook, and it seemed that it had been hit.
Li Shulin waved his hand, and immediately an officer ran over and carried the target back.
Everyone couldn't wait to go forward to take a look.
The shot hit the bull's eye, leaving !
Everyone applauded. This thing seemed to be more than one level higher than the musket in terms of range, accuracy and power. Moreover, the loading process was also simplified a lot.
"Another advantage of granular gunpowder is that it contains very few impurities. In a short period of time, there is almost no need to clean the barrel before reloading."
As he spoke, Li Shulin loaded another bullet into the gun and aimed at another wooden target.
boom!
Another officer ran over and carried back the second target.
Everyone came forward to take a look. This time it didn't hit the bull's eye, but it was still pretty good.
Zhang Fu exclaimed: "It is simply a work of art beyond compare, beyond compare!"
Chen Mao stepped forward and asked, "Minister Li, what is this...what is this fire gun called?"
"Flintlock!"
"Oh, yes, the flintlock!"
Chen Mao continued to ask: "What is the maximum range of this flintlock rifle?"
"The maximum range is about a hundred steps, and the effective range is about fifty steps!"
"A hundred steps?"
Chen Mao's eyes widened. The maximum range of a traditional musket was fifty steps at most. However, it would lose all accuracy beyond twenty steps. This thing directly increased the range by two times!
Zhu Qizhen looked at these people making a fuss and thought to himself, this is just the beginning. When the time is right, I will get an AK and a rifle, and let you see the power of technology!
The one who laughed the happiest was Chen Ying, because he knew that this thing would definitely be equipped to the Shenji Camp first.
It is conceivable that in future wars, the Shenji Camp will gradually become the main force!
Everyone took a flintlock rifle and played with it. All those present were military generals, and they simply couldn't let go of this powerful weapon on the battlefield.
Zhang Fu couldn't wait any longer. Under the guidance of Li Shulin, he loaded the gun, aimed, and fired.
boom!
Missed...
Zhang Fu was not convinced and was about to load another round, but he saw several officers carrying and pushing two flatbed carts with what appeared to be cannon barrels on them .
This time, his attention was immediately attracted. He thrust the flintlock in his hand toward Li Shulin and walked forward to observe.
"Why is this cannon...half-broken?"
Others had the same doubts and said they didn't understand.
Li Shulin ordered the officers to put away the flintlock rifles and ammunition, and then stepped forward to introduce: " This type of artillery was made by the Portuguese in the West, so it is called the Portuguese cannon. The split structure is easy to carry. In addition, one main gun is equipped with three sub-guns, which can effectively increase the firing rate."
As he spoke, he asked people to unload the gun body from the vehicle and personally directed the assembly.
Zhang Fu stared closely at Li Shulin's every move, almost sticking close to him.
"How powerful is the gun, since it is so small?"
"Prince Jing'an, wait a moment. I will test fire now... Please, make way!"
"oh oh!"
Zhang Fu then reluctantly stepped back half a step, squatted down, and watched Li Shulin load the ammunition into the sub-cannon, and then load the sub-cannon into the belly of the gun.
"Your Majesty, please test-fire!"
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said, "That's right!"
Li Shulin was not in a hurry to light the cannon, but turned to the people standing next to the cannon and said helplessly: "My Lords, can you step back a little?"
Zhang Fu and others had to take a few steps back, and then take half a step forward.
Li Shulin had no choice but to look at Zhu Qizhen.
Zhu Qizhen understood and said, "Everyone, follow me!"
Seeing that the emperor had spoken, everyone had no choice but to follow him and retreated seven or eight feet.
Zhu Qizhen asked loudly: "Lord Li, is it ok?"
"Your Majesty, it's OK!"
After saying this, Li Shulin lit the fire, then squatted on the ground with his back turned and covered his ears.
boom!
Bang!
The first sound was the ignition of gunpowder in the barrel, and the second sound was the loud noise when the shrapnel exploded.
The shot hit the distant mountain wall, and broken rocks fell all over the ground.
From a distance, it looked like half the mountain had collapsed.
Everyone watched from afar, their mouths wide open, unable to speak.
I thought this type of falconet cannon was small and light, but I didn't expect that its power was as much as that of the General Cannon.
Zhang Fu reacted and jogged forward. Everyone followed him and watched Li Shulin instruct the gunners to remove the sub-gun and replace it with a new one loaded with ammunition.
"Prince Jing'an, my Lords..."
"Okay, okay, got it!"
Zhang Fu led everyone back to a safe distance, and then Li Shulin lit the fire again.
boom!
Bang!
There were two more loud noises, and rocks flew everywhere. In the distance, a rough voice shouted, "Li Shulin, you didn't say a word during the test firing today. I arranged for someone to come and get the rocks in advance... Hey, Your Majesty?"
Pingxiang Bo Chen Huai stepped forward quickly and bowed in greeting.
"Please calm down, my dear family. I came here today to take a look at the new firearms, but I didn't inform you."
Chen Huai grinned and said, "When I heard about the blasting here, I quickly arranged for people to fetch stones. Now the demand for cement around the capital is increasing day by day, and the workshops are expanding again and again. The output can't keep up. I wait for the blasting at Wanggong Factory every day."
Zhang Fu and others could no longer hold back and stepped forward again to observe the Portuguese cannon.
Seeing this, Chen Huai stepped forward and said, "Prince Jing'an, you haven't seen him before, right?"
Zhang Fu nodded continuously and said excitedly: "My eyes have been opened. Today, my eyes have really been opened!"
Chen Huai whispered in his ear: "I'll tell you a secret. This cannon was made according to the emperor's sketch!"
"Yeah?"
"Of course. Have you seen a flintlock rifle? That was also a sketch given by the emperor."
Zhang Fu was very surprised and looked at the emperor in surprise. With a king like you, the Ming Dynasty will have no worries for a hundred years!