Because both the detonator and the fuse are important dangerous munitions, they are carefully cared for, and the fuse is placed in the universal ammunition box of the field gun together with the shells.

It is a relatively sturdy, heavy wooden box, and on the inside of the lid of the ammunition box, there is also a firing table for the gun it is equipped with.

Artillery of different calibers uses this kind of box of uniform specifications, but its internal division is different.

Although the shells and fuses are placed in the same box, they are separated from each other so that they cannot be touched by each other, which is also to facilitate the assembly of fire.

As for the detonator, it is another way to preserve it.

Last year, the country finally developed "tinplate", and after lighting up the technology of tinplate, many things were much easier.

In addition to the full-scale manufacture of tinplate cans that can be transported over long distances, one of its biggest uses is to preserve detonators.

The tinplate box where the detonators are stored, contains a large amount of wood chips that fall from sawing wood, and 100 friction detonators.

Usually, the detonator is packed in such a box, and only when it is time to use it, the gunner will take out part of it and carry it with him.

A cannon, in addition to the above-mentioned accessories, the most important thing is the cleaning tool of the artillery.

When cleaning the chamber, two sticks are usually used, one of which is gauze dipped in water, like a mop, and its diameter is about half the diameter of the chamber, which is specially used to extinguish the remaining sparks in the chamber of the cannon that has just been fired.

At the other end of the stick, there is also a pair of spiral hooks, which are generally inserted and rotated when used, which is responsible for scraping out the residual gunpowder attached to the wall of the gun breech.

Another stick, with dry gauze at one end, has the same diameter as the barrel, and is responsible for drying the chamber that has been cleaned with gauze.

At the other end of this stick is the throughbar, which is responsible for piercing the shell or gunpowder into the bottom of the barrel and compacting it vigorously during the battle.

It takes so much space just to introduce artillery, which shows that firing artillery is by no means an easy task.

Generally, in the era before the Industrial Revolution, there was such a responsible process to open a gun.

In the first step, the gun commander reports the type and range of the shell;

Gunners 6 and 7 will look at the firing table on the ammunition box according to this range, call out the required gun elevation angle and shell flight time, and then cut the time fuse according to the flight time.

In the second step, the gun commander gives the order to "load";

Gunner No. 1 stood in front of the muzzle with a through-strip in hand;

Gunners No. 6 and No. 7 handed the fuse-fitted shells to gunner No. 5;

Gunner No. 5 then handed the shell to gunner No. 2;

Gunner No. 2 stuffed the shell into the muzzle;

Gunner No. 1 used a through strip to stab the shell to the bottom of the chamber and compacted;

Then the commander of the gun, with the assistance of gunner No. 3, adjusted the elevation angle and direction of the gun.

In the third step, after the loading and aiming work are completed, the gun commander orders "finish";

Gunner No. 3 inserted a thin thorn through the fire door into the chamber of the gun, making a hole in the bag containing the propellant;

Gunner No. 4 tied a rope to the firing cable of the detonator, inserted the detonator into the fire door, and connected it to the hole in the propellant.

In the fourth step, the artillery commander gives the order to "shoot";

No. 4 pulls the detonator, and the spark ignited by the detonator passes through the hole in the bag containing the propellant, igniting all the propellant and pushing the shell out of the chamber.

In the fifth step, the gun is driven out of the gun position by the recoil, and everyone pushes the gun back to its original position together;

Gunner No. 1 cleaned the chamber with a stick dipped in water and prepared for the next round of firing.

During cleaning and loading, the No. 3 gunner had to block the fire door with his holstered thumb at all times to prevent air from entering the chamber and igniting any remaining gunpowder residue.

The above are just the basic operating steps of the artillerymen of the Huaxia Army, in fact, some work can also be carried out at the same time.

For example, when the artillery is being reset, the No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 gunners are preparing for the next shell.

If this step of clearing the chamber is skipped, then a fully manned and well-trained artillery group can reach a rate of fire of 3 rounds / min.

Theoretically, at the very least, even only two people are needed to operate an artillery, and the Huaxia Army also stipulates in detail in the artillery manual how the artillerymen should share the work of other gunners when they are not full.

When there are only two people, the Gunner is additionally responsible for Gunner No. 3 and Gunner No. 4, and Gunner No. 1 is additionally responsible for Gunner No. 2 and Gunner No. 5.

However, if this is really done, the work that the No. 1 gunner has to do is really a little too much, and it is basically not feasible on the battlefield.

And if there are 3 people, let the gun commander be responsible for aiming and shooting, the No. 1 gunner is in charge of the muzzle, and the No. 2 gunner is in charge of the ammunition, so that it can barely be regarded as being able to operate a gun, but how to reset the gun for three people is also a big problem.

Therefore, when taken together, 4 people should be the minimum number of people who can effectively operate a gun.

However, reality can always surpass theory, and in many cases, there is no shortage of miracles, and in history, there are many records of individual soldiers operating an artillery.

At this moment, the Lushun defensive line, the frontal battlefield where the Huaxia army is located, is still a quiet and solemn scene, and the Huaxia army hidden in the trenches, earthen walls, and fortresses has no intention of counterattacking at all.

Only the batteries on the distant hills, because they did not need to link with the frontal defense line for the time being, fired shells at the rear Jin army.

However, in order not to arouse the suspicion of the Houjin army and let the enemy turn the attack target, the artillerymen on the top of the hill did not go too far.

Not only did they use solid shells, but after firing a few of them, they would stop and wait for the Houjin Army's Warlords to reorganize the teams scattered by the artillery, and then bombard them again and again.

Just after the artillery on the top of the hill stopped again, the war drums of the Houjin side were also beaten, and the rumbling drums shook the heavens and the earth.

Behind the red-coated artillery positions in front of the Houjin Army, hundreds of shield carts began to advance slowly.

Today is the first time that the Houjin army has carried out a tentative attack, and in view of the previous achievements and the difficulty of the Huaxia army, the Houjin army also expected the difficulty of the attack, so this time, there are the same number of people from each banner of the Houjin.

The Jurchen Eight Banners, each banner produced more than 100 archers, about 1,000 people, and more than 1,000 Mongolian soldiers from the outer domains, hundreds of musketeers from each of the Wuzhen Chaoha and Tianyou Army, and 300 people on horseback Bayala, totaling more than 3,000 soldiers, plus more than 1,000 coats to push the shield cart.