At this moment, the discipline of the sergeants was shown, and the generals immediately exited in an orderly manner and stood quietly outside the lobby.
After everyone left, at Chongzhen's signal, Cao Bianjiao immediately opened the lacquer box, took out the envelope, presented it to Chongzhen, and then immediately retreated to the entrance of the lobby.
Chongzhen took the envelope and glanced at Xu Guangqi, the director of the Chen Firearms Research Institute, to pay his respects. This sentence made his nervous heart relax a little, and then he picked it up again.
What Xu Guangqi sent must be from the Firearms Research Institute.
Either there was a technological breakthrough, such as new breakthroughs in gunpowder preparation, gunpowder granulation, optimization of Hongyi cannon technology, progress in iron mold casting, or... the development of a flintlock gun.
Otherwise, they would not have spent six hundred miles to rush it to themselves without knowing the importance.
No matter which one it is, it will greatly enhance the overall military strength of the entire Ming Dynasty.
Everyone watched the emperor's expression change from gloomy to clear, and they all let out a sigh of relief. It looked like it was not a bad thing.
With these expectations, Chongzhen slowly opened the envelope, took out the folded letter inside, and slowly opened it. This feeling was like the pleasure of turning over cards one by one in the previous life.
"Granularization".
There were only three words in the letter, but Chongzhen's hands shook and his breathing suddenly became rapid.
This thing was intercepted by someone, and it is not clear what the content was.
In fact, in his opinion, it is most likely a breakthrough in Hongyi cannon imitation technology.
After all, this is a modification made by standing on the shoulders of giants, a process from one to a hundred, and several other technologies are from zero to one.
But now the hardest thing is the first to break through.
Granulation is a method to maximize the power of gunpowder without changing the gunpowder ratio.
When establishing the Industrial Research Institute, he specifically instructed Xu Guangqi, Bi Maokang and Sun Yuanhua that granulating gunpowder was a top priority.
In the past few months, I have been busy patrolling the northwest, and I forgot about it.
Now, nearly half a year later, we finally have good news.
Granulating gunpowder can increase the range of the Hongyi cannon. The disadvantage is that it damages the barrel. It can fire fifty shells originally, but after adding granulated explosives, it may only be able to fire thirty.
To improve the red cannon, either there is a breakthrough in iron smelting technology, which increases the strength of the barrel, or there is a breakthrough in iron mold casting technology, which can quickly manufacture the barrel and replace the barrel when the barrel is blown.
Anyway, there is no shortage of money now, so he will build a batch of them as a backup. When the problem of moving the cannon is solved, he can push the Jiannu flat.
"Push?"
Thinking of this, Chongzhen was suddenly stunned.
After repeating a few flat words over and over again, he looked at the generals standing outside the lobby. They had just been discussing for a long time, but they had forgotten their firearms.
The defensive role of the Great Wall was mainly aimed at the cold weapon era.
Now that firearms have been developed for more than two hundred years, their power has long been different, and it is no longer easy to destroy cities and walls.
He remembered the Battle of Ningyuan in history. Jiannu was fooled by firearms, and then he began to wake up and focus on the research and development of firearms. In the third year of Chongzhen, he developed the Hongyi Cannon.
In October of that year, Jiannu brought six Hongyi cannons and fifty-four general cannons to surround Yuzizhangtai on the Daling River. He bombarded Yuzizhangtai for three days and destroyed it.
The Ming army surrendered, and Jiannu seized the granary in Daling River, which could meet Jiannu's needs for one month.
Now that he has traveled through time, the trajectory of history has changed, and gunpowder granulation has been made.
What if one day, Jiannu Blind Cat stumbles upon a dead mouse and improves the gunpowder formula, or the artillery becomes more powerful?
What's the use of having more people? A single gunpowder shell can take away a large area.
Thinking of this, Chongzhen couldn't sit still and wanted to get this done quickly before returning to Beijing.
"Come in, everyone!"
After everyone came in, Chongzhen continued: "You have just discussed the issue of whether to increase the number of soldiers in Taiyuan Town. My opinion is that it is not necessary for the time being.
First, the Mongolian tribes in the west and north have formed a company to resist Chaharlindan Khan who is moving westward. The final result is likely to be a lose-lose situation for both sides.
Even if Chahar Lindan Khan wins, the two towns of Datong and Xuanfu can stop them with the help of the Great Wall. Moreover, these two towns have begun to reorganize, and their combat power is very different.
Secondly, you dear ladies have neglected firearms, I..."
"Your Majesty, Beijing City is 300 miles away urgently!"
Chongzhen was analyzing the future situation for everyone, but another urgent voice came from outside the lobby, interrupting his words.
I'm going to check. What's going on? I don't think it's normal. Why are there two urgent reports today?
But fortunately, it is an important internal matter that has been urgently dealt with for three hundred miles, which means that although it is a big event, it is not too urgent.
Otherwise, it will be an expedited journey of 400 miles or 600 miles.
This time, without waiting for Cao Bianjiao to speak, everyone consciously exited the lobby. Cao Bianjiao urgently reported the results and inspected them before submitting them to Chongzhen!
"Song Yingxing, President of the Chen Agricultural Research Institute, pays his respects."
Looking at the name on the envelope made his nervous heart relax a little.
Song Yingxing's letter must be from the Agricultural Research Institute.
But then I thought again, maybe all the potatoes planted in March died. If that were the case, it would be great fun.
Thinking of this, Chongzhen immediately became violent when opening the letter. He tore open the envelope and took out the letter inside, shaking it hard.
"Song Yingxingqi, president of the Chen Agricultural Research Institute, planted potatoes in March..."
Chongzhen read the letter very quickly, finishing it in just a few breaths. He finally breathed a sigh of relief with a smile on his lips.
The generals looked at this scene and breathed a sigh of relief.
But they were all full of curiosity. The emperor was in a good mood after reading the last letter, and he was still in a good mood after reading it this time. What happened in Beijing that made it worth using two emergency services?
"Yuan Aiqing, come in!"
After Yuan Keli came in, Chongzhen handed Song Yingxing's letter to Yuan Keli, and Yuan Keli carefully took the letter and read it.
After a moment, his face was also full of smiles: "Your Majesty, this is a great treasure of the country, and it deserves a big congratulation! Your Majesty's vision is not as accurate as one ten thousandth of that of me.
There are sweet potatoes in the south and potatoes in the north. Once promoted on a large scale, the Ming Dynasty may not be short of food. "
Although there was a suspicion of boasting, Chongzhen was extremely happy at the moment.
Song Yingxing's letter told him that the second batch of potatoes was expected to be harvested in less than a month. Judging from the current growth situation, it should be good. He asked Chongzhen if he wanted to come back and participate in person.
Song Yingxing used a greenhouse to grow potatoes a few years ago in order to expand the number of seed potatoes. During the harvest in early March, the yield was 18 shi per mu.
This is converted into a yield of 2,700 kilograms per mu, which is six to seven times that of ordinary crops. How terrifying.
Regarding this data, Chongzhen was also very surprised when he received Song Yingxing's letter.
In later generations, potatoes were basically between 3,000 and 5,000 jins, and some could reach 8,000 jins, but that was the result of chemical fertilizers and scientific management.
The current yield per mu is the result of careful care and investment regardless of cost. The average investment per mu reaches thirty taels of silver.
Input and output are not directly proportional, but in the expansion period, no matter how much investment is made, it is cost-effective.
At the time of the harvest, he had already left Beijing to patrol the northwest. He was still a little bit "grieved" when he missed it.
He must go back this time. He wants to see how much yield per mu can be achieved when planting on a large scale.
This determines future national policies and internal stability.
The next stop is Datong. It is more than 600 miles from Pianguan to Datong, and more than 800 miles from Datong to Beijing. According to Luan Jia's speed, it will take almost half a month, so the time to get back is just right.
