Chapter 14 Section 6 handgun

The hand gun is a small fire gun, which is a single-soldier hand-held metal tubular shooting firearm. It was first created in the Yuan Dynasty and flourished in the early Ming Dynasty. In recent decades, the cultural relics and archeology departments have collected several unearthed and handed down handguns of the Yuan Dynasty, most of which were made from the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 14th century, and were made from the Yuan Dynasty to the Zhengxinmao year (to the eleventh year of Zhengzheng, AD 1351) is a representative product of Yuan Dynasty hand guns.Because the Yuan hand gun has more advantages than the burst gun, it was widely used by the Yuan army and the peasant uprising army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.In the fourteenth year of Yuan Zhizheng, the Yuan court sent Huaidong Xuanwei Envoy Nasurading to lead his troops to attack Zhang Shicheng's anti-Yuan army.During the battle, his troops once "fired fire arrows (that is, blunderbuss) and fire arrowheads" and shot and killed many of Zhang Shicheng's subordinates.In the twenty-fourth year of the Zhengzheng Dynasty, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty stayed behind and served as Yin Dali of Kaiping Mansion Dali Ma Zhili. He once commanded a unit of "Fifteen Unions of Fire Guns" to carry out civil wars.In October of the twenty-sixth year of Zhengzheng, when Zhu Yuanzhang's general Xu Da attacked Pingjiang, he set up firecrackers outside the city to attack Zhang Shicheng's troops inside the city.

Ming Hongwu handguns are handguns made during the Hongwu period. They are the successor products of the handguns used by Zhu Yuanzhang's troops in the peasant uprising war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. weapon.In recent decades, cultural relics and archaeological departments across the country have collected dozens of unearthed Hongwu hand guns.Compared with Yuan handguns, Hongwu handguns are manufactured with fine craftsmanship, smooth surface, uniform wall thickness, and beautiful appearance. The caliber is 20-22 cm, and the error is less than 2 mm; the length is 40-44 cm, and the error is less than 4 cm.

Inscriptions are mostly engraved on the surface of Hongwu handguns, which generally include the manufacturing unit, manufacturing location, and title of the supervisor, the names of the military craftsmen, civilian craftsmen, teachers, and teachers who designed and manufactured the handguns, and learned from military craftsmen. , the name of the student, the weight and date of manufacture of the handgun, etc.For example, on a pistol unearthed in Tuoketuo County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 1971, it was engraved with "Fengyang Xingfu Supervisor Township Fusun Yingjiao Craftsman Xie Afo Military Craftsman Hua Xiaoshun Three and a half catties Hongwu Ten Years Day" etc. Character.These contents basically reflect the organization and main members of the handgun manufacturing at that time.

The mass production of Hongwu handguns created conditions for the Ming army to use them in combat.In March of the 21st year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1388 A.D.), Luchuan, Yunnan Province announced the consolation envoy Silunfa, and led 300,000 troops to attack Dingbian.The Ming court immediately sent Xiping Hou Muying to Pingding.After Mu Ying accepted the order, she personally selected 30,000 elite cavalry, and traveled 15 days and nights to the front line.Mu Ying first sent 300 light cavalry to challenge.Muying watched the battle from the sidelines, and saw that Si Lunfa's troops took elephant soldiers as the front line, followed by infantry and cavalry.Mu Ying believes that this kind of formation is backward and not convenient for mobile operations.So Muying ordered the army to divide the firecrackers and magic archers into three rows and arrange them in parallel in the middle of the front when they fought again tomorrow.As long as the opponent's elephant soldiers go out to fight, the soldiers in the first row will fire the firecrackers and the magic arrows together; The firecracker and the magic arrow were fired together.The next day, the Ming army lined up according to Mu Ying's deployment and waited for the battle.After the battle started, Si Lunfa's troops came riding a group of elephants to clash.The first row of firecrackers in the Ming army lined up with the magic archers to shoot at the elephant soldiers.After shooting, they retreated from both sides of the army formation to the rear to load ammunition and arrows, and prepare to shoot again.At the same time, the second row of firecrackers of the Ming army stepped forward together with the magic arrows and continued to fire.So again and again.Most of Slunfa's elephant soldiers were shot by bullets and rockets. The elephants were terrified and turned their heads and ran, causing the whole team to collapse.The Ming army took advantage of the momentum to pursue and smashed the barracks of Silunfa and won the victory.In this battle, the Ming army created the tactic of using multiple rows of firecrackers to shoot at the enemy in field battles.This tactic continued until the mid-19th century, before the creation and use of the firing needle gun.In the past it was believed that this tactic was created by Napoleon during his wars in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.History has proven that this is nothing more than a misinformation.

In order to carry out wars and strengthen national defense construction, the Yongle court vigorously developed the handgun manufacturing business, which made handguns develop rapidly.Judging from the unearthed objects, the Yongle handgun has many improvements over the Hongwu handgun.First of all, the gun-making process is more refined, the caliber is 14-15 mm, the error is not more than one millimeter; the length is 35-36 cm, the error is less than one centimeter; the body of the gun is small and flexible, and the soldiers are easy to carry.Secondly, the structure is more reasonable, the wall of the gun is thinner at the front and thicker at the rear, and thicker at the front and thicker at the rear. This is because after the gunpowder burns in the powder chamber, the rear of the gun tube is close to the powder chamber, and the chamber pressure is high, so the wall of the gun is thicker. It should be thicker; the front of the gun barrel is farther away from the medicine chamber, and the chamber pressure it receives is less, so the wall of the gun can be thinner.Thirdly, a movable cover is added outside the fire door of the firecracker, which can be opened when in use and closed when not in use, so as to keep the gunpowder in the medicine chamber clean and dry.Fourth, a quantitative charging spoon is added to make the amount of gunpowder loaded each time equal to ensure the power of the projectile after it is ejected and the safety when it is fired.

Handguns from the Yongle period to the Jiajing period were all manufactured according to specifications and engraved with inscriptions.Among the unearthed Yongle-type handguns, they are all numbered with a Chinese character. Now there are handguns numbered with the characters of Tian, ​​Sheng, Ying, Qi, Gong, Shen, and Dian. Manufactured by Bureau and Ordnance Bureau.If we add up the numbers of handguns with the largest numbers that have been unearthed, it can be estimated that at least 178,400 handguns had been made at that time, and they became one of the main weapons of the Ming army. According to literature records, in addition to the above-mentioned hand guns, there are other hand guns used by individual soldiers, such as invincible hand guns, quick guns, continuous guns, swarming bees, etc. They have their own characteristics and became auxiliary equipment for the Ming army.

Due to the increase in the number and quality of Yongle hand guns, their use in combat has become more common, and the tactics of combining fire guns with cold weapons have also been further developed. In July of the fourth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1406 A.D.), Emperor Yongle decided to use soldiers to fight because the Annan authorities conspired to kill the envoys of the Ming Dynasty.In October, Hou Zhangfu of Xincheng and Hou Muying of Xiping commanded infantry and cavalry, boat divisions, and Shenji generals Cheng Kuan and Zhu Gui's Shenji gun artillery sent out to Jiaozhi.In December, the Ming army attacked the city of Duobang, and Jiaozhi soldiers rode elephants to fight with large shields on their backs.Zhang Fu immediately ordered Shenji General Luo Wen and others to lead the Shenji artillery to shoot fiercely from the flanks. The elephants were hit by many arrows, roared in terror, and fled backwards. The Jiaozhi soldiers were defeated.The Ming army captured Duobang City.This is a famous battle example created by the Ming army to seize Jiancheng with magic machine gun artillery.

Since the establishment of the Shenji Camp from the end of the seventh year of Yongle (AD 1409) to the beginning of the eighth year of Yongle, it has become a strategic mobile force accompanying the emperor.In the twelfth year of Yongle, Zhu Di led the 500,000 Ming army to carry out the second campaign against Mobei, with the Shenji Battalion as the main force.On the seventh day of June, the Ming army entered Hulanhushui (now south of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), and fought against the Mahamu, a Mongolian aristocratic force that attacked the border areas of the Ming Dynasty.Mahamu led 30,000 people to resist.Zhu Di ordered Chen Mao, Marquis of Ningyang, and others to attack the right side, Li Bin, Marquis of Fengcheng, to attack the left, and Liu Sheng, Marquis of Anyuan, to attack the Shenji Battalion.After the battle began, Liu Sheng fired a volley of magic machine guns into the middle of Mahamubu, killing hundreds of his cavalry.Mahakibe retreated in chaos, and the front line was broken.After Liu Sheng won in the middle, he fired a volley of magic machine guns at the left and right wings of the horse department.Zhu Di also took advantage of the situation and commanded the infantry and cavalry of the Ming army to chase and annihilate the fleeing enemy.Mahamube fled north overnight.This battle is a famous battle example in which the Ming army defeated the Mongolian cavalry with magic machine guns in the desert battle.

A famous example of firecrackers repelling the siege enemy in the battle of defending the city is the battle to defend Beijing under the command of Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, Yu Qian.In August of the 14th year of Ming Zhengtong (AD 1449), the Mongolian Wacha nobles also took the lead in sweeping south to Tumubao (now southeast of Huailai County, Hebei). The 500,000 Ming army led by Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen was wiped out. More than 50 accompanying ministers were killed, Zhu Qizhen himself was captured, and took advantage of the momentum to attack Beijing first.On September 21, Yu Qian was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War and was ordered to defend Beijing, with Shi Heng, the general of the capital, assisting in command.After Yu Qian accepted the order, he strictly ordered the generals to prepare for the battle, strengthen the city defense, set up firecrackers at the nine gates and important places in Beijing, and the battalions of Shenji were also on standby to participate in the battle.In the first ten days of October, he also led an army of 120,000 troops to attack Beijing in two routes, east and west.Yu Qian ordered all 220,000 Ming troops defending the city to leave the nine gates to wait for the enemy, and he and Shi Heng focused on defending Desheng Gate.On the 11th, he also attacked Xizhimen first and then turned to Deshengmen after being frustrated.Yu Qian had already commanded the Shenji Battalion to ambush among the villages outside Deshengmen, and challenged with a small group of elite cavalry to lure the enemy to the ambush area.In an instant, Fan Guang, the governor of the Shenji Battalion, commanded his subordinates to shoot fiercely. More than 10,000 enemy cavalry were killed and injured, and the remaining 90,000 people scattered and fled.At the same time, the Ming army also used magic machine guns to shoot at the enemy at Xizhimen, Zhangyimen and the streets outside the city.Also, because of the heavy casualties, he dared not fight any more, so he withdrew his troops hastily on the night of the 15th.Yu Qian commanded the Ming army to take advantage of the momentum to pursue and drive him out of the Great Wall.The amount of firecrackers used in this defense battle and the proficiency of the new defense tactics are unmatched by all the defense battles in the early Ming Dynasty.To this day, people still often find firecrackers used by the Ming army on the battlefield outside Juyongguan.

In order to improve the shooting speed and projectile volume of firecrackers, since the Jiajing period (1522-1566 A.D.), the Ming Dynasty also created multi-barreled and multi-shot handguns. Volley firing two rounds to hundreds of projectiles was an important direction for the development of hand guns in the late Ming Dynasty.There are four types of their construction.One is made of single-barreled handguns parallel to each other and reinforced around the axis, sharing a handle. Each gun has its own fire door, which can be fired in bursts or salvos after ignition. There are the most products of this type of handgun.Among them are two-barreled clip-handle guns, Feitianshenhuodulong guns, three-barreled three-eye guns, four-tube four-eye guns, five-barreled five-row guns, seven-tube seven-star guns, ten-barreled multi-bomb guns, etc.The second is to place two single guns with their backs facing each other at both ends of a long handle, with the mouths of the guns facing outward, and after firing one end, shoot the other.The third is to open the fire door and load the gunpowder in sections on a longer barrel, and fire them sequentially from front to back during combat; The body of the ruler is the dividing line, and the other two ends are two feet long. Each end is divided into five sections, and each section is four inches long. It contains gunpowder and projectiles. Five rounds at one end.The fourth is a multi-barreled blunderbuss mounted on a wheel-type turntable for rotating launch; such as a wheel cannon, 36 single blunderbusses are attached to 18 spokes of a wheel-type disc and rotated. multi-barreled gun.Some multi-barreled guns can also be used for multiple purposes. For example, after the projectile is fired, the clip gun can be used to stab the enemy;

Although the hand guns in the early Ming Dynasty have made great progress, and multi-barreled and multi-shot guns have been created frequently, but due to the backward ignition method, time-consuming shooting, and limited development, after the introduction of matchlock guns in Europe, they took a back seat. status.