Now, the Ordnance and Gunpowder Bureau has temporarily set up four branch factories to manufacture muskets, cannons, mines and gunpowder respectively.
The musket was Zhu Youxiao's main requirement. Now the monthly output has finally exceeded 3,000, but it still cannot meet the new army's replacement requirements.
In fact, Zhu Youxiao was skeptical about this output. According to his thinking, with more than 5,000 craftsmen, each person could make at least one musket a month, right?
For this reason, Xu Guangqi and others had to submit a memorial to the emperor, explaining the manufacturing process of the musket to the impatient young emperor and explaining in detail the bottlenecks in production.
The process of manufacturing a musket at the time was about four or five steps, the most time-consuming of which was finishing, which was drilling out the gun bore and filing out the sight.
Due to the limitations of the technology at the time, the earth drilling machine, which was made of wood as a frame, stone plates as inertia wheels, tied with leather straps and pulled by manpower, was not very efficient.
Zhu Youxiao read the test paper and went to the factory for an on-site inspection, and came to his own analysis and judgment.
The root cause of the low efficiency of earth drilling machines lies in the quality of the tools. At that time, good drill bits and files were made of a material called tungsten steel, but it was not hard enough!
Therefore, almost half of the time spent on making a musket is spent on drilling and scraping the barrel, sometimes taking up to a month.
The Jixiao Xinshu records: "The original hole (in the bird gun) is very small. Use a steel drill to drill it. Drill about an inch a day until it reaches the bottom. It is best to drill it through in a month."
Knowing the problem, Zhu Youxiao had a solution. He couldn't figure out how to make a flat-hearth furnace or a converter for the time being, but he did know how to make steel using a graphite clay crucible.
Of course, this steelmaking method is unlikely to have a large output, but as a tool steel material, it can still meet the requirements and thus increase the output of muskets.
Although Zhu Youxiao was not very sure when the crucible steelmaking method appeared in history, he had asked the foreigners indirectly and learned that there was probably no method to produce liquid steel at present.
Well - this must be kept secret and foreigners must not know about it.
So, Zhu Youxiao made use of the Imperial Household Arsenal, built a heavily guarded Royal Factory No. 1, recruited craftsmen, and asked Xu Guangqi and others to start tinkering with crucible steelmaking.
After the crucible steelmaking experiment was successful, Zhu Youxiao needed not only drills and files, but also various molds and highly elastic reeds to solve the biggest problem in manufacturing flintlock rifles.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The shouts that shook the entire venue brought Zhu Youxiao back to his senses.
Zhu Youxiao put down the telescope, smiled and nodded to express his appreciation.
The Four Guards and Warriors Battalions are well-trained. At least, they should have no problem defending the Imperial Palace. As for the Beijing Battalion, it's time to drastically overhaul it.
"You have done a great job training. I will give you a reward," Zhu Youxiao said. "Each soldier will receive three taels of silver, and each officer will receive five taels of silver."
Although it was painful, the reward could not be reduced. The officers and soldiers who suppressed Xu Hongru's rebellion would also receive rewards. Zhu Youxiao calculated it secretly and almost lost sleep.
The emperor's oral order of reward was gradually amplified by the guards and reached the ears of the officers and soldiers on the training ground.
"Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long, long live the emperor!" The officers and soldiers knelt on one knee and thanked the emperor with a voice like a tsunami.
Kong Youde knelt on one knee, not forgetting to wink at Zhang Pan next to him. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was very excited.
After the drill, the emperor summoned them to the Wuying Palace for a banquet as a farewell party, as they would return to their original units and begin their campaign anew.
Hehe, this is a treatment he could never have imagined in his dreams! If it weren't for the public watching, he would have been so happy that he would have rolled on the ground.
In fact, there were many people who were just as excited as him, including Zhang Pan. But due to his nature, he was more reserved and managed to hold it together.
But when the yellow umbrella was seen moving in the distance, the emperor had already set off and was returning to the palace.
………………
Zhu Youxiao was troubled for a while about the placement of these generals, such as Zu Dashou and Kong Youde.
Would it be better to move these guys with bad records in history to other places, like Zu Dashou and Kong Youde, Liaodong to Dongjiang; or transfer them to other military towns to serve as generals?
In the end, Zhu Youxiao decided not to do so.
The reason is simple. He could even ignore Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others. He believed that he could change the environment and reverse the trajectory of historical development, let alone Zu Dashou and others!
I will live up to you, and I will also make the country live up to everyone who has contributed to it.
If the Dongjiang Town eventually fell apart and rebel generals emerged frequently, the overall root cause was Mao Wenlong and his killing.
But is it still the same as it was in history? No, it has changed!
Although Dongjiang Town is still located remotely overseas, it is no longer an independent kingdom, and all situations will be known to the imperial court.
Could Mao Wenlong still be so domineering? Could he still be attacked by civil officials for lying about military intelligence, or alienated from the court because of the issue of food and wages?
I am not a tyrant!
I will not let the Ming Dynasty sink!
I will not let the soldiers fighting for the country shed blood and tears!
I will not let the people under my rule cry and struggle in the abyss of blood and fire!
When Zhu Youxiao walked around the room in meditation and finally uttered this solemn oath from his heart, he had already made the final decision.
After returning to the Qianqing Palace, he washed and changed his clothes, preparing to go to the Wuying Palace to host a banquet for the generals.
Some things still need to be explained; some things also need to be reminded.
These generals and troops rushing to various military towns are the spark that will set the Ming army on fire.
Of course, some preventive work has also been arranged.
It was not to target anyone, nor to take any hostages, but rather a new rule in the Ming army that family members were not allowed to accompany the troops, and it was also strictly prohibited to keep private soldiers.
The Zu family had already moved from Ningyuan City and settled in Jinnan. In this way, Zhu Youxiao would not be too worried about Zu Dashou becoming long-legged again.
With Xiong Tingbi, the destroyer of military families, and his own full support, Zhu Youxiao was not too worried about the reappearance of scum like the Liaoxi warlords in history.
That’s right, a big reason why Xiong Tingbi was forced to resign for the first time was that his policy of promoting benefits and eliminating malpractices touched upon the existing corrupt military officer system in Liaodong, including the interests of various military leaders in Liaodong, including the Li Chengliang family.
What Xiong Tingbi said about "Liao people are useless" also refers to the Liaodong military leaders and gentry. These guys put preserving their own strength first when fighting, and often harmed the foreign troops that entered Liao to fight.
In other words, Xiong Tingbi still trusted and relied on ordinary Liao people.
Nurhaci's sudden rise and unification of the Jurchen tribes was also due to Li Chengliang's indulgence.
To be precise, Li Chengliang was nurturing a thief to gain power for himself, hoping that the Li family would become the permanent military leader in Liaodong.
However, Li Chengliang had overreached. After his death, the Liaodong military leadership formed by his sons, relatives, and generals was completely unable to control Nurhaci's rapid rise.
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