"Paper shell gunpowder?" Fan Jingwen asked puzzledly: "Your Majesty, please enlighten me."
"Put the lead shot and gunpowder into the same paper tube. When loading, tear the paper tube and stuff the gunpowder, lead shot and paper tube together. This can ensure that the gunpowder is loaded with enough weight and increase the loading speed."
Fan Jingwen picked up a musket and thought carefully for a while. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this method was effective, so he couldn't help but start experimenting.
He first found a piece of paper, then took the gunpowder pot and lead balls from the soldiers guarding the city nearby, and then began to pack them according to Chongzhen's idea.
Under the guidance of Chongzhen, Fan Jingwen quickly summed up his experience.
Although the projectiles and gunpowder are packed in the same paper tube, they need to be isolated from each other, otherwise the air tightness will be greatly reduced, affecting the lethality.
Secondly, the paper used to wrap the gunpowder cannot be too hard, otherwise it cannot be compacted; nor can it be too soft, otherwise the gunpowder will leak.
After several tests, Fan Jingwen got the desired result.
He looked at the paper shell in his hand and exclaimed: "Your Majesty, if we change the gunpowder of our Ming army to this, our combat effectiveness will at least double!"
"Then arrange for craftsmen to make them immediately and distribute them to the soldiers defending the city for testing."
"As ordered, I will arrange it right away. However, the craftsmen in the Ministry of Industry are all busy making grenades, so we can't make too many in a short period of time."
Chongzhen thought about it and decided that it would be more technically demanding to use paper shell gunpowder in fire guns and bird guns. Too much gunpowder would cause the barrel to explode, and too little would make the guns less powerful. It would be best if they were made by the Ministry of Works and the Armory of the Inner Court.
As for grenades...there is basically no technical content, as long as the amount of explosives is large enough.
"Leave the production of hand grenades to the inner court. The Ministry of Industry and the Armory Bureau will focus on producing paper shell gunpowder."
"I accept your order."
In response to the problem of soldiers defending the city not having enough food and warm clothing, Chongzhen asked the cabinet to urge the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue to solve the problem.
It was already evening when Wang Chengen returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. He was waiting outside the palace holding a piece of paper covered with words.
"Your Majesty, the report has been written."
"Oh?" Chongzhen was somewhat impressed by Wang Chengen's efficiency.
He picked up the official bulletin and read it carefully from beginning to end.
Overall, it is well written. There are no other problems except that the information is a little delayed and the title is not obvious enough.
He originally wanted to arrange for people to print overnight, but considering the important things to do at the court tomorrow morning, he asked Wang Chengen to leave the space for the front-page headline empty and print it the next day.
As soon as Wang Chengen left, Wang Zhixin hurried to the palace gate and said, "Your Majesty, I, Wang Chengen, would like to see you."
"Come in."
"Your Majesty, I have surrounded the Duke's Mansion for a day and a night. I wonder what your Majesty's will is?"
"Is it certain that the murderer who assassinated me was Zhu Chunchen?"
"Your Majesty, the evidence is irrefutable. Although there are no witnesses, the physical evidence is irrefutable."
"That's fine. Withdraw all those soldiers and have them help with work at the Armory Bureau. Hand over Zhu Chunchen and the evidence to the Ministry of Justice. The three courts will make a decision after a joint trial."
"I obey your order. I will take my leave."
“Wait!”
Just as Wang Zhixin was about to leave after receiving the imperial edict, he was called back by Chongzhen.
"Wang Zhixin, how much silver did you receive from Duke Dingguo's mansion?"
"Your Majesty, I..." Wang Zhixin was about to say that he did not take the money, but seeing Chongzhen's sharp eyes, he swallowed the second half of the sentence.
Those eyes that seemed to be able to see through everything were so terrifying that they actually knew that he had accepted the money from Duke Dingguo!
"I...did not ask for it on my own initiative. It was Duke Ding who insisted on giving it to me. I had no choice but to accept it."
As he said this, Wang Zhixin knelt on the ground and kowtowed with a look of grievance.
"Heh... From what you see, you were forced to accept the bribe?"
"I dare not, I am terrified."
"I don't care what you did or how much money you received, I just want you to remember. From today on, 90% of the money you received will be given to me, and the remaining 10% will be kept for yourself."
Wang Zhixin was stunned for a moment, then he knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly: "I dare not, I am your Majesty's slave in life and your Majesty's servant in death, I am willing to give all the silver to your Majesty."
Seeing that Wang Zhixin was still trying to show his loyalty, Julian Chongzhen interrupted with a smile: "I am not trying to scare you. I am speaking from the heart. How many people in the court today can actually do things?"
"I am not afraid of spending money. As long as it can do practical things for me, I can spend any amount of money."
Wang Zhixin knelt there in confusion, not knowing what to do.
Chongzhen was the emperor! In the face of his own corruption, he not only did not stop it, but also wanted to share the profits with him 90%.
Is this what the emperor did?
Chongzhen didn't care about Wang Zhixin's opinion.
An idea suddenly came to him just now, and this idea required a large amount of silver.
Wang Zhixin's strengths are money-making and extortion. The targets he chooses are either ministers in the court or nobles and royal family members. He will not waste the money.
Moreover, he gets a 9:1 profit share, so he doesn’t have to participate in the management. If anything goes wrong, he can take the blame. Why not?
"Go, I'm tired."
Wang Zhixin came to the outside of the Qianqing Palace as if in a dream. Looking at the starry sky, he slapped himself hard.
The intense pain made him realize that what just happened was not a dream!
He covered his swollen face, curled his lips and smiled.
He can finally rob money openly!
After sending Wang Zhixin away, Chongzhen went directly to Kunning Palace to eat, sleep, and play Doudou!
......
Early morning, Huangji Palace.
Chongzhen sat on the dragon throne expressionlessly and looked at his ministers.
The morning court of the Ming Dynasty consisted of four parts.
Part 1: Receiving people who come to or leave Beijing. The officials of the Honglu Temple were the first to report to the emperor the officials who came to Beijing to express their gratitude and leave Beijing to ask for favors. These people had all reported to the Honglu Temple the day before. If the emperor chose to summon them, then these people would need to enter the palace to meet him; if the emperor did not want to see them, then they would perform the five bows and three kowtows at a distance in the courtyard or outside the Meridian Gate and then leave on their own. If there were envoys from other countries, the emperor would definitely meet them.
Part Two: Dealing with urgent border issues.
Part 3: Dealing with general government affairs. According to convention, every official would cough before reporting on matters, which was called "cleaning up". This actually also meant greeting, so as to avoid confusion and embarrassment caused by two people leaving work at the same time.
Part 4: Dealing with officials who have violated etiquette. After the report was completed, the censors and officials from the Honglu Temple went out one after another to report the officials who had violated etiquette during the morning court session, and then punished them all.
Chongzhen directly skipped the first step and asked the Minister of War whether there was any urgent report from the border.
Li Banghua coughed lightly and left the shift: "Your Majesty, there are three urgent reports this morning."
"The bandit Liu Fangliang sent a cavalry of 2,000 men to the direction of Tianjin, apparently in pursuit of the prince."
"The second urgent report came from Juyong Pass. Li Zicheng's main vanguard has arrived at Juyong Pass. Dingxi Bo Tang Tong refused to fight."
"The third urgent message came from Liaodong. Wu Sangui, the general of Liaodong, and Wang Yongji, the governor of Ji and Liao, were ordered to come to the emperor's defense. Their troops are expected to arrive at Shanhaiguan (called Shanhaiwei in the Ming Dynasty, and henceforth Shanhaiguan) on the 16th."
Chongzhen looked at the ministers and asked, "Do you have anything to say?"
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