Chapter 372: The Creation of the Military Industry Department, the Rain God Tiger Crouching Cannon!

The bright sun fell from the sky, shining the bronze cannon with golden light. The rainy season has ended, the sky is cloudless, but the rolling thunder echoes between the hills, like the roar of a giant beast. The continuous roars continued, and the villagers within dozens of miles were terrified. They prayed to the Supreme Lord while looking at the direction of the roar.

In the nearby villages, the preaching priests had just received instructions: appease the villagers under their jurisdiction and prohibit going to the place where the thunder came from. Because there, the Divine Priest Group was holding a sacred ceremony to receive the divine power bestowed by the Lord God! Hearing the news, the village priests prayed devoutly for a few breaths, and then hurriedly left with their apprentices and militia to appease hundreds of villagers.

In the artillery field, Shulot stepped back dozens of steps. He wore a bronze helmet, stood behind the chest-high earth wall, and patiently watched the gunners' operations.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Soon, the thunderous roar sounded again! Countless stone bullets flew out of the muzzle, and bursts of white smoke rose up. After a round of artillery fire, the gunners began to load nervously.

They first added half a gun twist at the firing port, which was the fuse that was about to be ignited. The location of the firing port is about 6.5 cm from the bottom of the cannon, about 4 cm long and 1.3 cm wide. There is a ring around the firing port responsible for gathering gunpowder. This is a design proposed by Xiu Luote to facilitate ignition. The Condor Cannon also has a similar firing port, which is much more convenient than the previous wooden cannon.

After adding the gun twist, the gunners carefully added half a pound of gunpowder, two inches of soil, and nearly a hundred stone balls from the muzzle. The so-called soil separation is to use soil to separate gunpowder and stone balls. Because the sturdy bronze tiger squat cannon is used, the amount of gunpowder is more than the cast iron tiger squat cannon.

After loading, a gunner quickly checked the claws in front of the cannon and the copper tripod behind the cannon to make sure the cannon body is stable. This is a lesson learned with blood. The Tiger Crouching Cannon is too light. If it is not properly fixed, the cannon will retreat several meters after one shot. In the initial test firing, two of Tillipi's apprentices were hit by the receding cannon, and their ribs were broken and they died of vomiting blood on the spot. Since then, Tillipi never dared to stand behind the cannon again.

After the inspection, the gunners carefully lit the cannon fuse with torches, then quickly covered their ears and crouched on both sides of the cannon.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The thunderous sound sounded again! A thick smoke rose up, covering the cannon. When the smoke dissipated, the wooden target 100 meters away was full of holes. The maximum range of the Rain God Tiger Crouching Cannon is about 500 meters, the effective range is about 100-200 meters, and the best shooting distance is within 100 meters. If you want to penetrate armor, you can even get closer, within 50 meters. In fact, it is a large "spray gun", the closer it is, the greater the power. Fire shotguns at close range, and a large area will be hit with one shot!

The king knew that in the tactics of the Qi family army, the firing of the tiger squat cannon, arranged after the bird guns and rockets with a range of about 100 meters, was a decisive killer.

"Good! Very good! Excellent!!"

Looking at the shooting effect of the tiger squat cannon, Shulot's eyes gradually lit up. He was full of joy. In Central America, which lacked armor protection, this light artillery was a killer that swept across the infantry battle formation!

"If I had ten such tiger squat cannons against the Tarasco King's army, arranged among the warriors of the personal guard, Tarasco's Bronze Axe Guards would not be able to rush over at all!"

The king sighed in his heart, and the memories of the hard battles came to his mind. With bronze cannons, future battles will be much easier! Especially when facing the shield battle formation formed by the Broken Hair Guards, Eagle Regiment, Jaguar Regiment, and Bronze Axe Guards, these elite warriors, there is no need to invest elite warriors to bite hard!

Then, based on his experience in the battle formation, he conceived the use of this light artillery.

Due to the limitation of the range, the tiger squat cannon must be deployed at the front line of the array and fired under the cover of the infantry battle formation. The firing of the artillery will raise smoke and hinder the archers' sight, so let them march with the shield-bearing infantry. On both sides of the artillery, brave assault infantry are deployed. After several rounds of bombardment, the enemy formation is loosened, and then the charge is launched to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Xuluot imagined for a long time until the third round of thunder suddenly exploded! He came back to his senses and estimated the firing speed of the artillery. Although the gunners' operation is proficient, it is not simple and can be further optimized. The firing of the Condor Cannon is slightly faster than the wooden cannon, about two rounds in a quarter of an hour; and the firing of the tiger squat cannon is slightly faster than the Condor Cannon, about three rounds in a quarter of an hour.

"Well, this firing speed"

The king pondered in silence. In this way, the first round of shooting is still the most important. You need to get as close as possible and shoot directly at the face of the enemy formation!

"Your Majesty, look, how powerful is the Rain God Tiger Crouching Cannon?"

Tilipi straightened his chest and pointed to the wooden target in front of him. Shuluot looked over and saw that after three rounds of bombardment, the target 100 meters away had shattered and scattered all over the ground. The ground was full of scattered stone balls and wood chips. According to the scattered area, five Tiger Crouching Cannons can effectively cover the infantry line of 100 people in the battlefield.

"Praise the Supreme Lord!"

Shuluot smiled.

"This is the artifact that the Lord God gave to the Alliance to rule the world!"

"Praise the Supreme Lord! And praise the divinely inspired Majesty!"

Charappe came forward and pulled Tilipi to kneel down and salute. Then, Charappe raised his head respectfully and looked at the heroic Majesty.

"We dedicate the cannon to you, the only sun in the world! This is the artifact that the Lord God gave to the kingdom to rule the world!"

Hearing this, Xiu Luote was slightly startled, and his heart was in turmoil. His face was calm as usual, and he smiled and nodded.

"Get up! You are all heroes of the kingdom and the alliance!"

Hearing this, the two casting masters and technical bureaucrats stood up and waited for the king's order. A few steps away, Bertard watched this scene quietly, with a smile on his lips.

The smoke dispersed, and the bronze cannon shone with golden light again. The king sniffed his nose and asked in a deep voice.

"Tiripi, what is the success rate of casting the tiger squat cannon? If the copper supply is sufficient, how many can be cast in a month?"

Tiripi stretched out his fingers and calculated for a long time.

"Your Majesty, the tiger squat cannon is easier to manufacture. It has a simple mold, a short range, and low airtightness requirements. The success rate is about 60% to 70%! And the manpower to make a divine eagle cannon, we can make more than ten tiger squat cannons! So, if we don't make the divine eagle cannon, we can produce 20 tiger squat cannons a month."

Hearing this, Xiu Luote was stunned. He chewed on the meaning of Tilipi's words and raised his eyebrows.

"You mean, the entire bronze workshop, a thousand craftsmen and apprentices, can only produce two Condor cannons or 20 Crouching Tiger cannons a month?"

"Your Majesty, the vast majority of people in the bronze workshop have to make bronze armor and weapons. There are only one or two hundred people in the cannon casting bureau. What's more, the output of the workshop is now mainly limited by the output of copper materials."

Chalape smiled and explained hurriedly.

Hearing this, Xiu Luote pondered for a while and nodded slowly. After all, the gap in copper materials is too big!

Nekali, the director of the Industry and Mining Department, wrote many letters saying that the miners were consumed too quickly and requested to increase the number of people in the mine. The huge mining area is like a greedy underground monster, constantly devouring fresh life on the ground and spitting out the dusty wealth underground. Now, there are more than 3,000 miners in the copper mine in the mining area. The average copper material mined and smelted by 1,000 people per month is more than 6,000 kilograms, which means that 20,000 kilograms of copper materials can be produced per month. Twenty thousand catties of copper sounds like a lot, but it's only a little over ten tons.

In total, the kingdom can only produce about 130 tons of copper a year. The kingdom needs copper for casting cannons, building ships, armor, weapons, farm tools, and even arrowheads! If these copper materials are divided into various expenses, there will be little left.

Although the alliance has mined copper mines in the Huetamo Mountains, the output of copper is probably less than half of the kingdom's, and it is still not enough for the needs of the Mexican Valley. If the large copper mines mined by the Zapotecs in the distant Oaxaca region and the sporadic open-pit copper mines mined by the even more distant Mayans are added, the copper production of the entire Central American world should be less than 300 tons per year, according to the king's irresponsible guess. And if you want to drive the entire Central American civilization further, this copper production is far from enough!

In comparison, the copper production during the Xining period of the Song Dynasty was 20 million catties, or 10,000 tons. This is only the official production that has been recorded, and there is no telling how much private mining is not included in the figures. In the Edo period, the copper production of an Ashio Copper Mine at its peak could reach 1,200 tons per year.

In fact, the Chingambat mining area is located on the copper mountain and the giant ore vein belt, with a reserve of tens of millions of tons, exceeding the Ashio Copper Mine, and can be mined until the 21st century! Its mining potential has not yet been released. What is lacking is miners, or mining slaves.

Thinking of this, Xiu Luote lowered his eyes. The whole kingdom is filled with hunger for war. This is an extreme desire for resources, land and manpower when a country is developing rapidly.

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes. Tilipi, starting from this month, cast one Divine Eagle Cannon and 10 Crouching Tiger Cannons every month! If the copper material is insufficient, stop casting and study the casting process of larger cannons. After the test, all bronze cannons will be delivered directly to the artillery battalion. A new batch of gunners will be recruited in the artillery battalion. You must send skilled craftsmen to be stationed in the artillery battalion. On the one hand, they will be responsible for the maintenance and repair of the artillery, and on the other hand, they will teach the operation of the artillery. All the key points must be summarized in writing!"

"At your service, Your Majesty!"

Tilipi knelt down and saluted.

Xuluot stretched out his hand and shook the master of casting's hair. Then, he smiled gently and announced loudly.

"Tilipi, you have made great contributions to casting cannons! From today on, I will enthrone you as a hereditary noble of the kingdom! From now on, your family has the right to participate in political affairs and will live with the kingdom for generations! Praise the Lord!"

"Ah! Thank you! Thank you for your generosity! Praise the Lord!"

Tilipi was excited and his eyes were a little wet. Two years of hard work day and night finally paid off!

Beside him, Chalape lowered his head and sighed softly. From today on, the Metal Family will be divided into two.

"Remember, the Condor Cannon and the Tiger Crouching Cannon are just the beginning! Next, you have to continue to explore the craftsmanship of casting cannons! Improve the production of clay molds, improve the quality of the cannon body, modify the length and shape of the cannon barrel, and add a more stable gun mount. More importantly, it is to make larger, thicker and longer cannons!"

Xuluot instructed in a deep voice. Many pictures flashed in his mind, although they were only a few scales and claws, but they pointed out the direction of the future.

"When I go back, I will draw some pictures for you as a reference!"

"Lord God bless you! God's revelation to your majesty!"

Tilipi bowed his head respectfully, praised sincerely, and his thoughts flew far. Although, most of the time, your majesty's guidance is like a mess of slag, there are always some exquisite ideas, just like good materials that come out by chance, which can give people inspiration and save a lot of effort. Well, it must be that your majesty did not learn carefully when he was inspired by God! If it were me.

"Tilipi!"

"Ah, here!"

The casting master hurriedly responded.

"How many bronze cannons are there in the bronze workshop now? When will the next batch of cannons be delivered?"

"Ah! Your Majesty, there are 10 Sun God Eagle Cannons and 30 Rain God Tiger Crouching Cannons. The new batch of clay molds are drying in the shade. Because the rainy season has arrived and the air is humid, there is a delay."

"Huh? Delayed again?"

Xuluot raised his eyebrows and looked at the casting master in front of him. The other party is in middle age, but he has begun to bald and his figure is much thinner than two years ago. The king exhaled and said calmly.

"Tiripi, try to do what you promised me on time and don't delay too long."

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty."

Tiripi nodded with a bitter face. He couldn't stop lamenting in his heart.

"Your Majesty, when will you go on another expedition?"

As if hearing his voice, the king's voice came again.

"Tiripi, before October, test all the artillery in stock and deliver them to the artillery battalion. I will be of great use to you later!"

"As you wish, Your Highness!"

Tiripi smiled brightly. He smiled at Chalape, his brother smiled at Bertard, and the chief warrior smiled at His Majesty. Everyone had a smile on their face. Because the war was coming again!