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In a big battle, the Qing army lost more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, so that their own military advantage no longer exists, and more importantly, their morale has been greatly affected. Because Tuhai was seriously injured and couldn't get out of bed, the command burden of the Northwest Army fell on Zhou Peigong. And Zhao Liangdong's side lost a lot of soldiers and horses, and wrote to Kangxi to ask for punishment, but Kangxi issued a holy decree: victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers, and this defeat is not his fault, and the soldiers and horses in Tongguan are still led by Zhao Liangdong, giving Zhao Liangdong full trust.

The battle report of the battle between the two armies was sent to the Forbidden City in only three days, and the red-clothed cannons and firecrackers mentioned in the Zhanbao and Zhou Peigong's recital made Kangxi very vigilant. In fact, Kangxi also knew that the power of this firearm was huge, especially the artillery, and the Qing army also relied on many artillery pieces to win the world. However, the artillery has always been in the hands of the Han army flag, that is, in the hands of several Han princes, the soldiers of the Eight Banners are actually very disdainful of this thing, they believe in archery and horse riding, in their opinion, the role of firearms is some, but not very good.

"Ladies and gentlemen, what do you have to teach me?" On the Jinluan Palace, after the two reports were read by Suo Etu himself, Kangxi looked at the ministers below and asked.

Before the others moved, Suo Etu took the lead and said: "Back to the emperor, the minister thought that Zhou Peigong and Zhao Liangdong had mentioned the issue of firearms at the same time, and they had to be taken seriously by the imperial court. On the front lines, a small incident can make all the difference. And the power of artillery is well known. When used well, it can indeed achieve miraculous results! Therefore, the minister agreed with Zhou and Zhao's mention. The imperial court should immediately allocate silver taels and gather all the craftsmen to cast cannons, and at the same time send ministers to contact the Dutch merchants in Tientsin to see if they can also buy a batch of red-coated cannons from the Dutch. ”

"The minister seconded the proposal!" Mingzhu also stepped forward and said. During this time, the two no longer fought, and worked together to contribute to the Qing Dynasty, and they were still very measured in the face of right and wrong. "Since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, we have attached great importance to artillery, and at this moment, we will be able to cast a batch of usable red-coated cannons in a short period of time with the strength of the whole country. As for the Westerners, their artillery is indeed longer than that of our Qing Dynasty. But it shouldn't be difficult to get artillery from them. They came to my Daqing just to ask for money, and let them mention it when they let go of the conditions, as long as they can get a batch of cannons in a short time, it's not a big deal to pay more! ”

In the eyes of the ministers of the full palace, the Westerners really can't belong to the table, and the smell of copper is all over the body, although this is the case, but many of the princes and nobles are connected with Westerners in Jiangnan, and many businesses in Jiangnan also have the shadow of these Manchu princes and ministers, and these princes and ministers also earn a lot of silver from Westerners. But he looked down on these barbarians from the bottom of his heart. It's just that these Tartars from Manchuria didn't think that they themselves belonged to the ranks of barbarians!

The ministers of the full hall heard the two of them say the same thing. I immediately understood that this was obviously discussed with the emperor in advance, and at the moment it was just a formality, and the next step was to give an order and implement it. Sure enough, as soon as Mingzhu's words fell, Kangxi immediately said loudly: "Do you know how much it costs to cast a cannon for Mingzhu?" How many artillery pieces should the imperial court cast at this moment to be able to use on the front line? ”

"Back to the emperor, Sai Sehei is the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, or please ask Lord Sai to elaborate for the emperor." Mingzhu himself is the secretary of the Ministry of War at the moment, although the cannon casting is under his dispatch, but the specific casting of weapons is still under the Ministry of Industry, and he kicked the ball to the feet of Sehei

Sehei is a Manchu who was born in the Red Flag, and he already knows how to fight, and he can also recognize words, but he doesn't dare to compliment him at this level. However, it is really a little difficult for him to be promoted to the position of Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, he belongs to the Suo Etu faction, and he is also Suo Etu's protection, but at this moment, he can't catch the ball that Mingzhu kicked to him. It's not that Mingzhu is deliberately finding fault, it's really that Mingzhu himself doesn't know the specific situation, and he should know all about these things when he wants to come to the Ministry of Industry.

"This, this" Se Se Hei stood in the center of the main hall and couldn't say why, and the discerning person knew at a glance that he was very qualified as a squire in the Ministry of Works, and the affairs of his own department were not clear, not unqualified. Kangxi's face also became not very good-looking, but he did not immediately reprimand.

"Back to the emperor, since the beginning of the war, the Ministry of War has always urged military weapons to be swords, guns, swords, halberds, etc., and the demand for cannons is very small, so the ministers are mainly concerned about the matter of building swords, so the matter of casting cannons is handed over to the right attendant of the Ministry of Works, Erdo, who is responsible. Ordo, hurry up and be as clear as the emperor! Se Se Hei can be regarded as a nimble head, and immediately thought of the right attendant Erduo, who was specifically responsible for firearms in the Ministry of Industry, and then lifted the ball to Ordo's feet in a cold sweat.

Ordo is also a Manchurian, but he was born as a scholar, and he was a scholar in the ninth year of Shunzhi, and he was also the director of the Ministry of Rites, and was later transferred to the right waiter of the Ministry of Industry. He knows everything about this aspect of things, after all, he is the specific person in charge, and he is only responsible for this part, and he is really a waste material if he is not familiar with it for more than two years!

"Back to the emperor, the red-clothed cannons are divided into iron cannons and copper cannons, and at the same time, heavy cannons and light cannons are limited to 500 catties. Due to the different processes required, the cost of each other is also very different. All kinds of artillery have their own advantages and disadvantages, but at this time, in response to the needs of the front-line battlefield, Chen Jian built more light guns, and mainly copper cannons. The main thing is that the performance of the copper cannon is stable, and the power is greater than that of the iron cannon of the same weight. However, it costs 1,800 taels of silver to cast only a light copper cannon, and at least 2,500 taels or more if it is a heavy cannon, and defective products will appear in the casting process, so if you want to transfer 30 red-clothed cannons to the front line like Zhou Shilang did last time, you need to allocate 100,000 taels of silver in advance. ”

Hearing this, Kangxi's face was a little unpleasant, these days he often has a headache for silver, the household has not much silver, this year's deficit is certain, but fortunately, he also got two million taels of silver from Shanxi Huangshang again, and the expenses to pay for military expenses can still last for two months. Now it seems that it is a little difficult to cast a large number of cannons, I really didn't expect that it would cost so much silver to cast a cannon!

"Since at this time, the master craftsmen of the Ministry of Engineering were basically making every effort to produce the weapons needed for the front line, and the demand for artillery was not much, and there was no task in this regard. Therefore, the number of craftsmen who cast cannons is not large, if the emperor wants to cast a large number of cannons, the minister thinks that the emperor still needs to immediately issue an order to mobilize masters from Zhili, Shandong, Shanxi and other places to come to the capital, otherwise the matter of casting cannons has become a utopia. "Ordo's words mean two things, one asks for money and the other wants people. In fact, the more important thing is people, after all, even if there is more silver, no one will come to mint it, it is empty talk.

"Well, is there a small number of artillerymen in the capital now? How do I remember that when I was young, I used to test guns with the emperor in Tongzhou, and there were many craftsmen accompanying me at that time! Kangxi asked suspiciously.

"Back to the emperor, there were a lot of artillerymen in the capital, and there were some in other provinces, but a few years ago, Fujian's Geng Shun has been recruiting these craftsmen, and nearly half of the craftsmen who are proficient in cannon casting and making shotguns have gone to Fujian, and the first batch of people to go to Fujian was six years ago. Erduo reported truthfully, and if you inquire about this matter a little, you will know that even if he doesn't say it, others will report it to Kangxi.

Hearing this, everyone else also understood what was going on, it seems that it will be difficult for this cannon casting thing to be carried out smoothly, I don't know when this batch of artillery will be cast smoothly. "Damn, according to this point of view, Geng Yi is even more hateful than Wu Sangui, he has been thinking about rebellion for a long time, and even prepared for it many years ago. Suo Etu, can Uncle Huang still send troops and horses to recover Jiangxi? These damned thieves, I'm going to send them all to hell! ”

Kangxi was furious, and Suo Etu was also a little frightened, but he still responded loudly: "Back to the emperor, the front line has been confronting Wu Sangui's soldiers and horses, and a big war may break out when they look at each other. On the Jiangxi side, Uncle Huang had already sent soldiers and horses, but the main thing was to fight with Wu Sangui again. In the south of the Yangtze River, the imperial army is trying to recapture the northern Zhejiang provinces occupied by Zheng Rebellion, and as for Geng Jingzhong, Fujian's soldiers and horses are all stationed in the cities around Fuzhou and Ji'an, and the imperial army has no way to take care of them for a while. However, at this moment, Geng Rebellion is shrinking behind, and the imperial army has its own usefulness, so it is better not to provoke him first. Does the emperor still remember the strategy that Guo Jia gave to Cao Cao to deal with Yuan Shao's sons during the Three Kingdoms? ”

Time is a little urgent, a basket of things during the day, it's really a headache, and the code word at night is indeed a little anxious! Sorry (to be continued......)

PS: Next chapter right away