Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 396 Natural Landmines
In addition, the transformation of ships is still going on.

Just like the ships that were completed a few months ago, the semi-finished products are transformed into warships that can accommodate artillery. For the craftsmen, the task is arduous.

And once the transformation is thoroughly understood, then shipbuilding, that is, building a complete Western-style sailboat, will be within reach.

Of course, Zhu Yixi is also well prepared. In addition to training his own craftsmen, he also invites a large number of Macau boatmakers to go north.

However, the sea-going ship is different from the inland ship after all. Considering the port, it was placed in Ningbo.

Because the emperor came to inspect, although there were clanging sounds in the dock, most people knelt down to greet them.

"Can the red-clothed artillery be accommodated on the ship now?"

Looking at the dark muzzle, the emperor couldn't help but become ambitious.

This is a step in transformation, but it is a big step forward for Daming.

Absorbing advanced Western technology for their own use has been continuously started since the end of Ming Dynasty. As conservative as imagined, it is rare in the Ming court.

Xu Guangqi even put forward the concept of saving the country with Western learning, and translated large-scale translations such as geometry.

In this way, tiger crouching guns, Fran cannons, etc., became popular in the world.

"Your Majesty, the red-clothed cannon can weigh thousands of catties, and the inland river navy is no more than a thousand pounds. The red-clothed cannon is enough to make the skeleton collapse."

The craftsman on the side couldn't help but said.

The so-called material is a unit of volume, that is, the volume of ten feet in length, width, and height. Specifically, one hundred tons is approximately equal to four hundred materials.

In other words, a large ship with a thousand materials is only a small boat of two to three hundred tons, let alone many ships with a material of only three to five hundred tons.

Such a small boat, with the recoil of the red-clothed cannon, is enough to fall apart with just a single blow.

There are only those kind of large ships, such as the long-range sea ships of the British East India Company, with a scale of more than [-] tons.

The reason why Zheng Zhilong crossed the China Sea was to crush the Spanish and the Dutch by relying on ants to kill elephants.

"I understand!"

The emperor nodded: "Fran cannons are enough."

As the saying goes, there is no enemy.

To abuse a rookie like Manqing is enough to crush even with the advantage of numbers, not to mention the addition of artillery.

As for the structure of the ship, the emperor really couldn't understand it, so after a cursory look, he left directly.

In a blink of an eye, he came to the firearms factory.

Unlike artillery and muskets, the firearms factory specializes in the production of weapons related to gunpowder, which are more experimental than practical.

For example, mines, grenades, and various gunpowder weapons.

Stuff iron nails into the grenade, or make the flower bomb more powerful.

Of course, for the purpose of this trip, Zhu Yixi only heard that Vietnam had offered a lot of fire oil, so he came here to check.

The so-called fierce oil, that is, oil.

Water is indestructible, it can be said to be a weapon of ancient warfare.

Logically speaking, the invention of gunpowder made fierce fire oil gradually obsolete.

However, as the Manchus gradually caught up with the artillery, the emperor naturally did everything he could, and he also took a fancy to the fierce fire oil.

And the firearms factory did not disappoint the emperor, and also developed its use.

"boom--"

An ordinary Fran cannon, stuffed with a strange ammunition, was fired hundreds of paces away.

After the ammunition fell to the ground, it burst directly, bursting out a large amount of fierce fuel.

The radiation range is about tens of square meters.

"Look, Your Majesty!"

Immediately, there was another shell, this shell was specially designed to ignite the fire, once it touched the fierce kerosene, it would immediately ignite a big fire, burning blazingly and lasting forever.

"Fire bombs and sparkling bombs?"

The emperor was quite curious.

"Your Majesty is wise!" The leading craftsman looked proud: "The two bombs cooperate with each other to burst out with incalculable power. If it is used in water battles, our navy is invincible."

"Why can't we use land?"

the emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, its range is relatively long, and the chance of the two bombs touching each other is very small..."

The words of a man can't help being much smaller.

The artillery on land has a long range, and the angle is different from the gunpowder. The probability of two shells hitting the same house is zero.

Therefore, it can be said to be useless.

"Hmph!" Old Man Wang's expression was disturbed: "Now my enemy of Ming Dynasty lies in Jiannu, so we should search for weapons for land warfare. Why do we do more for naval forces?"

Although these words are reasonable, the emperor said with satisfaction: "Although what you say is so, how can it be considered useless work?"

"With such a sharp weapon, there is no need to worry about water battles."

Although the emperor spoke, Wang Wei was unhappy.

Obviously, he has been patient with the group of people in the firearms factory for a long time.

The Ministry of Households has a limited budget for each yamen, and the research of the firearms factory is too wasteful, which drags down the entire Ordnance Department and affects other departments.

However, there is no result yet, and anyone would hate it.

The immediate superior was dissatisfied, and the man looked terrified, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, we have also used mines for the fierce oil."

"Oh?" The emperor was very surprised: "How do you say it?"

The so-called landmines in the late Ming Dynasty were different from those in modern times, basically they all used the fuze method.

That is, the landmine is buried, and the fuse is ignited and then exploded.

"Your Majesty, please see—"

Immediately, a group of people were ushered into the experimental area, where they saw fierce oil mines.

The so-called fierce fuel oil mine is to bury a large piece of gunpowder in the ground, add some fierce fuel oil, and then detonate.

But the way of detonation surprised the emperor.

That is, in the mine, install flint and spring, once someone steps on it, the two flints will rub up and down, and the gunpowder will be ignited after repeated friction.

Immediately, the fire oil was ignited, driving a large amount of gunpowder to explode.

"Dozens of ignited landmines, as long as one ignites, it can explode."

The man proudly said: "And the fire oil is extremely flammable, and it will spread all over the ground in a short time, and all the gunpowder will explode in an instant."

"That's right!" The emperor nodded, "This is indeed the best way to ambush."

With the help of the fast-flammable and flammable characteristics of fierce fire oil, it is enough to set off a big explosion.

Even, a large-scale minefield can be formed.

However, this method can only be used for the first time, and Man Qing can do it by taking the common people to clear mines by surprise.

It's a pity that there is no detonator and no nitroglycerin. This flammable and explosive thing is really the best partner for grenades and mines.

Immediately, the test began.

After the ignition mines were dug, a donkey was driven back and forth.

Along with the spring's up and down force, the two flints are constantly rubbing up and down.

When going back and forth about seven or eight times, the ignited landmine exploded instantly, and the blazing fire could not even be covered by the soil, and it burst out directly.

Of course, a jar of gunpowder ambushed nearby also exploded.

The donkey was so frightened that the flesh on its buttocks was burnt.

"Very good!" The emperor clapped his hands in satisfaction: "Although it is a bit slow, as long as it can be ignited, it is enough."

He was satisfied that it was a real self-igniting mine and did not require human ignition.

(End of this chapter)