I'm really not the carpenter emperor

On the land of the Ming Dynasty, there were rogues such as Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong inside, and Jiannu outside Liaodong siege and plunder the land.

Every time later generations refer to this point, Zhu Youxiao wished he could stay close to the late Ming Dynasty.

Now that it has really come, how can we repeat the mistakes of history?

At this time, flintlock guns were very popular in the West, but they were silent in the East. Even Zhu Youxiao, the emperor, was unable to withdraw due to party disputes.

Now that the situation of the Donglin party members "all being positive and prosperous" has changed slightly, Zhu Youxiao has already begun to think about the matter of development and shooting.

In fact, flintlock guns had already appeared in the late Ming Dynasty, but they were not promoted and popularized in time.

Compared with matchlock guns, flintlock guns have obvious advantages.

Its ignition device relies on mechanical impact to ignite the fire, without the help of an external fire source, and is not disturbed by weather factors.

When using a quick-fire gun, the musketeer can quickly enter the battle, concentrate on shooting, improve accuracy, and have a better rate of fire than the former.

Then the problem is coming.

In 1547, the Frenchman Mahan invented the flintlock gun. In the land of Ming Dynasty, did you follow the footsteps of the historical process and upgrade the matchlock gun to a sudden fire gun?

The answer is yes, there is!

Zhu Youxiao took out a copy from the thick pile of notebooks on the table, and the person who presented the question book was the person in the answer——Bi Maokang.

Bi Maokang may not be as famous as Xu Guangqi, Song Yingxing and others, but he is well-deserved No.1 in China when it comes to Sui Fa Gun.

The achievements of Bi Maokang's independent innovation are nearly a hundred years later than Mahan's.

However, since the invention of the flintlock gun in the West, it was sporadic at first. It was not until the middle of the seventeenth century, more than 20 years later, that the western army was generally equipped with flintlock guns.

Daming's firearm design and processing technology has always been in a leading position in the world. It has a solid firearm manufacturing foundation and rich experience in using firearms since the early Ming Dynasty. These are the late-mover advantages of equipped with flintlock guns.

Generally speaking, in the development of muskets, Ming Dynasty is not inferior to the West.

As for the Qing Dynasty, I won't mention it. After all, he is the best in riding and shooting in the world.

Looking at this question book, Zhu Youxiao is also recalling the memory of this person in history.

Bi Maokang, courtesy name Menghou, nicknamed Dongjiao, was a native of Shanglu in She County.Ming Dynasty weapons expert, Jinshi in the 26th year of Wanli.

At the beginning, he was awarded to the scholar of Zhongshu, and later moved to Guangxi Daojian Yushi, Youqiandu Yushi, Shaanxi Xunyan, and Shandong Xunyan Yushi.

Bi Mao Kangya's Negative Equipment Bureau, which has a history of Chinese and foreign, has a good reputation with his clan brother Mao Liang, and is called "Er Bi".

Jia Shenming died, and Bi Maokang and Bi Maoliang went on a hunger strike to die for their country.

There must be a reason why Zhu Youxiao took out this one among so many books.

Today's Bi Maokang is squeezed out because he doesn't like party disputes, and he is depressed, but to Zhu Youxiao, he is a priceless treasure.

Compared with Yang Lian, this is a talent that is truly useful to the country, how can it not be reused?

Chapter 42 Ordnance Division

"Bi Maokang, who submitted this report, is summoned to the palace."

After speaking, Zhu Youxiao began to think carefully.

After observing the soldiers in the martial arts field, Zhu Youxiao felt a little more confident. From now on, he finally has such an absolutely loyal army in his hands.

Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, and none of the people who came here in later generations did not understand this truth. The 6000-strong Guards Battalion is just the beginning.

Not long after, Bi Maokang came with a worried face.

The current him is just a small Shandong censor, a seventh-rank official. Although he has a lot of power in the local area, he has no right to speak when he comes to Beijing.

This time, he just returned to Beijing to report on his duties at the beginning of the year as usual, and he will return to Lianghuai to take up his post in a few days.

Since the Ming Dynasty, the salt censors of the Lianghuai and Huaihe Rivers have been summoned by the current emperor, so I'm afraid I'm No. 1!

Thinking of this, he took two steps forward, not daring to look at him too much, he just bowed respectfully and said: "Chen Xunyan Yushi Bi Maokang, see the emperor."

"No gift, sit down."

While talking, Zhu Youxiao lay sideways on the couch, holding the biography of Zhao Gao in his hand, and looked up and down at the capable man in front of him.

Do you know that you are a priceless treasure here!

Although the salt business is also a major source of money, but you can be the top pick in 360 lines, and you are not expected to patrol the salt industry.

Merchants say that the huge profits in the world are all based on tea, horse, salt and iron.

Tea, horse, salt and iron can make people rich overnight, but because the imperial court has banned private sales, it can also make people ransack their homes.

Among the thirteen supervisory censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, those who specialize in patrolling salt affairs are called patrolling salt censors, one from Lianghuai, one from Liangzhe, one from Changlu, and one from Hedong.

The main duties are to collect salt tax and supervise the official sales of salt merchants.

Shandong has official offices with real power, such as the Inspection Department and the Duzhuan Salt Transport Envoy, which were originally dispatched temporarily to inspect the salt censor. After Yingzong, it was gradually institutionalized and surpassed the local salt inspection bureau.

Today, the sale of private salt, which is explicitly prohibited by the imperial court, has already become an important link for unscrupulous businessmen to make a fortune.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao felt a little embarrassed.

Regarding private salt, the emperors of the Han Dynasty were simple and rude, and directly set the "salt and iron franchise". Since the salt business makes money, the money has to be earned by the state!

Zhu Youxiao also wanted to do something like this, but the barrel of the gun and the handle of the knife are not strong now, and the steps are too big and it is easy to tear the egg.

Bi Maokang is now at the age of knowing his fate, but his eyes are piercing, his appearance is also dignified, and he has a good face.

After the palace people who had just packed up the Xuande furnace lifted up the chair, Zhu Youxiao watched him sit down carefully, and then asked with a smile:

"I heard that both you and your brother Maoliang are good at firearms?"

If Bi Maokang was still uneasy about why the emperor asked him to come here before, now he is greatly relieved.

It seems that his own memorabilia played a role.

"The emperor's reputation is too high, and the minister dare not call him good." Bi Maokang's words were low-key and uninhibited.

After living for 50 years, he is now only a seventh-rank patrol salt censor.

Bi Maokang originally thought that the word "Mian Sheng" was not destined for him in this life, but he didn't expect that there would be a day when he could see Long Yan with his own eyes.

When he got the news, Bi Maokang was already a little excited, and he walked like flying on the way here, but today he is so wise, he is really happy for Daming.

"Firearms are what the barbarians fear the most from China." Zhu Youxiao picked up his memorial and said with a smile, "This is your original statement, and I deeply agree with it."

Bi Maokang could no longer restrain the excitement in his heart, and shouted: "Your Majesty is wise, I am going to investigate the chaos of the captives, and firearms are indispensable!"

He has been researching such things as self-generating bird guns for a long time. If they can be manufactured, the combat capability of the Ming army on the battlefield will be greatly improved.

Many people who heard it were disapproving of his life-long painstaking efforts. Now that someone finally realized the power of self-generated firecrackers, he was still the emperor, so how could he not be excited.

But at the next moment, Zhu Youxiao's question made him feel as if he had been poured cold water on his head.

"Today, how long would it take to make a self-generating bird gun, and how much would it cost?"

Zhu Youxiao's words are very simple and realistic. The self-generated bird gun in the words is the name of Suifa gun in Ming Dynasty.

How do you make it without money?How do you make it without technology?

Bi Maokang pondered for a while, and said: "The self-born bird gun is just my guess, and the actual gun has not yet been made. The specific price and manufacturing time, these, I can only estimate..."

"Then you can make an estimate. I only need a rough idea." Zhu Youxiao said immediately.

"For a skilled craftsman, it takes more than one month to polish and manufacture the barrel of a bird's gun. The self-generated bird's gun after the improved firing device is calculated by a single blacksmith's furnace, at least two months."

"As for the price, it should be about three taels of silver per rod..." At this point, Bi Maokang hesitated to speak, and finally shut his mouth and stopped talking.

What he just said is just an ideal situation in his guess.

This does not include the time for making the spring material of the flintlock mechanism, and the loss and wasted time in case of failure of the trial gun.

He was afraid that if he told the whole story, the emperor, who had finally become interested in the self-born bird gun, would retreat temporarily.

"Well, it's twice as expensive as a bird's gun, and it's also twice as slow to manufacture..."

Zhu Youxiao was talking to himself, which made Bi Maokang a little worried.

Since he came to the throne, besides practicing horseback riding, Zhu Youxiao also read books and practiced calligraphy once a day without interruption.

Looking through the palace classics, I learned that in the 48th year of Wanli's reign, the production time of the blunderbuss used by a guard was probably more than a month, and the cost was within two taels of silver.

According to Bi Maokang's estimation, it would take at least two months to make a Suifa gun, even for a skilled craftsman.

As for the cost, it even reached three taels per shot.

So what if it exploded, didn't it come out?

Didn't all the money go to waste...

At this moment, Zhu Youxiao sighed again. He used to think that when he became an emperor, he would not have to worry about food or drink. The whole world belonged to him and he was the richest.

Now look at it again, except for the people at the bottom, the poorest is yourself.

Why in this world, is anyone living better than me?

In fact, Bi Maokang's worries, although reasonable, are completely unnecessary.

Zhu Youxiao has traveled over from later generations. In this era, he naturally knows what is the most powerful, and he can't be scared.

No matter how much the price is paid, the fire gun must be made. You must know that training a qualified musketeer is much easier than archers and cavalry.

With this thing, the next step is to make Napoleon guns. If the brass can't be refined, then the next best option is to make twelve-pound infantry guns.

When the guns and guns are available, it will not be too sour to deal with the cavalry charge of Jianlu.

There are already concrete examples in later generations.

In the Battle of Seng Gelinqin, a famous general in the late Qing Dynasty, tens of thousands of iron cavalry of the Qing Dynasty fought forward with heroic and unyielding fighting spirit, and finally achieved a brilliant record of thousands of deaths without hurting the enemy.

Zhu Youxiao thought that such a record was enough to be recorded in the annals of history.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao gritted his teeth and stomped his feet.

"I plan to build an Armament Department, with one civil officer to supervise the Armament Department, and the subordinate officials include assistant, secretary, director, supervisor, etc. The details are arranged by you."

"The emperor trusts me so much, I can't repay you!" Bi Maokang burst into tears, with an expression of disbelief.

"I haven't finished talking, so get up." Zhu You corrected his expression and said, "This Military Weapons Bureau is not affiliated with the Ministry of War, nor is it part of the inner court. From now on, I will be your immediate boss."

"I will grant you fifty thousand taels of silver first, and use it to select sites for building government offices and blacksmith houses. If it is not enough, you can ask me to ask for more. I, Ming, are not bad at making things made by foreigners!"

"But listen carefully, I only give you three months, if you can't make a self-born bird gun, I will remove you and replace you, understand?"

Hearing these words, Bi Maokang felt deeply that there was a long way to go, and all his enthusiasm was turned into three sonorous and powerful words.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Chapter 43 Collusion between the Emperor and Businessmen

The last time he watched the soldiers, Wei Zhongxian proposed to remove the management board of the Bing Zong Division, taking advantage of the fact that he was in arrears with the Yongwei Battalion's equipment and did not release it.

The real intention is to replace him with someone.

This morning, Zhu Youxiao heard that Wang An, the handprint eunuch who had been sick and recuperated at home for many days and had improved slightly, returned to the Prison of Rituals to be on duty, and sent someone to express his condolences.

The reason for the condolences is naturally to express the respect for Wang An. The Donglin Party members take this, and Wei Zhongxian takes it even more.

Wang An's power in the inner court was not much worse than that of Wei Zhongxian, so when he returned to the Supervisor of Ceremonies, someone would naturally go up and report Wei Zhongxian's deeds these days.

Wei Zhongxian did this, Wang An would not just wait for his people to be removed, and immediately rushed to Qianqing Palace to argue, saying that Wei Zhongxian was born out of nothing, and so on.

No matter how Wang An and Wei Zhongxian fought, it was all happening under Zhu Youxiao's nose, and the decision was all in his own hands.

Give it to Wei Zhongxian, this girl's power in Da Nei will skyrocket again, too fast, there is no guarantee that no one will start calling him nine thousand years old.

Once the Nine Thousand Years is called out, it will be even more difficult to keep Wei Zhongxian from drifting away.

As for continuing to let Wang An's people stay, Zhu Youxiao also sent someone to check. The management sign is more pro-Donglin, and there is indeed such a thing as not distributing ordnance to the Yongwei Battalion.

So Zhu Youxiao planned to kick these two people out of the game and take back the war.

According to Zhu Youxiao's idea, in addition to setting up the Military Weapons Department, he also had to completely reshuffle the military bureau, and follow the regulations of the Military Weapons Department to become a military industry department directly under him.

Recruit talented people from all over the world and use them for Daming!

Of course, there must be a lot of money spent here, just to develop a quick-fire gun, maybe a lot of money will be spent in vain.

Zhu Youxiao's heart ached, but he didn't panic at all.

The reason why Bi Maokang was given a three-month deadline was to make him feel nervous. Otherwise, if he really did not rush to study it, would it be the same as in history and wait until 14 years before it was developed?