Chapter 164 Science and Technology are the Primary Productive Force

In fact, the penetration power of the Minnie bullet is not very strong. The lead is soft, and the Minnie bullet made mainly of lead is naturally soft, with obvious stopping effect, but its penetration power is limited. However, compared with the wooden board, its penetration power is still OK. After all, the range of the Minnie gun is far more than one hundred meters. Within two or three hundred meters, it has lethality. The Minnie gun with excellent performance can even reach 900 meters.

The Minnie bullet rotates forward, which means that its bullet drop point is much more accurate than that of a smoothbore gun. At a distance of 100 meters, there will basically be no deviation of more than three centimeters. At a distance of 200 meters, the deviation will not exceed ten centimeters. Unless the barrel manufacturing process is really bad, this is quite amazing accuracy.

It should be noted that if you change the smoothbore gun, the deviation will be at least 30 centimeters. As for the range of 200 meters, the smoothbore gun cannot be achieved at all. Because the ballistics of the Minnie gun are quite straight, they can even be used as a sniper rifle within a distance of 100 meters. Experienced musketeers can use the Minnie gun to shoot, and can be fatal to one shot.

"Sixty feet distance!" Xu Xingxia ordered the wooden board to be pushed back. The distance of sixty feet is two hundred meters. Such a distance is already an out of reach for smoothbore guns such as flying bird guns, Thunder guns, and three-eyed guns. The smoothbore guns shot at targets sixty feet away, and the projectiles were not sure where they flew. Even the most advanced Lumi guns introduced from abroad could not effectively damage the targets at such a long distance.

To be honest, at the beginning, craftsmen such as Liu Guangliang and Guo Fuquan did not understand the meaning of rifle. Due to their limited knowledge, they did not think that after rifle was drawn in the barrel, the power of the musket could have a qualitative leap. Even Zhao Mengji, who solved the rifle processing technology, did not have a very deep understanding of this. Shooting targets sixty feet away is simply impossible for muskets. They all felt that this so-called rifled gun would be no exception.

"Bang!"

The dull gunfire came.

The results of the inspection surprised the three craftsmen.

Even if the wooden board is moved to two hundred meters away, the Minnie bullets that were shot out are not very different and are definitely within an acceptable range. Judging from the power, the Minnie bullet is still shot deep into the wooden board, and the presence of the projectile is almost impossible to see with the naked eye. If the Minnie bullet hits a person or even a war horse, it is absolutely fatal.

"Come on the armor!" Xu Xingxia continued to shout.

Many pieces of armor commonly used by the Ming army were hung two hundred meters away.

The use of various armors from the Ming army for experiments is based on theoretical basis. At that time, the Ming Dynasty was the most powerful country in the East, and the armor used by the army had the strongest protection. Most of the enemies or non-enemy around the Ming Dynasty used armor similar to the Ming army. These armors were either purchased or obtained through payment. Even if some of the armor was processed by themselves, the quality was not as good as the armor of the Ming army.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Gunshots kept coming.

In order to better confirm the armor-breaking effect of the Minnie bomb, Xu Xingxia shot five Minnie bombs in total. The final inspection result made the three craftsmen feel a little disappointed. Because the five Minnie bombs, no matter where they hit the armor, penetrated the armor. They had such powerful lethality beyond 60 feet away. On the battlefield, you are completely likely to be killed, and you don’t know how to die.

Facts have proved that the power of Minnie bombs is still very strong, and in most cases, the penetration is enough. Especially in terms of cavalry used to deal with the enemy, it is completely sufficient. As a cavalry, it is impossible to wear heavy armor. In the eastern battlefield, the number of heavy armored cavalry is very small, basically light cavalry. They only have the thinnest armor, and even have no armor at all. Needless to say, the Minnie bomb directly hits the human body, even if it hits a war horse, it can make the war horse lose its ability to continue moving forward.

Xu Xingxia was quite satisfied with the penetration effect of the armor. With such penetration, no matter what kind of enemy it is, there is only one word death in front of the White Army. Unless you are wearing two inches of steel plate armor, it is obvious that this is impossible. Two inches of steel plate armor, worn on people, will have long crushed people.

In fact, Xu Xingxia knew very well that the most critical reason why the power of Minnie bullets is that the barrel is large in diameter. The caliber of the gun is almost equivalent to the existence of a cannon. The 12.7mm machine gun in later generations has a smaller caliber, but the power of the strafing is completely a human block and a Buddha block kills Buddha!

In the future, with the improvement of the barrel processing technology, the caliber may gradually decrease. After all, the current sample gun is indeed too heavy to be conducive to the army's mobile combat. The weight of the Minnie bullet is also very heavy and cannot be carried in large quantities. At that time, the penetration power of the Minnie bullet may be partially reduced. However, the fatal nature of one shot will not be changed. After all, the rifled gun is a rifled gun, which is definitely better than a smoothbore gun.

Of course, the power of the Minnie gun is not infinite, and it is even more incomparable to modern rifles. Its optimal shooting distance is about one hundred meters. If it exceeds one hundred meters, the shooting effect cannot be effectively controlled. However, this is enough. At a distance of two hundred meters, hundreds of Minnie guns must be shot together. There is no need to require the accuracy of a single Minnie gun. In the face of dense Minnie bullets, the enemy will definitely fall in pieces.

"Zhao Mengji, immediately mobilize all the craftsmen to make the Minnie gun. Well, I'll give it a nice name, called the Sun and Moon Gun. Sun and Moon are bright, and I hope that its appearance can expand our territory and establish unparalleled achievements for our Ming Dynasty." Xu Xingxia said with great enthusiasm. He seemed to have seen that he had many powerful muskets, fighting south and north, sweeping across the world. Before the gun was installed, the power of the Minnie gun was absolutely irresistible.

"Abide by the order!" Zhao Mengji replied excitedly, and his face suddenly turned red. For the craftsmen, the biggest achievement was of course to develop a powerful weapon. It can not only gain huge benefits for himself, but also be remembered in history.

Zhao Shizhen became so famous just because he imitated the Lumi gun. The Sun and Moon gun he made himself was more powerful than the Lumi gun. Doesn’t this mean that he will soon overwhelm Zhao Shizhen and become the best musket craftsman?

"However, it is not enough." Xu Xingxia said slowly with a serious expression, "The Sun and Moon Gun needs to continue to improve. First, we must continue to reduce costs so that we can make large quantities of cheap equipment. Second, we must continue to reduce the weight, preferably to about five kilograms. Third, we must further strengthen the quality and make it more durable. Fourth, we must continue to improve the technology and make it more perfect."

"Sir, we will definitely work hard!" Zhao Mengji seemed to have been injected with chicken blood, and his tone of speech changed a little. He couldn't help but be excited! A few months ago, he was still a dying craftsman. After eating this meal, he had to worry about the next meal. He almost never had enough food at home. The children were all hungry and thin, without any food, and could die at any time. Compared with before, life now is a difference between heaven and earth! In his heart, he has already regarded Xu Xingxia as his benefactor of recreation.

"I hope everyone will continue to work hard! My promise will be fulfilled! I will send you the rewards I promised before tomorrow! In the future, if you make good things, I will continue to give you generous rewards and never break your promise! From now on, your social status will be improved!" Xu Xingxia said without hesitation.

Since ancient times, due to the influence of strange and lewd ideas, the status of craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty has never been faced with them. Even with outstanding science and engineering ministers like Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua, and craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty, they still cannot have their own social status. They still live at the bottom of society and live the poorest life.

Obviously, this is very unfavorable to the development of a country. Science and technology are the primary productive forces. The repeated industrial revolutions began with technological innovation. Without the participation of craftsmen, how can the technological revolution of the Ming Dynasty start? Do you expect those civil servant groups that are in vain and have a full share of their own pockets? Joke!

For time travelers, the best opportunity to improve the status of craftsmen is the Apocalypse Period. Because the Apocalypse Emperor himself is an excellent craftsman. If someone can use the Apocalypse Emperor's love for carpentry, reverse his thoughts of strange skills and tricks in an orderly and step by step, gradually enhance the status of craftsmen, and thus start the prelude of the industrial revolution of the Ming Dynasty, perhaps the Ming Dynasty can continue for hundreds of years.

At least, among the six ministries of the court, the officials of the Ministry of Works should be held by real craftsmen, rather than civil officials who came out of eight-part essays. The Ministry of Works should be the real Ministry of Works, a department of work that belongs entirely to the craftsmen themselves. It should be the most dynamic department of the Ming Dynasty and should be at the forefront of world technological development.
Chapter completed!