Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 18: The Armory Sets Rules

If one looks closely at these people, one will find that they have no Adam's apple.

That’s right, they were all sent by Cao Huachun.

Cao Huachun himself was sitting in the restaurant opposite Luo Yangxing. In order to avoid being exposed, he did not wear official clothes today, and stared at Luo Yangxing's mansion with lightning eyes.

He still remembered what His Majesty had said to him, "It doesn't matter if there is no evidence against Luo Yangxing, then we can just hand him a piece of evidence."

No one knew yet that the eunuchs and palace maids around His Majesty had already been replaced.

Everyone still thought that your Majesty's Qianqing Palace was still a leaky sieve.

Even he, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, did not recognize those faces, let alone others. How did they know that His Majesty asked Luo Yangxing to recruit inspectors?
And it was impossible for Luo Yangxing to tell anyone about it, because that didn't suit his nature of making money quietly.

Just imagine that all these provincial judges are his people and he can get a commission from each of them every year. This is much more profitable than giving up the position and making a one-time deal.

That leaves only one explanation.

That’s right, the emperor released him on purpose.

The letter to Wen Tiren's home was delivered by his people.

The news about Guang Shiheng was delivered by a young eunuch.

The same is true for Zhang Sizhi... Almost all officials who have sons and daughters serving in the Jinyiwei should have heard this information.

Selling official positions and titles had long become the norm in the Ming Dynasty.

Sure enough, after they heard the news, they all came to Luo Yangxing's mansion.

Cao Huachun sighed, "It seems that Luo Yangxing couldn't stop his greed after all!"

Before leaving, he once asked the emperor, "What if Luo Yangxing is not greedy?"

"If he is not greedy, I will let him go." The emperor said with a smile, "But if he dares to take advantage of me, I will definitely not let him go."

Just thinking,

A man in casual clothes ran up from downstairs. He narrowed his eyes and realized that this man was the person the emperor personally wanted.

Gao Yushun.

"Eunuch Cao, I have already found out that Luo Yangxing has three concubines outside, two of whom are in East City and one in West City." Gao Yushun bowed and said, "Thank you, Eunuch Cao, for the promotion."

"Don't thank me. His Majesty specifically requested you."

"Ah?" Gao Yushun was stunned for a moment, thinking over and over, "I haven't served Your Majesty for a long time."

Cao Huachun glanced at him and snorted, "Where is your majesty?"

"Your Majesty went to the Brave Guards and led out four hundred men, and then went to the Armory?"

"The Arms Bureau?"

……

There were two specific institutions in the Ming Dynasty that were in charge of the military equipment manufacturing industry.

One is the Military Equipment Bureau under the jurisdiction of the Yuheng Qinglisi of the Ministry of Works, and the other is the Military Equipment Bureau under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household.

The Military Equipment Bureau is one of the eight bureaus of the Imperial Household.

They are respectively the Military Equipment Bureau, the Silver Works Bureau, the Laundry Bureau, the Scarf and Hat Bureau, the Needlework Bureau, the Internal Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, the Wine, Vinegar and Flour Bureau, and the Garden Bureau.

It mainly served the royal family, and the military equipment it produced was supplied to the Tengxiang Four Guards, Jinyiwei and other royal guards, as well as some ironware for the royal family.

The quantity is relatively small.

Cao Huachun had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. Just now something happened to Wang Zhixin of the East Factory. If something happened to the Military Equipment Bureau again, he would really have no place to save face.

There are two people in charge of the Armoury Bureau. One is the eunuch who holds the seal of the Armoury Bureau, and the other is the eunuch who is in charge of the armoury and is responsible for management and supervision.

Zhu Changgan led his men into the Armory Bureau and saw that there were only a few people inside, some of whom were lying on rocking chairs, basking in the sun.

"Ouch!"

When they saw who was coming, they hurried over and scrambled to greet him, saying in unison: "Long live His Majesty."

Zhu Changgan didn't say anything, but just looked at them coldly, "Who among you is in charge?"

"Your Majesty, this is Liu Cixi, the seal holder of the Imperial Guards' Arms Bureau."

"I want to see the firearms in our Armory. Where is the warehouse?" Zhu Changgan asked directly without wasting time talking to them.

Upon hearing this, Liu Cixi quickly looked at another eunuch.

The eunuch quickly replied, "Your Majesty, the eunuch Fang Erbai is the commander of the armory."

"Then let's go!"

Fang Erbai swallowed his saliva and looked at Liu Cixi, but found that Liu Cixi didn't even look at him, which made him extremely uneasy.

Without him,

A lot of the firearms in the armory were resold by them. Now, Your Majesty, according to your inspection, there are definitely not enough.

But the emperor was already walking in front, and they could only follow him.

Beads of sweat the size of beans were dripping down from his head.

Zhu Changgan frowned and asked, "How many craftsmen does our Armory Bureau have now?"

"Your Majesty, there are still 121!"

"What about them?"

When Zhu Changgan came, he looked at the records of the Armoury Bureau of past dynasties. There were more than 121 craftsmen in the Chenghua Dynasty, but by the Longqing Dynasty, there were only more than . How come there are only now?

"This..." Liu Ci Xi was speechless, because even the 121 craftsmen were falsely reported, and half of them were drawing salaries without working.

As Fang Erbai opened the door of the armory, Zhu Changgan was furious. "Is this the firearm of my Ming Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, there aren't that many firearms here because it's close to the imperial city." Liu Cixi quickly replied, "Your Majesty, your body is precious, how can you come to such a cheap place?"

In the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, the Wanggongchang gunpowder depot exploded, killing and injuring tens of thousands of people. The imperial palace was also shaken, a phenomenon known in history as the Tianqi Explosion.

The Armory of the Bingzhang Bureau was also listed as an inauspicious place.

Liu Cixi was trying to drive the emperor away in disguise, but not only was there no one to object, but Wang Chengen even supported him. "Your Majesty, Liu Cixi is right. Let's leave here as soon as possible."

Zhu Changgan smiled and said, "This is under the feet of the emperor, in the imperial city, how can it be considered a cheap place?"

"Don't take the Portuguese and red cannons, take all the muskets and go to the martial arts arena!"

“……” Liu Ci Xi was stunned for a moment, then he was overjoyed. Wasn’t the emperor here to check the number of firearms?
But then, he stopped, shuddered all over, and his face turned pale.

Go to the martial arts training ground?

What can you do there?
It must be a test firearm.

But he knew too well what was wrong with the firearms produced by the Armory Bureau. Seven out of ten times they would explode!

Now that His Majesty is watching it personally, what if the barrel explodes... wouldn't that be a problem?
Fang Erbai also had a horrified look on his face and his breathing was sluggish.

The Armory Bureau needed to test the power of swords, guns, and firearms, so there was a special training ground.

A large group of soldiers from the Yongwei Camp carried their muskets and went directly to the training ground of the Armory Bureau.

Although the soldiers of the Yongwei Camp knew that the barrel might explode, they still gritted their teeth and prepared to test fire. However, Zhu Changgan stopped them and instead waved to Liu Cixi, Fang Erbai, and the managers, assistant secretaries, directors, and supervisors of the Armory Bureau.

"Come here, all of you. I want to inspect the quality of the muskets made by the Armoury Bureau, so naturally I need people from the Armoury Bureau to come."

"50 muskets per person, test firing!"

"Ah?" Liu Cixi's face changed color instantly, his calves began to cramp, he felt extremely fearful, and sweat flowed down his cheeks.

"Test fire fifty muskets. Those who survive will have their salary raised by one level. Those who don't can only blame theirselves."

Several people were so frightened that they could not help but retreat.

"Swish~" Several eunuchs around Chongzhen drew out the knives in their hands and put them on their necks.

"Anyone who does not test-fire the musket will be executed immediately."

There is still a glimmer of hope if we test-fire. If we don’t, we will die now.

Liu Cixi picked up the musket on the ground tremblingly and had to load the ammunition reluctantly. He first put the gunpowder in, then the iron beads, compacted them with wooden bars, and finally put the gunpowder into the ignition hole.

"Oh!"

It exploded.
The first shot exploded, and Liu Cixi felt as if he was kicked. The flesh on the right half of his face was torn apart, and blood rushed out from it.

"Your Majesty, I, the eunuch, deserve to die..." Liu Cixi knelt on the ground and kowtowed to ask for his guilt.

However, the response he got was, "There are also 49 guns."

Zhu Changgan did not forget to remind the others, "You guys should start too, there are still seats available next to you."

"Your Majesty, please spare my life!"

"I have spoken my word. After firing 50 rounds, you can leave at any time."

"boom!"

"what……"

There were seven people in total, and the worst off was Liu Cixi, who fainted and it was obvious that he could not be saved.

Fang Erbai's hand was broken by the explosion, his right eye was blinded, and he suffered five other injuries, all of which were extremely serious.

The luckiest among them was the secretary.

50 gun, the barrel only exploded twice, and neither of them hit the head. The arm looked bloody, but there was no fatal injury.

"Congratulations! Not only did you save your life today, but you also saved your job."

Zhu Changgan said to the Armour Bureau: "From now on, I will set a rule for the Armour Bureau. Every musket produced by the Armour Bureau must be tested by the eunuch in charge of the Armour Bureau. Only if there is no explosion can it be handed over to the Yongwei Battalion."

I just don't believe that the problem of barrel explosion cannot be solved.

In the past, the coal mining industry required mine managers to go down to the mines, and the accident rate dropped to the lowest level.

People are like this, when the risk does not happen to them, they can turn a blind eye to it, but when it happens to them, they will be a hundred times more careful than anyone else.

……

Xiangyang Palace,

Chongzhen listened to the sounds of muskets in the Armory and the screams of Liu Cixi and others. He suddenly stopped walking, his eyes widened, and his throat became a little dry.

It’s so cruel!

Does he really want to develop firearms?
"Hey, why bother being so persistent? It's a waste of time. With this time and money, it's better to train more soldiers."

Chongzhen listened and felt secretly anxious. He really wanted to tell Zhu Changgan that he had already verified this path.

It's a dead end!

At this moment, he heard Zhu Changgan ask: "Wang Chengen, what happened to those people I asked you to find out about?"

"Your Majesty, Johann Adam Schall von Bell is in Beijing, but Bi Maokang has already returned home. I have sent people to Suzhou to look for Sun Yunqiu, Bo Jue, and He Rubin."

"Song Yingxing, we have already found this person in the Ministry of Personnel. He is now in Fenyi County, Yuanzhou Prefecture, Jiangxi Province. The eunuchs have also sent someone to invite him."

"There is another group of people heading to Wang Hui's hometown in Shandong..."

The Qing Dynasty’s firearms had already caught up, and they wanted to overtake in firearms and achieve all-round crushing victory.

The first point is to gather talented people.

There were quite a lot of scientists during the Chongzhen period, but unfortunately Mr. Xu Guangqi has passed away for 5 years.

　There were quite a lot of scientists during the Chongzhen period, such as Xu Guangqi, Song Yingxing and others who are well-known to everyone.

　　Wenyu (also known as Sibin) was a native of Wujiang County, Jiangsu Province. He was an optical instrument manufacturer and inventor in the late Ming Dynasty. He wrote a monograph called "Mirror History" and manufactured more than 70 kinds of optical instruments. He is known as the "Scientific Giant of the Ming Dynasty".

　　Bo Jue, a native of Changzhou (now Suzhou), was a mechanical manufacturer in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. He was poor when he was young, but he was diligent and studious. Because his career was not going well, he changed his major to study astronomy, mathematics and mechanical manufacturing, and once set up his own laboratory. During the Chongzhen period of the Ming Dynasty (1628-1644), he made copper cannons for the governor Zhang Guowei, which were advanced in structure and equipped with telescopes. He also made waterwheels, fire guns, mines, crossbows and other tools. Zhang Guowei recommended him to the court, but he did not report it, so he retired to Wumen and died of poverty and illness. He wrote "Illustrated Explanation of the Huntianyi" and "On the Investigation of Things and the Detection of the Earth".

　　This is a set of military books written by He Rubin (Zi Yinzhi, Hao Zhongsheng) in the 34th year of Wanli (1606). After several revisions, the edition published in the 3rd year of Chongzhen (1630) has 14 volumes. The content contains many introductions to firearms and tactics.

　　And so on, there is Fang Yizhi, who knew European astronomy, geometry, and physics at that time, and worked hard to learn translation, and had a high level of attainment. He once promoted it to Emperor Chongzhen...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)