Seeing that Ou Zhige couldn't wait to study gunpowder, Zhu Pingan sympathetically stood up and said goodbye.
Next stop, Zhang Hong.
The same process, the same routine, the same courtesy, the same caring and chatting about family matters, and then he casually revealed that he had once been in charge of the Hanlin Academy Library, which contained hundreds of firearms books, as well as the latest, most advanced and most confidential firearms books developed with the full strength of the Ming Dynasty, and of course the more than ten carefully collected firearms books on Europeans, Portuguese, red-haired barbarians and other foreigners.
"More than ten books on European, Portuguese, and red-haired barbarians' firearms? Are there any books on artillery among them?"
Upon hearing that there were more than ten books on firearms from Europe, Portugal, the Red-haired Barbarians and other foreign countries in the library of the Hanlin Academy, Zhang Hong's hand holding the teacup trembled so much that the tea spilled out. His excitement was no less than Ou Zhige's.
He was a man who had once gone to Southeast Asia to learn about the Red Barbarians' artillery. After spending some time in Southeast Asia, he knew very well that although the Red Barbarians were barbarians and knew no etiquette, their muskets and artillery were far ahead of those of the Ming Dynasty.
"Of course there are. There is also a book that specifically studies a cannon called the Portuguese cannon. The book records that 'the bullets fired by the cannon fell like rain, and it was invincible. The cannon was made of copper. Because it was cast by the Portuguese, it was named the Portuguese cannon.' I am quite interested in the Portuguese cannon. Before the Portuguese cannon, all cannons in the Ming Dynasty had to be loaded with gunpowder in the front and could not be fired continuously. After firing a round, the cannon had to wait for cooling, which had great limitations in actual use. The Portuguese cannon has a sub-gun. When firing, the sub-gun filled with gunpowder is loaded into the main gun. After firing, the sub-gun is discarded and exited, and another sub-gun can be fired. Several sub-guns can be quickly replaced, which greatly increases the firing speed and is of great benefit in actual combat. Oh, there is also a book that records a cannon called the Red Cannon, which is more than two feet long and weighs two or three thousand pounds. It can fire several miles at a time and has great power."
Zhu Ping'an replied without hesitation, and mentioned the Red Cannon at the end.
After listening to Zhu Ping'an's words, Zhang Hong was so excited that he couldn't control himself. The Portuguese artillery described by Zhu Ping'an was completely correct. Moreover, when he was learning the artillery of the Red Haired Barbarians in Southeast Asia, he once saw the "Red Barbarian Cannon" described by Zhu Ping'an on the bow of the Red Haired Barbarians' ship. Although he didn't know that the cannon was called the Red Barbarian Cannon at that time, the three-meter-long cannon left a deep impression on him. This shows that there are really classics about European, Red Haired Barbarian and other foreign artillery in the Hanlin Academy's library.
In order to improve his artillery skills, he left his hometown and went to Southeast Asia to learn how to make artillery from the red-haired barbarians.
Although he racked his brains and used every possible means to learn a lot of skills from the red-haired barbarians, he was just stealing after all. Without the comprehensive guidance of the red-haired barbarians, he still did not master the skills of firearms such as the Portuguese cannon.
If he were to evaluate himself, he would have learned only about 50%. The Portuguese cannon he imitated was far inferior to the real Portuguese cannon made by the red-haired barbarians, which made him feel very unwilling.
Now I heard that there are more than ten books about European, red-haired barbarians and other foreign firearms in the Hanlin Academy library. How can I not be excited
"Although it may be a little abrupt, I wonder if you can still remember the contents of these books now since you were able to study them at that time."
Zhang Hong asked excitedly.
Zhu Ping'an repeated to Zhang Hong what he had said to Ou Zhige, saying that he had a good memory, had plenty of time at the time, had read the book several times, and still remembered about 70% to 80% of its contents.
"Please teach me the relevant knowledge about foreign artillery. I, Zhang Hong, will follow your lead in my life. I will obey your orders."
Like Ou Zhige, Zhang Hong also knelt down excitedly, expressed his loyalty to Zhu Ping'an and asked for advice from Zhu Ping'an.
The reason why Zhang Hong and Ou Zhige both knelt down to show their loyalty was probably because they were born in humble circumstances and had nothing, so they had no choice but to sell themselves to the enemy, which was the only bargaining chip they could offer.
"Master Zhang, you are too polite. Please stand up quickly. Master Zhang is the master of our Zhejiang Army, so I will tell you everything I know..."
Zhu Ping'an helped Zhang Hong up and repeated to him what he had said to Ou Zhige to reassure him.
"Please give me some advice, sir. I, Zhang, will definitely live up to your expectations." Zhang Hong said with a serious look on his face, clasping his fists.
"I've read a lot about artillery, and it's been so long that I'm a little confused. I'll just talk about whatever comes to mind. I'll come and discuss this with Master Zhang more often in the future. I'm sure that the rear sights installed on both sides of the Portuguese cannon can help with aiming and increase the hit rate. Master Zhang must know this."
Zhu Ping'an took a sip of tea and spoke slowly.
"Yes, the red-haired barbarians had a brilliant idea and added a rear sight to the gun, which greatly increased the hit rate. Our artillery has never had such a device, so we can learn from it and apply it to other artillery to increase the hit rate."
Zhang Hong nodded vigorously and replied.
"Yes, some of the Red Haired Barbarians' ideas are worth learning from. For example, they added a steel hoop to the gun barrel, like a barrel hoop. According to the records in their book, it can effectively imitate the explosion of a cannon."
Zhu Ping'an gave another example.
"Oh, that makes sense. We can add steel hoops to prevent the cannon from exploding. Even though it cannot prevent it 100%, it can definitely greatly reduce the chances of cannon exploding..." Zhang Hong was deeply inspired and nodded repeatedly after hearing this.
"Regarding the Portuguese cannon, the latest and most advanced artillery books of our Ming Dynasty also have research. Regarding the Portuguese cannon, our Ming Dynasty's Beijing Armory Bureau has also conducted many tests and innovations, and has obtained several practical results. I can't remember the details, but I only remember three points. The first is that the sub-gun must fit tightly against the main gun; the second is that when aiming with the Portuguese cannon rear sight, the three-point one-line method should be used, that is, the rear sight, front sight and target are connected in a straight line; the third and more practical thing is to add a wooden handle to the sub-gun to facilitate loading and unloading and fixing."
Zhu Pingan continued.
"I also noticed that the sub-gun fits the mother gun well. The three points form a straight line, and the sub-gun is equipped with a wooden handle... It is worthy of being the military equipment bureau of the capital, and its reputation is well-deserved." Zhang Hong said with admiration, he was deeply inspired.
"Regarding the Portuguese cannon, I won't say more about the superficial reasons for adding ears to the gun body to facilitate transfer. However, there is one thing I want to discuss with Master Zhang." Zhu Ping'an's tone became serious.
"Please teach me, sir." Zhang Hong clasped his fists and bowed deeply.
"Among the more than ten books on firearms from Europe, Portugal and other foreign countries, many of them mention the artillery caliber doubling technology, saying that it is one of the fundamental principles of artillery and that this technology must be followed when making artillery." Zhu Ping'an said solemnly.
"Cannon caliber technology? The fundamental principle of cannons, which must be followed when making cannons?"
It was the first time that Zhang Hong heard the term "cannon double the caliber" in his life. He opened his mouth in surprise, as if he had heard something incomprehensible.