A spark ignited at the tail of the arquebus, and quickly extended into the barrel of the Tiger Cannon.

"Boom ......"

When the spark burned to the end, a deafening explosion suddenly sounded.

Orange-red flames erupted from the muzzle of the gun.

Not only that, but the black smoke from the burning of black powder also came out of the muzzle, and quickly enveloped the Tiger Zun cannon.

Of course, the black smoke was accompanied by the pungent smell of gunpowder from the combustion.

When everyone reacted from the shock of the shelling and followed Wei Zheng's gaze to the scarecrow standing on the ground dozens of meters away, the front row of scarecrows had all been pushed in.

After nodding very satisfied with the effect of the shelling he had visually observed, Wei Zheng ordered loudly: "Let's go, come with me to see the specific results of this artillery." Let's see how powerful the Tiger Zun Cannon is and whether it can satisfy everyone. ”

In the midst of the dense scarecrows, more than a dozen scarecrows scattered on the outermost periphery were all knocked to the ground. Not only that, but each scarecrow had several buckshot scattered on it......

It is conceivable that if all these scarecrows were replaced with Tartar soldiers and they were clothed in ordinary leather armor, the dense lead bullets fired by the Tiger Zun cannon would definitely be able to lightly shoot into the body of the Tartar and deal a devastating blow to the Tartar.

Shi Chang, who was following behind Wei Zheng, said with a face full of consternation: "General, the power of the Tiger Venerable Cannon is simply too great. One shot is more powerful than a round of arrows fired by dozens of our archers......"

Seeing everyone's increasingly fiery gaze at the Tiger Venerable Cannon, Wei Zheng decisively interrupted.

"Brothers, although the power of the Huzun artillery at close range is very great. However, the Tiger Zun cannon is not without its drawbacks. ”

"First of all, the weight of the Tiger Zun cannon is too clear, and the wall of the barrel is too thin. This decided that the Huzun cannon could not be filled with too much gunpowder, and the Huzun cannon exploded when the cannon was fired......"

"There is less gunpowder for firing shells, and the range of the Tiger Zun cannon is very close... As far as these Tiger Zun cannons in front of us are fired, even if they fire solid iron bullets, they can only fly out of the eighty-meter plain. Of course, if we fire the scattered projectile we have just fired, its effective range is only forty meters at most, which is completely out of the range of the Tartar archers. ”

"Therefore, in all battles with the participation of the Tiger Cannon, the gunners must be prepared to defend against the Tartar archers, and the shields that should be prepared must be prepared, and they must not be careless......"

Seeing that everyone nodded thoughtfully, Wei Zheng continued to speak.

"This is one of them, and the Tiger Zun Cannon has another disadvantage, that is, it is too slow to reload...... After the first shot is fired, it takes a long time to complete the preparation of the second shot. And in the process, the enemy dozens of meters away has already rushed in front of everyone..."

"Therefore, in many battles that the Ming army has experienced, the Huzun cannon often has to withdraw from the battlefield after firing a round of shells, and there is almost no possibility of maintaining the continuity of artillery fire..."

At this moment, Wei Zheng could no longer see the heat just now on everyone's faces, but was heavy.

At this time, Wei Zheng's words suddenly changed, and he added: "The disadvantage of the Tiger Venerable cannon's short range cannot be changed. However, we can compensate for our lack by capturing from the Tartars artillery with a longer range and greater power than the Tiger Cannon..."

"However, in view of the disadvantage that the Tiger Zun cannon takes too long to reload and the firing speed is too slow, we can find other ways to solve it...."

Speaking of this, Wei Zheng suddenly showed a mysterious smile on his face, and reminded everyone: "In order to shoot more shells and inflict greater damage on the enemy before they attack our true meaning, we can solve this problem in two ways. ”

"The first aspect is to change the way we shell, and the second aspect is to figure out how to deal with shells ..."

Shi Chang's eyes lit up in front of Wei Zheng, and he asked Wei Zheng with an expectant expression: "General, do you already have a specific solution?" ”

Wei Zheng didn't speak, but asked with a mysterious face: "Hmm... You've probably seen pikemen train, so haven't you found something to use from pikeman's round after round of lunges..."

Under Wei Zheng's reminder, everyone, including Shi Chang, fell into silence and thought.

Just when Wei Zheng was about to give some reminders again, Shi Chang suddenly thought of something, and asked Wei Zheng thoughtfully: "General, do you mean to divide the Tiger Venerable Cannon into three, and fire one round after another..."

"Yes..."Wei Zheng affirmed excitedly.

"According to the frontal width of the battlefield, divide the Tiger Zun Cannon into two or three... After the first batch of Tiger Zun cannons were fired, the second batch of Tiger Zun cannons, and the third round of Tiger Zun cannons ...... Immediately after that, the cannon was fired. ”

"After three rounds of artillery fire, the Tartar is hit with iron, and it will also be blocked by the lead bullets fired by the Huzun cannon dozens of meters away. And at this time, the first batch of Tiger Zun cannons that have already been fired have been reloaded and can be fired for a new round of firing..."

"In this way, our limited Tiger Zun artillery can shell the enemy again and again, and before the enemy enters our position, we can shoot as many lead bullets as possible to kill and injure the enemy's living forces..."

What Wei Zheng said can be summed up in a few words, that is, 'three-stage' shooting.

The 'three-stage' shot that was applied to the musket was applied to the gun, so that the gun could be more powerful on the battlefield.

Therefore, as soon as Wei Zheng's analysis fell, Shi Chang replied with a look of surprise: "General, I understand....By firing artillery in this way, you can continuously maintain the continuity of artillery fire and give the enemy's attacking troops the maximum damage." ”

Wei Zheng nodded in agreement. Then, continue to command.

"Whether to shoot in three sections or in two sections requires your artillery platoon to figure out on your own. Therefore, in addition to training, your next task is to sum up the results of training at any time and find out new tactics for artillery operations. ”

"Please rest assured, the general will ensure the completion of the mission...."More than twenty gunners said in unison, their words full of confidence.

Seeing the confident expressions on everyone's faces again, Wei Zheng continued to speak: "Next, we will solve the problem of loading the Tiger Venerable Cannon..."

"The whole Huzun cannon loading process has the following steps: loading gunpowder and compacting; Load buckshot and then compact; Finally, reload the solid iron ball. Finally before the launch can be carried out..."

"It's a complex and indispensable process..."

"In the course of the battle, as long as one of the links is missing, the shells we load will not be able to shoot, and even explode."

"Everyone think about it, is there a way to reduce these links and save shell reloading time...."

The 'three-stage' firing method of artillery is beyond the acceptable range of these 'gunners', not to mention the more advanced artillery loading technology.

Therefore, after Wei Zheng finished speaking, he responded to him except silence or silence.

Wei Zheng, who already had his own thoughts in his heart, did not hide it, and said bluntly to everyone: "Brothers, I have an idea in my heart that I don't know if it is feasible..."

"Everyone should be clear: among all the artillery guns equipped by the officers and armies, in addition to the Tiger Zun gun, there is also a more powerful Franc machine artillery."

"One of the great advantages of the Franc cannon is that it is quickly reloaded, and the reason for this is that each Franc gun is equipped with several subguns. As long as the sub-cannon is loaded into the breech, the Franc cannon can be fired, and there is no need to go through the cumbersome reloading process of the Huzun cannon..."

"My idea is whether we can pre-fabricate the shells of the Tiger Zun cannon in advance, like the Franc machine artillery. On the battlefield, the prefabricated shells can be loaded directly into the breech and inserted into the fire rope, and the cannon can be fired, reducing those cumbersome loading processes. ”

"Prefabricated shells...", the chief, who had never come into contact with the Franc machine gun, asked rhetorically with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, it's a prefabricated shell... Using a mold of the same caliber as the artillery, the gunpowder and lead bullet were compacted. It is then wrapped in waterproof liner paper and covered with a layer of lubricating grease. ”

"On the battlefield, this prefabricated cannonball is directly stuffed into the barrel of the cannon together with the oiled paper, and then the firerope is pierced through the oiled paper, inserted into the inside of the prefabricated cannonball, and finally the fire is lit and the cannon is fired."

"In this way, the entire loading process of the Tiger Zun Cannon will be simplified by us, and it can be solved at least half of the time."