Daming Military Empire

Chapter 576 Kongming Lantern and Hot Air Balloon

After this reward, Song Yingxing was in a daze, 200 million taels, how much money is that, facing this huge amount of wealth, he was really a little confused, how to divide the 100 million taels for his subordinates, how much money is there for him? How could 100 million taels be spent? He was so full of thoughts on these issues that he even forgot to greet the emperor.

Zhu Cijiong was not in a hurry. Seeing Song Yingxing standing there in a daze, he knew that this guy must have been shocked by such a large sum of money and needed some time to think and adapt. He didn't interrupt Song Yingxing's train of thought, but Curiously looking at the furnishings of the study.

This study room can be said to be the least study room he has ever seen. Although there are many books, there are more messy things than books. The whole study room is full of pots and jars. The strange thing is that there is a half-person-high kite in the corner of the study!
Well, maybe it’s not a kite. Zhu Cijiong thinks it’s a kite mainly because it’s made of bamboo strips and paper, but the shape doesn’t really look like a kite, because it’s a boxy kite. frame.

What is this thing for?Zhu Cijiong couldn't help but stood up and walked towards that corner, wanting to take a closer look and see if he could guess its purpose.

Zhu Cijiong was observing the 'kite'. Song Yingxing finally came to his senses. Seeing the emperor looking at the Kongming lantern he made with a puzzled expression on his face, he hurried up respectfully and introduced carefully: "Your Majesty, this is a large kite. Kongming Lantern."

Kongming Lantern!Zhu Cijiong reacted instantly. He said that this thing looked familiar. In his impression, the Kongming lantern was only one foot square. After zooming in so many times, he really didn’t think about it, but why make such a big Kongming lantern? ?

He couldn't help asking curiously: "Chang Geng, what is this for?"

Song Yingxing blushed when he heard the words, and said awkwardly: "I see that there is a lot of refined oil, so I want to use it in the war. Isn't Siberia so rich in bastions? I just thought, if I light it outside Put a bunch of Kongming lanterns with more oil, string them together, put them down the wind above the bastion, and then smash them with a sniper rifle, and if they fall, the bastion will be caught in a sea of ​​flames!"

Now it's Zhu Cijiong's turn to be confused. This tactic, how should I put it, seems to have some merits, the cost is not very high, and it is not difficult to operate. However, it is still playing like this when you have guns and artillery. Primitive tactics always make people feel weird.

Seeing Song Yingxing's embarrassing expression, he couldn't bear to dampen his enthusiasm, so he could only bluntly say, "Even if the Kongming Lantern is made so big, it probably won't be able to carry much oil. It takes a lot of oil to put a bastion into flames." bit."

Unexpectedly, when he said this, Song Yingxing got excited instead, and saw this guy gestured excitedly: "Your Majesty, the Kongming Lantern can be made even bigger. A half-person's height can hold a catty of oil, and a one-person's height can hold it." If you can hold a few catties of oil, you can make as much oil as you need. If you can hold a hundred catties of oil at a time, wouldn’t the whole bastion be engulfed in flames if a few Kongming lanterns go down?”

This stuff, the more you talk about it, the more outrageous it is. How big it has to be to hold a hundred catties of oil, I'm afraid it's not enough for a house this big!

However, why does it seem to be a bit familiar? What is a huge thing that heats the air through flames and flies into the sky?

Zhu Cijiong thought for a long time, and finally remembered that it was a hot air balloon!

Hot air balloons have slowly lost their usefulness since the advent of airplanes, but before there were no airplanes, they were still very useful, especially in war.

Of course, the hot air balloon is not used to pour oil into the enemy's castle. Its main function is to scout, observe the drop point of the shell, and locate the artillery.

For example, in a siege battle, especially a battle against a bastion, due to the height difference, the attacker cannot see the situation inside the bastion at all, and the artillery attack can only use the cover attack that consumes the most ammunition, and the effect is not good. very good.

With a hot air balloon, it is different. Tie the hot air balloon with a rope, and then rise to a height higher than the bastion. The investigators can use binoculars to see clearly the situation inside the bastion, the position of the enemy's artillery , the arrangement of personnel, the landing point of one's own artillery, etc., can be used to inform the commanders below through semaphore. In this way, only a small amount of shells can achieve a terrifying effect, which is much better than aimless cover attacks. times.

With hot air balloons, the battle in Siberia was easier, because the main thing the Ming army had to face was the enemy's bastion.

The more Zhu Cijiong thought about it, the more excited he became. He couldn't help pulling Song Yingxing to the desk, and said excitedly: "Chang Geng, I'll draw something for you, see if you can make it."

After all, he picked up the brush, dipped in some ink, and drew a sketch of a hot air balloon with a few strokes.

It has to be said that his painting skills are quite profound, although it is only a few dozen strokes, but the hot air balloons are painted vividly.

However, Song Yingxing couldn't understand, he couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, what is this?"

Zhu Cijiong pointed to the sketch and explained in detail: "This is a hollow ball sewn with cloth similar to oil paper. Below it is a hanging basket woven with bamboo or rattan. People can stand inside it. Just find a way to put the ball inside the ball first." Fill it with air, and then heat it with fire, and it will take people up into the air like a Kongming lantern."

Song Yingxing was shocked when he heard the words: "It takes people up into the air, how big does this thing have to be?!"

Zhu Cijiong didn't know the exact size of the hot air balloon, so he could only spread his hands and said, "You can try it out how big it is. This thing is very useful for the war in Siberia next year. I hope you can concentrate your manpower to make it first."

When Song Yingxing heard the words, he immediately fell into deep thought. Since it was useful for the Siberian war, he naturally wanted to do everything possible to make it as soon as possible.

After thinking for a while, he couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, is it okay to sew a layer of oil paper on the outside of the cotton cloth? It seems difficult to make the cloth airtight. Also, if such a big thing rises up, it will be blown away by the wind." What to do, the people inside will be in danger."

Zhu Cijiong heard the words, thought for a while, and then pointed out: "If the cloth is soaked in sticky things and dried in the sun, it can also be airtight. Of course, if sewing oiled paper is not troublesome, you can also try it. The problem of being blown away, you can tie it to the ground with a rope."

Song Yingxing couldn't help but blushed when he heard the words: "Thank you for your instruction, I don't know how to name this thing, is it still called Kongming Lantern?"

It is naturally inappropriate to call it Kongming Lantern. Zhu Cijiong pretended to think for a while, and then slowly said: "This object is spherical and rises into the sky with heat. Let's call it a hot air balloon."

(End of this chapter)