"This gun has a rear sight and a star sight in front. When the trigger is fired, both hands don't need to move. Aim to the millimeter and you can hit the target in the blink of an eye. The barrel is long and the energy is concentrated, so the range is longer and the power is greater!"

Qi Jiguang introduced the bird gun in a solemn voice and then demonstrated it to everyone personally.

He first pointed the muzzle of the gun at himself, and used a pre-loaded small bamboo tube to pour a certain amount of gunpowder into the muzzle. Then he pressed it with a cleaning rod, put in a lead bullet, and pressed it again with the cleaning rod.

Then turn the gun around and pour the extra fine gunpowder into the breech block of the bird gun. Shake it carefully, and when the gunpowder passes through the line gate and enters the gun barrel, temporarily close the breech block.

Then he inserted the lit match into the dragon head, opened the fire door again, held the gun with both hands, put his face against the butt, and aimed at the straw man a hundred steps away.

Finally, he pulled the trigger, and the leader pushed the fuse into the firing port. The gunpowder burned and the gun went off, and the straw man a hundred steps away fell to the ground!

Although its firing rate has not improved compared to the musket, it can be operated by one person and can be aimed in a straight line between three points like the muskets of later generations, so the shooting accuracy is naturally greatly improved.

In addition, the barrel is slender, making it easier to gather energy, and the range is naturally twice that of a musket.

The so-called bird gun is named because this gun can shoot down flying birds.

This is already the best firearm in the Ming Dynasty.

~~

When the smoke cleared, General Qi showed his face, caressing the bird gun in his hand lovingly, and said to Zhao Hao:

"This gun was invented by the barbarians in the west of Thailand. It was first used by the Japanese. The government troops with fire guns could not compete with it. It was not until the 27th year of Jiajing that Zhu Zhongcheng recovered Shuangyu and seized this bird gun and the person who made it. After the court tried it, it found that all other firearms were eclipsed. The Ministry of Works copied 10,000 guns at a time and deployed them to the southeast. Only then did the situation of resisting the Japanese gradually improve."

"The bird gun is so powerful!" Zhao Shizhen was already intoxicated by the beauty of that shot.

Zhao Hao, however, felt indifferent. After all, four hundred years later, this thing had been renamed as earth spear, and it could only be used to shoot birds.

Well, let's not compare it to four hundred years later. Even in Europe today, a mature flintlock rifle has been developed. It's just that some human factors prevented it from being popularized immediately.

What made Zhao Hao's eyes light up was the gunpowder used by Qi Jiguang.

He poured the gunpowder from the small bamboo tube into his palm and took a look at it. He saw that the gunpowder was in granular form, as big as sesame seeds.

"Gunpowder granulation..." Zhao Hao sighed softly. Damn it, this young master has lost another patent.

"At first, I just wanted to solve the problem that gunpowder was loose and easily affected by moisture, making it difficult to transport and store. I had a sudden idea to make gunpowder into a whole block. As a result, when it was broken up for use, it became like this. I thought this batch of gunpowder would be wasted, but unexpectedly I found that the power was much greater and the gun chamber was easier to clean... The only problem is that it is not easy to ignite, so the vent is still filled with gunpowder powder."

Qi Jiguang couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. This was his unique secret recipe. "I didn't expect that the doctor even knew this? No wonder Mr. Zhang wanted you to give him some guidance."

"Haha, I understand a little bit." Zhao Hao smiled modestly and said, "This is similar to the principle of coal lotus root."

"I would like to hear the details." Qi Jiguang immediately asked humbly.

"Because there are larger gaps between gunpowder particles, the combustion is more complete, the power is naturally greatly increased, and the residue after burning is naturally less," Zhao Hao explained.

"It's exactly the same as coal lotus." The disciples quickly took out their notebooks and wrote this down.

Then, at Zhao Hao's request, Qi Jiguang explained how to make granular gunpowder.

"Add water to the gunpowder, which is made up of one part sulfur, two parts nitrate and three parts charcoal, and pound it in a wooden mortar until it is half dry. Then, dry it in the sun to make a medicine cake, and crush it into the size of rice grains when you use it."

Then, he heard Zhao Hao whisper in his ear: "Seriously, don't use water next time."

"Then what should we use?" Qi Jiguang asked with anticipation.

"Urine." Zhao Hao really wanted to tell him the best answer, but he was afraid that General Qi would think he was teasing him, so he had to give the second-best answer:

"Soju."

"Okay, I'll give it a try later." Qi Jiguang nodded heavily and asked humbly, "Is there anything else that can be improved?"

"At present, the range, power and accuracy of the bird gun are all good, but the biggest problem is that the firing rate is too slow." Zhao Hao said seriously: "Of course, the seven-step shooting method that the general asked his subordinates to use is indeed a solution. But firstly, it requires too much training, and secondly, it takes up too many troops."

"That's right." Qi Jiguang said with a wry smile, "I don't have the confidence to promote it."

~~

Next, Qi Jiguang demonstrated to Zhao Hao the three main artillery pieces of the Ming army: the Portuguese cannon, the tiger squat cannon and the general cannon.

The Portuguese gun is also called a sub-cannon. It is an iron breech-loading smoothbore cannon. Its biggest feature is that the belly of the gun is thick and open. The pre-loaded sub-cannon is loaded into the belly of the gun and the gun can be fired after ignition.

After firing a cannon, take it out and replace it with another cannon, and then you can fire a second cannon. Therefore, as long as there are enough cannons, the firing rate is faster than that of a bird gun.

The biggest drawback is that the tolerance of the gap between the sub-gun and the barrel is large, causing gunpowder gas leakage, so the range and power are insufficient.

However, the large Portuguese machine weighing seven or eight hundred kilograms, under the control of Hu Shouren, was able to smash the Trojan horse a mile away, and its combat effectiveness was already considerable.

The small Portuguese gun weighs less than ten pounds and is equipped with five to nine sub-guns loaded with shotgun shells, making it very suitable for firepower strikes in mobile operations.

However, for Qi's army, the Tiger Crouching Cannon, which is equally light, has a longer range and greater power, is a more ideal partner in mobile warfare.

When everyone saw the two-foot-long cannon fixed to the ground with large iron nails, and the buckshot it fired instantly knocked down a dozen straw men within a mile, they were all horrified.

Wang Wuyang and the others were terrified. They had never expected that there was such a vicious weapon in the world...

Only Zhao Shizhen was so excited that he jumped up and down, and he wanted to pounce on the tiger squatting cannon and give it a big kiss.

As for the General Cannon, its power was even more terrifying. With one shot, it directly blew the opposite mountain wall into flying rocks.

However, the cannon is nearly four feet long and weighs more than two thousand pounds, so it seems that it can only be used to defend the city.

If used in a field battle, it would be enough to become a nightmare that would drag down logistics...

~~

After demonstrating all the prepared weapons, Qi Jiguang looked at Zhao Hao with anticipation, waiting for his good suggestions.

"I do have a few ideas..." Zhao Hao's ears were buzzing from the shock, but he pretended to be in deep thought and said, "But we have to try it to know, otherwise it's hard to say."

"Of course." Qi Jiguang agreed and said, "I have also tinkered with some things, but I figured them out bit by bit. Until I succeed, I really don't know which idea is right."

Zhao Hao thought to himself that it was because General Qi was too cautious, but it was the opposite for me.

I know which idea is right, but I may not be able to figure it out...

ps. Chapter 2, please guarantee the minimum monthly ticket and recommendation ticket~~~