Zhang Yanling thought for a while and said: "Let's put this matter on the agenda first. My father-in-law's related work should be prepared in advance. Personnel, materials, and venues should all be prepared in advance."
Xu Gao frowned and said: "Yanling, didn't you listen to what I just said? This kind of thing costs a lot of money and is beyond the personal financial resources. This requires the imperial court to take the lead. You insist on imitating the Folan cannon?
, has no practical significance.”
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Father-in-law, do you think the court will agree?"
Xu Gao smiled bitterly and said: "I'm afraid the imperial court will not agree. They are not willing to improve the muskets, so how can they agree to cast cannons? The imperial court has a financial and tax deficit. It is not easy to maintain, so how can they spend money on these places."
Zhang Yanling said: "Then it's over. If the court doesn't do it, we will do it. This kind of thing has nothing to do with utilitarianism, and it is not meaningless. My father-in-law, I just ask you, is there such a powerful machine gun as the Fo Lang in overseas countries?
Artillery. If one day, a foreign country invades our waters with powerful ships and cannons, what will we do?"
Xu Gao was stunned and said with a smile: "Yanling, how do you answer me? Does Fan Guo dare to do this?"
Zhang Yanling laughed. Xu Gao didn't know the future, so he wouldn't know the history of China being invaded in the next few hundred years. Of course, he didn't know that the Ming Dynasty was missing an era of great navigation and a ship from now on.
An era when powerful guns can dominate the world.
The reason why Zhang Yanling wants to imitate the Fo Lang machine gun is, in a big way, to keep up with or even surpass the development of Western military technology from now on, and not to fall behind those sea robbers who are about to plunder the world.
If you have it, you will be prepared. If you have it, you will be beaten passively.
Of course, from a small perspective, Zhang Yanling also has his own goals.
"If you fall behind, you will be beaten, my father-in-law. Think about it, if our Ming Dynasty does not have strong military equipment and hundreds of thousands of soldiers guarding the nine sides. Even the Tatars in the north want to covet the sacred land of my Ming Dynasty. I, the Ming Dynasty, are
Who wouldn’t want to take a bite of a big piece of meat? If one day someone invades our home, will we fight? Why should we fight with others at sea?” Zhang Yanling tried to explain.
"That's not true. The ships coming and going from the foreign countries are merchant ships. They are here to do business. Do they dare to be malicious to our Ming Dynasty?" Xu Gao frowned.
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "It's essential to be on guard against others. What's more, they are not just here for business. Last night I went to the Dingguo Palace for a banquet, and while chatting with the Dukes and Lords at the banquet, I learned that in February
During the Ming Dynasty, changes occurred in the Guangdong area, and the Folangji merchant ship had occupied Tuen Mun and more than a dozen surrounding islands as a foothold.
It was used as a port to do business with my Ming Dynasty, but they occupied the island of my Ming Dynasty and refused to leave. The imperial court sent people to order them to leave within a time limit. After three ships of my Ming Dynasty approached, the other merchant ships bombarded them with French cannons and were almost hit.
I have no choice but to retreat. Do you think these people are here to do business, or do they have other ideas?"
Xu Gao was shocked and said: "Is there such a thing? The merchants of Folangji are so bold? What does the court say?"
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "What can the court do? Some people say that it is just a deserted island, and it is no big deal to let the Fan merchants stay as a port. They also say that the Fan people fired the cannon as a warning and did not hit the Ming Dynasty ship. It was for
It was a good intention. Afterwards, the people from Folangji did go to Guangdong Haidao Yamen to submit an official document and explain. The matter was settled."
Xu Gao said blankly: "Let's just let it go? This is not appropriate. This is land being occupied by others. How can we be so tolerant?"
Zhang Yanling said: "What else? We have been banned from the Ming Dynasty for many years, and our navy has been depleted. We don't even have decent artillery on our ships. We will be turned into powder before the naval battle even gets close. Even if we are equipped with artillery, we are no match for the Folang machine gun. Fight.
However, I had no choice but to endure it. Moreover, the imperial court really did not pay attention to this matter and did not take it seriously. These things that happened thousands of miles away are not considered a concern to some people."
Xu Gao nodded slowly and said: "So you want to imitate the Fo Lang machine gun in case there is a large-scale invasion by the foreign countries in the future. You can compete with it."
Zhang Yanling said: "I think I have this idea. But that's not all. In short, this matter must be done. If the court doesn't do it, we will do it."
Xu Gao stretched out his hand and patted it gently on the table, thought for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "Yanling, since you have decided to do it, I will naturally go all out. However, to accomplish this, several conditions need to be met, otherwise I will be afraid
Xu Gao said: "First, I need a Folang machine gun as a sample. Otherwise, based on what I observed during those three days, I won't be able to fully understand the details."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "I think so too. If you have a sample to imitate, you can get twice the result with half the effort. Well, I will go to Guangdong in person in a few days to see if I can buy the Franco machine gun from the merchants and transport it back. Even if it is stolen,
I want to steal a door and come back."
Xu Gao said: "Okay. The second thing is that I need a separate cannon-casting site and a large number of manpower. I also need to build a large number of lifting equipment and another smelting furnace. Casting cannons in copper consumes a lot of money. I
The smelting of fine steel used for cannon casting must be solved. I am still confident in this, as long as you give me time. Manpower is also in short supply, and a lot of manpower is needed. Only a small amount of existing manpower can be withdrawn, otherwise it will affect the overall operation of the arsenal."
Zhang Yanling said: "There is a cannon foundry at the foot of the mountain. You choose the location and construction will start immediately. But manpower... Most of the manor's strong laborers are gathered here, and the fields also need people to cultivate. I am afraid that we will have to recruit people from outside.
.This shouldn’t be difficult either.”
Xu Gao said: "Didn't the old blacksmith tell you? Some time ago, people who were displaced from Hebei came here. I heard that the local government sent troops to arrest them when they returned. These people were hiding in Wangjiazhuang. The old blacksmith said he wanted to ask
Ask if you can take them in. Anyway, we are short of manpower now. If we leave them to work, we can still have food to eat. There are dozens of young people among these people. If we can recruit them, they can be used."
Zhang Yanling was stunned, frowned and said: "Refugees from Hebei?"
Xu Gao nodded and said: "Yes, I heard that it is from the Bazhou area. The local government is vigorously promoting the return of land to the people and the reform of horse administration. As a result, they have no way to survive, so they all ran out. The local government sent
People are coming to hunt him
They didn't dare to go to the capital and were living nearby. The old blacksmith happened to see them when he went to Xishan to transport coal last time. Seeing how pitiful the hungry women and children were, he secretly brought them back and settled them in Xiaowangzhuang. This thing may be a bit risky.
"
Zhang Yanling understood immediately. What happened in Hebei has indeed had bad consequences. Now some of the refugees have arrived in the capital. The local government has also sent troops to hunt these people back, trying to tie them to the land. No wonder the local bandits have come from
People's livelihood is in decline.
These people are from Bazhou, which means that not only Zhaozhou, but also the whole of Hebei is probably suffering from the reform of land and horse administration.
"You and Mr. Zhao go and talk to them and let them settle here. Those who are willing to stay, and those who are not willing to pay some travel expenses. Those who are willing to stay, settle them down. Who dares to run wild in my Xishan Manor? Inside
The young and strong manpower can be recruited to work in the cannon casting workshop." Zhang Yanling said.
"Okay. If you say that, we will feel relieved. However, the few things I just mentioned will cost a lot of money. Buying French cannons, building a new workshop blast furnace, hiring people to build facilities, etc.
, are all huge expenditures. This is not a small amount of money. There will be more money to invest in the future. After all, it may not be possible to stop it with one hundred and eighty thousand taels of silver. Can you really hold on?"
Xu Gao said.
Zhang Yanling said: "You don't have to worry about silver, you have to sell iron. As long as it can be made, let alone one hundred and eighty thousand taels, it doesn't matter three hundred thousand or four hundred thousand."
Xu Gao looked at Zhang Yanling's firm eyes, nodded slowly and said: "Okay, let's do it. I have issued a military order, and this must be done. Not only must it be copied, but it must also be thought about and improved, and strive to be more advanced than the Fran cannon.
."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said, "With my father-in-law's words, I feel relieved."
…
In the evening, Zhang Yanling and his entourage set out to return to Beijing. Everyone went to the foot of Wild Dog Ridge. After watching Zhang Yanling and his entourage drive away, Xu Gao sat down on a stone by the roadside, lowering his head and thinking.
Blacksmith Zhao came over and said with a smile: "Mr. Xu, what's wrong? I heard that Yanling told you about cannon casting? Do you feel very uneasy?"
Xu Gao sighed and said: "Brother, I really don't feel at ease. This matter is not trivial. Maybe Yanling will lose everything."
Zhao Laoji smiled and said, "Don't you have confidence in yourself?"
Xu Gao said: "Of course not, I don't have confidence in myself. I just feel that when Yan Ling does things, sometimes he moves too quickly, which makes people feel uneasy."
Zhao Laoji chuckled and said: "So you don't have confidence in Yanling. Hey, it is indeed a bit worrying."
Xu Gao said: "You think so too? How about we try to persuade him again?"
Zhao Laoji shook his head and said: "Old man, I'm just a little worried, but I completely believe in what Yanling does. He has his own reasons for doing things. It's just that I, old man, can't understand it at all, so I feel worried.
This may be called unfounded worry. It is completely unnecessary."
Xu Gao said: "You trust him so much?"
Zhao Laoji smiled and said: "Master Xu, look back."
Xu Gao turned around, and behind him was a group of people seeing off people walking towards the ridge. After looking for a while, he couldn't see the difference. He frowned and said, "Brother, what do you want me to see?"
Zhao Laoji pointed to the Wild Dog Ridge under the setting sun and said with a smile: "Mr. Xu, look at this mountain. Two years ago, it was a mess of trees and weeds. Look at it now? Two years ago, there was no one here.
Would you believe that such a huge change would happen here? At that time, everyone thought that Yanling was messing around and wasting time.
It's a waste of money. But no one thinks so now. Everything that happens here, including the entire manor, the dam, the school, the cottage, the arsenal, everything here is the old man's reason why I completely believe him. He knows what he is doing.
What, and it will definitely succeed."
Xu Gao squinted and looked at everything in front of him. Here, there were green trees, layers of ramps, towering chimneys with plumes of smoke rising into the sky, and the workshops were bustling with activity. It was hard to imagine that this place was originally a barren mountain.
Xu Gao's heart suddenly sank into his stomach. He knew that what the old blacksmith said was right. What Zhang Yanling did may not be something they could understand, but it would definitely succeed.