Treatise on Armament Technology, Volume 33

Military Equipment: Fire — Illustrated Explanations of Firearms II

Page 12 The woodblock pagination for this leaf is marked as "3," but it follows the text from page 11 of the previous section.

Truly, this is a fierce weapon! If it is employed for defense according to the prescribed methods, how could the enemy not lose their courage? original: "luo dan" (落膽); literally "to drop one’s gallbladder," a common Chinese metaphor for being paralyzed by fear.

There are six distinct advantages to this weapon:

First: Although it is rendered useless after a single discharge This indicates a single-use or disposable design, likely a wooden-barreled cannon or a large rocket-tube that cannot withstand the pressure of a second firing., there is absolutely no danger of it bursting and harming our own men.

Second: If the enemy should capture it, they cannot use it against us Because the weapon is already spent after its initial use..

Third: The total labor and material cost for each unit is only seven fen fen A unit of currency; seven fen is approximately 0.07 taels of silver, making this an exceptionally cheap weapon to mass-produce.. It is both inexpensive to manufacture and saves on labor.

Fourth: It can be manufactured immediately on the spot, wherever the army may be stationed.

Fifth: Its body is lightweight, allowing a single soldier to carry several units. On long marches, they are easy to distribute among the ranks for transport.

Sixth: Its power shakes the very earth; whatever it strikes is pulverized to dust original: "ji fen" (韲粉).. It strikes chill into the hearts of the enemy and serves to embolden our own spirits.

Whether used in the North or the South, on water or on land, there is no environment where it is not suitable. Should those dedicated to border strategy choubian original: "chou bian" (籌邊); the planning and management of frontier defenses. not study this closely?