It is human nature to lean towards the victor and seek benefits and avoid harm. The Later Jin has suffered a series of setbacks this year. The surrounding hostile forces may not take advantage of the situation immediately, but they are bound to despise it.

If the decline could not be reversed, some force might start to stir up trouble. Nurhaci could not predict possible changes, and his worry and impatience were also normal.

In the eyes of Nurhaci and Huang Taiji, using Han soldiers and preparing firearms were good ways to seize the Ming army's advanced skills and reverse the passive situation.

But in Zhu Youxiao's view, the outcome of the Ming-Qing War in history was not determined by advanced and new weapons, but by the corruption of the Ming Dynasty.

Ultimately, weapons are important, but in the absence of an overwhelming advantage, talent is the key factor in determining the outcome of a war.

However, with the current level of technology and manufacturing, we are still unable to produce airplanes, cannons, and machine guns. To defeat the Eastern Tartars, we must focus on the officers and soldiers.

With the Ming Dynasty's manpower advantage, even if they are only equipped with swords and spears, as long as the army fights bravely, it should be enough to defeat the Eastern Tartars, right?

Of course, if the ability allows, it would be best to make weapons advanced and lead the world trend. This is also the nature of time travelers.

Zhu Youxiao was lucky. He was the supreme emperor, in charge of everything, and he had many talented people. As long as he used them well, as long as he put forward an idea, there would naturally be people to help him complete it.

Zhu Youxiao was excited and thrilled holding the new type of musket presented by the Gunpowder and Weapons Bureau - the self-generating musket.

Although his wooden gun served as a good reminder, Sun Yuanhua and others did not know how much effort they had put in to turn it into a real object.

The structure of the flintlock and the matchlock is basically the same, the only difference is the firing mechanism.

The fuse is to be fixed on the fuse clip (which is later the hammer of the gun). Pulling the trigger will cause the fuse to fall, ignite the primer, and then ignite the propellant.

The flintlock rifle replaces the fuse with a polished flint piece. There is an anvil next to the fire hole. When the trigger is pulled, the flint is hit heavily on the side of the fire port under the action of the reed, causing sparks to appear and ignite the gunpowder to fire.

One is an open flame, which does not require much force from the hammer; the other relies on striking and friction to produce sparks, which requires greater force.

This is what Zhu Youxiao considered to be the technical difficulty, a spring or steel sheet with strong elasticity.

Although crucible steelmaking was successful, it still requires long-term experiments to find the right ratio and process to produce elastic steel with relatively stable quality.

Zhu Youxiao pulled the hammer, aimed the gun, and pulled the trigger.

The flint piece hit the anvil hard, and a few sparks flew out, like a flash of light in the dark night, illuminating the emperor's eyes.

"Good, very good." Zhu Youxiao took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. Although it was not inlaid with gold and jade, he still carefully gave the sample gun to the palace maid to keep.

Looking up at the two people standing solemnly in the hall, Zhu Youxiao suppressed his excitement and maintained the emperor's dignity, although his voice changed slightly.

"Sun Qing, Bi Qing. This will be the best New Year's gift for me." Zhu Youxiao praised, turned his head to glance at Liu Ruoyu, and ordered: "Draft an imperial decree: Sun Yuanhua will be promoted to Zizhi Yin (Wenxun Zhengsan rank), promoted to Tongyi Dafu (Wensan rank Zhengsan rank), and given Feiyu clothing, a jade sceptre, and a reward of 200 taels of silver;"

"Bi Maokang was promoted to Zanzhi Yin (Wenxun Zhengsi Fourth Rank), and promoted to Zhongxian Dafu (Wensan Jie Zhengsi Fourth Rank), and was given a Douniu uniform and a reward of 100 taels of silver..."

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace." Sun Yuanhua and Bi Maokang knelt down and kowtowed to express their gratitude.

Bi Maokang was a Jinshi in the 26th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty. He was appointed as the Secretary of the Secretariat and later promoted to the Censor of Guangxi Province, the Right Censor-in-Chief, the Inspector of Shaanxi Province, and the Censor of Shandong Salt Province.

However, he became famous in history for the "Illustrated Explanation of Military Equipment" he edited more than ten years later, in which he introduced the flintlock rifle (called the self-propelled musket in the book) for the first time.

Now, with the recommendation of Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua and the appreciation and promotion of the emperor, Bi Maokang gave up politics and took up engineering. He invented the flintlock musket more than ten years ahead of schedule, which will be recorded in history.

Zhu Youxiao laughed heartily, not concealing his cheerful mood, and said, "There will be further imperial decrees later. Sun Qing and Bi Qing, please go back and wait."

Sun Yuanhua and Bi Maokang thanked him again and left.

Yeah! Zhu Youxiao waved his fist vigorously. Flintlock rifle plus bayonet, leading by nearly a hundred years! Donglu, Jiannu, what can you use to fight me?

The emperor excitedly stood up from his seat and paced back and forth in the hall.

The next step was large-scale production and equipment, coupled with cardboard-loaded ammunition. It was said that well-trained soldiers could fire at a rate of five rounds per minute.

Yes, yes! The introduction of flintlock rifles also meant a change in tactics, requiring the army to retrain and adapt.

Moreover, flintlock rifles could be used normally unless there was heavy rain or snow. This undoubtedly enhanced the infantry's field combat capabilities and laid the foundation for the victory of the counter-offensive.

About a year. Zhu Youxiao estimated the time required for manufacturing, equipment, training, and the scale of field artillery manufacturing, and set a new schedule.

I hope I can have a good New Year! Zhu Youxiao looked forward to it in his heart, and felt that he had done his best to prepare.

There is no need to worry too much about Ningyuan and Juehua. With the bastions and red cannons, if the Jiannu come, it will just depend on how many we can kill.

The headquarters of Dongjiang Town is basically safe. At worst, we can temporarily abandon the land for military farming and retreat to the island. What can the Jiannu do?

Zhu Youxiao was only worried about the recently recovered Dalian, so he mobilized a batch of artillery and sent artillery officers who had graduated from military academies to strengthen the defense of the Dalian area.

Although they are all old artillery pieces, such as the Portuguese cannon, the tiger squat cannon, etc., they are still powerful and can play a great role in defending positions.

As for the Red Cannon, apart from sending more than a dozen to Ningyuan, Zhu Youxiao would not allocate them to the army for the time being, but would instead focus on supplying them to the navy and coastal fortresses.

In addition, Zhu Youxiao also asked Yuan Keli and Bi Ziyan to prepare to reinforce Lüda and continue to transport food, fodder and ammunition to the Lüda area.

There should be no problem, we can definitely hold it, and the Jiannu cannot afford such heavy casualties.

Zhu Youxiao repeatedly encouraged himself to strengthen his confidence.

It turns out this trick works. The emperor was in high spirits again, laughing heartily as he fiddled with his flintlock rifle.

Should I go out and fire a few shots? Zhu Youxiao walked to the door with his flintlock rifle. Before he could make a final decision, the shit shoveler hurried in.

"Your Majesty, I couldn't find Lady Bai." The maid hurriedly bowed and reported to the emperor anxiously.

Didn't find her? Could it be that shameless Ye Hei, relying on his persistent and relentless pursuit, had managed to abduct our White Lady?

Zhu Youxiao thought that using Ye Hei to practice spearmanship was also a good choice. But when he finished thinking with a frown and looked up at his "shit shoveling officer", he couldn't help but feel something in his heart.

Who cares if he is Ye Hei or Ye Bai? There is only one guy like him in the palace, and you leave Lady Bai no choice!