After obtaining the maximum range data of the new artillery, a certain prince ordered to continue testing, which meant testing the accuracy of the new artillery.
Although these two cannons are just samples, if the accuracy is too poor and one shot misses half a mile, it is really unjustifiable. Not to mention that the prince will not agree to mass production, even if they are installed in various units, the generals will curse.
"No target shooting today!"
A certain prince saw a red target about one foot square erected in the distance and immediately rejected this idea.
The Imperial Cannon was so expensive, the cost of one bronze cannon was at least equal to the cost of three or four iron cannons.
If it were used to hit ordinary targets, wouldn't it be unable to demonstrate the extraordinary status of this gun?
so……
The value of the target must also be appropriately increased!
"Wu Mengming, Wu Aiqing, take those stubborn Shanxi merchants and use them as targets!"
Just when everyone was confused, a certain prince asked Wu Mengming, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, to bring all the prisoners over.
"I obey!"
Following the prince's order, Wu Mengming had been waiting here for a long time. He initially thought he was going to deal with these unforgivable criminals in the suburbs, but he didn't expect the prince's method to be so extraordinary.
"If he is not hit by one shot, he will be sent to the mountain to mine. If he is killed by one shot, he will be replaced by another one. If he is wounded by one shot, he will be left in the wild to feed the wolves."
Everyone has their own destiny, so don't force it. A certain prince is also very humane. If you have bad luck, then I will spare your life and you can go to Shandong to work as a miner for the rest of your life.
Jin Yiwei searched for about 574,000 taels of Shanxi merchants' property in Datong and surrounding areas, and Fang Zhenghua confiscated 1,380,000 taels of silver in Zhangjiakou Fort.
In addition, Jin Yiwei seized 1,248,000 taels from Shanxi merchants in Taiyuan Prefecture, and copied 1,051,100 taels from other prefectures and counties.
Approximately 500,000 taels worth of silver were also seized in the capital and other areas, totaling more than 4.75 million taels. Non-cash silver valuables including jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and land deeds have all been packaged. The boxes are sent to Taicang, the household department.
The money stored by Shanxi merchants outside the customs was beyond the reach of Jin Yiwei, but this amount already satisfied a certain prince, and he used his own money to reward the thugs who were very effective in their work.
The materials seized included 300,000 shi of grain, more than 7,000 boxes of tea, 500,000 jins of salt, 200,000 jins of iron, 2,000 bolts of silk and satin, 50,000 bolts of coarse cloth, more than 3,000 pieces of porcelain, and 60,000 pieces of leather goods, equivalent to It was worth another two million taels of silver.
This does not include the stationery, farm tools, furniture, spices and other daily necessities hoarded by Shanxi merchants. There are also nearly 8,000 large livestock such as cattle, horses, and mules, and no less than 50,000 acres of fertile land. It can be said that the country is extremely wealthy. .
Most of the silver that Braid robbed from the pass fell into the pockets of Shanxi merchants. Although part of it was to be paid to some merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, as long as it was seized by Jin Yiwei, it would undoubtedly be dirty money.
This time, the expedition against Wang Pu, the Northern Expedition to Datong, and the cleansing of Shanxi and Shanxi merchants were considered a complete success. The harvest was rich, the court saved its face, the household department was replenished in Taicang, the morale of the troops was improved, and the soldiers were rewarded with silver. Almost everyone All aspects benefited from this.
Therefore, neither the Metropolitan Procuratorate nor the Ministry of Punishment had much objection to a certain prince's proposal for special treatment of Shanxi merchants. Moreover, a certain prince only used a small part as targets for severe punishment, and most of the rest would have an appropriate home, so it was not considered an excessive violation.
According to the "Laws of the Ming Dynasty", the first offender will be decapitated and the whole family will be executed. These merchants who collaborate with the enemy and betray the country will be executed anyway. Why not just give the prince a favor? There should be good discussions between monarchs and ministers. Well.
People like the famous Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Liang Jiabin, Wang Dayu, Zhai Ying, Tian Shenglan, and Huang Yunlong. Without their help, Braid's military strength would not have grown so rapidly.
Moreover, Braid's successive victories on the battlefield are inseparable from Shanxi merchants. Firstly, Shanxi merchants directly transported grain to Braid. Secondly, Shanxi merchants could provide them with a large amount of gunpowder. Thirdly, Shanxi merchants also placed spies in various places to collect Ming troops. relevant information.
Almost in the three places of Shanqian, Shandong and Beizhili, wherever Braid's army went, there were servants under Shanxi merchants to take care of all aspects of their master's affairs, so that Braid could plunder everywhere without worries.
It can be said that these people are just adding fuel to the flames by eating and drinking, making money by sitting on the corpses of the people of the Ming Dynasty, without paying taxes and fees. It is really abominable. Let them be happy for one day, which is an insult to the entire court and even the people of the world.
Of course, it was not just these eight Shanxi merchants who were caught in the capital this time. Together with the second- and third-level small businessmen in the lower reaches, there were more than fifty suppliers in total, involving more than 20,000 criminals.
Everyone used the imperial cannon to shoot them. The new artillery had to be blown up, so we could only take this opportunity to "snap" a small part of them to show the majesty of God!
Those who were "spatted" this time were the principal criminal and his male immediate family members. Male dependents under the age of fifteen were exempted from being raped and sent directly to Shandong to mine. They would be slaves of the mine forever. They were released without authorization. The two will be punished with the same crime!
"A few days ago, I heard that someone was trying to intercede for these people? It seems that the previous actions to clean up the moths were not thorough!"
Lu Yi has already reported to a certain prince exactly what Wang Dengku said that day in Datong City. This means that there may be fish that have slipped through the net in the capital, and a second "fishing" is necessary.
The actual situation is also the same. After these Shanxi merchants were escorted to the capital, some people were indeed driven by money and couldn't help but jump out and run around for them, hoping to get the financial owner out as soon as possible.
The result is obvious. Under the high pressure of a certain prince, not only did they fail to fulfill the important trust of the benefactor's family, but they also took their own family in to accompany them.
There were nearly twenty scoundrels in Jinyiwei's prison who had thrown themselves into the trap. This was the reason why a certain prince did not take action after Shanxi merchants were taken there, just waiting for them to take the bait.
"I am guilty!"
Before the prince could get angry, Fang Zhenghua took the initiative to kneel down and plead guilty. As the governor of Dongchang, he had left out so many people. It was indeed a serious dereliction of duty. Even if the prince didn't say it, those people arrested were just trying to beat the factory boss. face.
"Okay, now that Zhenghua is doing the work, I can rest assured. Get up. The real guilty person is right across the street!"
There are not many fools who can do things for themselves and have the ability to do things. Founder is one of them. There is no need to dwell on this at this time. Today's good show is not to hold Founder responsible.
A certain prince couldn't compare to the dumper. He couldn't cut off his hands and feet, turned into a reptile, and then begged for charity and mercy from the civil and military officials of the court.
No matter what the world is, the most difficult thing to do is to ask for help. Instead of asking for help from others, it is better to ask for help from yourself. Why ask for help from others when you can do it yourself?
What’s even more ridiculous is that the scapegoat abandoned the emperor’s face and wanted the ministers to donate money, but everyone made a trick again. The emperor’s face was trampled on by everyone. This time...
Being treated like a monkey by a group of people, especially by his own father-in-law, the emperor did this, and many people in later generations became fans of Emperor Chongzhen. This is also as weird as the real owner~!
"Report~! The cannon has been filled. Please give your permission to launch it!"
"Which family of prisoners are in front of you?"
"Your Highness, the family of Fan Yongdou is in front of us!"
"Very good! Let's fire then! Don't be in a hurry, fire slowly, every two minutes!"
"I humbly obey my orders!"
The rate of fire doesn't need to be too fast. A certain prince doesn't want to lose an imperial cannon just because he wants to slap a bunch of scumbag Shanxi merchants.
In the eyes of a certain prince, the value of this group of Shanxi merchants was no more than an imperial cannon. The most they could do was chop them into pieces and feed them to dogs.
To hit a live target, you don't need to be too far away, otherwise it will be difficult to hit. Two hundred steps is enough.
And you can’t place just one person, as that would be too small a target.
Isn't it nice to have a family every time, just like playing bowling?
You cannot use solid bullets, you must use shotgun shells, that is, grapeshot.
It's so cool to spray it with the royal cannon like this!
"Boom~!"
With a loud noise, nine series-loaded projectiles flew towards the target like electricity.
In the blink of an eye, about thirty male members of the Fan Yongdou family were blown to pieces.
Blood flowed everywhere near the target, and there were broken limbs and arms everywhere, and the prisoners who survived screamed in agony.
After a few seconds, the parts that were blasted into the sky fell down like rain, with rags still floating in the air.
The ministers who saw such a scene were all shocked, and the chief assistant, who had never been on the battlefield, was even more frightened and felt his heart pounding.
Although the place of observation was no less than 300 steps away from the target, it was from a high position and I was not short-sighted, so I could see very clearly.
At such a young age, the prince was so fond of evil and fighting, and everyone was worried about his future career, fearing that he might also suffer from this cruelty.
However, the First Assistant has no such worries for the time being. He is about to become the head of the state, and the prince will be lenient to him for the sake of his little daughter.
As long as he is careful from now on and does not step too far, he will have peace of mind. The time limit for his position as chief assistant will definitely exceed that of Wen Tiren.
Xue Guoguan is now concerned about whether his time as chief assistant will last longer than Wen Tiren. As for other things, he doesn't care at all.
As his son-in-law, the prince naturally gets whatever he says. He only needs to remember the four-character motto, and the rest of the matter will be handled by Cifu and Qibu.
"Huh? It doesn't seem very accurate! Shoot one more shot, and then change the prisoner!"
Yao Ji saw the "grand occasion" of the bullet impact point through the telescope. The scene was somewhat Hollywood-inspired, but this is not a war movie after all. Today is the day to severely punish these traitorous businessmen, so there is no need to be merciful.
Then he looked around at the expressions of everyone. Some were frightened, some were hesitant, some were confused, and some were dull. It was true that there were all kinds of people, and their thoughts were all revealed in the thunder.
After many subsequent bombardments, a certain prince could roughly grasp the psychological activities of everyone. This was a small psychological test for everyone. There was no need to tell him whether the results were satisfactory or not.
Another shot?
That's right!
A certain prince just went back on his word, what do you do to me?
If you really have to give a reason, it would be test firing!
This shot does not count, the next shot is officially fired!
Great~!
This is a good reason!
A certain prince thought his explanation was reasonable!
The ministers did not dare to have objections. The prince was in high spirits. Who dared to get into trouble?
The chief assistant was timid and did not dare to look at the scene.
Tsusuke-sama was bold, but did not express any objection.
The generals all felt that the prince's behavior was very pleasing to the newcomer, and they all clapped their hands and praised him.
The civil servants wanted to keep things quiet and rashly jumped out to oppose the prince. They would either be dismissed from their official positions or have their homes confiscated.
There is another possibility, that is, after a while, I will be dragged to this place, and then...
"You don't need to sympathize with the Donglu. You only need to remember that these Shanxi merchants funded the Donglu and entered the customs to rob the people of the Ming Dynasty. If your family members were also killed by the Donglu, I'm afraid you would like to shoot the cannon with your own hands at this time. , to avenge the blood sea, right?"
I have enough fun and have not left these indifferent Shanxi merchants to the common people who have been slapped with pigtails. Otherwise, those people, in anger, would skin these Shanxi merchants, convulse them, drink blood, and eat meat. maybe.
This is by no means an alarmist statement. If your whole family is killed by pigtails, you will be the only one who survives, and you still won’t be able to defeat pigtails. Finally, you have the opportunity to deal with these Shanxi merchants who provide supplies to Braid. What will you do? Do you kowtow and kneel down to thank Shanxi merchants?
"What His Highness said is absolutely true. These criminals deserve to be thrown into hell and never recover!"
Xue Guoguan is timid and timid. He must take a stand at critical moments and stand by his prospective son-in-law from beginning to end.
Besides, what the prince said is absolutely correct. If his family members were killed by Donglu's sword, how could the Shanxi merchants be allowed to live?
All the officials were relieved when a certain prince said this. Many distant relatives also died because of this, so they were naturally filled with resentment.
If your hometown is in the south, you don't have this concern, but if your hometown is in the north, especially officials in Shanqian, Shandong, and Beizhili, they will more or less get news from their families.
Especially during the catastrophe in winter, wherever the Donglu army passed by, almost no chickens or dogs were left, let alone humans and animals. Those who could survive had to bear the pain of family destruction and death.
Therefore, with the sharp increase in the income of the household department, the number of warring factions in the court has also increased day by day. Many officials who have suffered misfortunes at home are thinking of taking revenge as soon as possible.
"Well, what the chief assistant said is true. I will ask the master to perform a salvation, so that the souls of such sinful people will finally be gone, and the two realms of Yin and Yang will no longer exist!"
Go to hell?
That's too cheap for you!
No matter whether it is body or soul, I must completely eliminate you!
A certain prince's decision shocked all the officials. It was really terrible. They didn't expect the prince's methods to be so drastic.
Even the souls of these prisoners will not be left behind. It is really extraordinary people doing extraordinary things, and we have to be even more worried.
"Does anyone think that this move of mine harms Tianhe?"
Except for Xue Guoguan, all the ministers were hesitant to speak. They seemed to have a lot to say, so Yaoji gave everyone a bait to see who could be caught.
"..."
This sentence blocked everyone's speech. Now to say that the prince is unkind, doesn't it mean that the people who died tragically under Donglu's sword deserve to die?
The officials who are still alive today are not fools or fools. There are many colleagues whose family members have also suffered from this misfortune. Once these words are spoken, they will definitely be hated to death by their colleagues.
Who knows when he will be involved in a book, and no one will be able to absolve himself of his guilt. If he offends so many people, the consequences can be imagined.
So after hearing the prince's question, the group of civil servants completely stopped and gave up any idea of retaliation. No one, including the censor, dared to jump out and make a fuss.
