Chapter 1422 Flying Thunder Cannon and Palm Thunder
"Is it possible that this place produces its own gunpowder?"
Han Yu asked.
"There is saltpeter and sulfur in the mountains, and charcoal can be made by cutting down trees and burning them. It can be made."
Mu Tianbo nodded.
"Your Highness, are you planning to make a three-barreled gun? This thing has a shorter range than a strong bow and is very expensive. Its only advantage is that it takes less time to train. However, it seems to be inconsistent with your plan."
"Who wants to do that?" Han Yu shook his head decisively.
He really looked down upon the muskets of this era.
The current musket is still in the era of muzzle-loading matchlocks, with an effective range of only 50 meters. In order to ensure power and accuracy, the famous lobster soldiers even have to advance to a distance of 20 meters and shoot at the enemy's nose.
Two rounds of musketry were followed by a direct bayonet charge.
It is powerful, but requires high-intensity training and supplies. Moreover, if there are not a large number of skilled soldiers in the early stage, the casualties will be very high. It is not his optimal solution now.
If he had a breech-loading rifle, fixed bullets, and a skirmish line, he might consider it, but now, anyone who plays with a musket is stupid.
"Then Your Highness, are you planning to make cannons? However, the cannon craftsmen are all in the two capitals and have fallen into the hands of the enemy. If you want to make them, you can only start from scratch." Mu Tianbo said.
"The bronze cannon is too heavy and bulky to be transported, so it cannot be used."
Han Yu still shook his head.
"What is your intention, Your Highness?"
Mu Tianbo really couldn't guess what Han Yu was going to do.
"I'll draw a blueprint, and you go find a craftsman to make it for me."
Han Yu picked up a pen and ink and drew a few schematic diagrams.
Mu Tianbo took it and looked at it. It was a huge iron cylinder on top, as thick as a water tank, with a simple height-adjustable bracket underneath. It was very light and could be carried by one person.
This thing is more like a big water tank than a cannon.
The shells inside were also strange. They were neither iron balls nor lead balls, but cubes wrapped in linen.
"What is this, Your Highness?"
Mu Tianbo has fought in battles for half his life, but he has never seen anything like this.
"Hehe, I had a dream last night. I happened to encounter an immortal teaching me magic. This is the magic weapon taught by the immortal. It is called the Flying Thunder Cannon. It has a range of 500 steps. One shot is like a thunderbolt in the sky. The person who is blown up will not be injured on the surface, but his internal organs will be completely rotten."
"Tell me, if our army is equipped with hundreds of these artillery pieces, will we still be afraid of that bastard Wu Sangui?"
Han Yu asked with a smile.
"hiss--"
Hearing Han Yu's words, Mu Tianbo couldn't help but gasp .
The range of ordinary bows and arrows today is about 100 to 150 steps. Elite archers, using strong bows, can reach a range of about 200 to 250 steps.
However, there are very few such archers. They are the elite among the elite and their number is very small.
Moreover, the requirements for bows and arrows are very high and they are not easy to make. The production cycle usually takes several years.
Difficult to mass produce.
But the flying thunder cannon is different. It only needs iron barrels, gunpowder and linen, and can be mass-produced.
The range is directly twice that of the archer.
The most terrifying thing is that this thing is a range attack. It uses violent explosions to cause vibrations, directly killing people nearby.
In modern warfare, this thing can even be used to deal with reinforced concrete bunkers. For those Eight Banners soldiers, wearing double layers of armor would be useless, even if they wore ten layers.
If the enemy dares to charge, two rounds of coverage will be enough to wipe out the entire enemy army.
Mu Tianbo looked at the drawings with doubt, but after all, it was the prince who gave them to him, so even if he didn't believe it, he had to do it as required.
Soon, the iron bucket was made according to Han Yu's requirements.
In order to make the iron pipe stronger, the craftsman used very solid materials and even put iron rings on it for reinforcement, and the barrel wall was also much thicker.
Han Yu was very satisfied when he saw this, and asked people to make explosive packs and propellants according to the requirements.
"Let's get started."
Han Yu gave the order.
"Start." Mu Tianbo signaled to the gunner.
The gunner lit the match.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, the pile of stones used as targets was blown to pieces, with broken stones flying everywhere, some even flying to Mu Tianbo's feet.
When the smoke cleared, everyone was surprised to find that the pile of stones had been flattened.
"Duke Qian, how about this flying thunder cannon?"
Han Yu asked with a smile.
"This is indeed a magic gift from the gods. With the help of such a magical weapon, our Ming Dynasty will have hope of regaining our homeland!"
Mu Tianbo's beard was shaking with excitement.
Having fought on the battlefield for half his life, he naturally knew what effect this weapon would have once it appeared on the field.
It will be a crushing blow to the enemy.
If there had been such magical soldiers helping out at Zhushuitan back then, the Ming Dynasty would not have been besieged by the Burmese king’s army.
Thinking of his comrades who died in battle, Mu Tianbo couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.
"There is still room for improvement on this flying thunder cannon. The weight can be reduced, the barrel wall can be made thinner, and it can be directly matched with a two-wheeled cart. The flying thunder cannon and shells can be placed on it. One person pushes it from the back and one person pulls it from the front. This will solve the transportation problem."
Han Yu thought about it and decided to promote the cart as well.
This can greatly speed up the troops' march.
Of course, these are all crude methods now that there are no horses.
Even if you have horses, you still need a carriage.
After seizing the seaport, we need to build ships.
It would be great if we could just use naval guns to destroy the enemy.
"Oh, right, just having flying thunder cannons is not enough. We also need to urgently make a batch of clay pots. They don't need to be too big, but should be easy to throw. Put iron nails, iron thorns, and gunpowder inside, and keep a fuse outside. When the enemy gets close, light it and throw it out. The clay pots will break and the fragments can hurt people. The iron thorns and nails inside can also hurt people. The vibration caused by the explosion of gunpowder can also hurt people. It's a small flying thunder cannon."
"By the way, before inserting iron nails or thorns, you must soak them in salt water, gold soup or something like that. It's best if they are rusted. This is called tetanus enchantment."
Han Yu became more and more excited as he spoke.
"Your Highness, what is tetanus?" Mu Tianbo's face was full of question marks.
He understood every word His Highness said, but he didn't understand when they were put together.
"Tetanus, how do you explain this?" Han Yu felt that he also needed to popularize disinfection and simple first aid, which would reduce a large number of deaths from injuries and illnesses.
By the way, hygiene standards and boiling water should also be promoted, which can reduce the spread of epidemics and is also very important.
"How about this, you take some time to organize the doctors in the village, and I will train them in the evening."
Han Yu said.
Although he was not a medical major, he used to be a doomsday survival enthusiast and had read part of the barefoot doctor's manual. He still knew simple first aid, bandaging, and sanitation.
"By the way, what is the name of this small flying thunder cannon? Your Highness, please give it a name." Mu Tianbo asked from the side.
"Let's call this Palm Thunder."
Han Yu said.
