prosperous age

"Commander, a new batch of supplies has arrived at the port and is being loaded and unloaded."

Inside Qi Jiguang's main tent, the central army officer came in to report the latest news received.

"Distribute them to the various fortresses as soon as possible according to the plan. Be extremely careful during the transport. This time there is a lot of gunpowder and firearms allocated by the imperial court. We must not allow any loss."

Qi Jiguang put down the battle report from the front, took the military report from the central army, and quickly gave instructions.

In fact, whether in ancient or modern times, wars consume not only ammunition, but also weapons.

In ancient times, cold weapons were widely used. After a major battle, many weapons would often suffer fatal damage that was irreparable, or at least not in the short term, and at that point, they had no choice but to be replaced.

The same applies to the era of firearms. Viewers only see the endless bullets on the screen, but they don't know that firearms must be maintained before each war, and many parts such as the barrel must be replaced. In some cases, the entire firearm may need to be replaced.

In fact, if you pay a little attention, you will find that in modern warfare, the munitions supplied to the front lines often include weapons and ammunition, and that's why.

A small part on a firearm, such as a damaged magazine catch, can often render the firearm unusable.

In ancient times, due to limitations in materials and casting technology, firearms suffered greater losses. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty initially distributed the production of firearms directly to various garrisons.

However, after the country was unified and the imperial system was improved, the manufacture of firearms was taken over by the two capitals, and local craftsmen could only perform simple repairs of firearms.

Under the supervision of the Ministry of Works and the inner court, the manufacture of firearms in the two capitals never stopped, and the firearms issued were constantly replaced.

Every year, the Ministry of War would promptly compile statistics on the firearms reported by military camps across the country and allocate funds for replacements.

Therefore, after reading the list of supplies recorded in the military report, Qi Jiguang decisively ordered the supplies to be allocated immediately.

If a real battle breaks out, and the fortress reports the damage and then replenishes its forces, by the time the firearms arrive, it will probably be too late.

First, distribute firearms to the fortresses and villages. If they are damaged, they can be replaced immediately, which will make the fortresses and villages more powerful.

Moreover, Qi Jiguang was not one to stand idly by and take a beating. Given that all the fortresses were well-defended, he would distinguish the strength of the Japanese pirates and choose to take the initiative to attack, first defeating the weakest Japanese pirates, and then gradually launching a counterattack against the Japanese pirates in other directions.

All of these require stockpiling large quantities of supplies at the front lines so that the army can move with lighter loads when it needs to relocate.

In fact, this is similar to the US military establishing overseas bases in various places and storing large amounts of supplies in the future. It is all for the purpose of obtaining supplies nearby. They only need to send people to their destinations in the fastest way, such as by air, without having to consider objective problems such as large size and excessive weight.

"General, this time there is also a thousand officers and soldiers from the Shenji Battalion. They are said to be training with the latest Tiger Crouching Cannon, which can be quickly reloaded and has a firing method similar to the Franco-Portuguese Cannon."

The commander in the central army did not immediately go out to relay orders after receiving Qi Jiguang's command, but instead gave a reminder.

"Oh, a combination of the breech-loading cannon and the tiger crouching cannon?"

Qi Jiguang was slightly taken aback, then realized what was going on.

He was familiar with both types of firearms. The Tiger Crouching Cannon was a modified version of the Jiujiangwei Iron Cannon, which he found cumbersome and troublesome to manufacture, and was considered a "shoddy" design, only retaining the barrel.

He was initially amazed by the iron cannons produced by Jiujiangwei, but later he realized their purpose in forging them.

They probably coveted the copper used in the original cannons and replaced them with cheaper iron cannons.

But that's none of his business, as long as the firearms work.

Well, actually, influenced by this, Qi Jiguang also took over all the old bronze cannons piled up in the imperial armory and had them cast as tiger squat cannons instead.

Qi Jiguang had many sources of income, including rewards from his early campaigns against Japanese pirates, spoils from those campaigns, and other sources, all of which resulted in a massive amount of money passing through his hands.

At that time, Hu Zongxian truly had a lot of money in his hands; most of the tax revenue from half of Jiangnan ended up in his governor's office.

These funds need to be properly accounted for in order to become private money.

Qi Jiguang was undoubtedly a good tool for managing accounts.

He had military achievements, and all he had to do was slightly increase the bounty that Qi Jiguang had taken by two or three times, and Qi Jiguang would sign and put his seal on it without saying a word.

Therefore, Hu Zongxian strongly supported Qi Jiguang because Qi Jiguang was very obedient.

What commander wouldn't like such an obedient and capable general?

Qi Jiguang handled so much silver, and besides promising rewards to his soldiers, he kept a lot for himself. In addition to satisfying his own needs, he also gave it away as gifts.

Qi Jiguang's ability to lead troops is well-known, and his ability to scheme and maneuver was also among the best in the Ming Dynasty at that time.

He had military merits and was good at scheming, so whether it was Hu Zongxian, Zhang Ke, or others, they all valued him highly.

In the end, he was defeated by factional strife because his last patron fell, and he failed to find a new patron to protect him in time.

As for the breech-loading cannon, its rate of fire left a deep impression on him. It was the main heavy firepower output tool for the wagon battalion. Whether it was a wagon battalion, an infantry battalion, or a cavalry battalion, all types of breech-loading cannons were the main firearms.

Now that he heard that the capital city was combining the Tiger Crouching Cannon and the Frankish Cannon, he naturally knew what it meant.

However, he didn't understand that the Tiger Crouching Cannon was already short enough because it was required to be able to be lifted and move quickly on the battlefield. If the Tiger Crouching Cannon were lengthened, although the rate of fire would increase, its effectiveness on the battlefield would be reduced because it would be inconvenient to move.

He wouldn't want such a crouching tiger cannon.

Of course, it's also acceptable to move them to the city walls as defensive weapons, as long as it's not open field combat.

"Order the personal guards to assemble; I'm going to the docks right away."

Qi Jiguang wanted to see for himself what the new Tiger Crouching Cannon that the imperial court had come up with was, and whether it was actually usable.

He had considered using the firing method of the breech-loading cannon with the tiger crouching cannon. If the tiger crouching cannon could fire two rounds at close range, even though it was just one more shot, the destructive power of the close-range shrapnel would be immense. It's easy to imagine.

Since he couldn't do it himself, he could only treat the Tiger Crouching Cannon as a consumable and mass-produce it. Anyway, it wasn't difficult to make and it was much cheaper than the Frankish Cannon.

So, after the order was given from the central command tent, more than a hundred personal guards quickly appeared outside the tent with their horses.

Before long, Qi Jiguang finished collecting the military reports in front of him, strode out of the tent, took the reins from his guard, mounted his horse, and galloped toward the dock.

In fact, there are no well-positioned harbors with superior terrain in China; there are only a few fishing village wharves.

However, after the Ming army landed on the beach, they quickly expanded the area.

Although it still affected the loading and unloading speed of the army and supplies, it was finally possible to dock several large Fujian ships.

With manpower concentrated, cargo is being loaded and unloaded ship by ship, and the progress is acceptable.

At this time, Ming soldiers on the dock were supervising the hired Japanese laborers as they carried out heavy porterage work.

They ate little but did a good job, which saved the Ming army a lot of trouble.

When Qi Jiguang arrived at the dock, he saw boxes of goods already unloaded from the ship and neatly stacked on the open ground behind the dock.

After being cleaned up, these supplies would be sent to various camps for storage.

Seeing a group of Shenji Battalion soldiers sitting on the ground to rest in the distance, he immediately rode over.

Qi Jiguang had spent two years in the Beijing garrison, so as soon as he appeared, the two guerrillas leading the team hurriedly got up.

Their actions also prompted the other soldiers of the Divine Machine Battalion to stand up.

Qi Jiguang's iron armor was there, and the armor of the Ming army officers was also clearly categorized by rank, so these people naturally recognized it.

"This humble general, Wang Zhen (Xu Han), pays his respects to the Commander-in-Chief."

As Qi Jiguang drew near, the two shouted in unison.

"It's you, these are the thousand Shenji Battalion soldiers who came this time?"

At first, Qi Jiguang only felt that they looked familiar, but after they introduced themselves, he instantly knew who they were. They were considered to be some capable members of the collateral branches of the nobility, which was why Qi Jiguang had selected them from the old Beijing garrison. Unexpectedly, they became the officers leading the Shenji Battalion this time.

Soon, the two began to describe in detail the group of people they had brought.

"Many of them were selected from the Five Armies Camp to supplement the Shenji Battalion?"

Qi Jiguang frowned slightly, not very happy.

The Shenji Battalion primarily uses firearms. Because its manpower is limited, if it is transferred out, it will usually select replacements from the Five Armies Battalion.

Most of these people had only been in the Shenji Battalion for half a year. Although they might be veterans, they were not necessarily familiar with firearms.

"They are all skilled firearm users from their respective units. They have been training repeatedly in Tianjin and on the ship for more than a month to use the Tiger Crouching Cannon. They should be ready to fight the enemy."

Xu Han was bolder. He was from a collateral branch of the Duke of Dingguo's family, so Qi Jiguang took good care of him when he was in the Beijing garrison.

"Bring out the newly manufactured Tiger Crouching Cannons that the imperial court has made this time, so I can see them."

The purpose of coming here is to see the cannons. Since we've come this far, Qi Jiguang immediately gave the order.

"Yes, Marshal."

Xu Han hurriedly beckoned to the men behind him and told them to take the cannons from the wooden boxes next to them, while Xu Han then gave Qi Jiguang a detailed introduction.

"General, this box contains a cannon, with five cartridge cases, just like the breech-loading cannon."

He explained that Qi Jiguang had already seen those people bringing out the new cannons.

At first glance, Qi Jiguang thought he was seeing things. What they had taken out was not a tiger crouching cannon, but rather a half-cannon.

The Tiger Crouching Cannon is two feet long, while this cannon is only a little over one foot long. It has a base underneath, which is probably where the propellant cartridge is placed.

Over there, Xu Han was still explaining, "Because range isn't a concern, and the only requirement is lethality within thirty paces, this cannon is primarily designed for rapid reloading and firing against enemy forces within thirty paces."

When someone took out the cartridge case from the box, which was about a foot long, Qi Jiguang understood that this was a two-foot-long tiger squat cannon split in two.

As for the rest, Qi Jiguang had already figured it out. This thing is all about rapid reloading and hitting close-range targets.

The Tiger Crouching Cannon could actually fire farther, but it was inaccurate and had less power. This cannon doesn't need that capability at all; it's only for firing close-range shot.

"It's alright, how come I didn't think of that?"

Qi Jiguang was still thinking that he had initially thought this thing was simple and cheap to forge, so he equipped it in large quantities without giving much thought to its improvement.

Now that he sees this cannon, he knows what it means.

"Fire two shots and let me see."

Qi Jiguang gave instructions to Xu Han.

"General, normally a tiger-squatting cannon is used by a team of two, but this cannon requires four to five people because of the propellant cartridge."

While directing several people to prepare for cannon drills, Xu Han explained how they had figured out how to use the new type of tiger crouching cannon, also so that Qi Jiguang could correct him.

Although increasing manpower would significantly impact combat effectiveness, Qi Jiguang could actually understand it.

After all, the original plan was to kill with one shot and then discard the target.

Now that it can be loaded quickly, someone needs to carry the cartridge, so we'll definitely need to increase manpower.

As for spent cartridge cases, they certainly don't need to be reloaded on the spot in a field environment.

If they can fire all five cartridges, their mission will be considered complete.

Xu Han said from the side that he was just watching the men operate the cannon.

About twenty paces away, a few tree branches were simply set up as targets.

As the cartridge cases were loaded, under Xu Han's command, two men carried the cannon and ran quickly forward to their positions, followed by three others carrying five cartridge cases.

Then the medicine tube was positioned, and the tinderbox was used to light the fuse.

"boom."

With a cannon shot, Qi Jiguang only saw a white mass disappear into the air after the cannon barrel was destroyed. The tree branches in the distance trembled slightly, clearly hit by the shrapnel.

After firing one shot, the gunner would not stop, quickly unload the propellant cartridge, replace it with another, and fire again.

They loaded three cartridges and fired them all in a very short time. Afterwards, as was their custom, they discarded the cannon and ran back.

Qi Jiguang estimated the entire launching and loading process in his mind to be roughly the same, about one shot every ten steps.

Five cartridges might not be enough to fire them all, but it's possible to fire off three or four.

As for why it was equipped with five cartridge cases, it was probably a habit; the breech-loading cannon always had five cartridge cases.

How many of these "Tiger Crouching Cannons" did you bring?

Having already witnessed the test firing, Qi Jiguang immediately asked questions.

"Two hundred doors."

Xu Han replied.

"Why is it only this little?"

Qi Jiguang frowned again and pressed for an answer.

"These are newly completed cannons. The capital is still rushing to produce them. It's only because we're in a hurry to leave that the Ministry of Works has gathered all the craftsmen they could find to make so many, at least enough for each cannon crew to get one."

However, the Ministry of Works will be casting a large quantity later, and these will be shipped here first.

Xu Han hurriedly said.

The Ministry of Works did its best to ensure that the cannons were genuine. The last batch was delivered to the dock and loaded onto the ship after the cannons had been on board for more than two hours.

They were all rushed out yesterday, and the crew even carefully inspected the cannons on the ship, worried about potential quality issues.

Firearms in the Ming Dynasty were like this; they already had a concept of quality.

Who told them to categorize weapons into different grades so early on? The generals in charge of the troops were already familiar with receiving defective goods from the armory.

Yes, during the Ming Dynasty, shoddy workmanship and the use of inferior materials had already formed a complete chain, with each link able to share in the profits.

Therefore, although the imperial court invests a lot every year, this chain of interests still exists.

However, under the strong pressure from Wei Guangde, Jiang Zhi, and Zhang Ke, the number of qualified products now accounts for slightly more than half of the output, and that's the best they can do.

To add more would mean cutting off the flesh of those people.

Water that is too clear has no fish, and Wei Guangde was helpless in this situation.

At least half of the products are still qualified, whereas in the past only 30% were qualified. Only when the border town paid a sufficient tribute would they reluctantly send the products out of the armory.

"You will disperse some of your forces to various fortresses and villages, and leave another force for emergencies."

Qi Jiguang made his decision in a very short time. (End of Chapter)