open sea

Chapter 886 Coil Steel
Since Nanyang Wei received a large amount of copper ore from Luzon, the cannons used in the North and South Eryang are all cast with iron core and copper shell, the yield rate has been further improved, and the durability of the cannon has also improved a lot.

It is very difficult to break a cannon.

However, the artillerymen are quite optimistic about the durability of the Dutch cannons. Most of them think that the two cannons that have been picked out will be destroyed after being fired ten times in a row, but the cannons are still intact after ten times. The craftsman hit the muzzle with a stick and ran away sullenly.

"Handsome, that cannon is made of steel."

He has never seen steel cannons in Spain before, and it would be great to have those few cast iron cannons. Where did they get steel cannons.

Could it be that the Dutch provinces were in war, and suddenly steel cannons were invented?

When Chen Mu was in Nanyang Wei, he also thought about using steel to make guns directly. It is not impossible, but because the steel made of pig iron and wrought iron is not uniform, and it cannot be guaranteed that it is all steel, the texture is not uniform, and some places are brittle. Tough, but the quality is not as durable as iron-cored copper-cased cannons.

Now he even wondered if his military craftsman had entered the Military Weapons Bureau through the back door, and he couldn't tell the difference between steel and iron?
"Keep hitting until it explodes, and see what it is!"

Give an order, this is a pain for the fearful artillerymen in front, it's okay to leave the first ten cannons, anyway, I know it will explode sooner or later, but after firing ten cannons in a row and continuing to fire, the pressure on my heart is a little different.

Every time the cannon was fired, I felt that the cannon would explode. I hid behind the wall and panicked in fright, but in the end, every cannon did not explode.

At the end, I couldn't bear it anymore, so I put a few breastplates on the wall, and the more I beat, the more scared I became.

After using the normal amount of gunpowder to fire [-] cannons in a row, Chen Mu already believed that the cannon with the edges and corners was a steel cannon. emission.

In the past, the normal amount of gunpowder used by the Ming army was equal to the weight of the ammunition. Later, the gunpowder used by the Nanyang Army was improved, and the ballistic was also studied, so the amount of gunpowder used was reduced to half the weight of the shell.

At the end of the fight, Chen Mu was really too lazy to watch, so he went home and had a cup of tea, and only then did the flag army come to report that one of the two cannons was damaged, and was blasted from the middle of the cannon.

It was indeed a steel cannon, but it was a forged steel cannon, unlike the cast steel cannon Chen Mu had imagined.

The blasted gun body looks like a big spring broken in two. From the cross-section, the inside of the gun bore is spliced ​​similar to the Portuguese-made Francois machine, and the steel rods are hooped into the gun bore like a wooden barrel.

Outside the barrel, steel rods are used from the tail of the gun to the muzzle, and then from the muzzle to the tail of the gun. Just by looking at it, you can tell how much effort it took to build this gun. , after wrapping three layers, wrap another layer of iron paddle for polishing and polishing, and finally add some decorative parts.

It is very interesting, and the time-consuming and laborious workmanship is amazing, but it is also in exchange for the rewards it deserves. The strength of the material has greatly increased, making this cannon surpass all the cannons Chen Mu has seen in his life in terms of durability.

"Can we do such a cannon-making process?"

Facing Chen Mu's inquiry, the old craftsman shook his head and said, "No problem, it's too simple, but it lasts twice as long and costs twice as much."

This production method is very labor-intensive at first glance, but it achieves an unpractical result. Chen Mu said with a smile: "We will try to use this method to make cannons of different specifications and calibers to calculate its cost."

The reason why it is said is not very practical, because in a battle, it is rare for any artillery to have a chance to fire more than ten shots in a row.

Regardless of sea battles or land battles, they always fight for a while and rest for a while. For example, Li Dan's Jiazi warship fired seven rounds in the first salvo, which is already quite a lot.

In the early years, Chen Mu personally led the troops to defend the Mongolian cavalry, and his artillery kept firing without stopping, and more than half of the shells were wasted.

What's more, a qualified artillery has to clean the barrel during the firing process. Proper maintenance can make the artillery extremely durable. Before the barrel is severely worn and difficult to aim, there is almost no bore in normal use.

But that's not to say that this method of production is without merit.

Chen Mu believes that this method of making cannons is cheaper than iron-cored copper-shelled cannons. After all, copper is three times more expensive than steel, but the cost of labor will increase by a large part, so he thinks this is a math problem.

When making a light artillery with a total weight not exceeding a certain weight, less copper is used, but the steel rod barrel will increase the cost, and it is not appropriate to reduce the output for increasing strength.

However, when making a heavy artillery that exceeds this weight, the consumption of copper increases, and the weight of the iron core must increase the weight of the gun body to increase the strength. Although the coiled steel gun will increase the man-hours and labor costs, the lighter gun body is more durable , which is entirely a manufacturing process that can be considered.

After understanding the manufacturing process of the Dutch cannon, Chen Mu was not very interested in the other parameters. The principle of the front-mounted smoothbore gun is like this. As long as the shape is fixed, the performance will not make much difference. Zhao Shizhen likes to think about these things. Later, various parameter experiments on the 'Netherlands Artillery' were handed over to Zhao Shizhen to supervise.

He rode on a tall horse and took Xu Wei for a stroll all the way to see his little donkey.

Donkeys are very good, hardworking and obedient, as long as one person can lead four or five donkeys on the road, Panama's mountain roads need them.

In the transportation of bulk goods, because of tariff barriers, Chen Mu is unwilling to let Daming’s goods be transported to the Gulf of Mexico through the Mexican official road, and he is also unwilling to let the purchased goods flow in through there. The mountain road that is not suitable for people is obviously more suitable. .

What's more, that's half the distance.

Anyway, the goods have to be taxed. Instead of handing them over to New Spain, it is better to hand them all over to yourself.

Right now, Deng Zilong has also set up a post station along the Panama mountain road. It is not difficult to transport goods from west to east, but it is time-consuming and difficult to travel on the mountain road. If there are enough donkeys, the cargo transportation volume there can be increased by a certain amount.

This method of transportation was not thought up by Chen Mu. In the past, the Spaniards transported bulk goods in this way. The famous battle of the English pirate Drake was to attack the Spaniards' treasure transport team on the land route of the Panama Isthmus.

"We have to get more donkeys from Spain, as well as wool. Anyway, the Spaniards have been raising sheep. It's good to let them continue to raise them in the future."

Xu Wei rode the donkey up and down, poured the wine jug into his mouth but couldn't pour it out. After shaking it, he realized that he had drunk not a drop, and put the wine jug back on the donkey's saddle bag with a dissatisfied expression. Li, then nodded and said, "It's pretty good."

"However, Commander, what the military mansion lacks the most is not wool or donkeys. What we lack the most is iron. If we don't solve the source of iron ore, even if there are many craftsmen in the military mansion, we won't be able to make anything."

iron.

Chen Mu nodded slowly.

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)