After the Battle of Changde, those involved needed to report explanations to the emperor, and now Zhu Zhanji is still in Yangzhou.
All the official documents sent from Yangzhou were annotated with the word "Xingzai", which also caused some inconveniences in the daily affairs of the government. However, Concubine Sun who accompanied Xuande seemed to like it very much. Not only were the landscapes and gardens beautiful, but the climate was also warmer than that of the capital.
Moisturizing, Sun Guifei felt that it was good for her skin; perhaps what satisfied her most was that she was in Yangzhou. After leaving countless women in Sangong and Sixth Courtyard, she felt more at ease. Although the emperor in the capital also favored her the most, after all, those competitors were really
Under the nose.
There are two places where Zhu Zhanji handles his daily affairs, both in a garden called "Xulin Xiaozhu" by the Beicheng River. This garden was built by a salt merchant named Xu from Jiangsu and Zhejiang during the Hongxi period.
When he arrived in Yangzhou, he took the initiative to submit a letter to donate his garden as Zhu Zhanji's palace. Zhu Zhanji accepted his kindness and thus saved a lot of expenses. When the emperor of the Ming Dynasty came to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he mainly spent military expenses, and later became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
The Qing emperor's southern tour often cost tens of millions of taels, which is incomparable... This kind of thing was unimaginable to the Ming court.
A larger pavilion was where Zhu Zhanji discussed military and government affairs with his ministers, and there were many officials from the Six Ministries on duty; in the lakeside pavilions at the back, only the eunuchs and eunuchs walked around, and Zhu Zhanji met with some people privately here.
For example, people from Jinyiwei and Dongchang, not all the matters they handle can be made public in the court.
Now the person Zhu Zhanji met in the waterside pavilion was Lu Qianshi from Jinyiweinan Town Fusi. Lu Qianshi had just come from Huguang, and the dust and dust on his body had not been completely gone, so he rushed to see the saint.
People in Jinyiwei don't always speak ill of civilian officials. Many times they are more pragmatic. Lu Qianshi's remarks this time were very supportive of Yu Qian. He said he didn't know whether it was the right thing to withdraw the troops, but it was really difficult to win on the battlefield at that time.
And provided some evidence... These real evidences were also the main actions of Lu Qianshi in this mission.
In any case, the people of Jinyiwei have a bad reputation in Shilin. They will not deliberately speak for civil servants, so Lu Qianshi's remarks should still be credible.
At this time, the chamberlain carried a long wooden box into the waterside pavilion. The eunuch Wang Gonggong, the chief minister of ceremonies, personally ordered the eunuchs to open the box, and saw two brand-new muskets inside. Lu Qianshi bowed and said: "Wei minister
After arriving in Huguang, while contacting the list given by Bei Si, he rearranged the manpower and persuaded several fake officials and craftsmen among Zhang Ning's rebels who were responsible for making weapons for him to surrender. Afterwards, he gathered some manpower and ordered the officials to be demoted to imitate the rebels.
Firearms used. This kind of firearm is called a matchlock, which is the main weapon of the rebels. It is not difficult to make as a whole. Only the barrel is more time-consuming. It must first be continuously forged with iron into a fine iron sheet, and then it needs to be wrapped into a tube.
It takes a month to drill and polish with a steel drill to make a barrel. If you are not careful, the barrel may explode and other defects may occur, and it will be scrapped and unusable."
Lu Qianshi saw that the emperor was listening, so he continued: "This kind of large fire rope gun has a range of more than a hundred steps, and the effective range is about a hundred steps and can penetrate iron armor. The so-called magic soldier who can pierce Yang with a hundred steps may be untrue, but the bandit army has
The three-stage attack tactic, where the entire infantry column is deployed at once, is a great threat to our infantry. Above the battle formation, there is no trace of lead bullets, and the iron armor cannot stop them. Those who are hit are miserable, and the sound is as loud as thunder, which only adds to the momentum.
, so the several battles between the infantry and the army were almost defeated at the first touch.”
"There is also this kind of gunpowder that I would like to have your Majesty take a look at. It is made by adding water to each ingredient, pounding it with wood, drying it and smashing it through a bamboo sieve, and you can get something in the shape of rice grains. If you observe it carefully, you will see that the rice grains are evenly stirred and will not break apart due to bumps.
It can also prevent wind and moisture from spreading." Lu Qianshi also presented his results, "The bandit army also used the cannon in the picture, or it is called a mother-and-child cannon, but Wei Chen remembers
The cannons on the Franji ships that Eunuch Zheng mentioned a few years ago seem to be similar to them... Based on this, I venture to guess whether the remnants of Jianwen are active at sea and collude with the Franji people to join the barbarians.
These firearms learned from human hands?”
Zhu Zhanji immediately ordered: "Send the people and things to Nanzhen Fusi and let them try it out. If it is usable, it will be handed over to the Ministry of War for approval to make it in batches."
Lu Qianshi added: "According to the surrender, the bandit army has other 'gun rules' when using artillery. It's a pity that they don't understand it. I will try my best to find out other things clearly."
He asked the emperor to nod and express his approval. Lu Qianshi felt happy and knowingly knelt down and resigned.
Wang Gou'er hurriedly ordered: "When someone comes, please carry everything down and put it away."
Zhu Zhanji sat calmly, placing his fingers gently on Yu Qian's memorial. Lu Qian's discussion made him feel somewhat sympathetic to Yu Qian, but he was not satisfied with the people of Huguang because of it: although there were many reasons, he did not want to fight.
It was really ill-advised to escape from Shifu County. In addition, in the description of the battle, a section of the Changde cavalry was surprised and defeated by an inferior bandit army outside the city. What does this have to do with firearms? I am afraid that Wuyang Marquis Xue Lu also had problems with his own battle.
Zhu Zhanji is not a hesitant person. Even if it seems to be a complicated matter, he can deal with it in two ways. At this time, he quickly sorted out a few key points from many considerations: Substituting players on the spot will cause the problem.
It is disadvantageous; the people from various factions sent to Huguang are not incompetent; there is no way to justify abandoning Changde.
So Zhu Zhanji quickly made a decision, which was very simple: don't ask and ignore.
Neither asking for guilt nor urging. The battle at Changde Mansion is just one link in the entire Huguang situation. The real battle is still to come, so Yu Qian and Xue Lu should be given some opportunities.
What Zhu Zhanji was most anxious about was hoping that Zhang Fu would cross the river and capture Nanjing as soon as possible to solve the source of the trouble. But he still did not rush Zhang Fu too much.
…
Lu Qian was not always able to take advantage of things. Not long after he returned to Yangzhou, a man was caught in Chenzhou.
This person’s true identity is the General Flag Officer of Jinyiwei. His name is Wang Zhong. He originally belonged to Beizhen Fusi, but Lu Qianshi was temporarily under his command after arriving in Wuchang. The person who caught him was not Zhang Ning’s newly formed "Guardian Bureau"
, on the contrary, it was one of Yao Ji's guardians. At that time, there was a military attendant of Jinyiwei who was working as an undercover agent in the evil-proofing sect. He had been involved in it several years ago. After that military attendant was caught, he confessed after being tortured |
Wang Zhong was on top; the believers then quietly captured Wang Zhong. Unexpectedly, Wang Zhong was willing to confess immediately after being arrested, which was much easier to deal with than a small military follower, so he did not suffer much.
A group of elite soldiers secretly escorted Wang Zhong to Changde Mansion.
After Zhang Ning found out, he immediately went to see this person in person, because he immediately understood the important role of this person. At least he could try to find out from him how much the imperial officers and soldiers knew about the details of the Suzaku Army.
In a well-guarded small courtyard next to the government office, Zhang Ning walked into a wing room and saw that this guard in Jinyi was really unremarkable. He had an ordinary appearance and was very qualified to do fine work. When the generals in the room saw Zhang Ning come in, they became stern.
He scolded Wang Zhong: "Kneel down and kowtow!"
Zhang Ning hurriedly stopped the general and said pleasantly: "It doesn't have to be like this. Wang Zongqi belongs to the Imperial Guard. He knows best what methods to use to torture prisoners. Maybe we can save those unpleasant steps. Wang Zongqi thinks that I
Is that correct?"
Wang Zhong's face twitched slightly and he said: "The villain must tell everything he knows and never dare to hide a word."
"Comfortable man." Zhang Ning waved, "Bring Mr. Wang Qi a cup of tea to soothe his throat. You don't have to treat him badly in the future."
"Thank you, sir."
Zhang Ning said: "First tell me what you know and see if it matches what we know. After you finish speaking, I will ask you again."
Wang Zhong was silent for a while, while Zhang Ning waited patiently. Wang Zhong finally said: "There are four people in your army's weapons bureau who defected to Jinyiwei. They are Fan Si, the foreman Yan Shi, and the craftsman Li Dajian. This matter
It was done by a lieutenant below. I did not come forward. That lieutenant has already gone to Wuchang. Everything I say is true, but there are some people I contacted directly and I am willing to confess."
Seeing that Zhang Ning had no intention of asking questions, he thought for a while and then said: "The person above is Lu Shangshu, the prime minister of Fusi in Nanzhen. He will not come to the enemy's territory in person, so he does not hide his identity; there are more than 100 people under his command."
I am the only one, but I don’t know who else is there. Only Lu Qianshi knows. There are three orders given to us by the superiors. The first is to find out how to make firearms, the second is to find out the origin of the art of firearms, and the third is to confuse
Entering your army to inquire about the military situation... The villain has already done these things in Chenzhou, and he really only knows this and has nothing to hide."
"The origin of the art of firearms?" Zhang Ning asked back.
Wang Zhongdao: "That's right. This is something that Lu Qianshi wants to find out. The weapons used by your army in the battle formation are not from the Ming Dynasty, and they are also very different from the 'magic guns' captured in Jiaozhi. Therefore,
The higher ups need to find out where it comes from.”
Zhang Ning asked again: "Is the rebellious Fan Si counterfeiting firearms?"
Wang Zhong said with a bitter face: "I don't dare to speak nonsense. This matter is really unclear. Let's just get people up."
A smile appeared on Zhang Ning's lips, thinking that the people in Jinyiwei would never be able to figure this out. Even if he told them the truth directly, who would believe that the technology comes from the knowledge of later generations?
At this moment, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered something and said suddenly: "There is also news. We have found out that there is a person named Song Hu next to you. This person's real name is Zhao Erhu. He is from Xuzhou and was originally a member of Eunuch Zheng's subordinates.
A young general who has made meritorious deeds, but for some unknown reason changed his name and joined the army of an adult."
Wang Zhong reminded Zhang Ning that he thought of a reasonable explanation for the origin of the art of firearms: it was obtained from the Westerners through Zheng He's navy.
In Zhang Ning's speculation, the development of Western weapons in the first half of the fifteenth century should have begun to catch up with and lead the East. As for the extent of development, it is not clear. Westerners have not been seen since the Ming Dynasty. However, after that, Europe gradually
With the beginning of the Age of Discovery, sailing battleships needed to be equipped with firearms, and perhaps the artillery was beginning to approach the firearms used by the Suzaku Army.