The Red House starts from Liaodong

56 The Fall
The capital of Liaodong and the Jiedu government of Liaodong successively issued official documents to various places, strictly ordering all places to be on guard, and to block roads to prevent spies.

Someone risked his life to send news that the barbarians planned to attack Shenyang.

The Liaodong Jiedushi was under the jurisdiction of Beizhen, and the Liaodong Capital Division was under the jurisdiction of Liaodong Town.

The battalion of Donghai Fort belongs to Liaodong Town, and people habitually call it Donghai Camp according to the place name.

The camp was built between Donghai Fort and Gunpowder Square, more than ten miles away from Gunpowder Square, and more than [-] miles away from Donghai Fort.

Liu Chengmin brought more than forty guard soldiers from Donghai Fort to the Donghai Battalion for drills, so the Donghai Battalion now has a total of 540 soldiers.

Each person had a bird gun, and the gunpowder and lead were distributed, and each team was familiar with their own weapons.

Tang Qing'an is self-aware, and after a few months of training, he is only a recruit. If he is dragged into a field battle, he will die, so he will practice all firearms first, and has no plan to meet the enemy on land.

And I don't necessarily have a few months.

The entire Donghai Camp was filled with the sound of crackling firecrackers every now and then, making it extremely lively.

A thousand rods of bird guns cost seven renminbi for each lead and five renminbi for gunpowder. There are more than 540 men in the whole army.

The amount of gunpowder used by the whole army to fire ten shots is close to three hundred catties, and one thousand catties is only enough for the whole army to fire less than forty shots.

Not counting lead, various consumables such as matchlocks need to be supplied by Gunpowder Workshop.

"Godfather, there are only two hundred catties of gunpowder in the warehouse."

Li Rujing came to Tang Qing'an and whispered in Tang Qing'an's ear.

So Tang Qing'an sent someone to the gunpowder workshop to ask for gunpowder and other items.

There was nothing to come, so Cai Wen approached him aggressively in a sedan chair. When he saw Tang Qing'an, he complained as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Brother Qing'an, you can't rely entirely on me, can you? How much gunpowder will you need to use for a drill of this scale in your army? I have given you three thousand catties of gunpowder twice."

Now the production of the gunpowder workshop is gradually on the right track, with a daily output of [-] catties, but the gunpowder workshop has to supply the entire Liaodong.

Donghaiying and Gunpowder Square are so close that it doesn't matter if they let the other party have some autumn wind, but the other party's appetite is getting bigger and bigger, and Cai Wen can't accept it.

Even if the opponent is Tang Qing'an, a powerful man, he can no longer show mercy.

"This is a newly sent firearm." Tang Qing'an beckoned, and someone brought a blunderbuss.

He gestured to pass it to Cai Wen, and explained to Cai Wen, "How can the brothers get familiar with this new weapon if you don't practice it for a few days? If you go to the battlefield, you won't even be able to fire a gun. Wouldn't it be a joke?"

It was the first time that Cai Wen saw the firearm sent from the south. A master craftsman serving in the Gunpowder Workshop recognized that it was the bird gun lead he specially led to make.

"This thing is thin and light, how powerful is it?"

"Go and fire two shots and you'll know."

Tang Qing'an dragged Cai Wen to the shooting range, and Cai Wen didn't object, his hands were indeed itchy.

These bird guns are all made in Fujian, where the iron smelting industry is very developed, not inferior to that of Shandong, and Cai Wen knows that it is not a low-quality product made in the capital just by the feel of the hand.

In the shooting range, a team leader ran over to the nearest team.

"Master Cai wants to try the bird gun, you arrange it." Tang Qing'an saw that it was the captain Zhang Bo, and ordered with a smile.

Zhang Bo hastily asked his subordinates to clear a target lane, and personally took the bird gun with the ammunition loaded, and handed it to his lord.

Tang Qing'an took it and turned it upside down first, then handed it to Cai Wen and told him how to use it.

"The rear is the rear sight, and the front is the starlight. Two points and one line can be used for aiming. It is not as difficult as training bows and arrows."

Cai Wen nodded, took a tentative aim, and soon understood the benefits.

"Then how do you ignite gunpowder without a fire point?"

Tang Qing'an pointed to the more complicated part of the trigger at the back of the bird gun, with a matchlock held at one end.

"This matchmaking rope is made of hemp rope. It is soaked in salt water and then dried. After being lit, the burning speed is very slow. It only burns three inches in half an hour."

Hearing this, Cai Wen took a closer look, and sure enough, there were faint sparks on the matchstick, which turned out to be in a burning state.

Cai Wen suddenly realized that this thing was more miraculous, far better than the firearms in the Liaodong Army.

According to Tang Qing'an's instructions, two points and one line are facing the grass target in the distance, and the distance of seventy or eighty steps is not very clear.

The effective shooting distance of the bird gun is 250 meters, and the maximum shooting range is [-] meters, so Tang Qing's stable distance is [-] steps to train soldiers' accuracy.

"boom."

After one shot, he missed the target.

Everyone disagrees, it is normal to miss the target.

Zhang Bo personally filled the gunpowder in Cai Wen's hand with gunpowder and lead, and first broke the snake-shaped rod to prevent the matchstick from touching the pool of medicine.

Unlock the locking plate again, open the medicine pool cover, then take out the medicine pool, clean up the medicine pool and refill the gunpowder.

It is also necessary to use a cleaning rod to enter from the mouth of the bird muzzle to clean up the residue left on the muzzle wall so as not to affect the accuracy and range.

Each big step took seven or eight breaths, Tang Qing'an estimated that Zhang Bo took more than 2 minutes.

"Your reloading speed is too slow, and you have to continue to improve. As the captain, you can't fall behind." Tang Qing'an said dissatisfied.

In Qi Jiguang's army, qualified bird gunners can fire two bullets in 3 minutes.

Now the captain of his own army actually needs 2 minutes to reload a round, which is far behind the average level of Qi Jiguang's army.

Throughout Liaodong, although the Donghai Camp was established late, the treatment they receive is first-class. At least there is no shortage of money and food.

This is where Tang Qing'an's confidence lies.

Ignoring Zhang Bocheng's frightened eyes, he turned to look at Cai Wen.

"Brother Cai, you've seen it too. It doesn't work without much practice. The sergeants are not familiar with the firearms in their hands, and the reloading is too slow."

Cai Wen re-aimed, fired another shot, and hit the target, looking at Tang Qing'an excitedly.

Tang Qing'an gave a thumbs up.

"Brother Cai is capable of writing and martial arts, I admire him."

"I can't stand your high hats one after another. You have spent several thousand catties of gunpowder in just two months. No matter what your reason is, if you want to control it, I will give you another two thousand catties. Don't ask me for it for a month."

"Two thousand catties is too little. It is enough for soldiers to train for a few days. At least five thousand catties should be given to me."

Cai Wen was so entangled by Tang Qing'an that he had no choice but to offend him, so he finally gritted his teeth and generously approved another three thousand catties.

"It's agreed, this batch of gunpowder is given to you, and there will be no new ones within two months."

Tang Qing'an laughed.

Seeing this, Cai Wen was furious and left without eating.

Within a few days, the barbarians raided Fengji Fort and Tiger Skin Station, and the news spread to the rear.

No one knows whether the two places have been captured or not. Some people say that the army gathered in the two places is a barrier for Shenyang. Even if the barbarians make a surprise attack, it will not be so easy to chew.

Some people think that there are more dangers than good luck. The barbarians occupy Fushun and other places, which have strategic advantages, and the condescending offensive is difficult for the two places to resist.

In most people's opinion, it doesn't matter if the two places can't be defended. After all, the city wall is not strong, but Shenyang is a strong city. There are two general soldiers guarding it, with tens of thousands of soldiers, and only tens of thousands of barbarians?

When the whole of Guangning was discussing this matter, a shocking news came back suddenly, and everyone was shocked.

Shenyang has fallen!

Hearing this news, everyone was stunned.

(End of this chapter)