Mechanical projectile weapon——General Cannon

Mechanical projectile weapon - General Cannon

Jiangcannon is the name of a large mechanical projectile weapon in ancient times. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the types of projectile weapons increased day by day. The shape is larger than in the past, the use is more common, and it has become a "sharp weapon in the army." In 757, when Shi Siming besieged Taiyuan, Li Guangbi used a cart to repel Shi's army.

Weapon performance

Chinese name: General gun

Type: light, medium, heavy

Source: Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties.

Manufacturing: made of stone

Attack and defend the city

At that time, the carts could be divided into three types: light, medium and heavy: the light carts consisted of two The stone bullets weigh half a kilogram and are used to fight against the enemy; the medium-sized carts are used in single-shoot, double-shoot, whirlwind, tiger squat, etc., and 40 to 100 people are used to pull the gun rope, and the stone bullets weighing 25 kilograms can be fired at a range of It can reach 80 steps; the heavy-duty throwing vehicle has five or seven-tip cannons, which requires 150 to 250 people to pull the gun rope, and fires stone bullets weighing 70 to 100 kilograms, with a range of up to 50 steps.

This kind of heavy cannon is very heavy and requires a fixed mount when used. It is mostly used for attacking and defending cities. The super-heavy dump truck also has thirteen cannons (according to unofficial records of the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, it absorbed advanced technology from the Central Plains and the Western Regions). It requires 400 to 500 people to pull the cannon rope and fire stone bullets weighing more than 100 kilograms. The range can reach 100 steps. This kind of super-heavy artillery vehicle is more cumbersome and requires a lot of livestock and manpower for transportation. The number of such vehicles is very small in each siege.

Indestructible power

General artillery flourished in the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties. As early as the Tang Dynasty, the power of the trebuchet reached its peak. When Taizong conquered Liaodong, there were already several hundred people operating trebuchets (a technology imported from the Western Regions), which could shoot a mile away and launch more than three hundred kilograms of boulders, destroying everything they hit.

When attacking the fortresses of the Western Regions and Central Asian countries, with the help of Central Asian craftsmen in the Western Regions, the general's artillery became even more powerful. Combining Chinese and Western technology, he developed a throwing cart with more than ten tips, which could be thrown several times. The huge stone requires more than 300 people and more than 100 oxen and horses to operate the rope. The scale is so large, but the number of such giants is very small, and there is no such thing in ancient and modern times (but due to various reasons, it was lost in the early Tang Dynasty. Later, did not appear until the Yuan Dynasty).

In 1126, when the Jin soldiers attacked Bianjing (now Kaifeng, Henan), they "launched more than 5,000 cannons in one night", forcing the defenders to retreat to the city walls. It was almost impossible to withstand the rain of cannons and rocks. It is said that When the Yuan soldiers attacked the Longde Palace in the capital, they used the Taihu Rock rockery in the Song Palace as stone bombs. More than 100 cannons as large as thirteen were set up at each corner of the city. They bombarded day and night. The stone bombs thrown almost leveled the town.

At that time, the Mongols attached great importance to the development of trebuchets and specially established an "artillery army", which was used intensively during sieges. Its role was equivalent to modern artillery, and it had indestructible power in siege battles. . In 1273 (the tenth year from Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty), the Yuan army attacked Xiangyang and used a giant trebuchet that could launch stone projectiles weighing 150 kilograms. It is said that this kind of trebuchet was made by a man from the Western Regions named "Yisima Yin", so people called it "Huihui Cannon", or "Xiangyang Cannon" or "Western Region Cannon".

According to the "History of the Yuan Dynasty", this kind of cannon "resounds to the sky and the earth when it is fired, destroying everything it hits, and it penetrates seven feet into the ground." In addition, this kind of cannon does not require people to pull the gun rope. Instead, a huge stone is tied to the tip, and an iron hook is installed on the gun frame to hook the gun rod. When firing, just pull the hook away and the stone will fall immediately. Pressing down the cannon tip, stone bullets weighing 100 kilograms were suddenly thrown out. This idea saves manpower, is easy to use, and is powerful. It can not but be said to be a major reform of the trebuchet.

The production of artillery shells

Trebuchets have long used artillery shells made of stone. Later, some chemical bombs, smoke bombs, and incendiary bombs containing poisonous smoke and poison appeared. This type of artillery shells do not rely on gravity to destroy the enemy like stone bullets. Instead, they use poisonous gas, poison, and fireworks to kill the enemy. It can be said that this is a form of ancient chemical warfare.

There is also a kind of "explosive" artillery shell called "mud bomb", which is made of mud balls and put into the bag of a small cannon. When ejected, it will be "exploded" to pieces immediately, which can kill The enemy will not be able to fall into the enemy's hands and reflect back like a stone bullet.

In the long-term practical experience of trebuchets, the shooting and aiming method of the gun underwent a turning change in the Song Dynasty, from the direct aiming method to the indirect aiming method. Before the Song Dynasty, when gunners operated trebuchets, they would first aim the gun base at the target, and the "cannon setter" would visually measure the distance, determine the azimuth, and determine the azimuth angle and height of the gun tip. When you need to shoot upwards, raise the front legs of the gun; if you want to shoot downwards, raise the rear legs of the gun.

After the aiming and positioning is completed, put the stone bullet into the bullet hole behind the gun barrel. Then, determine the number of people pulling the gun rope according to the distance of the target. If it is far, there will be more people, and if it is close, there will be fewer people. Each cannon puller holds the cannon rope and pulls the cannon rope violently at the same time according to the unified command. The stone bullets in the shell behind them fly into the air and shoot towards the target.

The Fixed Cannon Man

The "Fixed Cannon Man" observes the impact point of the bullet, corrects the deflection, and aims and shoots again until it hits the target. This method of aiming and shooting face to face with the enemy was considered convenient in ancient times. It is easy to do, but there are two major disadvantages: first, it is easy to expose one's artillery position and be counterattacked by enemy artillery; second, in the battle of defending the city, many cannons cannot be placed on the small city wall, and one cannon requires several rounds. Ten or even hundreds of people were dragged away, occupying a large area, and at the same time hindering other soldiers from fighting.