Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Chapter 504 General, this doesn't feel right

Among the forty bronze cannons, eleven were imitation cannons that were cast by Bi Maokang and Johann Adam Schall von Bell over a period of two months.

The main reason for the low efficiency is the lack of enough skilled craftsmen. However, after many improvements, the copper cannons currently manufactured by the General Manufacturing Administration are comparable to those of the Portuguese in performance.

This copper cannon contains about 90 percent copper, in addition to copper it also contains 6 percent tin, as well as some lead and zinc.

The twenty-four-pound bronze cannon weighs about 1,300 kilograms, and if the vehicle that transports the cannon is included, it almost reaches one and a half tons.

There were forty of these bronze cannons, and the number of gunners and related transportation personnel alone reached four to five thousand.

Of course, in addition to the bronze cannons, the transported baggage also included a large amount of ammunition. The weight of the shells of this caliber of artillery reached a terrifying ten kilograms.

According to the ratio, 3.5 kilograms of black powder are required for each artillery shell fired.

This specification is almost the most powerful cannon in Asia, and the amount of gunpowder used is more than twice that of the old-style French cannon of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the artillery is very large and heavy, making it inconvenient to transport. In order to transport these forty artillery pieces here, many problems occurred along the way.

There is no way around it. Siege guns are different from field guns. What is required is absolute power. After all, one is used against people, while the other is used against solid city walls.

After so much effort, its power is naturally not comparable to that of ordinary artillery.

Before this, the old-style French cannon most commonly used by the Ming Dynasty had an effective range of only about 500 steps, or about 750 meters.

Moreover, the farther the target is, the worse the accuracy will be. Basically, if it is more than 300 steps, it will become a conscienceless cannon because no one knows where the shell will fall.

These forty bronze cannons have more sophisticated sights and crosshairs, with a range of over 2,300 meters, and an effective range of about 1,200 meters.

In addition to the performance of the copper cannon itself, it is also related to the granular black gunpowder improved by Bi Maokang.

The combustion efficiency of black powder processed into granules is nearly 30% higher than before, and the same amount of black powder can generate more thrust.

After repeated tests, it was found that the original copper cannon had a range of only two kilometers, but the use of this granulated black gunpowder has enabled it to reach its current range.

To the extent that Zhang Shikang even felt that even when facing the Portuguese and the Dutch, they were not inferior to them in terms of artillery.

I just don’t know whether the Portuguese are using larger caliber artillery in their homeland, but fortunately, there is no conflict of interest between the Ming Dynasty and the Portuguese in the short term.

"Marshal, the artillery has been loaded!" Qi Dazhu shouted loudly.

"Target, the main force of bandits on the other side of the river. We don't have many chances. Calibrate first before fighting." Zhang Shikang said, looking at the bandit army on the other side of the river.

In addition to the bandit army on the other side of the river, there were also several rows of artillery set up on the mudflats.

However, Zhang Xianzhong did not have the ability to cast cannons, and most of the cannons he used were various old cannons removed from the city walls of various cities in Sichuan.

The Ming Dynasty was impoverished in the past few years. Sichuan was the rear base of the Ming Dynasty, and most of its artillery and other equipment were old things from decades ago, with a range of only about 500 steps at most.

Zhang Shikang understood the intentions of the bandits on the other side of the river very well. They just wanted to wait for the troop transport ships to cross to the middle of the river so that they could bombard them with artillery.

Although this method is old-fashioned, if Zhang Shikang does not have new artillery, it seems that he will have no good way to deal with it for a while.

Although there were many places to cross the river, it would take too long to transport 60,000 people across the river, and Zhang Xianzhong could not hide this from him.

When he was suppressing the Jiangnan rebels last year, he went to great lengths to ask Zheng Zhilong for support in order to cross the river. Only after the main naval force of the Jiangnan rebels was destroyed could he cross the river safely. This shows his ability.

But now it’s different. Large-caliber artillery can completely cover the bandits on the other side of the river.

The bandits on the opposite side were still foolishly waiting for them to cross the river.

They thought the imperial court was lambs to be slaughtered, just as Zhang Shikang treated them as lambs.

"General, this doesn't taste right!

Why did the imperial court place cannons on the other side of the river?

Is it possible that they are waiting for us to cross the river?"

The guard looked at the battle formation on the other side of the river and asked Zhang Nengqi with some confusion.

Zhang Nengqi was also watching with his eyes narrowed, but they didn't have a telescope, and at such a long distance, they could only roughly see the situation on the other side of the river.

Of course, Zhang Nengqi also noticed that something was wrong on the other side of the river.

As one of the four generals under Zhang Xianzhong, although Zhang Nengqi was only in his early twenties, he had followed Zhang Xianzhong in his battles for seven or eight years.

This time, his adoptive father sent him as the vanguard general to stop the imperial troops from crossing the river. For this purpose, he mobilized a total of fifty cannons of various types for him, and even dismantled more than a dozen cannons from the capital of the Atlantis Kingdom.

Zhang Nengqi certainly understood the responsibility on his shoulders. If the imperial troops were allowed to cross the river, it would be the biggest crisis since the founding of the Great Western Kingdom.

Therefore, even though he felt that the imperial troops on the other side of the river were very suspicious, he still did not order a withdrawal.

He wanted to see what kind of maze the other party had set up.

"Marshal, the calibration has been completed. However, the enemy's main force is 800 steps away from us, so the accuracy may be a little off. However, I must ensure that at least 60% of the time we can hit the enemy." Qi Dazhu reported.

"Never mind him, fire!" Zhang Shikang gave the order to the gunners in no time.

Following his order, the gunners immediately lit the fuse at the tail of the cannon, and thick smoke soon rose on the mudflat.

Zhang Shikang picked up the telescope and looked towards the other side of the river. He quickly locked onto the enemy's commander and could recognize him just by his clothes.

Inside the telescope, Zhang Nengqi frowned, as if troubled by something.

Since he had such doubts, I think the other party must be a general with rich combat experience, but it was all meaningless.

No one will know the answer until the cannon fires.

Because the most advanced firearms always have epoch-making significance. No matter how smart you are, it is impossible to understand a killing weapon you have never seen before.

Zhang Shikang raised the corner of his mouth and stared at Zhang Nengqi closely.

Senior generals such as Qin Liangyu, Ma Xianglin, Qin Yiming, and Sun Weifan were also looking forward to Zhang Shikang's so-called great treasure.

It was the first time for Qin Liangyu, Ma Xianglin and Qin Yiming to see such a large-caliber artillery, and they all looked expectant.

Compared with the maturity and composure of the veterans, Ma Lingqi, who was officially following the army for the first time, seemed a little nervous.

As a member of Zhang Shikang's personal guard, she was still wearing the bright silver light armor. Probably because Hong Xiucheng reminded her, she tucked the silver spear under her armpit and covered her ears with her hands, looking particularly cute.

At the same time, Ma Lingqi also looked at Zhang Shikang quietly.

At this moment, Zhang Shikang had a crooked mouth corner, and the whole person gave people a domineering feeling.

That was the feeling of being proud and relieved after being depressed for two or three years, and it was also the confidence of being the Grand Marshal of the Guards.

He was wearing golden armor and riding on a warhorse. He looked calm and had a hint of arrogance, which made Ma Lingqi a little stunned.

Boom—boom—

Suddenly, there were loud noises like thunder coming from the earth.

Forty large-caliber bronze cannons erupted with anger one after another.

……