"Your Majesty, where does the military funding for this new army come from?" Sun Chengzong thought for a moment and continued.

"I went out by myself, and I wasn't going to go to the household department." Yang reform is very crisp.

"Your Majesty, this is good, but if it is 12,000, if it is 12,000, if it is 120,000, 108,000, then how can Your Majesty afford it? I'm afraid it's not a long-term solution! Sun Chengzong reminded.

For Sun Chengzong's reminder, Yang Reform is a clear man, no, the first hand is to make a lot of money in the Wei case, and then to prepare for the auction of goods, with the beginning of these two things, plus the millions of taels left to him by his original brother the emperor, it should be able to support the first wave of new army training. When the new army is trained, he will have a gun, and he will not be afraid of anything.

"Thank you Master Sun for reminding me, but I already have a countermeasure, so Master Sun doesn't have to worry. At least for now, there is absolutely no problem in supporting one or two thousand new troops. Yang reformed.

"Dare to ask how many new troops Your Majesty is going to train?" Sun Chengzong asked seriously.

"I'm going to recruit some first, the number is only two thousand, I'm going to take them as the basics, and in the future, the new recruits will be brought out by them, so that we can form a tradition of veterans leading new recruits."

Sun Chengzong thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid this is a little inappropriate, the first batch of His Majesty's new army is almost gathered from the same place, in this way, after winning the battle, promotion is certain, and the general gate after the future is almost in the same place, which is more dangerous......" Sun Chengzong's words were not finished, but the meaning had already been expressed, that is, the new army will inevitably make meritorious contributions in the future, and the top level of the new army will inevitably be in the same place, and if the emperor of such an army is relied on, it is easy to have problems, such as collusion. Then the emperor would be tragic. That's what precaution says.

"This ......, Master Sun, it is very true, I know this, I also have a move, I am ready to recruit people from all over the world to enter Beijing and be my attendants. Also use new methods to train them and let them join the new army, what does Master Sun think? ”

"Recruit people from all over the world to enter Beijing!" Sun Chengzong's voice suddenly raised a few notches. It's a crazy idea, but it's also wonderful.

Sun Chengzong said: "Your Majesty, this is really a brilliant idea, in this way, Your Majesty's new training methods will soon spread throughout the country, if something unexpected happens in the future, there are these people by Your Majesty's side, the generals of the world will definitely be more loyal, and when these people go back to do thousands of households and commands in the future, they will inevitably follow Your Majesty's side, so that the world's army will be attributed to Your Majesty, it is really a good idea to kill multiple birds with one stone." ”

(Sheren: Here it is indicated that the sons of the military guards should be attacked, such as the commanders of the guards, the thousand households, most of them are hereditary, they will choose one of the sons to inherit themselves, generally the eldest son, they are called Sheren, and when they die or retire, they will be the new commanders and thousand households.) ）

The wrinkles on Sun Chengzong's old face have been fully relaxed, so it seems that His Majesty the Emperor still has some wisdom, and it is not a stupid lack as rumored.

Seeing Sun Chengzong walk out, Yang Gai breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this military end had finally been settled, thinking that there was still more than a year in the second year of Chongzhen, and the time for training the new army by himself was theoretically sufficient, and the training speed of half a year could be at least three batches of training. The first batch has about 2,000 people, and the second batch can be expanded to seven or eight thousand, and by the third batch, it can be expanded to about two to forty thousand.

Thinking of this, Yang Gai's heart settled down again.

But thinking of this combat weapon, thinking of the kind of musket that can explode, Yang Gai felt that his brain was being crushed. Headache. It seems that he still has to find an opportunity to go to the armory station and reform the armory station appropriately, otherwise his new army will not be defeated, but will be defeated by his own musket first. In addition to muskets, there must also be cannons, and by the way, there must also be grenades, mines, since you have crossed over, how can you not have these things? Thinking of this, Yang Reform was happy again.

"Otomo, where is the place responsible for making firearms? Today I want to see firearms. Yang Gai was very happy, as the saying goes, it is better to act than to move, and when he thought of the musket, he was ready to go to the place where the musket was made.

"Back to Your Majesty, there are two places for the manufacture of firearms: the Ordnance Bureau and the War Bureau." Wang Chengen has been a eunuch for many years, so he is naturally familiar with this aspect.

"Two places? Is there any difference? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, the Ordnance Bureau is under the management of the Ministry of Industry, and the War Bureau is one of the eight internal bureaus, which is under the control of the Inner Court, both of which can make firearms, but if you want to talk about the difference, the War Bureau is stronger."

"Oh, and these divisions?" Yang Gengai realized that the inner and outer courts were not called in vain, and what the outer court had, the inner court generally had, and it was more powerful than the outer court, no wonder the eunuchs and civil servants of the Ming Dynasty were fighting happily. Wenchen regarded eunuchs and eunuchs as mortal enemies.

"Then let's go to the War Bureau today."

This bureau was the Royal Arsenal, responsible for directing weapons, gunpowder, armor, and more. Of course, it should be located in the imperial city, and as for the Forbidden City, it is impossible, unless the emperor wants to take an earthen plane. There were many unknown explosions in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, this military battle is not far from the Forbidden City, only two or three kilometers. Turning around, it was soon time to reach the war bureau. The War Bureau is one of the 12 supervisors, the 4th Division, and the 8th Bureau of the Inner Court. There is a eunuch with the palm seal of the War Bureau and a eunuch from the Admiral's Armory. They are the eunuchs who are serious.

For the emperor to suddenly come to the military battle, the palm print eunuch Fu Mingde (a nonsense one) of the military war bureau was not prepared at all. I was in a state of panic. The recent Wei Wei case seems to be getting bigger and bigger, and I don't know if it's going to target me.

"Slave maid Fu Mingde knocks to see my emperor, long live, long live, long live." Fu Mingde was followed by a large group of people, who seemed to be the leaders of the military battle.

"No courtesy, let's be even."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Yang Gai smiled and said nothing, his body was still graceful, it seemed that these people were addicted to kowtowing.

The big and small leaders of the War Bureau all stood up.

"Fu Mingde? , you can introduce the situation of the military war. "Yang Gengai heard Wang Chengen mention the palm print eunuch who was one of the eight bureaus, and knew that the biggest leader of this military battle bureau was this palm seal eunuch, so he had a little impression of his name.

"Back to Your Majesty, this military bureau is responsible for making knives, guns, swords, halberds, whips, axes, helmets, armor, bows, arrows and other military equipment, as well as iron locks, needles and scissors, and bells and drums used in the palace, as well as firearms, and has a gunpowder department under its jurisdiction." Fu Mingde is a clear man for his own affairs, and the person who has reached this position has some ability, not just by patting on the back, the tens of thousands of eunuchs in the capital are not decorations, and the competition is too fierce.

"Oh, is it? Then look at firearms. ”

"Slave and maid understand, Your Majesty, please." When Fu Mingde talked about business things, he gradually got rid of the tension just now.

……

"Your Majesty, this is the bird gun, with a crosshair at the front end, and a light door at the back, for aiming, pouring gunpowder, compacting, and then reloading, then loading the door medicine, then covering the fire door, and then loading the fire rope, so that it is ready to be completed, when it is time to shoot, open the fire door, pull the trigger and fire." Fu Mingde explained while gesturing with his hand to the bird in his hand. The firing steps of the whole bird gun are explained in detail.

"This seems a bit too cumbersome." Yang Reform was really surprised by such cumbersome steps, so there is still a war? I'm afraid I can't get two shots in a minute.

"Back to Your Majesty, this is much simpler and easier to use than the previous musket, the previous arquebus is more cumbersome, and the power is not as good as the current ......" For weapons, this Fu Mingde is clear. The head of the explanation is the Tao.

"Oh, is it? Is there a lot of such weapons and equipment? Is it the main battle equipment of my Ming Dynasty? Yang Gengai nodded, knowing that this was probably the evolutionary history of the musket. I also know that the musketeers of this period need courage, first of all, they must not be afraid of the musket in their hands, and on the other hand, they must not feel the enemy rushing like a tide, only when they achieve these two things, can they be regarded as a qualified musketeer.

"Back to Your Majesty, this kind of gun is the most equipped in the Ming Dynasty, in the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing Ye (1558), a batch was made, about 10,000 pieces, and now my Ming Dynasty is basically equipped with it." While saying that Fu Mingde also made a gesture to the sky.

"Ten thousand? You're right? How can there be so much? "In Yang Reform's expectation, making a batch of one or two thousand is considered a manifestation of the Ming Dynasty's national strength, but I didn't expect to make 10,000 pieces.

"Back to Your Majesty, how can the slave and maid be mistaken, there are indeed 10,000, this is on the record. It won't be less. Fu Mingde said with certainty.

Yang Reform gained a new understanding of the military manufacturing industry of the Ming Dynasty. said: "Then tell me about his manufacturing cost and process." "Yang Gengai is a little eager to know the cost and process of this gun, if it is not expensive, he can make some bird guns first, as a teaching weapon, and slowly improve the flintlock pistol.

"Back to Your Majesty, okay. This bird is made of ten catties of coarse iron, smelted one catty of fine iron, and used this fine iron to roll out two tubes, one large and one small. Then wrap the small tube with a large pipe, the two pipes are tightly attached, and then use a steel drill to drill out the smooth inner wall of the pipe, and then install the crosshair at the front end after the pipe is drilled, and install the door at the rear end. The inner wall of the tail of the gun tube is engraved with a female thread, screwed in and out with a screw, and plays the role of holding air when screwed in, and it is convenient to clean the inner wall of the gun after screwing out, and there is a medicine room at the back, and the fire door is opened, and the fire door cover is installed, and the gun tube is basically completed, and then on the dense and hard gun bed. The rear of the bed is connected to a curved butt, and a dragon-shaped trigger is installed on the bed...... "Fu Mingde's explanation is very complete and very hardworking. It was as if a pile of pig iron had turned into a brand-new bird in his hands.

However, Yang Reform still interrupted him: "What, you said a hard and dense bed? What is this? Yang Gai was "shocked" in his heart, is the lathe still an early lathe? In that case, the technology of the Ming Dynasty is too against the sky.

"Back to Your Majesty, it's a bed!" Fu Mingde was inexplicable, why would His Majesty be so surprised when he heard this.

"Let's go, take me to see." Yang Reform couldn't wait, and he wanted to see this "lathe" of the Ming Dynasty.

The slightly curved wood in front of him is what Fu Mingde called the bed of gun.

"This is what you call the Gun Bed?" Yang Gengai raised the piece of wood in Yang's hand

"Back to Your Majesty, this is indeed the Gun Bed." Fu Mingde explained cautiously, for fear of accidentally angering His Majesty.

Yang Reform finally understood that the gun bed was actually the wooden holder where the gun barrel was placed, as the saying goes, it was the gun handle, and Yang Gai's heart suddenly became cold. The flames that had just burned were extinguished again.

After being speechless for a while, Yang Gai broke the silence and continued to ask: "Then how long will it take for this production to be a bird?" Especially this barrel? "As a pseudo-military fan, Yang Reform naturally knows that the most difficult thing about this musket is this barrel.

"Back to Your Majesty, this musket is mainly difficult on the barrel, each person can only grind an inch per day, and the entire barrel will take about a month to complete." Fumingde is very clear about these figures.

"It takes a month to grind one out?" Yang Gai was taken aback by this data. I have the impression that guns are made with ready-made tubes. Then add some accessories and it becomes a gun. I didn't expect it to take a month to grind one here.

"How high is the yield?"

"Back to Your Majesty, about two out of every ten barrels will be scrapped. There are about seventy or eighty percent of the finished products. Fu Mingde hesitated for a moment before he said the answer in his mind.

"Seventy or eighty percent of the yield? Well, it's not too high, it's not too low. "In fact, the real yield will be lower, and it is the highest record for the management of this and the water products of the producers. Fu Mingde naturally won't say it so plainly, of course, if you want to say ten percent, then the musket that gets on the battlefield will explode.

"And how much does it cost to make a gun?" Yang's reform is concerned with cost. Only when the cost is low, there is a possibility of large-scale manufacturing.

"Back to Your Majesty, it is about between four taels and five taels, if it is a skilled worker, the price can be reduced to four taels, and if there are more raw hands, it will be five taels." Fu Mingde cautiously answered the emperor's question, for fear that the answer would be too much, and the emperor would check his own account, saying that if it was less, the emperor would use this price to make a gun, but he couldn't make it if he sold it, so he said a vague price.

"Four-five-two-one? It doesn't seem too expensive. Yang Gengai pondered this in his heart, four or five cars are not expensive, and 10,000 guns are only 40,000 or 50,000 taels of silver. An ordinary soldier's salary is only four or five months' salary. Think about it again, the price of this gun is basically expensive labor, a skilled worker only grinds one barrel a month, and the salary is estimated to be a lot of two taels. As for iron, carbon, steel drill bits, and other miscellaneous items, it is estimated that this is also the price.

Thinking of this, Yang Reform also knew in his heart. He asked, "Fu Mingde, how long do you say it will take to make two thousand bird guns?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, it is estimated that it will take at least four or five months." Fu Mingde replied cautiously.

"Four or five months? So long? Didn't you say you could make 10,000 strokes a year? How do you build 2,000 rods in four or five months? You're not cheating on me, are you? Yang Gai said angrily.

"Slaves and maids should die, slaves and maids should be damned, slaves and maids are not deceiving Your Majesty, making 10,000 poles a year, that is all Jiajingye's thirty-seven years, these years, there are fewer and fewer craftsmen who can make birds, and there are only four or five hundred people, so this speed is not as fast as Jiajingye's time."

"That means you can make four or five hundred muskets a month at most?"

"Back to Your Majesty, yes, even if it is not considered waste, there will be a maximum of four or five hundred barrels a month, and as for more, it is not impossible."

"What's the solution?"

"Back to Your Majesty, there are still some craftsmen who make bird guns in the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of Industry, but there are not as many as the War Bureau, if you call them over, the speed can be much faster." Fu Mingde carefully explained this. I also know a lot about my peers.

"From the Ministry of Industry? Forget it. I'm going to make weapons in the War Bureau, not in the Ministry of Works, Fu Mingde, there are fewer and fewer craftsmen, are you abusing them? In this country's military powerhouse, there are fewer and fewer craftsmen who produce weapons. You're incompetent. ”

Fu Mingde is already sweating in his head. Too scared to do it.

"Fu Mingde, I am going to make a batch of weapons, and you abuse the craftsmen like this, causing the craftsmen to flee, and the level of the craftsmen is getting lower and lower, and you missed my business, you don't want this head?" Yang Gai feigned anger.;