Diqin Designer

Chapter 290: The Beginning of the Qin Dynasty's Hot Weapons Army (Two in One)

After the cannon was fired, the ministers saw those people starting to work on the copper pipes again, apparently cleaning them.

This also made Wang Jian and others realize a shortcoming of this weapon. It cannot shoot the next arrow immediately after shooting an arrow like a bow and crossbow. It needs to be cleaned after shooting before it can continue to shoot. The enemy can launch an attack while it is cleaning.

But this shortcoming can be overcome. Wouldn't it be better to make more and launch them in batches?

When one batch of copper tubes is fired and cleaned, another batch begins to fire. When the other batch is fired and needs to be cleaned, the first batch of copper tubes has been cleaned and can be fired again.

After cleaning the copper tube, the demonstration entered the second round. This time, it was no longer a single copper tube that was fired, but all the copper tubes were fired together, shooting towards the wooden sign on the other side of the parade ground.

Following six thunderous roars, everyone looked towards the other side of the training ground, only to see that the wooden signs there had been blown apart, with wood chips scattered everywhere, creating a mess.

Although I could already see how powerful this weapon was when I demonstrated it with a copper tube just now, now that I saw with my own eyes the wooden sign being blasted into pieces, my understanding of this weapon has increased even more.

If those wooden signs were replaced with human beings, what they would see now would be a pile of rotten flesh and body parts. That scene...

But before the ministers could imagine it themselves, the third round of demonstration began. They saw that while those people were cleaning the six copper pipes, others were cleaning up the broken pieces of the wooden sign. Then they pushed cages of livestock such as chickens, ducks, and pigs to the original location of the wooden sign. Three of the pigs were even covered in armor.

The three pigs never dreamed that they would be able to wear armor and become generals one day. This life as a pig should be worth it!

Seeing the live animals being brought up, the ministers naturally understood that this was to use living animals to demonstrate to them the power of this weapon on the battlefield.

The livestock seemed to realize that their end was near, and they kept screaming and roaring, but six loud noises drowned out their roars, and six solid bullets fell, and all the roars were gone.

The ministers saw that all the wooden cages there were smashed, and all the livestock inside were killed, and the blood of the livestock dyed the ground red.

A staff member ran over to report to the First Emperor: "Your Majesty, the demonstration is over!"

The First Emperor nodded and, under the protection of his guards, walked towards the dead livestock.

Although they could see the livestock had died from a distance and guessed that the death might have been tragic, when they got closer they discovered that the death was even more tragic than they thought.

Not a single animal was intact. The blood-stained feathers of chickens and ducks were scattered everywhere, and bones mixed with flesh and blood were scattered on the ground.

Looking at the three armored pig generals, despite wearing armor, they still couldn't hold on. The armor on their bodies had been deformed, and the flesh under the armor was clearly visible and had been smashed into pieces, causing the shapes of the pig corpses to be somewhat distorted and weird, and large amounts of blood were flowing out of the pig corpses.

The pigs with armor died like this, and the pigs without armor died even more miserably, maintaining their general pig shape, but their bodies were incomplete.

The psychological qualities of all the ministers were relatively strong. Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Meng Tian and others had witnessed the cruelty of the battlefield with their own eyes. However, no one felt nauseous or vomited, but everyone's face looked heavy and serious.

Looking at the several spherical objects in the blood of the livestock, the copper tube was used to shoot out these objects and kill the livestock?
Wang Wan said: "If this weapon is used on the battlefield, it will be extremely powerful. It must not be stolen by others. It must be kept strictly confidential!"

Wang Jian also said: "This weapon can indeed change the future of war! However, the change of war is not only in the change of weapons, but also in the change of military tactics and soldiers. I think we should use this weapon to predict how the future of war will change."

"The Book of Songs says, 'Before the rain, we should clear the mulberry trees and prepare the windows and doors.' The Qin Dynasty should also prepare for the future in advance, ahead of others. I am an old minister with no talent, but I am willing to do my best for Your Majesty!"

Artillery aroused Wang Jian's great interest. He planned to study how much impact artillery would have on war, how it would change the war, and what changes the Qin army would have to make in order to always stay ahead.

He did the right thing by not leaving the court and retiring to his hometown. If he had retired, he would not have received that last disciple, and how could he have seen such a deadly weapon on the battlefield.

Wang Jian's mind is now full of thoughts on how to put this weapon to practical use on the battlefield and figure out tactics to utilize this weapon. He feels like he has returned to the state when he first led the army, full of desire to explore and research!

Little Han Xin followed Li Nian and watched the entire artillery demonstration. He now fully understood why Master Li had called him here today and why Master Li wanted him to study at Liuying Academy.

Future wars will change and will no longer be the wars he knew before. If he wants to become a qualified commander in the future, he must learn new knowledge so that he can better understand those new weapons.

Hearing Wang Jian's words, the First Emperor nodded and said, "What the old general said makes sense. Although this weapon is good, we still need to think about how to use it in actual combat. The old general has led troops for many years and has rich experience. I wish to leave this matter to the old general!"

When it comes to figuring out how to use artillery in actual combat in the Qin army, Wang Jian is indeed the best candidate. Although Wang Jian is old, he is still the best general at that time.

However, in order to simulate future battlefields and figure out how the Qin army's artillery should be deployed, more generals would be needed to consult together. The First Emperor prepared to set up a special department headed by Wang Jian.

Wang Jian said solemnly: "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will try my best to teach you what I have learned!"

The First Emperor said: "The artillery is a precious weapon of our Great Qin. It must not be disclosed to others, especially to other countries!"

Since there were many important officials present, the First Emperor could not say anything too harsh. He looked at the experimenters on the training ground and said, "Everyone who has made artillery for the Qin Dynasty will be rewarded handsomely!"

Many experimenters immediately bowed and thanked him: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After bowing and thanking the emperor, the leader said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report to you!"

The First Emperor said, "Speak!"

The man said, "Your Majesty, I think this achievement should be given to Master Li Nian. Without him, we would not be able to manufacture artillery. If Your Majesty wants to reward, it should be given to Master Li Nian!"

After hearing what this person said, the First Emperor laughed and said, "My reward to you and Li Nian are not contradictory. I have given you rewards, and you should just take care of them. Do you think I am the kind of king who doesn't know how to reward or punish?"

The First Emperor was in a good mood, and the second half of the question was obviously a joke, but the man was so scared that he quickly defended himself: "Your Majesty is clear about rewards and punishments, and the world knows it. How dare I ..."

Before the man finished speaking, the First Emperor waved his hand and said, "Okay, continue to modify the artillery. If you have any achievements, I will reward you handsomely!"

The First Emperor was considered a tyrant in history, but few people think that he was unclear about rewards and punishments. During his reign, he generously rewarded his meritorious officials, and many of his officials died a good death. Some people may mention that Lu Buwei made contributions to the First Emperor, but the First Emperor didn't treat him well, and even forced him to commit suicide, but don't look at what Lu Buwei did.

Not to mention anything else, just the fact that she brought Lao Ai into the palace would have made the First Emperor hate her. Lao Ai and Zhao Ji did many cruel things to the First Emperor.

After the demonstration, everyone left with the First Emperor and noticed the six copper tubes. Some people had an idea: it takes a lot of copper to make this thing. No wonder that person proposed to mint new coins some time ago, and even mint coins with paper. It turned out that he wanted to save copper and use it to mint this thing.

They were wrong. Li Nian did want to save copper, but he didn't want to build cannons.

After returning to Zhangtai Palace, Wang Wan, Li Si and others left, leaving behind Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Meng Tian, ​​Wei Liao and others. Li Nian and little Han Xin were naturally there as well.

The First Emperor looked at Wang Jian and the others and said, "I'm keeping you all here. I'm sure you can guess the reason. It's exactly what the old general just said. Li Nian, you tell me!"

Li Nian, who was named by the First Emperor, stood up and said, "Everyone, seeing the cannons today, should know that future wars will change. They will no longer be fought with weapons such as swords, spears, halberds, bows and crossbows like they are now, but with cannons, muskets and other weapons."

"Of course, for a certain period of time, artillery and muskets will not be equipped in the armies of the Qin Dynasty, but in the future, artillery and muskets will definitely dominate the world, and swords, spears, and halberds will be eliminated."

When Li Nian mentioned a new weapon that they had never heard of, everyone was interested. If the cannon was so powerful, how about this weapon called "fire gun"? It should not be inferior!
Wei Liao immediately asked: "Excuse me, Shangshu, what is a fire gun?"

Li Nian smiled and explained: "The fire gun can be regarded as a miniaturized cannon that can be held by a single soldier and used in battlefield combat. Its effectiveness is similar to that of a bow and crossbow, and it is a long-range weapon."

It turned out to be a miniaturized cannon. Wang Ben asked a key question: "What are its advantages over bows and crossbows?"

Li Nian said: "Initially, it did not have much advantage over the bow and crossbow, and was even inferior to the bow and crossbow. However, the bow and crossbow have been developed to the extreme and it is difficult to improve it, while the fire gun still has a very high development prospect. In Li's expectation, a single soldier holding a fire gun will be able to fire dozens or even hundreds of rounds in one breath in the future."

After hearing what Li Nian said, Wang Jian and others imagined in their minds that a soldier holding a miniaturized cannon could launch dozens or hundreds of attacks in a short period of time. What if there were hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of soldiers? The battlefield would be flooded with attacks from muskets.

If one shot could kill an enemy soldier, it would be an absolute massacre on the battlefield. If coupled with that artillery, no army would be able to resist.

Li Nian continued, "And its power can be improved to surpass that of a bow and crossbow, and its range is also longer than that of a bow and crossbow. Of course, it will take time to develop to that level, and at present, bows and crossbows still have more advantages."

Firearms were invented not too late, but for a period of time after their invention, they were inferior to bows and crossbows. Although they were used in the Song and Yuan dynasties, the army still mainly used bows and crossbows. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that they were further developed and widely used.

But with Li Nian pointing the way for Daqin, the development of Daqin's firearms naturally no longer needed to go through so many twists and turns, and could quickly reach a more practical level.

"Swords, spears, halberds, bows and crossbows kill the enemy. Except for bows and crossbows, they often need to engage in close combat with the enemy and do not contain explosive or burning objects. They can be called cold weapons. On the other hand, cannons and fire guns contain explosive or burning objects and often attack the enemy at a long distance. They can be called hot weapons."

"You all know more about military affairs than I do. You will surely realize that wars will be different with these two different weapons. Compared with cold weapons, hot weapons will have a wider killing range, a longer killing distance, and a stronger killing effect."

"Therefore, we naturally need armies and tactics adapted to hot weapons. The tactics of the cold weapon era may not be suitable for the hot weapon era."

Wang Ben asked, "Does the Minister mean that hot weapons will definitely replace cold weapons?"

Li Nian said: "This is an inevitable trend of development. Hot weapons have a brighter future and will replace cold weapons sooner or later. The artillery you see today can be further strengthened. Its range will be several times that of today, and the shells it fires will no longer be solid shells, but shrapnel shells."

"Fragmentation shells are a type of artillery shell that explodes after being fired. For example, six cannons had to fire at the same time today to kill the livestock. With fragmentation shells, only one shot is needed to cause the same or even stronger killing effect. At that time, we can fire at the enemy from a distance of several miles..."

Although they didn't know whether the kind of artillery Li Nian described could be realized, everyone began to imagine what Li Nian said: artillery roared, countless shells whizzed down from the sky, bombarding the enemy camp from miles away. Each shell would explode, blasting an area. While the artillery was firing shells, their own soldiers would charge forward with a musket in each hand and launch countless attacks.

Although he was a general in the era of cold weapons, he could imagine some scenes of hot weapon battles through Li Nian's words: that scene would be absolutely tragic, and the soldiers would become real grass on the battlefield and die in an instant.

That kind of battlefield will have different requirements for soldiers and generals commanding troops than in the era of cold weapons. They must not only consider how to use hot weapons to attack the enemy, but also how to defend against attacks from enemies holding hot weapons.

The methods they were used to using in the era of cold weapons may not be useful in the era of hot weapons, so they have to rethink and explore.

Moreover, Daqin is the only country that possesses hot weapons today, so they must firmly grasp this advantage and stay ahead of other countries.

When other countries did not have something, Daqin had it; when other countries had something, Daqin had it better; when other countries were developing, Daqin took the lead in iterating, always maintaining its lead over other countries!

The First Emperor spoke up at this time: "I will establish two new armies. These two new armies will explore the use of artillery and firearms for the Qin Dynasty. One new army will explore the use of hot weapons on land, and the other new army will explore the use of hot weapons on water."

These words made Meng Tian very happy. What His Majesty meant was that hot weapons like cannons could be equipped in their navy.

Installing cannons on the ship and bombarding the enemy's ships, Meng Tian seemed to have already seen the scene and couldn't help looking forward to it.

The First Emperor glanced at Wang Jian, then at Li Nian, and continued, "The two new armies will be led by the old general as the commander, with Wei Qing, Wang Ben, and Meng Tian as deputies, and Li Nian as the advisor. If other generals are needed, you can choose them."

"You can train the new army according to your ideas. I have only one request for you, do your best to train the new army into a Qin hot weapons army."

In fact, there are other requirements. The new army must guarantee loyalty to Daqin and him. There is also a purpose. Now that Daqin has no war, find something for the generals to do. Anyway, they have to get salaries when they are idle.

Wang Jian, Wang Ben, Wei Liao, Meng Tian and others naturally had no objections. They had already been thinking about how to use the artillery in the army, what changes the use of hot weapons in war would bring, what situations and problems would arise, and how to solve the problems that arose.

The First Emperor once asked Li Nian why he didn't teach the later generations' tactics to the Qin Dynasty, as later generations were real hot weapon armies. Li Nian's answer was that he didn't understand military affairs very well.

Moreover, the Qin Dynasty is just starting to develop hot weapons, and it is impossible for all its troops to be equipped with hot weapons all at once. There will definitely be a period of time when hot and cold weapons coexist, that is, the period of time when the cold weapon army transitions to the hot weapon army.

In this situation, it would be even more difficult for Li Nian to copy the experience of later generations. It would be better for him to gather experienced generals such as Wang Jian and let them study methods suitable for the Qin army. He would give some suggestions to help them avoid detours.

(End of this chapter)