Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 896

But what does this artillery exclusion mean? Should a piece of artillery be excluded, or does it mean that this artillery excludes other artillery?

Looking at the stunned expressions on everyone's faces, Wei Wu roughly guessed what they were thinking and couldn't help laughing in his heart.

"This so-called mortar is not the kind of exclusion that excludes others, but the kind of pressure that compels and attacks that strike."

"The meaning of this name is related to the function of this gun. First of all, its range is short with our current technology."

"The range is only about 300 to 400 meters. Of course, this depends on the caliber. Increasing the caliber will increase the range."

While speaking, Wei Wu directly wrote out the three words "Mortar" and then continued:

"Secondly, the name is also because its firing method has the characteristics of a forced trigger, but 'demolition cannon' doesn't sound good."

"So we simply named it a mortar. Of course, this is a general term for artillery types, and we can give it a separate name if it is developed in the future."

"The mortar is divided into four parts. First, the barrel, then the carriage, and then the base and the accompanying shells."

As he spoke, Wei Wu turned around and was about to draw it on the wall, but he stopped the next second.

"Damn it! I said I'd get the blackboard and chalk out last time, but I got so busy I forgot. What a hassle!"

Thinking silently in his heart, Wei Wu then turned around and looked at the craftsmen, his eyes locked on the construction team.

"Wu Qiang."

"I'm here, Vice President."

Hearing Wei Wu's call, the construction team leader Wu Qiang hurried forward two steps, only to see Wei Wu knocking on the wall behind him with his fingers.

"I'll have someone sand this wall smooth and then paint it completely black. From now on, this wall will be used as a blackboard."

"Also, make some more chalk. These two things will be useful when I teach you in the future."

As soon as Wei Wu finished speaking, Wu Qiang immediately nodded to show that he understood, but there was one question he didn't understand.

What is chalk?

But just as he was about to ask, Wei Wu had already told him how to make chalk.

"Burning raw gypsum into cooked gypsum, adding water and stirring it into a paste, pouring it into a mold, and waiting for it to solidify, you can make it."

"The chalk doesn't need to be too big or too long. It should be about the same thickness as a brush and about the length of your index finger."

Wu Qiang was originally planning to take notes, but after hearing what Wei Wu said, he immediately gave up taking notes, mainly because it was too simple.

"Don't worry, Vice President. I'll have the chalk made in a moment."

"Okay, let's get down to business."

Wei Wu nodded, then went out to the system warehouse to get the whiteboard, shelf and water-based markers, and returned to the classroom again.

After fixing the whiteboard, he picked up a pen and drew all three parts of the mortar except the shell on the whiteboard.

After confirming that his drawing was correct, Wei Wu spoke:

"These are the three main parts of a mortar besides the shell: the barrel, the carriage, and the base."

"The main function of the base is to withstand the huge recoil generated when the artillery is fired, while providing stable support."

"The gun mount also serves as a support. I've told you before that a triangular structure is the most stable."

"So, the three parts of the mortar combined together form a triangle, and the gun carriage is also a separate triangle."

As he spoke, Wei Wu drew the assembled mortar on the whiteboard. Although the drawing was poor, the craftsmen were used to it.

At least they can understand what Wei Wu's painting means, and then make some changes in the notebook themselves.

While the craftsmen were writing furiously, Wei Wu continued to speak.

"Mortars, like redcoat cannons, are muzzle-loading guns that load ammunition from the muzzle. The difference lies in the firing method."

"The Red Cannon is fired by igniting the gunpowder at the breech, while the mortar shells are fired in the same way as metal fixed shells."

"So it doesn't need to be filled with gunpowder in the barrel. It only needs to use the firing pin at the bottom to ignite the fulminate of mercury at the tail of the shell."

Having said that, Wei Wu stretched out his finger and tapped the bottom of the mortar barrel, then continued:

"This is the barrel of a mortar. The biggest difference between it and the Red Cannon is that it is lighter, and the barrel is only about one meter long."

"That's why it has a short range. You can test the effect of length and caliber on range yourself."

As Wei Wu was speaking, a craftsman in the audience suddenly raised his hand. He pointed at the craftsman and asked:

"What is the problem?"

Hearing this, the craftsman pointed at by Wei Wu immediately stepped forward and said:

"Mr. Vice President, since the mortar's range isn't enough, can we engrave rifling grooves inside the barrel to increase the range?"

"Good question."

Wei Wu praised with a smile, but then gave a negative answer.

"However, before I answer you, let me ask you a question: Why do rifled flintlock rifles use push rods to load ammunition?"

Hearing Wei Wu's question, the craftsman gave an answer immediately without any hesitation.

"Because they need to tamp the gunpowder and push the Minié bullet to the bottom of the barrel, that's why... I get it, that's why!"

While answering Wei Wu's question, the craftsman suddenly understood the purpose of Wei Wu's question.

"A muzzle-loading gun is loaded from the muzzle, but the presence of the rifling will jam the shell and prevent it from sliding out, making it impossible to fire."

"But if you rely on manual labor to push the putter in, once it is triggered, there is no time to retract the putter, and the risk is too high."

"If you're lucky, the putter will just be knocked out by the cannonball, but if you're unlucky, the cannonball might hit the person holding the putter."

"If the barrel caliber is increased or the shell size is reduced, the barrel's airtightness will be affected, and the range will be reduced."

"So, considering how the mortar is fired, the best option is a smoothbore design, allowing the shell to slide to the bottom on its own."

Wei Wu had taught them about muzzle-loading, breech-loading, smoothbore and rifled guns a long time ago.

Now that the craftsman could give such an answer, it showed that he was really trying hard to learn, and Wei Wu was very pleased about it.

So, after the craftsman finished speaking, Wei Wu immediately began to praise him.

"You were able to give this answer, which shows that you're trying hard to learn. That's great. Although there was a slight mistake, it's not your fault."

"Is there anything I said wrong? Please enlighten me, Vice President!"