Zhu Youxiao also knew that the Beijing camp had serious problems and the entire Ming army system needed to be rectified, but one must eat one bite at a time, so no matter how anxious he was, he had to take it slowly.
After Zhang Weixian had left, Zhu Youxiao took the palace maids with him and went to the Western Garden to play with his guns. It was a remote place and no one could stop him.
The Western Garden of the Ming Dynasty was developed on the basis of the Taiye Lake of the Yuan Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Taiye Lake consisted of two parts: the North Sea and the Middle Sea. In the Ming Dynasty, the South Sea was excavated, thus forming the Three Seas of the Middle, South, and North.
In the tenth year of the Jiajing reign, after personally ploughing the fields in the southern suburbs, the emperor came up with the idea of "ploughing the fields in the Western Garden" and "visiting the palace to inspect the land in spring and autumn, and then collecting the income and sending it to the sacred granary."
Doing so can not only help us understand the suffering of the common people, but also obtain sacrifices to offer to the gods, killing two birds with one stone.
At the same time, the court officials again raised the issue of "it is inconvenient for the empress to go out to the suburbs." Considering that the silkworm ceremony had been held in the inner courtyard since the Tang and Song dynasties, and the water of the Taiye Pond could be used there.
The emperor then made up his mind to "develop both agriculture and sericulture, and to perform the ceremonies of plowing and personally raising silkworms in the Western Garden." He rebuilt the Altar of the First Silkworm and the new Tugu Altar, which was later renamed the Dishe Altar and Diji Altar. The Wuyi Hall complex was where the emperor would reduce farming and collecting taxes.
Not long after Sejong's death, Mujong destroyed all the palaces in the Western Garden. However, Wuyi Hall was preserved because it was a place for encouraging agriculture and observing crops.
Later emperors would occasionally visit the palace, and at these times the eunuchs and palace maids would dress up as farmers and perform scenes of threshing rice.
In the 12th year of Wanli's reign, a fire broke out in Wuyi Palace. After consultation with court officials, it was decided to repair it because the emperor's grandfather had specially built the palace to let future generations know about the hardships of Jiaxuan, and the intention was far-reaching.
After this reconstruction, Wuyi Hall was renamed Shuguan and continued to be the residence of craftsmen and scribes. Binfeng Pavilion was renamed Xiefa Pavilion, but the glory of the Jiajing period was no longer there.
Of course, Zhu Youxiao didn't care much about the splendor and beauty of the pavilions and terraces. Firstly, he came here to test his weapons, and secondly, to relax in this spacious garden.
The sky was clear and bright, and the houses and gardens were immersed in the tranquility and bright chill of white. Exhaling the thick white air, Zhu Youxiao felt particularly refreshed.
The pale blue sky covered the earth, and from time to time fine snow dust was blown off the roofs and treetops. Flickering spots of light and shining crystals seemed to be dancing and playing in the air.
Boom, boom, boom! From a distance of more than ten meters, Zhu Youxiao opened fire, and finally two of his shots hit the tree. The tree branches shook, and more snow and dust fell into the air.
"Hit it, hit it, Your Majesty is really accurate." Wang Tigan smiled happily and followed with flattery.
Well, it seems that there is no such title as sharpshooter now.
Zhu Youxiao twisted his wrist. The three-barreled gun still had some recoil. But even though it fired three times in a row and could be used as a hammer to hit someone, he didn't like this weapon.
He stretched out his hand to call over the soldiers of the Shenjiying who were temporarily staying in the palace, took the bird gun that was loaded with ammunition, picked it up, and took aim at a random target.
When the trigger is pulled, the fuse hits the firing port and the primer is ignited. After a moment, the gun body pauses and the lead bullet shoots out.
"Hit again, hit again!" Wang Tigan clapped his hands and shouted, "Your Majesty never misses a shot. That's amazing."
The palace maids also cheered and gave dozens of likes in an instant.
Damn, do you know where I'm aiming?
Zhu Youxiao had observed how the soldiers loaded their bird guns, and could only describe it in two words: "cumbersome".
Moreover, this bird gun is said to "hit the target eight or nine out of ten shots, even flying birds in the forest can be shot down", which is obviously bragging.
How big does the bird have to be and how close does it have to be to be able to shoot it?
Zhu Youxiao guessed that the musket that could shoot birds should be loaded with a lot of small iron sand, creating the effect of shotgun, which could hit a few small sparrows.
In order to be lethal to the enemy, it was necessary to load single bullets and increase the amount of powder. This meant that strict requirements were placed on the quality of the bird gun, otherwise it would easily explode and cause casualties to the user.
Based on this analysis, Duke Zhang Weixian of England must have brought the best quality bird guns, and even the soldiers who loaded the ammunition reduced the amount to ensure that there would be no mistakes.
Zhu Youxiao fiddled with the bird gun for a while and then handed it to the soldiers of the Shenjiying.
What the emperor wanted to use and see was naturally the best, but it would be naive to judge the quality and performance of weapons based on this.
Furthermore, no matter how advanced the weapons were, they still depended on the human factor. Given the Ming army's current morale and combat effectiveness, even if they were equipped with weapons more advanced than the bird gun, they would not be able to achieve victory.
The most obvious example is the First Sino-Japanese War. Was it that the Qing army's weapons were inferior to those of the Japanese army? Was it that the Qing army did not have enough troops?
The bird guns and three-barreled guns were returned to the soldiers of the Shenjiying Camp, and the palace servants escorted them out of the palace. After the novelty of firing the guns wore off, Zhu Youxiao's mood was not very good.
"Your Majesty, would you like to play ice skating?" Wang Tigan said with a flattering smile, bowing, "I will send someone to get a sled."
Ice skating? Is it playing on ice? Ice skates or skis? And what about this sled?
Zhu Youxiao became curious and said, "Then bring the sled and let me see how we can play."
Wang Tigan was overjoyed. It seemed that this suggestion was exactly what the emperor wanted. He could have fun and gain more favor from the emperor.
Ke Shi was expelled from the palace. Although Mr. Wei was appointed as the factory supervisor, he could no longer be by the emperor's side often. It was obvious that he had lost the emperor's favor. He went to inquire on behalf of the emperor and was very clear about this.
Only by staying by the emperor's side can he consolidate his favor. Wang Tigan knows this very well, so how can he not try his best to please him?
It didn't take long. Under the command and supervision of Wang Tigan, the palace servants brought the stretcher and placed it on the ice.
Hey, this is a sled, or you can call it a sled.
Zhu Youxiao took a closer look and laughed.
The sled was made of a wooden flatbed with a cross-bed on top, and a few ropes in front, pulled by several strong-looking eunuchs. Isn't this the sled that tourists often play on in parks in northern China during winter?
Okay, let’s try out a Ming Dynasty sled!
Zhu Youxiao laughed happily and sat down on the wooden couch. Several eunuchs pulled him from the front, and his servant Wang Tigan pushed him from the back, chatting and laughing with him.
That’s right, this is a classic sport in the Ming Dynasty - ice skating.
Liu Ruoyu, who dreamed of cutting birds, wrote in his book: "Outside Yangde Gate, the ice freezes during the winter solstice. People can pull a drag bed. It's made of a wooden flat board with a cross-bed on top. One person leads the rope in front, and two or three people can pull it, and it can move across the ice as fast as flying."
The eunuchs who pulled the ropes had anti-slip straw ropes tied to their shoes, so they pulled the sled not too fast, but not too slow either.
Zhu Youxiao also loudly reminded people not to pull the boat too deep into the pond, as the area near the shore was already frozen solid and there was no problem, but the area in the middle was not very safe.
Cherish life and stay away from water!
Zhu Youxiao had already realized this. Ice is also made of water, so he had to be more careful.
"Stay close to the shore. Didn't you hear the emperor's decree, you dogs and servants?" The dog servant Wang Tigan was taking advantage of the power of others.
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