When the people of Hangzhou were shocked by Yang Zhen's ingenious courtship moves, Yang Zhen was also looking at a middle-aged man in his forties with a thin figure and an ordinary appearance with a happy face on his face. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

"Mr. Zhu is really talented, and he is more proficient and powerful than people in the government in the field of gunpowder." After a while, Yang Zhen sighed sincerely.

Zhu Siyuan, who was pointed out by him, waved his hand again and again: "My lord, you are too awarded, and the little one just did his duty according to your instructions, I really don't deserve to be praised by the adult like this......"

Looking at the other party's cautious and flattered appearance, Yang Zhen didn't feel that he was emotional, this is the sadness of these craftsmen and craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty now. Driven by the concept that everything is inferior, only reading is high, the craftsman who was actually not much different from the status of the scholar in the time of Taizu has already fallen to the deepest bottom and has become a despised existence. On the other hand, merchants, as they became more and more rich, had already risen from the fourth-class status to an equal position with scholars.

"Mr. Zhu doesn't have to be so honest, your credit is real, and the official has always rewarded and punished you clearly, so naturally he will not treat you badly." Yang Zhen hurriedly calmed the tunnel. As he spoke, he remembered the situation when he had come to Zhu Siyuan before.

When he took over Luo Chengzhang's final question that day, Yang Zhen changed a lot of thoughts, thinking about what kind of way he should use to express his heart for Luo Yueying in front of the people of Hangzhou? He thought of the tricks that would be used indiscriminately in later generations, such as putting slogans at the shops in the city, or putting Kong Ming lanterns on them. But both of these methods are obviously at odds with another requirement mentioned by Luo Chengzhang - let God witness his sincerity.

So after some thought, Yang Zhen thought of a way to show his love with fireworks. When the brilliant fireworks blow up their minds in the air, they are bound to cause a sensation in the city, and at the same time, this is also in line with Luo Chengzhang's requirements, and it is really a testament to the sky.

However, there is also a big difficulty, that is, how to make fireworks. If it is placed in the future generations, this kind of trick of setting off fireworks and writing is naturally not difficult, but during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty hundreds of years ago, Yang Zhenke didn't know if anyone could do it.

Although in Master Jin Yong's book "The Condor Heroes", Yang Guo in the late Southern Song Dynasty was able to celebrate Guo Xiang's birthday with this hand, but Yang Zhen knew that this was just a novelist's imagination, and it was not something that could be done casually to realize the fireworks exploding words in the air.

But this method is too tempting, in order to give Luo Yueying an unforgettable memory, Yang Zhen decided to give it a try. Fortunately, his current identity is really not low, and if he continues to give an order, he has found talents in Hangzhou who are proficient in fireworks and firecracker production, as well as those who are proficient in gunpowder.

And after listening to his story, most of these craftsmen shook their heads like rattles, and bluntly said that not to mention making such fireworks, even if they thought, they couldn't think of such things. Only Zhu Siyuan, who was not even a craftsman, decided to give it a try after a long silence. Afterwards, Yang Zhen learned that he also took the plunge because he couldn't live his life anymore and hoped to take this opportunity to change the status quo.

But he dared to take this risk, and it was really because he had good skills. With his own understanding of gunpowder, coupled with his innate spirituality and the advice provided by Yang Zhen, Zhu Siyuan really created this fireworks that caused a sensation in the entire city of Hangzhou.

After trying it tonight, Yang Zhen was greatly satisfied, and Yang Zhen became more interested in this craftsman: "It seems that Mr. Zhu is quite familiar with gunpowder?" Logically speaking, how can you support yourself and your family with this craft, but why are you ...... now?"

Zhu Siyuan was asked by Yang Zhen about the sore spot, and there was silence for a while. But he was honest and couldn't lie, so he had to say: "Villain...... The villain is after the escape, so he doesn't dare to show this ability. If it weren't for the fact that this day really couldn't go on, the little one wouldn't have come to take over this errand. ”

"After the runaway?" Yang Zhen's eyes flashed, and while waving his hand to make the subordinates around him retreat, he stared at Zhu Siyuan thoughtfully: "I hope Mr. Zhu will make his words clearer." ”

I don't know if it's because of my personality, or because I was intimidated by Yang Zhen's momentum, after hesitating for a while, Zhu Siyuan gave a detailed explanation. It turned out that his ancestors were indeed from a craftsman's family, and he was also a senior craftsman in the capital who made firearms for the Shenji Battalion.

However, during the Jiajing period, because of an accident, the workshop where they were located suddenly caught fire and exploded, and many important firearms and materials were burned. At that time, many craftsmen there were questioned by the imperial court, and some were even killed for it.

And Zhu Siyuan's father escaped from the capital with his pregnant mother at this time. Since then, the family has lived incognito, and finally settled in the city of Hangzhou.

It's just that his identity is unspeakable, although he has a good ability to make firearms, he doesn't dare to reveal it, and his father, who is a craftsman, has no source of income, and finally the family is completely poor, and it is not until now that he can't open the pot at all, so he took the risk to respond to Yang Zhen's call.

After telling the truth, Zhu Siyuan looked at Yang Zhen timidly, his body shook violently, and his head hung even lower, looking pitiful to be slaughtered. When Yang Zhen saw it, he could only sigh: "Don't be afraid, you did a good job this time, and you did the official a great favor, but the official is not an ungrateful person, and he won't do anything to you." ”

"Really...... It's true? Zhu Siyuan asked in disbelief.

"Of course. Not only will this official not condemn you because of what happened before, but he will also give you a serious background, so that you can live a better life in the future. Speaking of this, he suddenly paused again, stared at the other party and said, "Listen to the meaning of your words, what you are really good at is not only this gunpowder or the ability to make fireworks." ”

Zhu Siyuan was stunned for a moment, and then nodded again: "No...... Not bad. When the villain's father worked as a craftsman in the capital, he was the leader in making muskets...... Although it was impossible to do this after coming to Hangzhou later, the villain listened to his father when he was a child about making muskets, which was much more familiar than making fireworks and artillery. After all, he was not stupid, and when he saw that Yang Zhen had his own meaning, he quickly told the truth what he was good at.

And after hearing him say this, Yang Zhen's eyes flashed with a few strange and excited looks: "Do you actually have the ability to do this?" That's the best thing to do, and I'm going to talk to you about the musket in a few days. ”

"Adults understand this, too?" Zhu Siyuan asked in some surprise.

"You'll know when the time comes." Yang Zhen sold it first, but he was secretly happy in his heart, feeling that he might have inadvertently discovered a usable person.

In fact, Yang Zhen had the idea of improving the current Ming military firearms after he went to Shanxi.

Although some people in later generations deliberately exaggerated the sharpness of the Ming Dynasty's firearms in order to belittle the Manchu Qing Dynasty, in fact, at this time, the Ming Dynasty's firearms could still only be regarded as a supplement to the battle array, but it was impossible to really be alone. In fact, this is also conceivable, if the firearms of the Ming Dynasty are really powerful enough to make the Eight-Nation Alliance and the like hundreds of years later sincerely admire, how can a mud-legged man like Li Zicheng and a barbarian like the Eight Banners completely subvert this dynasty?

And Yang Zhen, who once fought with the Mongols under the Baishan Mountain with firearms in his own hands, knows better how backward the musket of this era is, and in most cases it is not as easy and lethal as the bow and crossbow.

At this time, the musket not only had an extremely short range, but also because there was no rifling relationship, the projectile could not grasp the direction at all. If you just shoot at a target at a close distance, as long as you fly a little farther, the projectile will be much more deflected, and there is no such thing as aiming.

In addition, the current musket that needs to be filled with gunpowder from the muzzle, then solidified with an iron rod, then put in a projectile, and then ignited and fired, is far less mobile than a bow and crossbow. Often, it takes enough time to shoot a single shot as an archer shoots three arrows in a row.

It is precisely because the musket has so many deficiencies that Yang Zhen, a sharpshooter with excellent marksmanship in the army of later generations, has never used this thing to fight. However, in his mind, he was constantly thinking about how to improve the musket to plan for the future.

If the Ming Dynasty's firearms have been qualitatively improved and can hit the enemy quickly and accurately, then in the future, whether it is against the Mongolian or Manchu cavalry, the Ming Dynasty will have an absolute advantage.

It's a pity that with Yang Zhen's current identity, it is impossible to meddle in such an important matter. This matter has always been controlled by the military, how could he, a big leader of the brocade guard, be recognized by them and participate in the research and development of firearms and other national weapons?

But today, because of his marriage to Luo Yueying, Yang Zhen actually met such a craftsman who had a deep understanding of firearms, which made his heart unconsciously stir. As long as you secretly develop new firearms at home, it is best if you can succeed naturally, and there is no loss if you don't succeed.

Unexpectedly, he had such an unexpected gain this time, which made the corners of Yang Zhen's mouth bloom with a satisfied smile again: "Mr. Zhu, you will do things with this official in the future." I will not treat you badly. ”

Zhu Siyuan naturally wouldn't let go of such a good opportunity, so he quickly agreed. And with the appearance of this person, what different changes can Yang Zhen bring to the Ming Dynasty?

At least now, everything is still unknown, and for Yang Zhen, the most important thing now is to think about marrying his beloved woman into the door as soon as possible......