In fact, Zhu Youxiao had already guessed that those people in Shandong would not let go of such a good opportunity to make money.
It's just that he didn't expect that he was already on guard and implemented everything in place, but he still couldn't effectively stop it. It seemed that he still underestimated the power of the Kong family.
Although the Kong family has a big business, people are always dissatisfied. No one will covet money unless they are really of high moral character.
But throughout history, except for Confucius, the first generation of saints, other members of the Confucius family obviously did not possess such noble character and noble virtues.
At this time, the White Lotus Sect, which had caused chaos in the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years, reappeared. Several prefectures and counties in Shandong had the banner of the White Lotus Sect.
The local government ignored all this, as if it had nothing to do with them. If they had not sent the chief minister and the censor to the disaster area to maintain the local situation, chaos would have broken out.
The White Lotus Sect, which has always been ambitious, will not let go of this great opportunity to deceive the people and recruit troops.
Since the Song Dynasty, whenever there was a so-called civil rebellion or mutiny in Shandong, there must be traces of the White Lotus Sect behind it.
Even if they were not the main planners and implementers, they certainly contributed to the situation and contributed a lot behind the scenes.
The White Lotus Sect is like a little tough guy who can't be killed. You think he has long since ceased to exist, but he will jump out from time to time to cause trouble for you.
As soon as he ascended the throne, the purpose of sending Cui Yingyuan to Shandong was to find out all the details of the White Lotus Sect. If he didn't take action, he would uproot them from the roots and never bring harm to the people again.
He also clearly knew that Shandong was no better than other places, so the implemented plans were also different. He also specially established the position of Minister of General Provision and Disaster Relief and a completely new system.
But he never expected that he still couldn't suppress them.
Zhu Youxiao asked in depth again, wanting to get more information.
But what Zhang Weixian knew was limited, and he had obtained these information from various sources, so he had to put it aside for now and wait for the Queen to investigate slowly.
As for the changes in the situation outside the customs, Zhang Weixian only briefly talked about it in an understatement, which was roughly the same as what was said in the memorial.
Zhu Youxiao thought that his was still second-hand information, so he did not continue to ask.
In fact, Zhang Weixian had been paying attention to it, but he saw that the old slave had not set foot in Liaodong, so he didn't take it too seriously. In his opinion, no matter who died, it would be beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.
If Zhu Youxiao knew the inside story, I'm afraid he would only lament that the limitations of the times are too fatal.
Then he asked about the training situation of the Yulin Army, and Zhang Weixian immediately gave a brief report on the current situation.
Since he left Beijing, the army has been in the hands of his Zhang family, and Zhang Weixian knows more than the emperor.
The current Yulin Army has a full strength of 120,000 people. Although half of them are newly recruited, they already have considerable combat effectiveness.
Especially for the Shenji Battalion, which Zhu Youxiao attaches great importance to, the replacement of equipment is in full swing. The first mass-produced Shenwu Gun has been officially handed over to the army for installation ten days ago.
After the successful development of Shenwu's own fire gun, Bi Maokang immediately prioritized the mass production of this fire gun.
After personally training a group of craftsmen, I did not rush to produce products. Instead, I asked these craftsmen to teach other craftsmen who did not understand.
Since the craftsmanship is more difficult than that of matchlocks and muskets, he doesn't dare to be sloppy at all. From time to time, he will conduct random inspections to see if the craftsmen below are qualified.
It took more than half a month for these thousands of fire gun craftsmen to finally understand the principles and techniques of production.
After the craftsman training was completed, Bi Maokang immediately put mass production on the agenda. To this end, he completely renovated one of the largest factories and used it as a special manufacturing place for Shenwu's self-generated fire guns.
He knew that the emperor was very satisfied with the self-generated fire gun he developed. When he inspected the arsenal and inspected the divine fire gun that day, he would never forget the emperor's smile in his life.
Because of the strict requirements and high standards set by Bi Maokang, after the craftsmen worked day and night, in more than three months, more than 3,000 Shenwu fire guns were produced.
Zhu Youxiao thought for a moment and then responded:
"With more than three thousand divine weapons, it seems that Bi Maokang really tried his best."
A qualified flintlock gun would take almost two months to build by three skilled craftsmen.
Compared with the flintlock gun, the Shenwu Fire Gun is stronger in terms of power, range, and loading.
Therefore, the production process is a bit more cumbersome. Two craftsmen can build one in three months, which is already very fast.
In addition to the upgrading of weapons, the reform of the Habayashi Army's new standard wearing items is also coming to an end.
Zhu Youxiao thought that the sergeants of the Shenji Battalion had long-range strike firepower, and there was no need to charge into battle and fight the enemy in close combat.
Besides, a group of people who use firearms have not undergone assiduous training and are proficient in using cold weapons like other sergeants. How can they be the enemy's opponents?
Therefore, all the sergeants of the Shenji Battalion now do not wear the kind of armor that covers the whole body, but instead specially build a breastplate.
This kind of breastplate is not very practical. It can be said that it is worn for the purpose of wearing, and its representative significance is greater.
After all, this is not the army of later generations. Although the development of firearms in the Ming Dynasty was very good and widely used, in the final analysis, it was still the mainstream era of cold weapons.
Therefore, this specially made breastplate is not only his compromise with the times, but also a limitation on the development of the army in the old era.
Ten or twenty years later, the Ming Dynasty's army will inevitably be dominated by firearms. Faced with powerful artillery and firecrackers, armor will only appear cumbersome and become a burden.
Although the training of the musketeers is not very fast, it is going very smoothly. The first batch of 5,000 cavalry trained has basically reached the standards customized by Zhu Youxiao.
Due to the insufficient number of Shenwu fire guns and the priority given to equipping the Shenji battalion, the cavalry's daily training firearms are all matchlocks.
Zhu Youxiao's idea is to practice firing first, and only when the horse can do it calmly and with high accuracy, will they be issued Shenwu flintlock guns to practice how to quickly load gunpowder and fire on the horse.
Because it is a front-loaded gunpowder gun, the accuracy of the gun itself is impressive. Therefore, it is still very difficult to hit a hit while riding on a horse during sports.
Therefore, the sergeant needs to practice repeatedly and become extremely proficient with the firearm in his hand. He may be able to improve in an alternative way based on experience and feel.
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