A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 828 Rocket
Since the use of the iron mold method, from September 13th of Chongzhen, Yongning City Cannon Factory has been able to manufacture five Hongyi cannons per month. Of course, these are small and medium-sized cannons for five catties and three catties. The shooting ranges are more than two miles and nearly two miles.

Until June of the 15th year of Chongzhen, after the opening of the Zhencheng Cannon Factory, the army had 140 Hongyi cannons, five heavy cannons for more than [-] catties, and heavy mortars for [-] catties. Thirty guns, all with a range of three or four miles.

With the continuous proficiency of gunsmiths and the continuous addition of craftsmen, if the three gun factories start working at the same time, they can cast [-] light and heavy red cannons every month.

Of course, casting does not mean that all of them must be cast, because there are other types of artillery to be cast in the army, so in addition to the two hundred small and medium-sized red cannons and fifty heavy red cannons, the Artillery Factory also cast heavy mortars. One hundred doors.

There are also [-] generals and [-] small and medium-sized Frang machine guns.

These Franglers have a maximum range of one mile, and not all of them are made by artillery factories, and many of them are collected from various places in Ming Dynasty.

There are not many other cannons in Ming Dynasty, but there is no shortage of Folang machine guns. From the imitation in the third year of Jiajing to the current Chongzhen period, there are probably no fewer than ten thousand Folang machine guns cast.

However, Wang Dou felt that [-] large Franglers and [-] small and medium Franglers were enough. In the future, Hongyi cannons with a range advantage would be the world's best.

Zhao Xuan's artillery battalion is extremely huge now, it's time to split it up, and if the number of Hongyi Pao and Mortar Pao can double by next year, it will be even more necessary to split it up.

Finally, there is Zhou's rocket that Wang Dou is concerned about.

After Wang Dou drew the rocket map in November last year, Zhou Xiangren and others were greatly inspired. The main technical problem of the iron arrow body is that it is difficult to roll the tube. In the end, their solution was to use a hydraulic forging machine. In the case of water sources, the disadvantages of different thicknesses of the iron body can be greatly solved.

Although there is still room for improvement in the accuracy of the rocket they made in the end, Wang Dou thinks it is enough.

The rockets deal with the enemy camps and military formations, and they are all huge targets. They don't need too high precision, as long as they don't fly to where they don't know when there is a little wind like the Shenhuo crow, or even fly back.

Finally, problems such as booster powder, head explosive fuel and fuze were solved. In May, Zhou’s rocket was built on a large scale. Wang Dou had seen several physical launches and was quite satisfied.

The finished rocket is about one meter long, with a slender body, a pointed head, a diameter of more than ten centimeters, a weight of about thirty catties, and seven catties of gunpowder inside. There are many small holes in the tail and three inclined stabilizing spiral plates. It is quite close to the rocket missile style of later generations.

At that time, Wang Dou forgot to mention the problem of the launcher, but Zhou Xiangren and others had already solved it, but they used a semicircular long chute and a bipod in front.

The semicircular chute is about one meter long, and its diameter is larger than that of the rocket. It is made of hardwood and polished very smooth. There is a thick iron-clad baffle not far from the tail. There is a round hole in the middle of the baffle, which fits the arrow tail The three spiral plates and the ignition hole line are exposed, and they support the entire arrow body.

The bipod can be moved back and forth and even stowed, so it is easy to transport, and the bipod can also be used to adjust the height of the rocket launch.

After looking at the launch trough, Wang Dou was quite moved. The wisdom of the ancient people should not be underestimated. How close is the style of this launch trough to the mortars of later generations?
The rocket weighs [-] kilograms, and the launch trough also weighs no more than a few dozen kilograms. Soldiers can carry it on their shoulders, which is convenient and flexible. If vehicles, mules and horses are used to carry it, more can be transported at one time.

As a result of the final launch, the range of the rocket reached five or six miles, and the accuracy was quite high, and the flight of the rocket was stable.

Wang Dou was very satisfied with the result. At this time, no firearm could fly so far, and his own rocket was the only one.

And this is only a light rocket, Zhou Xianglu and others are still working on heavy rockets.

Wang Dou has seen the actual heavy rocket. The rocket is about two meters long and weighs sixty to seventy kilograms. It is fired using a cannon cart. There are three slots inside, which can hold three rockets at the same time. The rear uses a crank similar to the Hongyi cannon. Use the screw to adjust the height of the arrow cart up and down.

As a result of the final launch, the rocket's maximum range reached as much as ten miles.

Wang Dou is already considering setting up a special rocket battalion. Compared with artillery, rockets have obvious advantages. Not to mention the fast launch speed, the manufacturing process is not complicated, and there are no problems such as the heat and explosion of the guns and artillery. After installing the spiral plate , the problem of poor precision is also effectively solved.

The most important thing is that the rocket is light and flexible. Not to mention the light rocket, even if the heavy rockets are filled in all three arrow cart slots, they are only equivalent to the weight of a light gun.

Rocket uses different warheads and also can have multiple purposes, incendiary bomb, poisonous bomb, ash bomb, explosive bomb.Not to mention the first three types of bombs, the Ming army’s mortar guns and Shenhuo flying crow rockets are widely used, but the explosive bombs are not easy to solve.

It is not a matter of power. The amount of black powder reaches a certain level, and the power is not small. With the charge of Zhou's rocket, it is enough to blow the arrow into pieces after it explodes.

The key is the fuze, which must correspond to the flight time of the rocket, and then reach the specified location to explode. This is very particular about the fuze technology of the Duhufu Military Factory. Obviously, the subordinates do not have the ability to solve this problem at present, which requires a long time of research.

But Wang Dou was already satisfied, his own technological strength had surpassed this era by a large margin, he could imagine the effect of rockets being launched into the enemy's camp, the rockets would rain down, the flames would blaze, and the poisonous gas and ash would spread.

This era puts a lot of emphasis on military formations, and a slight disturbance may even cause the danger of a complete collapse. Few troops can bear the hail of rockets falling.

The Ministry of Military and Political Affairs reported that Zhou's rockets began mass production in May. So far, there are [-] light rockets in stock, with a monthly production capacity of [-].There are [-] heavy rockets, and the monthly production capacity is [-]. Wang Dou thinks there are still few, and more manpower should be invested.

The power of rockets lies in their large-scale use. Wang Dou remembers that when Congreve attacked Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, he fired [-] rockets in one go, almost leveling the entire city and burning it into flames.

He is looking forward to the day when the company will be burned.

……

Zhong Susu had always hoped to have the opportunity to go hunting with Wang Dou, but after the establishment of the Duhu Mansion, there were so many things that Wang Dou didn't have the time to spare, and the matter didn't come to an end until the beginning of August.

At the invitation of Zhong Susu that day, Wang Dou readily agreed, and he also wanted to relax, so he went out of the city with Zhong Susu under the protection of the guard camp.

This is the most beautiful season beyond the Great Wall. The golden grassland scenery, the color of the birch trees and larch are gradually turning golden, and many herdsmen on the grassland are controlling horses, grazing cattle and sheep, and collecting pasture.By some rivers and lakes, golden wheat fields stretch as far as the eye can see, and many happy soldiers and civilians are busy harvesting.

Wheat was planted in the places that could be planted earlier, and now it is the harvest season, and those crops such as rapeseed, soybeans, and flax are also growing well, and it is the harvest season.

Looking at the scenery in front of him, Wang Dou is in a happier mood. The land is still being cultivated, and next year the waves of wheat will be boundless.

The continuous flow of caravans along the way shows that this land is glowing with great vigor and vitality.

Zhong Susu was also in a very good mood. She didn't wear a hat today, she wore a towel on her hair, felt boots on her feet, and a cloak tied over her clothes, giving her a sense of charm.She had prepared meticulously for this safari, not to mention bringing the guns she made.

After leaving the city, she smiled and said to Wang Dou: "General, the general knows that there are a lot of yellow sheep prey at Lingzhao Temple, why don't we go there?"

Wang Dou laughed loudly and said, "Everything is according to Brother Zhong's arrangement."

The horse galloped on the vast grassland, and a group of people galloped on horses. Zhong Susu sometimes ran with Wang Dou, and sometimes ran ahead, cheering happily.Seeing Zhong Xiancai yelling, all the guards looked at each other in blank dismay, and had no choice but to follow and protect silently.

Everyone arrived near Lingzhao Temple, where there is a large area of ​​mangrove trees, which are as red as fire.There are many pine, juniper, cypress, fir and other trees on the hillsides everywhere.

There are many lakes and seas in this area, with mountains and waters, and indeed there are a lot of prey. From time to time, groups of gazelle are seen drifting by.

Zhong Susu took out a large bundle of guns and gave half of them to Wang Dou. She fired first, aimed at a running gazelle, and knocked down the gazelle with a bang.

Wang Dou praised: "General Zhong is good at marksmanship!"

He looked at the blunderbuss in his hand, it was the same as what he saw that day, the blunderbuss in his hand was very fine, it could be called the top quality among riding blunderbusses.

He also aimed at an animal that looked like a deer or a sheep, and then pulled the trigger. With a sound of the gun, the animal fell to the ground whimpering.

Zhong Susu cheered and shouted: "The general is mighty!"

The guards around him originally wanted to applaud, but seeing this situation, they couldn't.

With the sound of the firecrackers, Wang Dou and Zhong Susu kept shooting prey in the forest, by the lake, and on the hillside, especially Zhong Susu kept chasing the prey, running forward and backward, yelling, and flushed with excitement.

Near noon, the two had already shot dozens of yellow sheep, mountain rabbits, and squirrels, and the harvest was rich. They were only busy with the guards who were loading ammunition.

In the end, Wang Dou handed the blunderbuss in his hand to the guards beside him, got off the horse by the side of a small lake, and looked at the lake with a long sigh of relief, feeling very happy and worthwhile for this trip.

Zhong Susu rushed over and said loudly: "Is the general tired?"

She wanted to get off the horse, but she let out a yelp, but slipped and fell off the horse.

Wang Dou shouted: "Be careful!"

Take a step forward, just in time to catch Zhong Susu.

Zhong Susu's face flushed instantly, and the pink color stretched all the way to her ears and neck. She quickly stood up and said in a low voice, "Thank you, General."

Wang Dou smiled and said, "Be careful, it's not a trivial matter to stumble right away."

Zhong Susu hummed, her voice was soft and shy, how could she still look like General Zhong in the past?

All the guards looked at each other kindly, and they were all speechless. Some people whispered in the distance: "You said that General Zhong is really..."

"You and I know it well, you don't need to say it... It's been so many years, so I won't be embarrassed..."

Zhong Tiaoyang has been standing silently on the side, looking at the guards, he coughed and said softly: "What are you looking at? Be careful."

Everyone had a sumptuous barbecue meal at noon, Zhong Susu waited attentively, and glanced at Wang Dou from time to time with gentle eyes, as if a thousand thoughts were flowing in his heart, there were many things he wanted to say, but he didn't say it in the end.

Everyone was about to pack up and leave in the afternoon when suddenly a fast horse came and was ushered in front of Zhong Tiaoyang. After saying a few words, Zhong Tiaoyang's expression changed.He took a newspaper, hurried to Wang Dou, and said solemnly: "General, an epidemic has been discovered in Yingzhou, and there is a fear of a major epidemic in the whole of Shanxi."

"what?"

Wang Dou took the newspaper and watched it, and sighed secretly for a long time: "Is it still here?"

(End of this chapter)