cough cough cough ......

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace East Warm Pavilion.

Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun fell weakly on the bed, looking bleak. His favorite concubine Zheng stayed by the bedside and took care of her carefully. Huo Feng stood in front of the bed, twisted a few pills, smelled them, and said angrily: "This is the medicine that the imperial doctor entered?" ”

The emperor couldn't afford to sink down, and he didn't react to Huofeng's words. Concubine Zheng Guifei, who was in her forties, was a little afraid of Huofeng's question, and replied in a low voice: "Real person, this is the elixir sent by the celebrant Cui Nei. ”

Huo Feng immediately sneered: "Immortal pill? Why didn't the emperor ask me about medicine? There's rhubarb here, it's a laxative, and you're wishing your man would die soon, right? ”

Concubine Zheng was shocked, and even Zhu Yijun opened her eyes slightly when she heard the quarrel. Huo Feng only sneered: "Forget it, anyway, your man's longevity has arrived, so let's die." Don't come to me for what medicine he wants to take in the future, I can't care. ”

Huofeng turned around and left, only to be behind him was a dry skeleton in the mound.

Concubine Zheng wanted to keep it but couldn't keep it, so she could only lie down in front of Emperor Wanli's bed and cry bitterly. The palace maids and eunuchs in the warm pavilion did not dare to come out, and they were all sincerely afraid. Zhu Yijun, who was lying on the bed, stretched out his thin arm and gently touched his woman's bun, and comforted softly: "Don't cry, concubine, I know that you are kind." In my life, you are the only one who is devoted to me. ”

Concubine Zheng Guifei was even more sad and couldn't help herself.

A little eunuch outside the warm pavilion suddenly probed his brain and came up to report: "Your Majesty, Fang Shoufu has just sent someone to bring good news, saying that the thieves who invaded Gyeonggi have finally been driven away by General Du and fled to Tianjin. General Du is leading people to pursue, and it is said that he will be able to exterminate him in October. ”

This sounded like a great event, and Emperor Wanli finally had a smile on his face. He waved his hand to show that he knew, "Let the celebrant draw up the decree and reward the meritorious servant." ”

"Yes." The little eunuch bent down and nodded.

Emperor Wanli suddenly thought of something again, and continued to ask: "Didn't you say a few days ago that it was Liu Wei who surrounded the anti-thieves in Tongzhou?" Why is it Juniper's meritorious service again in the blink of an eye? What about Liu Ling? ”

The little eunuch was dumbfounded......

Although Emperor Wanli has not been in the court for more than 20 years and has not taken care of government affairs, the thieves have all fled to the capital, and he has to come forward to ask about it. But the Ming army was constantly being played by the anti-thieves, and the celebrant tried his best to select some good news to present, but the battle situation was too bad. After seeing too many twists and turns, he became angry, and Emperor Wanli's body was worse day by day.

This will ask about Liu Ling's whereabouts, and the little eunuch doesn't know what to say. Emperor Wanli didn't hear a reply for a long time, and couldn't help but ask angrily: "What about Liu Ling?" Didn't he dare to fight well? Could it be that he lost the battle? ”

The little eunuch was stunned for a long time, "General Liu did lose the battle, and all 40,000 horses were destroyed." ”

"What?" Emperor Wanli was stunned when he heard this, and he struggled and wanted to get up, "Liu Wei was defeated, but Juniper won, and the thief escaped." You ......, you are so bold, are you bullying me for being a fool in the palace? ”

The little eunuch hurriedly knelt and kowtowed, and Concubine Zheng cried to persuade her man not to be angry. Zhu Yijun's chest rose and fell violently, he struggled to get up, but he was even weaker, and as soon as his body was weak, he leaned on the Jindun and panted. When Concubine Zheng saw that his face was pale, she hurriedly shouted to the little eunuch: "Imperial Doctor, go and pass on the Imperial Doctor." ”

Zhu Yijun leaned on the bed, and said to himself in tears: "The state affairs are difficult, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty dare to deceive and deceive me." They have deceived and deceived me, deceived and deceived me for decades. There is not a single loyal minister inside or outside the court, not one, not one. ”

The emperor couldn't afford to be sick, and the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty were also frowning. In the Wenyuan Pavilion in the east of the Forbidden City, Fang Yizhezheng, a scholar of the Shoufu University, led several important ministers of the court, together with the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Industry, and the chief military officer Du Song, who had just entered the city, with a sad face.

Juniper sat down for half a seat and said in a deep voice: "My lords, the sharpness of this anti-thief's firearms has reached the point where he can't fight. General Liu Lao commanded 40,000 troops to besiege the city, but the morning was all over. According to the generals who fled, the thieves fired countless rockets at that time, far and accurate. General Liu was two miles away from the front of the formation, and he was also bombarded.

Not to mention the anti-thieves and heavy artillery guns and explosives, each of which is a militaristic weapon. Although the thieves retreated to Tianjin, they blocked the path of the northern Caoyun. If we don't find a way to reorganize our military, we won't be able to get food and salary in Jiangnan this year. ”

It's okay not to mention food, but when you mention food, everyone is even more worried. Even Shousuke had to scold, 'The thief is hateful, and he actually cut off my life'. But there was a use in scolding, and everyone could only look at a few waiters who came to discuss the affairs of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War, and the War Bureau and the Ordnance Superintendent also sent officials and eunuchs to come. In front of them was a 'revolutionary army' rocket that had not exploded because of the mute fire.

The ground where the rocket hit had been torn apart, and the scene was a recovered remnant. The gunpowder in the rocket was naturally removed, but its original appearance could still be seen. In addition to the rockets, there was also an arquebus used by the female guards. After many days of fighting, the female soldiers were also damaged in battle, and many firearms were lost.

Several technocrats greeted all the adults present and came together to discuss the mystery of this anti-thief weapon. Lord Jun Songdu made it clear that if the Ming army also had such a sharp weapon, it would definitely be able to kill countless thieves, and it would be as easy as a finger. Therefore, the military personnel of the Ming Dynasty are thinking about imitating such powerful ordnance.

Wooden shell rocket, at first glance, it looks like a large sky monkey. However, the Hale rocket made by Zhao Ze is actually called the Hale rocket, which belongs to the greatly improved version of the 'Congreve rocket' of the British army in the later generations. The difficulty of this technology lies in the tail spin, which requires machining accuracy. In the eyes of the bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty, isn't this just a wooden shell stuffed with black powder, there are ready-made samples, it should be very easy to make.

Several tech-savvy bureaucrats met and discussed for a while, but judging from the samples in front of them, it didn't seem difficult, and they all nodded that the rocket could be built. It's nothing more than the subtlety and beauty of the anti-thief. But there is no shortage of skilled craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty, and they will be able to make better than it.

can create a line, Fang Shoufu was immediately overjoyed. They also asked if they could make a firearm for the thief. The answer I got was naturally yes - the guns of the Ming Dynasty were commonly equipped with a large number of them, but the quality was too poor and easy to explode, and the officers and soldiers did not like to use them. As long as the imperial court allocates more silver, there will naturally be a durable firecracker.

Rockets and guns can be built, and finally artillery.

That's where the trouble comes in.

In the battle of Tongzhou, the power of the rocket was great, but the damage was not great. The most ferocious and impressive to the Ming army were the two 150 mm caliber short-barreled heavy guns. After Zhou Qingfeng led the team to withdraw, Juniper personally led the team to check the formation arranged by the thieves on the Tongzhou city wall, intending to crack the secret that the thieves were impregnable in the face of tens of thousands of horses.

The hundreds of corpses lying in the direction of the muzzle were not cleaned up at all, and the bloody scene was clearly laid out in front of the Ming army. In particular, the last 100 meters were attacked by shotguns, and the tragic situation on the ground was so fierce that no one could help but be terrified. There are many artillery pieces in the Ming army, but there is no model that can be compared with them at all.

If you want to talk about heavy artillery, Da Ming also has it. But they are all huge things that defend the city for thousands of catties at every turn. It was quite cumbersome to carry, and there was absolutely no possibility of following the troops into the army. The small-caliber Franc cannon has proven to be completely useless, with little power, inaccurate hitting, and is not at all an opponent of anti-thief heavy artillery.

"I'm a brilliant man and a talented man, can't I make an equally sharp artillery?" Fang Shoufu was not ashamed to say this.

Several technocrats who bent down were in their hearts. There are quite a few heroes in the Ming Dynasty, but they can only recite poems against each other, make money as officials, and really can't find a few who know how to make artillery. It's just that Shousuke asked, and it was not okay not to answer. People who understand technology are at least straightforward, and if they can't build it, they can't build it, but they still give a solution.

"Lord Fang, I am really lacking in the art of making cannons, but the people of Taixi are often proficient in this way. There was a former Western Ricci, who was proficient in astronomy and mathematics, and was also good friends with our dynasty. It is a pity that this person died a few years ago.

However, there are still many Taixi people in the capital now, and Zuo Zanshan Xu Guangqi of Zuo Chunfang in Zhan Shifu may be able to help contact craftsmen who are good at casting cannons. His disciple Sun Yuanhua is also proficient in Western studies, especially good at making cannons, and can also relieve the worries of the imperial court. In addition, it is rumored that Taixi's people have set up a cannon factory in Guangdong to occupy Haojing, and they can also make cannons for our army. ”

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, firearms technology was backward, and they were forced to learn some scientific knowledge from Western missionaries and merchants. Among them, the casting technology of artillery is one of them. When Fang Shoufu heard that he wanted to learn from Taixi's people, it didn't matter, so he nodded and let people arrange it.

It's just that there is a way to strengthen the army, and there is no money.

Fang Shoufu frowned, and called the people from the household department to discuss. One word - money!

Money is not the problem, the problem is that there is no money.

At present, the taxes in Jiangnan are blocked by anti-thieves, so we can only focus on the north. But the economy of the North is far worse than that of the South. It's hard to collect taxes. Thinking about it, thinking about it, Fang Shoufu has only one idea - levying and expropriating salaries.

Two cents of silver per mu. As for how much can be collected, I don't know. After all, don't count on the silver in the south now, the agricultural destruction in the north is extremely serious, and I don't know how much money can be collected. There is a squire in the household department, but he has another idea - why don't you abolish the post office, you can save some money.

The post government of the Ming Dynasty was a strange thing, and the officials could not give money for accommodation, and they could eat and drink for nothing, which was theoretically a benefit given by the imperial court to the officials. As a result, as long as the people who have something to do with the officials come to fight the autumn wind. But the money and food given by the imperial court were not enough, so that the steward of the post station had to pay for those officials and lords by himself.

Now that the grain is cut off, it is a little bit that can be saved, so Fang Shoufu also agreed.

Then someone proposed: "There are many rich families in the capital, and there are countless relatives of the noble country. Not long ago, the imperial court gave them nine months' salaries in one go, so why don't you ask them to donate to serve the country? ”

"No, no." Fang Shoufu shook his head like a rattle at this moment, "Forcibly donating will cause the government and the opposition to boil, and the officials will resent, this move is inappropriate, inappropriate." He directly blocked the road, and there was no room for negotiation, "At the moment, stability is the most important, don't add to it." ”

The state is doomed, and the taxes are not levied on the richest gentry, but on the poorest and most powerless people, or they may save some seemingly unnecessary expenses to survive. This is the way to prolong life in the Ming Dynasty.

After discussing the matter, Fang Shoufu also felt quite tired. During this time, he was under great pressure from the government and the opposition, and he barely maintained the dilapidated house of Daming like a pastemaker. Under the wind and rain, this house is crumbling and about to collapse, but no one who lives in this house is willing to contribute, just waiting for other wronged leaders to come out and top it.

Tired so much, Fang Shoufu just wanted to go home and rest at the moment. But before he could get out of Wenyuan Pavilion, a little eunuch hurriedly rushed in and shouted, "Lord Fang, the emperor has summoned you to the palace." ”

"What's the matter?"

"The emperor is seriously ill, and the imperial doctor is helpless. Summoning the adults to go, I am afraid that there will be something unbearable. ”

Fang Shoufu was suddenly shocked, and secretly thought, "Oops, it's not good to call me at such a moment. Is the emperor ......, or not? ”