The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 351 Acting vigorously and resolutely
In the early Ming Dynasty, apart from the central government, only the local governors were qualified to make ordnance, and the production of ordnance was also under strict control.

In addition to supplying the use of local sergeants, the ordnance produced by the ordnance bureaus of the local military bureaus also needs to be handed over to the central government in a certain quantity.

This system lasted for nearly a hundred years until the Zhengde period, which was the Wuzong period of the Ming Dynasty.

Corruption of official administration, the collapse of the guard system, and constant internal and external problems and threats made the quantity and quality of the ordnance produced under this system insufficient to meet needs.

Therefore, in the subsequent period, the Ming court continued to relax regulations related to ordnance manufacturing.

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty. The authority to produce weapons has been delegated to various localities.

In addition to the capital offices and military posts, many important prefectures, prefectures, and counties have ordnance bureaus or miscellaneous manufacturing bureaus responsible for the production of weapons and equipment.

Henan is among the best in the world.

Kaifeng is surrounded by vast plains and has convenient transportation.

During the Warring States Period, Zhang Yi once said to King Ai of Wei: The princes of Wei are connected in all directions, and there are no limits to the famous mountains and rivers.

The land of Wei mentioned by Zhang Yi is the land around Kaifeng today.

Kaifeng's geographical location is extremely important, and as the seat of the Chief Secretary of Henan Province, it is a strategic location and an important political town. The vassal territory of the King of Zhou naturally has a miscellaneous manufacturing bureau for manufacturing ordnance.

In Kaifeng City, the Zao Zao Bureau in Kaifeng was quiet and there was no sound.

It was just dawn, and the ambassador of the Zazao Bureau, who had been almost invisible in the Zazao Bureau in the past, had already appeared at the door of the Zazao Bureau early.

All the officials in the Zao Zao Bureau followed the ambassador of the Zao Zao Bureau and stood together at the door of the Zao Zai Bureau.

The ambassador of the Zao Bureau is a middle-aged man in his forties named Qian Sihai.

He is quite fat, wearing a black gauze hat on his head and a dark green official robe that even makes him look a little bloated.

The weather in Kaifeng City in April is cool, which is the most comfortable season. It will neither make people sweat nor feel how cold it is.

However, as the ambassador of the Zazao Bureau, Qian Sihai was sweating profusely. He took the silk cloth in his hand and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead from time to time.

No wonder Qian Sihai was sweating profusely and his face was pale at this time, it was because the news coming from above was too shocking.

The higher-ups seemed to be interested in rectifying the arms bureaus and miscellaneous manufacturing bureaus in various places. The newly appointed governor Gao Mingheng had handed over all arms-related matters to Chen Wanglai, the general who led the army to Kaifeng not long ago.

Last night, the armored soldiers of the Hanzhong Army had already sent people to announce that today, their general Chen Wang would inspect the situation of the miscellaneous manufacturing bureau in Kaifeng City and prepare them for the inspection.

But what can he do with his money? In less than half a day, can he transform into so many craftsmen on the roster? Can he turn the scraps of metal accumulated in the arsenal into quality products? .

Qian Sihai gritted his teeth and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably. He even thought about running away.

But he grew up in Kaifeng since he was a child, and his family business is all in Kaifeng. Moreover, he is just an ordinary person, so he can run anywhere.

I'm afraid that he was imprisoned by the Yamen without even leaving Kaifeng City.

The square was quiet, Qian Sihai stood at the door and waited, but until three o'clock in the morning and almost noon, he still didn't see any flags or cavalry in his field of vision.

Qian Sihai was obese and had lived a comfortable life for a long time. How could he have ever suffered such a sin?

Moreover, Qian Sihai barely slept at all last night.

I hurried to the Zazao Bureau early in the morning to wait, without even eating.

Seeing the sun rising higher and higher, Qian Sihai became more and more unbearable. He was swaying and couldn't stand at all. In the end, two petty officials came over to help him, and he could barely stand.

The midday sun was so dazzling that it was difficult to open his eyes, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

I don't know how much time passed, but when Qian Sihai's spirit started to drift off, a heavy sound of horse hooves came from a distance.

"Are you coming, are you coming?"

Qian Sihai cheered up, raised his hand with difficulty, wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeves, looked extremely panicked, and asked anxiously to his left and right.

No one around him responded to him. The two officials who were supporting Qian Sihai also retreated to the back at this time. Then with a burst of noise, all the officials knelt on the ground.

Qian Sihai trembled all over, his body went limp, he lost the person supporting him, his brain was in chaos, and he actually sat down on the ground.

The sound of horse hooves was getting closer and louder, and a group of cavalry with bright armor and murderous intent was already galloping from a distance.

Qian Sihai had never seen such a scene before. Although he was in charge of ordnance, he had never been on the battlefield.

When the Ten Thousand People's Army besieged Kaifeng City, they never went to the battlefield. They always hid at home and never even went to the Zazao Bureau.

Qian Sihai was so frightened that he sat on the spot and watched the cavalry in the distance galloping from far to near.

“Herod————”

The horse's neigh suddenly sounded, overwhelming all the sounds.

The originally neat sound of horse hooves suddenly became chaotic, and the snorts and neighs of war horses were mixed together and spread into the distance.

The sound of horse hooves continued, the horses neighed, and the knights shouted loudly.

The war horse galloped all the way, and finally stopped only five or six steps away from Qian Sihai.

Chen Wang was riding on the war horse, holding the whip, with indifferent eyes, looking down at Qian Sihai, who was showing his ugly appearance.

"Ambassador of the Zazao Bureau, Qian Sihai?"

Qian Sihai was trembling all over, his teeth were chattering, and he couldn't speak at all.

At this moment, a smell came from the air.

Qian Sihai was so frightened by Chen Wang's words that he lost control.

Chen Wang frowned slightly, looking disgusted. He didn't have the intention to say anything else, so he raised his riding whip and gave the order.

"Drag it down and send it directly to Yuji for processing."

"I'll give you half a quarter of an hour to sort out all the big and small affairs in the Zazao Bureau now and put them in front of me. If I don't see a single document after half a quarter of an hour, I don't mind organizing the Zazao Bureau from top to bottom. Clean it up again.”

Chen Wang didn't show any sloppiness, nor did he show any mercy.

When Hanzhong Wei was appointed Tongzhi, he did not make any drastic changes when reorganizing the Arms Bureau. He only punished a few role models and then slowly rectified them.

But this time, Chen Wang was not prepared to deal with the miscellaneous manufacturing bureau in Kaifeng according to the method he used when he took over the Hanzhongwei Ordnance Bureau.

When he was in Hanzhong Guard, Chen Wang was just the deputy chief soldier guarding Hanzhong Mansion, and Sun Chuanting was also on top of him.

Strictly speaking, he does not have the qualifications to take charge of the Arms Bureau, so he naturally has to be cautious and consider all aspects of the impact.

The current situation is completely different from when Chen Wang was in Hanzhong. When he came, Chen Wang was naturally well prepared. He mentioned to Gao Mingheng the difficulties he would encounter in reorganizing the Ordnance Bureau and Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau.

From Gao Mingheng, Chen Wang gained the power to act expeditiously. He had full authority to arrange and handle all personnel affairs of the Arms Bureau and Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau in Henan Province.

Do extraordinary things in extraordinary ways.

However, Chen Wang does not have unlimited power. Everything Chen Wang has done must eventually be reported to Gao Mingheng.

Gao Mingheng's attitude and subtext are actually very obvious.

As early as when he took up the post of inspector, he had criticized the weapons bureaus everywhere and the miscellaneous manufacturing bureaus in Kaifeng.

It's just that as the censor, he does not have the power to control, only the power to report. These problems are common in most places, so after they are reported, the memorials basically fall into silence without any response.

In fact, Gao Mingheng also had selfish motives in giving so much power to Chen Wang.

Now the emperor's eyes have been set on Henan, and he personally ordered Chen Wang to train new soldiers and take charge of the towns in Henan.

The issue of ordnance must be resolved.

Dealing with such a problem will inevitably involve the interests of many parties, and it is often difficult to please.

Therefore, by delegating power to Chen Wang and letting Chen Wang handle these issues, Gao Mingheng himself can stay out of the matter and be affected as little as possible.

Gao Mingheng was indeed upright and an upright official.

But in the hundreds of years of the Ming Dynasty, there was only one Hai Rui, and only one Hai Rui.

Honest officials will also seek careers.

Gao Mingheng has been in the officialdom for many years, and it is not easy to reach the position of censor.

Chen Wang knew very well why Gao Mingheng delegated power, but he was willing to take over this power, and he also needed this power.

Chen Wang is not afraid of being involved in interests, nor is he afraid of being criticized.

He is no longer the little lieutenant with only a few thousand troops in his hands.

Now, Chen Wang has nearly 30,000 troops directly under his command.

The soldiers and horses of Huguang under Chen Hongfan, the local soldiers of Xuanwei Division, and the battalions and guards of Hanzhong Town are now directly under his command.

And there are now more soldiers and horses that can be mobilized.

Now Chen Wang also has the power to mobilize the troops in various towns in Henan.

Although the imperial edict was famously called Gao Mingheng, he presided over the campaign.

But Gao Mingheng has no military knowledge at all, and now he relies on Chen Wang.

And Chen Yongfu, the commander-in-chief of Henan Province, is also somewhat unworthy of his name.

As the commander-in-chief of Henan, he could only command the soldiers and horses of his first battalion, and the rest of the soldiers and horses were under the command of Chen Wang.

The most important thing is the order from Yang Sichang, which is to put Chen Wang in charge of the suppression.

Yang Sichang is now a cabinet minister, and his royal family is strong.

Everyone knew that Yang Sichang would retaliate, so how could anyone dare to touch his brow.

Chen Wang did not waste any time in front of the Zazao Bureau, and directly led a group of soldiers into the Zazao Bureau's interior.

A group of armored soldiers filed in from outside the door and quickly brought the entire Zazao Bureau under control.

As soon as Chen Wang sat down in the office of the Ambassador of the Miscellaneous Bureau, the officials of the Miscellaneous Bureau had already submitted all the relevant documents to the case.

Chen Wang did not read the documents. Professional matters should be left to professionals. He has staff under his command who specialize in handling such documents.

"I can ignore everything before, but from now on, everything must follow my rules."

Chen Wang didn't want to waste any time.

The Battle of Northern Songjin has begun.

The Ten Thousand People's Army is now very powerful, and Li Zicheng is causing quite a stir in the northwest.

Luo Rucai and Zhang Xianzhong also caused quite a stir in Sichuan.

The world is gradually changing beyond recognition, becoming unfamiliar to Chen Wang, and his advantages are constantly being reduced.

"Ordnance production, from raw materials, production, to storage, must be changed. All things must be held accountable and recorded in books."

"If a special post is added in the Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau, I will personally assign personnel to take charge of supervision and management."

"All manufactured ordnance, whether guns, swords, guns, or armor, must be engraved with numbers and the name of the craftsman."

In order to ensure the quality of weapons, the Ming Dynasty formulated strict measures for control and supervision. These systems have been proven to be feasible by history.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, strict standards were also set for the weapons produced, requiring the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of War, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and other departments to inspect them before they could be stored in warehouses.

During the Jiajing period, a special testing hall was added to check the quality of weapons.

At the same time, all weapons and armor will be engraved with craftsman messages to facilitate accountability and prevent craftsmen from being lazy.

If such a system had been implemented, the quality of armaments in the middle and late Ming Dynasty would not have been so bad.

But all of this, with the corruption of officials in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the original system has actually become empty talk.

First of all, it is the raw material that serves as the source, because the relevant officials have taken bribes and enriched their own pockets.

and collusion between government and businessmen and other reasons began to decline sharply.

If the raw materials are not good enough, even if the craftsmen try their best, it will be difficult to produce qualified products.

And with the increasing collapse of the craftsmanship system and the military status system, it has also directly affected the quality of weapons.

In many cases, the weapons and armor produced no longer require craftsmen to engrave their names.

If the weapon is damaged or the gun explodes, the craftsman will no longer be held accountable. Even if he is held accountable, it will often end in vain.

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, military armaments were relaxed.

The weapons and helmets only retain their shape and texture, the cloth armor does not require pockets, the bow is not strong, and the arrows have no sharp clusters. As for the waist knives, they are all made of white iron and cannot be used at all.

The regulations that Chen Wang planned to implement were actually to re-implement the policies of the early Ming Dynasty.

Sometimes, many problems have the simplest solution.

To open a locked box, you don't need to find the hidden key, you just need to break a hole.

The power in his hands and the soldiers behind him are Chen Wang's support.

There are nine guards and three offices in Henan, each with an ordnance bureau, which means there are a total of twelve ordnance bureaus.

Counting the Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau in Kaifeng, there are a total of thirteen ordnance manufacturing offices.

If we reform slowly and slowly, I don’t know how much time and energy it will take.

It's better to use the simplest and crudest method.

"I don't have the patience to quarrel with you. The governor has given me full authority to arrange the weapons."

Chen Wang stood up, looking down at the officials kneeling in the hall with a cold expression.

"If anyone wants to test whether the Yan Ling knife on my waist is sharp, you can give it a try."

The status has been a bit bad recently, please allow me to maintain stable updates first, and then improve the quality.