"Brother Xian, what else do you have to worry about?"
Shen Tingyang asked in a low voice when he saw Shi Kefa frowning.
Shi Kefa pondered: "What Brother Qing just said reminds me of Mr. Wen Ding's previous borrowing of troops from Portugal, so I'm a little worried!"
It turned out that after the Battle of Saarhu, the Jurchen threat became more and more serious, and Xu Guangqi wrote to Emperor Tianqi, suggesting using "Western guns" to deal with the Jurchens.
After he obtained the consent of Emperor Tianqi, he purchased twenty-six cannons and transported them to the capital. At the same time, he also recruited more than twenty Portuguese gunners to train the Ming soldiers.
But it didn't take long for this matter to arouse opposition from scholar-bureaucrats.
Despite Xu Guangqi's many explanations, it still ended in failure, and the gunners were soon sent back.
Later, some of the cannons left behind were transported to Ningyuan and played a major role in the Ningyuan victory, overwhelming opposition and allowing the Ming Dynasty to continue to introduce Western cannons.
With the help of Western artillery, the Ming soldiers already had the upper hand, but they never expected that the Wuqiao mutiny would happen again. 33
Soon afterwards, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming turned to the Jurchens with cannons and soldiers trained by Portuguese gunsmiths.
The Jurchens, with the help of Kong Youde and others, successfully completed their own military transformation.
Since then, Ming soldiers' advantage in firearms has disappeared.
In order to change the unfavorable situation, Xu Guangqi wrote to Chongzhen again, saying that the use of firearms was complicated and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty had not learned the essence. He suggested recruiting soldiers who were accustomed to fighting in Macao as the vanguard to help attack the Jurchens.
Chongzhen was eager to defeat the Jurchens, so he agreed to Xu Guangqi's request and granted Portugal many privileges.
After Portugal received the benefits, it immediately sent an army of more than 300 people northward, but stopped when it reached Nanchang.
Because the privileges obtained by Portugal infringed on the interests of officials and merchants in Guangdong and other places, they wrote letters to oppose it.
Claiming that Western firearms can be used, but Westerners cannot trust them, they are not of my race and their minds must be different. If this method is used, it will violate the ancestral system.
Chongzhen was originally a hesitant person, and the matter was taken to the level of violating the ancestral system by the scholar-bureaucrats, so he had to compromise and terminate the matter.
Later, Xu Guangqi died of illness, and no one mentioned the borrowing of troops again.
Shen Tingyang had also heard about this matter. Seeing Shi Kefa mention it now, he frowned and said: "Brother Xian, Brother Yongqing only said to buy new firearms and not to borrow troops. It should not arouse everyone's opposition." Bar? "
Shi Kefa shook his head and said: "Although Western firearms are developing rapidly, they are not much different from what we are equipped with now. Without the help of Western soldiers, even if there are new firearms, the southern soldiers will never be able to match the northern soldiers."
"Brother Yongqing should also know this, so he replaced borrowing troops with learning firearms tactics. I wonder if I understand it correctly?"
Yan Ermei smiled awkwardly and said, "Brother Xian Mingjian, if the Southern soldiers want to learn Western firearms tactics, it will take more than a year and a half to succeed."
"We are running out of time now. Recruiting Western soldiers is indeed the best choice. Otherwise, if we delay, we may do something else again!"
Shen Tingyang thought for a while and said: "There is a lot of overseas trade in the south nowadays. Is it feasible to recruit Western soldiers in the name of wealthy families, who are scattered among different families in peacetime and gathered into troops in wartime?"
Shi Kefa pondered and said: "Although this method is feasible, it is just that it is suspected of deceiving the emperor. Secondly, the wealthy family must be reliable, and it is not easy to implement!"
He said and looked at Yan Ermei again.
Yan Ermei was silent for a while and said: "Brother Xian, in my humble opinion, it is imperative for our soldiers of the Ming Dynasty to learn Western firearms tactics. If you have concerns, you might as well start two things and move forward together."
"On the one hand, let the reliable wealthy households recruit Western soldiers to prepare for emergencies, and on the other hand, cultivate brave men to compete with the warriors!"
"When the time is right, I will ask Your Majesty to recruit Western soldiers. Once you agree, we will be even more powerful. Don't talk about those warriors. Even Jurchens will not dare to underestimate our southern soldiers."
Seeing the hesitation on Shi Kefa's face, Shen Tingyang encouraged him: "Brother Xian, don't hesitate, leave this matter to me. I have life-long friendships with some wealthy businessmen, and there will never be any mistakes! "
"As for cultivating brave men, I can only rely on you. After all, you are the Minister of War. Marching, fighting, and appointing generals are your strengths!"
Seeing that Shen Tingyang had reached this point, Shi Kefa knew that it would be hypocritical not to agree, so he immediately agreed.
Then he said in a deep voice: "When it comes to talent training, although our generation is not talented, it can be said to be just right, but the next generation will..."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but look sad again.
When Shen Tingyang saw this, he smiled and said: "Brother Xian, you are so worried. If there is no genius in this world, as long as we search hard, we will be able to..."
"By the way, Brother Xian, do you still remember Xia Wanchun, Xia Yunyi's son?"
When Shi Kefa saw him suddenly mentioning Xia Wanchun, he asked with some confusion: "Could it be that he caused some trouble in the capital?"
Shen Tingyang shook his head and said, "He didn't cause any trouble, but he was very proud. I received a letter from Maozhong yesterday."
"The boy was recommended by the prince and boasted in front of his majesty. His majesty was so happy that he sent a hundred soldiers to escort him back to the south of the Yangtze River to recruit virtuous people."
"And in order to make things easier for him, he also gave Shang Fang a sword, saying that he had the right to kill officials below the fifth rank first and report later. The boy was so happy that he galloped all the way to Hangzhou to report the good news to Maozhong."
"Maozhong was afraid of his child's character and would cause trouble in a moment of recklessness, so he kept him by his side."
"I never thought that this kid was so smart that he stole Maozhong's private seal and wrote letters to some literati in Fushe and Jishe under his name, asking them to go north to work. Maozhong was still kept in the dark."
"Later, Taichong from Yuyao received the letter and went to inquire about it. Only then did Maozhong find out about it. Now he is taking the child around to explain. You said there is such a rising star, so what do you have to worry about!"
Hearing this, Shi Kefa couldn't help but smile and said: "This child is getting bolder and bolder. It's good to do this. It's just a good idea to give Maozhong a try. Who told him to dote on him all the time..."
As he spoke, he stopped again, frowned and looked at Yan Ermei and said, "That's not right. If Maozhong wants to explain, he can just write a letter. Why did he take Xia Wanchun to visit him?"
Yan Ermei had already felt that something was wrong when Shen Tingyang told the story. When she saw Shi Kefa's eyes, she hesitated for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Maozhong must have been persuaded by this child. If this happens, the Jiangnan literati may be divided again." ”
Shi Kefa shook his head and said: "I'm afraid it's not just as simple as splitting. You must know that His Majesty is far-sighted and never does useless things. This time he also gave Shang Fang the Sword. I'm afraid he wants to use Xia Wanchun's hands to rectify the south..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the sound of hurried footsteps, and then he saw his adopted son Shi Dewei running in with a panic look on his face.
Some people died, but not completely...
