At the end of the Ming Dynasty, this military technology has been fully developed, but it is stuck at a certain node, so that hot and cold/weapons have to be mixed to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army, and the cavalry is still extremely strong, which can determine the outcome of the battle.

Therefore, in Zhou Shixian's plan to strengthen the army, he retreated to the south, and he had a serious shortage of high-quality war horses, so if he wanted to maintain the strong combat effectiveness of the army, he had to give full play to the role of firearms.

In other words, since the cavalry was insufficient, he had to make up with muskets and artillery, and using muskets and artillery to support the battle formation, supplemented by cavalry to cover the battle, was his strategy to deal with the Manchu Eight Banners.

And in this era, the most suitable artillery for field warfare is not the "Hongyi cannon".

The "Hongyi Cannon" was originally a long-barreled naval gun on a battleship, which was very cumbersome, and the so-called Furlong cannon was not powerful enough, neither of which was suitable for field combat.

It's just that because the artillery technology of the Ming Dynasty has lagged behind the West, it lacks the theory of artillery manufacturing and cannot carry out successful self-innovation, and the artillery of the Manchu Qing Dynasty is completely inherited from the Ming court.

Therefore, on the East Asian battlefield, both sides can only use it as a weapon for siege.

And in the hands of skilled artillery gunners, the "four-pounder gun", which had a rate of fire better than that of arquebuses, was the most suitable artillery for field warfare in this period.

Of course, the four-pounder cannon was also called a "regimental cannon" in the Swedish army of its culminator, Gustav Adolf II.

Of course, in addition to the "four-pounder guns", there were also "six-pounder guns" and "eight-pounder guns", which differed in range and size of projectiles, but unlike the combat requirements of naval guns, the appearance characteristics made them lighter and more suitable for performing tasks on land.

In terms of firearms and artillery, Zhou Shixian had to rely on Tang Ruowang as an intermediary, asking him to invite red-haired craftsmen, or even directly buy ready-made.

"Mr. Tang, if you bring back craftsmen from Macao, how long will it take to make a four-pounder cannon that can be used in actual combat?" Zhou Shixian asked urgently.

As a retired officer with a slight knowledge of musket artillery, he naturally did not ask questions about flintlock pistols. It was not that the flintlock pistol of this period could not be produced, but that the cost was too high, there were too many parts, and there were frequent breakdowns, which were not suitable for large-scale equipment of the army.

Moreover, there are so many mature and low-cost arquebuses to choose from, and can form an armament advantage over strong armies, as well as a variety of land artillery, why should Zhou Shixian be obsessed with flintlock pistols?

Of course, research still has to be continued by people, and mature flintlock pistols are far more powerful than arquebuses, but it is impossible to invest in the already precious war resources to give priority to the production and research of flintlock pistols.

Tang Ruowang squinted his eyes, there were words in his mouth, as if he was calculating something, and after thinking seriously for a while, he finally replied:

"If you go to Macao and hire skilled craftsmen, and then try to make them in a workshop in Nanjing, it should take five months before and after, but if you want to produce them in large quantities, I'm afraid it will be ......."

"I'm afraid of what?" Zhou Shixian hurriedly asked.

He came from later generations, and his knowledge was much richer, and he knew that whether it was the "lost wax method" or the "mud mold method", it would take three or four months, and the "lost wax method" also had weather requirements, and it could only be used in winter when the temperature was relatively low.

"I'm afraid we have to debug and experiment, because the quality of the iron used to make the cannon will also affect the quality of the artillery, some iron is more brittle, and some iron is harder. Nanjing's cycads are different from Fujian's Fujian's iron, so it may eventually take more than a year to actually mass produce. ”

Tang Ruowang frowned slightly, and continued:

"The artillery used in actual combat, there must not be a little negligence, otherwise on the battlefield, it is the lives of millions of people, after the artillery is manufactured, it is necessary to prepare a set of tools for measuring and aiming, and train special gunners, which will take a lot of time."

Zhou Shixian only knows a little about this knowledge, but naturally he is not as clear as an expert like John Tang, after listening to it, he can only retreat to the second, what he needs is a more advanced weapon, when the enemy is strong and I am weak, launch a sudden blow to stabilize the situation, and do not have to make it himself.

"Then there is a way to buy a four-pounder cannon in Macau and Nanyang? What about turtledoves? ”

Now, Zhou Shixian only needs to equip a field artillery unit on a small scale, twenty four-pounder guns, two or three hundred people, even if three or four hundred original turtledoves are added to deal with the Manchu charging cavalry, it is only about a thousand people.

He did not think that he could convince Li Zicheng that it was impossible for such a large military group to change the established strategy at will because of one of his notices.

In other words, there is a high probability that the Shun army will still not be able to defeat the Manchu army, and the Manchu will most likely move south and attack Jiangnan a year later, as in the original history.

Moreover, even if the situation is the opposite, and the Shun army resists the Qing army at Shanhaiguan, it is just a change to the Shun army going south. The entry of the Mantars was originally carried out by great chance, and after this failure, there would be no more chances.

Therefore, Zhou Shixian only had one year, and he had to be prepared to block the first wave of Qing troops, or the southward movement of the Shun army, and subdue the southern warlords.

And as long as the first wave of the enemy's attack can be stabilized, the confidence of the Ming generals can be rebuilt, and the state apparatus can be put back on track, and the Ming Dynasty, which still owns half of the country, can still be saved.

"There should be one in Macau, but there may not be much inventory, and there is almost no demand for four-pounder guns before the Ming Dynasty, and more than 400 turtledove guns may be bought."

Tang Ruowang thought for a while, and then suddenly said: "However, even if Macao doesn't have it, the Dutch should have some in their hands, and we can buy it from them." ”

"How much can I buy, sir?" When Zhou Shixian heard this, his eyebrows suddenly danced.

It's just that when Tang Ruowang saw this, he couldn't help but feel worried in his heart, and he was even sure that this Ming country concubine was very fanatical about war.

Although it was only a short four or five days on the way south, Zhou Shixian's leadership ability, broad knowledge, and great ambition far surpassed all the people Tang Ruowang had seen in the twenty years of the Ming Dynasty.

He had never seen anyone in the Ming Dynasty have such a deep understanding of the European countries, and the knowledge and vision shown in the words are even more amazing, which is not at all comparable to those so-called Ming court officials and scholars who are enthusiastic about Western learning, even his old friend Xu Guangqi, I am afraid that it is slightly inferior.

The most important thing is that this colt is only seventeen years old, how did he do it? What a miracle!

After all, before being robbed into the "Ten Kings' Mansion", Tang Ruowang had never heard of Zhou Shixian's name. It was as if the colt had come out of nowhere.

In fact, the Han bureaucratic class at the end of the Ming Dynasty upheld a welcoming attitude towards Western learning, not only to learn artillery technology to fight against the Manchu Qing outside the Guan, but also many literati and doctors out of academic research and personal interest, and even formed a small circle of Western learning.

And this is far from just coming out of semi-tribal slavery and semi-feudalism, and only the militaryly strong Manchu Tartars can be compared. Not to mention, in order to maintain their rule, the destruction of Chinese civilization by the Manchurians was irreversible.

Of course, for John Tong, who was dedicated to mission, this was not important, and everything he did was just to serve the mission.

It is precisely because of this that John Tang attaches so much importance to his relationship with Zhou Shixian.

Because since going all the way south, he found that this Ming State horse was not only unusually supported by the two important ministers, but also successfully subdued those arrogant soldiers, that is, Emperor Chongzhen, who has always been arbitrary, also trusted him very much, and even no longer interfered in specific affairs.

John Tang had gone out with the army not long ago, and he knew how terrible those ruffians were, and that this young colt could subdue them with thunder, and the means were probably no worse than those who had commanded thousands of troops.

In this way, after arriving in Nanjing, Emperor Chongzhen will return to power, then this princess and husband, who are extraordinary in both culture and martial arts, will definitely gain unparalleled power in the new dynasty.

You must know that in the Ming court, what is most lacking today is people who are good at military affairs; What is most needed is to build a strong military force.

At that time, if he can be reused by the horse and become his confidant, he will inevitably have a place in Emperor Chongzhen.

With official support, it would be a simple matter to spread religion in the densely populated and economically developed southern provinces.

Moreover, John also found that the young colt knew more about religion than he could have imagined, and even far more than anyone else in the country.

This should have been of great benefit to his mission.

"In addition to the Portuguese, the Dutch Dutch East India Company and the British East India Trading Company should all have supplies.

If both can buy it, twenty or thirty doors should be no problem, but the specific number has to go to Macao to inquire clearly to determine. ”

John Tong entered the Ming Dynasty through Macao 20 years ago, and he has been in contact with the missionaries at this transit station ever since.

Moreover, with the deterioration of the war situation in Liaoxi of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen repeatedly asked him to study firearms, which made him very familiar with the arms trade in Nanyang.

"Okay, then this matter will be left to Mr. Tang to do." Zhou Shixian nodded, and then smiled slightly:

"In addition to artillery, more importantly, Mr. also wants to find some highly skilled craftsmen and young and experienced firearms instructors in Macao and Nanyang.

After the saint arrived in Nanjing, the Ming Dynasty was to set up a new firearms workshop in Jiangnan to train the new army. Both needed more good craftsmen and military talents. ”

If Zhou Shixian wanted to deal with the Manchu and Shun armies, he had to form a new army of his own, and then match it with a systematic system of soldier training and officer training.

The so-called four towns in Jiangbei, as well as those weak soldiers in the south, could not stop the fierce Manchu iron cavalry, which Zhou Shixian knew very well in his heart.

"Although you can rest assured, craftsmen and instructors are not a problem, these are definitely available in Macau."

John Tang, like the rest of the convoy, was now impressed by Zhou Shixian's courage and courage, and he had no doubt that the other party could bring him safely to the south.