Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 265: Severe Winter Killing

As October approached, the construction of the firearms workshop was on track.

The number of completed porcelain mines has been rising steadily, and the construction of 3,000 mines is about to be halfway completed.

The mass transformation of the Rumi gun is also in progress, and it is expected that a total of 500 guns will be transformed by the end of October.

This is also the number of muskets that the Ministry of War planned to transport to Liaodong Town for reloading.

According to the wartime reports received by the Ministry of War, the 1,000 firearms soldiers of the Fifth Army Firearms Battalion transferred to Liaodong Town have already fought several times.

Thousands of musketeers formed a large-scale spear formation, and with the supplementary cover of the archery formation, they formed a powerful long-range suppression against the charging Jurchen cavalry.

Moreover, these Jurchens, who were brave in the Baishan and Heishui regions, had no experience in dealing with battle formations with organized firearms, which made the effectiveness of the musket formation more fully utilized.

The Rumi guns used by these musketeers were modified according to Jia Cong's ideas. Not only did they have a longer range, but they were also equipped with a foldable blade.

This transformation also greatly improved the survivability of musketeers on the battlefield.

Even if the Jurchen cavalry rushed to the front of the formation, the musketeers were not completely powerless to protect themselves. With muskets and sharp blades, they could still cause damage to the cavalry by fighting in formation.

Although many musketeers were killed in several battles, the sharpness and uniqueness of the Great Zhou's firearms had already spread its reputation in the Liaodong border.

……

More and more generals who once focused only on archery and horse fighting began to realize the unique function of firearms in subverting battle formations.

This new cognition was fed back to the capital through the slanderous reports of the Ministry of War, and gradually entered the vision of officials of various ministries and various types of forces.

What Jia Cong was most concerned about was whether Guo Zhigui was still safe and sound, and whether he was injured or killed among the thousands of musketeers recruited this time...

The feeling of being thousands of miles away from someone familiar and close to him, with his life and death uncertain, made Jia Cong doubt whether his decision to support Guo Zhigui in joining the army was correct.

But thinking back to the moment when he sent Guo Zhigui into the Firearm Camp, the satisfaction and longing in his eyes made Jia Cong quickly give up his hesitation.

Whether it is myself or Guo Zhigui.

Being able to choose the path you want to take is a great blessing.

I don't want to be a bastard in the Donglu Courtyard, and I don't want to be a servant serving carriages and horses all my life.

There is no shortcut except to fight on your own.

As for the life and death, honor and disgrace in the future, it is up to man and God, and I have no regrets!
……

More and more people began to pay attention to the Firearms Bureau of the Ministry of Industry, the firearms workshop outside the western suburbs of Shenjing, and Jia Cong, the director of the Firearms Bureau.

Because the planning of the Great Zhou's firearms was always semi-public, not many people knew the details.

Nowadays, many people have begun to know through various channels that the rise of the use of firearms in the Great Zhou was almost entirely driven by this young man from the Rongguo family of the Jia family.

This man is still only 150 years old, but he is surrounded by many halos and was recently appointed by the emperor as the governor-general and counselor of nine provinces.

Since the passing of brothers Daihua and Daishan, the Ningrong Jia family has been short of talented people. Even the Ningguo line was convicted and stripped of their titles. It was thought that the family would never recover.

Today, the Rong State's Jia family, which is struggling to support itself, seems to be beginning to show a glimmer of brilliance in its long-lost military spirit.

Thus, all kinds of inexplicable banquets and various so-called literary gatherings and discussions were sent to the Rongguo Mansion through various connections.

Some of them may be trying to build connections by using him, but more of them are asking him for information on firearms trends, which could bring them disaster.

Therefore, Jia Cong never accepted the invitation to attend any of the gatherings. Firstly, he wanted to avoid causing trouble, and secondly, he really had no habit of having large conversations with strangers.

But when he has free time, he would rather spend time in Qingzhizhai, chatting and laughing with the maids. Wouldn't that be more comfortable?

...By mid-October, there was progress in the purchase of Portuguese artillery.

The Portuguese gun and artillery ship arrived in Nanjing at the end of November, and the Firearms Bureau needed to send personnel to Nanjing to inspect and receive the goods.

Originally, Jia Cong wanted to go to Nanjing in person to inspect and receive the weapons, and Emperor Jia Zhao also had an imperial decree from the Director of the Firearms Bureau to be in charge.

He can also balance public and private matters, visit Qu Hongxiu and Keqing, and learn about the progress of Xinchunhao's construction of the Jiangnan trade route.

It's just that the plan can't keep up with the changes.

As the weather gradually enters deep winter.

Based on the slanderous reports received, the Ministry of War concluded that before the severe winter arrived, the various Jurchen tribes were struggling to obtain money and food for the winter in order to allow more of their people to survive the harsh winter.

There will definitely be a peak wave of harassment and looting attacks launched within a radius of 50 miles of the border.

Starting with Liaodong Town, and extending to Jizhou and Xuanfu Towns in Liao, all must be on high alert.

If we can survive this cold winter, the strength of the various Jurchen tribes can be greatly weakened.

Because under the premise of lack of money and food, the extreme cold of the Baishan and Heishui rivers will kill as many people as those killed on the battlefield.

When winter is almost over and spring has not yet arrived, the Jurchen tribes will have been weakened and it will be time to launch a fatal attack.

In recent days, according to discussions between Emperor Jiazhao and the cabinet, the Ministry of War has mobilized money, food, cotton clothes, weapons and other supplies from various places and transported them to Liaodong in a steady stream.

At present, among the nine important towns in the north, except for Liaodong which was invaded by the Jurchens, the rest are basically safe and the national strength is still abundant.

The Great Zhou has the strength and confidence to conserve energy and wait until the enemy is exhausted.

The rulers and ministers of the Great Zhou Dynasty had already made up their minds to use the harsh winter in northern Liao to wear down the fighting power of the Jurchen tribes until complete victory was achieved.

The journey to Nanjing to receive the Portuguese artillery would take at least one month and at most two months.

As the situation develops, the patrol schedule of the Nine Frontier Commanders may be determined at any time, and Jia Cong is no longer allowed to leave the capital easily.

Finally, Liu Shizhen, deputy director of the Firearms Bureau, was ordered to take the English gunner Masido to Nanjing to receive the Portuguese artillery, and then escort them to Shenjing and Dengzhou in batches.

……

Since the firearms workshop was opened, the firearms manufacturing business undertaken by Liaodong's war preparations has occupied a large part of Jia Cong's energy.

After Liu Shizhen left, he promoted a gunpowder maker named Guo Zheng and appointed him as the construction manager of the firearms workshop.

Before joining the Firearms Bureau, Guo Zheng was a well-known fireworks craftsman in Hexi. His ancestral fireworks skills were superb.

After Guo Zheng entered the firearms workshop, he quickly prepared qualified detonating gunpowder based on the later ratios provided by Jia Cong.

Moreover, this person has a stable character, a flexible mind, is popular among craftsmen, and has considerable prestige.

As the Five Army Camps' musketeers emerged in Liaodong, the use of firearms in the Great Zhou army will surely become more important and popular.

The scale of this firearms workshop on the western outskirts of the city will surely expand in the near future. It would be too stretched to rely solely on myself and Liu Shizhen to guard it day and night.

Moreover, it was impossible for him to be the Inspector of Firearms for his entire life. It was only a matter of time before he would promote and train talented people from among the capable craftsmen.

Moreover, when people like Guo Zheng, who come from a practical construction background and are professional in managing professional matters, the most effective results can be achieved.

In the near future, he will need more and more talents with practical foundation like Liu Shizhen and Guo Zheng.

(End of this chapter)