Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 325 Caron Cannon

"About one thousand taels of silver per gun..." Gongsha converted the number Wannu said into the Ming Dynasty's measurement system, and then translated, "This large-caliber cast iron cannon has a relatively low yield rate, so it is still quite expensive at the moment."

"I don't need such a long barrel. What if the caliber is reduced by half?" Lin Hai asked. The gun in front of him was obviously not a naval gun. The barrel was too long, and there was not enough space to arrange a pair of guns on the side.

"In that case, the yield rate can be greatly improved, and I think the price can be reduced to about a quarter." Wan Nu replied after thinking about it in his mind.

"More than two hundred taels?" Lin Hai was delighted when he heard that. It was such a fair price that even he felt embarrassed to bargain down further.

He had the impression that a British 12-pound cannon at that time would cost about 200 taels, but he did not know that the labor and raw material costs in Europe were much more expensive than those in the Ming Dynasty. The reason why the Bugalo Cannon Factory could dominate the artillery industry in the Far East was actually inseparable from the huge iron production and population size of the Ming Dynasty.

Wan Nu continued, "Three hundred taels at most. I have never made a large-caliber cannon with such a short caliber. I can only roughly estimate the yield rate."

Lin Hai nodded when he heard this. The bore of the cannons of that era was not accurate enough, and the barrels were generally longer than those of later generations. He then asked, "So what is the diameter of the shortest one you have ever made?"

"20. If it's shorter, no one will want it." Wan Nu replied after hearing the translation.

"How about this? You design two sizes of naval guns for me. The caliber should be the same as this gun..." Lin Hai pondered for a moment and then said, "As for the caliber, one should be 20 and the other should be 13."

"13 times the caliber? Isn't that too short?" Wan Nu was shocked when he heard this. "General, please forgive me for being frank, but with such a short barrel, the range and power will be seriously insufficient..."

"So you have to make sure the bore size is as accurate as possible, as smooth and straight as possible, and not off-center."

Lin Hai interrupted Gongsha before he finished translating. Wannu's reaction was completely within his expectations. After all, in Europe at that time, even the most lightweight army cannons were generally more than 15 times the caliber, unlike the Ming army, which often used wrought iron cannons with a caliber of less than 10.

In land warfare, the longer caliber of artillery certainly has its advantages, but this advantage is not obvious in naval warfare. Because naval guns are difficult to aim in the waves, the engagement distance of naval artillery battles is often very close, and the range and power of naval guns are greatly exceeded.

In comparison, the caliber is more important, as a larger caliber means greater destructive power. If the hull near the waterline is penetrated, the enemy ship will take in water faster and more likely to sink due to damage control failure.

In view of this, the British in later generations specially developed a large-caliber short-barreled cannon, which became a powerful weapon in naval battles for a time. That was the famous carronade.

Of course, the caliber of the carronade is generally only 4 to 8, so Lin Hai doesn't dare to play with it for the time being. After all, it was a product more than a century later, and the Wilkinson boring machine that made a key contribution to Watt's steam engine had already been invented. The technical level of barrel processing is incomparable to the current level.

In fact, the Wilkinson boring machine was originally designed for the carronade, not for the cylinder of the Watt steam engine. This is also a typical example of military industry promoting scientific and technological progress.

As for why he chose the number 13, it was not a random choice by Lin Hai. He had read in a later book that the best range for the caliber of a cannon was between 13 and 24, so he chose the lowest value.

This is equivalent to borrowing the design concept of the carronade, but taking into full consideration the technological level of the era, a new type of naval gun was conceived. "General, even if you say so, I dare not guarantee the power and accuracy of this cannon..." Wan Nu was very reluctant to hear this. He was worried that Lin Hai would regret it after it was built and refuse to pay.

"Just do as I say. Even if the power and accuracy are not satisfactory, this general will accept it. Just name a price." Lin Hai waved his hand generously. As someone who has played with the Weiyuan cannon, he thinks that the caliber of 13 is conservative. Maybe 10 is enough.

After all, the protection of warships in this era was not as good as that of later generations. VOC ships generally only had double hulls for returning ships, and the wood materials used were not as sophisticated as those of battleships.

"Okay then..." Wan Nu reluctantly agreed, as if he was worried that this gun would affect the reputation of the gun factory. "The price is also related to the output. I wonder how many guns the general wants?"

"How many can you build within a year, with half and half of the two specifications of naval guns?" Lin Hai said the more the better. If this short-barreled gun could really play a role similar to the carronade, it would undoubtedly be a great help in the decisive battle with the VOC. What's more, he had already intended to flex his muscles to the Spanish and Portuguese forces through arms procurement.

"Let's just do 50. We can't do more than that." Wan Nu added, "We received too many orders last year and we were too busy to handle them all."

"Stop everything and give priority to meeting this general's needs." Lin Hai snorted expressionlessly, and was about to use his official position to intimidate others. He couldn't bring the Portuguese director here for nothing.

But this trick didn't work on Wan Nu. The Portuguese director used both soft and hard tactics to communicate with him for a long time, but Wan Nu refused to give in. In the end, he said, "The most important thing for a businessman is reputation. All customers are equal to me. Either you fire me or follow my rules!"

Lin Hai was really angry now, and immediately slapped the artillery road: "Don't give me that, you've put my order behind you."

After hearing this, Wan Nu apologized again, and then explained: "Although I had come to Macau at that time, I was just an ordinary artillery engineer at first. When I became the Wang family's foundry master, all this had already happened. Mr. Pereira was in a hurry to go to sea, so unfortunately we were unable to complete the order on time."

It turns out that Wan Nu joined the artillery factory in the fifth year of Tianqi, but became the factory director in the sixth year of Tianqi...

After Lin Hai found out the whole story, he calmed down immediately. It seems that this Jewish businessman is not just talking big, he may really regard reputation as his life.

Technology and management are only one aspect; a truly top businessman must have something else.

More than 20 years later, when Vanu learned that he had no chance to become the Governor of Macau because of his Jewish ancestry, he left the gun factory in anger and returned to Goa. The once prosperous Vanu company once again fell into the quagmire of losses, just like before he came to Macau. This can no longer be explained simply by the level of technology, because the craftsmen in the gun factory knew all these things.

Although Lin Hai was not clear about the ins and outs of this matter, he knew that the Bugalao Cannon Factory had only been prosperous for twenty years in Wan Nu's hands.

"Then let's just make 50 guns. Please give me a price as soon as possible." Lin Hai finally compromised. Most capable people have tempers. Wan Nu is obviously the soul of the Bugalao Artillery Factory. It is more reassuring to let him manufacture this batch of artillery.

(End of this chapter)