Chapter 679 The E-shaped scroll takes the first step
Wang Yingxiong left.
But Feng Ziying fell into deep thought.
To be honest, he looked down upon Zhou's firearms troops.
All kinds of miscellaneous and low-quality muskets are mainly used. The level of training is low and there is a lack of scientific training methods. In addition, corruption is rampant within the army. Therefore, if we hope to build a decent musket unit, unless we take all aspects into consideration This is only possible if there are changes and guarantees.
Compared with Jianzhou Jurchen's army, which mainly uses cold weapons, the Zhou army is at an absolute disadvantage in terms of the same amount of combat power. This is why the army of 100,000 in Liaodong Town and the army of 80,000 in Ji Town add up to 180,000. When facing the Jianzhou Jurchens, the army seemed to be stretched thin and embarrassed.
Of course, this has something to do with the special geographical location and terrain characteristics of Liaodong Town and Ji Town. After all, they have to guard thousands of miles of borders, and each guard post requires garrison troops. The two towns have to mobilize tens of thousands of elites to fight against Jianzhou Jurchens. , it is indeed a bit difficult.
But this is only one aspect of the reason. The overall weakness in strength caused by various internal problems within the Zhou Army is the main factor.
The use of firearms is an inevitable trend. The more unwilling you are to accept new things, the more you will suffer in the future.
Now there is such an opportunity. In addition, my father went to Liaodong for the first time. The current firearms force in Liaodong is useless. Even if it is abolished, the opposition and resistance will be much lighter. If the method is smarter, it may be possible to achieve reorganization and reorganization. Purpose.
In fact, matchlocks may have gradually given way to flintlock guns in Europe. However, in East Asia, matchlocks are still an extremely advanced new weapon that has not even been popularized. Fire portal guns are still everywhere. In the Zhou army, this is the gap.
Facing the Jianzhou Jurchens who mainly focus on cavalry and archery, if a combat-effective musketeer unit can be built in Liaodong Town, it may really change the entire Liaodong war situation.
“So you think I should accept these three thousand firecrackers?”
When Feng Ziying spent an hour explaining in detail the differences between the Lumi gun and the Huomen gun, as well as the advantages and convenience of the Lumi gun compared to the Huomen gun, Feng Tang listened very carefully and even mentioned a few question, which made Feng Ziying realize that her father did not seem to be as averse to such hot weapons as he thought.
This also boosted Feng Ziying’s spirits.
"Yes, my son also introduced to you just now that there is an essential difference between the Rumi Gun and the Three-Eyed Gun, which are muskets that rely on heating iron bars. One person can operate it. Of course, this requires a long period of training to achieve, but it has the same strength as the arm. There are no special requirements for martial arts, and its training and maturity time is much longer than training an archer. Therefore, my son believes that this should be the most suitable weapon for the current Jiubian. Moreover, my son also heard from some maritime merchants that Japan has already begun to equip bird guns. In fact, it is this kind of Rumi gun, and the Western Yi people even began to popularize this kind of Rumi gun decades ago, and now they are ready to eliminate this kind of fire gun that we seem to even have the latest style."
Feng Ziying's words surprised Feng Tang, as did everyone else, but Feng Tang still trusted his son's words, "The Western Yi people have begun to eliminate these Rumi guns, so what do they use?"
"Dad should know that they are self-made fire guns." Feng Ziying replied calmly: "It's just that their self-made fire guns are not as short as the one dad gave me. They are as long or even longer than this Lumi gun. The power and ease of use, dad can imagine how convenient it is."
Feng Tang sighed. He had seen the power and convenience of self-made fire guns.
This short-handled self-generating fire gun is easy to carry. Although it is lacking in power, it is an absolute weapon for killing people within two or three feet. It is conceivable that if the barrel is lengthened, the charge will be more, and the gunpowder will be more. As the power increases, its killing power can naturally extend from two or three feet to twenty or thirty feet or even one hundred feet.
“Ziying, I understand what you mean, but can we, the Great Zhou Dynasty, make a self-made fire blunderbuss?” Feng Tang asked in return.
"It's definitely not possible now. The complicated device on the self-generating fire gun is mainly made by watchmakers and their apprentices in Xiyi. We in Dazhou can't even make such clocks and have to import them from Xiyi. Come in, let alone this kind of large-scale production, but in Xiyi, watchmakers are very common, so after their apprentices started to enter various workshops, including this kind of workshop that specializes in making fire guns, they can make this kind of Plant your own firecracker."
Feng Ziying knew very well that even the handicraft manufacturing industry in the Zhou Dynasty had already distanced itself from Europe, especially the more sophisticated manufacturing industries such as clocks and watches. Simple lathes that provide support have already appeared, such as thread lathes and gear processing lathes. In the seventeenth century, this development accelerated, but he only knew a rough history, and he knew nothing about the specific principles and manufacturing processes of lathes. .
The leading position in the industry and even lathes and other equipment and processes has allowed Europe to gradually gain technological advantages over East Asia after entering the seventeenth century. This is inseparable from the development of natural science in Europe. Feng Ziying knew this but was powerless The feeling of change made him uncomfortable.
Seeing that his son was very sure that he could not make a self-made fire gun, Feng Tang also gave up. And even if he could make it, it would probably be just one or two that some skilled craftsmen would spend a year and a half making, which would be of little significance. For example, Feng Ziying This can only be achieved unless there are a large number of craftsmen and apprentices like clockmakers like the Western Yi people who can be concentrated to manufacture.
"Ziying, do you think it's a good deal for me to accept this batch of Lumi guns?" Feng Tang was a little moved by Feng Ziying's words, but he was worried that such a big gimmick would end up being a display, which would affect his own prestige. The damage will definitely be great, and it may even shake its position in Liaodong.
"Dad, I think Da Zhou will take this step sooner or later. It is an inevitable trend for Lumi Guns to replace those three-eyed guns. Even a fool can see the huge gap between them. The key is whether you can choose to train these Lu Mi Guns well." To be honest, if you want to train an army of muskets, three thousand muskets are far from enough. I don’t know the quality of these muskets, but if you want to practice them repeatedly, or even conduct live-fire training, There will definitely be a considerable amount of loss, so in my son's opinion, if you really plan to develop an army of fire cannons that can come in handy and even teach the Jianzhou Jurchens a profound lesson, you will need to purchase at least ten thousand fire cannons. and a large quantity of gunpowder.”
Feng Ziying's suggestion shocked Feng Tang, "Ziying, your suggestion is a bit out of line, isn't it?"
"Dad, you are absolutely not out of line. If you want to do it, then you must do it. And even if it is ten taels of silver a piece, ten thousand taels are only one hundred thousand taels of silver. You have to ask for 1.2 million taels of silver." Now that you have taken office, what does this one hundred thousand silver count?" Feng Ziying disagreed, "To put it bluntly, if you can really train an army of fire guns and teach Jianzhou Jurchen a lesson, I think three to five hundred thousand taels Silver rewards shouldn’t be a big deal for the imperial court, right?”
"Besides, you also know the current situation in Liaodong Town. You will definitely not be able to move the Li family and the troops attached to the Li family in the short term. The troops brought over from Datong and Yulin are limited and can only be used as the last trump card. The best way is Using local materials and training troops, whether it is cavalry or infantry training, is not as fast as training this kind of fire gun army to form an army. Moreover, for Jianzhou Jurchens who mainly focus on cavalry and archery, once the fire gun army is formed, The army is naturally restrained by it..."
Most of it is true, and a small part of it is false. Feng Ziying cannot harm her father, but it is necessary to cheer him up appropriately and increase his confidence.
Feng Tang pondered for a while, "Ziying, are you so optimistic about the Fire Gun Army?"
"Dad, I'm really optimistic. Even weapons like the three-eyed gun can cause a lot of damage to the Jianzhou cavalry. The Lumi gun is much stronger. Moreover, training these fire gun soldiers is also a preparation for them to equip themselves with self-generated fire guns in the future." Prepare, we can’t just improvise and train fire gun soldiers when we can buy or produce self-generated fire guns in the future, right?”
Feng Ziying’s last words moved Feng Tang.
Although he is not very optimistic about the Lumi gun. The complicated operating procedures, worrying quality, and severe weather effects all make Feng Tang think it is a bit useless. However, Feng Tang is very optimistic about the power and convenience of the self-made fire gun. If he can buy it, After receiving a batch of self-generated fire guns, the power of these fire gun soldiers can really be unleashed in the future.
"In that case, I will go to Chai Ke tomorrow and take these Lumi guns. But what should I do next? Continue to buy?" Feng Tang and the Ministry of War are still arguing. One million two hundred thousand taels of silver is obviously unrealistic. , but Feng Tang felt that 800,000 taels were missing. He hoped to get one million taels, but the Ministry of War did not agree.
"Well, otherwise, I will contact the workshop owner who escorted this batch of goods tomorrow. The iron smelting and processing workshops in Foshan are indeed much better than those in the North. Let's talk again. In terms of price and quality, I Let’s see if we can discuss it again so that both of us are satisfied, and if possible, place another order.”
Feng Ziying has never been to Guangdong, but he has long heard of the famous iron smelting industry in Foshan. As for Beidi, it is going to take the path of a coal-iron complex. It cannot be done by just relying on some businessmen. It needs more talents in this field, so he contacted A moment is necessary.
Since he is a businessman, he will talk about profit. As long as it is profitable, Feng Ziying believes that no one will feel sorry for the money, and with the backing of Haitong Bank, Feng Ziying also has this confidence.
(End of this chapter)