Ping An Biography

The morning sun was rising, the wind was sunny, the village was shrouded in a layer of mist, and the dew on the grass leaves on the roadside was not yet dry. Generally speaking, it was a sunny and good weather.But it's not a special day. Today, the Bureau of Arms is going to test guns, and it's not a big deal. They have tried it twice before.

However, the elders in charge of the village knew that Monk Yao was going to watch the mine, so they all accompanied him.Including several entourages and guards around Monk Yao, there are about ten people in the group.When Wei Bin, who was in charge of the training of soldiers and horses, came to ask for instructions to cancel the morning exercises to watch the test weapons, there were even more people, and today's event became even more lively.

The last time something happened in the coal mine, Tao Da went to appease the families of the dead and injured, and mentioned that the purpose of making firearms was to equip the young and strong of Fengxia Mountain to attack bandits. Wei Bin was interested in hearing about the new equipment.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Ning and the others didn't wait for anyone, they heard rumbling cannons from a distance, and Monk Yao started firing cannons before he reached the ground.Looking from a distance from the entrance of the village, I could see the smoke billowing up. The wind was still low at this time, and the thick smoke lingered in the air for a long time.

Monk Yao and a group of people walked forward, after a while several people walked out from the thick smoke, and the person in front of them was Zhang Ning.As he approached, he saw the excitement on Zhang Ning's face, and Monk Yao asked, "It's done this time?"

"Uncle, please come and see." Zhang Ning saluted calmly, took them to the three cannons mounted on wooden carts and said, "After repeated modification and testing, it cost a lot of manpower and money, these three cannons are basically usable .Machine cannon, weighing less than [-] jin, loaded with solid ammunition, has an effective range of more than one mile, is equipped with a two-wheeled frame, can be used for field battles, and can be used for siege. Area damage. Light weight, easy to transport, with collimator, simple range finder, fast firing speed, but the disadvantage is that it is a small-caliber light gun with a short range.”

Monk Yao said calmly: "It's not short to be able to hit one mile. As far as I know, it's not bad for the general artillery in Dacheng to be able to hit one mile."

Zhang Ning didn't say much, and turned around and shouted: "Ma Dapeng, ask someone to reload, and shoot another shot at the target on the mountain." , the location of the piles of straw on the opposite side is at least a mile away, so you can tell it at a glance."

Everyone watched and waited with great interest. After a while, the craftsman who set off the cannon yelled, and someone held a light, and there was a "chi", the man hurriedly covered his head, and a loud "boom" was heard after a while , thick smoke rose.Many people on Monk Yao's side took several steps back in shock.After a few hectares of smoke dissipated, the haystacks on the opposite mountainside were ablaze, and it was the hot shells that hit the target and ignited.

Zhang Ning couldn't help but look smug: "The general's cannon often weighs more than a thousand catties, and it is extremely difficult to transport. How is it compared to our mother-in-law cannon?"

Monk Yao looked serious, nodded slightly, and took two steps to look at the fire on the haystack on the mountain.

Zhang Ning pointed to the firecrackers in the hands of several craftsmen and said: "A matchlock gun is five feet long and weighs eleven or two catties. It can wear iron armor at a distance of a hundred paces. It is easy to aim with the aim. It's just that the manufacturing process of the barrel is too laborious for the time being." , It is made of two layers of fine iron sheets inside and outside, and then manually drilled with a steel drill to make it smooth and smooth. It takes more than 20 days for one person to drill a barrel, and it may be unqualified, resulting in expensive manufacturing costs. But it is still good to use. "

After he said that, he asked someone to put an iron pot a hundred paces away, and personally took a loaded musket to test in front of Monk Yao. , you can aim. Close your eyes when shooting."

"Bang!" White smoke rose, sparks flashed, and the sound was still loud and deafening.

A man ran over to fetch the iron pot, and everyone looked at it expectantly, only to see that the iron pot was intact and the keel ring was intact.

Zhang Ning was suddenly embarrassed, and said, "It seems that I missed it."

"Haha..." After a while, dozens of people couldn't help laughing.Even Qiu Ye, the guardian, couldn't help but smile, and whispered next to Zhang Ning: "If you don't say a few words, you won't be right, and you won't be laughed at by others."

Monk Yao stretched out his hand and patted him on the shoulder, and said nicely, "Ping'an is a scholar, and he didn't practice bow and horse riding and archery before, so it's not surprising that he missed the shot."

Everyone laughed, but Zhang Ning looked calm and said, "Just now I was happy and forgot how to use this kind of matchlock gun. It is normal to miss a shot from a hundred paces away. If you hit it, it can only be luck. .”

One person couldn't help yelling: "Just now I saw someone fiddle with gunpowder for a long time. You can only fire one shot at a time, and you have to rely on luck to hit it. So what's the use of this thing other than scaring people?"

Zhang Ning said calmly: "That's not how it is used in the first place. There are two ways to hit, one is to get closer, and the other is to shoot in full volley."

After thinking about it, everyone nodded in agreement.Some warriors under Wei Bin's subordinates also understood that ordinary soldiers cannot penetrate Yang with a hundred steps using bows and arrows, and have to cover a large area with arrows.Moreover, the killing distance of a good bow and crossbow is only a few tens of steps. If the bow and arrow is poor, it is not easy to kill a person with armor as close as [-] or [-] steps.

Seeing this, Wei Bin, a man with a square face, couldn't help asking: "Master Zhang said, build a batch of firearms to equip our troops?"

"I said it." Zhang Ning turned his head and looked at him seriously, "I also want to see the effect of these weapons in actual combat. As long as my uncle agrees to let me train the troops in the village, it only takes two months. Eliminate those bandits overwhelmingly."

When everyone showed great curiosity in front of new things, Monk Yao looked very indifferent, and he didn't immediately agree to Zhang Ning's request.

Zhang Ning thought that he couldn't trust the combat effectiveness of firearms and the way a young civil official managed the army, and he was worried that if the troops were damaged, the safety of the people in several villages would be endangered.Zhang Ning deliberately provoked the general immediately: "I saw the situation after the mountain bandits plundered Fengcun that day. It is a shame to kill the old, the weak, women and children, and abuse women in broad daylight! What crimes are the victims? Let the thieves get away with it?"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became, which affected his own emotions. There was a murderous coldness in his eyes that was completely different from the usual gentleness. After being judged and sanctioned, all unreasonable and unfair rules should be destroyed! We will never give in to violence!"

"...Those bandits have committed all sorts of crimes. If they don't sacrifice their blood to this ancient weapon, how long will it be?"

Monk Yao suddenly stood there in a daze, staring into Zhang Ning's eyes, speechless for a long time.The surroundings became quiet for a while, and everyone was speechless after hearing Zhang Ning's words.During this short period of silence, Monk Yao looked into those eyes, and heard a low-pitched roar in his ears, which was very familiar, as if in a dream... He muttered, "There must be laws of heaven in the world. The law of nature is greater for the weak and the strong, never give in to violence..."

Everyone turned their heads to look at the strange Monk Yao.

Monk Yao looked up at the sky, there were white clouds floating in the blue sky, but there was nothing else, he sighed, "Is this God's will?"

After a long time, Monk Yao came back to his senses, and when he looked into Zhang Ning's eyes again, the charm of the tiger's eyes was gone, and the moment was fleeting, and the suppressed roar could not be heard in his ears.Monk Yao raised his hand and pointed at his nephew: "Success, you come and teach everyone how to use firearms and destroy those who violate the laws of heaven."

Zhang Ning immediately cupped his fists and said, "I will live up to my uncle's trust."

He has stayed here for a long time, mostly spent worrying about his future and depressed. Now he just needs an opportunity to prove his ideas, and at the same time prove his ability to the Jianwen Party for the first time.

... Zhang Ning is very confident about the matter in front of him. The bandits are just a gang of mobs, so what if they rely on the terrain fortifications?

Wei Bin has more than a hundred strong men under his command, who are selected from several villages to serve as the main force responsible for defending the village.The first thing Zhang Ning did was to reorganize these people. According to the regular establishment of the Ming Dynasty, this group of people was organized into a hundred households. It is used as a messenger, food and grass logistics and other arms.Below one hundred households set up the left and right general banners, with 120 people each; ten small banners are set up under the general banner, arranged in sequence from one to ten.

In just one day, a group of armed villagers turned into a small army because of the organization number and military discipline and regulations.

Zhang Ning thinks that running an army doesn't necessarily have to be a military commander. Now that he feels good about himself, isn't he still able to do it?Originally, he was just an accountant and an imperial civil servant, but he had already worked part-time as a factory manager and engineer of a factory in Fengxia Mountain. That's all.

At the beginning, he couldn't start teaching firearms, because the finished guns and artillery were not enough, and there was not enough gunpowder.Next, he started to do several things at the same time: First, he trained the group of people in a queue according to his one-month military training experience at the university.As for the usefulness, he himself didn't know very well, maybe it could strengthen the organization and discipline, and it would also be good for the firearms salvo formation. Anyway, Zhang Ning didn't know martial arts, and he didn't have enough guns, so he had nothing to do for the time being.

In addition, he asked the Finance Department of the Weapons Bureau to allocate funds to order more than 100 sets of black clothes of the same color and style from the villagers; he ordered the craftsmen in the workshop to make more than [-] Dayan iron helmets.Because in Zhang Ning's memory, I don't know where he read it at a local bookstore before, and the number of people who were hit on the head was the largest in the war, so he wanted to equip each of the soldiers with an iron helmet.Armor is ignored, chain mail is still time-consuming and labor-intensive, and firearms have to be made in workshops, and soldiers will be asked to wear what they have and wear wood and bamboo armor.

He conceived the Nine Articles of Military Law overnight, which are simple and easy to understand, and serve as evidence for restraining military discipline.There are also ten steps for loading and firing the musket, which are clearly written out to facilitate skilled training.

For a while, Zhang Ning felt that he was still a military theorist who could write military books. With these rules and regulations, adding some nonsense to explain, there was no pressure to write a military book.In retrospect, some military strategists in the Ming Dynasty were actually civil servants of the same kind. They were sent to the frontier army for a while, and after doing some things, they wrote articles well. It was not difficult to write two military books.