"Zhou Yuji, get ready immediately. We will set off directly to Datong later!"
After the arrangements were completed, Chongzhen waved to the generals outside the door. After the generals came in and saluted again, Chongzhen said lightly: "Let's continue... Where did I just talk about? Firearms?"
"Dear dear friends, in the battle of Ningyuan, Jiannu suffered heavy casualties, which has proved the power of Hongyi cannon.
I have established a Firearms Research Institute to vigorously develop firearms. I have received news that Jiannu has also begun to develop firearms.
In this way, the future must be the age of firearms, or most wars are the collision of firearms. "
When Chongzhen said this, he glanced at the generals. Sure enough, there was more or less contempt on the faces of these 'warriors', which was contempt for firearms.
But they can't be entirely blamed. Xu Guangqi bought four Hongyi cannons from Haojing eight years ago.
After that, some were bought and salvaged one after another, and there were only twenty-six doors in the entire Ming Dynasty.
Except for the eleven cannons in Ningyuan City, the rest are placed in Beijing City. There are no Hongyi cannons elsewhere.
A large number of these generals have never seen the power of Hongyi cannon.
I still think that the power of the Hongyi cannon is similar to that of the general cannon, bowl mouth cannon, and tiger squat cannon equipped by the Ming army.
"If you think that the power of the Hongyi Cannon is about the same as that of the Crouching Tiger Cannon and the General Cannon, then I will consider withdrawing you, lest tens of thousands of soldiers lose their lives due to your contempt!"
The generals were shocked, and Chongzhen continued: "Cao Bianjiao, you tried firing the Red Yi Cannon with me in Beijing City, and you came from Liaodong. Tell them about the power of the Red Yi Cannon!"
Cao Bianjiao cupped his hands towards Chongzhen, and then glanced at everyone: "Everyone, you must have heard a lot about Hongyi Cannon. I will only say two points.
In the first range, if the Hongyi cannon is well adjusted, it can shoot from 500 to 800 feet.
The second power is that the Hongyi cannon is made of solid bullets. One shell weighs ten to sixteen kilograms. You can think of the rest by yourself! "
The expressions of the generals suddenly changed. Firearms were nothing more than these two standards of reference.
The Tiger Crouching Cannon has a range of 150 feet, the General Cannon has a range of 300 feet, and its bullets weigh three to five kilograms. The Fran machine has a range of two hundred to three hundred feet, and its shells weigh one to two kilograms.
Both the range and the weight of the bullets were completely defeated by the Hongyi cannon.
As for the slow loading and firing speed, so what? People are just standing there. Can you hit them?
"Commander Cao, I heard that the Hongyi cannon weighs three thousand to five thousand kilograms. Isn't it inconvenient to move like this?"
“It’s inconvenient, but it’s not impossible to move!”
Cao Bianjiao stared at a general: "Are you trying to say that it's too heavy and slow to move, so you can send troops to attack their artillery positions or move the general's artillery, etc.?
Do you think the cavalry of all Mongolian tribes are just decorations? Or can you compete with the cavalry of the Mongolian tribes?
What if Mongolia and the Jiannu developed a vehicle that could move cannons? "
After being scolded by Cao Bianjiao, the general smiled and then whispered: "But judging from the process of the Ningyuan battle, it seems that Jiannu does not have cannons.
There are no Jian slaves, let alone other Mongolian tribes. This..."
Cao Bianjiao did not respond immediately, but stared at the general closely. The atmosphere in the hall was a bit solemn.
After a while, Cao Bianjiao said: "If we don't have it now, it means we won't have it in the future. We can buy it from Haojing and hire their technical masters, but can't Jiannu do it?"
Is there a shortage of money to build a slave? As long as the money is given enough, Hao Jing can produce a technical master.
Do you still want to ask how to transport it to Shengjing? Can we go by sea?
In the vast sea, can you determine which ship has the Hongyi cannon and technical master? Can the navy intercept all ships?
Traveling by land through India, we entered Usizang, Chahatai, and Erut, and finally passed through Monan Mongolia and entered Jiannu.
Not to mention the distance, it’s still a question of whether the money given is enough.
If one amount of silver is not enough, then ten times or twenty times. I believe Hao Jing will consider it. "
After being explained by Cao Bianjiao's company leader, the expressions of the generals in the lobby changed from contempt at first to serious expressions, and then to solemnity.
Sitting upright, Chongzhen listened to the argument and glanced at Cao Bianjiao subconsciously. He didn't expect that the general was so sharp-tongued, and he almost transformed into Cao Bianjiao.
"Dear ladies!"
After a while, Chongzhen spoke up to interrupt the silence of the generals.
He said calmly: "You can imagine that one day in the future, a war will begin. Each side will pull out dozens or hundreds of red cannons and blast them for a while. Can you imagine that scene?"
The generals trembled all over, as if they saw the mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the future.
The Tiger Crouching Cannon and General Cannon are both astonishingly lethal, let alone the Hongyi Cannon which is far superior to these?
With the fighting strength of the Jiannu sergeants, more than 17,000 people were killed and injured, let alone them? This is not an adult's ambition to destroy his prestige, but an objective fact.
If the hypothesis is true, the more sergeants with inflated combat power and insufficient coordination, the more people will die under such rounds of bombardment.
But well-trained elite soldiers are different. Although they will also suffer casualties, the casualty rate will definitely be very low.
"It is not stupid to establish a slave. The losses in the battle of Ningyuan were so great. With Huang Taiji's ability and vision, I believe that they will definitely try their best to develop firearms."
"After I return to Beijing, I will ask the Firearms Research Institute to accelerate the development of Hongyi cannons as soon as possible. Within this year, each town will be equipped with several Hongyi cannons and general cannons, etc., to enhance the combat power of each town."
After Chongzhen finished speaking, he looked at Xie Zhiliang, the commander-in-chief of Taiyuan, who no longer looked calm as before, but instead had a solemn look on his face.
Looking at the other generals with serious expressions on their faces, he sighed in his heart.
“My dear friends, the key factor that determines the outcome of a war is people, not weapons.
I believe that with the development of time, technology will become more and more advanced. The Tiger Crouching Cannon during Chengzu's time to the Hongyi Cannon is the best proof.
Maybe one day, there will be a firearm that can wipe out the entire Pianguan City from the Ming Dynasty with one shell. Is it because of this that you just sit back and wait to die?
No, what you have to do is to adapt as much as possible,
Change and improve yourself under existing conditions,
Under the attack of firearms, study how to defend, and even more study how to attack. "
"Thank you, Aiqing. I will ask the Chief Secretary of Shanxi Province to allocate some money to you for military supplies, improve weapons, strengthen passes, and train an elite army according to your idea. Can you do it?"
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will do my best to train an elite soldier who dares to fight and will win!"
Although Xie Zhiliang's face was still solemn, it was much better than before.
"Okay, you all go down and think carefully about what I just said! Yuan Aiqing stays!"
After the generals left, Chongzhen put his hands behind his back, and his calm expression became serious now.
Yuan Keli, who was standing behind him, looked at Chongzhen's face and his heart suddenly lurched.
