Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Amid everyone's discussion, the battleship slowly accelerated and sailed towards the Lion Rock on the riverside.

After arriving, no soldiers on the ship were seen attacking. Instead, portholes were opened one by one on the side of the ship, and dark gun ports slowly protruded from them.

The armored ship was equipped with hundreds of cannons, and other ships also had several to ten or twenty cannons. Dozens of ships docked at the riverside under the Lion Rock, and then the continuous sound of cannons rang out.

Boom boom boom...

The warship fired from one side, and more than a hundred artillery fires were fired. For a while, the small Lion Rock was bombarded with rocks flying and vegetation destroyed!

Many of the generals on the city wall saw hundreds of artillery fire for the first time, especially these divine machine guns and powerful cannons newly built by Li Wei, which were even more powerful!
Generals such as Fu Youde who were fighting in Yunnan were better off, and Tang He had also seen the power of these artillery in training, but people like Feng Sheng and Huang Bin saw it for the first time, and their faces turned pale for a while.

In the face of these fierce artillery fire, no matter how brave and skilled they are, how can they withstand it? Apart from retreating to save one's life, I'm afraid there is no other way.

The only ones that can deal with these artillery are the same artillery, and the weapons and arrows are completely incompetent!

It was also the first time for Zhu Yuanzhang to see so many artillery salvos, and he was very shocked. Especially the armored ship with a height of more than three feet made him feel a little afraid!
The capital is built along the river, and the city wall is only four feet long. This is already a majestic city that cost tens of thousands of dollars to build.

But in the face of such giant ships and cannons, can the city wall still be able to stop it?

"Fortunately, fortunately, this kid fell in front of us!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.

He really couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if Li Wei fell elsewhere.

Li Shanchang and others next to him were a little baffled when they heard his murmur, but they did not dare to ask more questions, but Li Wei's mystery in their hearts deepened a bit.

After the bombardment, it was time to land. If there were really enemy troops on Lion Mountain at this time, they would have been bombarded into chaos. In this case, a huge hole slowly opened in the stern of the ironclad ship, and a piece of the ship The body split open and was lowered slowly like a suspension bridge controlled by iron chains.

Immediately, the officers and soldiers who had been waiting in the boat formed a team of five and rushed out of the cabin in small boats and bamboo rafts. One or two of them rowed a boat to hold a pole, while the others shot and covered, and they quickly landed ashore.

As for other wooden boats with shallow drafts, it is relatively simple. You can just lower the gangplank and everyone can file out. The cavalry can even jump off the boat directly and rush ashore through the shallow water.

There are scarecrow targets prepared in advance on the shore. The infantry uses musket shooting as the main means of attack. However, the cavalry is different. Their handguns can only fire one shot. They can only bring a few more and then retreat after firing, or rush up and use them. Kill with knife.

As firearms become more and more advanced, the cavalry will gradually be reduced to an auxiliary unit, with the muskets and artillery behind being the main force, while the cavalry is mainly used to harass or pursue fleeing enemies.

Artillery fire defeated the enemy, the cavalry attacked in a roundabout way, and the infantry then advanced. With one set, the enemy was basically out of control.

With the advantage of equipment, the battle becomes simpler. Unless the enemy also has the same firearm, there is basically no need to consider other tactics.

The sound of gunfire can be heard on the Lion Mountain, but there is silence on the outer Jinchuan Gate city wall.

At this time, these famous founding generals could not help but feel a sense of heroism in their twilight years, especially the generals who had fought with Li Wei.

When the Shenji Battalion was established, they didn't pay much attention to this new unit. Li Wei's victory in his first expedition was considered by them to be just bad luck.

But then the performance of the Shenji Battalion in the siege battle in Yunnan made them truly realize the power of this firearms army.

Now looking at the new navy that has been transformed into firearms for combat this time, it makes them feel even more powerless. In the face of such guns and artillery, it is meaningless no matter how heroic the steel sword is.

"Your Majesty, the firearms are so powerful, I think that all other guards should be equipped with firearms as soon as possible, so that no one can stop our Ming army!" Li Shanchang said respectfully.

When Feng Sheng, Fu Youde and other generals heard this, they all looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with eager eyes.

Naturally they understand that the only thing that can deal with firearms is firearms. If the army they lead can be equipped with these guns and cannons, they will definitely be invincible!
It's just that there is a difference between closeness and distance. Fu Youde had this idea for a long time but did not mention it, because he knew that His Majesty would give equipment to the direct troops first, and then it would be the turn of other guards. If these generals mentioned it, it would inevitably make His Majesty suspicious. .

But Li Shanchang didn't take this into account. Anyway, he was a civil servant and had no soldiers in his hands, so raising it could be regarded as out of public interest.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the generals and chuckled: "It must be replaced, but these firearms are difficult to make and the output is limited. This matter must be done slowly."

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but what Zhu Yuanzhang said was true. Now the only ones that can produce these firearms are the Ordnance Bureau and the Military War Bureau in the Imperial City. It is not realistic to equip the Ming Dynasty's million-strong army. Even the ammunition may not be in supply.

However, with the emergence of steam engines, the production of these firearms has been rapidly increasing, but the military generals do not know, and Zhu Yuanzhang will not tell them. For the time being, he still wants to keep these firearms in his own hands.

An hour later, the sounds of gunfire and killing gradually subsided, and the navy withdrew its troops and returned to the ship.

Li Wei led Jiang Long, Wu Yong, Lu Tang and other major generals to come over in small boats first, climbed the city wall and resumed their duties.

"See Your Majesty!"

Everyone salutes.

"No courtesy." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded gently, smiled and praised: "Li Wei, you are a well-trained navy."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Your Majesty, now that the navy has been trained, can we send troops to Japan?"

Li Wei asked expectantly.

Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly: "Well, we will issue an order in a few days."

Hearing this, Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, then turned to Tang He beside him and said, "Tang He, you will be the coach this time."

Tang He was overjoyed when he heard this: "I obey the decree, and I will live up to your majesty's expectations! Defeat the Japanese country and promote the prestige of our Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

But Li Wei's expression changed slightly. He planned to use this army to run around, so how could he leave it to others to lead.

"Your Majesty, what about me?" Li Wei asked.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him and said comfortingly: "We are worried about you going out, and An Qing has just given birth to a child. You should stay and spend more time with them and their son."

Li Wei frowned and said softly: "Your Majesty, the way this navy fights is very different from the past. Although I am not talented, these are all trained by me. I am the most familiar with this navy. If I change my faith to the Duke I’m afraid I won’t be able to bring out the combat power of this navy as a leader, so I think we have to join the battle in person!”

Li Wei's words were a bit contemptuous. Tang He glanced at him unhappily, but could not refute.

Because the generals of this navy from top to bottom are almost all his trusted guards and former members of the Shenji Battalion, even ordinary flag officers. He arranged this to complete the transformation from cold weapons to firearms as soon as possible. , but because of this, he is the only one who can command this navy like an arm and a finger. It would not be possible for anyone else, even Tang He, a veteran.

To take a step back, if Li Wei were to withdraw all these personal guards and replace them with other generals, I am afraid that the navy's combat effectiveness would immediately drop significantly.

Zhu Yuanzhang certainly understood this, but he was really reluctant to let Li Wei take the risk. The sea was different from the land. If something happened, no one would be able to save him.

Another point is that he is also vaguely afraid that this boy will never come back. Although An Qing and the child are here, this boy will not abandon his wife and children, but he can't help but worry about gains and losses. "Don't you want to stay with An Qing and the children?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Wei and asked.

Li Wei hesitated and said: "I think, but how can there be a family without a country? Your Majesty also knows why I insist on fighting the Japanese country. If I cannot participate in this battle, I will regret it for the rest of my life!"

Zhu Yuanzhang fell silent immediately. Li Wei had told him about future generations, and he could understand Li Wei's thoughts.

After hesitating for a long time, Zhu Yuanzhang finally sighed and agreed: "Then you will follow Tang He and serve as the left deputy general."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Wei was overjoyed and immediately raised his hands.

Zhu Yuanzhang was still worried and specifically warned: "This expedition is only to teach the Japanese a lesson. You don't need to fight in depth. As long as they declare themselves vassals and pay tribute, and control the people well, they will no longer cause trouble for the Ming Dynasty."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Li Wei agreed, but felt a little disapproval in his heart. He could just destroy the Japanese country according to his wishes. Why bother with so much trouble!

But since Zhu Yuanzhang said it, he had to agree first.

Three days later, Zhu Yuanzhang officially issued an edict to conquer the Japanese. He wrote an impassioned edict, blaming the Japanese for allowing the people to dominate and repeatedly violating the territory. He also sent envoys to warn the Japanese several times in the Ming Dynasty but still remained stubborn. Instead, he looked down upon Wang Du and made provocations. Ming Dynasty sent troops because it couldn't bear it anymore.

After explaining the pros and cons, the memorandum also stated again that the conquest was not for land and wealth, but to punish rebellion and protect the Ming Dynasty, which probably had the same meaning as self-defense and counterattack.

After all, the Ming Dynasty is the suzerain state, and there are many vassal states watching over it. If you want to attack Japan, you have to be famous and make it clear to the world.

After Zhu Yuanzhang issued the edict, the court began to prepare in all aspects. The Ministry of Rites sent envoys to deliver the edict to various vassal states, and the Ministry of War and Household Affairs recruited troops and prepared food and grass.

But this time it was a naval battle, and the grain and grass could be loaded directly onto the ship, which saved a lot of trouble.

During this period, Li Wei was also making his own arrangements.

In the Ordnance Bureau, about a hundred children were gathered together, and Li Wei stood in front of them and lectured them.

"Students, you have been studying with the teacher for three years. Now it is time to come out and practice. You are all familiar with the Arms Bureau. You can choose where you want to go next. The teacher respects your own choice!"

Li Wei said loudly.

The Ordnance Bureau now implements large-scale production and is divided into several workshops, including those responsible for smelting steel, those specializing in processing and manufacturing equipment, those making guns, making paper, printing banknotes, producing alkali and other Chemicals etc.

It can be said that this is now a large industrial park, covering all walks of life, with tens of thousands of craftsmen working here.

These students of Minghuang Academy are the sons of craftsmen, and Li Wei often takes them to work here. Now they basically know all the workshops here. After hearing Li Wei's words, they picked the workshops they were interested in.

"Teacher, I want to make cannons!" Lu Hong, the squad leader, said with excitement on his face.

Although he is more mature, he is a violent person at heart, especially since his father Lu Tang is also a military general, and he also wants to join the army.

Correspondingly, what interests him most in the Arms Bureau is the manufacturing of guns and cannons.

Li Wei nodded: "Well, that's a good idea, but to make cannons, you need to make steel first. So, you should go to the steel factory first."

"Ah?" Lu Hong's face suddenly fell.

Seeing him like this, Li Wei Dundun taught: "If you want to make a more powerful cannon, high-quality steel is essential, especially spring steel!"

With that said, Li Wei took out another stack of information and handed it to him: "I'll give you a task. Before I come back, research all these steel materials for me. When I come back, I want to see qualified finished products!"

"Yes!"

Although Lu Hong was unhappy, he could not shirk the task assigned by the teacher, so he could only accept it.

The information Li Wei gave him included many urgently needed steels, such as silicon steel for making silicon steel sheets for electric motors, manganese steel, silicon-manganese steel for making springs, etc.

These are all alloy materials. Anyway, the manufacturing method has been taught by Li Wei. It is nothing more than using the different physical and chemical properties of various metal substances to separate them, and then mixing and smelting various metals to make different alloys.

It's easy to say, but difficult to do. Just like Li Wei made steel, steel is also an iron-carbon alloy, and only this simplest alloy requires constant exploration and testing. Other alloys It's even more troublesome.

Of course, when he gave these to Lu Hong, he didn't expect him to make them all at once, but to let him learn to explore and slowly find out how to make these alloys.

After Li Wei finished arranging Lu Hong, Zhang Tie said in a naive voice: "Teacher, I want to make a musket."

In fact, like Lu Hong, he also liked guns, but when he saw that Lu Hong chose to make cannons but was assigned to a steel factory, he decisively chose guns.

however……

"Well, your idea is also very good, but to make a gun, you have to make steel first. Just so you go to the steel factory with Lu Hong." Li Wei said with a smile.

Zhang Tie suddenly looked confused. He didn't expect that he would not escape this fate even if he chose a gun.

In fact, there are not a few students like Lu Hong and Zhang Tie who like guns. However, after seeing Lu Hong's fate, they all changed their minds.

"Teacher, I want to go to the money printing factory." Ma Liusi said. He likes money, even if he can only look at it and touch it.

Li Wei also nodded in appreciation, and then said: "Printing money first makes paper, so you can go to the paper factory."

Ma Liusi: "..."

"Teacher, I want to build a steam engine."

"Well, to build a steam engine, you must first build a lathe, so you can go to the lathe factory."

"Teacher, I think... forget it, I will listen to the teacher."

"Well, good, let's go make steel."

"..."

Based on the principle of democracy, Li Wei fully respected the students' own choices and arranged them into basic industries that corresponded to what they were interested in.

Basic research and development is what he urgently needs now. Making guns and cannons can be done by craftsmen, but researching new alloy materials will definitely require these students.

The internship jobs that the students got were completely different from their expectations, and they all had a sad face.

Li Wei looked at them and gave another round of instructions: "Don't be too ambitious, you must be down-to-earth in doing things..." (End of Chapter)