The generals were shocked, and the emperor's next few words filled their hearts with yearning.
As a general, the state of the army that the emperor said was exactly what they wanted and what they were striving for.
Moreover, the two sentences the emperor gave them were deeply inspiring.
"After you return to the army this time, you will do your best to reorganize and train your troops, especially Jizhen and Xuanfu.
Jiu Nu should not take the initiative to launch large-scale attacks in the next two or three years. This is Ji Zhen's opportunity. In the future, it will be up to you whether you can avenge this shame!
If Xuanfu wants to deal with Chahar, it must also make full preparations for war! "
"Your Majesty wants to attack Chahar?"
"Yes, but not now. During this siege, Chahar took advantage of the chaos to attack Xuanfu and Datong. It is really hateful!"
Chongzhen shook his head, his eyes full of thoughts.
Although more than 60,000 Jiannu and Mongolian tribesmen have been surrounded and killed, the fundamentals have not been harmed. If you want to take the initiative to attack the Mongolian tribes and Jiannu, there are only two ways to go.
One is the elite cavalry. On the grassland, only the cavalry can withstand the charge of tens of thousands of Mongolian cavalry.
The infantry's horse-repelling stakes and horse traps are useless on the plains.
Instead of confronting you head-on, people will always tease you in a roundabout way, or attack the supply line, slowly consuming them.
When an army of 100,000 goes on an expedition, at least 100,000 civilians will be required to consume food and grass, and the supply line can stretch hundreds of miles.
Once there is a problem with the supply line, the 100,000-strong army will be defeated without a fight.
As for the cavalry, Fang Zhenghua reported back from Hexi that he had recruited 5,000 cavalry. Adding the cavalry from the Forbidden Army, Guanning Cavalry, and Datong and Xuanfu towns, it is estimated that he can make up about 30,000 cavalry.
Especially the Guan Ning cavalry made Chongzhen a little depressed. It was said that there were 30,000 people, but the investigation found that there were only more than 12,000 people.
It is also unrealistic to mobilize these forces together and take the initiative to attack.
Since the first way is unavailable, there is a second way, a sufficient number of firearms.
For example, get a 5,000-furran machine gun, a squatting tiger cannon, etc., or have a bird blunderbuss or a three-eye fire blunderbuss.
With the current strength of Ming Dynasty, it can be done, but it will take time to manufacture, and it also needs to solve the problem of explosive chamber or reloading speed.
After the New Year, he would personally lead the army, not only to destroy all of Chahar, but at least to overthrow Guihua City.
"Be prepared. You will be dispatched when my military order is given."
"The cabinet and the Firearms Research Institute will stay, and the rest of the generals will go back to their respective establishments!"
After everyone left, Chongzhen looked at Xu Guangqi: "Xu Aiqing, why do firearms explode?"
When the emperor asked about this matter, the faces of Xu Guangqi and the other three people instantly became serious, with anger, heartache, and helplessness entangled on their faces.
After a while, Xu Guangqi said softly: "Your Majesty, I think there are four points. One is the quality of the iron used in making firearms.
During this period, I inspected the blasted muskets and artillery barrels in the Beijing army. There were small holes in the fractures, which showed that the quality of the iron was not tight enough.
The reason for this may be problems that occurred during smelting. Another common problem with clay molded cannons is that the inner wall has many small holes and is not smooth. This is the main reason for the explosion.
After the iron mold research that His Majesty mentioned is developed, this point can be improved. "
Having said this, Xu Guangqi saluted Chongzhen: "I am sorry for my stupidity. It is almost 20 years old and the iron mold has not been developed yet. Your Majesty, please forgive me!"
"Xu Aiqing is worrying too much!"
Chongzhen waved his hand and motioned Xu Guangqi to sit down: "If research can produce results so easily, there won't be no breakthroughs for so many years. As long as the direction and ideas are right, just take your time."
"You continue with the remaining questions!"
"Secondly, there is the issue of supervision of officials. Corruption in making money, setting prices randomly, deceiving superiors and concealing inferiors, and passing off inferior quality after inspection.
I visited several warehouses such as the Guangji warehouse of the Ministry of Industry. I found that the quality of sulfur, saltpeter, iron ingots and other items there was extremely poor, far from the standards set by the Ministry of Industry. "
"Thirdly, officials in the Ordnance Bureau and the Military Staff Bureau deducted wages, resulting in the loss of a large number of skilled craftsmen.
According to my investigation during this period, there were only 781 craftsmen left in the Bingzhang Bureau from the 2,163 craftsmen in the early years of Wanli to the seventh year of Tianqi.
The Ordnance Bureau originally had 947 craftsmen. By the seventh year of the Apocalypse, there were 390 craftsmen.
There were few craftsmen and heavy tasks, so the firearms they made were naturally of inferior quality, and the gunpowder exploded as soon as they were charged. And these craftsmen... all went to the border army. "
Xu Guangqi paused here and looked at Chongzhen's face. Seeing that Chongzhen's face was dull, he understood in his heart that the emperor knew these points.
"What's the solution?"
"Your Majesty, there is a way, but I am afraid that if I say it out, the Nine Sides will be unstable!"
"explain!"
Chongzhen spat out one word lightly, but everyone felt boundless confidence from this word.
Xu Guangqi was deep in thought, seeming to be sorting out his thoughts.
After a moment, he said in a deep voice: "First, solve the quality problem of raw materials and manage them from the source. Sulfur, saltpeter, iron ingots, etc. entering the Guangji warehouse of the Ministry of Revenue must be strictly screened.
If the acceptance criteria are not met, the person who sent it will be fired directly, and the official who inspected the acceptance will be dismissed from his post and investigated. If the problem of raw materials is solved, the quality of firearms manufactured in the future will be improved.
Second, strengthen the management of acceptance, inspect the handle of all finished firearms, barrel length, weight, whether the inner wall is smooth, etc.;
Third, improve the treatment of craftsmen to retain craftsmen with good skills, thereby improving the quality of firearms.
Fourth, take away the firearms manufacturing rights of Jiubian and each province, and make firearms unified by the imperial court. In this way, the quality can be easily controlled, and no one can be corrupted, etc.
Or it’s okay not to charge, the manufacturing fee settlement method has changed, use first, pay later, etc. "
Everyone opened their mouths in shock. This time they knew why Xu Guangqi's words shocked Jiubian, especially the third one.
The imperial court's firearms manufacturers include the Ordnance Bureau under the jurisdiction of Yu Heng's Qing Li Division of the Ministry of Industry and the Military Staff Bureau under the jurisdiction of the inner government. They have now been included in the Firearms Research Institute.
However, because research, production, and use were separated, and there were problems with transportation, etc., the imperial court relaxed the rules and allowed local and border troops to manufacture firearms.
The most famous thing is that Qi Jiguang built new squatting cannons, bowl-mouth cannons, stone cannons, etc. in Ji Town.
The specific model is that the border troops ask for money from the court and make it themselves.
The same blunderbuss is made by the imperial court and the border army, but the price and profit are very different.
Because raw materials, labor, etc. cannot be controlled, and the most important thing is that quantity and quality cannot be guaranteed.
Although the imperial court also sent people to settle in, in the end they all collaborated and deceived the superiors and concealed the truth from the inferiors.
It’s hard to say whether the local and Jiubian generals would cause trouble if they lost this opportunity to make money if the firearms manufacturing rights of the local area and Jiubian were taken back.
There is also the most thorny problem. If it is withdrawn, the Firearms Research Institute will not be able to meet the demand for large quantities of firearms.
Without waiting for anyone's advice, Chongzhen said calmly: "I agree with Xu Aiqing's four suggestions!"
