In the Forbidden City, Wanli and Wang Xijue sat across from each other. Wanli held a battle report just sent from Huai'an Prefecture in his hand. He looked at Wang Xijue with a questioning look, hoping that the other party would give him a clear answer. His face was filled with joy.
His expression clearly expressed hope that this battle report was absolutely true.
Wang Xijue said: "Your Majesty, after I saw this battle report, I went to the Ministry of War to verify it. They received the battle report from the Huai'an Guards, which was almost the same as what this battle report said. The only difference is that
The Huai'an guards slightly exaggerated some of their role in this battle. Even so, they also admitted that Su Hao's survey camp was the first to contribute in this battle."
"What are you talking about! I just met Su Hao once, and I decided that he is different from the ordinary officials of our Ming Dynasty. He must be someone who can bring surprises to me. Look, it's true!" Wanli
Patting the case with his hand, it seemed that otherwise it would not be enough to express his excitement.
Wang Xijue said: "The emperor has a keen eye for people, which is beyond the reach of the veterans. The battle report said that facing more than 100 vicious Japanese pirates, Su Hao went to the enemy in person, and was only ten steps away from the bandit leader. Later, he used a trick to paralyze the bandit leader, which made him
Others can use fire blunderbuss to kill the bandit leader and achieve miraculous feats."
"This Su Hao is indeed courageous and knowledgeable, and he can be regarded as a role model for our Ming Dynasty officials. By the way, I read in the battle report that he did not use an ordinary blunderbuss, but a firearm called a flintlock.
Does Mr. Wang know what this kind of firearm looks like?" Wanli asked with potential for gossip.
Wang Xijue shook his head and said: "This veteran doesn't know, and the Ministry of War doesn't know who created this kind of firearm and which craftsman's workshop made it."
"The old slave knows something about this matter." Li Long, the eunuch standing by, lowered his head and said.
"Oh, how did Eunuch Li know this? Tell me quickly." Wan Li said.
Li Long said: "Back to the emperor, when the old slave was a mine supervisor in Jiangxi, Su Hao once went to find gold mines for the old slave. At that time, he told the old slave that prospecting for mines required frequent activities in deep mountains and old forests, so he wanted to find something.
Firearms are for self-defense. Seeing that he was already a member of the army, the old slave agreed to his request."
"Oh..." Wanli nodded. According to regulations, if the army is equipped with firearms, it must be reported to the Ministry of War. As a eunuch, Li Long directly agreed to Su Hao to have firearms, which was considered an act of rebellion. But Wanli
He also knew that these regulations were only strictly enforced in the early Ming Dynasty. By the time of his grandfather and great-grandfather, these regulations had become ineffective. Among the border troops in Jiubian, it was not uncommon to privately forge cannons, but everyone
I'm not even talking about breaking it.
"So, where did Su Hao get this firearm?" Wang Xijue asked.
Li Long said: "This flintlock gun was invented by Su Hao himself and he found a skilled craftsman to make it. The old slave has seen the actual gun before. It is smaller than ordinary fire guns. The most amazing thing is that it does not require
It uses a match rope to ignite a fire, but relies on the machine's orifice to fire the flint, so the firing speed is faster than other firearms, and it can also achieve the effect of surprising the enemy."
Li Long knew about Su Hao's flintlock gun because Su Hao had used this gun to wound one of Dong Tianzhang and Yang Laizhen's men, which shocked Dong and Yang. Su Hao also expressed that he would give Li Long a gun for self-defense.
However, as a palace eunuch, how dare Li Long possess such a weapon.
"Using flint to fire... This is a good idea. How could the craftsmen in the Arms Bureau and Staff Bureau not think of this method?" Wanli asked. He was an emperor who had some knowledge about the principles of flintlock guns.
It wasn't complicated, he understood it after just a moment's thought, and then questioned why no one else had thought of such a thing.
Wang Xijue said: "The principle of firing with flint is simple, but it is very difficult to make machine springs and other things. I now understand why Su Hao told me that industry is a system and requires overall planning. If the veteran didn't guess
If he is wrong, the factories he built in Liangxiang should be for this purpose."
"Liangxiang Factory, what does this mean?" Wanli asked in surprise.
Wang Xijue said: "When Su Hao was waiting for orders in Beijing, he found a piece of wasteland in Liangxiang and built some workshops. He called them factories. Dressing mirrors used by women and those used by military generals are popular in the capital these days.
The high-strength steel waist knives are said to be produced by Su Hao's factory. The old man wanted to visit the site, but was unable to do so because of worldly affairs. Based on the strategy Su Hao submitted to the old man, the old man guessed that he was in those
His concept of building a nation through technology was put into practice in the factory.”
"Is there such a thing?" Wanli said, "After hearing what Mr. Wang said, I also wanted to visit him. This Su Gaizhi has some wonderful ideas. I want to see what he has done.
Something is coming."
"Okay, I'll make arrangements now," Wang Xijue said.
When the emperor wanted to leave the palace, there were naturally some complicated security procedures. However, Liangxiang was right next to the capital, and it was not difficult for several large camps of the capital to protect him. A few days later, under the protection of heavy troops, Wanli was led by Wang Xijue and Li
Long accompanied him to Su's Industrial Park in Liangxiang.
The emperor came in person, which made a big noise. Xiong Ji, Xu Guangqi and others who were in charge of the work in the industrial park rushed out to greet them, knelt on the ground and kowtowed in fear. Managers like Hao Qing, who was a craftsman, simply did not dare to come forward. Wanli
After some conversation, he ordered Xu Guangqi to lead the way and introduce them to the development of the industrial park.
"Your Majesty, please see, this is our steelmaking plant. The type of steel we mainly smelt is called high-strength steel. Its formula is different from other steels. The biggest feature of the steel we make is that it is extremely hard, wear-resistant, and has the highest quality.
Black Iron is better."
"This is our glass factory. The vanity mirrors used by the ladies of the capital are produced in the glass factory. Another product of our factory is telescopes. Currently, the Ministry of War has a large number of orders, mainly for distribution to the border troops.
The Lord will use it.”
"This is a machinery factory. It is currently run by students. They are mainly trial-producing some machinery based on the ideas and drawings provided by Director Su. Not long ago, we have successfully trial-produced a deep-hole drilling machine that can be used to drill the barrels of muskets.
…”
Xu Guangqi walked all the way, introducing the situation of the industrial park to Wanli. After more than half a year of construction, Su's Industrial Park has reached a certain scale, with dozens of workshops, workers' dormitories, canteens and other buildings. Wanli walked among them
, it feels a lot like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
The workers in the park stopped what they were doing and stood far away, watching the emperor's inspection. They were all very excited. Teams of guards in uniforms armed with spears monitored the workers. As long as anyone made the slightest move,
Jin Yiwei was about to stop him with a stern look.
Following Xu Guangqi's introduction, Wanli personally tried out high-manganese steel knives, telescopes and other items, and also visited the drilling machine performance operated by workers. Wang Xijue followed Wanli, asking long and short questions about everything, and then introduced to Wanli the impact of these things on the entire national economy and people's livelihood.
The significance. As the second assistant in the cabinet, he could think of many more things than Wanli, and he was more deeply shocked.
"Your name is Xu Guangqi? Do you have any fame?" Wanli suddenly asked Xu Guangqi.
Xu Guangqi said: "Back to the Holy Land, the student has the reputation of being a scholar. He has also participated in the provincial examination twice, but failed in both."
Wanli said to Wang Xijue: "True knowledge does not necessarily show up only in the examination room. Xu Aiqing is extremely knowledgeable and has extraordinary insights. Why can't such a talent be reused? Mr. Wang, please pass on my will and appoint Xu Guangqi as a worker.
The head of the department is awarded the title of Sixth Grade."
"This..." Xu Guangqi was stunned and opened his mouth not knowing what to say.
Wang Xijue glared at him and scolded: "Xu Guangqi, why don't you thank me quickly?"
"Student...ah, no, I, Xu Guangqi, thank you for your grace." Xu Guangqi had to kneel down obediently.
"Forgive me, get up." Wan Li said.
Xu Guangqi was still kneeling on the ground and said: "Your Majesty, I would rather stay in this Su's factory and study these machines, so I would like to ask Your Majesty to take back the position of director of the Ministry of Industry."
"That's unreasonable." Wan Li said angrily, "There's no reason to take back my decree. As the head of the Ministry of Industry, you can still do things in Su's factory. This factory... even if it's a joint venture between me and Su Hao.
Already."
"This..." Xu Guangqi was in a dilemma. Wanli turned Su Hao's factory into a public-private partnership with just one sentence. How could Xu Guangqi be qualified to agree to this matter? But if he didn't agree, the other party was an emperor who kept his word, and since just now
Judging from the stuttering man Wanli hit, he originally wanted to directly declare that the factory was owned by Ouchi. After hesitating for a moment, he changed it to say that it was a joint venture between the two parties. The emperor had already given in, so did Xu Guangqi still dare to contradict it?
"Mr. Xu, you don't have to be embarrassed about this matter." Li Long came forward to smooth things over, "Our family knows that Kaizhi set up this factory. This factory was originally jointly run by Kaizhi and Ouchi.
There is also a part of the silver that the emperor asked our family to use to change it."
"That's it." Xu Guangqi was doubtful. He also knew that Su Hao and Li Long had a close past. Maybe this matter was really what Li Long said. Thinking that he could not win anything for Su Hao, he added: "Your Majesty,
I have one more unkind request."
"You tell me." Wan Li was in a good mood today, and he was not dissatisfied with Xu Guangqi's offence.
Xu Guangqi said: "As far as I know, Chief Su is just the head of the Ministry of Industry, and his official position is the sixth rank. I am not as capable as Chief Su, and he is also the sixth rank. I feel deeply frightened."
Wan Li laughed loudly: "There are still people who think that their official position is too big. Xu Guangqi, you really opened my eyes. Don't worry, Su Hao has made great achievements in Huai'an. How can I not promote him to an official position?"
? Talents like you should be promoted as soon as possible, and the imperial court should also wipe out some of the twilight atmosphere." (To be continued. Please search Piao Tian Literature, the novel will be better and updated faster!)