Wang Ying was staring at the entire manufacturing process of the six-pounder cannon, this was something that the master had named to be made, and he naturally didn't dare to have any negligence, so he also had a full understanding of this "big object".

At this time, seeing that Zhou Shixian had been staring at the six-pounder cannon in front of him, although he guessed that the other party must know, but in order to show his professionalism, Wang Ying hurriedly introduced on the side: "Don Ma, this is the six-pounder cannon that Xia Guan took the craftsmen to work hard for more than half a year before finally developing a six-pounder cannon, weighing more than 710 catties, and this cannon is made of bronze as the main material.

Our cannon, like the four-pounder gun, can be fired faster than a musket as long as it is operated by a skilled gunner, and it generally requires four gunners to operate it together, which is the most suitable. If it is an extreme situation, two people can also do it, which depends on the proficiency of the gunner in actual combat.

This six-pounder cannon is larger and longer than the four-pounder cannon, and the power is much stronger than the four-pounder cannon, within a mile, even a strong shield can be broken, if it reaches about a hundred paces, the armored soldiers will be directly shattered, solid bullets, shotguns can be fired.

However, if the six-pounder cannon is used to siege the city, there is still some lack of strength, and perhaps after the eight-pounder cannon is produced, it will be no problem to use these new guns to attack the city. ”

As soon as Wang Ying's words fell, two deafening explosions "boomed," and the target board, which was about 300 paces away from the artillery position, was instantly riddled with holes, and the strength of the six-pounder gun that fired the shotgun proved that what Wang Ying said was true.

Zhou Shixian looked at it, the two targets that were full of a square foot were already crumbling, and the shooting accuracy of these artillery was still good. Of course, this is also related to the caliber and range of the six-pounder gun, and it is the reason for the use of shotguns.

After listening to Wang Ying's words and seeing the shooting effect of the six-pounder cannon, Zhou Shixian nodded with satisfaction, clapped his hands and exclaimed: "This cannon is really powerful, Wang Shilang has worked hard, this credit will be remembered by the horse, and the hundreds of thousands of troops who went into battle to kill the enemy will also remember." ”

After hearing this, Wang Ying quickly knelt down, and said that he didn't dare to say that he didn't dare by the way, and by the way expressed his loyalty to Zhou Shixian and his death.

Immediately, Zhou Shixian turned his head to look at the other workshop leaders, and encouraged: "The success of the six-pounder cannon is the common credit of everyone, and it is with the joint efforts of all of you that our Great Tomorrow Army can have such a powerful artillery available, and only then can we have a well-made musket to kill the Tartars." If it weren't for these weapons to defeat the enemy, without the brave killing of the enemy by the soldiers, and without your efforts day and night, the Tartars might have already killed Jiangnan, and you are all heroes.

You are all the heroes behind the soldiers, and you are the indelible heroes of my Ming Dynasty. There is still a lot of room for the development of artillery and muskets in the future, and as long as someone succeeds in developing a new and more powerful artillery, and is promoted to an official position and makes a fortune, you will definitely be indispensable, and your future will be unlimited. ”

The craftsmen of these workshops present were all happy to hear it, and many people even had their eyes lit up when they heard Zhou Shixian say to them that the future was limitless. Zhou Shixian's recognition means that their long-awaited bonus will be in place soon.

After Zhou Shixian encouraged him, he immediately went to inspect the musket workshop with Wang Ying, and the six-pounder guns, four-pounder guns, and other artillery used in siege cities, even gun carriages, special fixed explosives for artillery, etc., have been successfully developed under the guidance of the Portuguese and the experiments of a few experienced genius craftsmen, which are not things that Zhou Shixian needs to worry too much about.

After coming to the musket workshop, Zhou Shixian picked up a newly produced Lumi gun, and obviously felt the different weight compared with the Malacca light arquebus.

After the test of actual combat and the current financial situation of the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Shixian finally gave up the large-scale actual combat use of flintlock pistols. Of course, it is only a temporary abandonment, after the cost of the flintlock pistol is reduced to less than five taels of silver and the stability is further improved, Zhou Shixian will still choose to use it as one of the main battle weapons.

Wang Ying still followed Zhou Shixian's side closely, he also had the same research on muskets, and even knew a lot about several firearms for the main battle, which was his professional quality as the leader of the Weapons Bureau. Since Zhou Shixian carried out the reform of the assessment method, this position is not so easy to sit firmly.

"Horse, this musket is a new musket modeled after the Rumi gun paid tribute by the Turkish Rumi State, and the soldiers at the musket test site have been tested hundreds of times, and the weight of the medicine and ammunition, the distance and the power of each shot have now been recorded and adjusted to the best.

The cost of this gun is only one-third of that of the purchased Lu Mi gun, but the power and operation are better than it. However, the bayonet matter that the horse had mentioned before is still difficult to carry out. One is that it is difficult to manufacture, the second is that the cost is too high, and the third is that the quality is far from meeting the original requirements of the horse. ”

"Although the matter of flintlock pistols and bayonets is difficult, the workshop must continue to study, and it cannot be relaxed or given up because of this, not to mention that it is only a year, two years, or ten years, and it must be made."

Zhou Shixian paused slightly, and then continued: "Lu Mi Gong, the improved turtledove foot gun must be produced as soon as possible, and it must be fully equipped this winter, before the last training of the army. ”

Zhou Shixian originally thought that during the Qing army's second southern expedition, he could equip the army with flintlock pistols equipped with bayonets, which would make his soldiers, horses, and firearms far more powerful than the Qing army.

But the actual situation far exceeded his expectations, the flintlock pistol and bayonet could not be made for a while, but the cost was too high, and it was not suitable for the equipment of tens of thousands of troops, even if it was equipped with three or two thousand, it would also make the burden on the entire workshop extremely heavy.

Moreover, for Zhou Shixian, the most important thing now is not to equip the best musket with the advantage of generation difference, but to equip the musket that is no worse than the Qing army, and then rely on more rigorous training to achieve the goal of victory on the battlefield.

After all, a violent soldier is not a simple matter, and the cost of training and training a new recruit is even more expensive, so Zhou Shixian can only find a balance after weighing the pros and cons.

After all, although he now controls half of the imperial court, and even in terms of momentum, because of the military power, he faintly gives people a feeling of dominating the dynasty, but he has only achieved a political advantage.

Today, Emperor Chongzhen is far from becoming a puppet, or rather, being under house arrest, and still has a strong political appeal.

After all, this is the emperor of the eighteenth year of the Ming Dynasty, and many people, at least on the bright side, still buy the account of this emperor, at least they dare not be the first bird, and they are clearly disobedient.

With the passage of time, spring ploughing in Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, Fujian, Liangguang, Yunnan, Guichuan and other places also began, and the training of recruits was also intensively carried out in various places at the same time.

The money, grain, and people from these places are converging from all over the province to the provincial capital, river wharves, and through official roads, waterways, and sea routes, they are continuously transported to the front line of the Huai River and the front line of Huguang.

However, due to the huge expenditure of the army, weapons and equipment, stability maintenance in various places, training of recruits, etc., all exceeded the estimates of Zhou Shixian and the ministers, and all localities are trying their best to raise military salaries.

Zhou Shixian was still rectifying the rule of officials, and at the same time relying on the strong military and the support of the Zheng family to strictly investigate smuggling in various places, and the household department was also reorganizing the field tax and tracking down the tax arrears of the squire.

At the same time, this little financial expert, through various rather advanced means, finally completed the raising of more than 100,000 military salaries for Li Guoshun's military department, Zuo Liangyu's department, and the headquarters under the condition of Nanjing appropriation and the support of Guangxi and Guangzhou.

In fact, relying on the strong military strength and officials at all levels of the Ming Dynasty, compared with the Qing army's current rampant conquest in the north, Zhou Shixian and the Ming Dynasty are already too merciful.

Gao Yigong, Li Guo and other remnants of the Shun army also established strong rule in Huguang, western Sichuan and other places, and the effect was quite remarkable, and after so many years of political power building, they also had a certain level.

And the Great Western Army, as Zhang Xianzhong became more and more out of control, the situation was becoming more and more severe, and the rebellion of the squires in various places also made the Great West fall into a vicious circle of "more anti-killing, more killing and more anti-fighting".

Today, Zhou Shixian has taken advantage of the Portuguese in Macao and the developed maritime trade of Guangdong to occupy a place in the maritime trade of East Asia. The Portuguese were originally in a difficult situation at home and abroad under the heavy blows of various forces, and Zhou Shixian sent huge trade opportunities in time, so that they could regain their vitality.

After the resumption of overseas trade between Guangzhou and Macao, Zhou Shixian also collected heavy taxes from it, turning the Portuguese into his workers, and in just the first half a year, he received more than 300,000 silver in taxes.

Zhou Shixian has already found someone to investigate, if the restrictions are completely lifted in Guangzhou, with the transportation capacity of the Portuguese, they may not even be able to swallow this huge cake.

Moreover, in order to avoid the Portuguese dominating the family, provoking the Zheng family's rebellion, and the need to cultivate his own power, Zhou Shixian will also open foreign trade firms in Fujian and Zhejiang to collect taxes from them.

It's just that it may take years to achieve this, and it will take him to become emperor before it can be realized, and Guangzhou-Macau is because of that tradition, and it is wartime, and the finances are tight. If you want to open a new business house in other places, I am afraid it will not be so simple, the relationship involved is too complicated, and there are countless opposition forces in the court.

Of course, the Zheng family's maritime caravan is still dominant in trade with Japan by virtue of its many years of prestige and Japan, and Zhou Shixian's move is also to balance the Zheng family, so as not to get carried away.

With the current Guangzhou-Macao trade under control and the establishment of the prestige of the Nanjing court, the Nanjing Ming Dynasty was finally able to gather most of the resources in the area under its control for warfare, and the combat effectiveness of the various units was greatly improved under reliable logistical supplies, weapons and equipment, and more rigorous training.