Chapter 376

Lu Chengqi was also very curious about how many cannons the two of them had scrapped after wasting a lot of casting, and immediately said: "Alright, I want to see what the rear-loading cannons you cast look like."

As soon as the holy mouth is opened, the holy decree is issued.Without hesitation, Tang Xun took his leave and went to find someone to move the cannon.After a while, more than 20 strong craftsmen pushed five cannons, thick or thin, long or short, with carts.

When Lu Chengqi took a look, he knew that they were all substandard products.Even one of the cannons has cracks in the barrel.This kind of artillery, I am afraid that it did not fire a single shell, but it would explode first.No wonder it was a waste cannon, it turned out to be such a cannon!

One can be seen as a breech-loading gun at a glance, very much like a large version of the Hongxiang rifle.This is probably because Su Song and Tang Xun saw the power of the Hongxiang rifle, and estimated that if the Hongxiang rifle was enlarged, it would definitely be more powerful.

But what they didn't expect was that such a non-proportional magnification would make a difference of a tiny bit and a thousand miles away.The cast artillery, not to mention the increase in power, even the range of the Hongxiang rifle can't match it!

When Su Song introduced their "achievements" one by one, his face was full of helplessness.He also knew that making guns and casting cannons were two different things.The gun barrel can also be cast with an iron mold. While it is still molten iron, it is poured into the iron mold, and the two sides are closed together. After the molten iron is formed, the gun barrel is completed.This method is invented on the basis of the original technology, saving time and effort.Although the strength of the manufactured barrel is not satisfactory, once the barrel is damaged, it can be replaced immediately.And the damaged gun barrel can also be smelted into molten iron and then cast into a gun barrel, which is not considered a waste.The casting gun is different. The Hongxiang rifle can be cast separately, because the rifle is originally assembled.But if the cannon leaks a little bit of air, the whole cannon will be useless.Separately cast cannons are prone to air bubbles. In this era of backward cast iron technology, assembling cannons seems to be an impossible task.

After repeated failures, Su Song and Tang Xun summed up their experience and adopted the clay mold casting method to cast the cannon body at one time, with tight seams, no air leakage, and almost no air bubbles.This kind of artillery is beyond the expectations of Su Song and Tang Xun, and it has a range of ten miles in the first experiment.The loud noise startled the surrounding farmers. There was a thunderstorm on a sunny day, which made them talk a lot. I brought it up by myself... well, the latter is obviously fooling people, just like in a certain movie clip in later generations, a beggar grabbed a little boy and said, "Boy, I see your bones are amazing, and an aura shines through from the sky. It turns out that I have been training my muscles and bones at a young age, and I can get through the two veins of Ren and Du for you in time? Seeing that I have a destiny with you, this "Tathagata God's Palm" is sold to you cheaply, and you only charge ten yuan. From now on From now on, the task of maintaining world peace will be entrusted to you, okay?"

Fortunately, the inspectors were dispatched everywhere, walking around the village and saying that this is the latest secret weapon tested by the military inspector, and it is specially used to beat the Khitan people.Only then did the panicked farmers calm down, and they all said: "With such a divine thunder, the Khitan people will definitely not be able to get it this time!"

"At the end of the day, it's still the Holy Spirit..."

"Who said no? After the agricultural tax is lowered, which family will have a hard time?"

"It's just..."

……

Of course, Lu Chengqi didn't know these things. He was carefully observing the five useless cannons at the moment. According to Su Song, two of them could not fire shells at all.The remaining three cannons all had air leaks, and the shells could not hit far, even worse than the bed crossbow.

Lu Chengqi observed carefully and found that it was indeed the case.The rear-loading gun that adopts the assembly method cannot completely block the air hole in the gun body, the gunpowder cannot be fully burned, and there is no strong explosive power. Naturally, the shell weighing several kilograms cannot be fired very far.

It's just that Lu Chengqi has to admire the imagination of Su Song and Tang Xun, many designs are ingenious.Take the rear-loading gun door as an example. It adopts a design similar to a door hinge. When loading shells, just open the gun door.It's just that the problem of air leakage cannot be solved, and no matter how spiritual the design is, it is just an ornament.

The remaining three cannons are all similar in design, and a lot of effort has been made to block the air holes.It's just that the technology of this era is really limited. Even if Su Song and Tang Xun try their best, they still can't solve this problem.

Later, Su Song, who had a quick mind, thought about it: "Perhaps your Majesty's idea is not wrong. With our own ability, such a rear-mounted artillery can't be cast at all. Tang Shilang, why don't you try to block the rear and block it from the front?" What do you think about loading gunpowder shells?"

At that time, Tang Xun had no choice but to treat the dead horse as a living horse doctor.I never thought that such a cannon is really very effective, and it was successfully cast in one shot.The back of such a cannon is completely blocked, except for a small hole reserved for the lead wire.

Listening to Su Song's explanation, Lu Chengqi finally understood the problem.Although this design is simple, it is extremely practical.It is expected to be successful, but if this is enough, the artillery will not improve.Lu Chengqi still felt that the rear-loading gun had a great advantage in the rate of fire.

Shen Kuo, who was listening carefully at the side, suddenly said: "I have a way, I don't know what your Majesty thinks." This sentence was clearly meant for Lu Chengqi, but in fact it was meant for Su Song and Tang Xun.After all, it was the two of them who were in charge of casting the cannon, not Lu Chengqi.

After experiencing the turmoil in the imperial court, Lu Chengqi, who now has a deeper understanding of the world and the world, also understands what Shen Kuoweihe wants to say.The three of them worked in a division of labor, Shen Kuo was in charge of the design of the new warship, while Tang Xun was in charge of casting the cannon.Because Su Song is an all-rounder, he takes care of the overall situation.

Now that there is a problem with Tang Xun, even if Shen Kuo wants to help, he is afraid of taking their credit and making them evil.Only with Lu Chengqi's decree can he participate in the casting of the cannon "justifiably".

Such twists and turns, if it was Lu Chengqi before, he would definitely not be aware of it.But political struggle is the most tempering. As an emperor, if Lu Chengqi is simple-minded and not used to digging into it, then he is very unqualified as an emperor.

Such an idea, now Lu Chengqi only needs to think about it for a while, and immediately said with a smile: "The three of you are the talents I rely on the most. If Shen Qing has any whims, it's okay to say!"

 Thank you book friend Fu Mengchao for your reward!
  
 
(End of this chapter)

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