Da Ming started to ascend the throne

Chapter 194 Royal Guard

The flintlock gun in Zhu Youjian's hand can indeed be loaded with three bullets, and the cap and fire door have been installed.

But every time you fire a shot, you need to pull the bolt, and you need to pull the bolt three times to fire three shots, not three bursts.

Although it cannot be compared with the firearms of later generations, if it can shoot stably, it is still hundreds of times stronger than the firearms and vulcan guns. When shooting, you can choose your shooting position at will, unlike the firearms that can only shoot standing.

"How's the range and accuracy?"

Zhao Shizhen hurriedly replied:

"Report to the emperor, and we will see the result after trying the gun immediately."

"Okay, start."

Twenty sharpshooters selected from Shenji Battalion, 18 with single-shot rifles, and two with three-shot rifles.

Start shooting from 30 steps, 50 steps, 80 steps, 100 steps, 120 steps, 150 steps, 170 steps, 200 steps, and 220 steps.

"Bang bang..."

After the gunmen shot, their faces showed surprise. They felt that this firearm was really easy to use. Not only did it have something to aim at, but the speed of the gun was significantly faster, and the bullets ran more stably.

……

At the end of the gun test, Zhu Youjian began to check in person. The gunners were really skilled. There was almost no miss in the short range. The shooting range of 100 steps to 150 steps still had a high hit rate.

At a distance of 220 steps, although there are misses, there is still half of the hit rate. This range is really amazing, and it can kill bows and other firearms in seconds.

Zhu Youjian was in a good mood, and turned around to ask Zhao Shizhen:
"Zhao Aiqing, if you equip a firearm battalion, how long will it take you to build it?"

Zhao Shizhen replied after a little thought:

"Your Majesty, mass production is very difficult now. It takes a long time for a single barrel. The Firearms Factory of the Ministry of Industry will do its best. I can't guarantee the exact time."

Zhu Youjian knew that Zhao Shizhen was telling the truth, and there was no rush to make this kind of thing. The first thing to do was to ensure the quality, not the quantity.

If you blindly pursue quantity, once an accident occurs on the battlefield, you can't imagine the consequences. If you want to complete the task with quality and quantity, there is only one way, and that is to process money.

"I will ask the Ministry of Households to allocate an additional 50 taels of silver to you, mainly for the manufacture of machinery and the improvement of the treatment of craftsmen. As long as they are willing to pay, the wages will be doubled, especially for weapons that are more difficult than those of the same era."

"As ordered, thank you Your Majesty, long live my emperor."

In the past, craftsmen had three liang of silver a month, but after being exploited layer by layer, they got very little. It would be good to have dozens of coins, so they were often hungry.

Now the craftsmen get real money, and no one dares to deduct their wages, but three liang of silver is needed to support a large family, and life is not rich.

In order to develop new weapons, Zhu Youjian doubled their wages at once. While Zhao Shizhen was happy for his subordinates, he also admired the emperor even more. It is really a blessing for Daming to have such a wise emperor.

Zhao Shizhen was very busy. After the gun test, he said goodbye to Zhu Youjian and returned to the Ministry of Industry to continue his manufacturing work.

Twenty sharpshooters, it would be best if they could all be equipped with three-shot guns, but unfortunately there are only two three-shot guns in total, and Zhu Youjian had to let the other 18 people be equipped with single-shot guns.

Since he is equipped with such advanced weapons, he must stay with him and simply form a guard, which is equivalent to the special operations force of later generations.

They can be used when encountering special tasks,
Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian said:

"The 20 of you are no longer affiliated with the Shenji Battalion. I have decided to officially form the Royal Guard. You will be promoted to the sixth rank. Ah Qing will be the captain of the Royal Guard to the second rank. The Royal Guard will only obey my orders."

"Yes, thank you, Your Majesty."

The former Shenji Battalion had been disbanded long ago, but now the Shenji Battalion is filled with Zhu Youjian's summoners, and Zhu Youjian is not worried about their loyalty.

Leaving Ah Qing and the royal guards to continue training, Zhu Youjian and Qinglong Yuhuatian returned to Qianqing Palace.

After returning, Zhu Youjian immediately summoned Sun Chengzhong, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Li Banghua, Chief Assistant of the Cabinet.

The two veteran ministers of Ming Dynasty hurried to Qianqing Palace.

"See my emperor, long live, long live."

Zhu Youjian nodded with a smile:
"The two lovers are free of courtesy, and I will give you a seat"

The two cabinet ministers hurriedly thanked:

"Thank you, Your Majesty, may I ask what your Majesty's order is for summoning the old minister?"

Zhu Youjian pondered briefly:
"Since the defenders of the capital fought against the bandits, and when the Ming Dynasty sent troops to Liaodong in three directions, land and business tax reforms were carried out almost simultaneously.

Before that, the Ming Dynasty had been desolate everywhere, the guard system existed in name only, corrupt officials were lawless, and the Donglin Party and Qing rumor officials were in trouble.

Although I forcefully killed a group of corrupt officials and traitors, the real crisis of Ming Dynasty has not been resolved. I have been living in the palace and know nothing about the outside situation.

Therefore, I am going to go out for a trip, and I want to see with my own eyes what is going on with me, Daming. After I leave the capital, the capital will be handed over to the two lovers.

You must work together without the slightest intrigue or selfishness, and let all the departments of the imperial court operate normally and orderly during the time when I am away.

Also, only the two of you know about my departure from Beijing this time, and I can’t mention it to anyone, let alone notify the local officials to engage in formalism. If there is a third person who knows, I will ask you. "

Sun Chengzhong and Li Banghua hurriedly got up to salute:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, your kindness to this old minister is as high as a mountain, and this old minister has no second thoughts. Thank you for your trust in this minister. I will do my best to ensure the normal operation of Ming Dynasty and will not affect the lives of the people in any way. Your Majesty must pay attention when traveling. Safe, I look forward to my emperor's return as soon as possible."

There is no need to doubt Sun Chengzhong's loyalty to Zhu Youjian, and Li Banghua is definitely a loyal minister, but sometimes his head often short-circuits, so Zhu Youjian specifically explained it.

"That's it for today, the two lovers go back to rest."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I will take my leave."

After the two cabinet ministers left, Zhu Youjian got up and went to Renshou Palace.

I haven't seen the two princesses for several days, and Zhu Youjian doesn't know when he will come back after he leaves. He still has to make arrangements for the two princesses.

When passing through the imperial garden, Zhu Youjian suddenly found that the imperial garden seemed to have changed, as if there were many more flowers that were not there before.

When the bandits besieged the city, Emperor Chongzhen dismissed the court ladies and eunuchs, and the imperial garden was left unattended for a long time. After Zhu Youjian entered the Qianqing Palace, the imperial garden gradually returned to life.

Because it is winter now, many flowers will not bloom, and many plants have lost their leaves, so Zhu Youjian can feel that the imperial garden has changed.

In front of a plum blossom, a beautiful figure was busy, and her body was also stained with some dust and dirt, but it did not affect her beauty at all. At this time, she was concentrating on arranging these plum blossoms.

Zhu Youjian walked over, and heard almost some movement behind him, the beauty slowly got up and looked back at Zhu Youjian, both of them were taken aback:
"His Majesty……"

"Qinglian? How can you do these things?"

That's right, the beauty in front of the flower is Qinglian, and there are some dirt marks on her face, she seems to be one with the imperial garden.

When she first saw Zhu Youjian, Qinglian's pretty face flushed, and she seemed a little flustered, but she quickly calmed down.

Qinglian gave Zhu Youjian a deep blessing:
"Your Majesty, Qinglian likes to grow flowers. She has a lot of free time now. Arranging some flowers and plants in the imperial garden feels like it can cultivate her heart and mind."

(End of this chapter)