Jiao Yu

[4] Jiao was eventually appointed as the head officer of the enormous Shen Zhi Ying Armory, where multitudes of manufactured guns and artillery were deposited for storage and safekeeping.

[6] With Zhu Yuanzhang in power over the government, he established various production facilities in the capital at Nanjing for the manufacture of gunpowder and fire-weapons, stored in various arsenals throughout the country.

[2] Jiao Yu placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of fire-weapons, as he once wrote in a preface to his book, "the very existence or destruction of the Empire, and the lives of the whole armed forces depend on the exact timing of these weapons.

"[3] Along with the scholar, general, and court adviser Liu Bowen (1311–1375), Jiao Yu became an editor of the 14th century military treatise known as the Huolongjing (Fire Drake Manual).

[7] The Nanyang publication of the book, known as the Huolongjing Quanzhi (Fire Drake Manual in One Complete Volume) featured a preface written by Jiao Yu much later in 1412 AD.

Both publications falsely attributed the earliest passages of the book to the ancient Chinese Prime Minister Zhuge Liang (181–234 AD) of the Shu Han,[7] even though gunpowder warfare did not exist in China until the advent of the gunpowder-fuse-ignited flamethrower (Pen Huo Qi) in the 10th century.

An illustration of a fragmentation bomb from the Huolongjing . The black dots represent iron pellets.
Depiction of a fire arrow rocket launcher from the Huolongjing
Essentially a fire lance on a frame, the 'multiple bullets magazine eruptor' shoots lead shots, which are loaded in a magazine and fed into the barrel when turned around on its axis.