Chapter 50, Shrewd Qianlong
"Not bad...."
Beijing.
Forbidden City.
Qianqing Palace.
The nearly seventy-year-old Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty seemed to be in high spirits.
In his hand was a flintlock gun about nine feet long with a bayonet attached.
Emperor Qianlong was known as the Perfect Old Man, so he was naturally knowledgeable.
He could tell at a glance that this musket was made of plenty of materials and well made.
Although there are signs of use.
But there are not many signs of wear in the bore, and there is no lead inside.
When you pull the trigger, you can hear the very clear sound of the firing pin hitting the flint.
Emperor Qianlong's private collection contained muskets from all over the world.
There are even many rifled guns used by nobles from Western European courts.
Therefore, Qianlong knew the extent of the development of Western firearms.
Actually.
From the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong dynasties, the Qing royal family did not cut off exchanges with Europe.
Kangxi was even a math enthusiast who was proficient in mathematics.
The kind that can solve calculus.
He often discussed mathematics and philosophy with missionaries from the West.
Look at it from this aspect.
Kangxi was by no means ignorant.
The same was true for Qianlong.
He even knew some French and had a long correspondence with King Louis XVI of France through some missionaries from Europe.
He is very clear about what is going on in the world.
American independence.
Even the French Revolution later.
After Louis XVI was guillotined.
Qianlong was very keenly aware of the subversive impact that revolutionary thoughts from Europe might have on the Qing Dynasty.
It was immediately decided to strengthen the maritime ban and national lockdown.
Prevent Han people from being exposed to Western ideas and technology.
In fact, the Qing Dynasty was able to invade the Central Plains as a fishing, hunting, and nomadic tribe and obtain the right to rule China.
Its rulers are by no means as ignorant as people imagine.
At least that's the case in the early days.
Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong were different from Daoguang, Xianfeng and others who followed.
Daoguang and Xianfeng may have been deceived by themselves, and they really closed their eyes and turned a deaf ear to everything that was happening in the world.
But the rulers of the Kangxi, Yongzong and Qianlong dynasties have records proving that they actually knew the world very well.
It is because of understanding.
That’s why they dare not let the Han people acquire Western technology. They want to restrict the spread of foreign ideas, restrict the development of the commodity economy, and use harsh literary inquisition and the extremely rigid Brunei stereotype to suppress the ideas of the Han elite.
Let the smartest people in this nation spend most of their lives studying the classics and studying knowledge that has no practical use at all.
From this perspective.
As a ruler.
Qianlong is definitely a political animal that can be ranked among the best in history.
He is very smart and has very keen political acumen and skills.
The gun in his hand was sent by Fu Kangan, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, through an urgent post, changing horses without changing people, traveling day and night, and took six days to send it from Guangzhou to Beijing.
Also sent along were the secrets of Fukang'an, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and Guo Shixun, the governor of Guangdong.
At the same time, there are also official documents stamped with the seal of the Guangdong Governor's Yamen.
Guangdong brought news that made Qianlong feel uneasy.
Zhu Daohua obtained the land of West Borneo and prepared to build a Lanfang Province!
And before that.
The news that Zhu Daohua defeated the Dutch fleet in the Nanyang Ocean had already reached Qianlong's hands.
For Qianlong.
Zhu Daohua defeated the Dutch fleet.
He and Zhu Daohua obtained a province in Nanyang.
If these two things were taken separately, he would not be as uneasy as he is now.
The key is how related these two things are.
There was only two months between these two events.
And the news before that.
It was Zhu Daohua who acquired several islands in the Malacca Strait and occupied them as king.
Occupy the island and become the king.
It can be said that he is a pirate.
Not a climate.
It was also not unusual to defeat the Dutch fleet.
During the Kangxi Dynasty, the Zheng family often fought against the Dutch fleet in Nanyang and often won.
But the point is.
The intervals between these events are very short.
The pirate who occupied the island and became king.
To a tycoon who owns a province overseas.
The time between them was less than four months!
quick!
too fast!
This speed had to make Qianlong wary.
Especially Zhu Daohua was released in front of all the Nanyang countries and Nanyang Chinese.
Next year when the southeast wind blows, he will sail north to take a peek at Guangdong.
And from the secret given to him by Fukang'an, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
He got some even more disturbing news.
The elite Ming army broke through from 3,000 to 80,000 in just two days.
Moreover, the Ming army had some weapons that gave Qianlong a headache.
For example, that mortar.
Qianlong put down his musket and looked at the mortar shells and the mortar model sent by Guangdong.
Qianlong roughly understood the principle of this kind of cannonball after a little research.
"It's just... if black powder is used, it seems that the power of the explosive bullet is not as powerful as what Guangdong described?"
Qianlong opened another package.
Look at the yellow granular solid stuff in the jar inside the package.
"This is the gunpowder loaded in this so-called mortar. Why is it yellow?"
Qianlong was puzzled.
Put down everything in your hands.
He also took out the secret folders of Fu Kang'an and Guo Shixun.
"A musket like this costs twenty taels, a long-barreled cannon that can fire five and a half kilograms of solid iron bullets... one thousand taels of silver."
Qianlong pondered for a moment.
"Xuan Heshen!"
He Shen is now the most popular person in the Qianlong Dynasty.
The minister of military aircraft and the director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also held more than a dozen important positions such as bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, minister of the bodyguard, and commander of the infantry.
And if you want to make ordnance, it is the job of the Manufacturing Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
As the Minister of Military Aircraft, He Shen naturally has to work in the Military Aircraft Department.
The Military Aircraft Department does not have a formal office, but there is a duty room located inside the Longzong Gate, close to the Yangxin Hall, so that the Military Aircraft Minister can be summoned to discuss matters.
soon.
The first favorite minister of the Qing Dynasty, He Shenhe, wearing a bright red hat and a unicorn patchwork suit, came in a hurry.
No one has arrived yet.
The sound has arrived.
"My servants and Shen knock to see the emperor, long live the emperor."
When the voice fell, He Shen and the eldest servant were already kneeling in front of Emperor Qianlong.
"Heshen, get up." Qianlong waved his hand, and then handed the musket in his hand to Heshen.
"Let's see how much money it would cost if the Ministry of Internal Affairs built 30,000 such muskets."
He Shen hurriedly got up.
He took the musket and examined it carefully, then broke open the gun and looked at the structure inside.
Then I thought about it in my mind.
Thirty thousand muskets.
And it is not a shotgun that uses a match rope. The mechanical structure of flint ignition requires careful polishing by skilled craftsmen.
The cost itself is not low.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs divided it up and down, and found out that a musket with so much material would cost thirty taels of silver.
After thinking about it carefully.
Heshen said: "Reporting to Lord Long Live, the materials and workmanship of this musket are of the highest quality. If you want to make 30,000 muskets, each musket is expected to cost at least fifty taels of silver, and the total price... one hundred Five hundred thousand taels!”
One and a half million taels?
Why is it so expensive?
Qianlong frowned.
Fukang'an said he would go to Nanyang to buy it, but it only cost twenty taels...
When Westerners travel thousands of miles across the ocean, they must be pursuing profits.
That is to say.
Twenty taels of silver for a musket, everyone still makes money.
How did you get fifty taels of it by yourself?
It seems that it would be more cost-effective for Fukang'an to go to Nanyang to buy it.
Qianlong thought very unhappy.
In fact, what he doesn't know is that fifty taels are already very different from the adults' conscience.
It will be postponed to the Daoguang Dynasty forty years later.
Just his grandson Daoguang was so stupid.
An egg can be bought for a sky-high price.
A musket cannot be bought without a hundred and ten taels of silver.
