In the side hall of the central hall of General Zhenshuo's mansion, Wu Zhizhong, the logistics manager of the Yongyi Army, only then told the truth: "General, the firearms of our Sixth Battalion officers are basically in place.
There are still nearly 5,000 Yunzhou Type 2 muskets left in the inventory, and if the preparation of other artillery pieces is postponed and all are used to make Yunzhou muskets, up to nearly a thousand guns can be produced every month.
Just now, because I didn’t know the general’s intentions, I didn’t report the actual number to the General Zu for them to know.”
Zhang Cheng smiled and said: "Old Wu is also a ghost!"
Everyone also laughed loudly, and after a while, Zhang Chengcai said again: "These Yunzhou guns were originally reserved for Wang Pu and Li Fuming, but now that they can be exchanged for money from Jiliao Town, why not do it?
"
Veteran Guo Yingxian also said loudly: "Huh. My ancestor's family is the only one in Liao Town and is very wealthy. I don't know how much Liao's salary has been embezzled over the years. Now if you want to buy our new fire gun, you have to pay for it with real money."
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Zhang Cheng smiled and said nothing, but Wang Yuanjing continued at the side: "Wu Sangui has now inherited the mantle of his ancestors and has become the master of Liaodong. Although he and I guard the west and east respectively, we will not disturb each other, and we can help each other."
However, the soldiers and horses in Liao Town are supported by the imperial court, but my Yongyi army only gets half of the salary. This is an injustice to the imperial court. Although it feels that its financial resources are exhausted, it is unfair to me to favor one over the other and over the other.
Just as General Guo said, if Liao Town wants to buy my guns and cannons, it will have to cough up some money. The barracks and grounds of each battalion of our Yongyi Army stationed in the town, as well as the money needed for the future martial arts hall, etc.
, it is so huge that it can be used to make up for these expenses."
Liu Minshen expressed a different view at this time. He said: "The general has lofty aspirations. He is not a hero who sticks to one place, but a hero who saves the people of the world and revives the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, one should not care too much about the immediate benefits, but should take a long-term view, coordinate the overall situation, and plan for the future. The student felt that selling guns and cannons to the generals in Liao Town would certainly earn money, but there was no need to care too much about it.
However, the guns and cannons made by our Yunzhou Craftsman Camp can be sold outside, but the fixed-packing medicine cannot be given away for free, nor can the preparation method be passed on to outsiders. This is the key point."
"Hold on!"
Guo Yingxian clapped and cheered on the spot, and Wu Zhizhong looked at Liu Minshen and said with a grin: "Scholarships have a lot of twists and turns. It's not just about thinking too much, the key is to focus on the idea."
Everyone then discussed other things and then left.
…………
The Weiyuan Camp of the Yongyi Army in the southeast of Xuanfu Town is full of busy craftsmen and men, and there are also many sergeants who are busy going back and forth in teams.
Seeing such a lively scene in front of them, Xie Sixin, Zhang Dou, Zu Dabi and others were all a little shocked.
"By forcing these military households to do some work and giving them money, Uncle Yongning is really full!"
Zu Dabi, the chief military officer of Jinzhou garrison, complained privately to Liu Zhaoji, Cao Bianjiao, Wu Guogui and others. He seemed to be very confused about Zhang Cheng's payment of wages to the military households who worked.
However, Xie Sixin and Zhang Dou had different views from him. They were surprised by Zhang Cheng's generosity. In their opinion, this may be one of the reasons for Zhang Cheng's rapid rise.
Both of them knew very well that although Zhang Cheng was the commander-in-chief of Xuan Town and the Earl of Yongning, he was still a rising star in Xuanfu Town.
It's not like the ancestral family has become the number one general in Liaodong after more than ten generations of management in Liaodong. It can completely overpower other local military leaders and act naturally.
Even though the power has now been transferred to Wu Sangui, its core strength is still the ancestral army that has been managed for generations, and no one in Liao Town can shake it.
But Zhang Cheng's situation in Xuanzhen was different. Although his family was also a hereditary general, the number of members was withering, and there were no outstanding figures. It was not until his father's generation that a general like Zhang Yan was born.
Zhang Yan also died in Julu in his prime, and Zhang Cheng also lost his only supporter in this world forever at this moment.
Since then, every step he has taken has been achieved through his own efforts. Although he now has tens of thousands of loyal elite warriors, the foundation of his real rise is on the North Road and the East Road. The town has not yet been controlled by him.
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It is against this background that Zhang Cheng chose a minimalist way to start - "money opens the way"!
On the pretext of building three major garrison camps, Yongning Bo requisitioned almost the entire craftsmen of Xuan Town, as well as all the men and women around the town.
These craftsmen and young men work for Uncle Yongning every day. They eat from Uncle Yongning and receive wages from Uncle Yongning. As time goes by, they will naturally think about Uncle Yongning's benefits until they return to their hearts.
Yong Ningbo.
Of course, there are not many people who can see this now. Perhaps Jiang Yuxu, the governor of Xuanda, is one of them. Xie Sixin and Zhang Dou from Jiliao are both good people, so they have naturally seen the key.
"Uncle Yong Ning really impressed us with his actions. He has only been in charge of the town for a few days, but he already has such mobilization ability. The town is full of hard-working young people inside and outside. It's really spectacular!"
Xie Sixin looked at Ding Zhuang working passionately under the hills and high hills, and felt a little excited in his heart. This scene had never been seen in Liaodong.
Not to mention that Hong Chengchou, who was the governor of Jiliao, did not have such appeal. Even Zu Dashou, the number one general in Liaodong who was a local leader, would not be able to do this when he was still alive.
Zu Dashou had some appeal when he was in Liaodong, but in his eyes, ordinary military households and civilians were like slaves. They were forced to work entirely with swords and guns. Although he could serve tens of thousands of people, they were not necessarily like this.
Gather the power of response.
At this time, I heard Zhang Cheng say: "Haha. Where is this uncle's charisma, this is just 'money makes the world go round'!"
Everyone laughed when they heard this, and Liu Zhaoji lost no time in mentioning the purchase of guns and cannons again: "Uncle Yong Ning, if you use the money here, you only need to sell me some more guns and cannons, and you can make a profit again."
I'm home."
Zhang Cheng smiled and continued: "Brother Dingwei, why are you joking? You and I are brothers, and we have the friendship of killing slaves side by side in Liaodong. How can I argue with you?"
He glanced at Xie Sixin, Zu Dabi, and Cao Bianjiao, and then said: "In our army, the fire blunderbuss wielded by our soldiers is the most difficult to control. Although the demand for fine iron is extremely high, I can still solve it here."
.
However, the process of the blunderbuss tube is the most complicated and difficult to make, and the monthly output is also limited by the blunderbuss tube, so it cannot be mass-produced."
He paused for a moment before continuing: "However, I can assure you that from now on, the Yunzhou gun produced by the craftsman camp will be given priority to the brothers in Ji Liao.
As for the price..."
Amid everyone's eager anticipation, Zhang Cheng finally spoke again: "The reason why our Yunzhou gun is so sophisticated that there is little risk of explosion. The main reason is that it is made of fine steel and fine workmanship, so the price is naturally higher than elsewhere."
high.
But we have the friendship of bloody battles with the Tartars, so I can’t raise the price, so I’ll just discount the cost of each Yunzhou gun at twenty taels and five cents.
What do you think?"
Liu Zhaoji felt that because Zhang Cheng had called him by his name just now, he felt that Yong Ningbo had looked at him favorably, and he was naturally very happy. Now he heard that Zhang Cheng was willing to give priority to selling the muskets to the generals in Jiliao, what else could he say?
"Very good, so good!"
He clasped his fists at Zhang Cheng and said: "Uncle Yong Ning really values love and justice, and I admire him very much in his heart. It's only twenty-two-five cents for a gun, which is indeed not expensive, but I don't know what the requirements are for the medicine. We and other soldiers
Are commonly used medicinal herbs suitable for use in Chinese medicine?"
Zhang Cheng remained silent, first scanning the faces of several people, and then Wu Zhizhong said: "Old Wu, please arrange a demonstration for Mr. Xie, Zhang Bingxian and several general soldiers."
After Wu Zhizhong made a loud promise, he turned around and gave instructions to the soldiers who were following him. As the military order was conveyed, he saw groups of Weiyuan Battalion soldiers starting to form their troops down the hill.
"General, Mr. Xie, Zhang Bingxian, and all general soldiers, please move to the temporary school field to observe the soldiers of Weiyuan Camp."
…………
The temporary school ground of Weiyuan Camp is on the east side of the flood station. It is an undulating hilly area with many shrubs. Only a dense forest can be seen in the north, and the traces of felling are also very obvious.
The terrain here is very suitable for large armies to practice offensive and defensive tactics, as well as joint drills of infantry, cavalry, and artillery. In the future, Wu Zhizhong does not want to make more repairs, so he will directly use the terrain and landforms here.
There is a very gentle slope beside the dense forest on the north side of this temporary school ground. Because the terrain is flat and open, it is used as a shooting range by Weiyuan Camp. As soon as you walk in, you can see very obvious traces of gunpowder smoke.
Yongning Bo, Zhang Cheng and others were standing under a thatched shed, with three groups of Weiyuan Camp Fire Soldiers about ten steps in front of them. They were carefully examining the Yunzhou Type II muskets in their hands.
"General, can we start the drill?"
Facing Wu Zhizhong's request for instructions, Zhang Cheng simply waved his hand and said calmly: "Let's get started."
As the military orders were conveyed from level to level, a group of thirty-six firemen stood in three horizontal rows. They loaded the powder, raised the muskets, and aimed quickly, as if they were running like water and very neatly.
"Bang! Bang! Bang..." came a burst of gunfire.
Then there was a sound of "cracking, crackling...".
A flag officer came running as fast as flying and reported loudly: "Report, one bureau and one team of Division A on the left side of Weiyuan Battalion's infantry used a three-stage attack method to fire muskets at a target 80 steps away. Thirty-six
If you hit twenty-nine, the target will be shattered."
"What?"
Liu Zhaoji had an expression of disbelief on his face, and Zu Dabi next to him also had an expression of surprise on his face: "Incredible... It's incredible..."
And Cao Bianjiao said to himself next to the two of them: "Twenty-nine hits from thirty-six shots... They are indeed a brave army that will win every battle... It's really scary... It's extremely scary!"
Although the Northern Frontier Army is equipped with a high proportion of firearms, most of the guns they use are three-eye blunderbuss, and the proportion of long blunderbuss such as bird blunderbuss is very low. At the same time, due to insufficient training on weekdays, blunderbuss are often fired in advance during wartime.
, the hit rate is even pitifully low.
The hit rate of Weiyuan Camp today is simply unbelievable to them. Even with the outstanding performance in the previous Liao War, such a high hit rate makes them unbelievable.
Zhang Dou, the commander of Ningqian's army, was even more surprised. He had experienced the military affairs of Liaodong for a long time, so he naturally knew the difference. He asked: "I dare to ask Uncle Yongning, what are the long muskets used by the soldiers of Weiyuan camp?"
What’s special?”
Zhang Cheng smiled slightly and did not say a word. He just waved his hand. General Wu Zhizhong immediately understood. He summoned the soldiers from the team who had just hit the target, and casually took a Yunzhou gun and handed it to him.
Zhang Dou.
Zu Dabi, Cao Bianjiao, Liu Zhaoji and others also stepped forward quickly and each received a Yunzhou gun. Even Wu Guogui, Xia Longshan and other generals who came with them also took one gun each and took it in their hands to examine carefully.
After a while, Wu Guogui was the first to look up at Zhang Cheng and said in a respectful tone: "Uncle Yong Ning wants to test fire a round himself. I don't know if Uncle Yong Ning will allow it."
Zhang Cheng looked at him and smiled. Zhang Cheng had always been paying close attention to Wu Guogui, a young general, for no other reason than that Wu Sangui, a rebellious boy, was so famous that he also became famous along with all his confidants.
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In the original history, it was this Wu Guogui who strangled the last emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty - Yongle Emperor Zhu Youlang - with a bowstring on the orders of Pingxi King Wu Sangui at Zizipo in Kunming, Yunnan!
However, none of this has happened yet, and Wu Sangui's uncle, Dashou, was also killed when slave thieves besieged Jinzhou, and did not surrender to the Tartars like in history.
Based on this calculation, I am afraid that Wu Sangui will not have the chance to surrender to the Qing Dynasty again. Maybe he can also preserve his reputation and become a loyal minister and general of the Ming Dynasty that will last forever. Who knows!
Looking at the timid Wu Guogui, Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng said with a smile: "General Wu wants to test the Yunzhou gun. Why not?"
He turned to Wu Zhizhong and said, "Ask all the men from the second team to come up and place the thirty-six Yunzhou muskets here for all the marshals and generals to test-fire."
After a while, the soldiers from the first and second teams of Division A lined up. They loaded the Yunzhou gun in front of everyone, then knelt on one knee and raised the Yunzhou gun high.
Let the generals from Ji Liao choose as they please.
"Bang bang...bang...bang..."
There was a sparse explosion of firecrackers, and about ten steps in front of where Zhang Cheng and others were, there was a cloud of smoke. When the smoke dissipated, Zu Dabi and others were seen holding a firecracker.
Each of them almost tried firing three Yunzhou guns. Looking at the broken targets 80 steps away, they all fell silent. They looked carefully at the fire guns in their hands, but they could never see the difference.
How different is it from the meager number of muskets in my own camp?
"Other than the fact that it does not require a match to ignite, this Yunzhou gun has no other differences. How can it be so sharp? Not only can it hit a target eighty paces away with incredible accuracy, but it is also extremely powerful."
Zu Dabi couldn't understand this and kept complaining, but he couldn't see why.
Wu Guogui seemed to see some clues. He stared at the Yunzhou gun in his hand and said to several people: "Commander Zu, Commander Liu, Commander Cao, please take a look. This Yunzhou gun seems to be heavier than the other guns in our camp."
A lot, which shows that a lot of refined iron must be used.
Look at the mechanism for igniting the flint, which is exquisitely designed, so that the ignition powder is not afraid of being blown by the wind, and the match rope will not burn your eyes, so you can aim with peace of mind, and the hit rate is naturally much higher."
Cao Bianjiao seemed to have a different opinion. He just heard him say: "Not necessarily..."
Seeing that everyone was attracted by his question, Cao Bianjiao continued: "The Yunzhou gun can cause thick wood to splinter eighty steps away. Its power should not be due to the fire gun, but because the fixed charge is well made.