Zhou Shixian had soldiers in his hands, and he didn't have a good impression of these gentlemen in his heart, so he didn't object to the strategy that Zhang Huangyan said.

Of course, the affairs of the gentry are not so easy to deal with, so it is just a matter of giving a dismount and suppressing those rising birds, and the final solution is actually to fight one faction, pull another faction, take the initiative in their own hands, and avoid being counterattacked.

And the most important thing facing Zhou Shixian at present is to expand the army. Only a military victory can bring political strength, otherwise all these political schemes are nothing more than a pretense.

Of course, Zhou Shixian and a group of henchmen and generals only carried out a simple expansion of the army, repeating what they were doing a year ago, and did not intend to carry out a large-scale reform of the army establishment, but the proportion of mixed battalions in the army has really increased.

In the next battle, in addition to Zheng Chenggong's sailors, the Ming and Qing armies faced off in the vast plains on both sides of the Yangtze River, which also determined the final form of the war - frontal battle.

In other words, frontal battles require Zhou Shixian to make a series of adjustments and improvements in weapons, logistics, tactics, scheduling, and other aspects, and increasing the Tianwei Zhong Military Camp, a mixed battalion with comprehensive combat capability and which has performed well in the previous night raid battles, is an important step in this.

Now, the Ming army is not capable of attacking further, and the same is true of the Qing army, both sides are recuperating and accumulating strength in preparation for next year's crucial battle.

The situation has reached the point where today, the Qing court has no choice but to make a desperate bet, if the battle in Jiangnan cannot be won, without Zhou Shixian, even the leaders of the Han army who have just surrendered in Mongolia and various places will also rise up against the Qing Dynasty.

Moreover, if the front line is lost, there will be no peace within the Qing court, and once the army is defeated, the capital, and even outside the customs, will inevitably have a dump.

You must know that if it weren't for the strong force of the Qing court, it would be absolutely impossible for the Outer Domain Mongolia to bow down to its vassals, and most of the Han military leaders in various places, except for Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, Geng Zhongming and others, are not without retreat.

Once a semi-slave and semi-feudal regime that relies on force to maintain its rule by force and high pressure loses its force, its fate can be imagined, and its collapse is only a matter of time.

However, due to the need for recuperation on both sides, Zhou Shixian's current focus is still on enhancing the combat effectiveness of the army. In particular, in order to cope with the characteristics of field operations on the plains, he had to replenish the army with sufficient firepower and powerful "large weapons".

Before the New Army, and even the entire Ming Army, the muskets used were mainly Malacca light arquebuses, which were very popular in East Asia in this era because of their lightness.

However, the light arquebus was useful in the mountainous south and at sea in close combat, but it was not powerful compared to the turtledove, the rumi gun, and the flintlock musket.

Especially in the subsequent Armageddon on the Plains, if half of the musketeers of each army could be equipped with heavy arquebuses, the Qing army would be at a serious disadvantage when the muskets were fired.

However, it is not realistic to manufacture flintlock pistols in large quantities, and the current cost of flintlock pistols is too high, not to mention, because the number of parts is greatly increased, and the failure rate is very high when used, which is evident in the previous night raid war.

Therefore, Zhou Shixian had already ordered the workshop of the "Nanjing Ordnance Bureau" to produce Lumi and turtledove guns as quickly as possible.

Ni Yuanlu of the household department and Shi Kefa of the military department also gave a production plan according to the budget, and vigorously built the workshop productivity after the rectification of the Nanjing imperial court, which was enough to redress Zhou Shixian's new army after the expansion of the army and most of the musketeers in the army within a year.

As for Huguang, the soldiers and horses of the three towns in Jiangbei naturally continued to use the old weapons, and could only get a small number of such heavy weapons.

At noon on this day, Zhou Shixian, surrounded by hundreds of personal guards, came to the "Nanjing Ordnance Bureau"; he was going to inspect the artillery workshop outside the city today; after learning last night that the six-pounder gun had been successfully developed, Zhou Shixian was a little impatient.

Zhou Shixian led a team of personal soldiers to the east foot of Zhongshan Mountain in the west of the city, where the weapons workshops were basically concentrated, especially after the need for a firearms test site.

Soon, Zhou Shixian arrived at a factory area surrounded by two double walls, with three checkpoints outside the gate, two small watchtowers and arrow towers on the left and right sides, and more than a dozen heavily armed sentinels were on duty.

Zhou Shixian wanted to come to inspect, but he didn't inform him in advance, and the craftsmen and stewards in the workshop didn't know about the dignified horse master, and the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses wanted to come in person, so naturally it was impossible to make any preparations in advance.

So, when Zhou Shixian's recognition flag appeared, the leading sentry captain was directly taken aback, and he didn't need to ask the superior for instructions at all, and directly let the horse master and his party pass.

Many of these soldiers saw Zhou Shixian's true face for the first time, and many of them didn't even dare to raise their heads, for fear that they would be offended and angered by this great Ming concubine.

Passing through the outer wall, Zhou Shixian was inspected again at the door of the inner wall, and then finally entered the heavily guarded weapons production base. He still has to follow some rules, even if it's for his subordinates.

There are more than 4,000 craftsmen in this weapons production base, as well as nearly 10,000 miscellaneous logistics personnel, and the weapons and equipment produced account for more than one-third of the current Ming Dynasty, and the most sophisticated new equipment accounts for most of them, and there are 1,000 soldiers from the headquarters guarding it.

After Zhou Shixian went in, he directly found the person in charge of the workshop, Wang Ying, the waiter of the Ministry of Works, and after inspecting the circle, he found no major problems, and bluntly said that he was going to watch the test firing of the six-pounder gun.

With the assistance of the Portuguese and the rich experience of the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty, the production of the Lumi and Turtledove was not difficult, and some of the craftsmen had long known the manufacturing method, but some details were not proficient.

Therefore, after Zhou Shixian came to the Ordnance Bureau, he went straight to the artillery test site, and he was not in a hurry or worried about the production of muskets.

When they came to the artillery test site of the "Nanjing Ordnance Bureau," where more than 20 artillerymen were fiddling with two newly built six-pounder guns in the shooting range, Wang Ying, the person in charge of the workshop, was extremely nervous at this time, for fear that something would go wrong in such a completely unprepared situation.

"Colt, when they adjust the angle, they will be able to shoot cannons."

Wang Ying swallowed his saliva, and hurriedly asked, "If you have any other instructions, the lower officials will do it immediately." ”

Zhou Shixian smiled and joked: "Wang Shilang don't have to be nervous, it's not the first time we've met, this horse is here to see the six-pounder cannon today, if it's good, I will give you credit." ”

When he came to inspect a year ago, it was Wang Ying who brought Wei Chun and the heads of Ji An's two workshops to meet him. Today, the Nanjing Ordnance Bureau is much larger than it was originally. For such old subordinates, Zhou Shixian has always been very easy-going.

"Xiaguan doesn't dare, Xiaguan ......" Wang Ying is still quite eloquent on weekdays, but during this time, he was suppressed by Zhou Shixian's prestige, but fortunately, he is now also Ni Yuanlu, the henchman of the old Shangshu.

"I heard that your son is also working in the workshop and has made a new rolling mill?" Zhou Shixian paused, this is in this era, but it is very sensational, the son of the squire did not go to the examination to gain fame, and actually got involved in the matter of craftsmen.

Zhou Shixian smiled and continued: "That kid is very promising, I heard that he has built a new rolling mill, and the efficiency of striking iron and making guns can be thirty percent higher than before. Even if you don't enter the Ministry of Industry, there must be a place in other places. ”

When Wang Ying heard this, the master of the horse actually remembered his son, and he was so clear, and his heart was suddenly overjoyed, he had always opposed his son to abandon his roots. This is just a nonsense chat for Zhou Shixian and a few good words, but for Wang Ying, it is different, the golden words of the master of the horse, the daughter will not change!

"The horses are praised, and the children's achievements all depend on the wise leadership of the horses." Wang Ying immediately flattered.

"How long have you been in the workshop this time?" Zhou Shixian saw that the other party had finally relaxed, and asked again.

"Back to the horse, Xia Guan has been in the workshop for five days, and the guns of these tens of thousands of troops have to be updated, the amount is too large, and there are problems in production from time to time, Xia Guan really doesn't dare to slack off. That's the lives of the soldiers, and the lower officials just hope that they can do it quickly and live up to the trust of the horses. ”

Zhou Shixian listened and nodded. Later, I chatted with the heads of several workshops for muskets and artillery, especially now that the short guns for cavalry have begun to be mass-produced. Zhou Shixian attached great importance to this, which he considered the key to the further superiority of his cavalry.

Most of these people used to make firearms, because Zhou Shixian attached special importance to it, and the assessment system was also tilted, and it was relatively easy for craftsmen who made firearms to be promoted, which also made the firearms and artillery class the most popular in the craftsman school that was opened in Nanjing just two months ago.

These craftsmen are now all like fish in water, there is no layer of exploitation here, and there is no Ming court originally made firearms at a loss, their monthly salary is high, and they are respected everywhere, not to mention the rich and noble, but everyone is basically a wife and a concubine, and bought a large courtyard in the city of Nanjing.

Moreover, the assessment and promotion system of the Ordnance Bureau is still very fair, and as the students of the Craftsman Academy graduate one after another, the competitive pressure of these leaders is also very high, which is one of the reasons why they study day and night.

Soon, the gunner had already adjusted the angle, and Zhou Shixian approached and looked at the two six-pounder guns, which were obviously larger than the four-pounder guns, but they were much smaller than the Hongyi cannons used in the siege, and the barrels were also very short, and Zhou Shixian could not detect seven feet.

The four-pounder cannon was too small and insufficient, and the eight-pounder cannon was too big, weighing a thousand catties, although it was powerful, but the mobility was too poor, so Zhou Shixian compromised and asked the craftsmen to take the lead in trial-producing the six-pounder cannon according to the books brought back by John Tang.

After more than a year, the trial production has finally been successful.