Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 253: Firearms Department

Shenjing, the northern parade ground of the Five Military Camps.

The entire North Parade Ground was evacuated of personnel, and an earthen embankment more than half a person high was built.

In the open space in front of the earthen embankment, there are many life-size wooden figures and targets erected densely.

Behind the earthen embankment, under a yellow silk umbrella, several officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works’ Firearms Bureau surrounded Emperor Jiazhao.

Liu Shizhen, deputy director of the Firearms Inspectorate, showed a round object to Emperor Jiazhao.

"Your Majesty, please look at this. This is the shell of the porcelain mine that I made according to the idea and design of Jia Chengshilang."

Emperor Jiazhao curiously took the thing in Liu Shizhen's hand. It was a round porcelain jar with thin vines wrapped around the surface. It felt comfortable in his hand.

There is a hollow column standing in the middle of the porcelain jar, and its purpose is unknown.

Liu Shizhen explained: "Your Majesty, please look, the formed porcelain mine will be filled with black powder in the hollow core and will lead to a fire signal.

Fill the area around the center of the column with iron filings, and finally seal the opening of the porcelain thunder to complete the formation. When using it, light the fire signal and throw it out with all your strength within five breaths to kill a large number of enemy troops."

Emperor Jiazhao asked again: "What is the purpose of this porcelain thunder with thin vines wrapped around its exterior?"

Jia Cong explained, "Your Majesty, porcelain is fragile, and the outside of the porcelain mine is wrapped with fine vines to prevent the magnetic mine from falling to the ground and shattering the shell before it explodes when thrown.

Moreover, the surface of the porcelain mine is smooth, and after being wrapped with thin vines, it feels better to hold and can be thrown farther.

In fact, the best materials for porcelain mine shells are rubber and cast iron. Ceramic mine shells made of rubber not only do not have the disadvantage of being fragile, but also the mine body is lighter and easier to carry.

However, rubber is mostly grown in the southern barbarians. According to my rough calculations, the cost of transporting it by boat and vehicle is too expensive, and rubber smelting is difficult to master.

Cast iron mines have great destructive power, but they involve the smelting of iron and stone, so their cost is higher.

We have discussed with the craftsmen many times, and at this stage, when we are still preparing for the development, using porcelain thunder is the most economical and effective, and it is convenient to produce it quickly and in large quantities. "

Emperor Jia Zhao smiled and said, "Lord Jia, you have such a wonderful idea and meticulous thinking. It is really amazing that you can come up with such a wonderful thing."

Gu Yankui, the Minister of War, said: "If His Majesty sees the explosive power of this porcelain thunder, he will definitely be even more surprised. This thing is not comparable to the power of swords, guns, and arrows."

Emperor Jiazhao knew that the Minister of War Gu Yankui was once a capable general in the army. He was mature and cautious, and always acted in a methodical manner and rarely spoke empty words.

Since this porcelain thunder could elicit such earnest words from him, its power must be extraordinary, which made Emperor Jia Zhao look forward to the effect of this porcelain thunder.

After Jia Cong and Liu Shizhen finished explaining the structure of the porcelain thunder to Emperor Jia Zhao, they began to demonstrate its use on the spot.

Jia Cong asked Emperor Jia Zhao and other officials to retreat two feet behind the earthen embankment.

A firearms soldier, ready to go, quickly ran behind the earthen embankment.

Following the captain's instructions, he lit the fuse of the porcelain mine in his hand, then threw it out with force, landing right between the pair of wooden targets.

Emperor Jiazhao and others only heard a loud bang like an earth-shaking sound, which was extremely powerful, and was also mixed with some strange whistling sounds.

The densely packed wooden men and targets on the open ground seemed to have been struck by a thunderbolt from heaven, and they fell down like a sharp sickle across the wheat waves.

The several wooden figures at the center of the explosion were instantly shattered into pieces. The noise was much louder than the sound of a musket firing.

Jia Cong also ordered the soldiers to bring one or two wooden figures from the area surrounding the explosion center to show to Emperor Jia Zhao and the officials participating in the drill.

Everyone discovered that the surface of these wooden figures was inlaid with dense iron filings and broken porcelain, which was creepy to look at.

This is the pressure of the porcelain mine explosion, which splashes the wrapped iron chips and porcelain fragments everywhere, causing a lethal effect.

If the one attacked by the porcelain thunder just now was not a wooden man but a real flesh and blood body, it would have been rotten to death in an instant.

When they thought of this, although Emperor Jia Zhao and others were used to such events, they still felt a chill in their hearts.

People always have an involuntary sense of awe towards things that they don't have a deep understanding of.

They were all accustomed to the killing effects of cold weapons such as swords, guns and arrows. Even if they were killed by muskets, the wounds were not much different from those caused by swords and guns.

But the killing mode of porcelain mines was completely beyond their imagination.

Emperor Jiazhao asked with a serious expression: "How many of these porcelain mines have you built, and how do you preserve and guard them?" Seeing the emperor's strange expression, Liu Shizhen was stunned for a moment and did not fully react.

Jia Cong understood the meaning of Emperor Jia Zhao's words and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, we have produced fifty of these porcelain mines for trial, and five were used in the first round of demonstrations yesterday.

Three mines were taken out of the warehouse for demonstration on the parade ground today, and the remaining 42 are stored in the warehouse. I have asked Marquis Zhongjing to select five loyal, brave and reliable captains to guard the stored porcelain mines.

Every morning and evening, Deputy Supervisor Liu would personally count the number of porcelain bombs in stock. If there were any missing, the five guarding lieutenants would be held responsible!"

After hearing Jia Cong's answer, Emperor Jia Zhao's expression relaxed slightly, but he was still a little worried and said:
"This thing is unheard of, it is a military killing weapon, the method of making it must be kept secret!
The guarding lieutenant promised a large sum of money, and if the inventory is missing, the guard will be executed!"

Everyone present was shocked to hear what Emperor Jiazhao said, but they also understood why the emperor was so cautious.

The killing mode of this type of porcelain mine is too vicious and terrifying. If one or two are lost, it will cause huge and unpredictable hidden dangers.

Although there are no major incidents in the Great Zhou at present, border troubles have never been completely eliminated.

There were the Jurchens in the north and the remnants of the Mongols in the west. The land east of Guangdong was often invaded by the countries along the West Sea, while the rebellion of Japanese pirates on the coast of the East China Sea was difficult to quell.

If the enemy chiefs knew about the porcelain mines too early, or even learned how to build them, the consequences would be disastrous.

There may even be an embarrassing situation where you are defeated by the enemy before you defeat him.

Or if someone wants to use it to assassinate the king, just throw one at random, and I'm afraid no matter how many royal guards there are, they won't be able to resist it...

……

"Jia Cong, you have made great contributions to the development of porcelain thunder and are proficient in the study of firearms. I will promote you to the rank of Sixth-Rank Firearm Supervisor to supervise the manufacture of porcelain thunder.

As for the other firearms, if they can be used in the military formation as soon as possible, they will also be put to good use to me!"

He saw that Jia Cong looked stunned, as if he was a little surprised at being appointed as the Inspector of Firearms.

He added: "You just need to coordinate, Liu Shizhen will take charge of the daily affairs, the Ministry of War will remain in charge of the government affairs, the sons of military honors, you must not neglect the fundamentals of bravery."

In fact, although Jia Cong did not hold an actual position in the Firearms Bureau, he was involved in the recruitment of famous Western scholars and the research and development of firearms.

However, he was only a juren, and being granted the qualification to observe government affairs was already a special favor. Under normal circumstances, at such an age, it would be impossible to be granted an actual position too early.

For Jia Cong, he got involved in the firearms business only because he was forced to do so when he was in Jinling.

His plan was to pursue a career as a civil servant, otherwise why would he bother taking the imperial examinations so much.

Now it seems that things have gone astray.

And being blocked suddenly was really abrupt, and even made people feel anxious.

……

On the way back from the North Parade Ground, he sat with the Minister of War Gu Yankui. After a conversation, he learned some details.

In fact, during his daily stay at the Ministry of War, he was often exposed to slanderous information from the Ministry of War and knew a lot about border problems and national affairs.

It's just some latest information, which is not easily accessible at his level.

Now Emperor Jiazhao suddenly appointed him as the Inspector of Firearms, and the Minister of War Gu Yankui knew the reason very well, so he naturally revealed some inside information to him.

Since the beginning of spring, the areas outside the Great Wall have been hit by successive snowstorms and spring droughts, and the livelihoods of the various Jurchen tribes have been oppressed. They have formed cliques and factions, and their westward advance into Goryeo has been blocked, so they have gone south to raid the border and plunder.

The military garrisons in Liaodong were repeatedly attacked by the Jurchen tribes, and a war was imminent.

The Jurchen tribes were born between the White Mountains and the Black Waters, occupying a favorable geographical location. They suffered from natural disasters year after year and fought for their survival. They were fueled by their ferocious and brutal spirit and had extremely strong archery and horsemanship capabilities.

The soldiers of the Great Zhou had enjoyed peace for too long and were no longer able to cope with the situation.

Emperor Jia Zhao promoted the development of firearms in order to make up for the lack of combat power, strengthen the army, quell border troubles, and stabilize the country.

Jia Cong had always been known for his expertise in firearms, and the porcelain thunder drill happened to be a success, so it was natural to appoint him as the Supervisor of Firearms.

In fact, Emperor Jiazhao appointed Liu Shizhen as the deputy director of the Firearms Bureau, but kept the position of director vacant. He had already made plans in mind, but just lacked an opportunity.

(End of this chapter)