This time, Wu Zheng is not a grenade, the grenade has been ordered to be mass-produced, Wu Zheng came here to be an improved "tiger squat cannon".

The iron cannon in front of Wu Zheng is somewhat similar to Qi Jiguang's "Tiger Squat Cannon", and the fixing method is incomparably different from the "Tiger Squat Cannon".

The angle of upward firing is adjusted by the expansion and contraction of the barrel, and the appearance is the prototype of a mortar.

But resemblance is not the same as resemblance.

Qi Daokun introduced on the side: "This gun is two feet nine inches long, the net weight of the barrel is thirty-nine catties, the gun carriage weighs eight catties, and weighs forty-seven catties. ”

Wu Zheng nodded and said, "Have you ever test-shot?" ”

"There have already been dozens of test launches." Qi Daokun said, "The firing range can reach up to one and a half miles, but the effective firing range is about eight hundred meters, beyond this distance, the whereabouts of the shells are uncontrollable." In addition, after eight to ten consecutive shots, at least a quarter of an hour of cooling is required, while the chamber is cleaned. ”

Wu Zheng nodded again, this is normal, black powder is basically this common problem.

"There are two kinds of shells for this cannonball, one is the small lead bullet carried by Qi Shaobao, which can be equipped with 150 lead bullets weighing five coins (seven and a half catties) at a time, and its range is slightly shorter, about 500 meters of effective range. The second is to load the single round iron bullet mentioned by the prince, and the range can reach 8 or 900 meters. ”

Wu Zheng said: "Let's arrange a test shot." ”

"Yes."

After the loud "boom" sounded, the target 400 meters away was like a sieve, and the one-inch-thick solid wood board was full of transparent holes.

Wu Zheng was very satisfied.

The second shot was an imitation of a European iron projectile, and the shell was loaded with a time-delay fuse, but after the shell was fired, the detonation time was difficult to control, and it was not as precise as touching the fuse.

This time, the sound of the cannon was relatively brittle, and it sounded "bang".

The shell was fired, and after about two seconds, there was a loud "boom", and the smoke in the distance was filled, mixed with the flashing of red fire.

When the smoke dissipated, Wu Zheng stepped forward to check and found that the original one-foot-thick soil rammed earth wall had collapsed a gap of about one meter, and there were also many pieces of broken iron, deeply embedded in the wall.

Wu Zheng nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good, it can be finalized and mass-produced." However, the barrel and gun carriage also need to be lighter, even if it is half a pound lighter, it is good to be easy to carry. ”

Chen Shoujie said on the side: "Please rest assured, the steam engine painted by the prince before, two have been manufactured, as the prince said, this machine is used for hammering, which is beyond the reach of manpower." When a larger machine is copied, it can be used for forging steel. ”

Wu Zheng was overjoyed and said, "Take this king to have a look." ”

In another workshop, Wu Zheng saw the steam engine he was sketching for, but it was still not powerful enough, most of them were tall, and they only used dozens of catties of hammers.

"Everything else is fine." Chen Shoujie explained, "The key is that the tank for storing steam is not sealed enough, and once it leaks, it is very dangerous, and several people are burned by steam. ”

Wu Zheng nodded silently, this really can't help himself, there is no rubber, the process is insufficient, and the sealing is indeed a difficult thing.

I don't want Chen Shoujie to say: "But the lowly and the craftsmen have found a solution. ”

Wu Zheng was taken aback and asked, "What method?" ”

"The joint is tamped with fine linen, the steam is moistened, and the fine linen rises when it meets water, so that it can be sealed. The humble has been tried several times, and there have been no air leaks...... Please go to the inspection with the humble duty. ”

Wu Zheng excitedly followed Chen Shoujie to another workshop.

A rectangular iron box, which was taller than Wu Zheng, about two meters wide and more than three meters long, appeared in front of Wu Zheng.

Wu Zheng stepped forward to take a closer look, this is an iron box polished by the craftsman, which is made of two iron boxes inside and outside, the box is surrounded by upper, middle and lower layers of iron hoop bars, and the connection between the box and the box, as Chen Shoujie said, tamped white fine linen.

Chen Shoujie introduced on the side: "The size of the inner box and the outer box is very different, after the outer box is heated, put into the inner box, and then wait for the outer box to cool down, then tightly clamp the inner box, which is tamped with fine linen, so that it can be sealed." ”

Wu Zheng really didn't expect that the craftsmen at this time had already mastered the self-tightening process.

It's incredible.

Wu Zheng was indeed a little excited, and the solution of the sealing problem indicated that the power of the steam engine could be increased to another height.

The resulting change is unimaginable.

Later, Wu Zhengcai knew from Chen Shoujie's mouth that fine white hemp was used as a seal, and more than ten years ago, Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu" had been clearly recorded in the boat and car chapter, "Where the boat board is closed with white linen and waddling as tendons, blunt chisel and enter, and then sieve fine lime, and tung oil and pestle into a group of boats."

Chen Shoujie also mentioned that after the Ming Dynasty died and the Qing army went south, Song Yingxing, who was the prefect of Guangzhou at the time, had returned to his hometown in Fengxin, Jiangxi Province three years ago.

Wu Zheng had to admire the wisdom of the Ming people, and because of this, Wu Zheng had one more goal for sending troops to Jiangxi in the beginning of the year, that is, to bring Song Yingxing over.

Wu Zheng realized that perhaps it was really possible for him to advance the industrial revolution by several decades.

And this industrial revolution will first appear in the land of China.

Wu Zheng immediately introduced the structure of the high-pressure valve and some knowledge related to the steam engine to Chen Shoujie and a craftsman, and at the same time, Wu Zheng ordered the research and development of the steam engine to be independent into another single workshop.

……。

Back in Hangzhou, Wu Zheng immediately promulgated the "Military Reform Order".

The formal separation of military and government was determined, and the title of the Northern Expeditionary Army, the composition of all levels, the trigger method of recruitment and conscription, the obligations and rights of soldiers, and the treatment and benefits were clarified in the form of law, and the military flag of the Northern Expeditionary Army was determined.

Previously, the Northern Expeditionary Army had always used the emperor's dragon flag, and the difference was nothing more than writing a surname on the flag.

This is clearly no longer appropriate.

The merchant ships of Western European merchants such as Spain, Portugal, and England have already hoisted their national flags.

But at the end of the day, the Ming Dynasty still did not have a national flag.

The merchants of the Ming Dynasty who traded with foreign countries could only make up a national flag by themselves to distinguish their belonging at sea.

Merchants used a blue or yellow flag to draw a bright red sun as the national flag of the Ming Dynasty, and this folk practice actually formed a consensus among maritime merchants.

In other words, not only the merchants of the Ming Dynasty knew it, but even foreign businessmen recognized it.

Therefore, for Wu Zheng, the core of determining a military flag is to form a cohesive force for the soldiers and the people of Jiangnan.

In this way, the appeal of the General's Palace is maintained.