Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 243

The gates of Hangzhou were closed.

Zhang Cunren was very cautious and did not underestimate the enemy.

From the top of the city, they watched the Ming army encircle Hangzhou outside the city, set up camp, and even dug trenches and piled up earth walls far away from Hangzhou city, and erected piles and trees to resist horses, and then sent troops to approach Hangzhou. The city is preparing to fill the trenches under the city.

Obviously, the Ming army is preparing to fight steadily, encircle first and then fight.

These behaviors made Zhang Cunren frown even more. The other party's behavior was very prudent, so he couldn't find many opportunities.At the beginning, Boluo rushed to Hangzhou from Jiangning, and the First World War forced King Lu to surrender in Kaicheng, so the city of Hangzhou didn't use much troops.After the war, Boluo relied on his military strength, and did not strengthen any military defenses in Hangzhou. Except for setting up some camps in the north of the Qiantang River, the city of Hangzhou did not strengthen much.

There are no plum blossom piles, sheep and horse walls, dry trenches, and moats.

Just as it looks from the outside, Hangzhou is a prosperous southeast town, not a war fortress.

Just as the Ming Dynasty did not expect that the Qing army would first go to Beijing, then Nanjing, and then take Hangzhou within a year, the Qing army also did not expect that after they took Hangzhou, the Ming army would still be able to counterattack.

The defense of Hangzhou is even far inferior to any of the fortresses on the Nine Sides. If it is an important town on the Nine Sides, not only the city walls are tall, there are enemy towers and arrow towers in the Urn City, there are even trenches and moats outside the city walls, and there are sheep and horse walls half a person's height outside the river to stop the enemy .

Even at a far point, countless plum blossom piles will be erected, and many large pits will even be dug to prevent the siege troops from easily reaching the city, let alone the siege equipment that threatens the city wall.

The one or two miles in front of the city wall will be a dead zone, and the siege troops will suffer countless casualties before they actually reach the city wall.

Even most fortresses will set up fortresses and camps outside the city to support and contain the enemy's army and prevent the opponent from concentrating on attacking the city. When necessary, the city will send cavalry out of the city at any time.

Even until the last moment, the city defenders will not stand guard in the city. They will put some infantry in front of the city wall, with their backs against the city wall. There are archers and crossbowmen in the city to cover them. It is a three-dimensional defense battle.

But now, Hangzhou City seems to be defenseless.

Fortunately, facing such a tall city of Hangzhou, the Ming army is also a novice. Although there are many veterans in the imperial camp, but Hangzhou is so big and the city walls are so high, it can't help but make people feel helpless.

But Zhu Yihai wasn't in a hurry to win Hangzhou, so he wasn't in a hurry to make a strong attack. This time, he regarded it as practice and followed the steps.

Those who set up camps dig trenches and build walls, build ladders and arrow towers, prepare to fill ditches and push walls, and patrol camps to guard against enemy attacks, and those who intercept and sweep the surrounding areas.Anyway, with Hangzhou as the center, Ming troops are everywhere within a radius of a hundred miles.

Zhu Yihai brought the imperial battalions from the ten towns to the eight towns. In the Qiantang River of Qiantang Bay is the Zhoushan Navy of the imperial camp, and on the shore are soldiers and horses from various towns.

Soldiers from the Jingying and Zhejiang battalions also came, and they were in charge of the periphery.

A loud bang.

The city of Hangzhou finally responded.

Zhang Cunren counterattacked with the red cannon.

Standing in the distance, Zhu Yihai watched the cannon blast far away, but did not cause any damage. At this time, the Ming army was still far away from the city wall, so the cannon was just powerful.

After the first shot, there was no more sound.

"There are many red-clothed cannons in the city of Hangzhou. That Zhang Cunren used to be General Guan Ning. He is good at using cannons. He will bring the cannons wherever he goes. He will definitely work hard. According to the intelligence, there are now 12 red-clothed cannons in the city of Hangzhou. , the Tartars are known as the mighty general Pao."

"This cannon is made of copper, with an iron core and copper body. It is thin at the front and thick at the back. It is more than seven feet long and weighs [-] catties. It has five catties of medicine and ten catties of iron core. It is installed on a four-wheeled cannon cart and is extremely powerful."

Zhu Yihai was not moved when he heard this.

During the Chongzhen Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty used to imitate a large number of red-clothed cannons, and even established a new type of firearms unit in Denglai. Unfortunately, because of the rebellion of a new chicken, Kong Youde, after corrupting Shandong, brought many new troops and artillery guns across the sea to the Qing Dynasty. went.

But after that, the Ming Dynasty continued to cast cannons. By the time Chongzhen hanged himself, it is said that thousands of cannons in red clothes had been cast.But the Qing army also attached importance to artillery, not only accepted Kong Youde, but also cast a large number of red cannons. As early as the fourth year of Chongzhen, the Qing army imitated its own red cannon and named it Tianyou Cheer General.

Immediately afterward, the Wuzhenchaoha Artillery Unit was established. From then on, all Tatars marched with red cannons. When it came to the decisive battle of Songjin, the Qing army used hundreds of red cannons to bombard the Ming army's Jinzhou Tashan and other fortresses. .

After the Battle of Songjin, the Ming army has fallen behind the Qing army in terms of artillery.

After entering the customs and occupying Beijing, a new artillery factory was quickly established in Beijing, and the output of casting artillery was extremely high.

Zhang Cunren is far away in Hangzhou, and he has twelve red cannons.

Of course, Zhu Yihai didn’t panic, because just before he launched the Battle of Hangzhou, Bi Fangji had already returned from Macau. He didn’t come back alone. 26 red-clothed cannons cast by the Bugarao Cannon Foundry in Macau.

In terms of cannon casting, the Bugarao Cannon Factory is known as the No. [-] cannon foundry in the Far East at this time, and its technical level and efficiency far exceed that of the Qing army and Ming Dynasty, which have only learned how to make cannons for more than ten years.

At this time, although there were many cannon foundries in Fujian and Guangdong that were established during the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty, the level of production was indeed stronger than that of Macao.

The 26 red-clothed cannons that Lao Bi brought back this time were made of 24-pound naval guns imitating British sailing guns, and their caliber and weight were much stronger than the red cannons imitating [-]-pound naval guns.

Lao Bi stayed in Macau for a long time this trip, but he also successfully completed his mission.

He proudly introduced those guns to Zhu Yihai, with a caliber of 148 mm, a shell diameter of 140 mm, a barrel length of 2.9 meters, and a total weight of [-] jin.

When the shooting angle is four degrees, the range can reach 350 meters, and when the shooting angle is raised to eight degrees, it can reach 250 meters.At a distance of 100 meters, the solid shell fired by this 24-pounder can penetrate five feet of oak.

Five feet, that is 1.5 meters [-], this penetrating ability is still very strong.

"Compared to the red-clothed cannons in the city of Hangzhou, the Tartars?"

Lao Bi got the information provided by Zhu Yihai and told him with certainty that the artillery of the Qing army in Hangzhou should be made in imitation of the 24-pound naval gun, and its caliber ratio and other factors showed that its performance was at most a quarter of that of the [-]-pound gun. the third.

"Actually, I think we should buy more 24-pound guns and other smaller guns, which are suitable for field maneuvers. These [-]-pound [-]-pound cannons are too heavy and difficult to transport. I came from Macau, and it was okay to transport them by sea. , but the short distance from the Qiantang River to the city of Hangzhou is very troublesome, it is difficult for eight horses to pull it, and it has to be restricted by the terrain and roads, so this kind of artillery is very inconvenient on the battlefield."

"And a 24-pound gun is the price of more than [-] three- and four-pound guns, which is too expensive."

Lao Bi's quotation to Zhu Yihai was 5000 taels of silver for a 24-pound gun, which was indeed expensive.And Lao Bi also said that he worked hard to get the gun factory to discount it, saying that it was originally 6000 taels.

However, as far as Zhu Yihai knew, the casting cost of a four-pound gun in the UK was at most 60 taels a piece. Even if the 24-pound gun was increased thirty times, the cost would be less than 2000 taels a piece.

But those red-haired ghosts, the four-pound guns have been sold for 1000 taels, and they still dare to ask for 200 taels, so it is indeed normal for them to sell the 24-pound guns for 6000 taels. Buying one didn't hurt Zhu Yihai.

But Zhu Yihai bought 26 doors at a time, why can't he get a group price?

In other words, in fact, the artillery factories in Guangdong and Fujian have no problems at all in terms of technical level and other aspects of imitating these cannons, and they are even stronger in terms of technology.

But there is a very critical problem, that is, technology is technology, and casting is casting. When it is really mass-produced, many old problems are committed again. Officials withhold materials, casting management is not in place, etc., so that their pass rate of guns is reduced. not tall.

The cost of a cannon is extremely high, but the pass rate is too low, so it is meaningless.

Although some cannons leave the factory after passing the test, but people like Daming are superfluous and everyone thinks about how to embezzle corruption. Zhu Yihai is really unwilling to spend money on it. He would rather buy some more expensive and use them first, and then find ways to recruit craftsmen later. , Set up a gun factory by yourself, strictly control management, technology, etc., improve casting technology, reduce casting cost, and increase casting efficiency and output.

Fortunately, Zhu Yihai can still afford 13 taels of silver.

Although the four-pound gun is cheap, light and easy to maneuver, the problem is that if you use thirty four-pound guns to bomb the city wall, the effect will not be as good as a 24-pound gun.

It can only be said that the four-pound gun is good for field battles, but not good for siege.

For the major Western powers competing for sea power at this time, the dozens of hundreds of cannons on their sailing warships are not only fighting for the distance of the cannons, but also the speed of fire.

For example, Spain, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and France all pay attention to the training of gunners. It is said that the rate of fire of British naval guns can be fired once a minute, which is twice that of the romantic French.

In close combat, gunners often fire two or three projectiles at a time, or solid bullets and shotgun shells, in order to maximize the destructive effect.

By this time, both the Ming and Qing armies were aiming at imitating eighteen-pound naval guns. These naval guns, collectively referred to as red cannons, far outperformed the various Franc machine guns, general guns, and Weiyuan guns that were imitated in the early years. Wait, even the usage scenarios are similar, used to attack cities and villages.

The Qing army liked to bombard the city with red cannons to open the way, and the Ming army actually put these cannons on the city wall to defend the city.

I have to say, it's a great game.

It was originally a naval gun, and the big point was fixed on the ship anyway. The Europeans used smaller guns during land warfare, but both the Ming and Qing Dynasties kept making them bigger. It doesn’t matter whether it is heavy or not. .

Last time Bi Francis brought hundreds of mercenaries, all of them were treated very well. They acted as instructors and received the instructor's salary. They often wrote letters to their families in Macau, boasting wildly.

So this time when Bi Francis was in Macau, many people took the initiative to find him, wanting to work for Lu Jianguo.

It has to be said that the 30-year war in Europe has indeed produced a group of outstanding veterans. Macau, which was occupied by the Portuguese, also often had to deal with threats from the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch, the British, etc., so they built forts and artillery factories to recruit mercenaries. , Bi Francis easily recruited [-] mercenaries.

"Do I need someone to pull up the cannon and show His Highness Jian Guo this advanced artillery?"

Zhu Yihai nodded, "First pull a door up and blast it, and respond to the Tartars in Hangzhou."

Although the 24-pound gun is quite strong, it is by no means the most advanced. There are also 32-pound or even 42-pound guns on the sail battleship.

(End of this chapter)