Win the Ding 1617

In this secret report, this news is the most important thing for Huang Taiji and others.

If the Ming army, especially the garrison of the capital, is organized according to the standards of the Southern Guangdong Army, even if it cannot meet the combat effectiveness and discipline of the Southern Guangdong Army, as long as it can have one-third or half, then think of going to the interior of the Ming Dynasty to fight Caogu in the future. But it is difficult.

"Man said that they are all fighting like the Southern Cantonese Army. As long as [-]% of the Ming Army is like Lu Xiangsheng, it will be difficult for my Qing soldiers to enter the customs again."

Huang Taiji put forward his own views on this matter.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to be so worried. From the point of view of slaves, in the Ming Dynasty, there are only a few people like Lu Xiangsheng and Li Shouhan, and there are many people like Gao Qiqian. The one who is slightly stronger than Gao Qiqian is Hong Chengchou , Zu Dashou's Liuer."

"If there weren't too many people like Gao Qiqian, how could the slaves snatch this good drink for the emperor to enjoy?"

Dorgon made a grimace on purpose, and picked up the exquisite glass in his hand. In the glass, the clear yellow juice was really pretty, and Bumubu Taige, who was teasing him, couldn't stop laughing.

"Fourteenth brother, when you sent Jierhalang to escort the seized items back to Shengjing, he was quite critical at first. He thought that you blocked his way of meritorious service, which is an act of envy." Huang Taiji Calmly, he put some eye drops on the relationship between Jierhalang and Dorgon.

"However, after inspecting the seized items, especially the cannons you sent back, I issued a decree to reprimand him severely. I said in the decree that nothing was found in this entry. As far as these cannons alone are concerned Enough. He was able to escort these cannons back to Shengjing safely. It is a great achievement."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for understanding this slave!"

Dorgon was very involved with Huang Taiji's performance, kneeling on the ground with tears in his eyes.

"Get up and talk!"

Huang Taiji glanced at Dorgon on the ground.

When Jierhalang escorted the looted gold and silver supplies, more than [-] people and a huge number of artillery back to Shengjing, Huang Taiji was overjoyed.

He didn't expect to be able to kill a governor of the Ming Dynasty this time, defeat and capture tens of thousands of Ming troops, and then conquer a provincial city where the governor was stationed.

What surprised him even more was the large and small artillery captured.

For the casting and use of artillery, it has been started since Huang Taiji took power. During the Tiancong years, the so-called Tianyou Cheering General artillery was manufactured.Used for conquests in all directions.Since Kong Youde and others surrendered.Casting artillery was a strategic task of the Manchu Qing regime.

For the Han people in Liaodong at this time, casting firearms was a good job, and it could become a channel to get rid of the fate of slavery.

Qing army against excellent craftsmen.Especially for gunsmiths and coppersmiths, they are generous rewards.Those with superb skills can be given official positions.Those who do not want to be officials.Two taels of grain and silver are rewarded every month, five stones and three buckets of rice are received every quarter, and houses and acres of land are also given as gifts.It is even rewarded to generations of golden fire worshiping Tang A.

In the fourth year of Tiancong, because of the triumphant return of Houjin, Fan Jupao, an iron official, was specially ordered to reward him.In the fifth year of Tiancong, Wang Tianxiang, a cannon-casting craftsman, was promoted from a slave to Labulhafan, who worshiped him.

Naturally, Huang Taiji was delighted to have seized so many cannons, especially among them were many cannons made by Nanzhong. He had long dreamed of these cannons for a long time, but he had been unable to do so. Today, he finally had the opportunity to meet arrive.

Immediately, he ordered the Han officials Ma Guangyuan, Ding Qiming, Ji Shichang, Beiyu Zhu Shiyin, Wang Tianxiang, and a group of iron officials, important casters, to call Kong Youde, King Zhongshun, to go to the bank of the Hun River to test the gun.

Although most of the captured Nanzhong cannons were Flang machines or the like, they were so well-made that they really surprised experts like Ma Guangyuan, Ding Qiming, and Wang Tianxiang.

Ding Qiming was in charge of making a batch of red barbarian cannons and bird guns in the Qing Dynasty. He was originally the Deputy Assistant Manager of the Jingying Rongzheng and the right servant of the Ministry of War Liu Zhilun. .

After the surrender, in the year of Tian Cong, he was in charge of supervising the manufacture of a series of "God Bless the Great General" Hongyi cannons. He commanded the craftsmen Jin Shixiang and Wang Tianping to successfully cast a batch of cannons, which was appreciated by Huang Taiji.

But in his eyes, these cannons are well-cast, with smooth and round inner walls and consistent muzzles.What amazed him the most was that the guns could be interchanged between different guns.

However, he wasn't the only one surprised.

The gunners who were brought to the bank of the Hun River by Kong Youde to practice these captured artillery, including a dozen Portuguese gunners, were also amazed by these artillery.

The calibers of the guns are basically the same, and the wheel frames are the same. In this way, each group of artillery that the gunners are used to is dedicated to one artillery, and the concept of almost golden rules is broken.

After several rounds of shooting, Kong Youde excitedly reported to Huang Taiji, "This generation of Nanban artillery, the artillerymen under the servants, can use all the artillery in one team, or each team can use one artillery. The shelling effect is basically the same."

Such experimental results immediately aroused the interest of Huang Taiji, Ding Qiming and others.

It should be noted that the casting artillery craft in this era is popular for one cannon and one model. The parameters of each cannon are very different, so basically each artillery corresponds to a group of gunners. If the gunner of A cannon goes to B It takes a period of time for the artillery to become familiar with the performance and parameters of the second artillery before it can fight.But now I was told that artillery can still play like this?How can this not excite and surprise Huang Taiji and others?

"In the past, craftsmen workshops used the lost-wax method to cast cannons. If the weather is hot, the wax will not condense easily, which is often limited by the season. Chen Si's method of easy clay casting, the No. [-] gun clay can be dried in April. It is not restricted by the weather. Although this method is not limited by the seasons, the clay mold cannot be reused. If there are many holes in the inner wall of the gun tube, it must be destroyed and recast. However, this generation Nanman, I don’t know what secret technique is there, that can make a hundred cannons look like one cannon, can make a hundred people practice one cannon, and can make one person practice a hundred cannons, I don’t know what is the mystery here.”

Speaking of the impact that the gun test brought to himself and his ministers of civil and military affairs, Huang Taiji still remembers it vividly.

"I have heard that cannons are cast in Western places. Those who get two or three out of ten are called national masters. There has never been anyone who can make a hundred and get a hundred. I always think about it. I don't know what kind of people Li has under his command, who can do so skillfully! The day is respectful. After practicing the cannons, the king was full of praise for the excellence of each cannon, claiming that even the cannons made by the Portuguese could not achieve such subtleties. I have ordered the craftsmen to copy them carefully. This generation of cannons is a sharp weapon of the country. .As long as it can be manufactured successfully, there is no need to worry about the work and materials. However, it should not be extravagantly spent."

"The fourteenth brother, what you offered today is even more eye-opening. If my gunners among the Eight Banners can equip this kind of gunfire, then, then."

Huang Taiji couldn't think of the right words to describe his vision for the Eight Banners Firearms Unit in the future.

"Your Majesty, this servant just asked His Majesty to look at the gun swords. In front of you, this servant also asked His Majesty to take another look at these firecrackers."

After Dorgon pleaded guilty.Once again, in front of Huang Taiji, the relatively intact firecracker was raised, and Ah Shan and others standing in the corner of the hall unconsciously put their hands on the handle of the knife.

Fortunately, Dorgon first removed the thorn from the muzzle.Throwing it aside, rummaged through a pile of messy firecracker wreckage for a while, and installed a few parts on the firecracker.

"That's how the captives demonstrated it to the servants. Please send someone outside the hall to try setting it off once."

Seeing this ingenious novelty, Bumbutai immediately excitedly invited Ying to go. A guard filled the gunpowder into the gun barrel and sprinkled some igniting powder into the medicine pool, but they couldn't find where the matchlock was placed.

"Just use flint!"

Several guards listened to Dorgon's instructions and placed the flint on the buckle of the dragon head.

"boom!"

Hearing the bang of the gunfire, although Bumbutai didn't hit anything, he shouted happily: "It's so interesting, let's shoot another gun."

This time, it was Bumbutai herself who loaded it with great interest according to the actions of the guards just now. After stabbing the bullets and gunpowder in the barrel with a stick, she aimed at a small tree twenty or thirty steps away. , After looking for a while, he pulled the trigger decisively, the faucet fell, and the flint was fired to ignite the primer in the fire door. With a loud noise, the small tree was interrupted by the middle.

The power of this gun is so great, no wonder those warriors in heavy armor have no room to fight back in front of the dense bullets.

"Fourteenth brother, you said that the Nanyue army who fought against you fired guns and stabbed me at the same time to fight with my Qing soldiers?"

Huang Taiji, who stood in front of the palace pillar and watched Bumbutai's test shooting of the firecracker, frowned at this scene.

This concubine of mine, after watching the guards demonstrate it once, after firing a shot, she can finish loading with careless hands, and then fire another shot.A mere woman can operate a firecracker to shoot at imaginary enemies, if. . . . .

He dared not think further.

"Prince Rui, all the parts of this firecracker can be used in common?" Fan Wencheng who heard the sound of the blunderbuss rushed over, very curiously picked up a faucet and looked at it in his hand.

Although he is a civil servant, he is no stranger to military matters. He has also sent troops with Huang Taiji many times, and he knows the power and operation of firecrackers and artillery.

"good."

"According to what Ding Qiming said, among the manufacturing of this firecracker and artillery, only the barrel and barrel are the most rare. They can be called the soul of a weapon. However, when I saw the guns presented by Prince Rui, the barrels are all the same. They are exquisitely crafted. , so it is!"

"Mr. Fan, it's not just that. Most of the firearms we saw in the Ming army used matchlocks to ignite the fire, and very few flintlocks were used. It's all because the number of misfires of flintlocks is much higher than that of matchlocks. But Mr. Fan, Concubine Zhuang just tried it twice. , all of which were successfully ignited, all due to this thing.”

Dorgon ostentatiously shook a spring in his hand.

"Fourteenth brother, what is this?"

"The minions under the servants don't know what it is, they only know that this thing can put the force on the trigger on the dragon's head, so as to ensure that the dragon's head hits the flint and fires."

"This thing, pass the decree to the craftsman's workshop, so they must imitate it! Also, in the future, the firecrackers, artillery, swords and armor made by my Qing Dynasty must be interchangeable between parts."

Killing Huangtai Guitar can't say the standardization and versatility of parts. However, as the commander of a group, he has an almost beastly instinct for these strategic technologies.He knew that the popularization and application of this technology would increase the combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners Army without limit, and even reduce consumption.

think about it.If a firecracker is scrapped, it is useless, and the barrel and other objects can only be returned to the furnace for recasting.And if these technologies are used, which part is broken can be replaced with an identical part!

"Master, according to the confessions of the captives under the servants, a barrel of Nanmanzi gunpowder cost 20 catties, and only three Nanman silver coins or three taels of silver are needed. If you buy more than [-] barrels at a time, the price will drop to two or two silver coins One barrel. Calculated in this way, it is much cheaper than making gunpowder by ourselves. Moreover, Nanban gunpowder is much more powerful than our own gunpowder. If the two gunpowder used by Concubine Zhuang just now used Nanban gunpowder... "

"What did Uncle Fourteen say about me behind my back?"

The flush of excitement on Bumbutai's face has not completely receded.There are still some sweat beads on the forehead.

"This king is praising the emperor that Concubine Zhuang is indeed a lark on the grassland. Not to mention she is proficient in swords, spears, bows and horses, this Nanman's firecracker is also so sharp."

Dorgon said perfunctorily to Bumbutai, but carefully observed Huang Taiji's expression from the corner of his eyes.On the one hand, he searched wantonly on Bumubutai's exquisite and graceful figure.

"Your Majesty, is Fourteenth Uncle lying to me?" Bumbutai intentionally acted like a cute little girl in front of Huang Taiji.

"The fourteenth brother is indeed praising you in front of me." Huang Taiji also didn't want to let this Mongolian woman know too much about her military affairs.Especially at the moment, Wu Keshan, the brother-in-law and nephew of his wife’s family who is in charge of Horqin 49 Banner for him (no way, who told him to get all three aunts, nephews and sisters of the Bumbutai family onto his kang? So this seniority and title It is naturally very confusing.) Right in the palace.If some rumors leak out, it will definitely bring unnecessary trouble to myself.

"Go and tell your elder brother that the Fourteenth Prince is here, and I will have lunch with the Fourteenth Prince!"

Hearing that the emperor intended to have his elder brother and Dorgon accompany him for lunch, Bumbutai naturally knew that this was a good thing, so he hurriedly got up and left to pass the message to the courtyard where his elder brother lived.

"Your Majesty, Prince Rui, just now you mentioned Prince Wu Keshan, but this servant remembered something."

"What's the matter?"

Huang Taiji's face darkened immediately, he was always worried that the Mongols like Horqin would have a different heart after the loss of his Eight Banners.In that case, you don't have to worry about the two wings and the rear if you have finally obtained it, even though the strategic advantage of the south facing Ming will be broken.

"A few days ago, the servant's family accidentally told the servant that several Shanxi merchants in Shengjing City sent their men to discuss business with Wu Keshan and other Horqin princes, and exchanged grain, rice and cloth for cattle."

"Huh? How to exchange?"

"It is said that an adult steer can be exchanged for two shi grains of rice, or a foot of cloth, and a calf can be exchanged for half. If it is a bull, a mang, etc., it can be doubled."

"What does your boss Fan Da say?"

Huangtai Jiluo had a sense of ridicule and banter.He didn't care too much about such trade activities. The Mongolian grasslands are full of cattle and sheep. As long as the horses are not sold to the inland by the Mongols in large quantities, then he will continue to maintain the advantage of mobility.Can't we not give the Mongols and Shanxi merchants any benefits?

"Master, the servant's family got inside information from the staff of the Fan family business. After these cattle were transported to the pass, except for a small part that was bought by the officers and soldiers and wealthy people from all over the place, they were sold to Nanzhong merchants in the capital. They bought it at the price of five shi grains and rice for each adult steer. Fan Yongdou and others have earned several times the money!"

Fan Wencheng was talking about it, secretly observing Huang Taiji from the corner of his eyes, watching the expression changes on that black face.

"Two stones of rice, five stones of rice? Sure enough, it's a good deal!"

Dorgon sneered.Because of his close relationship with Li Peiting, he naturally has a natural aversion to the Eight Great Shanxi Merchants, as the so-called butt commands the head.If it weren't for the Eight Great Families being able to obtain food, military weapons, ironware, etc. that Li Peiting refused to sell, he, Dorgon, wished that the entire Eight Banners trade would be run by Li Peiting, so that his Two White Banners could gain more benefits.

Fan Wencheng also guessed that Prince Rui's dissatisfaction with the Shanxi merchants, but he didn't have the courage to speculate deeply.He just kept his head down and continued to speak his mind.

"Master, the slaves think that if the master wants to develop firearms, he will have to smelt a lot of them. At the same time, there will be more apprentices in the workshops, and the consumption of money and food will be huge. If the source of money is not expanded, there will be worries about sitting on the mountain."

"Scholar Fan, then, from your point of view, how should we deal with this matter?" Not only Huang Taiji, but Dorgon also understood that if a large number of firearms were to be manufactured, especially imitation of Nanzhong firearms in the cottage, it would inevitably consume a lot of money and food If we can't find a road that can provide enough food and iron in a stable way, I'm afraid it will be a problem to support the artisans in the craftsmen's workshops.

"Slave is bold, please make an order from the emperor. It is clearly ordered that the Mongolian princes are not allowed to trade with outsiders without authorization."

"No trade? 1" Huang Taiji almost jumped up from the throne. If those Mongolian princes were not allowed to trade with Shanxi merchants, they would cause chaos in these two times, which would be much more terrifying than hundreds of thousands of Ming troops.

"I didn't make it clear what the slave said. He said that you should not trade with outsiders without authorization. If the wealthy owners in Shanxi want to buy certain kinds of goods or sell certain kinds of goods, just like the second son Li who is popular in Longsheng, they only Can communicate with the emperor, but can't act with the banner owners without authorization. Roughly calculated by the slaves, Horqin Grassland and Chahar Grassland can produce no less than hundreds of thousands of cattle every year. Wealthy trade can also exchange for hundreds of thousands of stones of grain, and there will be enough money and grain to feed the craftsmen and support the master to forge firearms!"

On the same day, at lunch, Dorgon proposed to Wu Keshan in front of Huang Taiji that the cattle in autumn and winter this year should not be slaughtered, and the emperor would appoint a special person to buy them for trade with southern merchants.

In this regard, Wu Keshan, who is the leading figure in Horqin Mongolia, naturally fully agrees. (To be continued..)

ps: It's the weekend, ask for a monthly pass.