Ping An Biography

In the cabinet yamen inside the north gate of Chu Palace, Zhang Ning was sitting with five ministers.Zhou Mengxiong and Yao Fang will leave Wuchang soon to take office, so Zhang Ning will be present in person for today's discussion, and there are some things to discuss.

In addition to the six people sitting on both sides of the hall, there was also a subordinate employee who was distributing tea, and another young official was holding a stack of papers to distribute to the ministers present.There are some materials written on the paper, which can let everyone understand the situation first.In this way, Zhang Ning felt as if he had a meeting in a company in his previous life, and a secretary sent information.

"We are going to prepare a new navy in Jiujiang. We originally planned to build 200 main ships of the navy, 'Pingan Ship', but it seems that there are still some difficulties. Let's see if there is any way to solve it." Zhang Ning cut to the chase. He said, "The main reason is the lack of copper. A safe ship is planned to displace 32 to 12 materials, carry [-] people, and be equipped with [-] main naval guns, [-] broadside guns, one at the head and one at the end; each gun needs copper materials." Two hundred catties, one ship needs [-] catties of copper; twenty ships need about [-] catties of copper.”

Several people looked at each other in blank dismay, and had nothing to say for a while.In silence, Yang Shiqi calculated in his heart that if these copper coins were cast into copper coins, at least 600 million pieces could be made, and if the copper coins were mixed with lead, it could be even more.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was a shortage of copper throughout the country, and even more so in the interior. Even minted coins could not meet the needs, so the commercial market could only be filled with silver and banknotes; what's more, the few copper mines in the Yangtze River Basin that were easy to mine had low yields and poor quality. Last year, a lot of money, food and manpower were spent on casting long-barrel cannons, because the quality of the copper material was poor and trachoma occurred, so it had to be scrapped and recast.This time I need 10,000+ catties of copper, where can I get it?

As a cabinet minister, Yang Shiqi could only come up with a single sentence, so Yang Shiqi had no choice but to say: "Suddenly it is necessary to cast hundreds of bronze cannons. I am afraid that it will be difficult for the poor Huguangjiangxi provinces to prepare. Can we use iron cannons instead?"

"Iron cannons can only be cast into mortars..." Zhang Ning had no choice but to explain patiently, "The so-called mortars are those with thick and short barrels.

The reason is that the exit speed is small, so it can only be fired at a high throw, and the weight of the gun itself falls to the ground to cause damage.Throwing requires high precision to achieve accurate alignment, and the hull is unstable on the water, making it extremely difficult to hit enemy ships... In this way, artillery cannot become the main force of water warfare, and in the end, we have to use the angle of attack to meet the ship in close combat to determine the outcome However, our gunboat is equipped with dozens of guns, which is superfluous. "

Zhang Ning felt a little lost for a while, and sighed inattentively: "We want to compete for water control rights, and the number of ships, manpower and material resources are far inferior to those of the Northern Army. This is an asymmetrical competition in itself; There is an asymmetrical gap in various aspects, such as tactics and weapons, rather than fighting with them. With the strength of our dynasty, how can we defeat the army and navy with many people and ships? [

Over the past few years, although our army has won successive victories, it has always dealt with the invading government troops passively, fought inside, and could actively choose a favorable battlefield.Now that the time is ripe, attacking the lower reaches of the Yangtze River will be our first step in turning defense into offense, and it is also the easiest and most beneficial direction. The navy will play a vital role. "

Everyone has no objection to what Zhang Ning said, and a consensus has been reached long ago.Attacking Nanjing will bring huge benefits. The wealthy Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces can obtain a large number of people and financial resources, and Nanjing is also the first capital of the Ming Dynasty. The political influence caused is not inferior to that of capturing the capital; Under the circumstances, as long as the river can be controlled, the logistics pressure is very small. At the same time, the military equipment of the Ming Dynasty has always attached importance to the north. The military force in Nanjing is almost all based on long-distance deployment. long.

Therefore, Wuchang decided to expand the navy early on. Before that, the artificial canals and docks on the Jiujiang side started construction.

At this moment, Zheng Qia said softly: "There are copper mines in Yunnan, and the quality is good."

After hearing this, Zhang Ning felt very confused. Yunnan was thousands of miles away from the lake, and it was completely outside the control of the Suzaku Army. What was the use of the copper mines there?Although the Suzaku Army claims to plan to rule the river, its actual strength is very limited. It is small and powerful but not powerful. Most of the southern provinces are trying to control... Tired... But Zheng Qia is a cabinet minister, and he is discussing in the lobby , since he opened his mouth, he can't just talk about it casually, right?

What is the mystery in this?Zhang Ning was thinking about it, but Zheng Qia said indifferently: "Why don't you meet the emperor and talk about Duke Qian's matter. The matter of copper materials may take some trouble, but it is not necessarily impossible."

The so-called Guizhou Duke should be the Mu family in Yunnan, and Guizhou is Yunnan. Who else is more powerful besides the Mu family?When Zhang Ning heard this, he suddenly had some eyebrows: Is it possible that Emperor Jianwen is also related to the Mu family?It is true that Zhang Ning does not understand the situation in Yunnan, and it is rarely mentioned by anyone.However, Wang Muying of Yunnan is really famous. I remember that there are members of this family in the martial arts novels I read in my previous life... But what Zheng Qia mentioned was the Duke of Qian. It seems that Muying was not named King of Yunnan, maybe it was posthumously named That's all.

For a while, Zhang Ning had to re-examine his "father" Emperor Jianwen. This emperor who once lost the country with his own hands now basically has no real power and has been neglected.But suddenly Zhang Ning realized that Emperor Jianwen was the grandson of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Even if he failed completely, the background was not so simple; The eldest son is also suspected of being harmed by Zhang Ning's party, but he has never resisted the practice of creating conflicts. It is really difficult to think about it... A person who has experienced a big failure is really calm.

Zhang Ning looked at Zheng Qia, but Zheng Qia seemed unwilling to talk more after mentioning it, and he didn't force it.The few important people here can still live in harmony and work together, but I am afraid that it is really difficult for them to communicate with each other... There are people from the Yan Dynasty, and there are people who were born as traitors of the Han Dynasty. Can people with huge differences really trust each other?

"The naval division must be formed." Zhang Ning temporarily put aside the matter just now, turned to Yang Shiqi and said, "There is something to be handed over to Yang Gong, and ordered the governors of all prefectures and counties to report the information of the copper mines in various places. Make statistics, and then send people to investigate and evaluate the output. You can also ask people to contact those big businessmen to find out how much copper can be smuggled from other places. Later, the court will make a final calculation based on this information to see how many naval cannons it can build come out."

Yang Shiqi said: "The old minister will definitely do it."

After discussing the matter in the lobby, Zhang Ning was not in a hurry to summon Zheng Qia privately to ask more questions, he thought it would be better to ask Yao Ji first.Yao Ji has been in the palace since she was a child, and she has been in the Jianwen Yu Party for more than [-] years. She should know a lot; Yao Ji is more trustworthy, and as long as she knows, she will try her best to help herself.

Zhang Ning then left the cabinet office and entered the palace.When I arrived at Fengyi Building, I learned that Yao Ji was not in her residence, but on the viewing platform to the south.One maid went up to report, and the other took Zhang Ning directly upstairs, because the servants had never met Mrs. Yao who refused to see the king of Xiang when he came here.

In the south corner of the upper floor, there is a viewing platform similar to a palace. It is usually the place where the guards on duty stay.But Yao Ji wasn't here to enjoy the scenery. Zhang Ning had just walked through the passage on the viewing platform when she heard her say: "The sun in winter is so nice. I want to bask in the sun but I'm afraid of getting sunburned."

It turned out that goose yellow gauze curtains were hung around the viewing platform to block too strong sunlight.The gauze curtain was as soft as a weeping willow, full of the graceful feeling of the palace, and Zhang Ning became a little cautious for a while.Before coming here, I was only thinking about how to get copper materials to build guns and ships, and forgot about other things. Only when I walked to the place did I think of the heart-pounding intimacy a few days ago. [

I really don't know how to face Yao Ji again, and what kind of relative it will be when we meet.

But he had already come here, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and open the curtain to go in, and at the same time, all the maids serving inside came out carefully.

I saw Yao Ji half lying on a Xiangfei chair basking in the sun, the sun became more gentle through the light gauze, and the whole viewing platform was shrouded in a layer of beautiful light yellow color.The colors in front of her eyes are so bright and beautiful, black silk, jade white skin, pink rouge with the luster of pearl powder, bright red hem, yellow skirt...a patina The ancient meticulous painting seems to be on paper, but also seems to be in a dream.

The material of Yao Ji's dress is light and soft. When lying on her back, the outline of her horizontal body is revealed. The plump and soft breasts flow naturally to both sides, which is very dynamic, and the gentle curve of the waist is very smooth. The skirt Because of the drooping, the two slender legs are also displayed.Her bright eyes watched Zhang Ning approaching slowly, and Zhang Ning suddenly realized that he must have been stunned when he walked just now, because he didn't know how he got here.

Zhang Ning hardly dared to look at her face anymore. The indescribable beauty gave him a sense of pressure, and he didn't dare to look closely... Maybe a woman's facial features can be beautiful as long as they are symmetrical, but they will form a unique combination when they are matched together. I feel that Yao Ji's face formed a completely different feeling, not just pleasing to the eye.

Usually a strong woman who seems to have a clear understanding of the world always has a smell of dust, because it is difficult to have such eyes because of inexperience; but Yao Ji does not have the slightest air of smoke and dust, she is like a finely crafted fairy, but she does not have the charm of a fairy. Clear and pure, she has many emotions, is subtle and easily affects others.

"I haven't seen you for several days, but you finally remembered to visit me." She said casually.It's as if nothing happened a few days ago.

Zhang Ning said: "I want to ask my concubine about some past events. Is there any contact with the Mu family in Yunnan and the relationship with the 'father' Emperor Jianwen?"

"Oh." Yao Ji nodded slightly, and moved her body a bit, "There is no place to sit here, come and sit next to me, I'll tell you."

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