Hearing Su Hao's request, Li Long hesitated for a moment and asked, "The weapon that I said is a firearm?" ”

"Exactly." Su Hao said, "The student is a scholar, and he is powerless, and he can only fight the thieves with firearms." ”

"That's just as well." Li Long nodded and said, "If you need to use firearms, let's write a note and ask the Jiangxi Dusi to allocate a few pieces to you, why do you have to go to great lengths to build it yourself?" ”

Su Hao said: "Gonggong Li should know that the various copper guns and iron guns made by the Ordnance Bureau and the Staff Bureau are too heavy to be carried by a weak person like a student. The students wanted to ask the craftsmen to make a few lighter guns in case they needed them. ”

Of course, Su Hao would not tell Li Long that he was making a new firearm with better performance than the Ming standard firearm, and the excuse he made up for pursuing lightness was also reasonable. The so-called invincible handcuffs used in the army of the Ming Dynasty were cast in brass and weighed 16 catties.

After listening to Su Hao's reasoning, Li Long nodded and asked, "So, how many are you going to make?" ”

Su Hao said: "It's probably about a dozen, the students use two by themselves, and the students have a few personal companions, and they also carry a few with them, so that if they encounter a small group of thieves, the students can protect themselves." ”

Li Long breathed a sigh of relief and said, "If it is a dozen or so, it doesn't hurt to change it." Let's go back and inform Jiangxi Dusi. However, this matter should not be publicized, and it is not appropriate to spread it. ”

"Students understand." Su Hao hurriedly responded.

There are a lot of firearms used in the army of the Ming Dynasty, and there are many types, such as the general cannon, the second general cannon, the third general cannon, the magic gun, the divine gun, the swarm of bees, the divine machine arrow, the Xiangyang cannon, the mouth cannon, the whirlwind cannon, the four-eyed iron gun, the double-headed iron gun, the Franc machine bronze gun, etc., there are all kinds of things, forty or fifty categories.

Initially, the Ming court had very strict control over the creation of firearms, and only allowed them to be manufactured by the Staff Bureau of the Inner Government, and others were not allowed to make them without permission. Later, due to various reasons, the imperial court began to allow the border passes to make some firearms themselves. For example: in the 14th year of orthodoxy, the title is Sichuan's self-made copper general Shengun; In the 4th year of Hongzhi, it expanded to Huguang and Guangxi; During the Zhengde period, Qingzhou Zuowei, Xuzhou, Liangzhou and other places were successively approved to make their own gods. In addition, there are also Liaodong can make their own thousands of miles of guns, Shanxi Sanguan can make their own Lianzhu Buddha Lang cannons and so on.

Although other places did not receive official approval from the imperial court, some firearms were manufactured on a small scale, and the imperial court also turned a blind eye. Come to think of it, if everyone can only rely on the Scepter Bureau to make firearms, what will the Scepter Bureau have to be busy?

This is the result of a long period of peace, many regulations in the early Ming Dynasty, in the late Ming Dynasty, were either abolished in disguise, or they were nothing in vain, the people did not raise them, and the officials did not hold them accountable. Some old masters always shake their heads when they talk about the current situation, but if they really want them to do things according to the rules of the early Ming Dynasty, they themselves are not happy.

Of course, this kind of unapproved manufacture of firearms can only be sporadic, and if it is manufactured in large quantities, the central government cannot ignore it, and it has to send people to seriously check it. Firearms are, after all, weapons of mass destruction, and local governments possess large quantities of firearms, which pose a threat to the central government.

Su Hao was the first to agree to make a flintlock pistol for Tu Wenhuan, and Tu Wenhuan sent someone to get through the relationship between the Jiangxi Dusi and gave Su Hao a permit. This time, Su Hao wanted to make a gun for himself, and he was also arranging for Chen Guanyu to test the yellow **, which was beyond the authorization of the Jiangxi Dusi. Su Hao originally proposed it when he went to see Zhang Hong and asked Zhang Hong for approval, but now that Li Long took the initiative to say that he could settle all kinds of things for him, why didn't he take advantage of this promise?

"The eunuch guarding the Nanjing Ordnance Bureau also has some friendship with our family. Let's go back and ask someone to send him a letter, even if the firearm you made is entrusted by the Nanjing Ordnance Bureau, so no one will have anything to say. Li Long said.

"Father-in-law Xie Li." Su Hao said that he is now beginning to feel the benefits of befriending eunuchs, and eunuchs, as the emperor's side, are indeed very domineering. There are some things that the magistrate easily does not dare to agree to, but the eunuch dares to take care of everything, and no one dares to pursue it if something happens. It is indeed much easier to have a eunuch to support him, and to do some things on his own.

Li Long chatted with Su Hao for a while, and then called Zhou Yan, a thousand households of Jinyiwei, to meet with Su Hao. This Zhou Yan is a man with five big and three thick, and he doesn't seem to have a very bright brain, and he is very respectful to Li Long. Li Long solemnly recommended Su Hao to Zhou Yan, and Zhou Yan took Su Hao's hand and asked for a long time, which made Su Hao feel a little scared.

Coming out of Jinyi Wei Qianhu, Su Hao went to visit Zhang Hong, the capital of Jiangxi, according to the original plan, and gave Zhang Hong a valuable gift. Among these gifts, Zhang Hong was most attracted by a chain mail made of high-manganese steel wire, which was much lighter than ordinary steel armor, but its strength was not the same. This steel armor was specially made by Hao Yizong and asked Su Hao to give it to Zhang Hong, he knew that Zhang Hong was a military general, and he would definitely like such a gift very much.

Zhang Hong got the steel armor, and he really couldn't put it down. He had a machete come and slash the armor a few times, but the machete was missing, but the armor was intact. Zhang Hong held the steel armor and smiled, looking at Su Hao's eyes was obviously much more affectionate, and his address to him changed from "Su Baihu" to "changed", obviously treating him as his own person.

"Change, I will appoint you to train in Fengcheng to build a hundred households, how effective is it now?"

Zhang Hongduan sat behind the public case and asked Su Hao, who was sitting in front of him in a proper manner. In fact, his questioning was just going through the motions, and the officials of Nanchang Wei had already inspected the survey camp many times, and they had always reported on the training of the survey camp.

Su Hao replied: "Back to Zhangdusi, the 110 soldiers of the survey battalion who are responsible for supervising the training have basically completed their training. All the soldiers have mastered the basic surveying and mapping techniques, and can carry out surveying and mapping of mountains and rivers, and can be transferred to the border at any time. ”

"Good!" Zhang Hong nodded, "The military department is also quite concerned about this survey battalion, and has asked me about the training several times, and I have always been worried that the soldiers are rough and dull, and it will be difficult to learn these techniques for a while." ”

Su Hao said: "When recruiting, the soldiers of the Kanyu Battalion have literacy requirements. After enlisting in the army, the soldiers trained extremely hard, and the surveying and mapping teaching hired from Fengcheng Longguang Academy was very diligent. A few days ago, he led most of the survey battalion to conduct a surveying and mapping drill in Luoshan in the south of Fengcheng, and the performance of the soldiers was very good. ”

"Those diligent teachings, you submit a list, and they will be rewarded heavily. Also, if you have merit in supervising the training of recruits, the general will also report your merit to the Ministry of War. Zhang Hong said.

"Thank you, Toji." Su Hao replied.

Zhang Hong said: "Change, when you go back to Fengcheng this time, you should start making some preparations, and the military department will write in a few days and transfer you to the border pass." It's going to be a few years, so let your soldiers say goodbye to their families. ”

"So fast?" Su Hao was a little surprised, and after thinking about it, it seemed to be about the same. The training of the survey battalion has been nearly half a year, and the things that should be learned have been completed, and it is time to transfer to the front line. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Zhang Dusi, you just said, 'You wait', am I going too?" ”

Zhang Hongdao: "When I first hired you to train soldiers, I did say that you only need to train and don't need to go to the border with you. But this time, it was the Ministry of War that sent a message, and I want to transfer you to go with the survey camp, and you will naturally know the specific reason at that time. However, don't worry, you are only responsible for sending the soldiers over, and when the soldiers can do things, you can come back. ”

"Humble ...... Yes, sir. Su Hao responded.

The news revealed by Zhang Hong made Su Hao a little surprised. Zhang Hong arranged for Su Hao to train the troops, but he was actually entrusted by Deng Zilong's department of the Yunnan border army, and he had no direct relationship with the military department. Even Su Hao's title of 100 households was temporarily appointed by Zhang Hong for personal gain by using his power, but he just went through the motions in the Nanjing Military Department.

And now, listening to Zhang Hong's meaning, it seems that the military department in Beijing has begun to care about this matter, and even named Su Hao to personally lead the team to the border pass, what is the reason for the change?

Seeing the look of secrecy on Zhang Hong's face, Su Hao also knew that he couldn't continue to ask, so he could only nod his head and accept the dispatch to himself. From Jiangxi to Yunnan, the road is far away, this coming and going, I am afraid it will be half a year, I don't know if after arriving in Yunnan, will be detained by those unreasonable general soldiers, staff generals, and delayed for another year and a half. He is now in a humble position, anyone can decide his life and death, and he really has no capital to bargain with others.

Maybe a trip to Yunnan can be regarded as broadening your horizons, maybe you can find some new opportunities for yourself? Su Hao comforted himself like this.

Zhang Hong didn't have anything else to say here, Su Hao also told Zhang Hong about making his gun, and said that it was with the permission of the mine supervisor Li Long. Zhang Hong really has no objection to this matter, especially when he hears that Li Long is still in front of him, it doesn't matter. He just told Su Hao not to move too much when making the gun, so as not to cause criticism.

Leaving the Jiangxi Dusi, Su Hao went to visit the officials of Nanchang Wei again, and also presented a number of gifts, and received a lot of empty words of praise and encouragement. Subsequently, Su Hao took his soldiers and returned to Fengcheng.

I don't know if Li Long or Zhang Hong's crow's beak played a role, and before Su Hao and his party returned to the camp of the Kanyu camp, the messenger sent by Hao Tong met them. The messenger brought Su Hao bad news, Chen Guanyu was conducting experiments in the barracks, and there was a big commotion.