Time flies, and before I know it, it has reached the first year of Chongzhen.

A large imperial village located in the south of the spar city has been converted into a new firearms factory at this time.

The processing machinery brought by John Tong from Macao and the technicians hired by the high salaries are teaching the new techniques of the Ming craftsmen here.

"What is the combat effectiveness of the Shenji Battalion?" Accompanying Wang Xiao on the visit was Sun Chuanting, who had been the commander of the Shenji Battalion for more than half a year. Wang Xiao wanted to know about the results of his work.

Sun Chuanting showed disdain, "Weichen heard that there are only a few hundred soldiers in the first battalion of the soldiers of the Nine Sides, and they are all the generals' personal soldiers, and the rest are all old and weak. Chen thought that Jingying, which is known as the elite of the world, would be much stronger than Jiubian, but he didn't expect it to be even more rancid. ”

These words directly exposed Sun Chuanting's poor management, and he didn't know how many people he offended in one sentence.

It's no wonder that after he died on the battlefield, not only did no one chase him down, but framed him for escaping.

"Tell me more." Wang Xiao knew that the so-called three battalions had no combat effectiveness except for salaries, and they had a fight with the Dumen Forbidden Army during the Jingkang period. But to what extent it is rotten, he really doesn't know.

Jingying also used to be brilliant, and when Zhu Di came out of the fortress, he once shook the Mongolian iron cavalry and won the battle. But now Jingying has become an important source of income for many nobles.

The empty pay rate is as high as three-fifths, and only two of the five people or five horses on the roster actually exist. All other kinds of subsidies, clothing, etc., were all divided up by generals at all levels.

As for the remaining two people, they are all related households who spent money to come in. It's purely for the sake of mixing up the salary.

"After Weichen entered the camp, less than half of the people who came at three o'clock in Yu Shisan." Sun Chuanting complained to the emperor, "What's more, most of the people who come to respond are temporarily hired beggars and even scoundrels. ”

Wang Xiao smiled, "There is no need to mention this matter, it will definitely be resolved in the future." What is important for you now is to organize and train the new army, and you must strictly grasp military discipline. Fleeing on the battlefield must not be done. ”

The defeat of the Ming army in the field was largely due to a little rout and the overall collapse. Then he was chased and killed by many Manchu cavalry all the way, and the corpses were all over the field.

Sun Chuanting saluted respectfully, "Your Majesty gives you the land and is exempt from taxes. The soldiers of the new battalion are grateful to Dade and are willing to die for His Majesty! ”

When the Ming army faced a strong enemy, it was about to collapse, and the biggest reason was that they were not well fed and clothed on weekdays, and they were deducted from their salaries. In this case, neuropathy will kill Da Ming.

In order to alleviate this situation, Wang Xiao's response was that all the sergeants who joined the new army would be given a share of land and exempted from taxes, and they would get more for their military exploits in the future. In addition, it strictly guards the empty salary and withholds the money. Its combat effectiveness is naturally very different from that of the traditional Ming army.

There is a reward, and there is a punishment, and the simplest punishment is that those who flee from the battle will not only be subject to military justice themselves, but will also have their fields confiscated.

The sergeants recruited by the new army are all brought with their families, and the fields distributed by Wang Xiao are the basis for the livelihood of these families. It's not just yourself who escapes, it's the whole family.

"The families of many soldiers of the New Army have told them to kill the enemy and serve the country, and they would rather die on the battlefield than flee without a fight. If anyone dares to do this, they will inevitably be removed from the family tree. ”

Sun Chuanting is talking about the common feelings of this era. In this era of attaching importance to the theory of ghosts and gods, there is no one to worship ancestors and keep incense, that is a lonely ghost and a wild ghost!

Wang Xiao smiled but said nothing. As long as the sergeant dares to fight, the training can keep up with the equipment, and there is a reliable commander. The so-called invincible is a joke.

The Manchus seemed to be brave, but in fact they were far inferior to the Huns, Turks, Khitans, Jin and even Mongols of their predecessors. It's just a good time to encounter the chaos in the Central Plains.

When the training of the new army is completed, we must let those wild boar skins see the power of the modern firearms army. When the time comes, it will inevitably leave them with a deep memory that will be remembered for a generation.

John Tang is still busy recruiting and purchasing in Macau, and here at this time is Xu Guangqi, the new secretary of the Ministry of Industry.

As one of the most outstanding scientists of our time, it is absolutely fitting that Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua are in charge of this.

After receiving the flintlock pistol handed over by Xu Guangqi, Wang Xiao carefully inspected it and came to the shooting range to prepare for the test firing.

The technique of flintlock pistols was not too difficult, and after John Tong sent samples from Macau, the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty quickly learned how to imitate them. What Wang Xiao is holding in his hand is the finished product imitated by the craftsmen.

Wang Chengen pulled Xu Guangqi with a worried face, "Elder Xu Ge, are these things reliable?" If you accidentally hurt Your Majesty, no one can bear it. ”

His words are heelous, and the difference in the quality of the firearms made by the officials in the late Ming Dynasty is simply outrageous.

The life is short, the accuracy is poor, the range is a mess, and maintenance is extremely difficult. As for the bore, that's even more common. These things were sent to the front line, and before they could engage the Ming army, the morale of the musketeers had to drop directly.

As for the reason, it is not a technical problem, but a human problem.

Zhu Yuanzhang formulated the household registration system and became a craftsman, that is, he has been a craftsman for generations.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the court was as dark as ink, and the treatment of craftsmen was extremely poor, even to the point that they could not support their families. In such a situation where the whole family is starving to death without enough food, it is impossible for a skilled craftsman to build a firearm with his heart. The poor quality can be imagined.

Xu Guangqi waved his hand: "Wang Zhongfu, don't worry. His Majesty treated craftsmen favorably and established a strict system of punishment. Each new musket now has enough security. ”

Zhongfu is the nickname of the eunuch who is the master of ceremonies. Although Wang Chengen is also the governor of the East Factory, he prefers to be called a public assistant when he is outside.

He understands the disadvantages of craftsmen very well, and although he has Xu Guangqi's guarantee, he is still worried. It's just that Wang Xiao has always liked to make his own ideas, and it is not a good thing to persuade at will.

Load your ammunition and aim your gun at a target fifty meters away.

Wang Xiao half-squinted his eyes, held the rifle firmly with both hands, and then fired and pulled the trigger.

When the smoke cleared, the little eunuch had already run over and picked up the target and ran over quickly.

"Your Majesty, hit the bull's-eye!"

A group of people around them sent sweet sycophants, even Xu Guangqi and Sun Chuanting were no exception.

In the eyes of the ministers, it is insulting to slap the sycophants of eunuchs like Wei Zhongxian. can shoot the emperor's sycophants, that is a matter of course.

In fact, the impact point is much off the bull's-eye, but since everyone pretends not to know, Wang Xiao is not easy to demolish them.

Putting down the flintlock pistol, Wang Xiao looked at Sun Chuanting, "How fast can the rate of fire be in the training of the new army?" ”

Sun Chuanting immediately responded: "Those who are excellent can shoot a second shot in ten breaths." ”

One breath is a smooth breathing process, which lasts about 3 seconds. Ten breaths is half a minute.

"Too slow." Wang Xiao shook his head: "The mood on the battlefield is tense, and there are too many interference factors that hinder the line of sight from the smoke of gunpowder. Speed certainly can't compare to daily training. ”

Sun Chuanting bowed and saluted, "Wechen will increase the amount of training when he goes back." ”

Wang Xiao asked out loud: "Aiqing, do you know the three-stage shooting method?" ”

Sun Chuanting thought for a while: "Isn't it the method used by King Qianning when he pacified the south of Caiyun?" ”

The three-stage shooting was not the first of the Sixth Heaven Demon King, in fact, Mu Ying used this method to successfully pacify the south of Caiyun in the early Ming Dynasty.

In groups of three, one of the most skilled shooters is the shooter, and the other two are responsible for the reload. It greatly increases the effectiveness of musket fire. The most intuitive manifestation is the roundabout shooting tactics of European armies.

"You don't have to stick to three-stage shooting, you can expand to six people, nine people." Wang Xiao opened a golden finger with a small golden finger: "You can use line infantry tactics to carry out dense salvos." The front row shoots and then spins, and the rear row takes over. Row by row of maneuvers stepped forward to maintain the density of fire delivery. ”

Sun Chuanting had a look of sudden realization on his face, and immediately sent a fragrant fart.

Wang Chengen may not be able to understand it, but at this time, he reacted quickly to keep up, and all kinds of praise were not repeated.

"Tell the truth all day long." Wang Xiao waved his hand and motioned to Xu Guangqi, "What is the output of the flintlock pistol?" ”

"Three sticks a day."

The smile on Wang Xiao's face instantly dissipated.

Three sticks a day, this can also be called yield? This is clearly a handicraft, okay!

Xu Guangqi explained, "There are not many craftsmen who can make this new gun, and the process is complicated and there are too many procedures. The slightest mistake can be scrapped. So the output can't come up. ”

Wang Xiao took back the flintlock pistol and looked at it carefully, "What are you doing with these beautiful patterns carved on this, this is to be used on a large scale." All these useless decorations have been removed. Something like a butt can be made by an apprentice. Gather all the experienced craftsmen and see if all the parts and processes that can be reduced can be eliminated. Those who can put forward useful opinions will be rewarded. ”

In Wang Xiao's eyes, the flintlock pistol is a consumable. Huang Taiji will be killed next year, and according to this output, he will form a musket team of two or three thousand. And that's not even counting the wear and tear of daily training.

"It is necessary to significantly increase production on the premise of quality and quantity." Wang Xiao wrote a check, "There will be rewards for doing well, and punishments for not doing well." You should know the craftsman system of the Qin Dynasty, just follow that. The output should be increased to at least 300 pieces per month. ”

Wang Xiao also knew that if it was purely handmade, the output would definitely not go up, and he was waiting for the machine that John Tang would get.

Although in Wang Xiao's eyes, they are all extremely primitive, primitive machinery that is difficult to find in museums. But in this era, that is the representative of advanced productive forces.

When the machines and craftsmen arrive, Wang Xiao's goal will be raised to 500 pieces per month. And his bottom line is to produce more than 1,000 branches at least a month.

Wang Xiao has read a lot of novels about the end of the Ming Dynasty, and most of the solutions are to focus on the interior. And his plan was why he couldn't figure it out from the outside.

Rice from Siam, timber from Burma, gold from Lü Song, spices from the South Seas. Why these places can only be occupied by Europeans, and replacing the owner with the Ming is the best choice.

By the way, there is also Dongying. The Tokugawa shogunate had a huge amount of rice.

Wang Xiao didn't have the money to buy it, and he didn't want to spend money to buy it. He was going to use it directly.

Not only do you want things, you also want people, you want land!

"This matter must be taken into account." Wang Xiao instructed Xu Guangqi, who was full of embarrassment, "Boya stays and discusses with you, and next time I will see the progress of artillery." ”

Wang Xiao left the Huangzhuang and returned to the capital.

He came out this time without much fanfare to play the honor guard, and the guards around him were all in civilian clothes. When passing through a street, I heard a constant commotion outside, and I looked at it curiously. I saw that many scholars who had entered Beijing to take the exam were gathering outside a three-story restaurant, shouting and shouting, which was very lively.

The name of this restaurant is very domineering, called Zhuangyuan Building.