Chapter 50, the shrewd Qianlong

"Not bad... Not bad...."

Beijing.

Forbidden city.

Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, who was close to antiquity, looked in good spirits.

He carried a flintlock pistol about nine feet long with a bayonet attached.

Emperor Qianlong is known as a perfect old man, so he is naturally knowledgeable.

He could tell at a glance that this musket was made of sufficient materials and was well made.

Although there are traces of use.

But there were not many signs of wear on the inner chamber, and there was no lead inside.

Pull the trigger and you can hear a very crisp firing pin hitting the flint.

Emperor Qianlong's private collection contains muskets from all over the world.

Among them, there were even rifled guns used by many nobles from the courts of Western Europe.

Therefore, Qianlong knew the extent of the development of firearms in the West.

As a matter of fact.

From the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong dynasties, the Qing Dynasty royal family did not cut off exchanges with Europe.

Kangxi was even a math enthusiast who was proficient in mathematics.

The kind that can solve calculus.

He often discussed mathematical and philosophical issues with missionaries from the West.

From this point of view.

Kangxi is by no means ignorant.

The same is true for Qianlong.

He even knew some French, and through some missionaries from Europe, he had a long correspondence with King Louis XVI of France.

He has a very clear vision of what's going on in the world.

American independence.

and even the later French Revolution.

After Louis XVI was guillotined.

Qianlong was keenly aware of the subversive influence that revolutionary ideas from Europe might have on the Qing Dynasty.

It was immediately decided to strengthen the maritime ban and the closure of the country.

Avoid Han Chinese exposure to Western ideas and techniques.

In fact, the Qing Dynasty was able to enter the Central Plains as a fishing, hunting, and nomadic tribe and gain the right to rule China.

Its rulers are not as ignorant as people think.

At least upfront.

Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong are different from Daoguang, Xianfeng and others in the back.

Daoguang and Xianfeng may have been fooled and lame by themselves, and they really closed their eyes and turned a deaf ear to everything that happened in the world.

But the rulers of the Kang Yongqian Dynasty have recorded proof that they actually knew the world very well.

It is precisely because of understanding.

That's why they didn't dare to let the Han people gain access to Western technology, so they wanted to restrict the spread of ideas from outside, restrict the development of the commodity economy, and clamp down on the thinking of the Han elite with harsh literary prison and the rigidity of Brunei.

Let the wisest part of the nation spend most of their lives studying knowledge that is of little practical use.

From this point of view.

As a ruler.

Qianlong is definitely a political animal that can be ranked in history.

He is very smart, with a very keen political sense and skill.

The gun in his hand was sent from Guangzhou to Beijing by the governor of Liangguang Fukangan, who was sent from Guangzhou to Beijing in six days by speeding up the post guard, changing horses but not people.

Also sent was a secret letter from Fukangan, the governor of Liangguang, and Guo Shixun, the governor of Guangdong.

At the same time, there is also an official document stamped with the seal of the governor of Guangdong.

Guangdong brought a piece of news that made Qianlong a little uneasy.

Zhu Daohua has obtained the land of West Borneo and is preparing to establish a Lanfang province!

And before that.

The news that Zhu Daohua had defeated the Dutch fleet in the South China Sea had already reached Qianlong's hands.

For Qianlong.

Zhu Daohua defeated the Dutch fleet.

and Zhu Daohua obtained the territory of a province in Nanyang.

Taken out of these two things alone, he would not be as uneasy as he is now.

The key is how closely these two things are related.

There was only a two-month gap between these two events.

And before that the news.

It was Zhu Daohua who acquired several islands in the Strait of Malacca, and occupied the islands as king.

Occupy the island as king.

It can be said that it is a sea coward.

Not a climate.

It is not unusual to defeat the fleet of the Dutch.

During the Kangxi Dynasty, the Zheng family often fought with the Dutch fleet in Nanyang, and often won victories.

But the point is.

There is a short interval between these few things.

From the island to the king of the sea.

to the heroes who have a province overseas.

The time between is less than four months!

Fast!

It's so fast!

This speed had to make Qianlong vigilant.

Especially that Zhu Daohua was released in front of all the Nanyang countries and Nanyang Chinese.

When the southeast wind rises next year, he will ask Yang Fan to go north and peek into Guangdong.

And from the secret fold given to him by the governor of Liangguang, Fukangan.

He got some news that made him even more uneasy.

The elite of the Ming army, 3,000 to 80,000, only took two days.

Moreover, the Ming army had some weapons that made Qianlong feel very headache.

Let's say that mortar.

Qianlong put down his musket and looked at the mortar shells, as well as the model of the mortar sent by the Guangdong side.

After a little study, Qianlong probably knew the principle of this kind of shell

"It's just. . . If black powder is used, it seems that the power of this flowering bomb is not as powerful as described by the Guangdong side? ”

Qianlong opened another package.

Look at the yellow granules inside the package that are contained in jars.

"This is the so-called mortar loaded gunpowder, how is it yellow?"

Qianlong was puzzled.

Put everything in your hand down.

He also took out the secret folds of Fukangan and Guo Shixun.

"A musket like this, priced at twenty taels, is a long-barreled cannon that can fire five and a half pounds of solid iron bullets.... One thousand taels of silver. ”

Qianlong pondered for a moment.

"Xuan Heshen!"

He Shen is now the first celebrity in the Qianlong Dynasty.

The Minister of Military Aircraft and the Governor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as more than a dozen important positions such as the bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, the Minister of the Guard, and the commander of the infantry army.

And if you want to build ordnance, it is the errand of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

As the Minister of Military Aircraft, He Shen naturally has to work in the Military Aircraft Department.

There is no official office in the Military Aircraft Department, and there is a duty room, which is in the Longzong Gate, close to the Yangxin Palace, so that the Minister of Military Aircraft can be summoned to discuss matters.

Soon.

He Shenhe, the first favorite minister of the Qing Dynasty wearing a unicorn supplement on his head, came in a hurry.

People haven't arrived yet.

The sound arrived.

"The slave and Shen knock to see the emperor, long live my emperor, long live."

When the voice fell, He Shen and the big slave had also knelt in front of Emperor Qianlong.

"Heshen, get up." Qianlong waved his hand, and then handed the musket in his hand to He Shen.

"Let's see, if the Ministry of Internal Affairs is asked to build 30,000 muskets like this, how much silver will be spent."

He Shen hurriedly got up.

I took the musket and examined it carefully, and then broke the bolt and looked at the structure inside.

Then I thought about it in my heart.

30,000 muskets.

Moreover, instead of a shotgun made of arquebus, the mechanical structure of the flintlock ignition requires careful polishing by skilled craftsmen.

The cost itself is not low.

The internal affairs office divided the profits, how could a musket with such sufficient materials cost thirty taels of silver to be balanced.

After pondering it for a while.

He Shen said: "Long live the lord, the materials and workmanship of this musket are the best choice, if you want to build 30,000 guns, each musket is expected to cost at least fifty taels of silver, the total price.... One and a half million taels! ”

One and a half million taels?

How can it be so expensive.

Qianlong's brows tightened.

Fukangan said that he went to Nanyang to buy it, but it was only twenty taels....

The Westerners who travel thousands of miles across the sea must be in pursuit of profits.

Other words.

Twenty taels of silver and a musket, everyone still has to earn.

How did you get fifty taels by yourself?

It seems that it is more cost-effective to let Fukangan go to Nanyang to buy it.

Qianlong thought very unhappily.

In fact, what he didn't know was that fifty taels was already a big conscience with adults.

It will be put aside until the Daoguang Dynasty forty years later.

Just his grandson Daoguang is so confused.

An egg can be bought for a sky-high price.

A musket will definitely not be able to get off without a hundred or ten taels of silver.