Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Key Questions
Yonglian really underestimated the difficulty of using firearms in this era.
The most common firearm at that time was the bird gun, which was more than one meter long and very troublesome to load.
At first, the four young boys were not as accurate with their muskets as they were with bows and arrows. Yunlu was worried that their shots might go too far and injure the palace maids passing by. So every time he taught them a lesson, he would remind the palace maids to stay away so as not to be accidentally injured.
Every time Yonglian used a fowling rifle, he would sweat profusely because he was nervous and afraid that he would miss the target. After all, the range of a fowling rifle was dozens of meters longer than that of a bow and arrow. If the target missed and hit a nearby tree, it could easily cause a safety hazard.
But he couldn't take advantage of the situation this time. If he couldn't even use a musket, it would be very unconvincing to advocate that the court attach importance to firearms in the future.
When Qianlong heard that Yonglian was very diligent in learning how to use firearms and even asked Yunlu about the situation of the firearms camp, he felt a little relieved.
As long as my son is interested in military affairs, it doesn’t matter what weapons he uses.
While the four children in the Shangshufang were learning how to use muskets, the court was also discussing the issue of firearms.
The merchant ship to Libya finally set off. The merchant ship was equipped with the most advanced firearms in the Qing Dynasty. Not only were there cannons such as "General Shenwei" and "General Weiyuan" that had made great contributions during the Kangxi Dynasty, but also a new type of repeating musket that Prince Guo had improved based on some hunting rifles from the Wubeiyuan.
The officials all praised Prince Guo for his ability. Although he was weak, he was able to design the repeating musket.
But Prince Guo seemed dissatisfied with the result. Before the merchant ship arrived in Guangzhou, he submitted a memorial stating that the weapons on the merchant ship had a flaw, that is, the power of the gunpowder was unstable, and because of long-term sailing on the sea, the gunpowder would become damp and its power would gradually decrease.
What needs to be improved now is not only firearms, but also gunpowder.
However, Yunli had no idea how to improve it specifically, so he could only leave it to the Zhuoling Factory, which was responsible for gunpowder.
When Yonglian heard this story from Emperor Qianlong, he was extremely impressed by his seventeenth uncle, who really grasped the key issue.
Unfortunately, he couldn't help much. He only knew that it should be purified, but he had no idea how to do it specifically.
Yonglian can only place his hopes on the people at Zhuoling Factory. There has never been a shortage of talent in China. As long as the right direction is found, there will be progress sooner or later.
Qianlong also felt that what Yunli said made some sense, so he issued an edict urging the people from Zhuoling Factory and Wubeiyuan to communicate more and adjust the gunpowder ratio.
In addition, Prince Guo also said that it would not be enough to just improve firearms. It would be a waste if the soldiers did not know how to use them skillfully.
The court cannot have only soldiers in the firearms battalion who know how to use firearms. Cavalry and infantry should also be trained. Although the firearm may seem simple, on the battlefield, if you are slow in loading ammunition, you may lose your life.
Qianlong then planned to start with the elite Eight Banners in the capital, give them half a year of training, and hold a military parade near Lugou Bridge in March of the following year.
Emperor Kangxi held a military parade at Lugou Bridge to test out new firearms and intimidate Mongolian princes and nobles who came to celebrate his birthday.
Qianlong couldn't wait until his own birthday, he wanted to see the results within half a year.
Since this matter was proposed by Prince Guo, Qianlong let Prince Guo Yunli continue to be responsible for supervision.
"The emperor is really something. He knows that you are in poor health, but he still assigns you tasks one after another." When Yunlu went out, he happened to meet his seventeenth brother who was about to go to the camp outside the capital. He couldn't help but complain in a low voice.
Yun Li smiled and said, "It's okay. I have work to do. I feel more energetic and it's better than lying at home."
"Don't force yourself. If you can't do it, find a nephew to help you." Yunlu said.
"Nephew? Sixteenth brother, do you want me to take care of Hongpu?" Yunli didn't beat around the bush with Sixteenth brother and asked directly.
Hongpu is Yunlu's second son and is in his twenties this year.
Yunlu shook his head. "Hongpu isn't interested in these things. It's too cold. I'll talk to you in the carriage."
Yunlu said as he got into Yunli's carriage, "I went to Zhengjiazhuang to drink yesterday."
Yun Li frowned when he heard this, "Sixteenth Brother is so busy, how can you still have time to accept that person's invitation?"
"Oh, I've heard that his opera troupe is good, and I just had time to go and see it yesterday." Yunlu said.
Yunli had reminded Yunlu before.
The emperor is now wary of the one from Zhengjiazhuang, and may have already planted spies there. As long as Sixteenth Brother appears in Zhengjiazhuang, the emperor will know about it soon.
"Sixteenth brother, you really are... Do you want to form a drama troupe? Why do you have to join in the fun?" Yunli was sometimes really impressed by Sixteenth brother.
Yunlu smiled nonchalantly, "Once or twice is nothing. I was just curious. Hongtao is gone, who else can he invite? It turned out to be those two silly guys Hongsheng and Hongchang."
"These two kids are so confused." Yunli shook his head and sighed.
Hongsheng is the eldest son of the old Prince Heng, and Hongchang is the eldest son of the old Prince Yi. These two have one thing in common: they are both eldest sons but did not inherit the title. They are inevitably resentful.
"Fifth brother was always good to us younger brothers, not to mention Thirteenth brother. We can't just watch their sons go astray." Yunlu was rarely serious. It would be fine if the emperor didn't know about the Zhengjiazhuang incident, but now the emperor was watching them, and he couldn't just watch Hongchang and the others go into the fire pit.
As for Hongxi, Yunlu had tried to persuade him indirectly yesterday, but the boy was playing dumb with him. There was nothing he could do.
However, as long as Hongchang and the others are not around, he can't do anything alone and can't make any waves.
Yun Li thought for a moment, "Sixteenth Brother, do you want me to take them with me to prevent them from causing trouble?"
Yunlu nodded.
"If it was some other errand, it would be fine, but what I'm doing now is related to firearms, and we can't let them interfere. The emperor won't agree to let them interfere either." Yun Li said.
Yunlu thought so too. The emperor must know that these two were close to Hongxi and would never let them get involved in firearms or military affairs. Wouldn't that make it easier for Hongxi to rebel?
"Then you should think about it later and decide where to place them," Yunlu said, glancing at his pocket watch. "Oh, I have to leave quickly. Those guys in the Shangshufang are waiting. If I'm late, the emperor will scold me."
After he said that, he jumped off the carriage, mounted his own horse and rode away.
Yunli: “…”
Yunli shook his head helplessly. His sixteenth brother had given him a difficult problem early in the morning.
After returning from Tai Mausoleum, Qianlong ordered people to select a site in Zhili and start building a transparent glass factory.
The fact that Hongzhou was in charge of this matter was enough to prove Qianlong's trust and preference for Hongzhou.
Everyone knows how much profit a glass factory can make.
Yunli then went to find Hongzhou and asked him to arrange some tasks for Hongchang and Hongsheng.
Hong Zhou is very close to his uncle's family, so he is naturally willing to help Hong Chang. As for Hong Sheng, he still has to ask his brother the emperor's opinion.
When Qianlong heard this, he knew that his Seventeenth Uncle was worried about his nephews again. It was because his Seventeenth Uncle worried too much that his health was always poor.
However, Uncle Seventeen had worked hard this year, so he should give Uncle Seventeen some face, so he agreed.
In November, the Qing Dynasty officially opened its first glass factory. It was not large in scale and employed only bannermen.
It’s not that the technology of transparent glass cannot be known to the Han people. After all, those guys who came from Guangdong were Han people. Qianlong just wanted to recruit workers through the glass factory to appropriately alleviate the survival pressure of some people in the Qi people.
Because the Bannermen could not do business openly and the imperial court was not at war at the moment, many Bannermen families with more than a dozen people had to rely on the little money given by the imperial court to survive. They were so poor that they had no choice but to sell their houses and land.
It is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. The best way is to find him something to do.
Only factories in the Zhili area could recruit a large number of bannermen to work, while other places had to use civilians.
The tricycle factories in Jiangnan employ only civilians.
As Yonglian and his team had predicted, tricycles became very popular in Jiangnan, with textile workshops vying for them. Soon, demand outstripped supply, forcing tricycle factories to continue hiring workers.
But tricycles are not consumables, and only a few people need them, so sales will definitely decline gradually.
Upon hearing that a glass factory had been opened in Zhili, the official in charge of the tricycle factory asked Emperor Qianlong for the method of firing transparent glass.
Qianlong thought this was just right, as it saved the trouble of choosing a new location for the factory, so he expanded the factory on the original site of the tricycle factory.
He also gave the factory a name - Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau.
The first batch of glass windows produced by the glass factory in Zhili was not sold, but given to the Grand Council and various ministries and government offices.
The emperor was so considerate of his subjects that there was naturally praise in the court.
Now the officials all experienced the bright and spacious houses with glass windows. When the second batch of glass windows were produced, they rushed to buy them. Even though the price of transparent glass was very high, it did not stop the officials from buying glass windows to show off their wealth in their homes.
Qianlong looked at the list of officials who purchased glass windows, and once again sighed that there were so many rich people in the court!
But Zhang Tingyu and Ortai were not included.
Logically speaking, these two people are of high rank and have plenty of money. Could it be that they are deliberately not buying it to show their integrity?
Qianlong asked someone to check and found out that Zhang Tingyu and Ortai's family did not need to buy the things themselves, as the officials below had already bought them and given them.
Qianlong was not very happy about this, or rather, he was waiting to find something to hold against the two men.
The next morning at court, he inadvertently pointed out that he had originally wanted to reward Mr. Zhang and Mr. E with two glass windows, but unexpectedly, the two of them had already installed them in their homes and realized the wonders of glass windows.
How perceptive were they? They immediately sensed danger from the emperor's half-smile.
It just so happened that Ortai had been in poor health recently, so he wanted to take a sick leave to avoid the limelight.
Qianlong did not agree, but only asked him to hand over the affairs of the Ministry of War to Li Wei, and the rest of the government affairs had to be handled as usual.
Li Wei and Ortai were not on good terms, so the intention of handing over the yamen previously controlled by Ortai to Li Wei was obvious.
In addition, Hai Wang's mother passed away and he was at home in mourning, so the Ministry of Justice, which he was originally in charge of, was temporarily handed over to Lai Bao.
Hai Wang and E'ertai had a good relationship, which meant that the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice that E'ertai could control were taken over by others. His power was suddenly reduced a lot.
As for Zhang Tingyu, he was too smart. When Qianlong warned Ortai, he knew what he meant and must have been treading on thin ice.
Yonghuang and Yonglian were unaware that the wind direction in the court had quietly changed. They only knew that Khan Ama was in a good mood recently.
Yonglian thought that it was because the transparent glass was selling well and Khan Ama was rich, so he was happy.
However, only a limited number of people in Beijing could afford glass windows. If this continued, sales would soon decline. Khan Ama could no longer laugh.
On this day, when he went to Shoukang Palace to pay his respects, he happened to meet his fifth uncle. Yonglian suggested, "This transparent glass can not only be used to make windows, but also glasses. Glass windows are too expensive for ordinary people to afford for a while, but two small glasses can be used by families with a better financial situation."
Because the late emperor liked glasses, the empress dowager, Hong Zhou and others were all very familiar with glasses.
However, the cost of glasses before was too high. Not only ordinary people, but even some officials could not afford them. If the lenses were changed to glass, the cost would be reduced, and they could make a lot of money just by selling them to these elderly officials in the court.
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