Seeing Xu Guangqi still looking at him with hope, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but stroke his forehead and said with a little helplessness: "First, make guns and equip the troops. Take your time."
After a pause, Zhu Youxiao added, "Although Johann Adam Schall von Bell can cast cannons, he's not a professional after all. We need to hurry up and hire Western craftsmen. Besides, learning and then imitating shouldn't be that difficult, right?"
The Red Cannon was not some high-tech gadget. Even with the capabilities of the Eastern Tartars, they were able to successfully imitate it in a very short period of time and used it in large quantities in the Battle of Songjin. What about the technical strength and craftsmanship of the Ming Dynasty?
Zhu Youxiao gave his full support to the Weapons and Gunpowder Bureau. Not only did he invest money, he also merged the Royal Palace's Armament Bureau into it, adding more than 2,000 craftsmen at once.
Xu Guangqi quickly replied, "The casting and reproduction of the cannons have already begun. The Western craftsmen hired by Imperial Envoy Sun Xueshi in Macau, as well as the skilled craftsmen recruited in southern Fujian, will arrive in the capital soon."
Southern Fujian, due to its proximity to the sea, was the first to come into contact with Westerners and their firearms. Starting with the large-scale imitation of the Portuguese cannon during the Ming Dynasty, Southern Fujian's gun and cannon manufacturing technology became nationally renowned.
Not only that, the Minnan people also secretly learned the Western technology of using artillery, including cannon ranging, aiming, adjusting elevation angle, loading gunpowder and even the final firing techniques, and passed it down from generation to generation.
Because of this, the Fujianese artillerymen in the Ming army were the most powerful. In history, during the Battle of Ningyuan, it was a group of Fujianese artillerymen who operated the artillery and achieved great success.
"Learn the technology as quickly as possible. Once you've successfully replicated it, send craftsmen to Guangdong to build a cannon factory." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "What about the production of the Rumi gun? Is the quality guaranteed?"
Xu Guangqi said, "The rules and regulations are complete, and every process is strictly supervised. Completed firearms are also marked with numbers to clarify responsibility. Production is now gradually getting back on track, and reaching a monthly output of 1,000 guns should not be a problem."
With so many craftsmen, excluding those who make cannons, there must be several thousand who can make muskets! If each person can make one musket a month, the monthly production target of 1,000 muskets can be easily achieved.
Of course, this is just a small goal. As the craftsmen's proficiency improves and production equipment increases, output will continue to rise.
"Excellent, very good." Zhu Youxiao nodded in praise and said to the ministers with a smile, "Tomorrow there will be a firearms demonstration outside the capital. If you have time, please go and watch. To subdue the Eastern Tartars, we must have powerful firearms."
Everyone else smiled and nodded, but Bi Zisu hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Tomorrow, a provincial official will be arriving in the capital, and I'm afraid I won't be able to get away."
Zhu Youxiao rolled his eyes secretly, but was not too angry. After all, the military equipment had nothing to do with Bi Zisu, so it didn't matter if he didn't go.
"If you have time, go. If you are busy with official duties, you don't have to go." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand generously and said, "If you have nothing else to do, let's stop here today!"
Sun Chengzong and others stood up and bowed to take their leave. What a great favor and grace it was to be able to sit and discuss politics with the Emperor!
The more courtesy the emperor showed and the more earnest his expectations, the heavier the burden on people's shoulders became. Having been nurtured by Confucianism, who could not be loyal and responsible?
……………….
Refugees existed throughout the Ming Dynasty and became more common in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. They were not a product of the Little Ice Age.
Natural disasters, loss of land, and unbearable taxes and labor service are all reasons for the emergence of refugees.
In the Ming Dynasty, however, this did not apply to these people specifically; anyone without land could be called a refugee, such as urban artisans.
But starting from the first month of the second year of the Tianqi reign, hundreds of thousands of Liao people became the representatives of the refugees, dragging their families, pushing carts and carrying loads, passing through Shanhaiguan and pouring into the prefectures and counties of Northern Zhili.
Although the imperial court had already issued orders to all prefectures, counties and cities to open granaries for relief, provide work-for-relief, and try to resettle as many people as possible.
The emperor also used the treasury as resettlement funds, but the Liao people who left their homes still had to suffer.
Fortunately, there was a large granary called Tongzhou, the northern starting point of the canal transportation, which allowed for the transfer of granaries nearby, so that few Liao people starved to death.
Build warehouses, repair government offices, repair city walls, level roads, and develop water conservancy projects...
Following the imperial court's instructions, local governments took advantage of the warm spring season and the sharp drop in labor costs to begin large-scale infrastructure construction.
At the same time, local governments also called on and encouraged wealthy families in the area to build houses, dig ponds and build gardens to accommodate more Liao people.
There is no way not to work hard. The emperor has issued an imperial decree and sent officials from the East Factory to conduct open and secret investigations; the Censorate also sent imperial censors to inspect. If any area is not done well, the official will be fired.
Luanzhou, Cangzhou, Changping, Jingzhou... In a short period of time, seven or eight county officials have been dismissed and held accountable. Who would dare to be negligent?
These local officials were just small fry, and the arrest of another senior official for corruption showed a change in the focus of the Censorate's work.
No matter whether it is the first three major actions of a new official, or the reconnaissance by the Censorate or the action by the Censorate, as long as it demonstrates the determination and strength of the court in fighting corruption, it will be fine.
Still related to the grain transport, Cui Chengxiu, who was touring Huai'an as an imperial censor, should have disciplined officials and restored order, but he abused this power to solicit bribes and embezzle money, allowing incompetent and corrupt officials to remain in office, while honest and good officials were criticized.
It can also be said that this was a scandal within the Censorate, and imprisoning Cui Chengxiu was also a way to clean up the house since Bi Zisu took over.
Immediately afterwards, the campaign to clean up the house uncovered more than a dozen censors and imperial censors, who were accused of "accepting bribes on a large scale."
As a safeguard of the Ming Dynasty's anti-corruption system, censors, imperial censors, and the six departments of the Imperial Secretariat were originally responsible for exposing corruption.
However, some censors and imperial censors used their power as a means of corruption. For example, Cui Chengxiu, when he went to the local government to inspect the administration of officials, would demand bribes and severely report you if you didn't give any benefits.
Yang Wenju, a censor during the Wanli period, was even more ruthless than Cui Chengxiu. Whenever he went to a place, he would extort bribes of tens of thousands of taels of silver.
The censors in the capital kept an eye on the officials who came to the capital to report on their work. If they didn't give them benefits, they would fabricate crimes and put labels on them.
There are even some censors who do their work for money. They will impeach whoever you ask them to impeach, and they have a lot of credibility in the troll world.
The court's punishments were as harsh as ever, including expulsion from the register, confiscation of property, imprisonment, and sentencing, and there was no delay.
Waves of shock spread from the capital to the countryside. The imperial gazettes were filled with accounts of officials dismissed and convicted for corruption. The Ming officialdom seemed to be undergoing a shocking storm.
At this time, in the martial arts training ground outside Beijing, the sound of cannons rumbled, the earth shook, and a shocking scene was taking place.
Several red cannons spewed out smoke and flames, firing shells at preset targets in the distance, stirring up clouds of dust and smoke when they landed.
The young emperor smiled under the Nine-Curved Yellow Umbrella, and from time to time he raised his telescope to look into the distance, without any fear or panic on his face.
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