At the end of the Ming Dynasty, military technology had been fully developed, but it was stuck at a certain point, so that hot and cold weapons had to be mixed to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army. The cavalry was still extremely powerful and could determine the outcome of a battle. Armor and equipment

This is the key to a strong army.

Therefore, in Zhou Shixian's plan to strengthen the army, he retreated to the south and was seriously short of high-quality war horses. If he wanted to maintain the strong combat effectiveness of the army, he had to give full play to the role of firearms.

In other words, since there were not enough cavalry, they had to use muskets and artillery to support the military formation, and then use cavalry to cover the battle. This was his strategy to deal with the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers.

In this era, the artillery most suitable for field battles was not the "Hongyi Cannon".

The "Hongyi Cannon" was originally a long-barreled naval gun on a battleship. It was very bulky, while the so-called French cannon was not powerful enough. Neither of them was suitable for field combat.

However, because the artillery technology of the Ming Dynasty had lagged behind the West and lacked artillery manufacturing theory, it was unable to carry out successful self-innovation. In addition, the artillery of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties was completely inherited from the Ming court.

Therefore, on the East Asian battlefield, both sides can only use it as a weapon for siege.

In the hands of skilled artillery gunners, the "four-pounder", which had a faster rate of fire than a matchlock gun, was the most suitable artillery for field battles during this period.

Of course, the four-pounder gun was also called "regimental gun" in the Swedish army of its master, Gustav Adolf II.

Of course, in addition to "four-pound guns", there are also "six-pound guns" and "eight-pound guns". These guns have different ranges and sizes of projectiles fired, but different from the combat requirements of naval guns, their appearance characteristics make them

It is lighter and more suitable for performing tasks on land.

As for firearms and artillery, Zhou Shixian had to rely on Tang Ruowang as a middleman, asking him to invite red-haired craftsmen or even purchase ready-made ones directly.

"Mr. Tang, if you bring back craftsmen from Macau, how long will it take to make a four-pound cannon that can be used in actual combat?" Zhou Shixian asked with eager eyes.

As a retired officer who knew a little about muskets and artillery, he naturally would not ask about flintlock guns. It was not that the flintlock guns of this period could not be produced, but that the cost was too high, there were too many parts, and failures occurred frequently.

Not suitable for large-scale armies.

Moreover, there are so many mature and low-cost matchlocks to choose from, which can form an arms advantage over a strong army, as well as various land combat artillery, why should Zhou Shixian be obsessed with flintlock guns?

Of course, people still need to continue research. A mature flintlock gun is far more powerful than a matchlock gun, but it is impossible to invest the already precious war resources in the production and research of flintlock guns.

Tang Ruowang squinted his eyes and muttered something, as if he was calculating something. After thinking seriously for a while, he finally answered:

"Prince-in-law, if we go to Macau to hire skilled craftsmen, and then trial-produce it in a workshop in Nanjing, it should take five months. But if we want to mass-produce it, I'm afraid..."

"Afraid of what?" Zhou Shixian asked quickly.

He came from a later generation and had much more knowledge. He knew that both the "lost wax method" and the "mud mold method" would take three or four months, and the "lost wax method" also had weather requirements. Only in winter the temperature was relatively low.

can only be used when .

"I'm afraid it needs to be debugged and tested, because the quality of the iron used to make the cannon will also affect the quality of the cannon. Some iron materials are brittle and some are harder. The Cycad iron in Nanjing and the Fujian iron in Fujian are different.

, so it may ultimately take more than a year to achieve mass production."

Tang Ruowang frowned slightly and continued:

"Artillery used in actual combat must not be neglected, otherwise it will cost the lives of millions of people on the battlefield. After the artillery is manufactured, a set of measuring and aiming tools must be specially prepared and specialized gunners must be trained.

These all take a lot of time.”

Zhou Shixian only knew some knowledge in this area, but naturally he was not as clear as an expert like Tang Ruowang. After hearing this, he could only retreat to the next best thing. What he needed was more advanced weapons to launch a sudden attack when the enemy was strong and we were weak.

One blow to stabilize the situation does not have to be of your own making.

"So in Macau and Nanyang, is there a way to buy four-pounder cannons? Where's the turtle-dove musket?"

Now, Zhou Shixian only needs to equip a small-scale field artillery unit with twenty four-pound cannons and two to three hundred men. Even if he adds three to four hundred original turtle-dove-foot muskets to deal with the Manchu charging cavalry,

There are only about a thousand people.

He did not think he could convince Li Zicheng that such a large military group could not change its established strategy just because of his announcement.

In other words, there is a high probability that the Shun army will still be unable to defeat the Manchu and Qing armies, and the Manchu Qing will also have a high probability of sending its troops south to attack Jiangnan a year later, just like in the original history.

Moreover, even if the situation is reversed and the Shun army resists the Qing army at Shanhaiguan, it will just be replaced by the Shun army going south. The entry of the Manta and Tatars into the pass was originally a great chance. After this failure, there will be no more

What an opportunity.

Therefore, Zhou Shixian only had one year, and he had to be prepared to block the first wave of Qing troops, or to suppress the southern warlords.

As long as we can stabilize the enemy's first wave of attacks, rebuild the confidence of the Ming soldiers and generals, and get the state machine back on track, the Ming Dynasty, which still owns half of the country, can still be saved.

"There should be some in Macao, but the inventory may not be large. There was almost no demand for four-pounders before the Ming Dynasty. You may be able to buy more than 400 turtle-dove-footed guns."

Tang Ruowang thought for a while and then suddenly said: "However, even if Macau doesn't have it, the Dutch should have some on hand. We can buy it from them."

"How much can I buy? Sir, do you have an accurate estimate?" Zhou Shixian's eyebrows suddenly lit up when he heard this.

However, when Tang Ruowang saw this, he couldn't help but feel worried in his heart, and he was even convinced that this Ming Dynasty prince-consort was very fanatical about war.

Although it was only a short four or five days on the way south, the leadership ability, broad knowledge, and ambition shown by Zhou Shixian far exceeded everyone Tang Ruowang had seen in the 20 years of the Ming Dynasty.

He had never seen anyone in the Ming Dynasty have such a deep understanding of European countries. The knowledge and vision displayed in a few words were even more amazing. They were not comparable to those so-called Ming court officials who were enthusiastic about Western learning.

His old friend Xu Guangqi is probably a little inferior.

The most important thing is that this prince-in-law is only seventeen years old. How did he do it? It is simply a miracle!

After all, Tang Ruowang had never heard of Zhou Shixian's name before being kidnapped into the "Ten Princes' Mansion". This prince-in-law seemed to appear out of nowhere.

In fact, the Han bureaucratic class in the late Ming Dynasty held a welcoming attitude towards Western learning. This was not only to learn artillery technology and fight against the Manchus outside the Pass, but also for academic research and personal interests of many literati.

From this, small circles of Western learning were formed.

And this is far from just coming out of the semi-tribal slavery and semi-feudal system. It can only be compared with the powerful Manchu Tatar. Not to mention, in order to maintain their rule, the Manchu Tatar destroyed Chinese civilization irreparably.

Of course, for Tang Ruowang, who was dedicated to preaching, these were not important. Everything he did was just to serve the mission.

It is precisely because of this that Tang Ruowang attaches so much importance to his relationship with Zhou Shixian.

Because since going south, he found that the Ming Dynasty's Prince Consort not only received unusual support from the two important ministers, but also successfully subdued those arrogant soldiers. Even Emperor Chongzhen, who had always been arbitrary, also trusted him very much and even stopped intervening in specific matters.

affairs.

Tang Ruowang had gone on an expedition with the army not long ago, and he knew how terrifying those ruffians were. This young prince-in-law was actually able to subdue them with thunderous means. His methods were probably no worse than those of the supervisors who had commanded thousands of troops.

In this way, when Emperor Chongzhen returns to power in Nanjing, this princess-husband, who is extraordinary in both civil and military skills, will surely gain unparalleled power in the new dynasty.

You must know that what is most lacking in the Ming court today is people who are good at military affairs; what is most needed is to build a strong military force.

By then, if he can get the consort's attention and become his confidant, he will definitely have a place with Emperor Chongzhen.

As long as there is official support, it will be a very simple matter to spread religion in the densely populated and economically developed southern provinces.

Moreover, Tang Ruowang also discovered that the young prince-in-law's understanding of religion was far beyond his imagination, and even far beyond that of other people in the country.

This should be extremely beneficial for him to preach.

"In addition to the Portuguese, the Dutch East India Company and the British East India Trading Company should have sources of four-pounders.

If you can buy them from both families, there should be no problem with twenty or thirty, but you have to go to Macau to inquire about the specific number before you can confirm it."

Tang Ruowang entered the Ming Dynasty through Macau twenty years ago, and has always maintained contact with the missionaries at this transit station.

Moreover, as the war situation in western Liaoning in the Ming Dynasty worsened, Emperor Chongzhen repeatedly asked him to study firearms, which made him very familiar with the arms trade in Southeast Asia.

"Okay, then this matter will be left to Mr. Tang." Zhou Shixian nodded, then smiled slightly and said:

"In addition to artillery, more importantly, sir, I also need to help the Ming Dynasty find some highly skilled craftsmen and young, experienced firearms instructors in Macau and Nanyang.

After the Holy Spirit arrives in Nanjing, the Ming Dynasty will set up new firearms workshops in Jiangnan to train new armies. Both will need more outstanding craftsmen and military talents."

If Zhou Shixian wanted to deal with the Manchu and Shun armies, he had to form a new army of his own, and then match it with a systematic soldier training and officer training system.

The so-called four towns in Jiangbei and the weak soldiers in the south could not stop the fierce Manchu and Qing cavalry. Zhou Shixian knew this very well.

"Don't worry, Prince Consort, craftsmen and instructors are not a problem, Macau definitely has them."
Chapter completed!