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Chapter 170 The Price (Silver Plus Update 13)

"They don't need it, but some people do! If the sea is too calm, the bandit-suppressing admiral's office will have no reason to go south. Wang An, when you want to do something but everyone disagrees, no one will dare unless you can say it. Object, otherwise it’s best to go around it first, think of ways from the side, and ultimately get this thing done.”

Thousands of miles away in the Forbidden City, the Superintendent of Ceremonies Bingbi Wang An also raised similar questions to Suzaku after listening to Wang Chengen's letter.The letter was sent through the horse farms set up by the Imperial Horse Guards across the country, and he could not understand the content. The words were invented by the emperor, and only the young eunuchs in the Cuju team could understand them.

But the emperor did not let him avoid it when he listened to the letter, which meant that the content of the letter was related to him. He not only wanted to listen to it, but also had to hear some flavor, and then put forward a more reliable opinion.

"But with the iron cannon, it will be more difficult for the local government to suppress it..."

Wang An understood the principle, it was not new, it was still about raising the bandits to respect themselves, it was just a different place.But I still don’t understand the details. The imperial court has always strictly controlled weapons such as muskets and cannons, just for fear that they would flow into the people and harm themselves. How could they take the initiative to sell them for a little money? They are important weapons of the country!
"Alas...this is the cost! The imperial court is now riddled with holes. There are Tatars in the north, Jurchens in the east, and Spanish warships in the south. There are also natural disasters and civil strife in various places. I am sure to wipe out the foreign enemies. To appease the people, but there are no soldiers in hand and no money in the treasury, how can we cook without rice?
If I want to change all this, I must take back all the military and financial power from the courtiers.Aren't they the kind of people who are easy to deal with? It's useless to just talk about the truth, you must take extraordinary measures.

The ancients said that those who achieve great things do not stick to small details. If they want to revitalize the country and let the people live and work in peace and contentment, it is useless to rely on the laws of the ancestors. They must first smash the old and build the new.I don’t know how many lives will be destroyed if this ax hits it, but it must be done. This is my fate. "

The sale of small warships to the pirate group through Line 36 was indeed Hong Tao's instruction. There was no way. Money was needed for shipyards, money for training naval forces, money for steelmaking, coking, and research and development of cannons, and even more money was needed to promote new crops.

Only relying on the limited products of sugar mills, Liuguangzhai, machinery factories and gunpowder factories cannot support these large projects that should be invested by the state.Expanding the scale of production is not easy. Once the courtiers find out that these industries are too profitable and may seize the cake they deserve, the situation will immediately become uncontrollable.

Now we must use all means to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, accumulate as much wealth as possible without being obvious, quietly establish an industrial chain, expand our influence and attract allies, and prepare for the day that may come in the future.

Since the Tianjin Wei Shipbuilding Affairs Yamen was established, Yuan Keli could no longer embezzle a penny from the Water Transport Yamen. However, the construction of medium-sized warships and the development of rear-mounted naval guns were imminent, so he could not really use a penny away. Flowers in two.

What to do?After much thought, Hong Tao thought that the only way to go was to increase his own hematopoietic function by making and selling at the same time.Haihe Shipyard previously built several small sail warships to train craftsmen and naval forces. The displacement of about 100 tons is not in the future naval equipment sequence. If the training ships are too small, they can simply be used for money.

The same goes for artillery. The barrel of the breech-loading gun is ready for mass production, but there are still problems with the processing technology of the breech block.Then don't wait. While doing research and development, refine the production process and cast some small-caliber Folan cannons.

As the craftsmen of the Yongding River Foundry gradually became familiar with the Rodman gun casting method, the yield rate of cast iron barrels has reached more than 2%. The cost of producing a 10-inch caliber Franco machine gun is only [-] taels of silver, which is less than [-] taels of silver. Steel gun mounts are still cheap.

The Jingying imitation of the Fo Lang machine gun of similar caliber, plus the wooden gun mount, costs about 300 taels. If you buy imported goods from the Fo Lang machine gun, the price will be doubled.

Even though these small boats and cannons would not play a big role in large-scale naval battles and would not be equipped to Yuan Keli's navy, they could be a great weapon among the people. They were almost priceless and very popular.

What does technology mean as productivity?That is, if Hong Tao is willing, he can produce dozens of these artillery pieces every month. There is almost no cost except materials and labor costs, and he can make a few hundred taels of net profit from selling one cannon.The same is true for sailboats. With the keel splicing method, the demand for shipbuilding materials has dropped. Coupled with the bolt fastening process used in some parts, the construction speed has been greatly increased. As it decreases and increases, the cost becomes even lower.

The use of new ship types and new sails has made the seaworthiness and sturdiness far superior to similar ships. Although the carrying capacity is not as good as the traditional Fuzhou ship, it is more suitable for long-distance voyages and combat. As long as you find the right buyer, a It's easy to double the selling price.

As for whether the Koreans can control soft sails, the guardsmen may not be able to, but the pirates will definitely be able to.Their scope of activities has reached the waters of Southeast Asia, and there are many opportunities to contact European ships. The thing is not an atomic bomb, so it is not difficult to learn it.

"My slave understands... This is the result of the cabinet's discussion on Du Xue."

Wang An really doesn't understand whether he should smash the original system and build a new one at the risk of losing lives.But the shortcomings of the imperial court mentioned by the emperor are all things that happen before our eyes every day, and they are not exaggerated. They really should be rectified.

For example, the content of the memorial in hand is obviously different from Wang Guotai's investigation conclusion, but it is openly treated as an official document and sent to the emperor for inspection. To put it more seriously, it is tantamount to deceiving the emperor!
If a less clever emperor were to be trusted, and the investigation results of Fu Ning Hou Zhu Jixun and the Metropolitan Procuratorate were similar, an unjust, false, and wrong case would happen soon.

Du Xue, the supervisor of the shrine, and Zhou Gui, the inner guard, had to shed their skins even if they were not dead. Together with the supervisor, the control of Nanjing was greatly weakened. The only available soldiers in the south fell into the hands of the Ministry of War.

"Just do what we said before, transfer Du Xue back, give Zhou Gui a few words of reprimand, and instruct the Ministry of War to distribute ordnance supplies on time, without any mistakes!" Hong Tao didn't bother to read the specific content. Wang Guotai had already sent back the whole story. The secret report was purely used by the Nanjing Ministry of War to deliberately create trouble.

As the actual controller of Xiaoling Guard, Du Xue was very concerned about the training of the army, especially the use of firearms, and often asked the soldiers to shoot live ammunition.

However, the Xiaoling Guards could not leave their base without permission from the Ministry of War and the Emperor. They had to work hard and rely on their own efforts. They found a wasteland in the mausoleum area as a shooting range and continued to train.

As a result, those who did practical things were caught, and the big hat of destroying the mausoleums and destroying the dragon veins was firmly slapped on the head. If it were any other emperor, in order to show his pure filial piety, he might have to behead Ma Su in tears.

From now on, no matter who takes over Du Xue's position, they will not dare to hold Xiaoling Guard tightly in their hands, so that the Nanjing Ministry of War can naturally take back control of it.

Unfortunately, they made the wrong calculation this time. Hong Tao not only replaced Du Xue with Wang Guotai, who had a stronger foundation, completely cutting off the Ministry of War's thoughts, he also took the opportunity to give them some eye drops and win over Zhou Gui.

An internal garrison plus a guard of combatable troops will not be of direct help to Beijing, but it is still very useful and necessary to intimidate the southeastern provinces.If the Xiaoling Guard falls into the hands of the Nanjing Ministry of War, and what happens to Southern Zhili in the future, I, the emperor, will have no choice but to be at their mercy, and I will not be able to use any of my strength.

(End of this chapter)