Ming politicians

(Thanks to my surname Peng Chen, 277193303 for casting a valuable monthly ticket, thank you.)

Bi Maokang made a special trip to the Governor's Mansion.

He came here with Qin Sande, and there are some things that need to be reported, and the difficulties he is facing now are also somewhat serious.

Looking back on the establishment of the Artillery Battalion and the process of developing and improving firearms, Bi Maokang was filled with emotion. At the beginning of the research, Bi Maokang believed that this was just a temporary decision by Su Tian to improve the combat effectiveness of the Jiangning Battalion in a short period of time. The research and improvement of firearms, after all, is a matter of spending money. If the money flows in like water, it may not be effective. Unexpectedly, Su Tiancheng does not have such a view at all. He insists on the research and development and improvement of firearms, especially The research on artillery is even more willing to spend money. Over the years, the amount of silver used for research and development every year is close to one million taels. This has also prompted the research of artillery to make significant progress. It can be said that the new type of artillery mastered by the Jiangning Battalion , invincible in the world.

Bi Maokang was also lucky. When he was doing R&D and improvement work, he felt like fighting alone, but because of the sufficient money, the treatment of technicians and craftsmen was fully guaranteed, which was able to attract talents, and those who entered the Jiangning Camp It doesn't take long for technicians and craftsmen to discover that this is a long-term thing, not the kind of practice of fishing for three days and drying the net for two days. In other words, they entered the Jiangning camp and engaged in the research and development of firearms Improvement matters, even if it entered the safe, enough to feed the family.

Therefore, the research and development team grew rapidly, including some craftsmen from the capital, who secretly came to Jiangning Camp. Bi Maokang pretended not to know, and would not refuse anyone who came.The Ministry of Industry knew about this matter, but turned a blind eye. Even if you pursue it, it will have no effect. Besides, the imperial court does not have any money to use to develop firearms.Since the Dengzhou Artillery Base was destroyed, the imperial court was unable to build such a large base.

What made Bi Maokang even more unexpected was that some Portuguese technicians and some superb craftsmen in Dengzhou were still alive. With the development of the mutual market, these people came to Anningbao from Mongolia and entered Jiangning Camp to continue to work Artillery research and development.

This greatly increased Bi Maokang's strength.Of course, the expenses have also increased. After Su Tiancheng learned of this situation, he increased the expenses without the slightest hesitation.

The biggest benefit for Bi Maokang is the research and development of fine iron. After a period of hard work, it is on the right track.

Want to really make a breakthrough in R&D.If refined iron cannot be smelted, it will have no real effect.With the growth of the technical team, refined iron began to be developed and put into large-scale production.

A valley less than ten miles away from Fort Anning has been turned into a military restricted zone for the production of fine iron and the research and development of firearms.Everything is done here, it occupies a huge area, with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and the conditions are no problem.

As for iron ore, there is no shortage.As long as there is silver, a steady stream of iron ore will be transported here, and countless merchants will come to contact them. The merchants also know that Jiangningying is trustworthy and will never default on money, so they are willing to deal with Jiangningying. The ore is transported directly outside the valley.

After being able to produce refined iron, research and development began to make great strides.

Batches of new red-clothed cannons and general cannons have begun to be produced. These cannons are strictly prohibited from being traded and must not be leaked. They are all owned by the Artillery Battalion of the Jiangning Battalion. During the intermittent training, sometimes, seeing the shells fired, it was all money, and Bi Maokang felt heartache.

In the Battle of Kuizhou Mansion, the role of artillery was huge, but it was in the mountainous area, and the use of artillery was limited to a certain extent. It was different in the Guanningjin defense line. After the meeting at Shanhaiguan, Bi Maokang specially wandered around the Guanningjin defense line A circle, this place, the artillery can play a huge power, and after the Battle of Kuizhou Mansion, according to the relevant information obtained, the technical team improved the artillery again.

The time is still a little tight. One hundred red cannons and one hundred general cannons are too large. Up to now, the latest red cannons and general cannons produced are only 120 in total, which is still eighty door, but the time is only more than a month, less than two months, and these artillery have to be transported to Jinzhou.

Thinking of these, Bi Maokang had a headache.

After Qin Sande arrived at Fort Anning, Bi Maokang reported the situation in detail. Even Qin Sande felt embarrassed. The key was the transportation problem. The artillery was heavy and inconvenient to transport. I can't get up soon.

Qin Sande felt that the matter was of great importance, and suggested that Bi Maokang follow him to Ningyuan and report directly to Su Tiancheng.

After entering the Governor's Mansion, Su Tiancheng had already been waiting in the wing room.

Nowadays, discussions are usually held in the wing rooms, and rarely in the lobby, unless there are a large number of people.

"Eunuch Qin has worked hard. He was exhausted all the way, and when he returned to Ningyuan, he still couldn't rest."

"Don't dare, this is our family's business. Our family must do well. It's just that Mr. Bi encountered some difficulties. Our family also felt embarrassed and didn't dare to make decisions without authorization, so we came to report with Mr. Bi. .”

Su Tiancheng nodded and looked at Bi Maokang.

"My lord, I am mainly troubled by the problem of transportation. The artillery is quite large, and it is not easy to transport it. It is a thousand miles away from Anning Fort to Jinzhou. The task of transporting the artillery is too arduous."

Su Tiancheng shook his head helplessly. In fact, this is a very simple matter. With a little change of mind, the problem will be solved. It is a pity that an expert like Bi Maokang is used to thinking about sophisticated problems.

"I don't think it's a difficult thing. Separate transportation, isn't the speed much faster? With so many technicians, send some of them to Jinzhou to assemble the artillery in Jinzhou. Wouldn't all problems be solved?"

Bi Maokang patted his head in frustration.

"What your lord said is that the lower officials are confused, they didn't even think of such a simple thing."

"Okay, for the specific problem, Mr. Bi has to figure out a solution. The time is set, and there is no delay. The time is already very tight, and we must act. You go back quickly and bring [-] soldiers from the Jiangning Battalion to be responsible for transportation. All the cannons are transported at one time. I have counted. One hundred red cannons and one hundred general cannons are the heaviest. Each cannon is transported by one hundred soldiers, and the rest are transported. Fran cannons and tiger squatting cannons are much faster, and there is no problem in transporting them to Jinzhou within the specified time. In addition, [-] soldiers will be deployed, and all soldiers of the artillery battalion will return to the team."

"Okay, I will go to implement it right away. There is one more thing. I am also planning to develop other types of artillery. The power is also huge. With the assistance of Portuguese technicians, there is no big problem."

Su Tiancheng shook his head unexpectedly.

"Don't do things like this. The improvement of artillery research and development lies in specialization and precision. Four types of artillery are enough. The Fran cannon and the tiger squatting cannon are used for short-range bombing. The red cannon and the large cannon The general gun is used for long-distance bombing. What needs to be continued at present is to increase the lethality of the artillery. This is the direction that needs to be worked on. As for the research and development of other types of artillery, let’s put it aside for the time being. It is not yet developed. when."

Bi Maokang nodded. He just wanted to give it a try. Since it's not the time yet, don't develop it for now. Judging from Su Tiancheng's words, he will eventually develop other types of artillery.

After a while, Hong Chengchou also came.

Seeing Hong Chengchou coming in, Su Tiancheng nodded and spoke seriously.

"Jiangning Battalion has been established for so many years. It has experienced countless battles. The cavalry and infantry have always played the main role. From now on, the artillery battalion will play the most important role. The post-Gold Tartars are used to fighting in the wild. They The attack also has a lot of randomness, and it is quite elusive. Such an army has a very strong combat effectiveness. Combined with this situation, the Jiangning Battalion must strengthen the construction of the artillery battalion. 6000 people."

Everyone didn't speak, and they were all thinking about whether it was necessary.

"I know what everyone is thinking, and please believe that as the battle progresses, the role of the artillery battalion will become more prominent. After a short time, you will know that the artillery battalion will become the most important force of the Jiangning battalion. It is a decisive force, and the artillery battalion will become the first battalion of our Jiangning battalion."

"So, the expenses of the artillery battalion must be guaranteed. Artillery already consumes money. There is no way to do it, and it is also something that cannot be saved. Don't feel bad about the money that should be spent. Just spend it, Mr. Bi, after returning to Fort Anning , The research and development work of the artillery still needs to be paid close attention to. The next step is to reduce the weight of the artillery and increase the power of the artillery, which may be the most important thing."

When he left the Governor's Mansion, Bi Maokang was very excited. In his consciousness, he had already felt the importance of artillery. Unexpectedly, Su Tiancheng's understanding was more in place, and he emphasized that the artillery battalion would become the first battalion of the Jiangning battalion. The role of artillery has been fully revealed. In future battles, artillery will play a decisive role.

Under such circumstances, research and development work becomes even more important.

Bi Maokang originally specialized in the study of firearms, but after several years passed, he felt that in actual combat, the role of artillery was far stronger than that of firearms, so the focus of energy was quickly transferred to artillery.

In fact, the role of firearms is equally important, but the technology has not yet developed to that level. The flintlock is already the limit level of this era. If we continue to study, we will not make great progress.But artillery is different. It can be continuously improved. Its weight and power are all worthy of in-depth study. (to be continued..)