Jia Liu actually knows nothing about artillery, but many street stall histories and various film and television dramas tell him that artillery shells will definitely "flower".

It means that it will explode when hit, killing the enemy through shrapnel, instead of the current big iron ball.

Solid bullets are effective for sieges, but the effect of solid bullets in field battles is definitely not as strong as that of blooming bullets.

I remember that during the First Opium War, Lin Zexu was very surprised when he saw the explosive bullets used by foreigners and wrote to Daoguang, saying that this item was rare in the mainland, extremely magical, and extremely powerful, and he did not know how to make it.

From this, Jia Liu judged that the development of explosive bombs in the Qing Dynasty might have been stopped long ago, so that future generations would not know what the explosive bombs were, so he asked missile expert Wang Dagong, a foreigner, about the situation of explosive bombs.

But what he didn't know was that the shells without fuses Lin Zexu saw at that time were actually the shells used by the Ming Dynasty more than two hundred years ago.

Even the style is exactly the same, that is, a hole is made on the surface of the iron ball, and a twist of medicine is inserted into the small hole to detonate. After the explosion, the ball body is scattered, and the iron pieces wrapped inside explode like "a goddess scattering flowers", which is so powerful.

It can reach more than ten feet.

Relying on the artillery technology of the Ming Dynasty two to three hundred years ago, the British gentlemen beat the Qing Empire until they knelt down and called daddy.

This incident also directly shows that the Qing court's rule over China was the degradation of civilization.

This is true of technology, and so is humanistic thought.

Lin Zexu was the first person in modern China to open his eyes to the world and was hailed as a national hero. However, during the Opium War, he actually behaved more like a messed-up Manchu official who knew nothing.

He thinks that foreigners can't bend their knees. This is a joke made by this guy.

Using filth to fight the enemy was also his first initiative.

Of course, no one is perfect, and no gold is perfect.

Now he is regarded as Lin Zexu's senior, and Jia Liu believes that under his leadership, Lin Zexu, who was not yet born at this time, will surely grow into a true national hero.

Or maybe there is no Lin Zexu in the world.

Because historical changes affect the next generation.

There is also a sad history about the story of the flower bomb.

When Zuo Zongtang was fighting the rebellion in the northwest, he unearthed more than a hundred explosive shells from a Ming Dynasty fort site. He couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh: "It has been more than 300 years since sharp weapons entered China. Some people at that time paid attention to this. Why did the island tribes roam the sea?"

, have you been proud of me for decades?"

Now, history returns.

Of course, Jia Liu must focus on developing explosive ammunition and surpass Western countries in weapons manufacturing.

Without doing this, how could he visit his great Paris, visit London, and chat and laugh on the Danube.

The chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the mother-and-son gun was a branch of the Folang machine gun from the Ming Dynasty. It consisted of a mother cannon and several sub-cannons, so it was called the mother-child cannon.

To put it bluntly, it is a light artillery.

The sub-cannon is loaded with shotgun shells similar to those used in the Tiger Crouching Cannon, that is, a large number of iron pellets (stone pellets) and lead.

It does look like a flower when it is launched.

But this kind of "flowering" cannonball is essentially different from the "flowering cannon" that the Governor wants.

Therefore, in order to comprehensively improve the weapons production and manufacturing level of the Qing Dynasty, improve military equipment, and lay a solid foundation for early theft and becoming the largest power as soon as possible, Jia Liu held an on-site military industry symposium.

It's really live.

All Chinese and foreign experts from the Gun and Artillery Bureau, including large and small workers, sat on the floor, and each was given a pen and three pieces of paper.

As the governor, Jia Liu did not ask to sit on a chair, but sat cross-legged on the ground with everyone.

This attitude first won the high recognition of the craftsmen and craftsmen present, including the few foreign experts who were forcibly kidnapped.

Afterwards, Wang Dagong wrote in his diary: "In the young Tatar governor, I could not see any characteristics of the old officials of this empire, but I felt more cordial, his smile, his sincere language, and

His pleading actions made me feel that this young governor is the future of the world and the true embodiment of civilization."

After chatting with parents for a long time, they asked the technical staff whether they had any difficulties in life, whether their children had difficulties in going to school, and whether their family members had difficulties in working. After that, they instructed the relevant units on the spot to solve the problems immediately.

Jia Liu put forward three requirements to the hundreds of experts and technicians present: first, comprehensive development of artillery, second, comprehensive development of muskets, and third, comprehensive improvement of gunpowder.

Referred to as "Three Comprehensives".

Regarding artillery manufacturing requirements, Jia Liu instructed that the local manufacturing level must be combined with the manufacturing level of Western countries, learn from each other's strengths, and strive to raise the Qing artillery manufacturing level by one to two levels within three years.

The specific details include the development of blooming artillery shells, the development of lightweight artillery, and the proposal of the breech gun concept.

Regarding the manufacture of fire guns, Jia Liu's instructions were to be quick, ruthless and accurate.

Fast means that the charging speed of the musket must be increased. How to improve the method, Jia Liu gave the concept of fixed loading.

That is to say, in the past, the charge was poured from the medicine bottle into the barrel. Veterans could count how much was poured, but recruits may not. If encountered in actual combat environments and disturbed by psychological pressure, it is easy to cause too much charge and cause the barrel to explode. If it is too little,

It has no power at all.

Therefore, from now on, the Gun Bureau must find a way to package the gunpowder and package it with waterproof kraft paper, oil paper, etc.

In addition, it is imaginative to encourage technicians to try other ways to ignite the fire.

Nowadays, fire guns are ignited with match ropes. This method of ignition is too slow. Secondly, fire guns cannot be used on rainy days.

"Bah!"

Jia Liu took out the two pieces of flint that he had prepared in advance and sparked a spark in everyone's sight. He then smiled and asked if this problem could be solved if the fire blunderbuss was equipped with flint.

"Of course, I'm just imagining it. Whether it can be done depends on your abilities!"

In fact, what Jia Liu wants to say more is, can you guys help me make a gun? A real gun that can be fired with just a pull of the trigger.

But he knows that this technology requires a strong industrial foundation. For example, springs cannot be made with the current technical level.

More haste less speed.

He can only wait patiently for the seeds he sows to slowly sprout and eventually grow into towering trees. At that time, he can travel across the sea with a gun in one hand and a wooden fish in the other.

It means that the fire blunderbuss can be fired farther than in the past, and its lethality will also be increased.

What is accurate?

Jia Liu took out a blunderbuss, aimed it sideways with one eye, and made a vivid gesture.

It is to ask the Gun and Artillery Bureau to study the crosshairs of firecrackers so that firecrackers can hit the enemy more accurately in individual combat in the future.

In addition, the concept of breech charging was also proposed, and rifling was also mentioned.

Comprehensively improving the power of gunpowder is a further purification of existing black powder, allowing experts from the Bureau of Guns to use their brains to see if there is any way to make gunpowder more powerful than in the past.

The Governor was speaking at the front, and the expert workers below were taking notes carefully.

Those who cannot write listen attentively.

Jia Liu asked his second brother-in-law Gao Delu, who was accompanying him, to provide sufficient research and development funds for the Guns and Artillery Bureau. In addition to the existing technical personnel "invited" from the Construction Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Jingshan Guns and Artillery Department, he also had to recruit relevant talents from all over the country.

.

We must not let go of the foreign experts who are good at making clocks, and some Western technicians will be hired later.

In order to increase the working enthusiasm of the gun bureau and modernize the weapons of Jia's new army as soon as possible, Jia Liu set up bonuses on the spot, ranging from small to large, with a bonus scale of 200,000 taels.

For example, whoever can increase the power of gunpowder can receive ten thousand taels.

Whoever can create a cannon with a breech load will be immediately awarded a bonus of 20,000 taels.

In addition to bonuses, there are also rewards for real estate and land in the capital and Zhili provinces, as well as corresponding honors.

"Whether you are a bannerman, a Han Chinese, a Bao Yi, or a Westerner, as long as you can contribute to the development of the Qing Dynasty's guns, I, on behalf of the Qing Dynasty, can promise you that you will be rich and prosperous for generations to come!"

After the on-site meeting, Jia Liu asked his second brother-in-law Gao Delu not to interfere too much with the innovations of these technicians and to have unlimited tolerance for test failures.

I really burned all my money, so I told my brother-in-law.

In short, we spare no effort and even mobilize the whole province to ensure the scientific research and innovation of the Gun Bureau and other units.

On the second day, he led a team to inspect the area surrounding the industrial park, which is where the new army barracks were located.

In the plan, Jia Liu wanted to train the new army in three towns in Tianjin, with a total strength of 18,000 people. Such a huge new army barracks must occupy a huge area, and the affairs involved in all aspects must be complicated.

Everything is difficult at the beginning, high-rise buildings rise from the ground.

Therefore, Jia Liu first had to choose the address of the barracks.

After the new army is trained, in addition to ensuring the security of the industrial park, it will also assume the defense issues of Tianjin Port and the entire Tianjin Prefecture. If necessary, it will also assume the important task of advancing from Tianjin to the capital.

Combining these requirements, the new army camp must be selected in an area with convenient transportation.

Before inspecting the site selection, Jia Liu first came to the Tianjin Navy in Dagukou for inspection.

This is the second important military town he inspected as the governor-general of Zhili.

I had always thought that the Tianjin Navy was a green camp organization, but to my surprise I found out that the Tianjin Navy was actually part of the Eight Banners Army.

Three years before Yongzheng's reign, because the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolia were good at riding and shooting but not good at water warfare, the Qing naval forces stationed in various places were mainly green battalions.

Although the Eight Banners Navy was established in the Shunzhi and Kangxi dynasties, it did not reach a large scale in the end.

In the third year of Yongzheng's reign, Yongzheng hoped to establish a powerful Eight Banners navy across the sea to make up for the shortcomings of the Eight Banners' "combat order" and also serve as the Eight Banners mobile force to be mobilized to various places along the coast and rivers at any time to deal with emergencies.

As a result, Tianjin, the gateway to the capital, naturally became the place where this idea began to be implemented, and thus the Tianjin Eight Banners Navy was born.

The Tianjin Navy currently has 2,000 sailors, 6 assistant commanders, 32 assistant commanders, and 32 defensive officers. All officers and soldiers are drawn from the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia, equipped with 32 large and small warships, and several sampans.
To be continued...