Sun Yuanhua and the others checked the cannon again before piercing the gunpowder bag with a long awl, then inserted a long fuse into it...

The fuse was lit, and even the gunner quickly ran behind the nearby earth wall. Everyone's eyes were on this cannon that they had never seen before.

With a resounding "bang," the shell shot out of the barrel amidst rising flames and white smoke. The wooden fuse, loaded with slow-burning gunpowder, was sprayed by gunpowder gases, emitting faint sparks as it streaked across the sky and flew into the distance.

The caliber of the Ming heavy mortar was astonishing, with shells weighing over 20 jin (approximately 100 kg), equivalent to a Western 24-pound mortar. Because it was made of bronze, it could hold twice as much propellant as a 10-jin (approximately 100 kg) field gun.

Although a lot of gunpowder did not have time to burn fully due to the short barrel, the sound of the firing was quite astonishing.

It's quite scary! Zhu Youxiao's telescope stopped at the impact point on the hillside, and he didn't forget to complain.

Time passed, Zhu Youxiao did not move, and people who did not know the situation could only wait. They did not know that the artillery had been fired. Could they kill the enemy with just one blow?

It took a long time, Zhu Youxiao estimated that it was thirty or forty seconds, before the landing shell exploded with a bang, and a black smoke column mixed with snow, dust and mud rose on the hillside.

Amid the involuntary exclamations of surprise from the crowd, Zhu Youxiao put down the telescope and let out a long breath.

Because of the large shooting angle, the shells fired by mortars generally fly in the air for a longer time.

To avoid mid-air explosions and for launch safety reasons, delay fuses are designed to be long rather than short. Therefore, thirty or forty seconds is considered moderate, while some missiles can even take up to a minute from landing to explosion.

Zhu Youxiao could accept that the extremely simple fuse could reach this level. This was much safer than a blasting shell with a long fuse that needed to be ignited at the muzzle.

As everyone turned their gazes back, the emperor on the stage stood up. Minister Sun seemed to be bowing to persuade him, but the emperor smiled and waved his hands, unmoved.

Finally, accompanied by Sun Chengzong and protected by his guards, the emperor walked down the stage and headed towards the artillery position.

"Your humble servant (the humble general) pays homage to the emperor!" Wherever the emperor passed, civil and military officials all bowed to greet him.

"No need to be so polite, please stand up." Zhu Youxiao raised his hand from time to time and called everyone with a smile.

Walking straight to the artillery position, the emperor first circled the Ming heavy cavalry twice, then looked at the artillery shells next to it, nodded slightly from time to time, and praised Sun Yuanhua and others.

Then, Zhu Youxiao came to the field artillery not far away, observed it closely, reached out and patted the heavy gun barrel with a relaxed smile on his face.

Because of its small caliber, the barrel of the field gun is not long. Unlike long-barreled cannons such as the Red Cannon, it can also fire shrapnel shells.

In other words, field artillery can fire three types of shells: solid shells, grenades, and shrapnel shells. This is basically the same as the information about Napoleon's artillery that Zhu Youxiao remembered.

Since field artillery can also fire shrapnel, why do we still need to build the Ming Dynasty heavy mortar?

Because the Ming Dynasty heavy mortar not only has a long range, but is also lightweight. With a thick wooden base weighing less than 200 pounds, it can be loaded onto a cart and pulled anywhere, or even carried by people, making it extremely maneuverable.

When fired at a 45-degree angle, the Ming Dynasty's heavy mortar can hit a distance of about 1,000 meters; the 10-jin cannon can hit a distance of 700 to 800 meters, the 5-jin cannon can hit a distance of more than 500 meters, the old artillery and the Portuguese cannon can hit a distance of more than 300 meters, and the sky bombs thrown by grenade carts can hit a distance of more than 100 meters.

Within a hundred meters, it's the range where light and heavy muskets can be used to show their power; if it's closer, just use the bayonet to kill him!

Zhu Youxiao thought about the killing distance of the enemy, from the close-range bayonet attack to the long-range bombing of one thousand meters. How many Jiannu soldiers would be killed by this? He couldn't help but feel happy.

On a whim, the emperor personally picked up a ten-pound spherical bullet, walked to the cannon, and stuffed it into the muzzle.

"Hello, be careful." Teacher Sun hurried forward. Although he was a man in his sixties, his movements were still quite agile.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, watched the shell go smoothly into the barrel, blinked his eyes, and looked thoughtful.

After a while, the emperor seemed to have realized something and smiled. He praised the students of the martial arts and artillery department before turning around and returning to the palace.

………………

Attaching importance to firearms, cannons, and artillery is the firm thinking that modern people who have traveled back to ancient times have inherited from the development of military history.

The use of large numbers of artillery in wars, even in field battles, as well as the regularization and specialization of artillery, have had a profound impact on the course of wars in history and can be called a milestone.

"Artillery is the god of war"!

Zhu Youxiao carefully wrote the imperial inscription, thought for a while, and continued to write about the expansion of the artillery department and the training of artillerymen in the martial arts.

It is very expensive to make artillery, and the gunpowder and shells needed for training also cost a lot, but in Zhu Youxiao's view these are not the most important things.

Cultivating professional, regular and brave artillerymen and formulating scientific and advanced artillery tactics are what Zhu Youxiao believes to be the key difficulties.

Although Zhu Youxiao had an urgent desire to pacify Liao, it was obviously too hasty to use artillery in field battles now.

When it comes to determining victory or defeat in a war, weapons are certainly important, but the people who use them are even more important.

Therefore, equipping the troops with a large number of artillery pieces is only the beginning. Before the artillery and tactics meet the requirements, they will mostly be used for defense rather than field battles.

Field artillery is very different from relying on city or position defense. The setting of positions, the angle and distance of bombardment, and coordination with infantry and cavalry, etc., are all complex subjects.

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