I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 125 The Tranquility Before the Storm

On the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, Hupiyi.

Qi Jin took a blunderbuss that had just been delivered to him and couldn't put it down to play with it. What Yang Qinqi said was indeed right. He had sent it to him before the end of the year.

Beside him, Zhang Mingshi, the general of the Zhejiang camp, also took a shot and started thinking about it with great interest.

"The things coming from the capital are really good, much better than those made in Liaodong."

This Zhang Mingshi was also a man who was proficient in firearms. He was originally a general in Xulu, Yunnan, but was arrested and imprisoned for killing a good man without taking merit.

Because he was proficient in making firearms and was a rare talent, Xiong Tingbi repeatedly wrote to the court asking for him. He took Zhang Mingshi out of prison and sent him to Liaodong, where he was entrusted with the management of the firearms camp.

After he arrived, Xiong Tingbi directly asked him and Qi Jin to take charge of the Zhejiang camp. One was responsible for training and the other was responsible for firearms manufacturing. The two of them complemented each other well.

"Haha, I (Zhang Mingshi's word) go and take a look at the artillery. I heard that there are ten Krupp cannons newly cast by the imperial court. They are said to be far more powerful than the Fo Lang machine and other cannons, more than ten times as much. You are a master of forging cannons and an expert, can you come and inspect the goods for us?"

Zhang Mingshi became interested immediately after hearing this, so he walked directly to the carriage transporting the ordnance and asked the scribe to see where the ten cannons were.

After some guidance from the scribe, he saw ten two-horse wagons covered with white cloth, as well as five wagons containing other artillery parts.

"Sir General, this is the red Yi cannon made by Xu Guangqi of the imperial court according to the Western style. The newly cast Krupp cannon weighs [-] kilograms and can fire twelve kilograms of shells. If it is fully equipped, it will require three horses. Pull.

The clerk from the imperial court said that this kind of cannon is similar in power to the Luzon bronze cannon sent last year, but smaller in size. It can be used in field battles and in city defense. It has a range of one or two miles, and the sound of the cannon is loud and the shells are fired. , can break down the built shield chariots, and enemy soldiers will be killed if they touch them. "

After saying that, he asked people to remove the white cloth from the carriage, and then the shiny cannon body was exposed.

Zhang Mingshi touched the new cannon and looked at the caliber. He then touched the body of the cannon and found that unlike other crudely made cannons of the imperial court, the Krupp cannon had very small air holes in the inner wall, which reduced the chance of the barrel exploding.

He patted the body of the cannon casually, feeling very satisfied and unable to put it down. He considered himself an expert in cannon casting, but he had never seen such a cannon.At the same time, I also saw a line of writing on the cannon:

"It was cast in the Ordnance Supervision Bureau on Ding Mao in the tenth month of the first year of Taichang. The mold was made by Xiang Wei, the caster was Zhan Si, the forger was Zai, and Xu Guangqi supervised the production."

The more I looked at this famous image, the more satisfied I became, so I quickly asked someone to dismantle the cannon body and start assembling it directly.Seeing how interested he was, Qi Jin also became interested.Put down the gun in your hand and join him in directing the people to assemble it.

With the collective efforts of everyone, a brand-new Krupp cannon was assembled in a short time. It was pulled by three horses and the gun body was placed on the frame, so that it could be used in the field.

"The barrel of this cannon is so big, it's basically three times the size of the Folang machine cannon. We were actually given ten of them. In this way, Jianlu's shield car has nothing to fear."

Qi Jin was also happy when he saw it. Now that he has these new equipment, his combat power when fighting Jianlu will definitely be higher.

"Commander, don't be anxious. After all, whether it's a mule or a horse, it still needs to be pulled out. Let's see the specific effects."

Although Zhang Mingshi also liked it, he still wanted to test it and find out.

Most of the Zhejiang camp was proficient in firearms, and the artillery was easy to operate. So under the instructions of these two people, someone immediately began to pull the Krug cannon to an open area to prepare for test firing.

Check the gun body, load the gunpowder, insert the gun, insert the fuse, aim, and light the fuse.

A set of movements is so smooth that I don’t know how many times I have done it.

"boom!"

The sound of a cannon blast caused the snow on the nearby trees to fall, and the shells landed far away on the target.

"Well, in the past, the quality of the imperial court's firearms was worrisome, and many of them were no longer useful. But now, the quality of this batch is very good, and it is of great use to our army."

Qi Jin nodded with satisfaction at the effect, and Zhang Mingshi also agreed.

"Originally there was insufficient gunpowder and firearms, but now the amount sent is completely enough. Now our Zhejiang camp can feel proud."

Zhang Mingshi's words resonated with Qi Jin.

"Hahaha, yes, Mr. Yang is really a noble man. Now those Sichuan soldiers don't dare to look down on me anymore. We must fight a good battle, compare them to each other, and give them a good show, hahaha. "
-
Although Zhu Youxiao is concerned about the war in Liaodong, he is currently beyond his reach.

As New Year's Eve approaches, the New Year's atmosphere in the palace and in Beijing is getting stronger and stronger. This also allows Zhu Youxiao to put aside his worries and experience the rich New Year flavor of ancient times.

Just like the folk, the palace begins to prepare for the New Year starting from the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month when the stove is sacrificed.

After the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the maids and eunuchs in the palace began to wear gourd jingbuzi and python clothes.Everyone is ready to steam dim sum and store pork for expenses in the next 20 days.

From this day to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, fireworks will be set off in front of the Qianqing Palace every day.Only in strong windy weather will we stop for half a day or a day.

At the same time, Aoshan lanterns and fireworks were installed in the palace.The emperor would visit it every day. When the Holy Emperor arrived, fireworks would be set off. When the emperor returned to his palace, the fireworks would also be set off.

Zhu Youxiao didn't know what Aoshan lanterns were at first. When he saw them, he thought they were not lanterns. There were many styles, including water monsters, birds, beasts, fish and dragons, and they were not like modern ones. light bulbs, but candles. "Brother Imperial, Brother Imperial, come quickly, there is actually a mountain and a dragon in this place."

Under the leadership of Zhu Youxiao, Zhu Huijing, who is only eight years old now, is dragging her two sisters Zhu Huiyan and Zhu Huiti through the Aoshan lanterns, having a great time.

"Slow down, be careful not to fall."

Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian were strolling behind and admiring the scene. They looked at Zhu Huijing trotting all the way and were filled with worry.

"Huijing is too naughty. From now on, the nuns must watch over her carefully."

Zhu Youjian looked at Zhu Huijing in front of him. As an elder brother, he was very annoying to him. He would stick to him all day long and follow her wherever he went. He was lawless. Now that he was favored by the emperor, he was probably even more unscrupulous.

"Haha, it's okay, just a kid."

Zhu Youjian didn't care about this. He was the king of a country, so it was okay to indulge his sisters, except of course Zhu Youjian, who had to be strict with him.

For a modern person, he has seen too many of these lanterns and finds them boring.

What he enjoys more is the long-lost family affection. He has traveled through time. Although he looks only 16 years old, his mental age is already close to thirty or forty.

Sometimes I look at my younger siblings as if I were my own children.I'm afraid of falling when I walk, I'm afraid of choking when I eat, I'm afraid of being loved too much.

Perhaps only at this time did he feel less like a loner.

The palace is very lively with lantern viewing and fireworks every day.

On the [-]th day of the twelfth lunar month, the palace began to become even busier.

Peach charm boards should be planted next to each palace door and palace door, general charcoal should be placed, and door gods should be pasted on the door. Paintings such as God of Fortune, Ghost Punisher, and Zhong Kui should also be hung in the palace and the Nuan Pavilion to ensure happiness and peace in the next year.

On the bed in the palace, eight treasures of gold and silver, Buddhist scriptures, and prayer wheels were hung, or yellow coins were woven like dragons. Sesame straws were inserted under the eaves of the palace to symbolize that the sesame seeds were blooming steadily. In the courtyard, cypress branches and firewood were burned, which was called Zan. age.

On this day, Zhu Youxiao also issued an edict, ordering his relatives to go to various imperial tombs in Changping to offer sacrifices.

It was a lively day at the end of the day. When the eunuchs and maids saw Zhu Youxiao, they all said auspicious words. When Zhu Youxiao was happy, he would reward him with some money.The cabinet ministers would also submit various New Year memorials to Zhu Youxiao, but he would not read the contents, which were naturally full of compliments.

In the afternoon, Zhu Youhui held a grand "Xi Festival" ceremony at the Taimiao Temple and the Shimiao Temple.The so-called "Zi sacrifice" means enshrining the tablets of the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty in the Taimiao Temple and holding a joint sacrifice.He also needs to tell what he has done this year and report his work to his ancestors.

As evening approaches, Zhu Youxiao will entertain the concubines and princesses in the palace.But he wasn't married yet, so in order to join in the fun, he invited Guangzong's still-living concubines over to celebrate the New Year together.

Fortunately, Guangzong only took the throne for a month, and there was no time to choose a concubine. The only concubines were Dongli Zhuangfei who was currently taking care of Zhu Youjian, Zhu Huiyan and Zhu Huijing's biological mother Fu Yifei, and Zhu Huiti's mother Li Xuanshi.

Ever since Li Xuanshi was thrown into Mingluan Palace, she has not been seen again.Now that Zhu Youxiao's position was stable, he was naturally not afraid of her, so he invited her to the dinner party.

Now that Li Xuanshi has seen the situation clearly, his heart has died. At present, Zhu Huiti is the only one on his mind. He just hopes that the emperor will not vent his anger on his daughter.Now that he finally saw Zhu Youxiao, he immediately knelt down and confessed.

"Your Majesty, it was my concubine who was confused and deceived by lard, so she did such a stupid thing. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Zhu Youxiao didn't want to argue with her, nor did he want her to disturb the atmosphere of the dinner, so he immediately said it was the Wei Dynasty's fault and pardoned her.

Seeing Zhu Youxiao's magnanimity, everyone congratulated the emperor one after another. Zhu Youxiao didn't care and immediately asked people to start serving food and perform singing and dancing.

The palace was filled with joy and joy for a while. After a simple meal, there was one last step before returning to the palace to watch the New Year, which was to set off fireworks.

When Zhu Youxiao and his younger brothers and sisters came out, the eunuchs who had been prepared ordered people to start setting off fireworks.

"Boom" "Boom" "Boom"

Fireworks flew into the air, exploding into colorful fireworks. Zhu Huiyan and Zhu Huijing cheered when they saw the exploding fireworks, and they were extremely happy.

Even Zhu Youxiao, who had long been tired of watching the fireworks, smiled as he watched the fireworks in this atmosphere.

"Boom" "Boom" "Boom"

Fireworks continued to bloom in the sky, but the sound gradually made Zhu Youxiao feel uneasy. The sound was like artillery. Looking at the fireworks, his thoughts began to slowly disperse. I wonder if the Krupp artillery has been transported to Liaodong. When will Jianlu attack, I wonder if Xiong Tingbi and Yang Lian can withstand it.

After thinking about it, his eyes began to look towards Liaodong.

(Part [-] completed!)
　The first volume is over.

　　The Battle of Liaodong will begin directly in the next volume, and the protagonist will also begin real reforms!

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(End of this chapter)