Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 137 Liaodong's Knife
It was only after Zhu Changgan met Xiong Wencan that he suddenly remembered this person.

The reputation is greater than the reality.

His successful experience in pacifying pirates was not equally applicable to the rebels, and he himself was convicted and killed because he trusted the surrendered rebels too much.

However, Zhu Changgan did not immediately take him down, but instead asked him to continue his march south to suppress the bandits.

It has to be said that Xiong Wencan's ability to recruit surrenders is still extremely strong. In this era, in terms of the ability to recruit surrenders alone, Xiong Wencan can definitely be ranked in the top three.

Later facts also proved that he had certain abilities.

Peasant uprising forces such as Liu Guoneng and Zhang Xianzhong surrendered to him.

But he is good at recruiting surrenders but weak at post-processing.

If he could not properly deal with the surrendered peasant rebels, such as disbanding them on the spot or properly resettling them, perhaps his plan could be successfully implemented.

"I promote you to be the Premier of five provinces, concurrently the Minister of War, and you will be in charge of ten governors of Shaanxi, Henan, Shanxi, Huguang, etc., with a force of 100,000 troops, and you will have the power to make arbitrary decisions if necessary."

"I heard that you are famous for recruiting surrenders. Perhaps you can give it a try with the peasant army."

"Go ahead and persuade them to surrender. As long as you can, I will reward you with merit. I will send someone to handle the rest of the matter."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Xiong Wencan was originally forced to come here, and he was not very enthusiastic about Yang Sichang's so-called "annihilation" strategy.

He had hoped to resolve the issue through peaceful means, and now he kowtowed in gratitude upon hearing this.

"Go back."

"My lord, thank you Lord for your kindness!"

Looking at Xiong Wencan's fat back, Zhu Changgan couldn't help but shake his head: "Sooner or later, this kind of person will be useful. If used well, he can be a magical weapon."

……

After Xiong Wencan left, Wang Chengen whispered a few words in the emperor's ear. Zhu Changgan nodded, got on the carriage and went to the Armory again.

Wang Hui, the head of the Armory, has submitted memorials to the palace several times in the past few days, saying that he has found a way to make projectiles more accurate.

Entering the Armory, it was extremely bustling. The coal in various furnaces raised the temperature of the entire Armory by several degrees higher than outside.

It feels like the Great Leap Forward in Steel Production.

The site of the Armory was expanded again and again, and all the surrounding residents had moved away. The Armory paid for them to build houses in richer areas and compensated them with silver. Only a fool would be unwilling to leave.

In addition, the department responsible for the research and development of gunpowder was also separated and moved to a place not far from the Yongwei Camp, Jing Camp, and Baigan Camp.

It's equivalent to being heavily guarded.

"Your Majesty, long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty!"

"His Majesty……"

"No need to formality!" Zhu Changgan asked everyone to stand up, and then followed Wang Hui into the conference room.

"Your Majesty, the problem of shooting accuracy can finally be solved for the most part." Wang Hui excitedly invited the emperor to the shooting range and demonstrated shooting himself.

"Bang bang..."

As the smell of gunpowder licked the air, Wang Hui fired five shots in a row, one of which missed the target, but the other four all hit the target.

Even though it's just hitting the target, it's a leap forward compared to before.

Before, when a flintlock rifle was fired, it was considered good if one out of five shots hit the target, so the musket battalion could only stand in rows to design, relying on probability and range damage.

Thousands of people were shooting at the same time, attacking indiscriminately. The accuracy was not good enough, but they made up for it with numbers.

This is a helpless move.

But now it’s different. If four out of five shots can hit the target, that means there is an 80% probability of hitting the target.

When Zhu Changgan saw the gun barrel, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

Rifling,

It's finally going online.

In fact, rifling appeared in the 15th century more than a hundred years ago, and I have raised this issue with them before.

Tang Ruowang naturally knew this problem, but at that time almost all the guns were muzzle-loading rifles, and the main ones at that time were positive lines.

As a result, the speed of loading bullets not only did not increase, but became slower. Soldiers often needed to use hammers to force the bullets into the barrel, and the firing rate was directly reduced by about one-half.

This is naturally intolerable, so even though it was invented, it was not put into service on a large scale.

But they don't have this problem now, because the flintlock rifles currently produced by the Armory have all switched to breech-loading.

"It's just... it's more likely to explode than before." Wang Hui told the truth.

The rifle was still in the testing phase, but it had already exploded twice, injuring three people.

Zhu Changgan understood the reason from the other party. Because of the rifling, it was more likely for gunpowder residue to remain and clog the barrel, causing it to explode.

Zhu Changgan also gave them his own suggestion, which was to change the Yang line into a Yin line.

Under the current conditions, the only method available was the most clumsy scraper method, which was to use an iron rod slightly thinner than the inner diameter of the barrel, carve a groove at a specific position of it, and install a piece of hard steel sheet.

The steel sheet is provided with one or two protruding strips with a certain inclination angle, the front end of which is advantageously cut, and the height of the protrusion can be adjusted.

By pulling it back and forth dozens of times on a rifling position, you can cut a negative rifling line, and then adjust the position to cut the next one.

As for the projectile, Zhu Changgan also talked about the principle of the Minié bullet, which is to place a small conical hole at the bottom of the conical projectile.

When fired, the gunpowder gas causes the tail of the projectile to expand, embed into the rifling, and then spin out of the barrel at high speed along the rifling.

High accuracy and greater rate of fire.

Wang Hui was greatly inspired and recorded quickly...

Before leaving, Zhu Changgan gave a speech, "Everyone, work hard. I believe you have all heard that there are tens of millions of taels of silver in my treasury. I don't mind if you earn too much, but I'm afraid that you earn too little."

"I am here to issue another decree: Anyone who invents or improves any weapon or equipment, making it more powerful, will be rewarded with 100 taels of silver.

His immediate superior also received a reward.”

"I have prepared 100,000 taels of silver as a reward. If the money is not spent by the end of the year, I will remove you from your posts and deduct your salaries."

Zhu Changgan understood that the few things he had would definitely not be able to meet the rapid iteration of weapons in the Ming Dynasty.

In the end, we still have to rely on these people.

Only by working together can we maximize the enthusiasm and creativity of everyone.

Maybe it's just a small step, but small steps stacked together can form a solid barrier.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

"Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty!"

"Long live His Majesty..." Thousands of craftsmen and officials from the Armory had trembling lips with excitement as they shouted "Long live His Majesty".

……

Days pass by one by one,
Inside the village, houses were rebuilt and the breath of life returned.

Chongzhen continued to teach during the day, and he treated the children in the mountain village the same as always.

They were as indifferent as ever to Hong Niangzi and the Third Master.

At night, Zhu Changgan came back and stayed in the dark room with Hongniangzi, one sleeping on the bed and the other sleeping on the floor, occasionally saying a few words to each other.

Hongniang seemed to have sensed Chongzhen's coldness, so she rarely asked him basic questions.

Lady Hong continued, "Yang Sichang of the Ming court deployed more than 100,000 soldiers to suppress the peasant army in Henan and Shaanxi. Chuang Wang, Guo Tianxing and others suffered heavy losses."

"In addition, the governors of Shangqiu, Luoyang, Anlu, Bozhou, Shanxi and other places also launched large-scale suppression of the rebels."

After a few seconds of silence, Lady Hong continued:

"The last time they came, it was Chen Yongfu's troops. We had tens of thousands of people, but they were beaten and 8,000 of us were left. If they come again, how many will be left?"

"Do we really stand a chance?"

Zhu Changgan listened for a long time before he said, "It cannot be said that there is no opportunity. It just depends on how you manage it."

"From ancient times to the present, there have been so many peasant uprisings, why was it that only Zhu Yuanzhang succeeded?"

"What about Liu Bang? Doesn't Liu Bang count?" Hong Niangzi was curious and couldn't help asking.

"Liu Bang doesn't count. After all, he is just a minor official, a village head, and he is also considered a member of the system."

"Oh!" Hong Niangzi was stunned for a moment, then said: "Then go on and tell me why Zhu Yuanzhang was successful."

Zhu Changgan nodded, "The key lies in nine words, namely: build high walls, store up food, and slowly claim the throne. And there is a slogan of a united front."

Hongniang had already sat up at this time, looking at Zhu Changgan with burning eyes.

"The reason why Cheng Sheng, Wu Guang, and the Yellow Turban Army failed and could not recover after their defeat was that they did not have a base that could be attacked or defended! In this regard, they all had the same problem, like bandits, plundering everywhere, and once they lost their power, they could not get up again."

"The so-called high wall, although Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bang rebelled, they had their own bases, that is, their own territory."

"Liu Bang occupied Shu and later the Guanzhong Plain, while Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Nanjing, Jianghuai, and even if they failed, it wouldn't matter much. With land, food, and people, they could eventually recover."

"Storing up grain means building your own base."

"After Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Nanjing and Jianghuai, he was busy with construction and allowed the people to recuperate. On the contrary, Li Zicheng, Huang Chao and others plundered everywhere, only destroying but not building! How could anyone support them?!"

Lady Hong nodded, and then said, "Hurry up and claim the throne. Can I understand this in this way? That is, don't make a bold move?"

Zhu Changgan nodded, "That's right. The imperial court always attacks the rebels who stand out. The more they claim to be kings and heroes, the more their strength will be weakened."

Hong Niangzi's eyes flickered, as if she was thinking about something. After pondering for a few minutes, she couldn't help but ask again: "What does it mean to have a unified loud slogan?"

"This is simple. Zhu Yuanzhang's slogan was "expel the Tartars and restore China". He used national justice as his slogan to establish a united front and unify all forces to fight against the Mongols." Zhu Changgan said calmly, "If we want to grow and develop, it is important to form a united front."

"This... Isn't the slogan of 'equalizing the rich and the poor' and 'equalizing the land' that King Chuang said sounding loud?" asked Hong Niangzi with a frown.

"Yes, but this slogan is too limited. The people under King Chuang are all farmers. They have conquered the land and then distributed it equally. What do you think they will do?"

“……” Red Lady was silent.

Afterwards, the two stopped talking and the atmosphere fell into silence.

Zhu Changgan didn't say anything either. He just told the other party some things instead of getting involved in the specific affairs of the mountain stronghold.

Institutional things also require Hongniangzi to think about.

Although he could exchange bodies with Chongzhen, it would be impossible for him to succeed by directly "reform" and copying a so-called "democratic and free" system.

The development of things must respect its laws and the background of the times, otherwise it will be like a tree without roots. At that time, you will only be bragging about how good the world is, but if no one supports you, it will be in vain.

He needs both internal and external factors to stimulate this condition.

It was also a test on Hongniangzi.

Compared with Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, it is a more controllable experiment.

I can watch her slowly build up from a mountain village, to a county, and then to a prefecture, so that the people of the Ming Dynasty can see what universal peace and harmony is and what different hopes are.

Let some democratic and free ideas slowly take root in the hearts of the people, so that we can do better in the future.

The two finally fell into a deep sleep, and when Zhu Changgan woke up again, he found himself in the Qianqing Palace.

……

"Your Majesty!"

Wang Chengen came in with a basin of warm water. "The Embroidered Uniform Guard sent back a message saying Chao Pichang had succeeded, but Geng Zhongming was too cautious and let him escape."

The last time Hauge agreed, he later changed his mind again.

After Zhu Changgan let him read the notice posted by Huang Taiji, Haoge fell into complete madness and pain, realizing that he had become a discarded pawn.

Finally he made up his mind. He wrote a letter and asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard to take it to the bondservants in Haoge's mansion.

The bondservants who followed Haoge to the battlefield had already been executed. Several bondservants in his mansion were trembling with fear after seeing the emperor's order.

The masters have become abandoned pawns, let alone these slaves.

When he suddenly saw the master's handwritten letter, he was overjoyed.

They naturally hope that their master will come back.

In Liaodong, the Jinyiwei absorbed a large number of Liaodong Yebushou, and its infiltration into Liaodong was greatly strengthened.

In addition, Chao Pichang was originally under Haoge's command, and with Haoge's letters and the help of the bondservants, the Jinyiwei and Yebushou did not have to spend much effort to capture him and bring him back to the Ming Dynasty.

However, when they were trying to capture Geng Zhongming, the other party noticed something unusual, and they failed and a conflict broke out.

"There is no way to escape. There is a high probability of failure." Zhu Changgan sighed.

"Having Chao Pichang is enough.

"Send Haoge out of the customs!"

"Also... let those who can withdraw withdraw, and those who cannot withdraw stay dormant. I'm afraid the Qing Dynasty will conduct a major internal purge next."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen slowly retreated.

"Huang Taiji, aren't you particularly good at chopping down big trees? I want to see if you can withstand this blow."

Zhu Changgan pinched a lychee and put it into his mouth.

……

(End of this chapter)