Rise From the Humble

"Well, a thousand words are worth a hundred thousand words, and a hundred hearings are not as good as a sight. Mr. Governor, and all colleagues, we should ask Mr. Zhu to take us to the scene and see how the Zhejiang army practices firearms. Take a look at these firearms. How to give Mr. Zhu the confidence that if you practice it and use it, it will be enough to influence the situation of the battle and become invincible in the world, I am very curious in my heart."

Master Huang smiled slightly and suggested to Zhang Jing and everyone else that he should go to the Zhejiang Army's training site.

Zhang Jing nodded expressionlessly and watched the Zhejiang Army's drill. This was an important part of the inspection, and naturally everyone would have no objections.

So, at Master Huang's suggestion, everyone was led by Zhu Ping'an to the firearms training ground.

The further we go, the greater the smell of burning gunpowder and the greater the smoke.

Got to the place quickly.

The first thing that caught everyone's eyes was a sea of ​​black iron. All the officers and soldiers of the Zhejiang Army were fully clad in cotton armor, with red tassel-pointed helmets and armor covered with copper nails. They shone in the sun and looked very majestic.

When an official saw this spectacular scene, he couldn't help but said in surprise, "No, everyone is wearing armor. This is a big deal. Even the Beijing camp can't do it. Is the Zhejiang army so rich..."

At this moment, he couldn't help but doubt what Zhu Pingan said just now. Did Zhu Pingan make a lot of money selling the secret magic knife and medicine? ! Otherwise, why would the Zhejiang Army's armor rate be so high?

"Master Liang, take a closer look. Do you see those bright copper nails on the armor? It's enough to show that the Zhejiang soldiers are wearing cotton armor, not iron armor. It's just that the cotton armor is painted to look like iron armor. .”

The official next to him shook his head, pointed at the cotton armor worn by a Zhejiang soldier, and reminded him softly.

"Oh, oh, it's true." The officer took a closer look at the armor and emblems on the soldiers, and suddenly realized.

It turns out that the Zhejiang army all wears cheap cotton armor. The cost of cotton armor is so low. One set of iron armor can be replaced by at least four or five sets of cotton armor.

Soldiers would compete for a pair of iron armor, but cotton armor is not very attractive to soldiers. This is the difference between the two.

Then, I instantly felt balanced.

Haha, let me tell you, if you practice less firearms, wouldn't it be nice to save some money to buy armor?

"My dear nephew, you are very short of money. Why are all the soldiers wearing cotton armor?" Wei Guogong couldn't help but ask.

Everyone also looked at Zhu Pingan curiously.

"Back to uncle, our army is short of silver, but no matter how short of money it is, we will not save money on weapons and equipment. The promotion of cotton armor is not because of the lack of silver, but because of the excellent protective properties of cotton armor. The cotton armor produced by our army's equipment battalion Armor is not inferior to iron armor in terms of defense against cold weapons, and its protective performance far exceeds iron armor in defense against firearms such as firecrackers. In addition, cotton armor is lighter in weight than iron armor and more flexible than iron armor, which is more helpful for soldiers to fight on the battlefield. ." Zhu Ping'an explained to Wei Guogong and everyone with a serious look.

"Does cotton armor have such excellent protective properties?" Wei Guogong looked doubtful.

The other officials were even more skeptical.

Practice is the only criterion for testing truth. Zhu Pingan ordered ten pairs of brand new cotton armors and two pairs of iron armors.

Zhang Jing and others came forward to check the cotton armor and found that the cotton armor of the Zhejiang Army was very different from the cotton armor of other military camps. The cotton armor of the Zhejiang Army was more sophisticated, or more professional, while the cotton armor of other military camps were crude. The cloth-faced armor of the Zhejiang Army is like a cotton-padded jacket, connected together, bloated and inconvenient. The Zhejiang Army's cotton-padded armor is different and more professional. It is divided into body armor, shawl, armor sleeves, front guard, left guard, armor skirt, and heart protector. Mirror and other seven parts.

Every part of the cotton armor is well made, not bulky at all, very lean and easy to fight, but the protective area has not shrunk at all.

It’s heavy to start with.

None of them were military novices. They all had at least some knowledge of the military. They knew it was composite armor as soon as they weighed it. The cotton armor must have been lined with a layer of iron. With this layer of iron, the protective performance of cotton armor is not much worse.

Zhu Pingan had ten pairs of cotton armor and two pairs of iron armor put on the scarecrow and verified on the spot like last time.

First, verify the cold weapons of swords and arrows.

Zhu Ping'an asked two soldiers to shoot arrows at twelve pairs of armors from 20 steps away. They shot three rounds of arrows in succession, and then asked Zhang Jing and others to come forward to verify.

The two pairs of iron armor were naturally unharmed. Feather arrows could not penetrate the armor, but the protective area of ​​the armor was limited. The two scarecrows had arrows stuck in their throats and crotches. Although three of the ten pairs of cotton armor had a few holes shot out by arrows, the arrows Only the first layer of cotton armor was broken and was blocked by the inner lining of iron sheets. The other cotton armors did not even break through the first layer of cotton. Moreover, due to the large protective area of ​​the cotton armor, only one scarecrow was hit by an arrow in the face.

"Well, arrows can't penetrate it. This cotton armor is much stronger than the cotton armor of other battalions. It's really not inferior to iron armor."

"Neck protector, guard, except for the face, the whole body is protected. There are no exposed gaps. It provides more comprehensive protection than iron armor."

Everyone looked at the cotton armor with excellent defense and couldn't help but be a little surprised. The Zhejiang Army's cotton armor was much better than the cotton armor of other military camps.

"Zhang Bao, come forward and try to see if this cotton armor can withstand your blow." Master Huang signaled to Zhang Bao.

The people who were shooting arrows just now were all from the Zhejiang Army. He was a little bit suspicious of whether he had let his guard down and deliberately left some strength when shooting. He did not use all his strength and the strength was not high. Naturally, the arrow could not penetrate the cotton armor.

"As ordered." Zhang Bao stepped forward with his fists clasped.

Uh-huh!

I randomly selected a pair of cotton armor and stabbed it. A heavy "clang" sound was heard, and only a trace appeared on the cotton armor.

"Zhang Bao, you haven't had enough to eat, have you?" Wei Liangyi glared hard at Zhang Bao and said, "Look at me!"

After saying that, Wei Liangyi pulled out his sword, held the sword with both hands, put on a pair of cotton armor, and swung it hard.

There was also a heavy "clang" sound, and a mark was also left on the cotton armor, but it was just a little deeper than Zhang Bao's mark.

Wei Liangyi was a little embarrassed.

Zhang Bao and Wei Liangyi's two swords further verified the excellent protective capabilities of cotton armor to everyone.

"Change the gun!"

Zhu Ping'an asked Zhang Jing and others to temporarily retreat to both sides, and ordered two groups of soldiers to shoot twelve suits of armor with blunderbuss twenty steps away.

The two soldiers skillfully loaded the priming powder, then took out an oil paper ammunition bag from the ammunition can, tore it open with their mouths, poured the gunpowder and projectiles into the gun chamber, tamped it down with a pipe, then blew on the match rope and started the fire. The muskets were aimed at the straw men wearing cotton and iron armor in front of them. After the captain gave the order, they opened fire together.

There was a burst of gunfire and smoke filled the air.

Everyone stepped forward to check the condition of the armor, and were surprised to find that the two pairs of iron armors were completely destroyed, with several transparent holes punched out, while the cotton armors were all in place. Most of the projectiles penetrated the first layer of cotton armor and got stuck in the iron armor. into a piece or second layer of cotton nail armor.

Zhang Jing couldn't help but his eyes lit up. This cotton armor can also be promoted. The cost is lower than that of iron armor, and its protective power is higher than that of iron armor.