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

Chapter 97 A Group of People Gambling Their Lives with the King of Hell (Please Subscribe)
"Aim and fire!"

The whistling north wind made people's faces hurt. On the training ground of the Shenjiying Camp, ten specially selected soldiers, under the gaze of the curious and expectant soldiers around them, raised their guns and pulled the triggers at the command.

"Bang bang bang..."

A puff of smoke and gunfire rang out, and the soldiers immediately put away their guns and began to check their guns.

"The first shot fired, the second shot fired..."

As the soldiers reported, an old man quickly recorded it.

When the last person finished recording, the old man showed surprise on his face, and ran to Zhu Zhanjun who was standing in front of the soldiers watching, holding the notebook, and reported loudly: "Your Highness, eight out of ten shots were fired."

Zhu Zhanjun nodded and ordered: "Keep shooting."

"Bang bang bang..."

Gunshots rang out in neat rows. After ten rounds of shooting, the faces of the watching officers flushed with excitement.

"What a great gun! If the entire battalion were equipped with this gun, the combat effectiveness would be increased by at least several percent."

Zhu Zhanjun brought the generals of the Shenji Camp to the ten soldiers who were testing their guns.

Jiang An and the officers took the new muskets from the soldiers, their eyes filled with excitement and excitement.

"That's right. This thing doesn't need to be ignited. You can just lift it up and fire it. And there's no fuse limit. It can be fired at any time. If the whole battalion is equipped with this kind of gun, and equipped with our various tactics, no legion can be our opponent with equal strength."

"Your Highness, what is the name of this gun?"

After a burst of noise, an officer looked at Zhu Zhanjun expectantly.

Before Zhu Zhanjun could answer, the old man corrected him dissatisfiedly: "General, this is not called a gun, it is called a spear."

"Gun?" The officer scratched his head and glanced at the rifle held by the soldier standing guard not far away.

"Why do you have so many questions?" Jiang An glared at his men. "It doesn't matter what it's called, as long as it can kill the enemy."

The officer laughed and said, "Yes, as long as we can kill the enemy."

"The gun is still in the testing phase and has not been named. Once it is officially put into production and issued to the troops, it will have a name."

After handing the data to the old man, Zhu Zhanjun led a group of people towards the target in the distance.

The targets were scattered about 50 to 80 steps away from the shooting soldiers.

In order to test out real data, the targets are equipped with various armors, and the chest and other positions are filled with pork to ensure that real shooting scenes can be seen.

Everyone gathered around the first target.

"What a powerful killing force! It broke through the armor and chopped the pork into pieces."

The officer in charge of the inspection looked at the wound, then lifted the armor to check the pork, and immediately exclaimed.

When the others heard this, they gathered around and looked at the pork that had been shot through, and couldn't help but gasp.

They didn't dare to imagine how horrible it would be if the gun were to be shot at a person.

After checking all the targets, the hit rate data was obtained.

Out of a hundred bullets, only more than forty hit the target, and only a dozen of them were fatal.

Zhu Zhanjun shook his head and said to the old man beside him: "The accuracy is still a little off. Have you done any research on the rifling?"

The old man smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, we are too short-handed. The gun parts are a bit better, but the most troublesome part is the barrel."

The old man waved his hand, and a young apprentice ran over and handed over a gun barrel.

The old man handed the gun barrel to Zhu Zhanjun and explained, "Our gun barrels are wrapped in fine iron, with the larger part covering the smaller part. It looks like one layer, but it's actually two layers."

"Let's not even talk about whether we can draw rifling. Even if we can, with the quality of this barrel, it will explode after just a few shots."

Zhu Zhanjun frowned, looked at the gun barrel and asked, "Hasn't the steel been successfully refined in the smelting workshop yet?"

Although Zhu Zhanjun's subordinates were engaged in experimental research, the departments were very clearly divided.

Those who studied guns studied guns, those who made gunpowder made gunpowder, and those who made steel made steel. Each department conducted independent research and cooperated with each other.

The old man shook his head and said, "No, they are still studying the blast furnace that Your Highness built. I heard that it is almost done, and they plan to practice one furnace before the heavy snow comes."

Zhu Zhanjun nodded slightly and asked, "Have you made a sample of the rifle?"

The flintlock rifle designed by Zhu Zhanjun was not a copy of any historical model, but a combination of the advantages of several aspects. It was eventually finalized as a rifle after many experimental shootings.

The bullets were also uniformly loaded, with a certain amount of gunpowder wrapped in kraft paper and loaded into the bullets.

Before shooting, the soldier would bite open the kraft paper, pour a little into the primer pool, then turn the gun head and pour the remaining gunpowder into the gun. Then he would push the bullet wrapped in kraft paper directly into the barrel, open the hammer, and start shooting.

The reason why he asked the old man if he had any samples was because he had set rules for each of his workshops.

Once an item that can be mass-produced is developed and the next generation of replacement exists, a sample must be made no matter how difficult it is.

"Yes." The old man answered without hesitation.

Soon, another apprentice brought a rifle of the same style.

Zhu Zhanjun took the gun and looked at the muzzle, and saw the two rifling grooves inside.

He called over a soldier who was testing the gun and asked him to load the gun according to the old man's instructions.

The two rifles use different bullets. The first-generation rifle still uses round bullets, while the rifled one will use conical bullets.

When the soldier indicated that he was ready, he aimed at a target about 70 or 80 steps away, waited for a moment, and pulled the trigger.

With a gunshot, everyone clearly saw the target helmet fly out.

"it is good!"

Everyone present cheered, and Jiang An stepped forward quickly and grabbed the rifle.

"Your Highness, let's just use this one. This gun is accurate and can hit far."

After asking the soldiers about the general usage and shooting experience, Jiang An excitedly rushed to Zhu Zhanjun and looked at him with anticipation.

Zhu Zhanjun rolled his eyes at him and said, "You think I don't want to?"

The old man also added: "Deputy Commander Jiang, we also want to provide you with the best. But let's not talk about whether the barrel can withstand it. Just pulling these two rifling grooves is more difficult than making a gun."

"Is it so difficult?" Jiang An scratched his head. In his opinion, drawing two lines should be very simple, but he didn't expect it to be so complicated.

Zhu Zhanjun said disdainfully: "With your brain, what do you know? Just use what you have. Why are you so picky?"

Jiang An nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Let's go check out the artillery."

Zhu Zhanjun greeted and walked towards the artillery testing range next door.

The artillery testing area is wider, with two cannons placed there.

It is made of copper inside and iron outside, and is mounted on two huge wheels.

Next to the artillery, the artillerymen were already lined up and ready.

"Your Highness."

A tall and thin young man came forward and bowed.

This young man was originally a clerk in the Ministry of Industry. He had been interested in artillery since he was a child. After joining the Ministry of Industry, he had been engaged in artillery research and accumulated a wealth of experience.

After hearing about it, Zhu Zhanjun directly asked Qiu Yuan to find the other party with the artillery design drawings. The other party didn't want to pay attention at first, but when he saw the artillery drawings, he picked up his things and left with Qiu Yuan without saying a word.

However, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, who was in charge of the artillery, was so angry that he later complained to the old man.

"how's it going?"

Zhu Zhanjun walked around the cannon and asked the other party with a smile.

The tall and thin young man patted his chest and said confidently: "Please rest assured, Your Highness, if the requirements on the blueprint cannot be met, you can tie your subordinates to the muzzle of the cannon and shoot them."

Everyone smiled when they saw the young man's confidence.

"That's not necessary." Zhu Zhanjun patted the young man on the shoulder, "Get started. If you meet the requirements, I will lead His Majesty and the civil and military officials to watch your performance in person tomorrow."

"Yes."

When the young man heard that His Majesty was coming, his eyes lit up.

The soldiers began to load the gunpowder, and when they were ready, the commanding officer waved the flag.

"Boom boom~" Two loud noises were heard, and two shells flew out and hit the target area far away as everyone expected.

"it is good!"

The officers and soldiers of the Shenji Camp who were watching the event cheered loudly with joy. The soldiers who were originally artillerymen rushed forward excitedly and asked various questions to their partners in charge of the experiment.

The artilleryman in charge of operating the artillery had a smug look on his face as he introduced the excellent performance of the artillery and its extremely long range that was impossible to see with the naked eye.

Exclamations broke out from the crowd from time to time, and everyone had anticipation on their face, looking forward to the scene of the troops equipped with new weapons and killing everyone in their hands.

"Congratulations, Your Highness."

As Zhu Zhanjun was listening to the officers laughing loudly, a Taoist priest with white hair and beard and wearing a Taoist robe came forward holding a box and congratulated him.

"Master Wu, how come you are free today?" Zhu Zhanjun greeted him with a smile.

Industry cannot be separated from chemical industry. Zhu Zhanjun is not really good at this aspect, but the Ming Dynasty is good at something, and that is the Taoists who fantasize about becoming immortals.

Zhu Zhanjun has some basic experience, and as long as there are Taoists willing to give it a try, he believes there will be results.

The Taoist priest named Wu in front of me was introduced by Yao Guangxiao. He is an alchemy fanatic.

Don't be fooled by his white hair and beard. In fact, he is only in his early 30s. The reason he looks so old is the result of taking elixirs.

When Zhu Zhanjun heard the other party's age, he sighed in his heart, this is not cultivating immortality, this is simply gambling with the King of Hell.

"The musket and artillery departments have achieved results. If our Tiangong department doesn't produce something, our colleagues will say we are just sitting there doing nothing."

Taoist Wu smiled carefreely and handed the box in his hand to Zhu Zhanjun.

Zhu Zhanjun took it, opened it and his eyes lit up instantly.

The inside of the box was covered with silk, on which were placed two golden tubes, carved with dragons and phoenixes and various complex patterns.

There are also slight lens reflections in front and behind the two tubes.

What the other party brought over was exactly the military weapon that Zhu Zhanjun was most looking forward to, the telescope.

Zhu Zhanjun was very satisfied playing with the telescope. The New Year was approaching, and he was still thinking about what gift to prepare for the old man, and this gift was delivered to him directly.

(End of this chapter)