Chapter 951 God of War, Tragedy
Jiang Qingzhi and Lu Song were walking in the West Garden. The eunuch in front of them was very tactful and kept a distance to let the two bosses talk alone.
"If there is a large-scale migration, people's hearts will become unstable." Lu Song said slowly.
"Old Lu, I know that many Confucianists like to fool the people the most. If the people are honest, they can be governed without being governed. But Old Lu, the world is changing. If the Ming Dynasty still clings to its old ways, is still timid, and stays behind closed doors to dominate, have you ever thought about external threats?"
Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "Let's talk about the Portuguese. In the two battles off the coast of Guangzhou, if the navy had not shown some courage and had not been able to imitate firearms, the coast of Ming would have been controlled by the Portuguese by now, and even... the entire coastal area would have fallen."
This is not an exaggeration. At that time, the Portuguese monarchs and ministers were preparing to expedition to the East to conquer the Silk Country... This was an adventurous journey driven by interests.
"You are stagnant, while others are marching forward. Ten years, twenty years, fifty years, a hundred years... When the enemy appears again, the people of the Ming Dynasty will find that they are as weak as children in front of powerful ships and guns."
Jiang Qingzhi said: "I have said countless times that this world is a jungle and that Confucianism will not work. To treat foreigners, we must first beat them up so badly that they cannot take care of themselves, and then we can convince them with reason."
"Those foreign races...don't they have any sense of propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame?" Lu Song frowned, finding it unbelievable.
"Can propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame be exchanged for money and food? Can propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame make one's opponents give up? No. In the jungle, the flock of sheep talks about propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame to the tigers and wolves... Old Lu, tell me, what will the tigers and wolves say in response to them?"
"A good meal!"
"So, if you want to avoid getting beaten, you must first make yourself invincible. The army comes first!"
"The army comes first. Aren't you afraid of a repeat of the previous Tang Dynasty vassal state?"
"Old Lu, do you know what the biggest problem of Confucianism is?" Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "Once bitten by a snake, one will be afraid of the rope for ten years. China has a long history, so that future generations can follow the lessons of history. But you are going too far, brother! Warriors are not slaves. Why do you turn a blind eye to the lessons of the former Song Dynasty?"
"Former Song..."
"The former Song Dynasty regarded warriors as inferiors, but they wanted to rely on these so-called inferiors to resist powerful enemies. How could it be so good? Do you understand morale? You don't understand? That's right. I understand. An army without morale, an army that is regarded as inferiors, will never have the courage to resist powerful enemies."
Jiang Qingzhi thought of the Russian army in later generations, where a group of farmers were pulled out of the fields, given a gun with almost worn-out rifling, and then forced to join the army as a so-called "steamroller" and become cannon fodder.
"So, if we want to change the Ming Dynasty, the army must come first." Jiang Qingzhi clenched his right fist, "Only with a strong army can the government's orders be implemented without hindrance."
"Garrison, immigration..." Lu Song murmured, "Enclave... I seem to see the whole Ming Dynasty in a state of excitement. Countless people bid farewell to their ancestors with their bags on their backs, leaving their hometowns with the soil of their hometowns and the tablets of their ancestors."
"Do you feel like everything is changing too fast, and you feel like you're losing control?"
"Exactly."
"We have to get used to it!" Jiang Qingzhi said, "If we don't get used to it, the foreign race will use their butcher knives to make us get used to it. Is it better to be a dead person, a slave, or to be a member of the Ming Dynasty whose rapid development makes us a little uncomfortable?"
"I feel a little dizzy." Lu Song just imagined it, and he felt as if the whole world had changed drastically.
"People like to pursue constancy. Prisoners who have been in jail for a long time and are accustomed to this kind of life will be reluctant to leave." Jiang Qingzhi thought of the movie in later generations. The prisoner was about to be released from prison, but refused to go out, so he took his cellmate hostage and wanted to stay in jail.
But he was eventually released from prison.
The final outcome was that he could not get used to this strange world and chose to hang himself.
"Impermanence is the essence of this world!" Jiang Qingzhi patted Lu Song on the shoulder, "Old Lu, this is a revival. It's like a journey to the founding of a country. When a country was founded, who wasn't displaced?"
"I need some quiet time." Lu Song looked a little tired.
"Take a good rest."
Jiang Qingzhi was very busy, so he took the generals to the Mohist base outside the city.
Feng Yuan had been informed long ago and was waiting outside the gate.
"Uncle."
"How's the artillery?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
Feng Yuan is now in charge of the manufacture of Mohist firearms. He looks energetic, as if he is ten years younger. "According to the instructions of the master, I have been working with the craftsmen for a long time, spending a lot of time..."
Feng Yuan said somewhat awkwardly: "I am incompetent and the cost is quite high."
"Hello, teacher." Zhou Xia came, and Jiang Qingzhi nodded. "Zhou Xia is in charge of this place. He mentioned this to me. I just have one thing to say: spend what you need to spend!"
"Yes." Feng Yuan said, "I have never been so generous. To be honest, I couldn't even imagine such a life when I was in the Armory. Fortunately, I have made some progress... Please have a look, sir!"
When everyone entered the gate, they saw a row of cannons neatly lined up in front of them.
Jiang Qingzhi walked over and touched the gun body, which was very slippery. He then looked at the barrel and checked its airtightness.
"How powerful is it?" Jiang Qingzhi asked, patting the gun.
Those generals stared at Feng Yuan with sharp eyes, like wolves.
Feng Yuan shuddered. "We have improved it four times in total. My uncle said that the three most important things about firearms are the material, the formula of the gunpowder, and the airtightness. We have been testing the materials continuously, and now it is the fifth generation as my uncle said. We have improved the airtightness a lot by mixing gum with other glues. As for the gunpowder, we have changed the formula many times, but the improvement is limited."
Feng Yuan felt a little guilty, but Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Take your time."
The gunpowder formula he gave should be the optimal ratio. Feng Yuan and others were able to make improvements on this basis. Even if the progress was limited, it still surprised Jiang Qingzhi a little.
There is a saying in later generations: A good aircraft engine can create a famous aircraft. As long as the engine is good enough, even a brick can fly. Later, someone changed this saying: Standing in the wind, a pig can fly.
Gunpowder is the key, but it is difficult to improve black powder. The only way is to change the track.
That is to say, take the chemical route.
Then the cannon was covered with a gun cover and pulled out.
A horse can pull it easily.
When we arrived at the valley, we could still see the trajectory of the artillery fire from the last test in the original forest.
The artillery is in place. Jiang Qingzhi nodded.
Loading and reloading.
"ignition!"
chi chi chi...
Green smoke curls up.
Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette and thought of the navy.
He mentioned this matter to Feng Yuan. Corresponding improvements need to be made to the artillery on the warships, including the size and structure, and even the gun mount.
"Boom boom boom!"
Amid the roar, Jiang Qingzhi seemed to see the Ming warships facing the enemy warships sideways, with the dark cannons flashing sharp rays through the open portholes on the side.
The shell flew out of the gun and whistled towards the grove.
A series of intensive breaking sounds were heard.
The generals stared at the grove intently. Someone took the lead, but they swarmed forward without waiting for the potential energy of the shells to be exhausted.
"Dead branches and fallen leaves!" Yan Xu looked at the bullet tracks, "If the enemy is in front... it will be easy to escape, easy to escape!"
"With this weapon, even if Altan's cavalry comes again, I won't be afraid of them!"
"What if this is a city?" someone asked.
The generals looked at each other.
"The city... if it's a strong city, it might be difficult to attack." Yan Xu said, "But if it's an inferior city, could it withstand the bombardment?"
"If not, then wouldn't it be a luxury to defend the city from now on?"
"The fighting from now on will be completely different." Jiang Qingzhi walked over, looked at the trajectory of the bullets, and said happily: "This is the God of War."
At present, there are not many fortified cities, whether in the Ming Dynasty or other countries.
The artillery is pulled out, and there is a burst of intensive bombardment. How many cities can withstand it?
"My Lord, I'm afraid Altan's cavalry will be useless from now on." An Jing sighed, "Personal bravery is useless in the face of firearms."
The term "Mengjiang" will become a historical term.
The firing frequency of the artillery was then tested.
Clean the barrel, load the gunpowder, load the bullets, ignite...
After five rounds of firing, Jiang Qingzhi walked over and touched the heated gun barrel. "The Tiger Guards will send someone to contact us later to test various limits and compile a manual for artillery drills."
"Yes!" Yan Xu looked at the generals provocatively.
It can be seen that the Lord still values me, the Left Guard of the Tiger Guards, the most.
The generals were itching to fight, and followed Jiang Qingzhi quietly, constantly muttering about how difficult the training was for their subordinates and how eager they were to fight.
"The artillery will be built gradually. We will not wait until the Tiger Guards' Left Guards are fully equipped this time. All guards will have them."
"Really?" An Jing was overjoyed, and then she twitched the corner of her mouth slightly, "If Uncle says there is, then there is, hahahaha!"
Xu Wei and Zhang Juzheng followed behind, talking to Zhou Xia about the base from time to time. Seeing this, Xu Wei said, "I think the uncle is a little anxious, as if someone is chasing him from behind."
Zhang Juzheng nodded, he felt it too.
The distribution of flintlock rifles was mainly to the Huben Zuowei. After the Huben Zuowei had finished their equipment change, they were distributed to other guards.
But the artillery was different, as they were almost equipped simultaneously, which shows how anxious Jiang Qingzhi was.
"The teacher once said, 'Seize the day.'" Zhou Xia said.
Just as Jiang Qingzhi was inspecting the Mohist base, several riders rushed into the capital. The leading official went to the Ministry of Revenue.
"what?"
Lu Song lost his composure and dropped the brush in his hand onto the document.
The visitor lowered his head and said, "The person in charge of Songjiang Prefecture is Xie Yong. Someone set the fire this time and burned Xie Yong and three others to death. Only the minor official Chen Yue escaped because he was seeking medical treatment outside."
Lu Song's face turned pale, "How dare they do this?"
Lu Song walked out of the duty room, and the officials outside came out upon hearing the news.
The atmosphere was solemn.
Lu Song looked at everyone and stamped his feet, "I will enter the palace now."
Jiang Qingzhi received the news immediately.
"what?"
Even though he was mentally prepared, Jiang Qingzhi still couldn't believe it when the tragedy happened.
"There were thugs in Songjiang Prefecture... They said they were righteous people. They set fire to and killed three officials from the Ministry of Revenue."
(End of this chapter)
