The earliest artillery was born in China
Napoleon once dominated Europe with artillery. During World War II, artillery was hailed as the god of war. However, the ancestors of artillery were born in China.
In the 31st year of Song Shaoxing (1161 AD), the Jin lord Yan Liang invaded the south with an army of 300,000 water and land, and the southern Song Court was in danger. At that time, the Song army had a strong warrior named Wei Sheng, who was born as an archer, and after learning the news, he immediately gathered 700 righteous soldiers from his hometown, crossed the Huai River in the north, raised the banner of resistance against Jin, and attacked Haizhou in Shandong, and the people in the north responded one after another and returned to Wei Sheng, reaching thousands. Wei Sheng then claimed to be under the command of the Shandong Lu Loyal rebel army. Upon hearing the news, Jin Sent 100,000 Troops to Besiege Haizhou. Wei Sheng led the army to fight and made the "Thunderbolt Cannon". Fill the iron cylinder with gunpowder, stuff it with gravel, and place it on the gun cart. In the event of an enemy detonating fire and giving medicine, the gravel can strike 200 steps, killing and injuring the enemy. This was the birth of the world's first artillery. Before that, the Song army only had rockets and fire cattle, and no artillery. (In "Water Margin", the thunderbolt Ling Zhenshan makes artillery, which is a fiction of the novelist, which advances the birth of Chinese artillery by 340 years).) Wei Sheng built dozens of gun carts, using two people to push carts when marching, and lining up the gun carts for a week when camping as a camp. The enemy is far away and bombarded with artillery; when the enemy is approaching, the knife and axe hand is attacked from the formation. The Jin soldiers were intimidated by the power of Wei Sheng's artillery and retreated in defeat. Since then, China has begun to have the world's first artillery.
Three generations of skilled craftsmen have created mighty artillery
After 92 years, in 1253 (the first year of Emperor Baobai of Song), the Jin Kingdom was swallowed up by the Mongols. At that time, northern China and the Central Plains were ruled by Möngke Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan of Mongolia. At this time, there was a skilled craftsman in Huaxian County, Shaanxi Province, named Guo Kan. His grandfather Guo Baoyu and father Guo Dehai were both proficient in astronomy and geography, liked to study weapons, and followed Genghis Khan on the first expedition to Europe. At that time, their father and son wanted to develop a cannon that could be curved in order to attack the fortress that dominated the mountain, but they died without success. Guo Kan inherited the legacy of his grandfather and father, and finally developed it successfully. This gun can shoot flat as well as curved. Flat shots can hit about half a mile (i.e. 250 meters today), and curved shots can hit 20 or 30 meters high (i.e. about 100 meters). This was a miracle more than 700 years ago.
Guo Kan dedicated his invention to Möngke Khan. Möngke Khan personally participated in the Second Western Expedition of the Mongol Army, and although he captured Eastern Europe and Russia, he was blocked by the alpine castles of Southwest Asia. When he saw a cannon with such great power, he was overjoyed and aroused his ambition. So he sent his brother Hulegu to lead the Western Expedition, taking Guo Kan and 100 craftsmen to Southwest Asia and began the first artillery expedition in world history.
Expeditionary artillery flaunted its might
Hulagu led his army westward, and the first target was Muzhiyi (present-day western Iran), south of the Caspian Sea. Hulagu's artillery attack with Guo Kan was very smooth, capturing several castles in succession. However, in the end, when it reached the Jierdu Bitter Fort, Guo Kan's artillery could not be hit at all. The fort was built on a hill and was 1500 meters high, and the attack was again frustrated. Later, Hulagu used a counter-plan to make the father and son of the Muzhiyi king kill each other, Hulagu took advantage of the false attack, and the new king fled to the new capital city of MeijinDisi Fort. However, unable to withstand the onslaught of the Mongol army and Guo Kan's artillery fire, the city finally broke and surrendered. This was the first meritorious service of The Chinese Expeditionary Artillery.
Hulagu then continued its march southwest, soon invading the Abbaid dynasty (in present-day Iraq). Its capital, Baoda, is present-day Baghdad. King Musitasin was extravagant and extravagant, and the chancellor Moyadidin hated him, so he sent someone to contact Hulagu and wished to do it internally. Hulagu did not believe it, so Moyadeddin drew a map of the situation of the mountains and rivers reported to the capital, the deployment of troops, and the best route of advance, and sent people to Hulagu. Hulagu led his troops to the capital Baoda City according to the map and route provided by Moyadiddin. The city of Baoda was close to the Tigris River, and Hulagu put Guo Kan's artillery on a warship, went down the river to the city, and fired at the city wall, which soon collapsed a corner of the City Wall. Moyadidin took the opportunity to report to King Musitasin: "Your Majesty, the artillery of the Mongol army is really strong, and just listening to the 'bang', it destroyed all the corners of our city wall and the defenders above." If His Majesty does not surrender again, the Mongolian army will come in and it will be all over. ”
The king was also stunned by the sound of Guo Kan's artillery, so he had to immediately tie himself up and surrender Kaesong. The traitorous Moyadding, on the other hand, was beheaded by Hulagu for being disloyal to his homeland. Hulagu then marched to Syria and Egypt, establishing a large Ilkhanate from the Amu Darya River in the east, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Caucasus in the north, and the Indian Ocean in the south, which lasted for more than 100 years.
This expedition made The Chinese artillery famous in the world.