Yongle Emperor's grandson: Zhu Yuanzhang with cheats, Zhu Di went crazy

Chapter 102: Emperor Hongxi's Northern Expedition General (Please subscribe)
When the smoke from the target cleared, the old man turned around in astonishment and asked Zhu Zhanjun, "Can this cannonball still explode?"

"Why not?" Zhu Zhanjun asked the old man.

"Uh." The old man was stunned. Yes, why not.

Facing the confused old man and several big men, Zhu Zhanjun wondered, "Sometimes I can't understand why fireworks can fly in the air and explode, but everyone only thinks of entertainment instead of applying this technology to artillery."

The old man and several bigwigs were also silent. Yes, why didn’t they think about it?

As long as technology breaks through that layer of window paper, there is actually nothing mysterious about it.

In the current Ming Dynasty, some technologies have reached maturity, and the black powder is infinitely close to the most perfect black powder formula today.

Zhu Zhanjun was even surprised to find that in the department of the Ministry of Industry that specialized in making gunpowder, there was an old gentleman who had been making gunpowder all his life and had discovered that granulating gunpowder would be more powerful.

However, his discovery was ruthlessly rejected by Shangguan.

The reason is that the consumption is too great, and the other party just needs to make the gunpowder and not try to find shortcuts.

Among the first batch of craftsmen transferred here was this gunpowder craftsman who was about to be kicked back to his hometown to retire.

Now this old gentleman is the head of the gunpowder research department.

In terms of artillery shells, Zhu Zhanjun proposed the idea of ​​shrapnel shells. Several craftsmen in this field immediately proposed to use fireworks as a prototype to create shrapnel shells that could be fired and exploded.

Zhu Zhanjun was curious at the time, why they had such a perfect idea but never reported it?

The craftsmen just smiled and then went back to work.

Zhu Zhanjun understood what they meant.

The status of craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty was really not high, and there were even fewer of them in the leadership class.

Those who sit in positions of power only believe in what they know. They never investigate or verify things that challenge their knowledge, but simply deny them.

There are no professionals to help at the upper level, and the craftsmen at the lower level have endless work to do every day. All they worry about every day is how to make enough food to eat, so they have no time to think about these messy things.

“Any other demos?”

The old man changed the subject and looked towards the artillery expectantly.

Zhu Zhanjun glanced at the old man and said nothing more.

Some things are problems of the entire class and cannot be solved with just a few words.

"Yes." Zhu Zhanjun nodded and waved the command flag. Four small cannons with strange shapes were brought out by the artillerymen.

While the soldiers were preparing, Zhu Zhanjun explained to the old man and others: "This cannon is called the Crouching Tiger Cannon. Unlike normal artillery, it does not shoot in a straight line, but strikes the enemy from above in an arc."

"The main targets of attack are enemies on the city walls or behind defensive bunkers."

As Zhu Zhanjun explained, the artillerymen who were ready in the distance lit the fuse.

With a few loud bangs, four black dots moved in an arc trajectory and smashed into a pile of targets.

There were three loud explosions, and the pottery jars around the handle were blown into pieces, and several scarecrow targets were also shaking.

Zhu Zhanji, who was observing the effect of the bombardment, glanced at the four neatly placed tiger crouching cannons, and recalled that there seemed to be only three explosions just now, so he reminded Zhu Zhanjun: "Second brother, it seems that one of them didn't go off."

Zhu Zhanjun nodded and explained: "This is a very normal phenomenon. The shrapnel shells use a slow-burning fuse."

"The different lengths of fuses represent how long it will take to explode."

"But all of this needs to be estimated by the soldiers themselves. Sometimes the reduction is a little more or a little less, and there is no unified explosion, which is a very normal phenomenon."

"Flight speed and various other factors can also cause artillery shells to misfire."

Facing the old man, Zhu Zhanjun stated: "According to the standards we set, half of the explosions will be considered a success."

The old man nodded in agreement: "The battlefield changes rapidly, and people can make all kinds of mistakes, let alone this kind of dead thing."

"Very good, I am very satisfied with this item. It is a powerful weapon for attacking cities and capturing strongholds."

Seeing that the old man approved of this weapon, several veterans also nodded in agreement.

"This thing is already very good, and it can reach such a high point. Which city wall can withstand it?"

"If we had this thing before, we wouldn't have to fight so hard when attacking a city or a stronghold."

"Yes, it is indeed a good thing." An old general looked at Zhu Zhanjun with a smile and said, "Your Highness, please prepare more of these things. When your Majesty sends me to fight in the future, Your Highness must not forget to provide more support."

"You wish. I don't have enough of these things. You old man, just wait patiently." The old man laughed and pointed at the old general, then patted Zhu Zhanjun on the shoulder and said with satisfaction: "Grandpa is very satisfied with these two new types of artillery. I will allocate a thousand craftsmen in this field to you, plus some materials. You must make something that can hold the fort before the northern expedition next year."

Although Zhu Zhanjun was happy in his heart, he still shook his head: "Grandpa, it's not that I don't want to make cannons for you, but the temperature in winter is really not suitable for making cannons."

Then he told the old man all the disadvantages of making artillery in winter.

"There is such a saying." The old man was a little disappointed, but then he smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. If it doesn't work this time, there will be another time."

When these words were spoken, the eyelids of Zhao Xian, Xia Yuanji and other ministers twitched wildly.

Although they already knew that if they let the old man go on the northern expedition this time, they would definitely not be able to stop him next time, the old man didn't say it, and they still had a little hope in their hearts.

As a result, the old man's words just now completely shattered their fantasy. Their Yongle Emperor would probably become the Northern Expedition General of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the future.

The opening performance of the artillery achieved perfect results.

From the old man to the ordinary soldiers, as well as Zhu Zhanjun, everyone received satisfactory rewards.

As for what those ministers thought, Zhu Zhanjun did not consider it.

Judging from the old man's satisfied expression, he will definitely handle the subsequent problems by himself.

The artillery was withdrawn, and a hundred soldiers stepped forward quickly. Out of everyone's curiosity, they took out a round iron ball with a wooden handle from their bags.

"What is this?"

The old man pointed to the wooden-handled grenade in the soldier's hand.

Zhu Zhanjun explained to him: "This thing is called Palm Thunder, it is an explosive weapon thrown by a single soldier. This weapon is light and can be carried with you. In sieges or urban warfare, soldiers can throw it to kill enemies in rooms or in narrow defensive positions."

While Zhu Zhanjun was talking, the soldiers pulled out the fuse from behind the wooden handle, lit it with the torches nearby, and threw it forward with force.

"Boom boom boom..."

Continuous explosions sounded, and a large number of bottles and jars in the target area were shattered.

"Why does it look so much like a flying fire thunder?"

An old veteran thought about it and felt that this thing called Palm Thunder looked a little familiar.

Zhu Zhanjun looked at him and said, "General Hu, you are right. This is a weapon improved from the Flying Fire Thunder."

The veteran general surnamed Hu nodded in understanding, and then exclaimed: "This thing is really amazing. If the enemy is hiding in the room, just throw a few of them in through the window. Even if they can't be killed, the huge explosion can make them dizzy and lose their ability to resist."

After hearing General Hu's analysis, the old man and others nodded in agreement.

"Not only that, during the battle to defend the city wall, this object can be thrown directly out to make up for the shortcoming that artillery cannot fire at the bottom of the city wall at close range."

"Old Liu is right. In addition to these, it can also be used in naval battles. Combat on the deck is a little better. If you are in the cabin and cannot use long weapons, you can use this thing to clear the way."

The veteran with rich battlefield experience is indeed extraordinary.

Zhu Zhanjun just gave a brief reminder, and these veterans soon learned various uses of palm thunder.

The old man nodded repeatedly, turned to Zhu Zhanjun and instructed: "Record the ideas of these elders later. These are the many years of combat experience of your elders."

Zhu Zhanjun clasped his fists in response, then waved the command flag and began to display the next weapon.

Targets were erected in the distance, and ten soldiers quickly stepped forward and stood in the designated area.

Five of the soldiers carried the long hexagonal barrels on their shoulders and used a simple aiming tool to aim at the target in the distance.

Another soldier held a torch nearby, ready to light the fire at any time.

Many people are familiar with this thing, it is the Ming Dynasty's swarm of group attack firearms.

The old man suffered this loss in the past, and the team was almost defeated by this thing.

The old man looked solemn, quietly waiting to see what Zhu Zhanjun could do with this already powerful weapon.

After everything was ready below, Zhu Zhanjun waved the command flag vigorously.

chi chi...

The fuse was lit instantly, and the soldiers on their shoulders took up horse stance, fully alert and ready.

Tweet…

Suddenly, a whistle sounded, and a specially made rocket flew away with a thick tail flame.

As soon as this arrow flew out, the second one followed closely, and then the third, the fourth...

Thick smoke enveloped the soldiers who were launching the rockets, but the old man and the others didn't care at all. Their attention was closely attracted by the flying rockets.

"This is so far away..."

Seeing the farthest arrow already shot out a hundred feet, the veteran who had once suffered a loss when following the old man couldn't help but widen his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, the swarm of Ming Dynasty soldiers was no more than a hundred steps away.

The new type of swarm of bees that Zhu Zhanjun took out actually flew nearly a hundred feet away.

My God, this general couldn't imagine it.

If they had faced such a swarm back then, it would probably not be Jianwen's soldiers who collapsed, but them.

As he thought about it, the veteran broke out in a cold sweat and looked at Zhu Zhanjun who was looking into the distance with relief.

Fortunately, this prince is your majesty’s grandson, not the son of Emperor Jianwen.

If Emperor Jianwen had such a son or minister, the entire line of Prince of Yan would probably have been enlightened by now.

(End of this chapter)