~~~~~

The dark cannonball hit the target under the direct gaze of everyone.

"Click".

The cannonball hit hard through the target made of branches and fell into the soft sand.

Kong Youde couldn't help but excitedly waved his fist, quickly came to Li Yuanqing, knelt down on one knee, "General, please test the results!"

The generals around him also talked about it and nodded repeatedly.

Duan Xiliang also reacted at this time and couldn't help but murmured: "It's so accurate!"

He was a veteran who followed Li Yuanqing when he was in Guangning City. He was Li Yuanqing's direct confidant and won Li Yuanqing's trust and true inheritance.

Along the way, he has been involved in almost all the battles of the Changsheng Battalion, and his understanding and perception of firearms is deeper than that of ordinary officers.

This red cannon can shoot up to one and a half miles away. It is faster, more accurate, and more powerful than the red cannon from Shenyang City they captured in Fuzhou.

If such sharp weapons could be equipped with all the troops of the Changsheng Battalion, what would happen no matter how brave Lao Nu’s Eight Banners cavalry were? Could they be able to pass such a big iron ball weighing more than ten kilograms?

Li Yuanqing also smiled and nodded.

The red cannons that Yang Xiaochuan and the others obtained from Macau were obviously improved compared to the cannons introduced in the early Ming Dynasty.

The longest range of the red cannons in Shenyang City is about one and a half miles, and the actual effective range is only one mile, or a little more than one mile.

At this time, the effective range of these new red cannons should be longer. Although the target is one and a half miles away, the angle of attack of the muzzle is not high, and there should be a lot of remaining power.

The main target was the beach. The soft beach absorbed most of the impact of the shells and did not produce the maximum ejection effect.

But even if all these are put aside, just the smooth reloading and calibration of these white-haired ghosts is enough to make Li Yuanqing excited.

These silvers will never be in vain.

"Haha. Let's go over there and see how it works."

Li Yuanqing waved his hand, and Niu Gensheng beside him quickly fetched the war horse for Li Yuanqing.

Li Yuanqing got on his horse and walked towards the target first. The generals around him and Joseph quickly followed behind him.

Before the group came to the target, the soldiers who stayed behind had already cleaned up the place and stood respectfully, waiting for Li Yuanqing's review.

Li Yuanqing got off his horse and, surrounded by a group of generals, came behind the target to inspect the situation.

Although the target is made of branches, its thickness is about ten centimeters. Due to its soft elasticity, it can also absorb part of the force of the cannonball.

But even so, the cannonball still passed through the target for two or three meters, and then sunk deeply into the beach by about thirty or forty centimeters.

Kong Youde's eyes were already blazing with excitement, "General, this new red cannon is really sharp!"

Around him, Duan Xiliang, Shunzi, and everyone in Huang Guoshan were also a little stunned.

This is a soft beach. Due to the limitations of the terrain, the real effect of the red cannon cannot be fully exerted. If it is on the battlefield, this...

Li Yuanqing smiled and nodded, "That's right. Xiao Kong, Joseph, foreign brothers, thank you for your hard work."

Everyone couldn't help but be overjoyed.

Joseph hurriedly followed Kong Youde's example and knelt down on one knee in front of Li Yuanqing, "Honored general, it is an honor for me to share my worries with you."

Although Thomas and Peter Luo didn't want to kneel down, seeing Li Yuanqing's sharp gaze, they didn't dare to hesitate any longer and knelt down one after another, compliments kept coming.

Li Yuanqing smiled.

These white-haired ghosts know their tastes, and he doesn't mind giving them a few bones. Otherwise, Changsheng Island needs fertilizer everywhere.

Although the generals around him were excited, Li Yuanqing felt very calm in his heart.

Judging from the scene, the power of the red cannon is indeed very good and a bit bluffing, but Li Yuanqing has experienced hundreds of battles and has extremely rich battle experience.

On the battlefield, although it is not as soft as the beach, the Hou Jin army is not a fool. The cowhide chariots and various terrains, including the simplest round shield, will affect the power of the red cannon.

If it's winter and the ground is frozen solid, the effect will be better, but if it's summer and autumn, especially after rain, the ground is soft and the effect is basically the same as on the beach.

After all, although the red cannon is very powerful, it is still a solid bullet.

The damage caused by the red cannon basically relies on the ejection of the shells, which is not necessarily very effective in a dense crowd of infantry, let alone a crowd of galloping cavalry.

To a large extent, the red cannon at this time was somewhat similar to the nuclear weapons of later generations. It had more of a deterrent effect. It could not determine the outcome in a single battle on a complex battlefield and completely occupy a dominant advantage.

In particular, the cost of making solid iron ball artillery shells is very high. It takes hundreds of rounds to be fired in a battle, and not everyone can afford it.

However, I can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry.

Li Yuanqing, as well as the entire Ming Dynasty, were still too shallow in their exploration and research in this area.

Li Yuanqing could only endure his temper and take it step by step.

After checking this place, Li Yuanqing smiled and encouraged everyone, returned to the artillery under the woods, and continued to test fire, especially the 6-pound artillery and 8-pound artillery.

On the actual battlefield, except for defending the city, the red cannon is not very effective in field battles due to its large size and heavy weight.

On the contrary, the 8-pounder cannon and 6-pounder cannon, which are light and easy to carry, especially light artillery such as the 6-pounder cannon, have the most extensive and effective uses.

The effect of the 8-pound cannon is quite good, with a range of a little more than 1 mile. Although the effect is not as good as the red cannon, its power is not much weaker.

However, the effect of the 6-pounder gun made Li Yuanqing very dissatisfied. The actual test range was maintained at 1 mile, but the impact it caused was really unsatisfactory.

After calming down for a while, Li Yuanqing also understood that this was the limit of the technology tree of the entire world at this time.

These light and heavy artillery were first used by Western foreign devils on warships.

In a naval battle between warships, the primary goal is to sink the opponent's warship. In this regard, solid ammunition is the main weapon.

Coupled with the limitations of steel smelting technology at this time, the strength of the gun barrel was still not enough.

However, the manufacturing of explosive bombs is not too complicated. It is mainly due to the limitation of thinking. It is difficult for people in this era to get around this bend.

And Li Yuanqing has 500 years of experience that transcends this world. At this time, his financial resources are quite sufficient, and there is no shortage of various craftsmen under his command. He is confident enough to make this super killer weapon come out as soon as possible.

By the time all test firings were completed, it was already evening.

Except for Huang Guoshan and Li Sansheng who stayed on duty all night, everyone else rushed to the official hall to attend the dinner party hosted by Li Yuanqing to welcome Joseph and many other foreign devils.

The two main stewards of the blacksmith shop, Xu Liang and Yang Peifu, were also invited to attend.

Although Li Yuanqing's official hall is not magnificent, it is spacious, the space is large, and the structure is grand. The official hall can accommodate hundreds of people, which is more than enough.

After drinking a few glasses of wine with them, the atmosphere gradually became lively.

These foreign devils are all outdated second-rates. How have they ever received such favor? They were all overjoyed, and the smiles on their faces could not be concealed at all.

They never thought that when they arrived on Changsheng Island, they would receive such preferential treatment from Li Yuanqing.

Li Yuanqing clapped his hands at this time. Suddenly, the noise in the hall quickly dissipated, and everyone turned their attention to Li Yuanqing's direction.

These foreign devils did not dare to talk nonsense. They had clearly seen Li Yuanqing's power, but they never wanted to fail to give face to this intellectual and noble man, and to offend him.

Li Yuanqing smiled and said, "Today is a cheerful banquet and a successful banquet. I am here to wish you all good food, drink and fun in advance. However, before that, I have a few things to do.

I want to announce it to everyone.”

Although Li Yuanqing said it lightly, everyone's ears pricked up.

Joseph, in particular, looked at Li Yuanqing eagerly, not daring to blink. He had vaguely guessed that the official position might fall on him.

Li Yuanqing glanced at everyone and smiled lightly, "From now on, the blacksmith shop will be renamed the weapons workshop. Xu Liang will be the director of the weapons workshop, and Yang Peifu will be the deputy director of the weapons workshop."

This was all expected by everyone, and no one was too surprised.

Xu Liang and Mr. Yang hurried out of the queue to kowtow to thank Li Yuanqing.

At this time, Li Yuanqing said calmly: "Appoint Joseph, an English gentleman, as the third deputy general manager of the weapons workshop. He will be responsible for the test firing and research and development of artillery. He will have an annual salary of 80 taels and enjoy the treatment of a thousand households."

Joseph couldn't help but be overjoyed and hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed to Li Yuanqing, "Honored general, your most loyal servant Joseph, is willing to serve you sincerely."

Li Yuanqing smiled and said, "With immediate effect, Yang Xiaochuan will be promoted to the head of the artillery battalion, with a guerrilla position. He will assist the weapons workshop and jointly participate in the test firing and research and development of artillery."

Although Yang Xiaochuan had expected it, he couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard Li Yuanqing personally announce the appointment in front of so many people. He hurriedly came to Li Yuanqing, knelt down respectfully and said: "I am humbled by Yang Xiaochuan, and I am willing to die for the general."

!”

Li Yuanqing laughed loudly and helped Yang Xiaochuan up with his own hands, "Xiaozhou, Manager Xu, Manager Yang, Manager Joseph, I will leave everything to you from now on!"

Everyone fell to their knees again and said, "I am willing to die for the general!"

After the appointment was announced, the atmosphere of the banquet became more and more lively.

Li Yuanqing drank a few glasses of wine with these supervisors, then left first, leaving his time to these upstarts.

After all, with Li Yuanqing here, he was too powerful and they couldn't let him go.

After returning to the inner study, he closed his eyes and rested for a moment. Nian'er quickly brought a bowl of sobering soup and carefully came to Li Yuanqing, "General, please drink some."

The hangover soup had just been prepared, but Nian'er didn't expect that Li Yuanqing would come back so soon, and she couldn't help but feel happy.

She finally had time to be alone with the general.

Li Yuanqing smiled, took the hangover soup and took a sip. It was sour and sweet, and tasted pretty good. He smiled and said, "Nian'er, thank you for your hard work."

Nian'er's pretty face became more and more rosy, and she hurriedly whispered respectfully: "It is my blessing to share the general's worries."

Li Yuanqing smiled and grabbed her little hand casually, "I'm a little tired, please help me rub it."
To be continued...