The Three Kingdoms

"Ge Daoist, you have made great contributions to the court!" Sun Quan patted Ge Xuan's shoulder vigorously, and said loudly.

"This is due to His Majesty!"

Ge Xuan shook his head when he heard the words, and said modestly: "We were all inspired by His Majesty to develop this musket!"

He is right.

If it weren't for Sun Quan's constant reminders, how could they have overcome the difficulty of researching breech-loading guns in such a short time and let breech-loading guns replace the existence of flintlock guns.

Sometimes he even felt a little strange, how did such a young king as Sun Quan know all this strange knowledge about firearms? Is there really anyone in this world who knows it from birth?

"Ge Daochang, can this musket be mass-produced?" After Sun Quan was excited, he asked a very intuitive question.

"can!"

Ge Xuan nodded and said: "After researching this musket, we have conquered the most difficult manufacturing process, and in terms of cost, it is actually not very expensive. In recent years, we have begun to simplify the manufacturing process and form a part-manufacturing process. There is no difficulty in manufacturing the assembly line, and then finally combining them, but if you want to manufacture quickly, the firearms manufacturing workshop must be expanded, and it is best to build them in the ore-rich places in the north!"

"Liu Ye!" Sun Quan shouted.

"Chen is here!"

"You are fully responsible for the expansion of the firearms workshop!" There was a blazing light in Sun Quan's eyes, he looked at Liu Ye, and said solemnly: "In the future, will I be able to lead the army to conquer Rome? To get rid of the humiliation of the past, it depends on how much energy the musket can produce, you must not let me down!"

The battle of conquering Rome in the west has always been a scar in Sun Quan's heart.

It's a shame.

The shame must be washed away with blood.

One day he could not capture the Roman Empire, and he could not dominate the land of Western Europe. Sun Quan felt that the shame of being on the verge of death was imprinted on him all the time.

"promise!"

Hearing this, Liu Ye's face was firm, and a sharp and incomparable light burst out from his eyes.

It's time for the Ministry of Industry to show off their strengths.

If the craftsmanship of the Ministry of Industry can determine the outcome of a war in the future, then no one in the Ministry of Industry will dare to underestimate it.

It's just that Xun Zhan, the Minister of the Household Department next to him, turned pale when he heard these words.

The Ministry of Household Affairs is completely over. Even if the weather goes well this year and the collection of taxes is overfulfilled, I am afraid that it will not be able to stand up to Sun Quan's generous investment without a bottom line.

"You Ruo, you don't need to do this. The Ministry of Household Affairs can't afford it. Isn't there a Ministry of Commerce?" Xu Shu noticed Xun Zhan's expression, walked up quickly, and reminded him with a smile.

"Thank you, brother Yuanzhi, for your suggestion!"

When Xun Zhan heard this, a icy cold light burst out from his eyes.

"By the way, there is also the Ministry of Commerce. My household department is not easy, and the Ministry of Commerce can't even think about it!"

He also became ruthless, this time he was determined to drag the Ministry of Commerce into the water, and the Ministry of Household Affairs could not bear the huge allocation of funds alone. He secretly said in his heart: "Fellow Daoists who are dead and poor, Mi Shangshu, don't blame a certain family. ruthless!"

Sun Quan can't control Xun Zhan's thoughts now.

"If breech-loading guns can be equipped by the entire army, then the combat effectiveness of the Great Wu army..."

There is a picture in his mind now, that is, the whole army is equipped with muskets, and the battle to capture the Roman Empire has started. That picture is absolutely wonderful.

This is not even a battle anymore, but a comprehensive suppression of cold weapons by hot weapons.

In fact, when the flintlock was developed, Sun Quan was determined to equip the army with muskets.

But there are several reasons.

For one thing, the craftsmanship of the flintlock itself is not very advanced, and the limitations are too great.

Secondly, the cost of making firearms was too expensive at the beginning, and there were not many craftsmen who could complete the manufacture of firearms, which led to the high cost of craftsmanship. In recent years, the establishment of firearms workshops has trained many firearms craftsmen, which is enough to make up for this. In terms of cost, a lot of costs have been reduced.

Of course, there is another reason, that is, any weapon needs to be verified on the battlefield.

On the Venetian battlefield, the performance of the Shenhuo Army is remarkable. At least it has surpassed the head-to-head battle of the most powerful soldiers and horses in Wu. In any case, there will be damage in hand-to-hand combat. However, because the Shenhuo Army is equipped with muskets, even if it defeats an army of the same size, Unscathed.

This gave Sun Quan the idea of ​​a comprehensive makeover.

But is the time ripe now?

He still hesitated.

……

"Ge Daochang, firearms research is the future development path of Wu Jun. I hope that you will continue to work hard, give full play to your talents, and create miracles. If you have any difficulties, you can be blunt, and I will solve them for you!"

After inspecting the workshop, Sun Quan stood at the door, looked at Ge Xuan, and said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, regarding the matter of the workshop, I will do my best to never let Your Majesty down, but I have a private matter, and I ask Your Majesty for help!"

"Ge Daochang, please tell me!"

"Your Majesty, Master Zuo is currently trapped in Rome. I implore Your Majesty to lend a helping hand to take Master Zuo back to the Central Plains!" Ge Xuan is Zuo Ci's disciple, and he is most concerned about his teacher, Zuo Ci. Zuo Ci lost all his cultivation and was alone. The fall of the land of Rome worried him.

"Ge Daochang, everyone has their own choice. It is his choice to stay in Rome and promote the Taoism. Even if I am willing to send Jinyi guards to escort him back, is he willing?"

Sun Quan shook his head when he heard the words, and said calmly.

After the war ended, Zuo Ci did not return to the imperial court with the army, but went to the Vatican, the Christian Holy See of the Roman Empire alone. With his three-inch tongue, he survived in Rome, which generally hated Wu people.

……

night.

Sun Quan had already led several ministers back to the Forbidden Palace City in Jinling City under the escort of the Imperial Guards, but he was still thinking about a complete change of clothes in his mind.

"Yuan Zhi, what do you think if we completely re-equip the Great Wu army and replace all the weapons with muskets?"

Sun Quan asked Xu Shu, his confidant minister, and asked.

"Your Majesty, I don't quite agree!" Xu Shu was dispatched from the northwest to the cabinet this year, and directly entered the position of cabinet minister, taking over the vacancy of cabinet minister after Zhang Zhao left. He was responsible for connecting the cabinet and the imperial study. In the cabinet, he is a trump card responsible for trying to figure out Sun Quan's mind.

"why?"

Sun Quan frowned, with a displeased face, and asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, I have two main considerations. First, we are still not familiar with the use of muskets. I have read the volume of the battle process of the Shenhuo Army. The army equipped with firearms and the ordinary army are too surprised. If we rashly change the equipment in the army, it will inevitably lead to the weakening of the combat effectiveness of the lieutenant soldiers who are not familiar with the operation.

Second, if there is a major change in the army, it will inevitably lead to too high investment costs for the imperial court in armaments. Now the Wu army has more than 200 million soldiers. Once the whole army is changed, it will be an astronomical figure. Don't forget, Your Majesty Yes, the current imperial court seems to have gradually returned to its peak, but it is very tight in terms of finances. The Ministry of Households has been under great pressure to bear the huge national debt in the past few years. Now the consumption of the Ministry of Industry has caused dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Households. It is very difficult for you to expect the Ministry of Households to invest funds, and the Ministry of Commerce and the Dawu Bank owed private merchants hundreds of millions of silver dollars last year because of the opening of commercial debts. In the past few years, they have already made them breathe But I'm angry, even if the weather in the world of Wu has been good for the past few years, within three years, the imperial court's finances will not be loose. If it is forced to invest, it will inevitably lead to a financial collapse. Your Majesty, the loss outweighs the gain! "

Xu Shu persuaded.