Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 562 300,000 Troops Reduced (Part 2)
For muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons using black powder, the optimal caliber is between 13 and 24. If the caliber is less than 13, there will be disadvantages such as incomplete combustion of gunpowder, more smoke and flash, insufficient acceleration of the shell, insufficient power, and lower accuracy. Therefore, smoothbore cannons with short calibers can only be used as howitzers and cannot be used as direct-fire cannons.

Beyond 24 calibers, no matter how much the barrel is lengthened, the accuracy and power of the shell will not continue to increase. Instead, it will increase the weight of the gun and affect its mobility. Therefore, apart from coastal defense guns that emphasize range and power, other artillery, whether from the army or the navy, rarely makes artillery that long.

Of course, the optimal barrel length here only refers to black powder. Artillery using modern smokeless powder had already developed to 29 barrel lengths during World War II, 32 to 36 barrel lengths during the Cold War, and in modern times, the barrel lengths of artillery of major military powers have reached 52 barrel lengths.

Lu Jin required that the battalion's artillery be able to fire solid iron balls more than a mile away, and also be able to fire high-explosive shells and grapeshot. The only type that could meet these requirements was the smoothbore cannon. In order to maximize the range and accuracy, Tao Guangyi set the barrel length to 14 times the minimum caliber. At this minimum caliber, the barrel length was the shortest. For the same caliber, the shorter the cannon, the lighter it would be.

However, after they produced a prototype cannon according to the standards, they discovered that the range of this cannon actually exceeded Lu Jin's requirements by a large margin. Lu Jin required that the battalion cannon could fire solid iron balls at least one li (approximately 500 meters), but this prototype cannon actually fired at 810 meters, which was obviously a bit of an 'overkill'. In other words, there was still room for improvement in terms of cannon weight.

So they kept the original dimensions the same, only reducing the wall thickness of the barrel to lighten the weight of the cannon. However, with the barrel thinner, the chamber pressure it could withstand also decreased. To prevent the barrel from exploding, they had to reduce the amount of gunpowder loaded.

However, the final experimental results were not bad. With an overall weight reduction of 60 jin and a reduction in the amount of gunpowder, it still had an effective range of 650 meters when firing solid iron bullets, and the kill range of the shot was more than 200 meters. It met the minimum standard required by Lu Jin. However, the weight of the entire cannon was successfully reduced to 260 jin, which is only the weight of two adults. It is a very light and portable small cannon.

Upon hearing that he had already achieved the ultimate in weight reduction, Feng Guoyong stopped asking questions and instead asked Lu Jin, "Your Majesty must have known about this cannon long ago. Which of these two types do you think is better? I see that Minister Xia's battalion artillery company has a staff of 60 people. Since there are only four cannons, why are there so many people?"

Lu Jin immediately said, "A battalion is only about 500 men in size. It is a purely tactical unit. When this level of troops engage the enemy, they are always at the forefront. The artillery has a range of one mile, which is more than enough. When the enemy counter-charges to their front, they can also fire shot to block them."

"As for sieges or major battles, there are naturally higher-level artillery, such as regimental or corps-level heavy artillery, used to suppress the enemy and their artillery. Therefore, battalion-level artillery does not need to pursue excessive range and power. Under this condition, the lighter the better, especially in mountainous or urban warfare situations, the lighter the artillery, the higher its mobility. Therefore, I chose the lightest one, the thin-tube battalion cannon weighing only 260 jin."

Feng Guoyong nodded. Lu Jin's statement was indeed very reasonable. The battalion was a small force facing the enemy directly, so their weapons were sufficient. Larger targets were beyond their level to handle. So he turned to look at Xia Yu again.

Xia Yu immediately explained, "The normal artillery crew used to have 12 people, but His Majesty requested that the battalion artillery be carried up the mountain by soldiers. The General Armament Department's plan was that four people would carry the cannon, four people would carry the artillery carriage, and four people would carry the ammunition, which would make a total of 12 people."

"But there are still two draft horses used to pull the cannons, which also need to be looked after, and the long poles used for firing the cannons also need to be carried. So I assigned 14 people to each cannon squad, plus two people to lead the horses. In addition, if anyone in the cannon squad is killed or injured, these two people can also serve as substitutes."

"In this way, four artillery squads would have 56 men, plus two officers and a messenger, making a total of 60 men."

"I see." Everyone nodded in understanding. Feng Guoyong jotted something down on a piece of paper and then said, "I have no further questions. Please continue with the introduction of the organizational structure, Minister Xia."

“Yes,” Xia Yu replied immediately.

"Each battalion has three companies of combat soldiers, plus officers, a guard and reconnaissance platoon, and a four-gun battalion-level artillery company, totaling 521 people."

"Each regiment has three such battalions, plus a regimental-level officer, two communications platoons, one service platoon, one cook platoon, one regimental guard company, one regimental supply company, and one regimental field artillery battalion equipped with eight 8-pound field guns."

"With these additions, the battalion's three artillery companies with 12 cannons and the regiment's eight field guns, the entire regiment has a total of 20 artillery pieces and 2000 men, which is more than half the original 4500 men. However, its firepower is now comparable to half of the original Imperial Guard Division."

"The original Imperial Guard Division only had more than 4000 muskets and 64 cannons, and they were often assigned to various units. But the reorganized new formation has 20 cannons and more than 1,000 muskets in a single regiment, which is already capable of carrying out some tasks independently. Even if only one regiment is sent to attack a city, as long as the city is not too big, it can be handled perfectly."

After hearing about the new organization, everyone except a few people felt somewhat lost. They knew that the muskets and cannons in the Holy Martial Army were powerful, but as powerful as they were, in their minds, these kinds of unique weapons were still auxiliary weapons and could not play a dominant role.

In a real battle, swords and spears are still the main weapons, and even the army is still composed of both cold and hot weapons. After all, this is how battles have been fought for thousands of years.

Now, things have taken a turn for the worse. The entire army has been equipped with firearms, and swords and spears have been completely phased out. It's as if the times have suddenly changed. It's not that some of them find it hard to accept, but rather that they feel lost and disoriented. They suddenly feel like they don't understand anymore and don't know how to play anymore. Among the representatives of this group are Shi Nai'an, the Minister of Military Propaganda, and Zhang Bixian, the current Right Vice Minister of the General Political Department, who was Chen Youliang's sworn brother in history and the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty.

This military reform was only possible because Emperor Lu Jin personally led the way. Without Lu Jin, even if it were someone else, or even if the crown prince were to ascend the throne in the future, the court might not dare to carry out such radical reforms.

What if we completely weaponize the enemy and then can't fight? What if we lose? Who would dare to take responsibility then? Since they wouldn't dare to take responsibility, they would naturally lean towards conservatism, and they might not dare to completely weaponize the enemy.

Lu Jin anticipated this situation, which is why he chose to reform the military now; otherwise, the resistance would only increase as time went on.

Just then, Shi Nai'an hesitated before asking a question, "Your Majesty, I have a question."

"Minister Shi, please speak?"

Shi Nai'an immediately said, "Your Majesty, is it too radical to fully equip the army with firearms? I know that firearms are easy to train with, and the materials for making them are easier to find than the sinews and horns needed for bows and arrows. They also have many advantages such as great power. However, firearms also have their disadvantages, such as being vulnerable to wind and rain."

"Once the army is fully armed with firearms, and not a single spear or sword is left in the army, what if the enemy attacks during a rainy day? Wouldn't the whole army be unable to cope? Wouldn't the muskets in our hands become nothing more than fire sticks?"

This was, of course, a question on the minds of the conservatives as well. If it wasn't clarified, they probably wouldn't have confidence in this reform. So Lu Jin immediately pointed to Tao Guangyi and said, "Let Minister Tao answer this question."

"Yes." Tao Guangyi immediately stood up and pointed to the two musket samples in the middle of the conference table.

"The problem raised by Minister Shi did indeed exist with firearms in the past."

He picked up one of the flintlock muskets and said, “This is a musket used by the Imperial Guard in the past. It is ignited by an external flint and steel sickle. The ignition powder needs to be poured into the outer powder pool. It is indeed easy to be blown away by the wind and wet by the rain. Even a little rain will make the external ignition powder damp, which will seriously affect the ignition rate.”

"If firearms still have these problems, they naturally cannot be used throughout the army, let alone completely replace weapons such as bows and arrows, swords and spears. However, last year His Majesty led us to develop a new gun, which has solved these problems."

He picked up another percussion cap rifle on the table. "This is the Type 52 infantry rifle, developed and finalized by the General Armaments Department last year. It is called the Type 52 rifle for short. The firing mechanism and caliber of the rifle have been changed. Even the shape of the bullet has been modified. In short, many improvements have been made. The performance of the new rifle is completely different from that of the old rifle!"

As he spoke, he glanced back at Lu Jin and immediately asked, "Your Majesty, may I demonstrate the fire cap here?"

Lu Jin nodded. "Okay, just don't load it."

"Yes." Tao Guangyi agreed and immediately introduced himself to everyone. He was the Minister of the General Armaments Department. If he didn't produce some achievements, people would think he was just doing nothing. Therefore, he had to show his merits when the time came.

"In the past two years, I and 40 students from the science class have been studying the Gongshu Secret Manual with His Majesty, especially the chemistry subject, which is incredibly wonderful. Last year, following the method taught by His Majesty, we refined a new type of secret gunpowder. This secret gunpowder is very sensitive and does not need to be ignited with an open flame. It can be ignited and exploded on its own by simply being lightly struck with a heavy object. Therefore, it can be used as a priming agent."

"We later created a copper bowl, only the size of a red bean. We filled it with the secret medicine and used it as a ignition device for firing guns. Because its shape resembled a large hat, it was named the Fire Hat."

He picked up a fire cap and held it between two fingers to show everyone. Everyone was shocked. They never expected that there was such a magical gunpowder in the world. What was even more amazing was that the method of making this secret medicine was actually taught by His Majesty. Considering His Majesty's recent plan to hold a special imperial examination and expand the enrollment of science students, it is clear that these students are very useful, which is why His Majesty had the idea of ​​expanding the enrollment.

It seems that the Gongshu Secret Manual and the Science Comprehensive Class are both good things. Should I have my children apply for them too?
"When operating the new musket, you only need to load the ammunition into the muzzle, then put a percussion cap on the flintlock hole, or the anvil, open the hammer, pull the trigger, and the hammer will strike the percussion cap, igniting the gunpowder in the barrel through the flintlock hole, just like this." He pulled the trigger, and a loud "pop" rang out, quite loud in the room, while a wisp of smoke rose from the muzzle. Everyone found it very novel.

Tao Guangyi added, “Using this kind of fire cap firing device, because there is no external powder pool and loose priming powder, it is not afraid of the wind. Even the strongest wind will not affect the launch. At the same time, because the secret powder is filled in a copper bowl, it is not afraid of rain. Ordinary light rain will not affect the launch. As long as it is not a torrential downpour, it will not have much of an impact.”

"But then again, if it were really a stormy day, the enemy would probably find it hard to continue fighting in such heavy rain, right? Rain would also affect the bow and arrow. The fletching of the arrow would get wet, causing the arrow to not fly far. The bow would also get damp in the rain. If you force the bow to be drawn in the rain, it might cause the bow to come unglued. The bowstring would also become weak and powerless after absorbing water."

“Rain has the same effect on both our own and the enemy’s armies. If we can’t fight, how can the enemy fight? Therefore, I believe that this new type of percussion cap rifle can be fully deployed throughout the army and replace all other swords and spears.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with Tao Guangyi's explanation, but Zhang Bixian then raised his hand and asked a question.

"I have another question. May I ask Minister Tao, what if the enemy really takes advantage of the strong wind and heavy rain to launch a surprise attack on our army? Even if the enemy's bows and crossbows are ineffective, they still have swords and spears to fight our army hand to hand. Our army cannot use firearms and has no swords and spears. How can we defend ourselves?"

Tao Guangyi thought to himself, "You're just being argumentative," but he still replied, "Minister Zhang comes from the Marquis of Guiyi's command, so he may not be very clear about our army's situation. In fact, our army's muskets were equipped with bayonets from the very beginning. These bayonets are like spearheads, which can be stuck on the muzzle. In this way, the musket can instantly be transformed into a short spear. Even if it cannot be compared with the real battle muskets, it is not completely powerless to fight back."

"Furthermore, equipment changes along with tactics. Knowing the weaknesses of our own weapons, commanders should avoid such situations and not give the enemy the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on our troops in the rain."

As he explained, he pulled out his bayonet and attached it to the muzzle of his gun. When stood upright, it was nearly 1.8 meters long, longer than a typical self-defense staff and only slightly shorter than a fancy spear. It certainly looked like a formidable weapon.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Bixian frowned, thinking to himself, "You, Tao Guangyi, are not a loyal subject brought by His Majesty from Huaixi. I am at least from the righteous army, while you are just a Jinhua commander who surrendered from the Yuan Dynasty. Your skills were all taught by His Majesty. What are you so arrogant about?"
However, Lu Jin was sitting right there, and moreover, Tao Guangyi was a rank higher than him. Tao Guangyi was a Minister, while he was just a Gentleman of the Palace, so he didn't say anything to argue with him.

Instead, he nodded and asked again, "I am indeed not familiar enough with our army's muskets, which is why I am asking Minister Tao for advice. I hope Minister Tao will be generous in his guidance. I also have another question: how do these new muskets compare to bows and arrows? What is their range and power? If the entire army uses muskets, how much ammunition can each soldier carry?"

Tao Guangyi immediately said again, "It is certainly not weaker than bows and arrows. Even the Shenbi crossbow of the former Song Dynasty may not be able to compare with this musket. The Type 52 rifle is equipped with steel-core armor-piercing bullets as standard, with an effective range of 300 meters, which is about 200 paces. Within 200 paces, it can hit any target it points at. If it is shot at an unarmored soft target, as long as it is hit by a shot, it will be either dead or injured."

"If it's an armored target, within 140 paces, or 200 meters, any common armor, regardless of its material, can be easily penetrated. Even a powerful crossbow might not be able to penetrate armor at this distance, right?"

Everyone was surprised to hear this, not expecting that the musket was so powerful.

"As for the amount of ammunition carried, the standard ammunition load of the old flintlock musket was 20 rounds per person, with 10 extra rounds, for a total of 30 rounds, which weighed nearly two pounds. However, the ammunition size of the new musket has been reduced considerably, which has also reduced the weight, so a single soldier can carry more ammunition."

"Our General Armament Department has set a standard ammunition load of 40 rounds per person, which is a basic load of ammunition. Of course, if you don't mind the weight, you can carry more, such as 60 rounds per person. 60 rounds of ammunition weigh less than two pounds. In the past, crossbowmen had to carry more than 30 arrows with them. 30 arrows are much heavier than 60 bullets."

"Moreover, based on past combat experience, each person carrying 40 rounds of ammunition is enough to finish a battle. In most cases, after being bombarded by our artillery, the enemy will collapse immediately after enduring three to six rounds of musket fire, followed by a bayonet charge. Basically, a battle will not even use up 10 rounds of ammunition."

"On the contrary, in the more chaotic combat environment of urban warfare, where squads fight independently, the consumption of ammunition will be greater, but generally 40 rounds of ammunition per person is more than enough."

Tao Guangyi's explanation was reasonable and convincing, and he also had previous combat experience to refer to. After listening to him, everyone had no more objections, and Zhang Bixian also nodded, "I have no problem."

Tao Guangyi then removed the bayonet and placed the two guns back in the middle of the table.

Just then, Lu Jin, who was sitting at the head of the table, also tapped the table and made his statement on the matter.

"Regarding the issue of weaponization of the entire army, let me add one more thing. I have said some things before, and some of you may not have heard them since you arrived late. Since the Privy Council members are all here today, I will repeat them again."

"Since the re-emergence of the Gongshu clan, we have witnessed an unprecedented upheaval in three thousand years, affecting everything from military affairs and people's livelihoods to governance. Before me, had any of you ever heard of Lizhou across the East Sea? No. Before me, had any of you ever seen a musket that could be fired without an open flame? No. Before me, had any of you ever seen a machine that could operate on its own simply by boiling water, without the power of water, wind, manpower, or animals? Still no."

"But what I want to tell you is that there will only be more and more new things like this. You must be prepared to accept all kinds of new things. If you can't keep up, you will be abandoned by the times. The same applies to military affairs."

"Confucian scholars have always looked down on technology and craftsmen, considering them to be just tricks and gimmicks. But I want to tell you that quantitative change can lead to qualitative change. When new technologies accumulate to a certain extent, they can change the world. This change is more dramatic than the changes accumulated over the past three thousand years, and may even feel unfamiliar to you!"

"Take muskets for example. The current Type 52 rifle may still have some problems, but can't muskets be improved? Of course they can. Not to mention the future, even now, I can make better muskets. No matter if it's windy or rainy, even if the gun is soaked in a river, it can still fire in the water, and its power and range can be increased two or three times."

"It's just that the cost of making this kind of gun is too high at present, and it cannot be mass-produced. If a musket costs tens or hundreds of taels of silver, and each of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers has one, it would cost tens of millions of taels, which the imperial court simply cannot afford. Therefore, for the time being, we can only use this kind of cheap percussion cap musket."

"But what I want to tell you is that the future trend is the full armament of firearms, not only muskets, but also artillery. I once said that if I had fifty years, I could make the range of artillery exceed ten miles, and if I had eighty years, I could make the range of artillery exceed thirty miles."

"The same goes for firearms. In at most twenty years, the next generation of firearms that are not afraid of wind and rain or water immersion will be mass-produced. In the future, all kinds of firearms will only become more and more advanced. Even if you don't use them, our enemies will figure them out on their own."

"But if we don't carry out a comprehensive reform of the firearms now, and wait until everyone here is old and retired to their hometowns, and then wait until the Crown Prince ascends the throne and the new emperor takes the throne, who in the court will have the courage to take on the responsibility of a comprehensive reform of the firearms?"
"What if we can't fight anymore after replacing everything with firearms? What if we lose the war? I'm afraid that everyone will be in danger and become more conservative, and will avoid making any changes if possible. Isn't this the case with every mid-term reform in history? Didn't Wang Anshi's reform in the Song Dynasty end up as a complete mess?"
"Confucian scholars are naturally inclined to maintain the status quo. What they like most is to set up all kinds of rules and make them unchanging for all eternity, so that the whole world can operate according to their vision."

"But they forgot the essence of Confucianism. The Book of Changes is the first of all classics, and change means change. If you can't change, what's the difference between you and a dead person? Even the dead person will eventually turn into bones and then into a handful of yellow earth. Nothing is immune to change."

"Now, it is a new dynasty with a new atmosphere. I am the founding emperor, and you are the founding ministers. There are no ancestral rules or regulations, and there are no restrictions. As the saying goes, a blank sheet of paper is easy to draw on. I am not afraid of any unnecessary things. Now is the best time for reform. Even if there are still some minor problems with the muskets, we must replace them now."

“We can wait for new technologies in twenty years, but we must never leave the reform to future generations. If we don’t do it now, are we going to wait until we, as ruler and minister, pass it on to a new ruler and ministers after we’ve lived a hundred years?”

Lu Jin's earnest explanation immediately touched everyone present. For example, Shi Nai'an had just raised the issue of the problem of completely replacing firearms with muskets. Essentially, he was afraid of taking responsibility and therefore tended to be conservative. He did not oppose the reform of firearms, but could we not eliminate all swords and spears all at once?

These were still founding ministers. If the founding ministers were gone, future rulers and ministers would only become more conservative, and the resistance to reform would be greater. Lu Jin was right about that.

Therefore, now is indeed the best opportunity for reform. Your Majesty is indeed the one with the most far-sighted vision, even thinking of such a problem.

Upon realizing this, everyone immediately stood up, cupped their hands in greeting to Lu Jin, and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Lu Jin waved his hand, signaling everyone to sit down, and then asked again, "Does anyone have any questions?"

Feng Guoyong immediately raised his hand. "Your Majesty, you just mentioned the cost of muskets. I would like to ask, what is the cost of the Type 52 musket? If the entire army were to be equipped with it, how many could be produced each year?"

Lu Jin immediately pointed at Tao Guangyi, "This question should be answered by Minister Tao."

Tao Guangyi immediately stood up upon hearing the sound.
(End of this chapter)