Ming Zuo

Chapter 120 Armament Development
The collusion between Xu Yaqing and the Jurchens is something that others see in the dark, but deep down in Zuo Menggeng's heart, there is actually some clues.

But things haven't happened yet, so it's impossible to talk nonsense.

The only thing he can do is to step up the training of the rear battalion to make this army stronger and stronger.

When he came back from Dengzhou, the first good news he got was that muskets had been equipped to the whole army.

Not only did every soldier have a weapon, but the inventory was increasing day by day.

Compared with muskets, gunpowder is more convenient to make, and it is enough for a big battle.

That is, the output of mercury fulminate is still impressive, and it can only be used to make flash caps.Otherwise, the fuse hole on the artillery cartridge can be canceled and replaced with a flash cap to detonate.

In addition, on the stability of the flash cap, Bi Maokang and others have done experiments.

The flash cap installed on the projectile warhead will not be detonated by the vibration when the artillery fires.

In this way, there is no problem in making a flash cap fuze.

The only obstacle is production.

Mercury fulminate produced by the most primitive method has too many links and is too dangerous.

After comprehensive consideration, Zuo Menggeng still maintained the current combat method of artillery.

This is enough to meet the needs of the rear battalion, and it is much more advanced than most current artillery.

Another gratifying result is that the iron wire has finally been developed.

Although the development of the spring is still far away, the appearance of the iron wire has given Zuo Menggeng great help.

"Qianza, it's a pity that so many iron wires are not used to make mail armor. Our soldiers have no protection at all."

Facing the craftsmen's complaints, Zuo Menggeng had his own reasons.

"Even if these wires are not made into armor, they are still very useful. You wires are twisted and woven together in groups of three. You need to leave sharp iron spikes at a certain distance, and then pull the two ends straight with a wooden frame, and you will understand the use. "

The craftsmen were curious and made two wooden frames that were as high as a person's shoulders. Then, under the guidance of Zuo Menggeng, they wrapped the wire around the frames.

Spread out in the open space, about ten meters long.

"Qianza, what's the use of this thing?"

The novelty attracted the attention of many people, Zuo Rong, Zuo Yong and others all gathered around to study.

"This is a sharp weapon to stop cavalry, even infantry, it is difficult to pass."

Xiao Mian, I don’t know how much trouble the barbed wire caused the attack during World War I, right?
But everyone doesn't see it that way.

Zuo Rong and Zuo Yong left alone, carrying the barbed wire.

"What can this stop?"

Zuo Menggeng was angry.

"Idiot, behind the barbed wire is our gun phalanx. Tell me, how do you go up and move it?"

When he said this, everyone's expressions immediately changed.

Admittedly, the barbed wire looks flimsy and seems useless.But as long as this thing is matched with the gun phalanx, the specific scene can't help appearing in everyone's mind.

Zuo Yong has the most flexible mind.

"It's okay to block infantry, but the best thing is to deal with cavalry."

Zuo Rong didn't react.

"This object is so light, wouldn't it be over if the cavalry hit it?"

Zuo Yong explained to him.

"Brother, think about it. If there is only one of these things, it is of course easy to destroy. But what if there are dozens or hundreds of them? And the barbed wires are connected with wires, how can they be smashed apart? And look, these wires are There are spikes, and a horse bumps into them, and immediately it will bleed out."

Zuo Rong couldn't help observing carefully, feeling a little enlightened.

"Such a thin thing, isn't it cut off in one go?"

Zuo Menggeng said to him: "Then cut it off and try."

Zuo Rong drew out his saber, and exerted enough energy to chop at the middle of the barbed wire.There was a clatter of noises, and the barbed wire fence showed no signs of damage except for the random shaking.

Zuo Rong clearly felt that when his knife hit it, his strength was shifted.

In other words, these strangely shaped wires have a miraculous effect on cutting with knives and axes.As for the cavalry's spears and iron spears, there is no other way.

"During combat, it is absolutely impossible for the enemy to rush to the front without paying a terrible price if we arrange several layers of barbed wire within the range of ten to twenty meters in front of our army's musket line."

Zuo Yong has seen more benefits.

"The barbed wire doesn't stop us from shooting. Even if the enemy rushes to the edge of the barbed wire, they can still be killed by our muskets."

At this moment, everyone understood the magical effect of the barbed wire.

The craftsmen stepped forward and tried it, and found that it was not difficult to dismantle and recycle.

Of course, this is usual.During the exchange of fire, it was almost impossible to dismantle the barbed wire under the hail of bullets.

Zuo Menggeng also said to Zhang Yan: "It must be the task of your general logistics brigade to arrange the barbed wire fence at that time. After returning, let everyone study carefully and come up with a few more methods of hanging barbed wire that are unique to us and unknown to others. Be open to whatever is useful."

Zhang Yan was also amazed at the magical effect of the barbed wire. Knowing that this thing is a weapon on the battlefield, he quickly took orders.

In addition to muskets and artillery, the rear battalion has not stopped in the research and development of firearms.

Grenades and dynamite packs were also made.

Grenade is filled with pottery.

The clay pots are specially fired, each fist-sized, and can hold half a catty of black gunpowder, flint, iron flakes, iron nails, etc.

Originally, Zuo Menggeng wanted to make grenades.

As a result, after testing, it was found that it was the same as the border area made by the Eighth Route Army, and its power was too poor.In many cases, as expected, there are two petals in one explosion, which can't hurt the enemy at all.

In the end, after brainstorming and trial and error, everyone agreed that clay pots were the best.

First of all, the clay pot is very brittle, and it will form countless pieces when it is fried.

Secondly, the charge of pottery can be more, which increases the power.

In addition, the cost of pottery pots is not high, and the craftsmen can fire them by setting up a kiln themselves.

After all, it is not for making porcelain, and there is no requirement for the quality of clay pots.As long as the size is guaranteed and it is easy to throw, the rest of the problems can be omitted.

The dynamite pack is also made of black powder, which cannot be compared with that of later generations. At the very least, don't expect this thing to blow up the city wall.

However, explosive packs with [-]-jin or [-]-jin explosives are still very lethal to living things.

Currently, there are two types of explosive packs used in the rear battalion.

One is detonated at a short distance, and the fuze needs to be ignited with an open flame; the other can be buried in the soil and detonated at a long distance.

The method of remote detonation is to pull with a rope, and the ignition is by mercury fulminate.

Zuo Menggeng was a little more generous on this.

The specific method is to install a small wooden box on the explosive package with organs inside.Normally, the ram in the mechanism is locked and is in a state of being ready to fire.

When the cord was pulled, the bracket that held the firing pin opened, causing the ram to pop out and strike the cap, igniting the powder.

Of course, Zuo Menggeng would not let such good things as landmines go unnoticed.

The landmine technology in the Ming Dynasty was already very mature, and it was widely used on the battlefield.

In the absence of a large-scale technical improvement of landmines, Zuo Menggeng let the craftsmen make them, and handed it over to the General Logistics Brigade and the Infantry Brigade to explore the method of mine mines.

So far, the weapons and equipment of the rear battalion have become a system.

There are not only muskets and artillery for long-range attacks, but also mines, explosive kits, grenades and barbed wire for short-range defense.

As long as it is fighting on the plains, Zuo Menggeng is confident that no army can break through the front line of the army at that time.

The next thing to do is to urge the entire army to train diligently, and wait for all the artillery to be in place by the way.

The Dengzhou incident had a great impact, and Qu Shixu and Zhang Jimeng also joined hands to find him and inquire about the details.

When Zuo Menggeng told the story, the two were also amazed.

Qu Shixu was even more furious towards Mao Wenlong.

"Last August, a censor impeached him for leaving the flooded area without authorization and plotting against the law. Unexpectedly, he didn't know how to restrain himself, and dared to rob Denglai. He had no law and despised the court. Do you really think that killing him is wrong?"

Zhang Jimeng also has the same opinion.

"Mao Wenlong is extremely rampant, this is the way to die."

But Qu Shiqi was worried about gain and loss again.

"But if Mao Wenlong is killed, Liaodong will lose the support from the flanks, and I'm afraid it will become more and more difficult."

Zhang Jimeng also found it difficult to handle.

"I'm afraid the government can see the pros and cons, and let Mao Wenlong get away with it. It's a pity that the people of Dengzhou are innocent and have nowhere to redress their grievances."

These two actually thought that the imperial court would let Mao Wenlong go...

Zuo Menggeng not only knows the history, but also the reason.

"My lords, forgive me for my blunt words. Mao Wenlong... is dead. It won't be long before there will be news."

Seeing what he said was decisive, Qu Shixu and Zhang Jimeng couldn't help being curious.

"Tell me your reasoning."

They didn't ignore Zuo Menggeng because he was young, what's more, the two came here as officials because of Zuo Menggeng.

For this young man, they have already seen many miracles.

But I don't know if Zuo Menggeng has anything unique in terms of strategy?
(End of this chapter)