In May of the second year of Zhengde, Wu Wending, who was recommended by Wang Shouren, entered Beijing to meet the emperor.

It was unlikely that an official like him would have met the emperor. But who told Zhu Houzhao to attach great importance to Wang Shouren's opinion, and Wang Shouren recommended him.

However, after a little understanding, Zhu Houzhao learned that Wu Wending had indeed done some major things when he was serving as the general judge of Changzhou, such as Wei Guogong, who was guarding Yingtianfu, and the common people fought for land, but Wu Wending did not forgive him and insisted on not assigning the land to Wei Guogong when judging the case.

In this battle, he made a name for himself in Yingtianfu. Therefore, people gave him the title of "strong official", and according to legend, Wu Wending has infinite strength, especially his arm strength, and he loves horseback riding and archery.

In the actual history, Wu Wending followed Wang Shouren to quell the rebellion of Zhu Chenhao, the king of Ning, and was deeply reused, and was the first in merit, and later became the official of the military department.

However, Zhu Houzhao can't remember such a detailed history, but Wang Shouren mentioned this person, and then looked at his official resume, in fact, he was called a shrewd and powerful petty official, so he no longer had doubts about the ownership of the commander of the sailor.

In fact, everyone up and down in the court said that it was a sailor, but Zhu Houzhao was somewhat weak-minded: Eight boats, so many people, where is the division? I'm afraid that some Yangtze River bandits are more powerful than this.

But what can be done, he, a person of later generations, will never allow the Ming Dynasty to miss the Age of Discovery.

Jingli's will was that March had passed, and Wu Wending was given half a month to make the handover, pack his luggage, and then set off north, on the way, he saw many 'field teams' going to the countryside.

For a petty official who fought with the Duke of Wei for the sake of the people's land, this scene still shocked him deeply.

I am also looking forward to the trip to Beijing even more.

It's a pity that when he arrived in Beijing, Wang Shouren had already been ordered to patrol Shaanxi, and military affairs could not be delayed, so naturally he would not wait for him here.

Wu Wending walked around in the capital, thinking that if he couldn't see Wang Shouren, maybe he could go and meet Wang Wei. He and Wang Shouren were both uneducated scholars in the twelfth year of Hongzhi, and the chief examiner of that year was Wang Wei, speaking of which, he can also be called Wang Wei's disciples.

But after two trips, it was empty, and the matter of dividing the fields made the cabinet busy, and Wang Wei had no time.

So I had to give up.

In this way, Wu Wending can only wander around the city that never sleeps, he has no familiar people in Beijing, but if there is a little relationship, he will not be awarded a small position as a Changzhou magistrate.

The position of magistrate is poor even among magistrates.

In May, the city that never sleeps is already quite prosperous, with the upturned eaves of the porch in a row, the low-rise buildings are scattered, and the red lanterns are hung in the sky.

At this time, the hottest thing at the feet of the Son of Heaven was that Zhu Hui, the Duke of Baoguo, was arrested because he offended His Majesty, not only the occupied field was retreated, but the title of the Duke of Baoguo was not retained, and after being demoted by two levels, his son Zhu Qi attacked the title of Earl of Funing.

And Bao Guogong himself was imprisoned, and no one has pleaded for help.

Wu Wending heard these things and felt very happy.

He sat on it for a while, and a tall, thin middle-aged man with a goatee walked in, glanced at him downstairs, and then walked up quickly.

This person is still dressed in satin, with some weakness, as if he is sick, and his words and deeds are very polite, "Honorable is Songzi Wu Shitai?" ”

Wu Wending didn't know him, but people knew him, so he still returned the salute, "Exactly." ”

"Oh, in Xia Gongsun Bei, the word Xingwen, is the head of the Ministry of Industry Yu Hengqing Officials."

Yu Heng Qing Division? Although Wu Wending did not serve in Beijing, he still had some involvement in various yamen of the imperial court. Yu Hengqing of the Ministry of Industry has the responsibility of 'manufacturing military uniforms, ordnance, firing ceramics, smelting and casting utensils'.

Such a person must have come prepared to find himself at this time.

"I've seen Gongsun in charge. Gongsun seems to recognize him? ”

"Yes." The goatee man bent his eyes and laughed, "Right now, in the Jingshi, the latest thing is the Daming Nanyang Company, and the next newest is the Daming Water Division, which only has eight ships." The prime minister of the Nanyang Company advised the imperial court to buy more warships to prevent bandits. Brother Shi Tai, many people recognize you when you enter Beijing this time. ”

Wu Wending was still a little surprised by this.

"A lot of people know me?"

"A general judgment in Changzhou was suddenly promoted to the commander of the water division. You are also concerned about how much silver will be in Nanyang next year, which is of course interesting. ”

Wu Wending smiled heartily, "Wu has been an official for a few years, and it is the first time that so many people have been concerned, which feels good." ”

Gongsun Bei was slightly surprised, and said that this person had the name of a strong official, and it seemed that he was a little bold.

"Master Gongsun, I don't know what you are looking for me?"

"Oh, I'm here to help Brother Shitai."

Wu Wending drank tea and was unmoved.

Gongsun Bei stopped bending, and he took out a yellowed piece of paper from his cuff, and there was an image outlined by black ink lines on the paper.

On closer inspection, it was a four-wheeled car with a barrel at the bottom and a tapering neck......

"Artillery?! Is this artillery? Wu Wending recognized it at a glance.

"Sort of. And it is a relatively heavy artillery that is different from the Baizi gun. In the first year of Zhengde, His Majesty had ordered to manufacture more sophisticated firearms, a hundred sons of fine copper casting, about four feet long, a liter of Tibetan magic medicine, with a hundred bombs, if you defend the city on land, it is extremely powerful. But when it comes to the sea, it can't help but look a little lighter. ”

The Baizi gun is a kind of light artillery, which cannot be said to be useless at sea, but it is not close enough to hit to a certain extent. But in this year, this kind of firearm is still equipped with sailors, and it is better than nothing.

So Gongsun Bei took out something new, he pointed with his index finger and said: "For this artillery, I specially consulted the people who went to sea, and the Buddha Lang machine man used this thing, called the copper hair, it weighs five hundred catties, and can shoot four catties of lead, which is extremely powerful, and those who touch it will die!" ”

Only this kind of thing, when placed on a boat, looks like a regular sailor. At present, the fleet with a few hundred guns is really only able to fight the water bandits who lack lighters......

Wu Wending looked at this thing with some complexity,

Unlike the army on land, it is a matter of knowledge how to fight naval battles, but in any case, even a layman can recognize the importance of artillery.

After all, you have to hit someone first.

However, such an important matter, a person who rushed through the door of the newspaper and mentioned it coldly to him, made him a little suspicious.

So he asked, "Since this treasure is here, the prince can present it to His Majesty, and Your Majesty will have a will." ”

Gongsun Bei smiled, he was sincere, "Don't hide it from Brother Shitai, this thing ...... It hasn't been built yet. The Ordnance Bureau is under the jurisdiction of Yu Hengqing's Division, but there is a lack of new things and craftsmen, and although there are several efforts, there is no result. ”

Wu Wending wanted to give him a roll of his eyes,

I didn't make it, and you told me so much, isn't it a waste of effort!

Gongsun Bei hurriedly said: "But I can guarantee that this kind of artillery is available in this world, and there is one on the ship of the Franc machine!" As for the ...... Tell your majesty to go up and down, Brother Shi Tai, you see that you are in a hurry when you hear that you haven't made it in the next, won't Your Majesty be even more anxious? ”

is to make meritorious service and then be earnest,

Then you can't take the picture on the paper and fool His Majesty the Emperor!

Wu Wending understood, "So I'm afraid that Gongsun will have to let you go down to the sea to grab one of these cannons and come back." ”

"If you rob it, it hurts your peace, and if someone dies or hurts, it's not beautiful, you can buy it." As long as you buy one back, the Ordnance Bureau can give Brother Shi Tai ten or one hundred doors, which is also for the sailor. Brother Shi Tai has seen people, and he must know that in addition to people and ships, the most important thing in this sailor is firearms. ”

"I'll think about it later."

After Wu Wending finished speaking, he got up and left the place.

He probably figured out that this person wanted to come up with a new trick to ask the emperor for credit, but he couldn't make this thing, so he wanted him to get it. Just kidding, if labor and management really get such a cannon, we won't go to Your Majesty?

Gongsun Bei hadn't finished speaking, he wanted to persuade Wu Wending, let Wu Wending go and tell His Majesty that he wanted such a thing, the holy decree would be made, so that it was more likely to be done, and he was only a small principal here to push this matter, and it couldn't be said that it was not difficult.

There was no way, Gongsun Bei sighed and folded the picture and put it away.

After Wu Wending left, another person came to this table and sat opposite Gongsun Bei.

"How? What was said? ”

"It's hard to win people's trust with empty hands. We have to rely on ourselves to find a way to introduce it. Simply, talk to a Franco. ”

The atmosphere in the court is clear, he, the head of the Yu Heng Qing Bureau, has to make contributions to the places that the emperor cares about if he wants to go further in the officialdom, so more than a year ago, when the emperor mentioned firearms, he was so concerned.

"Hold on!" Gongsun Bei was a little nervous, "Let's do our best to do this!" ”

===

Copper hair was roughly introduced by the Portuguese in the last years of Ming Zhengde and the early years of Jiajing. It was one of the most important guns before the redcoat cannon was installed, and it was generally installed on the bow of large ships.

(End of chapter)