prosperous age

"master."

In the duty room of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Lu Bu stood respectfully outside the desk, holding a booklet in his hand.

"what's up?"

Wei Guangde was reading a document and asked without even looking up.

"You asked me to find the documents about Jeju Island the other day. The Hanlin Academy has already looked through all the documents and found no record of Jeju Island being given to Joseon. They only asked the Joseon king to pay tribute to the Tamrok.

only"

Lu Bu became a little hesitant when he spoke the latter part.

"Just what?"

Wei Guangde then looked up and asked Lu Bu.

“The scholars of the Hanlin Academy believed that the implication of this statement was actually to give Jeju Island to North Korea.”

Finally, Lu Bu expressed the Hanlin scholars' understanding.

Wei Guangde held out his hand, and Lu Bu hurriedly handed him the booklet, saying, "This is a catalog of all the documents that the Hanlin Academy has reviewed. There are too many files to move over."

"Ah."

Wei Guangde only said a word, briefly flipped through the booklet in his hand, and nodded with a smile, "It's good that there is no written record. This matter is not what they understand, but what the court wants.

Asking the King of Joseon to pay tribute to Tamroma may be for convenience, after all, Joseon pays tribute every year, and when paying tribute, Tamroma is also sent over."

I was also given my own understanding, and as long as it is not written down, I can say whatever I want.

There is no need to guess Zhu Yuanzhang’s true intentions now.

"That's it. Don't talk about it anymore."

Wei Guangde spoke again and gave him some instructions, then waved his hand and asked him to leave.

Putting down the booklet, Wei Guangde continued to look at the document in his hand.

This document was obtained from the Ministry of War and contained information collected by Jinyiwei spies regarding Japan's current weapons and equipment.

Of course, the most important thing is to introduce the firearms currently used in Japan.

The Japanese daimyo actually discovered the power of firearms very early, so when trading with foreign merchants, they were always seeking to buy Western firearms from them and then have blacksmiths in their territories imitate them.

As for cold weapons, apart from the samurai sword that requires time-consuming and laborious repeated forging, Japan's other weapons are actually not considered advanced.

Are you kidding? Japan's main weapon now is the bamboo pole, a standard weapon used by soldiers. What's so good about it?

Only a very small number of samurai had samurai swords. Most samurai could only use ordinary knives or even bamboo poles as weapons. This was one of the reasons why the Ming army was afraid when the Japanese pirates invaded the south of the Yangtze River. Their weapons were long.

It is much longer than the standard spears equipped by the Ming Dynasty, so it will definitely be a disadvantage in a fight.

As for firearms, they were not that advanced at that time. The gap between the East and the West was not that big, so the crushing style of fighting like that of the 19th century naturally would not appear.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty was able to confront the Western fleet during this period without losing, and to make up for the quality gap with quantity. One very important reason for this was that the firearms technology was not very advanced at that time.

If the Ming Dynasty had encountered the Western fleet three hundred years later, the outcomes of the several naval battles would be unknown.

From the intelligence obtained by the Jinyiwei, Wei Guangde also had a general understanding of the Japanese pirates' firearms technology.

Due to the backwardness of smelting technology, the firearms currently equipped by Japan are mainly light firearms, the most common of which is the iron cannon, which is the matchlock gun currently used by the Ming army.

In addition, Japanese craftsmen also enlarged the iron cannon and made a big barrel, a short and thick firearm, which can be understood as a hand cannon.

The use of this weapon is very similar to the shoulder-fired rocket launcher of later generations. Because the barrel is much larger than that of the iron cannon, it is considered a kind of light artillery.

However, since it is handheld by a single soldier, the amount of gunpowder is naturally insufficient and the power is also limited. It can only be said to be slightly larger than a cannon.

There are two types of large guns. One type is the large gun that fires one or two heavy projectiles, which is classified as a medium-sized large gun. This is the individual handheld weapon that Japan is currently equipped with in large numbers.

The other type fires three or two-pound projectiles. This type cannot be held by a single soldier, but is built on a bracket and used like later light artillery.

In addition to the two types of self-made firearms mentioned above, Japan also has a small number of artillery, namely the "Kokubeng" cannon, which is actually the medium-sized Portuguese cannon used by the Ming Dynasty. It is a weapon that was privately resold to Japan and the Ming Dynasty by foreign merchants.

However, there are very few such weapons in Japan, and even if there are, there are only two or three of them.

Moreover, Japan is currently unable to manufacture this type of firearms on its own and can only seek to purchase them from foreign merchants, and the prices are also raised very high.

Wei Guangde collected this information naturally to prepare for the war that might break out two years later, and to see which aspects of the Ming army needed to be strengthened.

In fact, according to the course of the later Korean War, the Japanese artillery, which was despised by Wei Guangde at that time, posed a considerable threat to the Ming army.

Yes, at that time the quality of the matchlock guns equipped by the Ming army was not as good as the iron cannons of the Japanese army, so after the war, the Ming army was equipped with imitation Japanese iron cannons.

The main reason is that the Japanese iron cannon has a larger caliber than the Ming army's bird gun, so the amount of gunpowder can be increased, and the effective range and armor-piercing power are improved to a certain extent.

However, the Ming Dynasty finally used its absolutely superior artillery against the matchlock gun, and the result was naturally clear: Japan was defeated.

After reading it, Wei Guangde put the document down, rubbed his chin and thought for a while, then his eyes fell back on a paragraph in the document.

It records that the Japanese daimyo not only asked the craftsmen in his territory to build iron cannons and large barrels, but also purchased a large number of these firearms from outside to equip his own army.

However, intelligence had a very low opinion of the armies of the Japanese daimyos, probably because most of the troops were temporarily conscripted farmers and lacked training.

Although Japan had already transformed from temporarily conscripting peasant soldiers to a professional standing army at this time, they had to face a problem, that is, the lack of gunpowder.

Japan has sufficient sulfur and charcoal, but is seriously short of saltpeter. The most annoying thing for Japan's firearms units in every battle is the consumption and supply of gunpowder.

After a major battle, firearms often only last halfway through their use before failing.

Of course, the Japanese daimyo were not stupid, so they were willing to purchase saltpeter at a high price. Therefore, every time the foreign merchants and "Ming merchants" went to Japan to trade, they would bring some saltpeter and sell it at a good price.

It was only at this time that Wei Guangde realized why his caravan needed saltpeter so much. It turned out that they could make several times the profit by transporting it to Japan.

Japan was short of gunpowder, so naturally the firearms units were poorly trained even among professional soldiers. This was similar to the various garrisons in the Ming Dynasty, where training was seldom used and fighting was almost used as training.

Of course, the document only mentioned that foreign merchants were selling saltpeter, and did not mention that "Ming merchants" were also involved in the trade.

Gradually, an idea formed in Wei Guangde's mind, that is, to let the Ministry of War collect the inferior firearms that were originally gathered dust in the warehouses of various departments, and sell them to Japan for profit.

However, this thought only appeared for a moment before Wei Guangde dismissed it.

Japan is no longer a country bumpkin. Even if the firearms that the Ming army looked down upon were shipped to Japan, there would probably be no market for them.

Yes, the iron cannons that Japan is currently equipped with are far superior to those weapons in terms of technology and quality. The other side will definitely not want these weapons.

Even if they want to be traded, only the bird guns currently produced by the Ming army will have a market.

Wei Guangde would certainly not do anything to aid the enemy.

Even the sale of saltpeter was restricted to Japan.

But this is also very troublesome. He may not want Japan to sell saltpeter, but he cannot control those foreign merchants, and they will still make money from it.

Wei Guangde was somewhat conflicted. Even if he stopped selling it, it would not prevent Japan from obtaining saltpeter. So what was the point?
Wei Guangde felt a little confused, but he also realized something else, that is, the benefits of the Grand Review to the Ming Dynasty were far more than just promoting military power. Thinking of the old and broken ships in the Ming Navy, there might be a chance to regain their value.

Wei Guangde couldn't help but pat his forehead and said self-deprecatingly: "People in later generations know that being an arms dealer makes money faster than anything else. I'm just realizing this now."

He quickly took out the note, wrote a few words on it, and then shouted to the outside of the duty room, "Lubu, Lubu, come in."

Immediately, Lu Bu appeared at the door. He walked quickly to Wei Guangde and bowed to stand by him.

"Immediately arrange for someone to deliver it to Lord Tan from the Ministry of War. Go quickly."

Wei Guangde handed him the note he had just written and signaled him to do it quickly.

He had just finished writing, and the ink was not yet dry. He did not even dare to fold the reed cloth, and just hurried out of the house to find someone to deliver the letter.

In the afternoon, Tan Lun came to the duty room. He came from home. He was not feeling well today, so he did not go to the Ministry of War.

The traveler first went to the Ministry of War, and finally went to Tan's house to deliver the note.

"Shandai, what's the matter? Come to me urgently."

After entering the room and sitting down, Tan Lun did not beat around the bush and asked directly.

Wei Guangde did not answer immediately. Instead, he waited until Lu Bu served the tea and left before whispering, "How did the Ministry of War deal with the old firearms it distributed? Can they be quickly retrieved?"

"You mean those firearms that have been eliminated? The bronze ones are usually taken back. You know that the court is short of colleagues. The iron ones are directly melted down by the guards to make weapons."

Although Tan Lun felt a little strange, he still spoke.

“Well, can the Ministry of War ask the various guards to take back the remaining old-style firearms as soon as possible?

Of course, the bronze ones have been melted to make up for the copper, but the iron firearms should still be usable, just not as good as the latest bird guns and falconets."

What Wei Guangde was talking about were naturally some firearms cast after the early Ming Dynasty. These firearms came in a variety of styles, so after the Ministry of War decided to build a firearms unit with bird guns, falconets, and new long cannons, all the old weapons were eliminated and thrown into the warehouses of various offices.

Tan Lun said that recycling copper cannons was actually a cover-up, but Wei Guangde knew that many of the scrapped copper cannons were privately melted down by the military commanders of the garrisons to make private money.

Of course, it was the batch of firearms in the early Ming Dynasty that were cast in large quantities using copper. Later, due to the lack of copper, cannons were cast using iron.

"Shandai, what exactly are you going to do?"

Tan Lun wondered why Wei Guangde needed those old firearms. These things were already outdated and the Ministry of War was too lazy to take them back.

“The grand review is naturally to demonstrate the military strength of the government army to the surrounding vassal states. By then, they will surely be impressed by the tremendous power of firearms.

Countries like Korea and Ryukyu will certainly seek to buy our Ming Dynasty firearms."

Wei Guangde said calmly: "By then, these obsolete firearms will certainly be put to good use.

I even considered distributing old ships to the garrisons in various places, refurbishing the ships that were no longer in use and replacing them with new ones from the navy, loading these firearms on the ships, and selling them as gunboats. "

"Ah, this is a firearm, which is prohibited by the imperial court."

Tan Lun was about to say that the imperial court prohibited private hoarding by the people, but then he remembered that Wei Guangde was talking about trading with vassal states, which was naturally not restricted in this case.

"In the future, all old-style firearms that the government troops have replaced can be collected in one place and handled by the vassal states.

Of course, the latest models, such as bird guns, heavy bird guns, falconets, and long cannons, cannot be sold for the time being.

When the Ministry of War has more advanced firearms, we will consider selling it."

Wei Guangde said.

"Do they like it?"

To Wei Guangde's surprise, Tan Lun asked hesitantly.

Most of the Ming Dynasty's firearms came from the barbarians, and the surrounding vassal states were not completely without contact with the barbarians. Even if a country bumpkin wanted to bluff people, he had to be able to fool them.

Wei Guangde was stunned and felt that it made a lot of sense.

He really ignored this problem, thinking only that the equipment of various countries was very backward and they should not have any firearms.

The Ming Dynasty gave them firearms, but they were still not grateful.

Now that Tan Lun reminded me of this, it seems to be still true.

However, Wei Guangde soon found a solution from later generations.

Wei Guangde smiled and said to Tan Lun, "Then tell them privately that this is the protection fee they pay to the imperial court. If they buy equipment from the imperial court, the imperial court will provide them with protection and prevent them from being enslaved by the barbarians.

You know, the barbarians conquered many places.

The imperial court cannot guarantee their safety just because of the so-called tribute relationship. They still have to pay protection fees to the imperial court. Only then can we have Yiwu to protect them from being bullied by the barbarians."

“That’s okay too”

Tan Lun looked at Wei Guangde with his mouth wide open.

"Do you remember Mancijia? When Portugal invaded, Emperor Wuzong didn't do anything to them in the end. He just banned trade with them.

If they had paid the court protection fees every year, the court would not have sat idly by and would have sent troops to help them restore their country."

Wei Guangde said.

Suddenly, Wei Guangde felt that in this world full of the law of the jungle, it would be a good idea for the Ming Dynasty to collect protection fees from vassal states.

All of this money can be used to arm the government troops and reduce the burden on the court.

"The barbarians sell gunpowder at a very high price, so we might as well sell some. After all, the gunpowder bureau can manufacture it, and the inner court can also make some money.

In this way, I think neither the inner court nor the outer court will object to selling firearms and providing them with protection."

The idea of ​​exporting firearms was actually a sudden one for Wei Guangde, who came up with it after seeing Japan importing saltpeter to make gunpowder.

Of course, there are some areas that are not well considered.

"Let's prepare for this first, and we'll see if we can accomplish it in the end."

Wei Guangde said, "In fact, I think it's not impossible to sell some of the cannons and the latest developed firearms, such as bird guns."

"Bird guns. The government troops are not equipped enough now."

Hearing that Wei Guangde still wanted to sell the bird gun, Tan Lun immediately spoke up.

Wei Guangde thought too highly of the Ming Dynasty's industry. In fact, although the Ministry of Industry had a large team of craftsmen, the technology was backward and productivity was not high during that period.

The Ming Dynasty prioritized firearms for the Northern Army, so it had a little surplus, but this was all obtained by withholding equipment from the Southern Army.

As for the Southern Army, only a small number of elite troops received the same treatment as the Northern Army.

"We'll think about this later, but we have to hurry up and get the firearms back."

Wei Guangde nodded to show that he understood, but he still said. (End of this chapter)