Chapter Seventy-Eight: The Hongyi Cannon

While they were talking, a personal guard suddenly came to report that the cannon consecration ceremony was ready. To deal with the bandits’ firearms, ten newly cast Hongyi cannons had just been sent from Foshan. He Rubin had ordered a man to choose an auspicious day, and he would personally consecrate and test the cannons.

Today was an auspicious day. He Rubin led his staff to the drill ground. All his main generals had arrived, and Lu Yizhong was also there, looking around. He saw ten gleaming cannons mounted on newly made old elm double-wheeled, double-legged gun carriages, which looked very sturdy and solid. In front of the cannons was an altar table with a red paper tablet on which was written “The Divine Seat of the Great General Cannon.” In front of the tablet were offerings of three kinds of meat, clear wine, an incense burner, candlesticks, and other things.

He Rubin, with the artillery battalion commander Li Modao, who held the rank of garrison commander, washed his hands and burned incense, and bowed three times piously to the cannon god. He then read a prayer that had been prepared by a staff member in advance, then took a wine pot, filled a cup, and poured it on the ground. The ten gunners first knelt down and kowtowed to the general and others, then walked to the cannons, knelt down and kowtowed three times again, and only then came over to push the cannons.

Next was the cannon demonstration—the so-called “auspicious opening of the cannon.” It was customary to test-fire newly cast cannons, which was a very common thing in arms manufacturing. But once cannons were used, they immediately outshone the traditional weapons such as siege engines and trebuchets used in China, and inevitably became imbued with a mysterious color, leading to various rituals. From the Yuan Dynasty onwards, cannons had been given titles and sacrifices.

He Rubin attached great importance to the cannon consecration. On the one hand, he believed that it would help to boost morale, and on the other hand, he also wanted to know the power of the Hongyi cannons made in his province. He was one of the first to come into contact with Hongyi cannons. When the Hongyi cannons were first introduced in the Tianqi era, he had seen them test-fired, learned Western gunnery, and even wrote a book on firearms himself.

At that time, the technology for imitating Hongyi cannons was already quite mature. The cannons made in Li Luoyou’s foundry had both cannons borrowed from Macau as samples, and the German missionary Ma Yangchun, who was hiding in his home, was always on hand to give advice. After Li Luoyou returned from Lingao, he used what he had seen and heard in the Lingao cannon factory and the advice of the Europeans around him to make some simple equipment himself, and also applied the technology of boring and polishing the cannon bore with a boring tool. Therefore, the Hongyi cannons he cast were significantly better than those from other foundries.

“These cannons are well cast,” he exclaimed. He had already seen that this batch of cannons were relatively light Hongyi cannons. “Who cast them?”

“To answer your question, my lord, these were cast by the Li family’s foundry in Foshan,” Li Modao reported. “Their foundry is different from others, and they are especially good at casting cannons.”

He Rubin thought for a moment and asked: “Is it that Li Luoyou?”

“Exactly. I heard that he is very eager to cast cannons. He specially asked the governor to write a letter, asking the Franks to lend him cannons to imitate.”

“No wonder his cannons are so well made. This Manager Li is half a foreigner,” He Rubin said with a smile. “I heard that when he was young, he was a servant boy to a Frankish foreign monk in Haojing, and was quite close to the foreign monk. His relationship with the Franks is different after all!”

Everyone laughed. They all knew that He Rubin was very disgusted with foreign religions, and of course he was very disgusted with people who were Christians and had deep connections with the Christian church in Macau.

“Please give your orders, garrison commander,” Li Modao cupped his hands and said. “Should we start the cannon demonstration immediately?” After getting He Rubin’s consent, Li Modao waved the small flag in his hand:

“By order of the general, test the cannons immediately!”

With an order, ten gunners immediately ran over and pushed out one of the cannons. The Hongyi cannon was very heavy. Even a light cannon like this that fired a five-jin cannonball had a barrel weighing one thousand five hundred jin. At that time, in order to make the gun carriage strong and durable, the materials used were particularly thick and heavy, and many iron nails and iron hoops were added to the gun wheels. The entire cannon was very clumsy, and it was quite difficult for ten gunners to push it.

The gunners pushed the cannon into position, and one of them first used a gunner’s quadrant to measure the angle. The Hongyi cannon was actually a cannon, and it was generally fired at a smaller angle to achieve the maximum range.

The gunner reported loudly: “The gunner’s quadrant is six fen high!” Then a gunner used a hammer to hit the triangular wedge inserted between the barrel and the gun carriage, causing the barrel to gradually rise.

A gunner’s quadrant height of six fen was roughly equivalent to a 45-degree firing angle, which was the elevation angle used by a smoothbore cannon to achieve its maximum range.

“When the cannon barrel is six fen high, the projectile can reach one thousand and fifty-three paces,” He Rubin said to his staff and all the generals. “If it is seven fen, the projectile will fall short.” He had compiled the “Divine Art of Western Fire Attack” himself, and he knew this set of things by heart.

Li Modao respectfully said: “What your lordship says is absolutely right.”

After the cannon barrel was raised to the correct position, the gunner shouted again: “Use two jin and six liang of powder!”

Two other gunners quickly brought a porcelain jar from a pit. This kind of porcelain jar was specially used to store gunpowder. It was glazed on both the inside and outside, had a constricted neck for tying, and was also covered with a rattan and bamboo sleeve for easy handling. The gunner opened the sealing clay, lifted the sealing porcelain dish, and used a wooden measuring spoon to measure out the gunpowder spoonful by spoonful and pour it into the cannon bore. A gunner used a long ramrod to push the gunpowder to the bottom of the cannon bore, inserted a fuse made of paper and gunpowder into the touch-hole near the bottom of the cannon bore, continued to load the powder, tamped it tight, and then loaded a wooden sabot before loading the iron ball.

Li Modao asked everyone to retreat more than ten zhang away. The rest of the generals and soldiers also retreated to a distance, ready for any eventuality. Li Modao only retreated one zhang away, waved the small flag in his hand, and said:

“Fire!”

A gunner lit the fuse with a torch. The gunners immediately retreated to Li Modao’s side, their expressions tense, and they all watched the fuse, which was hissing and sparking and rapidly burning short.

Although the cannon was very powerful, the casting of cannons at that time lacked process management, and the materials for casting cannons were also of varying quality, so the quality could not be guaranteed. Inexperienced gunners learned from Western gunnery books that were translated without considering the conversion of weights and measures… This caused many cannons to burst on the first firing, often causing many casualties.

The fuse hissed and sparked as it burned towards the touch-hole. Suddenly, a red light flashed from the touch-hole, followed by a burst of fire from the muzzle and a loud bang. Everyone felt the ground shake under their feet, and for a moment, a thick cloud of smoke filled the area in front of the cannon. When the cannon fired, the staff and soldiers instinctively ducked, and the gunners also squatted down sharply.

Li Modao bent over. When he saw the red light, he quickly opened his mouth. After the cannon fired, he quickly ran to the cannon, inspected it, and touched it with his hand. He was relieved and quickly came over to report:

“My lord! The cannon barrel is intact.”

He Rubin, his staff, and the generals and officers came closer. They inspected the cannon barrel and carriage, which were as solid as before. They were very satisfied. After a quarter of an hour, a personal guard galloped back from a hill two li away and reported that the cannonball had flown over the hill and broken a tree behind the hill.

“The bandits claim that their firearms are sharp. How do they compare to this cannon?” He Rubin said with a smile.

“No matter how sharp the bandits’ cannons are, they can’t be better than this,” Chang Qingyun said.

“Hehe, this is just a small cannon with a five-jin projectile. If it were a large cannon that fired a fifteen-jin projectile, one shot could destroy an area of three or four li. No matter how sharp the bandits’ firearms are, they can’t be better than this,” He Rubin said with confidence. “Garrison Commander Li, how many cannons does the firearms battalion have now?”

“To answer your question, my lord, including these ten Hongyi cannons, there are a total of one hundred and sixty-four new and old cannons.”

“The tiger-squatting cannons and the like are not included. Excluding these small cannons, how many are there?”

“To answer your question, my lord, there are thirty-eight.”

“Good!” He Rubin was quite satisfied. “Here are the latest samples of Western cannonballs sent by the Ministry of Works. You test-fire them one by one. If they are useful, immediately order the cannon factory to rush-produce more.”

“Yes, my lord.”

This batch of new sample cannonballs was cast under the supervision of Johann Adam Schall von Bell and distributed to the various armies equipped with Hongyi cannons in Liaodong, the capital region, Shandong, Fujian, and Guangdong for test-firing.

This batch of cannonballs had various names, such as roaring dragon projectiles, chain shot, drill shot, and chisel shot. They were all strange in appearance. Li Modao loaded and test-fired them one by one, but no one could see the specific use of the strange new cannonballs, and their range was much shorter. Only the huge whistling sound made when the roaring dragon projectile was fired made everyone think that it had a certain deterrent effect.

As for the chain shot that would split into two after being fired, with a chain connecting them; the split shot with a fixed iron bar between two hemispheres; and the broad shot with four hemispheres connected to an iron ring in the middle by chains, they all looked very powerful, but their range was much shorter. The staff felt that it was better to fire ball shot and canister shot directly than to fire these cannonballs.

“Garrison Commander Li, what do you think of these cannonballs?” He Rubin asked.

“My lord, the roaring dragon projectile sounds like a dragon’s roar and has the effect of deterring the enemy. But it is not the right way. As for the others…” Li Modao felt that these strange-shaped cannonballs were useless. “In my humble opinion, they can be used, but they are a waste of labor and materials, and their range is not far.”

“The foreign monks just know how to fiddle with some strange things to deceive people,” He Rubin said with a smile. “We won’t use this pile of messy things.”

He Rubin then inspected the firearms battalion. This firearms battalion was newly established specifically to deal with the bandits. Many cannons were mobilized, and many new gun carriages were built. He Rubin saw that the firearms battalion was neat in formation, with fine armor and equipment. The soldiers were either drilling or maintaining the equipment, busy and not idle. He was very satisfied.

“Garrison Commander Li!”

“My lord!” Li Modao quickly went up.

“You lead your troops well!”

“It’s all thanks to your lordship’s might!”

“Hmm,” He Rubin nodded. “I heard that you are good at using firearms. The bandits have a reputation for sharp firearms. What do you think?”

“To answer your question, my lord,” Li Modao said cautiously, “I have never seen the bandits’ firearms. I have only heard that they have huge cannons that can reach more than ten li with one shot. In my humble opinion, such rumors are mostly exaggerated.”

“How can you tell?”

“I have been in the army for sixteen years. I started as a three-eyed musket man and have handled countless firearms, big and small. The range of all firearms is mostly exaggerated. From what I have seen in using cannons over the years, the medium Frankish cannon has a range of no more than two hundred paces, and the tiger-squatting cannon has a range of no more than thirty or forty paces. But the books all say that they can reach several li or even tens of li. Even for the Hongyi cannon, although there are one-thousand-jin, two-thousand-jin, and five-thousand-jin versions, the farthest they can fire a projectile is no more than three li. A huge cannon does not necessarily have a long range.”

He Rubin was quite appreciative of his words and believed that they were words that could only be spoken by someone with practical combat experience. He sized up this military officer in his thirties. This person had a square face, was tall and strong, and looked like a general who was good at fighting on the battlefield.

“Have you fought on the battlefield?”

“To answer your question, my lord, I once followed General Zhou of the Zhejiang army to fight in the Battle of Sarhu. After the defeat of the eastern army, I led my brothers to defend the high ground to the death, using firearms to resist the enemy. It was not until the sky was dark and the enemy was slack that we broke through the encirclement in one go,” Li Modao was very proud of this history.

“The defense of Liaodong relied heavily on the power of firearms,” He Rubin asked. “Now that the bandits’ firearms are not inferior to ours, and the enemy and we are in a dangerous situation together, how should the firearms be deployed?”

Li Modao’s face turned red with excitement. The general-in-chief was consulting him for a plan, which was a great honor to talk about. He had thought about this matter many times. At this time, he calmed down and said:

“In my humble opinion, although the bandits have tens of thousands of troops, they are either traitors from Fujian and Guangdong or coerced common people, a motley crew. They will definitely not dare to fight a field battle with our army. The bandits’ plan is nothing more than to imitate the red-haired people in Penghu, build a strong fortress, install heavy cannons, and defend a corner of the land. After our army has besieged them for a long time, the range of our cannons will be about the same. Our army can dig trenches to advance to a place half a li or one li away from the enemy’s fortress wall. The trenches must be wide and deep enough for the gun carriages to move. Our cannons will advance from the bottom of the trenches, approach the fortress gate and wall to fire. Our cannons can reach the enemy, but the enemy’s cannons cannot harm us.”

“What if the bandits come out of the city to seize the cannons?”

“At each cannon position, two teams of infantry will be deployed, equipped with tiger-squatting cannons and three-eyed muskets, ready to fight at any time. Our army has deep trenches to hide in, and the enemy’s cannons cannot reach them. If our forces are insufficient, we can send new reinforcements at any time.”

He glanced at He Rubin and quickly added: “I am just showing off my meager skills, a humble opinion.”

He Rubin had never heard of such a tactic: digging trenches on flat ground, and even letting the gun carriages and soldiers walk at the bottom of the trenches. He originally wanted to dismiss it as “absurd”! But then he thought that this method might not be useless. If the bandits refused to retreat, it could be tried.

But he did not say whether it was good or bad. He left with a blank expression, surrounded by his entourage.

Li Modao respectfully saw the general-in-chief off. He was a little uneasy in his heart: he didn’t know whether his words had pleased or displeased the general-in-chief, and whether they suited his taste. General-in-Chief He himself had been in the army for sixteen years and had finally obtained the rank of garrison commander. Recently, he had just become a battalion commander, and he was very concerned about his future.

“Master! Is the army master satisfied with the firearms battalion?” As soon as He Rubin left, a few of his trusted thousand-household and hundred-household commanders gathered around.

“How the hell should I know?” Li Modao said impatiently. “You all just lead your brothers well! It looks like we’re going to have a big fight in this suppression of the bandits.”

After his subordinates dispersed, Li Modao glanced at the various strange-shaped cannonballs waiting to be collected by the soldiers. He walked over and squatted on the ground, carefully looking at the cannonballs cast under the supervision of the foreign monk. Although the new cannonballs did not perform well when fired, Li Modao vaguely felt that these cannonballs each had their own uses, but he just didn’t know it.

“If only I had someone who knew Western gunnery, I could ask them for clarification,” Li Modao thought to himself.

When it came to Western gunnery, General He was of course the number one person in the two Guangdong armies, but he was just a small garrison commander. How could he dare to casually ask the general-in-chief?

“Clean the cannon bores and then prepare to harness the horses and return to camp,” he ordered the soldiers to clean the cannon bores and pack up the things.

The soldiers brought the newly purchased Sichuan horses and harnessed them to the cannons. The Sichuan horses were small and weak. Not only were the gun carriages very clumsy, but there was also no limber. The horses pulling them not only had to pull forward, but also had to bear the weight on their backs. The efficiency of using animal power was very poor, and it took seven or eight horses to barely pull them. Li Modao knew that local Mongolian horses were very rare, and they did not raise mules in Jiangnan and Guangdong, so they had to make do with Sichuan horses.

“These horses are too weak, not even as good as mules,” a company commander next to him said.

“These are the small Sichuan horses from the south, smaller than the donkeys in Shandong,” Li Modao said. “They are not as strong as a donkey when pulling a cart. They are fine for carrying goods on mountain roads, but not for pulling carts or cannons.”

“I see that there are many cattle here. It would be better to use cattle.”

“Cattle are too slow,” he shook his head. “And they are easily frightened. If a cannon or musket fires on the battlefield and the cattle are startled, won’t it immediately be a disaster?”

However, cattle had long stamina, and their strength was also greater than that of the Sichuan horses that could barely pull the cannons. But there were more than thirty cannons in the camp that weighed over a thousand jin. If each one used four cattle, it would require more than a hundred cattle, and also a corresponding number of civilian laborers. He didn’t know if General He would be willing to bear this extra expense.

After returning to the camp and settling the cannons, Li Modao went to the gunpowder factory at the foot of Aniangshoe Mountain. About five or six li away from the military camp and artillery battery, there was a large area of sheds, which were the workshops for making gunpowder. Materials for making gunpowder were transported by boat from all over the country day and night: sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter. Occasionally, other things were also transported, such as dried human feces, poisonous Chinese herbs like aconite, and lime and tung oil.

As the commander of the firearms battalion, Li Modao was most concerned about the supply of gunpowder. Although the government army did not lack gunpowder, the quality of the gunpowder varied greatly. Poor quality gunpowder would only produce a cloud of black smoke, and it had happened that the cannonball would fall out of the barrel as soon as it was fired. Sometimes the powder was too strong and directly burst the barrel, often causing heavy casualties to the gunners.

For this expedition, He Rubin had appointed him to also be in charge of making gunpowder and projectiles. He was in command of the firearms battalion, and gunpowder and projectiles were a matter of life and death, so he could not but attach importance to it.

Many large iron pots were set up in the sheds, and something was being boiled in them, giving off a foul smell. Li Modao knew that this was to purify the saltpeter and sulfur.

Not far away, three large stone mills were being pulled by Sichuan horses, grinding charcoal. Many civilian laborers were there, “thump, thump,” pounding ashes, and many others were sifting ashes, sifting out fine black powder. Others, according to a prescribed ratio, added sulfur, saltpeter, and other things to the charcoal powder to make gunpowder.

The finished gunpowder powder was put into a stone trough, and the craftsmen used thick wooden pestles to continuously pound the gunpowder powder in the stone trough. An old craftsman sat on the side, from time to time rubbing the powder with his hands and adding some clean water. The gunpowder powder had to be pounded as fine as possible. Li Modao remembered that the book stipulated that it had to be pounded more than five thousand times. He didn’t know how the craftsmen counted.

Other craftsmen sprayed the spread out gunpowder powder with a slightly sticky water soaked with wheat, and then used a bamboo sieve to shake out granular gunpowder of various thicknesses.