"Retreat in order to advance?" Dorgon lowered his head and kept repeating these four words.
"Yes, the court is complicated now, and it is easy to get hurt by mistake if you are in it." Fan Wencheng lowered his voice: "In fact, leading troops in battle can make merit, and doing logistics can also make merit!"
Under Dorgon's puzzled eyes, Fan Wencheng asked in a low voice: "Didn't Prince Rui send someone to Fujian to contact Zheng Zhilong? How confident are you that a deal can be reached?"
"It's hard to say, but Zheng Zhilong was born a pirate and is also a businessman. As long as the profit is high enough, this thing will most likely succeed."
Fan Wencheng lowered his voice again: "That's easy. After the New Year, when the weather gets a little warmer, Prince Rui will ask for permission to lead a thousand soldiers to Korea to purchase supplies."
"As long as we can buy the materials that the court urgently needs, it will be a great achievement! If we make the right contribution at the right time, Prince Rui will surely be able to return to the court."
Dorgon was amazed by this idea!
In fact, returning to the court is just a matter of a word from the emperor!
But before that, he must accomplish something that can convince everyone.
Who does the emperor listen to?
Of course, I would listen to Empress Xiaozhuang!
With his relationship with Xiaozhuang, this matter will definitely succeed.
"Mr. Fan is truly a man of great talent!"
Dorgon bowed deeply to Fan Wencheng who was sitting next to him.
Fan Wencheng hurriedly returned the greeting: "Prince Rui, you are embarrassing me!"
"After the Chinese New Year, I'll have to trouble Mr. Fan to accompany me to North Korea."
"It's no trouble. It's my honor to travel with Prince Rui!"
Outside the sedan, the snow was falling heavier and heavier.
Urged by the cold wind, the bearers of the sedan chair quietly quickened their pace.
Bang!
A huge firework exploded in the sky above Shengjing, emitting brilliant light.
"It's New Year! It's New Year!" A group of children cheered at the fireworks in the snow.
“It’s still early for the New Year!”
"My mother said that the New Year begins in the twelfth lunar month!"
"Your mother is right!"
......
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fireworks rose into the sky, dyeing the black sky of the capital into colorful colors.
The people in the city took to the streets and looked up.
It’s not that they can’t afford it, but the fireworks set off by others are more cost-effective!
But the price of fireworks this year is indeed expensive.
Compared with previous years, the price of fireworks at the end of the 17th year of Chongzhen was nearly 50% more expensive!
The reason was that the court's demand for gunpowder increased dramatically, causing the price of gunpowder in the private sector to skyrocket.
As upstream raw materials rose in price, the prices of downstream gunpowder products and firecrackers soared.
"Oh! Don't you want to let us live? The price of firecrackers this year is too expensive!" a citizen complained.
The neighbor next to him rolled his eyes at him and said, "I never saw you buy it when it was cheaper in previous years!"
"In previous years, we couldn't even have enough food, let alone buy firecrackers. This year, I have money, but I just can't bear to buy..."
"You should be content! The reason why I have some spare money is because Your Majesty exempted the whole country from taxes for a year!"
"Yes! It is His Majesty who has allowed us to live a good life!"
"Have you heard that His Majesty has issued another decree, saying that taxes will be exempted for next year!" said another citizen.
“Is this true or false?”
"Of course it's true. Who would dare to make such a joke?"
"With so many officials and so many soldiers in the court, how much does it cost in a year? Does Your Majesty have that much money?"
"Of course there was! It was written in the imperial report in the 17th year of Chongzhen. Tens of millions of taels of property were confiscated from those traitorous merchants in Xuanfu alone. Your Majesty could have put the money into the treasury for your own use, but Your Majesty cared about the people of the country, so he issued an order to exempt the country from taxes for another year."
"Your Majesty is wise! This is the first time in my life that I have encountered such a good thing!"
"Long live the emperor!"
Some people on the street spontaneously knelt on the ground and kowtowed to express their gratitude.
"The New Year is coming soon. When everyone sends the Kitchen God off, they pray for His Majesty and make wishes for him to be healthy and have everything go well."
"Okay, guys, don't forget it!"
Bang! Bang!
A firecracker flew into the air and exploded, shaking off the snow on the eaves.
Jiao Xu, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Works, frowned and shook his head.
Tang Ruowang, who was standing next to him, came over and asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's flying too low! His Majesty sent a letter a few days ago, asking if it's possible to load lead bullets into firecrackers and turn them into firearms that can kill people."
"I tried many times, but when I put too much lead bullet in it, it either couldn't fly or flew too low, doing zero damage to the enemy and only causing 1,000 casualties to myself!"
"You didn't put on enough...it didn't work."
After hearing this, Tang Ruowang felt a chill on his back. He quickly checked his body for any injuries: "Just now...the firecrackers you set off were filled with lead bullets? You are crazy! You are simply a lunatic!"
"No, I filled it with the same weight of soil to test the effect!"
"Phew... I'm scared to death!"
"But..." Tang Ruowang was a little confused, "Even if it can fly, how can it change the direction of flight?"
"Use the barrel! I've tried it. Wherever the muzzle is pointed, the firecracker will fly in that direction!"
"Oh!" Johann Adam Schall Johann Adam Schall von Bell nodded, then looked at the firecrackers all over the ground.
After watching for a while, he still didn't understand: "Why not just use the shrapnel? The effect of that thing is not comparable to firecrackers."
"The disadvantages of shrapnel shells are too great! After ten shots, the shrapnel shells will either explode too early and injure our own people, or the fuses will be blown out and the shells will be delivered to the enemy. It is difficult to achieve the desired effect. Soldiers on the front line are not willing to use this thing at all! Some even call shrapnel shells "loyalty bullets for the country..."
"It will be different if it is transformed into a double-kick firecracker. It will not only be more convenient to carry, but also increase the success rate."
Tang Ruowang curled his lips and said, "You keep trying. I'm going back to my room to have some tea!"
"Don't go yet, help me try this out before you leave!"
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