Cannons had a very strong killing effect from the very beginning. It could be said to be the most powerful type of firearm. In the future, it had developed many branches. In the end, it had become an undefeatable golden body. The descendants were flourishing, and it was an important weapon of the country.
However, in this day and age, there were still many restrictions on the use of cannons. It was precisely because of these various restrictions that the major armies of this era had some reservations when using firearms. Although firearms were powerful, there were also many restrictions. Therefore, cold weapons were still very popular.
Among them, the most troublesome thing for soldiers was the word "chamber explosion."
From China, which was the first country to use artillery, to the European countries, from the birth of artillery to modern times, it had always been a curse that threatened all soldiers. It was a Sword of Damocles that hung over the heads of both sides. It was a sword of Damocles that did not recognize anyone.
The chamber explosion of a firearm was not considered terrifying. Usually, it would only injure one person. If one was really unlucky, it was possible to injure two or three people. However, the scale of the explosion would not be too big. Compared to the explosion of a cannon, which could easily kill a circle of people, it was really merciful.
China lacked copper. Therefore, cannons were basically iron cannons. If it was copper cannons, it was relatively sturdy. If the chamber exploded, it would usually be a hole in the body of the cannon. It would not break into pieces.
As for iron cannons, it was really a tragedy. The Daming Dynasty was the tragedy of all tragedies. They lacked money and copper. The Emperor could not help but turn the copper cannons into copper coins.
It was not an exaggeration to say that more than 97% of the active cannons of the Ming Army were iron cannons. The few copper cannons were also prepared to be smelted into copper coins.
What was even more tragic was that in this kind of freezing environment, the extreme cold outside caused the temperature of the iron cannons to drop to a very dangerous number. However, the heat conductivity of iron was very good. Regardless of whether it was heating or cooling, its speed was top-notch. This was still the cold body of the cannon.
After one shot, the body of the cannon rapidly heated up. Another shot, the body of the cannon continued to heat up. Another shot … Boom!!!
It was useless.
Generally speaking, after firing three shots, the cannons should retreat to cool off the heat. When Xiao Ruxun used the cannon tactic, he would learn the three-stage shooting method. He would divide all the cannons into three teams. After the first team fired, they would retreat to cool off the heat. The second team would follow up. After the second team fired, the third team would follow up.
Judging from the firing speed, the heat dissipation effect was quite good, so it could be maintained for a longer period of time. Generally speaking, Xiao Ruxun did not allow the soldiers to use water to speed up the heat dissipation. In this day and age, iron smelting technology and cannon casting technology were not very effective. If one side of the cannon was boiling hot, the other side would be sprinkled with water. Hiss ~
A burst of steam was indeed beautiful, but who knew if the cannon body would change shape?
Everyone understood the principle of thermal expansion and contraction. You might have dissipated the heat quickly this time, but the next shot might explode, and everyone would die.
But it was very obvious that the cannoneers of the Ming Army, who were in a hurry to fire at the Mongolians, did not care about this. Or rather, they thought that the freezing weather would speed up the heat dissipation of the cannons, so they used the cannons even more recklessly. But how could Daming iron compare to modern steel?
When Wei Yunzhen rode his horse to the bottom of the city gate tower, he saw a few broken corpses that had fallen down from the city gate tower. There was also a broken leg. He frowned and immediately got down from his horse to rush up the city wall. With one look, even though he had been through a lot, he still closed his eyes in pain and shouted angrily. Then, he immediately gave an order.
"Carry these people away immediately! Use sandbags to fill up the gap here and bring another cannon over! Pay attention to the heat dissipation of the cannon! Pay attention to the heat dissipation of the cannon! At most three shots, you have to change the cannon! At most three shots! You have to change the cannon! "
Immediately, a messenger ran all over the city wall and passed Wei Yunzhen's order to the ears of every cannoneers of the Ming Army, but it seemed to be too late.
The explosion on the Ming Army's city wall raised the morale of the Mongolians. The Mongolians actually organized another charge in an extremely short amount of time. Instantly, the pressure on the Ming Army on the city wall increased greatly.
"Fire! Fire! Rolling wood and stones, do not stop! "
Wei Yunzhen personally commanded the battle on the city wall. He pulled out his sword and roared angrily.
The war drums of the Ming Army on the city wall rumbled. The inspector personally commanding the battle gave the Ming Army some peace of mind. The panic brought about by the explosion of the cannon gradually disappeared.
The surviving Ming Army soldiers on the city wall immediately launched a counterattack against the Mongolians. Arrows rained down and the cannons roared. The Mongolian attack was once again stopped.
However, the Mongolians did not only have cavalry. The Mongolians who looted most of the castles in Datong not only had cannons and muskets, but also catapults and ballistae. Right before Wei Yunzhen's eyes, two soldiers were skewered by a flying ballista. They were pinned to the city wall behind him.
He looked at the two soldiers who died with their eyes wide open and panted heavily.
"Futai! It's too dangerous here! The Northern Barbarians not only have cannons, but they also have ballistae and catapults. It's too dangerous here! You should leave immediately! "
The general guarding Yanmen Pass hurriedly ran to Wei Yunzhen's side and shouted loudly.
"The soldiers are fighting a bloody battle! Yet I want to run away? If I can't stand with the soldiers, why should I ask the soldiers to sacrifice their lives? Although I am weak, I am not afraid of death! "
Old Wei flatly refused and continued to nail himself to the city wall.
Old Wei was a civil official, a civil official at heart. Of course, he had his own selfish motives. It was just like when Zhang Juzheng died and returned home to be buried. At that time, the Jingzhou officials were greedy for the Zhang family's power and fought to be the first to pay their respects. He was the only one who did not go. People thought he was stupid, but he was not.
Because he could already see that with Zhang Juzheng's death, his power and henchmen would be finished sooner or later. Although he still had the intention of being the sole power, it would not last long.
Therefore, as a minor official, he faced the possibility of revenge from the Zhang family and did not pay his respects. He even whipped the servant who advised him to pay his respects. In an instant, his reputation soared.
He was a third-rank Jinshi but was not selected as a Minister of Blessings. He could only observe politics and be sent out. According to the rules, his future was very limited. He might even be stuck at the sixth or seventh rank for the rest of his life.
However, he did not resign himself to his fate. He seized the opportunity and resisted his fear of the Zhang family's power. He successfully entered the eyes of the anti-Zhang Juzheng faction in the court and was promoted back to the capital to serve as an imperial censor.
During his time as an Imperial Censor, he constantly targeted Zhang Juzheng's remaining forces. It wasn't that he opposed Zhang Juzheng's reforms, but he was indeed on the opposite side of Zhang Juzheng.
At the time, he did not even have the right to object; he was merely cannon fodder. Even so, he was still deeply feared by Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing.
Just because he had been praised by Hai Rui, didn't mean he was a straightforward official. He had his own selfish motives and was working for the sake of improving his own power. The reason he directly pointed out Zhang Juzheng's mistakes was not because of justice and ideals, but because of power and status.
The reason he came to Shanxi to become the Inspector-General was to defend Zhao Nanxing, the future leader of the Donglin Party. As a result, he offended other factions in the court and was sent to Shanxi to be the Inspector-General.
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