The city of Guilin, with its green mountains and green waters, is very beautiful under the crisp clear sky in autumn. шщш.(vii) (ix) x.S.сом The update is so fast.

Jianhu Lake (Rongshan Lake) water 'waves' are ethereal, and the pagoda floating temple, pavilions and pavilions are dotted in the meantime. The flags were flying on the campus in the south of the city, the white smoke was bursting, and the 'drill' of the Han Wangjun at least looked spectacular.

Some simple wooden houses were newly built near the school grounds to accommodate the Shengyong Peace Department that had arrived one after another. The camp has not yet been built, and there are many tents nearby, and the gray and white tents are neatly arranged, reflecting the white clouds in the sky, which is quite meteorological.

A shout was heard not far away. When Zhu Gaoxu on horseback turned his head to look, he saw two rows of sergeants squatting or standing, and they 'shot' at the same time, and between the sound of "bang, bang, ......", white smoke was suddenly blown into the air by the wind, and it became a big ball.

Zhu Gaoxu only looked at their posture and knew that the firecrackers over there were all "mountain-opening guns......

For several months, guns made in the rear arrived in batches to replenish the front; The newly made copper firearms are all open-mountain guns, which have successively replaced the copper handcuffs that were heavily equipped in the original army.

The firearms and equipment of the Han Dynasty army have gradually embarked on a different path from the official army of the imperial court.

On the basis of the bronze handcuffs at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the official army developed to the "magic spear"; The Sharpshooter is also a cast bronze firebolt, but with a slightly different construction and a cluster of arrows instead of lead bullets. However, the ammunition 'medicine' of the Han Wangjun has not changed, and the main improvement is the ignition device.

The artillery of the two sides also began to show great differences, and the artillery manufacturing of the Han Wangjun was mainly arranged by the Nansi of the "Shouyufu", and the Shouyufu was greatly influenced by Zhu Gaoxu.

At this time, the largest artillery of the official army was the Hongwu cannon. Zhu Gaoxu had pondered it earlier, and felt that that thing was really a cast steel cannon! At present, there are only two local bureaus and institutes in the Ming Dynasty that have the process of casting the latest Hongwu cannons, one in Beijing, and the other in Shanxi. Dew'.

Therefore, the government of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan could not make Hongwu cannons out of cast steel. Even if the Han army captured Wu Gaojun's heavy artillery on the battlefield, it could not be imitated.

Fortunately, there are many copper mines in Yunnan, so the Yunnan Ordnance Bureau switched to bronze cast cannons. There are two main kinds of bronze cannons that have been transported one after another, one is the Hongwu cannon of the official army imitated in bronze, which looks like a big barrel, and the largest cannon can 'shoot' more than 200 catties of stone bullets; the other is enlarged according to the size ratio of the bronze fire gun, which is still cast in bronze, the muzzle is small, the cannon body is very long, and it is firm with several iron hoops, which is called "Hanwang cannon".

After the weapons bureaus and institutes of the three provinces switched to bronze, there were no longer many technical difficulties; After all, the technique of casting a cannon is not much more difficult than casting a bell.

Zhu Gaoxu ordered to guard the southern division of the imperial palace and cast the "Han King Cannon", which contained some of his ideas...... Because the air pressure formed by the ignition and explosion of the gunpowder will apply acceleration to the shell, theoretically the longer the chamber, the longer the acceleration time; Whether it is a gun or a gun, increase the length of the bore, and the cannon will be ejected faster.

Zhu Gaoxu heard the sound of cannons on the west side of the school field, so he shouted and kicked his horse and ran in that direction. The soldiers around him also followed one after another.

When Zhu Gaoxu came to the place where the cannon was fired, he heard a cry of pain, and Lang Zhong, who was carrying a 'medicine' box not far away, was squatting on the ground to treat the injured. At present, there is no war in Guilin Mansion, and even the 'drill' exercise has killed and injured soldiers?

Several generals stepped forward to pay their respects, and Zhu Gaoxu pointed directly at the wounded soldier and said, "What's the matter?" ”

A military general hugged his fists and said: "Back to the prince, the 'Han King Cannon' has exploded!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu frowned and said: "Nan Si's official document said that all the cannons have been tried, how can they blow up?" ”

Civil official Hou Haidao: "There is a bureau number on the cannon, and you can find out where the cannon was cast when you check it. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Let's ask about the situation first." ”

The heavy military general next to him complained: "Lord Wang, this kind of cannon is not good!" Most of the cannons we used in the past had large barrels in the front and small in the back, and no matter the size of the stone bullets and iron bullets, they could be stuffed into about the same size; If the weight of the cannon is hundreds of catties, it will be able to shoot more than 200 catties of shells!

But this 'Hanwang cannon' is not only very heavy, but also thin and long, and can only hit less than ten catties of iron bullets or loose pieces. If it is an iron bullet, the size of the shell must match the size; And the size of each 'door' cannon is different, and the workshop can only cast shells of the right size for each 'door' cannon. It's a very laborious cannon, but it's very powerful......"

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at the heavy generals and said, "You still haven't figured out how to use the Hanwang cannon!" This cannon does not look up | 'Shoot' is according to the usage of firearms. Is it true that the military uses copper firearms to shoot at the sky, waiting for the lead to fall to the ground and smash people? ”

He then added: "It turns out that all the artillery in the army is thrown|' Shoot'. If it is not a siege, the battle array is a thousand catties of shells, as long as it misses, it will also smash a pit on the ground, and the shells are too heavy and useless!

And the Hanwang cannon is different, a little closer to the flat|' Shoot', like a firebolt, and bounce farther away, like a splash. This cannon hits higher in battle formations! However, the muzzles you mentioned are of different sizes, and we really need to think of ways to improve them. ”

The military general listened, so he had to stop complaining.

Zhu Gaoxu also knew in his heart that there were many problems with the newly built artillery, and it would be difficult for them to mature over time. The Han Wangfu also began to start the casting of firearms in the government after the army, and the time was too short.

In the past, although Zhu Gaoxu was a prince, the Han Dynasty did not have the right to make firearms, which was a serious violation of the law; Some of the firearms used in the escort were also allocated by the imperial court.

After a while, the gunners and soldiers who had fired their guns came this way. Zhu Gaoxu began to inquire about the explosion in person.

The "Hanwang Cannon" was transferred from Yunnan and Guizhou to Guilin in three batches, with a total of dozens of 'gates'. Most of them were not blown up when the artillery was fired, after all, the government only sent them to Guangxi after trying them; Only two 'doors' blew up, and one 'door' didn't sound at first, but then rang.

Zhu Gaoxu asked a hundred households: "Why didn't the 'door' cannon go off at first, but then it rang again?" ”

Baihu said: "The fire 'medicine' is different. We put it a few times in the morning, and we used Chen 'medicine'. That Chen 'medicine' was rained in Pingle Mansion, and it still can't be used after drying; ”

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while after hearing this, the gunpowder 'medicine' is a 'mixture' of sulfur, charcoal, and nitrate...... The only possible reason is that the ingredients inside have been lost due to rain. Neither sulfur nor charcoal is soluble in water, and only saltpeter can be diluted and washed away by rainwater.

Thinking of this, he suddenly realized, turned his head to Hou Haidao, and said, "You write down the words of this king and send them to the Nansi of the Imperial Mansion." Saltpeter can be purified to remove impurities to increase the power of fire. The method is to use water, filter the debris and boil it dry. ”

Hou Hai clenched his fists and said, "The lower official obeys the order." ”

Zhu Gaoxu asked the hundred households again: "Could the cannon that explodes the bore be a problem of gunpowder?" ”

Baihu was suspicious and said: "We have weighed the 'medicine', and we all have the same amount of 'medicine'." ”

"The old 'medicine' you use?" Zhu Gaoxu asked, "What is the difference between it and the 'medicine' used in other cannons?" ”

Baihu said: "Wang Ye Mingjian, the Chen 'medicine' that is indeed used." Those 'medicines' were 'damp' and stuck together and compacted. After we arrived at Guilin Mansion, it was a sunny day, and we were afraid that we would be fried in the sun; Then the 'medicine' was 'got' out and crushed, sifted through a sieve, and the 'yin' was dried and then used. ”

Zhu Gaoxu patted the 'door' of his brain, and immediately realized: "Particle fire 'medicine'!" I almost forgot about it, the pellet of fire 'powder' burns faster, the same amount of fire, the explosion is faster, no wonder the chamber explodes! ”

When the surrounding generals heard this, they were at a loss, but no one questioned it. Zhu Gaoxu still rarely opens his mouth to talk nonsense.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "But we can't immediately improve the fire|' Medicine', all kinds of large and small firearms in the army, with 'medicine' are quantitative. If the gunpowder is changed, it will not take a few days to readjust the dosage of all firearms, but it will have to be re-tested and gradually changed. ”

The crowd chimed in.

At this time, Hou Hai hurriedly said: "The lower official is guilty, please ask the prince to surrender!" ”

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Hou Hai, ignored it, and said, "Let's go to other places to inspect." ”

The military general of the baggage team asked: "How to prepare the shells of the 'Han King Cannon'?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I ordered the bureau of Guilin Mansion to measure the size of each 'door' copper cannon, and compare it with the custom-made cast cannonballs. ”

"The last will be ordered!"

Artillery of different sizes has no good way now, so I have to use this stupid method to make shells! As soon as the fixed-cast shells are finished, it will be difficult to replenish, and then those cannons will only be scattered.

For a while, Zhu Gaoxu didn't know why the guns were of different sizes, whether it was the limitations of casting technology or the deviations in size......

In the evening, Zhu Gaoxu entered the city. Not long after he returned, Hou Hai suddenly came to the middle hall in a hurry, his face was a little ugly, and he immediately stepped forward to send the letter in his hand and said, "Please take a look at the prince." ”

Zhu Gaoxu opened the letter and saw that his expression was the same as Hou Hai's, and he immediately changed.

Kuizhou was captured by enemy forces!

This city is the 'gate' household in the east of Sichuan, which is not only an important city on the land route to the east of the Sichuan political envoy, but also the stronghold of the most dangerous place to control the water situation of the great river. As soon as Kuizhou was lost, the frontier 'door' in eastern Sichuan was opened.

"Weida, this Weida ......" Zhu Gaoxu didn't know what to say for a while.

Two or three months ago, Sichuan's troops were successively 'drawn' and transferred to Guizhou to form the Northern Route Army. The strength of the eastern Sichuan battalion is indeed very empty, and Veda can't hold Kuizhou, although he can't be blamed for dereliction of duty, but his performance can't be considered good.

The first thing that came to Zhu Gaoxu's mind was that if Qu Neng was still in charge of the eastern Sichuan camp, Kuizhou would definitely not be captured so quickly!

Not long after, several generals such as Sheng Yong, Ping'an, Zhao Ping, and Wang Bin arrived in the middle hall. In the past few days, everyone has been having dinner together, so as to 'exchange' some military affairs by the way.

Zhu Gaoxu took the urgent report sent by the Han Mansion in Guizhou and circulated it to everyone.

After reading it, Zhao Ping suggested: "The prince doesn't have to worry too much, Qu Dudu's men and horses are in Guizhou, and they can go north by the main road of Chongqing and sowing, and they can go to Chongqing Mansion to reinforce eastern Sichuan." ”

Sheng Yong said: "According to the previous strategy, we have to gather troops in Huguang as soon as possible in order to fight a decisive battle." If troops were transferred from the Northern Route Army, the strength of the Huguang battlefield would be weakened. ”

Ping An immediately seconded.

Zhao Ping glanced at the two of them and didn't say anything to refute for a while.

And Zhu Gaoxu was still staring at the map on the table, and he didn't say a word for a long time.