Ah Hou set off for the capital, and it seemed that he was on the right track.

But Geng Jingzhong deeply remembered what the founding ancestor Mao said: "Power comes out of the barrel of a gun!" ”。

Without strong military strength, all the qiē is to make wedding clothes for others. And time is pressing, we must hurry up to train an elite soldier, which is the capital of our own life.

At this stage, the strongest is still the imperial court, at this time the Eight Banners Iron Cavalry is still invincible, and the combat effectiveness is very strong, and Wu Sangui, the king of Pingxi, has the powerful soldiers and horses of Yunnan, and the strength is strong, and it can fight against the imperial court. The strength of Jingnan Wangfu and Jingnan Wangfu is almost the same, but each has more than 20,000 soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is average. Historically, the two kings followed in the footsteps of King Pingxi.

Will the army be reformed? I'm sorry, I won't, I feel that the existing one is good, and random changes will make the soldiers confused.

Hiring? No, once the recruitment and expansion of troops, Fujian officials of all sizes will definitely write a letter of impeachment, and there is no need to wait a few years later, the Qing court will immediately come and destroy themselves.

That's the only way to figure out how to do it with weapons! Muskets! It was necessary to develop muskets, although in this era, limited to technical reasons, firearms had many problems such as easy dampness, slow rate of fire, short range, inconvenient carrying, difficult logistical supply, and many times even inferior to those strong bows and crossbows. But, after all, it was ahead of its time. Geng Jingzhong himself knows very well that this is the real sharp weapon and mass killing weapon that will cause tens of millions of deaths in the future! This is the trend of the times!

Geng Jingzhong racked his brains at this time, and after thinking hard, he still couldn't think of a weapon that could be used in this era, although there were detailed construction diagrams of pistols and rifles and dynamic firing schematics on the Internet in later generations, but he didn't remember any of them, and he only vaguely knew a little concept, which was useless. Besides, even if you remember, you can't build it with the current level of industry.

"Muskets and artillery!" A few days ago, Geng Jingzhong took the initiative to inspect the general workshop of Jingnan Palace, and carefully asked the craftsmen to know that ordinary craftsmen would only build according to the dimensions marked in the drawings, but they would not develop and did not know the detailed principle of the musket.

What is the most expensive in the 21st century? Talent! This sentence is also quite correct here. Geng Jingzhong, who knew that ** was the king, was thinking so in his heart at the moment.

"Dai Zi? That's right, how did I forget him, Dai Zi is a person from the Kangxi Dynasty" Geng Jingzhong thought about it carefully, he had seen a certain online novel mention this person before, and he also searched for Du Niang, but now I only remember that he was reused when he was in Pingsanfan, a native of Zhejiang.

"Alas, in this vast sea of people, where can I find him? Who else, who else? "John Tang! Suddenly, a name popped into my mind.

Thanks to Jin Yong's "The Legend of the Deer and Ding", I remember that before Kangxi became pro-government, Tang Ruowang and other Western missionaries were all imprisoned by Aobai. and forbade them to preach. Thinking of this, Geng Jingzhong smiled.

"Ao Bai is a good person, brother has a chance!" Geng Jingzhong was still talking to himself.

"Someone! Pen and ink waiting! Geng Jingzhong immediately started to write a secret letter. Prepare to bring all the missionaries to Fuzhou.

"Quickly send someone to hand over this letter to Ah Hou, and let him handle it quickly." Just get these missionaries out of prison and then agree to their mission, and don't worry if they don't come. Besides, it's much better to be here than to go to jail in comparison.

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Fast forward to nearly three months. Although it is the middle of winter, Fuzhou does not feel much cold.

During this period of time, Geng Jingzhong has not been idle, and several things have been going together.

Things are already on track at Princess Place, where winter flowers are scarce, but perfumes made with other essential oils are becoming more and more popular. Every day brings him a lot of money.

Ah Hou also came with the news that after spilling a large sum of silver, John Tang and other missionaries had also been successfully rescued and were coming to Fuzhou, but John Tang was old and frail and would leave late. At the same time, the craftsmen who dug tools for him in the capital as supervisors were also sent to Fuzhou. It's just that at this time, there is not much silver left in his hand, and he hopes that Geng Jingzhong will send someone to send some more.

At the same time, Geng Jingzhong recruited Western missionaries and craftsmen from various coastal ports in the name of Jingnan Palace, and at the same time built a cathedral in Fuzhou. The construction of the church did attract many missionaries to him, and I have to say that these Western missionaries who traveled far and wide were indeed talents. But no one could make muskets.

Most of the things are done by special people in the government, and Geng Jingzhong himself is either hiding in the study to read books or going to the military camp for training. He knew that he didn't have the talent to command the army, so he put down his body, asked questions shamelessly, and kept learning from the generals in the army.

In the anxious waiting, the missionaries in the capital finally arrived, except for John Tang, there were more than 100 people who arrived in advance, including 13 missionaries.

Geng Jingzhong's greatest surprise was a historical celebrity he remembered, the missionary Nan Huairen. Nan Huairen, the word Dunbo, also known as Xunqing, Belgian, Belgian, was born on October 9, 1623 in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, entered the Society of Jesus on September 29, 1641, came to China in 1658, was one of the most influential missionaries to China in the early Qing Dynasty, made an important contribution to the spread of modern Western scientific knowledge in China, he was the scientific enlightenment teacher of the Kangxi Emperor, proficient in the astronomical calendar, good at casting cannons, was the highest person in charge of the business of the National Astronomical Observatory (Qin Tianjian) at that time, and was the official to the Ministry of Works.

Geng Jingzhong remembered that this Nan Huairen was the best at casting cannons, and this was the talent he urgently needed now.

"Ah Hu, gather all the craftsmen to the palace hall." After Ah Hou left, Ming Bo immediately sent a clever little servant, who was also the son of the family in the house, loyal and reliable.

There were originally a total of more than 20 craftsmen under the command of King Jingnan, plus a total of nearly 200 people who had recently recruited and came from the capital. The originally spacious hall is also a little crowded at the moment. Since the status of craftsmen has always been very low, most of them have never seen such a grand hall, and there was a lot of discussion for a while.

"Everyone, please be quiet. First of all, I am very welcome to all the masters" Geng Jingzhong immediately came to the hall, and the craftsmen saw someone in front of them talking loudly, and they all immediately quieted down.

"This is the prince of Jingnan, don't see you yet!" Seeing that the craftsmen were stunned, he immediately stepped forward and shouted.

"I have seen the son" Many craftsmen saluted in unison. The strange tone of "I have seen His Royal Highness the Prince" comes from Western missionaries.

"You don't have to be formal." Geng Jingzhong felt a burst of excitement in his heart. They are all treasures of this era! No matter what era technicians are placed in, they should be the most popular group of people. At this time, the imperial court did not understand the preciousness of technical personnel, and wasted the value of these people in vain. Geng Jingzhong in his previous life learned electronic technology, knowing that science and technology are the primary productive forces, so he naturally would not repeat the mistakes of the past, and decided to make full use of these craftsmen. Whether it is the production of more advanced muskets, artillery, or the development of better gunpowder, these craftsmen need to work hard.

"That's right, some time ago, Ben Shizi inspected the military camp and found that the shotguns in the firearms battalion in the army often blew up rifling and dead fire, which were very easy to damage and lacked power. Therefore, I want to use you to help create a batch of powerful and high-quality firearms to replace the inferior goods in the hands of the soldiers now. This not only reduces the number of injuries but also increases the combat effectiveness. Feel free to ask for anything. ”

"Shizi, I and a few others have been building firearms for 30 years, and there are many good firearms, and there are many poor ones. The reason why many firearms are of poor quality is not because I can't do the craftsmanship, but because of the lack of iron. The leader is the master of the capital instrument supervisor, named Hu Jicai: "Since the pre-Ming Dynasty, the adults above have taken all the high-grade fine iron to make knives and guns, and all the things sent to our firearms workshop are scrap iron. Therefore, the old man hopes that the prince can give us good iron to build, and in the inferior class, he must make the best shotgun for the prince. ”

"Not bad!" "Yes, yes!" The old craftsman invited from the capital spoke the hearts of everyone present and won a chorus.

"Okay, this prince assures you that the ones sent to your workshop are definitely high-quality iron, and this prince also guarantees that as long as you work hard, your salary will be ten times that of the capital. Also, whether it is a master or an apprentice, as long as anyone has a good mention that can improve the firearm and enhance the power of the firearm, this son will not hesitate to reward him. ”

The craftsmen suddenly fell into deep thought. After a few moments, some of the craftsmen began to discuss with each other in whispers. Since ancient times, artisans have been at the bottom of society. At this moment, after hearing this, they were still a little surprised and uncertain, but seeing Geng Jing's loyal and strict expression, everyone exuded joy from their hearts.

"Do any of you know how to forge cannons?" Geng Jingzhong paused for a moment and asked the craftsmen again, but when he saw their reactions, he knew that he had overestimated.

"Ah Hu, take all the masters down to settle down, and a few Mr. Yang will stay for a while."