With that said, Fang Zheng picked up the gun and raised it high and said, "Take this gun as an example. Every structure in it is made by hand."
"Each component must be closely integrated and work together to achieve perfect results. If there is a problem in any link, it will cause the gun to malfunction."
"On average in the earliest days, only one out of every ten guns made could be successfully used. The cost could be as high as more than one hundred taels."
"The Yongzhen Shanhe Cannon is extremely expensive. It can be said that one shot of the cannon is worth ten thousand taels of gold!"
The onlookers shook their heads.
An ordinary gun costs a hundred taels? When the cannon goes off, a thousand taels of gold?
If everything had this virtue, then forming a standing army would require a huge amount of money, and Dajing's treasury would not need to do anything else.
Not to mention the subsequent maintenance costs.
According to this statement, in the overall calculation, it is better to take human lives to fill it!
"Master Fang just said there is a solution, how to solve it?" someone asked.
"Good question! But let me continue. Everyone will understand everything after listening to it." Fang Zheng began to pace around: "Whether it is Yongzhen Mountains or Long Spears and Short Guns, they have actually been developed for a long time."
"But do you know why it has not been successfully developed and delivered to you until today?"
"It's because the structure and technology here are too complex and full of problems! The craftsmen in Taoyuan County have been unable to overcome it for a long time! But just recently, something broke the long-standing stalemate."
"Nowadays, everyone here has something like this."
Song Hui, Duke of Dai, reacted the fastest. He immediately took out an object from his pocket, held it up and asked, "Pocket watch? Could it be that pocket watches have something to do with guns?"
"Yes! Duke Dai asked a good question. The key to making guns and cannons lies in pocket watches." Fang Zheng asked: "Do you know where pocket watches come from?"
"Isn't it made in Taoyuan County?"
"Wrong! Big mistake! You only know that pocket watches are made in Taoyuan County, but you don't know that these things are all imitations." Fang Zheng suddenly became excited: "I snatched the pocket watch from King Wu and handed it over later. For the craftsmen to study.”
"The exquisiteness of this object and the mystery of its structure are rare in Dajing! Just to copy it, our top skilled craftsmen in Taoyuan County spent all their efforts and worked day and night, so that in the end they could not bend or extend their fingers. "
"The ingenuity in that clock is even more wonderful. It took all the craftsmen in the county to make hundreds of them. There is no way to recreate it in the short term."
"So you said you can sell it for 10,000 taels..."
"Cough cough cough!" Emperor Jing covered his mouth and coughed twice in embarrassment: "Fang Qing, we're talking about guns and cannons."
What's ten thousand taels instead of ten thousand taels? You kid, I don’t know yet, yet you still talk nonsense in front of me!
Fang Zheng blushed and said, "I'm so excited for the moment. I'm sorry."
"Actually, what I want to say is that everyone should have personally experienced the wonderful functions of this pocket watch during this period. Without it, life is like losing control. Do you think so or not?"
The ministers all said yes, and even Emperor Jing nodded silently.
Fang Zhengyi continued: "Going further back, this thing was obtained by King Wu from overseas. According to him, pocket watches are just the most common things overseas, and even ordinary people can afford them!"
"But what about my grand view? How many people can afford it?"
"If one person can use it, and millions of people are using it, then I wonder how different the efficiency of the two places will be over time. I wonder if you have ever thought about it!"
"If we say that we have to make one out of ten guns before we can use it, what about overseas? I'm afraid if we can make just one gun, our cost will be ten times higher than others! Can you understand?"
“So to reduce costs, advanced technology and craftsmen are the key!”
There was a bit of worry on the faces of the crowd.
Li Yansong stroked his beard and frowned and said, "That's not right. I remember that the magical object used to break open mountains and crack rocks to control floods in the Jianjiang River is called Wuliang Gongde. The thing I saw just now for loading guns should be the legendary Wuxiang Gongde if there are no accidents. "
"Is this available overseas?"
This thing is no longer a secret, it has been discussed in private, and Emperor Jing has never hidden it.
Fang Zhengyi smiled and said, "Yes, Mr. Li asked a good question."
"Guns are carriers of immeasurable merit. Although they are powerful in themselves, they are not easy to use without a carrier."
"And one of the most critical issues is...it was born by an alchemist's accident, and it is not as complicated as imagined."
Fang Zheng's tone began to become meaningful: "When King Wu defected, there was a fleet to help him. The ship I boarded already had people from all walks of life. If there were such a group of alchemists on the ship... plus What about an accident?”
"What kind of attitude will he be in when he comes back? I don't dare to think about it."
The ministers were silent, lowering their heads and thinking, and the joy that the new weapon had just brought to their hearts was suddenly washed away.
Suddenly someone retorted: "Mr. Fang! After all you say today, no one knows these things. It's all alarmist. How can you convince everyone if you don't even have details?"
detail? I want details to give you details!
Fang Zhengyi said loudly: "Don't worry, I haven't finished speaking yet!"
"As for the origin of pocket watches and the history of the West, I have some superficial understanding through King Wu and the documents on his ship. Everyone can analyze it by themselves!"
"This pocket watch is produced in a small country in the east of the West, called Guangkanda! It is rich in an ore called vibranium. Although Guangkanda is a small place, it has countless skilled craftsmen and developed maritime trade. It has been used by countless Western countries. Known as the coachman of the sea."
"But today I'm not talking about him, but about Caesar..."
A magically modified Western fantasy history is told again, this time with improvements!
In order to prevent Emperor Jing from testing himself again, he copied it when he got home that night and added a lot of details.
The Crusades, the Black Death, the Boston Tea Party... remember that if the fragmentary history can be sewn together, it will all be sewn together!
In addition, it should be carefully arranged, logical and detailed!
After hearing this, the ministers were dumbfounded again...
It's so magnificent, and it seems to be more impressive than the history of Dajing... If you want to find faults, it seems that you can't find faults. After all, it is a foreign civilization.
Fang Zheng struck a chord while the iron was hot: "At that time, I also saw foreigners from foreign countries on the ship. They were blond and blue-eyed. They were very scary!"
"But King Wu has an interpreter there, so I still learned a few sentences in a foreign language. Let me show it to you."
"my name iS...."
A string of jabbering third-grade elementary school English was read out, and the officials were dumbfounded again.
Anyway, I don’t understand a sentence, but I can tell that Fang Zhengyi seems to really understand it, and he is definitely not talking nonsense!
Anyone here can be considered a litterateur if you name it. Language is about sense of language. If Fang Zheng makes nonsense, he will be noticed immediately!
After stumbling for a few words, Fang Zheng said with a blush, "After talking so much, everyone should have a rough understanding."
"But today's display is far from over. Your Majesty, please come with me to Taoyuan County again."
...
