After approving Song Yingxing's memorial, Zhu Youxiao took off his imperial uniform, put on a simple military uniform, and went out of the palace wearing a simple breastplate and a long sword.
He also ordered Ma Xianglin to go to the military camp with a batch of new firearms from the arsenal.
Zhu Youxiao rode a fast horse with five hundred guards and arrived at the military camp in less than an hour. Zhang Weixian and the generals of the Yulin Army did not know.
Zhu Youxiao attaches great importance to his whereabouts and privacy. He never shows off in a big way, and he will not disclose it to anyone except those who need to accompany him.
If the emperor's whereabouts and privacy were known, it would be a terrible thing. It would be the same as having his thoughts figured out. Falling into the water would be really scary.
When the sergeants on duty at the gate saw the emperor coming, they immediately formed two teams on the left and right sides of the road and knelt to greet him.
When the emperor came close, the sergeants pressed their foreheads tightly to the ground and shouted:
"Blessings to His Majesty the Emperor!"
"Get back on your feet and continue to be on duty!"
After Zhu Youxiao finished speaking, he rode his horse and walked straight through the camp gate.
The sergeants of the Yulin Army waited until all the emperor's cavalry had passed through before getting up.
The current Yulin Army, whether they are ordinary sergeants or generals leading the army, are extremely loyal to Zhu Youxiao.
Because the emperor is really good to them, they have lived for so long, and now they can be considered human beings, and they don't have to live a life like a walking zombie every day.
The monthly military pay is paid truthfully, no one dares to deduct their money, and they will not be bullied or oppressed by the generals.
Their families will not starve or freeze to death because of poverty, nor will they be oppressed by others because of poverty. Although the family is not rich, there is still no problem in barely living a living. They know that everything is given by the emperor.
They will always remember what the emperor said to them that day. The people of the Ming Dynasty are the nobles of Yan and Huang, the army of the Ming Dynasty is the king of the heavenly army, and their Yulin army, as the imperial guard of the Ming Dynasty, is above everything else. Everyone
The lives of soldiers are priceless treasures.
After months of quality education by the Jin Yiwei and the eunuchs, these people from the southwest, Jiangnan, and outside the customs were completely twisted into a rope. They no longer joined the army to have enough food, but to be loyal to the emperor.
Their status has changed, and now they hold their heads high when they go outside.
The first thing Zhu Youxiao did after entering the military camp was to summon the generals from all camps to the command tent.
Zhu Youxiao sat at the top and held the knife on his waist and said calmly:
"I have brought you something good this time. I will give it a try first. If you guess it correctly, I will reward him with an embroidered spring knife."
Li Xing, who has always been thoughtful, immediately replied:
"Your Majesty is talking about a new type of firecracker?"
Zhu Youxiao's pupils shrank, and his hand unconsciously tightened his grip on the knife handle, but he still said expressionlessly:
"How did you know?"
These subtle movements were not noticed by others.
Li Xing bent down and cupped his hands and said:
"I just saw your Majesty's guards carrying this firecracker outside the tent, so I looked at it carefully. I have never seen it before, so I guess that the good thing your majesty mentioned is the new firecracker."
Zhu Youxiao secretly said that it was a false alarm. He thought the secret was leaked.
"You have a sharp eye. Yes, it's a new type of gun. It's very different from the firearms we use now. It took more than half a year to develop it."
Upon hearing that there was a new type of firecracker, the generals of each battalion showed signs of anticipation, especially those from the Shenji Battalion, who had already begun to look at the guards standing next to them.
Zhu Youxiao looked at their eager expressions and secretly thought that they were all hopeless.
Zhu Youxiao took the Shenwu Fire Gun from Ma Xianglin, then stood up and walked down the steps, walked to them and said:
"This new type of fire gun is called Shenwu Gun. The difference between it and other firearms such as matchlocks and bird guns is that it does not need a fuse to ignite and fire. It uses a flint firing device. You can just pull the trigger directly, making it easier to use.
It’s convenient and not affected by the weather, so it can be used even when it’s cold, windy and damp.”
"Its shooting range has not changed, but because I have improved the production and dosage standards of gunpowder, the power of the Shenwu Gun is greater than other old firearms. I have tested the heavy armor of Taishan Camp, and the Shenwu Gun's breaking
A is about ten steps farther than other firearms."
This is a big improvement, and it greatly makes up for the shortcomings of the firearms currently used by the Ming army.
Chen Guang asked impatiently:
"Your Majesty, has the lifespan of this divine weapon been reduced?"
"No, compared with other firearms, Shenwu Gun has only advantages and no disadvantages."
Li Xing on the side looked very excited when he heard this, and said with a happy face:
"Then this is really a weapon to kill the enemy. I heard that Jiannu's white-armored soldiers are the most powerful. Their heavy armor caused the Liao army to suffer a lot. I really want to use them to try this gun now. Let's see.
Is Jianu really as powerful as the rumors say?"
Li Wensheng snorted coldly, with a disdainful expression on his face, and echoed in a derogatory tone:
"In my opinion, Jian Nu is nothing special. What nonsense is invincible? That's probably because of the incompetence of the Liao army. I think they are all trying to cover up their incompetence by deliberately praising Jian Nu and confusing the ministers in the capital.
To avoid being punished by the court."
Cao Wenzhao, who had fought with Jiannu several times, followed and said:
"The general is right. The Liao army has long been corrupt. Those generals ignored the interests of the country and only served themselves. They deducted the food and salary issued by the court in various names and reasons. In the end, they even deceived and framed it to the court, saying that the court did not pay.
Xiangyin is really hateful."
"Liaodong has an army of hundreds of thousands, but those who can really fight are mostly the generals' personal retainers. The imperial court earns so much money every year, except for corruption, the rest is used by the generals to raise their own retainers."
"These private soldiers receive food from the court, but they are only grateful to the generals. They are not under the jurisdiction of the court at all. They only obey orders to support their generals."
Only Cao Wenzhao, who had spent some time in Liaodong, knew these inside stories.
Although the other generals had heard a lot before, it was all hearsay. But now that it is coming from Cao Wenzhao's mouth, especially since His Majesty did not say anything to stop it, it is obvious that this is extremely credible.
"My second brother wrote a letter a few days ago, and he also mentioned this matter. These people are more hateful than Jiannu and deserve to be killed!"
A general like Li Wensheng, whose family has been the Xiaoling Guard for generations, cannot understand these things outside the customs at all. It is completely a blind spot for his knowledge. It can be said that he is not familiar with the world, so he is also the most angry young man.
The other generals, on the other hand, seemed unfazed and very indifferent.