Chongzhen Wiretapping System

Chapter 275 Bi Maokang and Song Yingxing

In addition, the establishment of the local Metropolitan Procuratorate and the branch of the Daming Royal Bank were slower than expected.

Of course, there are reasons for Emperor Chongzhen himself.Yu Jia was away on an expedition, and many things, such as the chief officer of the local procuratorate and the supervisor of the country, had no power to decide, and the emperor had to make decisions in person.The same is true for the chief officer of the Daming Royal Bank branch.Even more troublesome than the establishment of the local capital procuratorate is that the bank must store the principal, which can be exchanged for silver taels by the people of Ming Dynasty at any time.However, the transfer of this money must also be approved by the emperor's imperial pen, and Jian Guo also has no power.

Emperor Chongzhen also knew in his heart that these two matters, one related to local government and the other related to local economic drivers, should not be hasty.Therefore, after browsing the list, he first established the four provinces of Shanxi, Shandong, Yingtianfu, and Henan.

The reason for this is that there is Hong Chengchou in Shanxi, and whether it is officialdom or the army, including businessmen, they have been severely cleaned up, and they have the basis to overthrow and start over.On the Shandong side, Lu Xiangsheng was watching. The rebuilding of Dongjiang Town also urgently needed money and the support of officials.

Let’s not talk about Ying Tianfu, it is Daming’s accompanying capital, this must be there first.As for Henan, Chen Qiyu, the governor of the five provinces, watched it personally. He had just suffered from military disasters and droughts, and needed the support of the court.

After finishing these things, Emperor Chongzhen began to reform the tax system.All in all, the agricultural tax cannot be increased, but in terms of commercial tax and other taxes, he is ready to do it.

Of course, this matter is too important to make a decree without thinking. The Emperor Chongzhen had a secret discussion with the eunuch Cao Huachun, the chief minister, and Xue Guoguan, the chief assistant.

During this period, Emperor Chongzhen also took time out to inspect the Military Bureau, and also met Bi Maokang for the first time.

"Your Majesty, I have not dared to be negligent in the past few months, and I have forged two military weapons!" Bi Maokang immediately reported after seeing the ceremony.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard that he had forged two military weapons, he couldn't help being overjoyed, and quickly waved his hands: "What military weapons are they, please present them for a quick look!"

Naturally, Bi Maokang had prepared it long ago, so he quickly waved and asked two of his subordinates to bring up a long pole wrapped in red cloth, and after uncovering one of them, he introduced: "Your Majesty, this one, I call it ten Eye blunderbuss, once fired, can be fired ten times, with several shots, the enemy's cavalry will be hard to approach!"

Emperor Chongzhen was a little stunned. Daming had three-eyed blunderbusses, but he also had four-eyed blunderbusses, but there were not many of them.Because of military trials, the three-eyed gun is most suitable for military use.But this Bi Maokang actually made a ten-eyed gun, which is the kind with ten barrels bundled together.

I thought it was some military weapon!Emperor Chongzhen secretly sighed in his heart, but on the surface, he still maintained a smile, nodded and asked: "How is the range? How is the power? How is the accuracy?"

This ten-eye gun looked heavy and bulky, and it must be difficult for one person to shoot it.

As soon as Bi Maokang heard this, he immediately asked the emperor to move to the shooting range and asked the emperor to demonstrate the live ammunition.

Emperor Chongzhen did as he wished, anyway, it was only a few steps, and when he arrived at the shooting range, he watched him demonstrate.

To Emperor Chongzhen's surprise, the ten-eyed blunderbuss was operated by one person.However, it is not held in the hand to aim like ordinary firecrackers, but a stand is used to stand on the ground, and the person who releases the blunderbuss is half squatting.The muzzle faces upwards.

Seeing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately thought of the tiger crouching cannon, isn't it almost the same!

Unexpectedly, Bi Maokang took out a tiger squat gun and operated it together. Obviously, he wanted to compare the pros and cons.

When Emperor Chongzhen saw the difference between the two carefully, he knew it well.

Sure enough, as a result of the experiment, the advantage of this ten-eyed gun is that it can ignite ten eyes at the same time, and can also point one by one; the tiger crouching gun has no shooting accuracy at all, but the ten-eyed gun can effectively kill at twenty steps. Inside, it is possible to aim and shoot.However, this distance is too short, right?It's not as good as a tiger squatting cannon, just wait for the enemy to approach, and the cannon will be knocked down.

However, Emperor Chongzhen did not show an angry expression, but watched Bi Maokang and began to introduce another military weapon.

Emperor Chongzhen saw this militaristic weapon in later generations. It is the carrying gun of the middle and late Qing Dynasty, which is the enhanced version of the current matchlock gun. It is larger than the matchlock gun in terms of size, weight, charge, power, and recoil. .

Bi Maokang asked people to demonstrate, and one person was also holding the barrel of the gun, and the other was aiming and shooting from behind.Needless to say, the power is naturally far greater than that of ordinary matchlock guns.

After the demonstration was over, Bi Maokang returned to the front of the imperial court and introduced to Emperor Chongzhen: "These two sharp weapons can make up for the lack of current ordnance. The availability of long and short firearms can make our army's combat power a higher level!"

Emperor Chongzhen's eyesight is very good now, and he can see at a glance that Bi Maokang's eyes are slightly smug. Obviously, he is very concerned about his new invention.This Bi Maokang still has the arrogance of a literati, this is not good!

So, he lowered his face, shook his head and said, "Bi Qing, although your ten-eyed blunderbuss is different from the previous ones, and it's not segmented, but I still can't see that this kind of firearm is very powerful in the battlefield. There is a basis for widespread use. Judging on one word: tasteless!"

Hearing this, Bi Maokang's face turned red immediately.He didn't expect that the emperor would not approve of it.

"If Bi Qing feels that my comment is unfair, you can list it from many angles such as cost, manufacturing time, ease of use, shooting accuracy, power, etc., and compare it with ordinary fire guns to see if it is cost-effective? Then, you can also Create some for the army and listen to the comments of the generals. I believe you will be convinced!"

Bi Maokang looked a little sad when he heard this.He remembered that the emperor had just returned from leading the army and was obviously very familiar with military matters. So he must be confident.

When I was a little sad, I heard Emperor Chongzhen say again: "But this gun has some merits. When the artillery is inconvenient to use, it can be used for infantry support. But this situation should not be too much. It is no problem to build a small amount and use it in the military."

When he said this, he glanced at Bi Maokang and then said: "Then let's do it. From now on, whether weapons are easy to use and usable will depend on what I just said. Use data to speak, be tested in the military, and be welcomed by the soldiers. , that’s a good weapon!”

"My minister complies with the decree!" Bi Maokang replied with a sigh in his heart after hearing this.

Emperor Chongzhen was well aware of his bad mood, but he didn't care.One bad thing about these civil servants of the Ming Dynasty is that no matter what they do, they like to use similar words such as approximate and similar, rather than using data and precision.

Therefore, Emperor Chongzhen deliberately started from the side of the Bingzhan Bureau, and slowly cultivated this way of doing things with data.

However, there is one thing that Bi Maokang did not disappoint Emperor Chongzhen, that is, the making of the flintlock gun.

After he took office, he knew that the emperor had told him to build it in an assembly line, so he did it according to his intention.It turned out that the sizes made by each craftsman were somewhat different, which eventually failed to achieve the effect required by the emperor.Therefore, after thinking about it, he began to implement a standard-like design. After two months of running-in, it was finally almost done.

When the emperor came to inspect, more than 110 had been built, the accuracy and power met Qi Jiguang's requirements in the book of war, and the flint ignition rate reached about 80.00%.

Just listen to Bi Maokang's respectful voice: "Now there are two lines in production, and we can make twenty pieces every day; it's just that the requirements for firing shrapnel are extremely high, and it's currently stuck here. Otherwise, Weichen can increase the assembly line. Come build more flintlocks!"

When he said this, he smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, the cost of this flintlock gun is too high. I feel a little distressed when doing it."

With so many craftsmen in the military battle, it is still possible to only reach [-] craftsmen per day. It is fine, and the requirements should be stricter. Otherwise, if the ignition rate does not increase, it will be fatal on the battlefield.Emperor Chongzhen was thinking about this, but he didn't expect him to say such a sentence, so he smiled and said: "As long as the things are good, they can bring greater advantages to the Ming army, no matter how expensive they are, they must be made. Bi Qing might as well think about it, Let’s just say that the last time Jianlu entered the pass, how much loss was caused in the pass? So much loss was used to build ordnance, so as to prevent Jianlu from wreaking havoc, do you think the money is worth spending?”

When Bi Maokang heard it, he could still settle accounts like this?If you really want to settle accounts like this, it is indeed worth it!

After the emperor's words, at this moment, he suddenly felt a lot more relaxed.

But at this time, Emperor Chongzhen changed the subject again, and said with a smile: "But then again, if Bi Qing can optimize the process and reduce the cost without compromising the power, that would be the best!"

"My minister complies with the decree!" Bi Maokang also smiled when he heard it, and replied quickly, thinking in his heart, he really thought that the emperor didn't care about money at all, so he was thinking of saving money!

An hour later, Emperor Chongzhen came out from the military bureau.

After seeing the flintlock gun, I had a solid idea in my mind, so I thought that both the Yongwei camp and the Panshi camp could be trained with flintlock guns.At the beginning of next year, give Lu Xiangsheng some time to go there. This will relieve him of the pressure on rebuilding Dongjiang Town.

In addition, I don't worry about the flintlock being seized by the Qing Dynasty.After all, it is so difficult for Bingzhanju to make a qualified flintlock gun. It is hard to believe that with the craftsmanship of the Qing Dynasty, it can surpass Bingzhanju.Besides, how many flintlock guns can be built with that little capital?
If Handan really wanted to learn how to walk, Emperor Chongzhen would be very happy.It's best to spend all the money on making flintlock guns, and then on the battlefield, the ignition rate is only [-] to [-]%, so it's fun to watch.

Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen went to the Wenhua Palace, and sent an order to see Song Yingxing, the member of the Department of Kaiwu.

This Song Yingxing has heard of his reputation in later generations, but he has not met him yet. Like Bi Maokang, this is the first time he has met.

Bi Maokang has the habits of a scholar. I wonder what Song Yingxing is like?Emperor Chongzhen thought so and became a little curious.

Not long after, Song Yingxing came.Emperor Chongzhen could see that he should be a pragmatic official just by looking at it.

In fact, Song Yingxing is different from Bi Maokang. He had a hard time on the road to the imperial examination. No matter how many water chestnuts, he has been worn away. He no longer thinks about the road to the imperial examination. .In this way, his attitude towards things will naturally be different.

So, he asked Song Yingxing about "Tiangong Kaiwu".

On Song Yingxing's side, he was very grateful for the emperor's kindness, and he was even more respectful to the emperor when he heard that the emperor was wise and mighty, and had just returned from his triumphant return.Whatever the emperor asked, he would answer.

It has to be said that in the field he is good at, even Emperor Chongzhen, who came from later generations, nodded repeatedly.Just like what Song Yingxing recorded in "Tiangong Kaiwu", they are all recorded in his mind, and he can tell the emperor about every content, where and when he saw it and recorded it, the key What is the technical link?
Of course, when encountering him with doubts, he also spoke bluntly, saying that this is just speculation, and he has not done it himself, so he cannot guarantee the real situation.

Emperor Chongzhen admired his attitude very much, and encouraged Song Yingxing to say: "The Department of Kaiwu is short of people, money, and goods, all of which are directly brought up to me, and I will solve it for you. But I only have one request, and that is you." The verification process and each step must be recorded in detail, and you should not just talk about it in general, but use numbers to speak. If the existing size, weight, etc. are not enough to express, you will create a smaller or larger The unit of measurement is for one purpose, to ensure that your verification is repeatable, and it is best to understand it!"

This one is actually scientific research.Speaking of it, it can be regarded as a large investment, but the output may not be large!
However, for the Chongzhen Emperor who came from later generations, this scientific research must be done, and it must be done systematically. Only in this way can there be science in the future of Ming Dynasty.

Song Yingxing expressed emotion in the preface of his "Tiangong Kaiwu", that he had no money and no one to verify some guesses.Now the emperor promised to ask him directly for money and goods, and he would support it. This made Song Yingxing feel ecstatic, and quickly agreed.At this time, let alone record it in detail, even if he was asked to take off his clothes, he probably would have done it.

When the communication with Song Yingxing reached the end, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly said to him: "I know a detail about what you mentioned in the last chapter of "Tiangong Kaiwu", as long as..."

Listening to his introduction, Song Yingxing was obviously surprised.After listening to it, he became a little excited, and quickly replied: "Your Majesty, I will do this verification first!"

Of course he knew that this thing was valuable, and if he really wanted to make it, he would feel less guilty about the thing that cost a lot of money to start a business, and he also knew that the court was short of money.

"Well, but you have to remember, this matter needs to be kept secret!" Emperor Chongzhen told him after hearing this.

(End of this chapter)