.When they learned that there was a cannon test fire activity in the Ming Dynasty, merchants from all countries who were interested in artillery or were not interested in artillery participated on time, and some merchants who were not invited also tried every means to squeeze in. For them, there were not many opportunities to visit a free fireworks performance.

On this day, hundreds of merchants from all over the world came outside the military camp of Jiehu Camp in Shanghai. These merchants were not only Europeans, but also merchants from North Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Siam and other countries. Hundreds of people were together, making the entire outer edge of the military camp very lively.

At this time, four rows of artillery of different calibers were neatly placed on the open space outside, with fifty cannons in each row. Unlike the European classification of artillery by weight, the Ming Dynasty classified artillery by caliber, and different calibers corresponded to different shells, which was clear at a glance.

The four rows of guns have calibers ranging from 90 mm, 0 mm, 40 mm, and 0 mm, respectively, corresponding to European six-pound, twelve-pound, twenty-four-pound and thirty-two-pound cannons. The largest gun in the Ming Dynasty has exceeded 240 mm. Such guns are not for sale for the time being, so naturally they have not been put out.

Several soldiers guarded each cannon. The cannon had been raised, and the muzzle pointed diagonally in front. The sunlight shone on the dark cannon barrel, making the entire cannon body shine.

So many cannons were put out at once, and in the words of Du Dashan, the general of the Jiehu Camp, he should use the cannons to shock the vassal states and the barbarians.

The merchants who came here were all knowledgeable. Many of them had touched cannons with their own hands, and some had also manipulated them with their own hands. However, from the outside, these cannons were much better than those used in Europe.

Seeing this, many people were eager to try and wanted to touch the barrel with their own hands, but because each cannon was guarded by several elite soldiers, they did not dare to act rashly.

Seeing the merchants' desire on their faces, Buga Road turned to Du Dashan and said, "General Du, can they get close to the cannon and touch it with your own hands?"

Du Dashan actually had no good feelings for these merchants. When he was hunting for a living, he was often exploited by merchants. He looked at the greedy eyes of these merchants, and he nodded reluctantly: "Okay, but you can't surround me, each person can only touch one cannon."

There were 200 cannons at the scene, and there were only more than 200 merchants coming. The scene was not crowded. European merchants mostly focused on the last row of fifty heavy artillery with a caliber of 0 mm. The barrels of these heavy artillery guns were 890 mm long, which was more than most people's height. Just standing still gave people a sense of hideousness. The merchants of the vassal state were more interested in the smaller artillery in the front row. These artillery were light in weight and easier to move. Although the caliber was a little smaller, they were only used to deal with opponents without artillery. These artillery was powerful enough.

Fox was the first to walk in front of the cannon. Under the gaze of the Ming soldiers, he gently stroked the cannon body. The cannon body was smooth and flawless, like a girl's tender skin, and no burr was found.

"How is this possible, how could the cannon be so smooth?"

If the cannon was not right in front of him and Fox was killed, he would not believe that there was such a smooth cannon body in the world. When he wanted to take a closer look, a Ming soldier stopped him and said, "Okay, next one."

Fox had to back down and stared at the cannon. When everyone finished visiting, everyone saw the shock in the eyes of the people around him.

"After all, cannons depend on firepower. Perhaps these cannons are not as good as their appearance." A Portuguese businessman said with a little sour mouth.

The most surprising thing is the Portuguese. Twenty years ago, the best cannons in the Ming Dynasty were either sold to Portugal or produced by the Portuguese. Now the artillery technology of the Ming Dynasty is clearly far superior to Portugal, but it has always kept the secret from Portugal, so how can the Portuguese not feel delicious?

Not many people agree with the Portuguese if they obviously taste it. How could the power be small if the cannons are so exquisitely cast, the iron cannons are not as good as copper cannons. The key is that the iron cannons are hard to cast as evenly as copper cannons. The Ming Dynasty has undoubtedly solved this problem, but everyone racked their brains and couldn't think of why the cannon bodies were cast so perfectly.

After everyone finished the visit, they soon reached the test-fire stage. First, the 90mm artillery test-fire. As the commander waved the flag, the fifty cannons spit out flames almost at the same time. Fifty whistling shells accurately hit the targets prepared in advance, smashing the wooden targets into pieces.

"Oh, God, at least two thousand yards." Fox murmured to himself. Qu Ander and Bi Francis drew crosses on their chests, obviously also being shaken by the power of the cannon.

This range does not exceed the longest range of European artillery. In fact, the longest range of European artillery reaches 2,500 yards, but it requires at least twelve pounds of artillery, and the barrel needs to be particularly lengthened.

Fox looked at the booklet in his hand. The length of this 90mm caliber gun is only 400 mm, weighing 0 kilograms, less than 700 pounds. The range of this weight of the European cannon is less than 900 yards, less than half of the Ming Dynasty.

What this means, Fox certainly knows, that is, the Ming Dynasty's artillery can completely sweep all similar artillery in Europe, and even fight against higher-level heavy artillery. No wonder Spain and the Netherlands were defeated so badly.

Fox glanced at the others, and everyone had a shocked expression on their faces. Some people even opened their mouths and forgot to close them. It was already very difficult to hit this distance, and even more so accurate. In addition to the superb skills of the gunner, this cannon must be very good.

After the 90mm caliber artillery was fired, the next one was the 0mm caliber artillery. This time the landing point of the artillery was about 2,200 yards, but the shells were larger and the damage caused was greater.

This distance did not exceed everyone's expectations, and many people breathed a sigh of relief. However, looking at the introduction of this cannon in the booklet, everyone's faces changed again. This cannon was only 00 mm in length and weighed 00 kilograms, which was more than 200 pounds. The barrel of similar European artillery requires at least 900 mm, and the gun weight reaches 700 pounds to transport about twelve pounds of shells to a distance of 2,000 yards.

The following performance made everyone feel numb. After the test-fire of the 40mm and 0mm caliber artillery, the howling sound of the shells filled everyone's ears, especially when the last two hundred cannons were fired together, the entire scene felt like the earth was shaking. Until the sound of the cannon stopped for a long time, everyone's ears were still buzzing.

This time the artillery test fire did not deliberately pursue the range. The range of the 00mm heavy artillery was about 2,000 yards, and it was more accurate. All targets were shattered by the cannons. After the explosion, the original targets were all built into large pits. This was the most terrifying thing. Fei Susha and others thought that there might not be a force in Europe that could not collapse under such shelling.

There is no doubt that the performance of these artillery is not only far superior to that of European iron cannons, but even bronze cannons are inferior to those of these iron cannons. Cannons of the same weight are far less than others' range, and cannons with the same range are much heavier than others. They are not only expensive but also affect battlefield maneuvers. If these cannons are transported to Europe on a large scale, I am afraid that all bronze cannons in Europe will be retired.

Fox quickly thought that it might be a good business to transport European copper cannons to the Ming Dynasty in exchange for the Ming Dynasty iron cannon. A 12-pound copper cannon weighing more than 700 pounds was transported to the Ming Dynasty. The price of copper material was about 200 taels of silver, while a 0 mm iron cannon priced at only 200 taels of silver, and a 90 mm iron cannon priced at 0 taels of silver. Although copper material could not make much money, with the performance of the Ming Dynasty artillery, even a 90 mm iron cannon, it was worth at least 1,000 taels to Europe.

After displaying the artillery, the Ming army showed off musket shooting. The continuous shooting methods of flintlock rifles are shocking. However, Europeans were not interested in flintlock rifles. Instead, businessmen from Asian countries had a special liking for flintlock rifles.

The Ming army did not come up with their advanced muskets. At best, they were eliminated by the army in the past. There were many such muskets in the hands of Han immigrants in Southeast Asia, and European merchants had long been in contact with them. They were not advanced than European muskets. Although the price was discounted, the freight cost was added to Europe. This price was not attractive at all. No wonder Europeans were not interested.

A few days after the artillery test firing, Buga Road received a lot of orders one after another. The quantity of these orders was not large. Each order was only a few, dozens of cannons, and a hundred muskets. The orders of merchants from various European countries were only more than 20,000 taels, barely earning back the money for the shells tested today.

But Bugat Road was not in a hurry. If you want to purchase artillery on a large scale in Europe, you have to wait until next year. Although it is true that these merchants also believe that the Ming artillery is profitable when trafficking it to Europe, but after all, it has not been recognized by the army. In order to prevent losses, you can only purchase a small batch of trials.

What's more, the loss of the east corner and the acquisition of the mundane European merchants was much more generous than the stingy European merchants. Vietnam, Siam and other countries ordered firearms worth tens of thousands of taels, and the largest order came from North Korea. Benefiting from large-scale trade with the Ming Dynasty, North Korea's annual income was considerable. The customs income alone received 3 million taels per year, not only paid off the Ming Dynasty's loan, but also left a surplus.

Although North Korea currently has no foreign enemies, due to the impact of imported goods, many handicraftsmen in North Korea went bankrupt and uprisings occur from time to time. In order to suppress domestic uprisings, North Korea has been strengthening its military equipment. This time, it purchased 100 artillery pieces, nearly 100 muskets, plus ammunition supplies, worth more than 200,000 taels.
Chapter completed!