Chapter 49: Buying is worse than making
Fukang'an and Guo Shixun must have been loyal ministers of the Qing Dynasty.
The kind that is unspeakably loyal.
After all, one of the two was the deputy commander of the Manchu Banner, and the other was a bannerman of the Han Banner.
They are all considered "vested interests" of the Qing Dynasty.
When Fukang'an heard that the Ming army actually defeated an 80,000-strong army with 3,000 troops in two days.
The effort of nourishing Qi has been broken.
The originally tense expression suddenly changed.
Now his eyelids are twitching.
Guangdong, as the southern treasury of the emperor, had a large number of troops stationed there, and it was the focus of the Qing Dynasty's garrison.
Fukang'an serves as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
Control all green camp troops in Guangdong and Guangxi areas.
However, the green camp soldiers are relatively scattered.
Among them, in Guangdong, there are 2,000 people from the Guangdong Governor Biao Battalion stationed in Guangzhou, 5,000 people from the Guangdong Admiral Biao Battalion stationed in Zhaoqing, 6,000 people from the Guangdong Navy General Biao Battalion, 2,000 people from Shaozhou, Huizhou, Gaozhou, and Nanxiong cities, and 2,000 people from each city in Nanxiong. There are 1,600 garrison troops at Xiongmei Pass, and the troops in the counties below are no more than 500 and as few as 200.
The total number is about fifty thousand.
In Guangxi, there is a green camp with a total number of about 30,000 people.
The total number of Green Camp soldiers in Guangdong and Guangxi is more than 80,000.
Deduct the necessary garrison forces stationed in various places.
The number of people who can be mobilized will not exceed 50,000.
besides.
The Eight Banners soldiers in Guangzhou, under the control of General Guangzhou, numbered 5,000.
However, Fukang'an is not new to fighting. He has led troops to participate in the Battle of Jinchuan and Jinchuan, the suppression of the Salar uprising in Gansu, and the suppression of the Lin Shuangwen uprising in Taiwan.
In the Qianlong Dynasty, he was considered to have outstanding military exploits.
He can also be regarded as a manchu who knows the military.
He knows very well....
The current Eight Banners uncle is no longer the ruthless man who emerged from the mountains and forests back then.
They are a group of pampered men in the city.
I can’t fight for a long time.
Now it's just a bluff.
The Five Thousand Eight Banners in Guangzhou cannot be expected to go to the battlefield. They can only serve as a supervising team to urge the Green Battalion to fight - and they will show their cowardice when they actually go to the battlefield.
So if you are facing an elite who can defeat 80,000 with only 3,000.
If the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in the Ming army were such elites.
The troops in Guangdong are really not enough.
"My lords, the greatest advantage of the Ming Army is its guns and cannons! We can buy these guns!"
Vicente suggested.
"purchase?"
Fukangan and Guo Shixun looked at each other.
"Yes! Buy!" Vicente said, "The leader of the Ni Ming thieves is greedy for money and actually opened the arms trade to the countries in Nanyang. Although we may not be able to buy muskets and artillery directly from Ni Ming Dao Huahang, we can buy them through Nanyang Countries resell and buy it, it’s nothing more than... just more money.”
Fukang'an sighed after hearing this.
I was already thinking about it.
Purchasing arms from abroad is indeed a good idea.
But now it is the national policy of the Qing Dynasty to open up trade and isolate the country.
He is the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, with an army of 70,000 to 80,000 men under his command.
If you purchase weapons from foreign countries without authorization, it is unreasonable and the emperor may be jealous.
Seeing Fukang'an, he remained silent.
Liu Guangliang wiped his tears as he escaped from the battlefield and met Lin Guoliang again. The two took a boat back to Guangzhou from West Borneo.
Who is the most motivated to go against Zhu Daohua now?
I'm afraid it's not Fukang'an, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
But he is Liu Guangliang.
Liu Qianxing was killed.
All Liu's property was confiscated.
This is really a mortal hatred.
He knelt on the ground and took a few steps forward.
"Sir, my family originally purchased a small amount of Ni Ming's muskets, which are no different from those used by the Dutch in Southeast Asia. In addition, in addition to mortars, they also use the long-barreled six-pounder guns commonly used by Westerners."
"oh?"
Fukangan's eyes lit up.
"Can I bring it here?"
Lin Guoliang said hurriedly: "Take it, take it, it's outside. In addition, I also found this from the battlefield..."
As he spoke, Lin Guoliang lifted a baggage at his feet.
Opened it carefully.
It was actually a mortar shell.
The oval-shaped cannonball was followed by an iron rod with a tail fin.
A ring of gunpowder was wrapped in cotton cloth on the iron pipe.
"Two adults, please take a look. This cannonball has a tail fin. It must be like an arrow. The tail fin is used to stabilize the trajectory to improve the hit rate and stability. The projectile wrapped in the iron rod should be the projectile charge, and the projectile is loaded in the shell. It's explosive..."
Lin Guoliang has obviously studied it carefully.
He also took out a picture of a mortar that he had drawn himself.
"Two adults, the Ming Army called this kind of gun a mortar. It is actually a reduced mortar. The shells enter from the muzzle. There should be a flintlock ignition device at the bottom of the barrel to ignite it. The propellant and fuse are used to throw the shell out and explode after landing..."
Lin Guoliang was talking.
Someone brought in a six-pounder cannon and a flintlock gun from outside.
Fukangan lost interest after looking at it.
Because it was not impossible for the Qing Dynasty to build these artillery pieces and flintlock guns.
"The manufacturing is quite sophisticated...but it's nothing unusual. If the Manufacturing Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is willing to spend the money, it can be made." Guo Shixun held up a musket and looked over it.
"This mortar is quite interesting..."
Fukangan remained calm when he heard this, but he was complaining in his heart.
Let the Ministry of Internal Affairs build it?
Don't say whether it can be made so sophisticated.
It's good if it can be used.
Think of this.
Fukang'an looked at Liu Guangliang and asked, "How much do such muskets and artillery sell for in Nanyang?"
Liu Guangliang said hurriedly: "Muskets are not expensive. They only cost 5 mingyuan, which is equivalent to about 8 taels of silver per musket. A six-pounder cannon costs 300 mingyuan. You can buy one for about 500 taels of silver."
Muskets and artillery were inexpensive.
For many forces in Southeast Asia.
The consumption of gunpowder is more expensive.
so cheap?
Fukang'an and Guo Shixun looked at each other, and then Guo Shixun waved his hand to signal them to leave.
After the two of them left.
Guo Shixun stood up immediately.
"Governor Xian, there is a sudden rise of rebels. We must not be careless in the defense of Guangdong. Moreover, the rebels come from the sea. If we fortify defenses everywhere, we will be outnumbered everywhere. If we focus on fortifying Guangzhou, what will happen to other places in Guangdong?"
Guo Shixun said.
"According to my opinion, we should rush to Beijing immediately. First, we will report the situation to the Holy Emperor. Secondly, we will ask the imperial court to mobilize green battalions from various provinces to assist Guangzhou. Thirdly, we will ask the Holy Emperor to allocate funds to build ships and artillery to strengthen the Guangdong Navy. Fourthly. ..It is suggested that the Holy One can purchase ordnance from Nanyang Western Barbarians to strengthen the defense of Guangdong."
Fukangan nodded repeatedly.
"That's exactly what I mean. Western guns are cheap, but the building office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is expensive. So... it's really better to buy it than to build it."
The two looked at each other and smiled knowingly.
If this musket is made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
What does that have to do with them?
"Shixun, why don't you and I each go to the secret book and give it to the Holy Master, explain the situation, and inform the price of the muskets and artillery..."
"Eighty taels of silver is not safe. If eighty taels of silver can't buy it, wouldn't you and I be deceiving the emperor?"
"Yes, yes, yes."
"How about twenty taels of silver for a musket and a thousand taels of silver for a six-pound cannon?"
