"Since April 28 in the third year of Longwu, to this day, Mr. Chen has presided over the ordnance workshop for only a month and a half, and has produced 717 long guns, a number of pointed wooden guns, and repaired nearly 100 weapons before and after, ensuring that each soldier can bring a weapon with him, and even have a spare replacement. That's twice as fast as in the months before. This kind of governance is really rare in the world, and even the officials of the DPRK and China are afraid that they are not as good as it. ”

Chen Kai assured Zheng Chenggong that everything had been completed on the morning of 15 June, and that breakfast had barely been digested, and even the repair of the damaged weapons had not been spent in the afternoon. After these weapons were made, Chen Kai continued to work, and only returned to the town office to meet Zheng Chenggong after he was on duty. At this time, the weapon had already been used in the arsenal, Zheng Chenggong knew that he had already praised others many times, and when he saw Chen Kai's face, he couldn't hold back the joy in his heart.

"The surname of the country is too famous, and the students just came up with some unorthodox small methods, and they really dare not compare with the great talents in the court."

The loser says everything as if it is an excuse, and the winner is just the opposite, Zheng Chenggong's praise, Chen Kai's modesty, and the seemingly unreasonable wild words in the Tiger Festival Hall a month and a half ago, at this moment, just prove Chen Kai's self-confidence.

Since the first production of 18 guns on the second day of the first month of May, Zheng Chenggong, who got the news, fell into the surprise of picking up the treasure. This surprise precipitated day and night, and every day will continue to refresh his senses for Chen Kai, and today, after a month and a half of sedimentation, seeing the report that is still unbelievable, the joy in his heart arises spontaneously.

"Mr. Chen is too modest, and now the dynasty is in danger, and the Han family is even more worried about land sinking. Mr. Chan has such talents, and at this time, at this time, he should not hesitate to give full play to his talents, and I should also fully support him. In the future, the emperor will be able to prosper, and I believe that on the Yuntai Pavilion, it is not only the military generals who can leave their names. ”

In the Han Dynasty, the martial arts were prosperous, and the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai will go down in history. Zheng Chenggong's praise is very high, and Chen Kai has to be constantly humble. But put yourself in the shoes of the Manchu Qing Dynasty now, and now it is the Manchu Qing Dynasty that has swept the world, and the Qing army is in the north, in the south, and even in the land of Fujian and Guangdong.

Zheng Chenggong raised troops here at the end of last year to oppose the Qing Dynasty, and in the past half a year, he has been exhausted, but Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and the Zheng group fell apart, and the strength in his hands was really limited. Now with Chen Kai, he can't be said to be armed to the teeth, but at least he has a weapon in his hands, and when he goes to the battlefield, there is an essential difference between the pointed wooden spear and the iron spear after all.

"Dare to ask when the surname of the country plans to send troops, the armory workshop is operating normally, and the students can adjust their work plans accordingly."

The praise lasted for a while, and Chen Kai didn't intend to let Zheng Chenggong spend his spit on this, so he turned the topic back to work.

This attitude is exactly what Zheng Chenggong appreciates, and after listening to Chen Kai's question, he did not hesitate, and said to Chen Kai openly and honestly: "Don't hide it from Mr. Chen, I originally planned to wait for Mr. Chen's side to be ready." However, the speed of my husband's side was so fast, and I also considered the delay on the way and the need to negotiate a plan with Yongshengbo and Dingyuanbo after arriving at Zhongzuo, so I decided to set off on June 18. ”

Zheng Chenggong's departure has military, political, and economic significance, and he went for a while to stay in the Zhongzuo Institute, the base camp of the Zheng group, for a month or two, and Xiu Yixiu's sense of presence is even more deserved. This is not much different from what Chen Kai expected before, and there is no need to make too many adjustments in the arsenal workshop, everything can be done step by step.

Chen Kai nodded, and there was no embarrassment on his face. Seeing this, Zheng Chenggong continued to say the following words: "This time to send troops, our army should be pouring out. These days, the Loyal and Yonghou has recruited hundreds of recruits, and is seizing the time to practice, and the follow-up will expand the number of soldiers to 1,000 people. ”

"Students understand, please rest assured."

Being able to accomplish this seemingly impossible task this time, the credibility of Chen Kai's words has been established in this group. At this moment, please rest assured that Zheng Chenggong can indeed rest assured. However, there are still some things that he has to make clear before leaving, otherwise he will not be able to settle down in his heart.

"Some time ago, the You Eryi case, the matter of Right Pioneer Town, especially the latter, I hope Mr. Don't mind."

What Zheng Chenggong was referring to was nothing more than the stumbling block that Chen Hui gave him, how could Chen Kai not understand the truth. Since Zheng Chenggong wanted to persuade peace, he simply got off the donkey and said: "The surname of the country is serious, and the handling of You Eryi's case is indeed reckless on the part of the student, otherwise there will be no follow-up." ”

Chen Kai is like this, which is what Zheng Chenggong wanted, but when he heard this, he shook his head, and then said with a wry smile: "No, you are not reckless, you have no time to spare your life for the country!" If there were a few more characters like Mr. in the court back then, Daming would not have fallen into the current field! ”

Zheng Chenggong finished speaking, and there were some tears faintly in the tiger's eyes, as if endless pain was pouring into his heart.

Through those historical records he had read, Chen Kai knew very well that before the Jiashen national disaster, Zheng Zhilong was able to climb to that point in the system, if it were not for the great changes, it would be difficult to make any more progress, so Zheng Zhilong wanted to find a good teacher for Zheng Chenggong, to send him to the national prison, and to let his eldest son worship Qian Qianyi, the leader of the Southeast Wenzong, as a teacher, in order to help Zheng Chenggong take the civil official route and fundamentally change the governance of the central court to better ensure the rights and interests of maritime trade.

On the other hand, Zheng Chenggong's expectations for himself in his early years were the same-Confucianism, Xiucai, Juren, Jinshi, and then started as a magistrate and then became an assistant to a country. is just like the straightforward spirit in the poem "Ascending" written by Zheng Chenggong in his early years:

"There is only heaven above, and there are no mountains and Qi. Raise your head to the red sun and look down on the white clouds. ”

Perhaps at that time, Zheng Chenggong, who had great ambitions, also thought about standing in that high place like Zhang Juzheng and changing the country with his own strength. But fate played a big joke on him, the Qing army entered the customs, the dream of Confucianism, the dream of Jinshi, the dream of civil officials, and the dream of a country was all shattered, his father was plundered, his mother was humiliated and committed suicide, and even the emperor who had the grace of knowing him was martyred. Bearing a great national hatred and family hatred, Zheng Chenggong could only burn the Confucian scarf and shirt in front of the Temple of Literature, put on his battle armor, and hold a sword to change the country in another more drastic way.

"In the past, he was a widow, and now he is a lonely minister, I would like to thank Confucianism, but the first teacher is Zhaojian!"

Scenes of the past surfaced in his mind, and the tears in Zheng Chenggong's eyes were almost low, but as he raised his head and took a deep breath, it was as if he had never appeared, except for the slight water in his eye sockets, the cold image in his daily life reappeared in front of Chen Kai's eyes.

"I lost my temper, so that Mr. smiled."

"The surname of the country is the true feelings, the students have heard that the surname of the country is loyal and patriotic, and when they see it today, they are even more convinced that the surname of the country will lead us to sweep away the sea and restore the world of the Han family. Please also rest assured that the students should also do their best to help the country master become this immortal honor. ”

After that, Chen Kai gave a salute, and Zheng Chenggong also smiled in return. There is a lot of help for the righteous and little help for the unjust, and Chen Kai can come from thousands of miles to vote, which just shows this point.

"I believe in that too."

After the episode, the topic of the two returned to business, Zheng Chenggong had the intention to mediate the contradictions between Chen Kai and those Hou Ye and uncle, so he said to Chen Kai: "When Mr. first came here, they didn't know much about Zhongjing Uncle, in fact, they are all loyal people, and Mr., and I, are also comrades of the same heart. The previous incident, for my sake, let it pass, and after a long relationship in the future, I believe that the misunderstanding should be resolved. ”

"The students must obey the orders of the country's surname."

Chen Kaizhi generally went down this step, but Zheng Chenggong seemed to be a little dissatisfied: "The surname of the country? Mr. is now an official, and the honorific title of ordinary people is still exempted. ”

Official?

Chen Kai didn't know how many grades he was, let alone whether a "black household" like him was an official, but since Zheng Chenggong said so, he had to ask: "Country surname?" ”

"Hmm."

Zheng Chenggong nodded, and Chen Kai also breathed a sigh of relief, from "national surname" to "national surname", his status has obviously improved, even if his position is still to recruit generals to join the army and manage the military weapons workshop, but it is also a good thing after all.

"In addition, the armory workshop has only been able to produce spears during this time, and I think that after the expedition, the gentleman should work on other weapons. For example, swords and shields, such as bows and arrows, of course, if you can make firecrackers and cannons, then it is the best. ”

What Zheng Chenggong said is indeed the truth, the products of the ordnance workshop are too simple, if it were not for the fact that most of the soldiers in the army were recruits this time, other weapons were not easy to practice, and it was not easy to form combat effectiveness, and it would not only produce the weapon of the spear.

It's just firecrackers, artillery or something, but Chen Kai still couldn't help but secretly say in his heart, "My country surname is lord, you always think too much." Firearms have a higher technical content and need to accumulate more experience, even Xu Guangqi said that the casting of Hongyi cannons is best presided over by European craftsmen, and Chinese craftsmen are learning while assisting from the side.

"Students should do their best, but they are only firecrackers and artillery......

"Step by step, I know. All production is the responsibility of the husband, and I will not interfere with it. ”

The two talked happily, and when Chen Kai said goodbye, Zheng Chenggong sorted out the official business that had been disposed of but had not yet been issued, and returned to his residence in the backyard. However, after returning to his residence and bathing, Zheng Chenggong changed into more solemn clothes and went straight to an ancestral hall.

"The country is in danger, what do you care about me?"

"Wen is not greedy for money, Wu is not afraid of death, and the country can be guaranteed."

"I only hate that I don't have a daughter to be married to the Qing family, and the Qing should be loyal to my family and forget about it."

Facing the tablet in the center, Zheng Chenggong bowed respectfully to the ground. The sound of the earnest entrustment of the year is still in the ears, and the eulogy at this moment is like a golden stone.

"Your Majesty, thanks to Your Majesty's bequest, the Confucian scholar who traveled thousands of miles south to serve His Majesty has completed the manufacture of weapons, which is twice as fast as in the previous months. Now the army has been training for nearly half a year and is fully armed. On this expedition, I would like to ask Your Majesty to bless the victory of the army. On the day of returning to the teacher, the minister should also pay tribute to His Majesty's spirit in heaven with the head of the captive! ”