"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions!"
Li Ruolian was shocked. The last time His Majesty had such a solemn expression was when he told him about the betrayal of the eight Shanxi merchants.
Is it something more serious than betraying the country?
"I established the Daming Firearms Research Institute, which was headed by Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua and others, but they were all Catholics and had close ties with the West.
They promised not to spread Ming Dynasty's firearms technology. I am not a villain, but I am not afraid of ten thousand, just in case. I cannot afford this risk, and Ming Dynasty cannot afford it.
Therefore, you send your most trusted confidant to the Firearms Research Institute to monitor everyone, but only monitor things related to firearms. Pretend not to see other things and report them directly to me.
Remember, if once discovered, I will not admit that I arranged it, do you understand? "
"Also, arrange for Jin Yiwei to go everywhere to see if Western missionaries have used any abnormal means when preaching. If so, they will be captured secretly."
"If you find that missionaries have secretly stolen precious ancient books, unique plants, etc. from our Ming Dynasty under the pretext of preaching, deal with them directly and do it cleanly!"
"I understand!"
Li Ruolian was naturally aware of the emperor's two arrangements, as well as the consequences of the leaked firearms.
Not to mention spreading overseas, even if it spread to Jiannu, it would be a major blow to the Ming Dynasty.
After Li Ruolian left, Chongzhen took a sip of hot tea from the cup and let out a long breath.
Xu Guangqi and the others are all artillery experts. The absolute top scientific and technological personnel of the Ming Dynasty cannot be treated too much. It is a bit excessive to send people to monitor them.
But there is no way around it. Putting aside the issue of firearm leaks, Catholics must pay attention to this matter alone.
At the most minor level, this is a matter of personal belief, and the court cannot interfere.
On a larger scale, this is the invasion and penetration of Western culture.
For those who believe in Catholicism, most of the next generation and subsequent generations will become Catholic. This is likely to be a fission in the geometric sequence.
If he remembered correctly, by the end of Chongzhen's reign in history, there were already 15,000 Catholics in the Ming Dynasty. What a terrifying number.
The final consequence is that Ming’s language, culture, writing, ideas, etc. will be eroded by the West.
When Western ideas dominate, this nation is already on the verge of extinction.
Just like English in later generations, he was not opposed to learning English. After all, at that time, the world's top technical materials were translated into English.
If you learn English, you can read technical information and learn the skills of the foreigners to defeat the foreigners.
But it should not be studied as a main subject. How many college students may not use English a few times in their lives after graduation. So what is the meaning of learning?
Since the high school entrance examination and the college entrance examination are 3+X, then why can't English be one of the X's?
When I get to high school or even college, I start studying in a hurry. Many universities are in small languages and I start studying in college.
If religion is not handled properly, the consequences will be serious.
After arranging the Catholic affairs, Chongzhen began to think about the affairs of the six ministries and nine ministers of the imperial court.
He was a little surprised that Sun Chuanting chose the Commander of the Forbidden Army, but it was fine. If Sun Chuanting chose to recruit his own troops, the Commander of the Forbidden Army would have another headache. The Minister of the Ministry of War has not yet been found.
For the Minister of War, he now has several candidates, such as Hong Chengchou, Hou Xun, Man Gui, Li Dingguo, Zhang Huangyan, Du Yinxi and others.
Among these people, Hong Chengchou, Zhang Huangyan, and Du Yinxi were all strategic masters in the late Ming Dynasty, and their abilities were beyond doubt.
Li Dingguo was the most capable person in the late Ming Dynasty. When it comes to famous generals in the late Ming Dynasty, Li Dingguo was definitely the number one figure.
Although Hou Xun is not very famous, his ability to recognize people is definitely the number one figure in the late Ming Dynasty.
Zuo Liangyu, Yuan Chonghuan, You Shiwei, and Shi Kefa, several important officials of the Ming Dynasty, were all discovered and promoted by him from the grassroots level.
It's a pity that Zhang Huangyan and Li Dingguo are still children under ten years old at the moment, and Du Yinxi is only in his twenties, so they are of no use for the time being.
However, Chongzhen was not prepared to miss them. Since he knew that these people were talented, he must bring them to his side.
After the Chinese New Year, we will open a military academy - a martial arts hall, recruit some well-qualified children from all over the country, and train them from an early age.
Mangui is also a good hand at leading troops in battles. He was the main commander of the Ming army in the Battle of Ningyuan and the Battle of Ningjin. He has made outstanding achievements and has been promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief.
With his merits and abilities, it is not a big problem to be the Minister of the Ministry of War, but since he became an ancestor, all the Ministers of the Ministry of War have been civilian officials.
The Ministry of War is responsible for the selection, awarding, training, and supply of vehicles, weapons, and other supplies to military officers nationwide.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army has the power to "control the army" and is responsible for fighting the war. The two restrain each other and no one can think of rebellion.
Although the people in the cabinet and the Sixth Ministry agreed with what he was doing, as long as he dared to transfer Man Gui back to be the Minister of War, the Cabinet and the Sixth Ministry would definitely not agree.
After thinking for a while, Chongzhen made a decision.
"Daban, do you know Hou Xun?"
Wang Chengen immediately said: "Go back to your Majesty, I know this person. His father is Taichang Qinghou Zhipu. He is an upright man. Zou Yuanbiao and Zhao Nanxing both trust his father.
Perhaps due to the influence of his father, Hou Xun also hated evil as much as he hated his enemies after entering the court.
In the two cases of "Red Pill" and "Moving the Palace", he also faced tit-for-tat with the eunuchs. As a result, he was dismissed from office by Wei Zhongxian. Now he should be idle in his hometown.
Oh, by the way, he also had a memorial: Discussing the Strategy of Nuclear Pay and Military Training, but it was not adopted because it was too involved. "
"Send someone to convey the message that Hou Xun will come back!"
He wasn't sure what Wang Cheng'en was talking about about Chongzhen, but he knew that this person had a keen eye for recognizing people and was capable.
It didn't matter whether he was a member of the Donglin Party or not. The Imperial Army was in hand, so he just had to be obedient and do things well. He was not used to being disobedient and doing bad things.
After finishing this, Chongzhen let out a long breath.
On the morning of the next day, after the ministers saluted, Sun Chengzong left for duty.
"Your Majesty, I urge the imperial court to establish the Daming Firearms Research Institute for ten reasons. First, the power of the Hongyi cannon has been verified in the Ningyuan victory..."
He talked for a full quarter of an hour, going over all the pros and cons of firearms.
Then the other three members of the cabinet also stood up and expressed their approval.
Seeing this, Chongzhen asked: "What do you mean, dear friends?"
"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions!"
Naturally, the ministers did not object. Yesterday, Luan Jia left the palace without any cover-up. There was no secret about who was accompanying him.
Obviously, the emperor and the cabinet have already made a decision, and it is just a process here. If they do not know how to object, then the good days will be over.
"Since all your beloved ministers have agreed, this matter will be handed over to the cabinet. It must be done quickly and all ministries must actively cooperate."
After Chongzhen finished speaking, he looked at the Minister of Household Affairs: "Guo Aiqing, the establishment of the Firearms Research Institute will use a lot of iron. How much iron will be produced this year?"
"Back to Your Majesty, as of the beginning of November, the reported output from various places is 80 million jins. It is expected to be around 97 million jins this year. However, because some places directly exchange money for silver, it is estimated that the pig iron that the imperial court can obtain is 70 million jins. .”
"How much iron is stored in the household department?"
"Your Majesty, it's about 6 million catties."
After listening to the data, Chongzhen frowned slightly, and a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind. From this stock, he seemed to have discovered some secrets.
