Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 257 4.53 Firearms of this era——

Volume Four

4.53 Firearms of this age—

Time flies easily while being busy. Zhou Yang put all his energy into the training of new recruits. Zhao Qiying was busy recruiting for the opening of the Zhongyuan Escort Bureau branch. Even Zhao Yanling was roped in to help. In the entire backyard, there was probably only one Qing. Wen had nothing to do, and in the blink of an eye, on the morning of September 26, an unexpected guest came to the house.

"Xue Biao has met Mr. Zhou!" With respectful and standard etiquette, but with a little obvious awe and alienation, the second-bedroom eldest son of the Xue family did not even go to the backyard residence, but bowed to Zhou Yang in the living room of the side hall of Qianhu Yamen. , the scene was obviously too serious, but fortunately, there was a "warm-up".

"Little sister has met Brother Zhou!" Xue Baoqin jumped out from behind Xue Biao with a smile, and gave a casual Wanfu gift. Then he was pulled aside by Qingwen who was watching the fun inside, and the two little girls shouted happily. He danced again, turning the serious Qianhu lobby into a playground.

"Okay, why are brothers still so different? Between you and me, what the hell name do you use? Is it difficult to call me big brother?" Zhou Yang stood up and nodded to Xue Baoqin, then went up with a big smile. , grabbed Xue Biao's arm, "Why did you hand me a name card at the door? I heard from the door that you also stuffed a door bag? Who are you scolding?"

Walk around, go in and talk if you have anything to do, I don’t want to try cases and handle military affairs here, do I need such a big place?Is it possible that here, I still have to ask you to kneel down according to the rules and then show me your filial piety?If we hadn't met in person, I wouldn't have thought that it was you who came here in person. What's wrong, but what are the arrangements for the second uncle? "

"Brother, I'm sorry, and so is my little brother." Xue Biao smiled bitterly and let him pull him into the backyard before saying, "My family's business has been busy these days, and I have been traveling to several places. I am really used to seeing the ups and downs of the world, not to mention those who rely on money to manage things. The relationships are many old friendships. Seeing that the family is becoming prosperous, it makes people talk."

"Their relationship is about business or money. I'm not an outsider here. How can there be so many rules?" Zhou Yang's relationship with Xue Xun did have a lot of utilitarian elements. Now these days, he has suffered a lot. Help, now he really regards them as his own, "I didn't say anything, we won't come back until we are drunk at noon!"

"Brother, please don't!" Xue Biao quickly waved his hand, "It's not that I don't want to drink a toast, but I really have something to do when I come here this time. Let's not talk about anything else. The eldest brother is now in charge of the government here. It’s Qiu Ba who is in the army again. He can’t survive without money and food. When my father came, he told me that anyway, the Xue brand didn’t have much in Wuchang Mansion, so it was better to integrate it into Daye.

On the one hand, the eldest brother can take care of him here, and many businesses that he could not intervene in before can be taken advantage of; on the other hand, if the eldest brother needs anything, just let them know. Whether it is money, food or iron goods, the round trip can take up to one month. That’s it, whether you ask your elder brother for help or help you buy some things, both times are cheap. "

"That's fine!" Zhou Yang nodded slowly with satisfaction. No matter what he thought in his heart, the attitude he put out really gave him face. "To tell you the truth, my son has just started training. I want to It will take a long time to use it; if you want to integrate Xue Zihao's industry in Wuchang Prefecture, it will also take more than a day or two.

The two sides are exactly opposite each other. As the second uncle said, everyone can be taken care of. Also, I heard from the disciple that your boy did not come alone this time. There are two servants waiting outside the Yamen alone. Thirty, why, is there something difficult to handle?You might as well say it, I will help as long as I can. "

"Brother Zhou doesn't have to worry about this. Those people are a little gift brought by the younger brother to give to the elder brother." Xue Biao said quickly, "Firearms are often used on the island nowadays. To be honest with the elder brother, these things are indeed easy to use, but they also consume a lot of money. It is surprisingly expensive, but the key is that the quantity is not small. Just iron sand and gunpowder will consume a lot in a battle, so you must prepare enough.

What my father meant was that since the eldest brother was in charge of a thousand households here, he couldn't rely entirely on transportation on the island when needed, right?Money doesn't matter, the key is to delay things. If you need something, but you don't have enough on hand, should you fly to the island to get it, or should you discuss it with others and wait for the supplies to be delivered? "

"Thank you, uncle, for your trouble!" Zhou Yang was really satisfied with this. He had actually considered building a gunpowder factory of his own. Anyone who knows a little bit of common sense in modern times knows that wars in the era of hot weapons are fought on Logistics, "I just have a headache. I have lost a lot of things during training in the camp these days. Now that I have this, I feel really at ease."

Why can't we just produce firearms?According to the current laws of the Zhou Dynasty, if the people prepare their own weapons when necessary, it will not be considered illegal; if they use bows and arrows for hunting and defense, the upper limit is one per person; however, anyone who secretly hides strong crossbows and armor will be allowed one, Those who are punished for three items, copied, five or more items, will be considered guilty of treason, and those who secretly hide and make firearms will be considered guilty of the same crime!

Even in the military, firearms are very serious equipment. According to regulations, there is no limit on the number of firecrackers for a thousand households, because the effect of firecrackers these days is really not acceptable to ordinary people; but artillery is extremely controlled. Yan, the level of infantry artillery is basically the upper limit of the Interior Guard Station.

Generally speaking, the firearms of this era - well, the power is acceptable, but the overall performance is really sad and makes the listener cry. Take the 300-pound Fran cannon that was most common in the Great Zhou Dynasty and at the command level as an example. Because of the inherent air leakage defect, although the rate of fire is good, the range is only more than 100 steps. This is also talking about solid iron balls, and the shotgun shells are only more than 200 steps, which is a little worse than our own infantry gun of more than [-] kilograms; a thousand kilograms The Folang machine is much better, but its weight is a flaw.However, the weight of various types of artillery is exaggerated. The so-called "thousand-pound Franco machine gun" refers to the weight of the entire gun. There is no wheeled gun mount, so only a four-wheeled gun carriage can be used. In addition, the wheels do not have bearings. Grinding, long-distance maneuvering requires at least eight horses, and four horses are transported alternately in groups, and seven or eight artillery are required to assist!
This is still a "field artillery", and then there are heavier two-thousand-jin, three-thousand-jin or even five-thousand-jin artillery. The general configuration units are for the defense of prefectural cities, the defense of provincial capitals and nine-border towns, and finally the capital city. According to In terms of transportation capabilities in these years, these artillery pieces are basically fixed positions and used exclusively for city defense, and there is no tactical mobility.

Therefore, Chen Ruiwen's Shenji Battalion has more than 2 people, but the main force is Qianhu, command-level thousand-jin Fran cannons or general cannons. The former is used in field operations and the latter is used to attack cities; the two-thousand to three-thousand-jin general cannons, It was regarded as a strategic decisive battle; the five thousand kilograms of powerful and invincible general cannons were placed at the top of the capital city after they were built, and have never been touched again.

In addition, there are some early firearms from the Zhou Dynasty that have been "passed down to this day", such as the "Ten Thousand Enemies", a must-have defensive artifact for every city. To put it bluntly, it is a large-scale medicine pack with no specific regulations; the Shenhuo Fei Crows are used to ignite fires during field raids. They are effective against various tents and granaries, but their range is less than fifty steps. As for swarms of bees and sky-blasting thunders, don’t waste any more time.

In theory, you can only apply for the above to your superiors, but just listen to this. Not to mention the heartbreaking production efficiency of the Ministry of Industry's Ordnance Supervision, just the time required to get the quantity together is a heart-wrenching thing. The painful numbers and the quality make people dare not think too much about it. Therefore, it is normal for the people below to get some hard goods and equipment for their own soldiers and servants. The Zhou Dynasty also inherited the Ming system; but this is a matter of competence and cannot be said, and no one can tell it unless it is pointed out. It's okay, don't say you're wronged if you open it.

"There is one more thing I want to report to Brother Zhou. After this integration, the Xue brand business in Wuchang Prefecture will be managed by the big shopkeeper Liu Cheng. The younger brother has brought him here. If anything happens in the future, the older brother will just give him orders. "Xue Biao said with a smile, "He is waiting outside the door at this time. Brother, do you want to meet him?"

"Since you're here, let's come in and have a look." Zhou Yang smiled and motioned to the servant at the door, asking him to go out and call for someone. "Brother Tadashi came here this time, I'm afraid it's not just for this matter, right? Second uncle, can you still Any other arrangements?"

"Brother Zhou Mingjian!" Xue Biao stood up and cupped his hands with a smile, "Brother in the salt business on the island also knows that the output is not a problem now, but it is a headache how to sell it. Counting the salt road in the capital, we can only guarantee it at present. Less than [-]% of the sales are done, and the rest can only be piled up in the salt farm without being sold.”

"Second uncle, do you want to spread it here?" Zhou Yang frowned, "Not to mention the problem of offending the local forces, the worst we can do is give them the pallet directly. It's just that it's not easy to transport it here on the Yangtze River. , at least with my current strength, I can't afford to protect such a big business."

"Father has never thought about taking action now. He just hopes that Brother Zhou will not forget it." You did a good job; and this is Master Xu Tie, I will rely on him to support the workshop's craftsmanship in the future!"

"Old slave, pay homage to Mr. Zhou!" Liu Cheng knelt down to salute obediently, but Xu Tie, who was covered in tendons and was half a head taller than Zhou Yang, knelt down like a black iron tower without saying a word.

"Then continue your work and keep an eye on the business outside." Zhou Yang just nodded casually to Liu Cheng and signaled him to get up, but pulled Xu Tie up with his own hands, "Master Xu, don't be so nervous, I will be indispensable in the future." I'll take care of you to arrange the things in the workshop; I will take care of the situation. As long as you work conscientiously, the benefits will be indispensable!"

"Thank you for your grace!" Liu Cheng quickly knelt down, but Xu Tie was held back by Zhou Yang.

"Okay, you guys go and do your work - come back, shopkeeper Liu, I won't care about the business here from now on, but if there is any way that requires escort protection, please hand it over to Daye Branch of Zhongyuan Escort Bureau." Zhou Yang took the opportunity to persuade his sister. After getting a big business, he turned to Xue Biao and said, "I don't have much manpower here. I'm afraid I can only trouble Brother Xue Biao with the construction of the workshop."

"Don't you dare disobey me!" Xue Biao agreed with a smile, "so that big brother will know that the granulated gunpowder and fixed ammunition you gave me when you left have now been completely mastered. The workshop here will produce it very quickly, and there is no need to worry about it anymore." In the past, we only relied on a few master craftsmen, and then..."

"Oh, brother, you're done!" Xue Baoqin, who didn't want to sit aside and said nothing, suddenly stood up and pushed him out of the living room, "Get out, get out, I want to talk to Brother Zhou - well, Qingwen Sister, let’s talk and go about your business!”

Everyone in the living room couldn't help laughing.

(End of this chapter)