"No wonder Lord Ning's new army is so strong."

Sun Wufan muttered in his mouth.

Since ancient times, the upward passage has been a recipe for action. If the upward passage is unobstructed, then both soldiers and scholars will be full of enthusiasm and energy.

Sadly, Da Ming didn't do a good enough job at this point. Scholars have a imperial examination to source on. Even if you can't pass the test once or twice, you can still hope for the next time. And the soldier is completely different. The guards were completely reduced to slaves of the officers, and could do nothing but farm and do odd jobs. The most terrible thing was that the soldiers took all the money from farming and gave them only a meager ration to ensure that they would not starve to death.

In this case, the soldiers naturally had a negative attitude, were completely unmotivated, and simply lived numbly.

When they can't survive anymore, they will run away. This is the fundamental reason for the collapse of the guard in the late Ming Dynasty and the serious desertion of soldiers.

There is another point that Ning Xiu thinks is also crucial, that is, once you join the military, it is more difficult to get out of the country than to ascend to the sky.

Lao Tzu became a military slave, and his son also had to be a military slave. The son became a military slave, and the grandson had to be a slave too. There is no end to the children and grandchildren...

Ning Xiu thinks that this system is simply anti-human, and I really don't know how Zhu Yuanzhang came up with it in the first place.

Conscription and battalion soldiers have improved in this regard, and everything is on track. It is a pity that another system has ruined the good form of conscription.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the status of the commanders and deputy generals increased. In order to entrap these people, the imperial court came up with a solution, that is, the family system.

The imperial court allowed the commander-in-chief and deputy generals to own a part of their own households. Later, it developed into guerrillas, and generals could also have it.

The family is different from the ordinary battalion soldiers, they can follow the general's transfer, and often follow the family leader's surname, which is regarded as a reflection of the general's strength.

Like the ancestor of Liao Town at the end of the Ming Dynasty, he had 9,000 ancestral soldiers, so much so that the imperial court had to allocate a huge amount of Liao salary to support this group of masters.

The family is often well-fed and well-dressed, well-armoured, and can be said to be armed to the teeth.

These family members are often the main force in the battalion, and they are very brave and play a pivotal role in battle.

It stands to reason that such a setup could make the army stronger, but only theoretically.

Because the resources of the army are limited. The better the food and clothing of these families, the worse the food and clothing of those ordinary soldiers.

In other words, everything in the family was exploited by the generals from ordinary soldiers.

Maybe these ordinary battalion soldiers don't understand the concept of exploitation, but they will definitely feel uncomfortable.

The reaction is passive slacking in training, and the reaction in battle is acting.

They will definitely think that those families who eat and drink well should naturally be the main pioneers. We can't eat enough, counting on Lao Tzu to work hard and dream!

Therefore, no matter how brave the family is, they can't fill the hole of ordinary soldiers' cowardice and fear.

Those family members may be able to be fearless to death, but what is the use? Ordinary soldiers are the main force in the army.

Therefore, there are often very ridiculous scenes on the battlefield at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Thousands of Ming troops were chased by hundreds or even dozens of people. It's not that they can't beat it, but they don't want to fight at all.

Do not suffer from few, but suffer from unevenness. Being treated differently is the most likely to discourage motivation.

Ning Xiu even thought that the family system was the cancer of the battalion soldiers. As long as the family system exists, it will be impossible for the battalion soldiers to exert their maximum combat effectiveness.

"I just did what I felt I should do. The soldiers shed blood and sweat for the Ming Dynasty, and they should not be made to feel that there is no hope, and they should not be made to think that there is no hope in life. ”

Ning Xiu sighed with emotion and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see the Firearms Bureau." ”

Accompanied by Qi Wen and others, Ning Xiu and Sun Wufan came to the Wuzhushan Island Firearms Bureau.

This bureau is known only to a few generals such as Ning Xiu and Qi Wen on the whole island, and then there are craftsmen working in it.

These craftsmen were all recruited by Ning Xiu from all over the world.

Because the conditions offered by Ning Xiu were very good, these craftsmen came to Wuzhushan Island without hesitation.

Ning Xiu attaches great importance to the development of firearms. Whether it was a gun or an artillery, craftsmen were ordered to imitate and develop.

The firearms of the Franc Robot are the best samples. In addition, Ning Xiu also told the craftsman about the structure of the flintlock pistol. Judging from the current situation, although the craftsmen did not make flintlock pistols, they imitated the Lumi gun.

And in terms of artillery, three-pounder, six-pounder and even twelve-pounder guns have already been made.

As for the Ming army's mouth, the big general cannon and the second general cannon can't be made yet, but Ning Xiu believes that sooner or later, under the stimulation of his own incentive system, he will be able to imitate it.

Both of these guns were great weapons of death in naval warfare. Ning Xiu knew that the reason why the Spaniards were able to dominate the sea was because they had these two types of artillery.

Of course, he also knew that the Spanish Armada was eventually completely defeated, which showed that it was not enough to rely on artillery alone. Artillery, ships, the quality of the soldiers, and even the execution of the battle are crucial.

Ning Xiu is also mainly focusing on these points now, and in his opinion, if he does these things well, it is the time to fight the Manila Spaniards.

"I've seen my lord!"

When the craftsmen in the firearms bureau saw Ning Xiu coming, they all stopped what they were doing and bowed to Ning Xiu.

Ning Xiu abolished kneeling in the army, and these craftsmen naturally did not need to kneel.

Ning Xiu walked up to a craftsman and said in a harmonious voice: "Old man Li, has there been any progress in the development of the second general's cannon?" ”

"If you go back to your lordship, there has been a lot of progress recently, that is, the inner diameter of the cannon cannot be as smooth as the cannon of the Franco man, and the little old man is worried that this will cause an explosion."

Ning Xiu frowned when he heard this.

"That's not going to work. Safety comes first. ”

The biggest problem with the imitation of firearms by the Ming army is that safety cannot be guaranteed. Whether it is a bird gun or a cannon, because the inner walls are rough and narrow, the soldiers will fill as much gunpowder as possible in order to increase their power.

In this case, it is easy to blow up the chamber.

And if the gunpowder is reloaded too little, the power of the artillery guns will be greatly reduced and will not work.

"Little old man is ashamed. Despite their best efforts, they still can't guarantee the smoothness of the inner chamber. ”

The old man Li hung his head in shame.

"What about Francis? What does he think? ”

The Francis in Ning Xiu's mouth was the gunsmith he had dug up from the trenches. However, Francis did not cast heavy artillery such as the Great General Cannon and the Second General Cannon, and he can only make some comments.

Francis also said that the bore wall was too thin and not smooth enough, but he couldn't do better.

Ning Xiu sighed in his heart.

He also tried to poach the foundry division of the general cannon and the second general cannon directly, but Governor Silva held them very tightly and refused to let go.

Ning Xiu can only let these craftsmen and Francis explore together now, to see if they can make a great cannon in a flash of inspiration.

Otherwise, he can only be controlled by others and buy from the Franco.

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