The Concubine Wushuang of Red Mansion

Chapter 137 Cooking Without Rice
In fact, Jia Cong himself had not thought about how to build the Shenbing Camp. Although he mentioned to the emperor in his report that he wanted to build the Shenbing Camp, he simply said that it would be improved on the basis of Franco's muskets and artillery. , come up with more advanced weapons than these Westerners.

With these firearms, Dashun's national power will also be enhanced to a certain extent.

He was actually worried that the emperor would not be interested. In the history of previous lives, the firearms of the Ming Dynasty were almost the same as those of Westerners. Some of the firearms were even world-leading.

Later, when the country closed itself off, it fell directly behind others by hundreds of years, leading to a hundred years of humiliation.

Sure enough, Jia Cong's guess was confirmed. Emperor Taiqi's decree came and he established this magical military camp. As a result, not a single penny of funding was allocated, and the personnel were not allocated. This shows that it was not taken seriously at all. .

Fortunately, Jia Cong also served as the general of the Shenshu camp.

Otherwise, he may have to change from a commander-in-chief with 440 troops to a staff general who is only the commander-in-chief.

"Since the Emperor's decree has been made, I have no choice but to obey it!"

Naturally, Jia Cong couldn't tell Xia Jin that what he actually wanted was a status. The emperor didn't invest a single penny in the Shenbing camp, so he would have to find a way to support the Shenbing camp.

With Jia Cong's ability, he won't be able to afford it.

Zhong Shizhen's carpenter skills were not very good, but he had at least read a book, had a strong ability to understand, and was quite talented in mechanics. After several times of guidance from Jia Cong, he finally guided two skilled craftsmen to make the Jenny Loom. One is probably out.

Nowadays, some adjustments are being made to improve the tightness and flatness of the cloth, and then adjust the width of the weaving.

Jia Cong's idea was to monopolize the cotton cloth market first. With a Zhong's loom, one person could weave one piece of cloth in one day. The efficiency was more than ten times higher than that of today's looms.

The money earned from this alone can cover the early expenses of the Shenbing Camp, but the military money that should be requested from the emperor must not be waived. Otherwise, the emperor will suspect that he treats the Shenbing Camp as his own private soldier. There is only one way to die.

For the time being, Jia Cong was not ready to rebel.

"You mean, just hire a few carpenters, blacksmiths, and a Taoist priest to make alchemy, and you can build a divine army camp? What are you going to do in the future? What are the regulations? What are your plans?"

"There are still many areas for improvement in Fran's muskets and artillery. First, the accuracy of these muskets and cannons is not good; second, they explode at every turn. There are also many stink bombs, the range is not far, the lethality is not enough, and the shooting speed It's not fast, and the attack angle of the artillery is also limited. Disciple thinks these can be improved. The most important thing is that others have this thing, so we can't live without it.

Not only can we not live without it, we must be better than others.Now the Jurchens in Liaodong are restless. One day, the king wants to go south. The Japanese in the southeast do not know what is going on. So many Japanese pirates come to us to cause trouble. The Westerners see this and think that we are easy to bully. , in the future, they will come to bully us with foreign guns and cannons. They use gunpowder, but we also use knives to chop arrows and shoot them. Is that okay? "

"Mainly, I think this artillery gun is inconvenient to use. It is just a frightening thing, with limited lethality. As you said, it has all kinds of problems. We have spent great efforts to research...what is it, and in the end we still have it?" Isn’t it as good a deal as our crossbow?”

"My disciple's idea, we have been using repeating crossbows or bows and arrows for hundreds of thousands of years. From the earliest ancestors to now, there has been no substantial improvement. But now that there are products that can replace repeating crossbows and bows, The disciple thought that this might be an opportunity to develop his bows and arrows. If he misses this opportunity, he will fall behind others in the future, and he will be beaten if he falls behind! "

Xia Jin thought about it, and it made sense. For a large country, we must have what others have. Even if we don't use it and just leave it at home to collect dust, we can't lack it.

After thinking about it, Xia Jin also thought this was a good idea and asked, "Where do you plan to build this divine barracks?"

"Let's put up a show here for the time being, and then move to the capital in the future." Jia Cong's idea is naturally to be where others are.

The money confiscated from the Zhen family has not yet come out in the capital. In the Daming Palace, the Supreme Emperor directly asked for 150 million taels to build a three-story tower dedicated to offering Qing Ci to heaven.

This batch of silver stayed in Jinling City for the time being.

Although the bulk of the money will not be used for the time being, if Jia Cong is short, no one will short his own. Since it is his own house, he did not pay much, and only he knows it.

Regarding the preparations for the construction of the Shenbing camp, Jia Cong came out of Xia Jin's room and called his four kings to discuss it.

"This divine barracks is definitely crucial. Whether the Japanese pirates will be defeated one day is impossible to guarantee based on Dashun's national strength. However, if our divine barracks is set up, we can use the existing fire guns, The artillery is improved and upgraded, crushing those Fran cannons and muskets, not to mention defeating the Japanese pirates, it is possible to conquer the world."

Jiang Xiang asked curiously, "Master General, where did those red-haired Yi people come from? They all look like savages. They speak in a gibbering tone, but no one can understand them. They run all the way. You don’t know what you want to do when you come to our place?”

Jia Cong said, "I don't know the specifics. I only know that this world is very big. Didn't we dig out a map from the red-haired Yi people's ship last time? You can also see that this world must have How old are they? Since they are willing to travel across the ocean and take such a big risk, do you think their intentions are too small?"

Jiang Xiang thought for a while, shook his head and said, "If I were to cross thousands of miles of ocean and escape death, I would definitely want to move all the wealth here back."

"These red-haired Yi people are indeed not good people. If you ask me, I should kill him with one knife!" Yu Xinhai is a strong man with a beard. He looks rough and wild, but in fact he is very careful in his work.

Jia Cong raised his hand to stop the nonsense, "This red-haired Yi is a witness. Zhen Yingjia is dead, but the red-haired Yi will be sent to the capital. He is a foreigner, and the emperor also wants to talk to him. From his mouth Learn some information about the world."

Yu Xinhai hurriedly said, "This subordinate is too narrow-minded!"

"Those who are not of my race must have different minds. You want to chop him with a knife, but I also want to chop him with a knife. However, we also need people like this to come and go to let us know that other people's weapons have become so advanced. To what extent. I believe you all know that the emperor wants to build a divine military camp, and this task has been entrusted to me. The purpose of calling you here today is to discuss this matter."

Zhang Ding said anxiously, "What is there to discuss? Whatever the general says, the subordinates will do whatever they want."

As soon as he spoke, he liked to use his hands. He turned his elbow and almost slapped Wu Weizhong who was sitting with him. Wu Weizhong pulled his arm down and said angrily, "That fire cannon, use the will." I said it is a sophisticated and dangerous thing, but what can you do with a clumsy person like you?"

Zhang Ding's eyes widened and he was about to have sex with Wu Weizhong. Wu Weizhong knew that he had a bad temper and would not obey anyone but the general. He hurriedly said, "Don't be arrogant. The general is here. Do you want to do it?" What?"

Zhang Ding cursed and sat down with his hands on his knees, like a primary school student.

Jia Cong glanced at him, "I only have you number 440 on hand now. Four of you will definitely be mobilized to help me prepare the divine army camp. All the firearms will come from your hands, and your understanding of firearms will also The most familiar ones. Jiang Xiang is in charge of blacksmithing, Yu Xinhai is in charge of storing gunpowder, Zhang Ding is in charge of logistics and supply, and Wu Weizhong leads a team and is responsible for researching the Franconian muskets and cannons, and how to make them."

When Zhang Ding heard something was wrong, he straightened his body, looked at Jia Cong and said, "Boss, the four of us can't do anything!"

"If you can do it yourself, I have no objection. If you don't know how to do it, just find someone who can do it. You must be careful when selecting people and look at the talents. Don't use coercion. We must treat others with courtesy. But they can be brought in at a high price, and as long as they can produce results, it doesn’t matter how much money they cost.”

Jia Cong was afraid that these four people would wipe out their modest family fortune by then, so he said, "However, we don't have much money on hand, and the emperor will not allocate funds. We will have to earn the money we will spend in the future."

Jiang Xiang was stunned, "No, boss, you said that I joined the army because my family was too poor and had no food to eat. I am not afraid of boss's jokes. Before, my family also had more than 20 acres of land. In order to take the exam As a scholar, I ruined all my family property, and in the end I only bought the title of a poor scholar. I can still do other things, but I really don’t know how to make money!"

Wu Weizhong smiled and said, "Boss, what Jiang Xiang said makes sense. Making money is not an easy task. If you want to be a rich man, who would come to the army to work hard!" "Okay, don't do it one by one. As soon as I heard about making money, I just ransacked homes. Don’t think like that in the future. I’ll let you make money on your own, but you won’t. From now on, you’ll be able to hit wherever I point you, right?”

"I can do this!" Zhang Ding nodded, "General, what should we do next?"

"Find a remote place, pull all our people there, and then start looking for talents. Once we take action, we will know how to do it. If you ask me, I don't know how to do it. It's our first time doing it. . I really don’t know how to do it. If we sit together and talk, think about it, and discuss it, we will know how to do it.”

Whether it is Jia Cong's division of labor or the idea he just had, it all depends on what he wants. In fact, he really doesn't know how to prepare a military factory. His grandfather is a Taoist doctor, not an alchemist. How to make medicine. Wanzi, his grandfather had never done it, and he actually didn’t know how to make elixirs.

In today's world, the only ones who have some basic knowledge of chemistry are those who make alchemy.

Jia Cong originally planned to take it one step at a time, but as for how far he would go, Jia Cong had an idea. At the very least, he had to get out the yellow gunpowder, the rifle, and the earthen cannon.

Now that he has survived in this world of red buildings, he doesn't want to be forced by Nurhachi's descendants to grow a rat's tail in the near future when he gets old.

Yu Xinhai said distressedly, "General, my subordinates have absolutely no clue about this gunpowder matter!"

"First find someone who makes fireworks and firecrackers, and then find a Taoist priest who makes alchemy. Let's put it all together and see if they can give us some ideas. If you don't know it yourself, you need to hire more people who know. Professionals do professional things, and others do things. If you don’t point fingers at the time, something will definitely come out as time goes by.”

After Jia Cong had finished speaking, he went off to do other things, leaving the four of them looking at each other in confusion. Originally, they were here to fight against the Japanese, but by resisting, they lost their jobs. What kind of artillery and gunfire are you going to do in the future?
"What do you think will happen in the future if we really can't come up with this artillery gun?" Zhang Ding asked.

"No, the emperor has not issued an order. We are going to kill them on our own. Do we still have the face?" Wu Weizhong rolled his eyes at him. This fool retreated before he even started. He said these depressing words because he wanted to kill them all. A trap?

Shenbing Camp built a camp based on a dilapidated warehouse five miles outside the south gate of Jiangning City. The dilapidated warehouse was divided into three areas. Several rooms and a kitchen were built inside, and Shenbing Camp was put into use. used.

Yu Xinhai's gunpowder group was originally going to occupy a place in the warehouse, and the space was divided, but Jia Cong kicked it out.

On the edge of the lake one mile away from the warehouse, Jia Cong gave them 1000 taels of silver to build a brick house, surrounded by high walls, and built towers around it as a base.

"Boss, isn't this fair? Why is it that Brother Yu's base is new and we can only use a dilapidated warehouse?" Zhang Ding's mind was already lacking in energy and a little confused, so he directly came up and asked.

Jia Cong said angrily, "If you are reluctant to let him go and are willing to work with him, I have no objection, but I remind you that playing with gunpowder is very dangerous. If you are not careful, you will die without knowing how. Are you willing?" "

"No, I don't want to!" Zhang Ding ran quickly.

Yu Xinhai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He blocked Jia Cong's path and said, "Boss, I'll ask Jiang Xiang to write a suicide note for me. Also, boss, can you lend me ten taels of silver? I'll buy a wife first." Do you want to help me give birth to a baby before you can do this job?"

"Get out!" Jia Cong pushed him away funny, "I've never seen you timid on the battlefield before."

Jia Cong led the Shenshu camp. Xia Jin gave Jia Cong the [-] soldiers he had led before. He had two guerrilla generals and two assisting generals under his command. They were all promoted by Xia Jin himself. He was used to them and knew that Jia Cong was the leader. Xia Jin's good disciple always took good care of Jia Cong.

Jia Cong raided the Zhen family this time, which brought a lot of benefits to the army. Everyone was even more convinced by Jia Cong. Tian wanted to see the progress of the training, so he didn't pay much attention to anything else.

After more than ten days of this, Yu Xinhai hired the best craftsman in the city who made fireworks and firecrackers at a high salary of two taels of silver a month. He also didn't know which Taoist temple made the best pills for rubbing medicine. In the evening, the Taoist priest, whose face was full of red light and who might ascend at any time, was invited to join in the feat.

With these two people in the Shenbing camp, they immediately began to invest in the development of gunpowder. The Shenbing camp project led by Jia Cong was finally officially launched.

The Jiangnan officialdom finally came to their senses at this time, and no one knew who provided the evidence. Liu Fang, the grandson of Liu Biao, the Duke of Zhongli, was the first to attack Jia Cong at the court meeting. impeached.

"Your Majesty, I have heard that Jia Conggu, in order to gain fame and reputation, lied about the military situation, and was favored by the emperor. He did not understand how to serve the country with loyal troops, but instead disregarded human lives.

In the so-called surrender battle, all the civil servants of the Japanese country who came to pay tribute to me in Dashun were killed. The great victory in Zhoushan was clearly caused by Jia Cong killing good people and taking credit. I heard that more than 100 households in Zhoushan were all regarded by Jia Cong. The Japanese pirates were killed; in the battle of Ninghai, Jia Cong became even more frantic. He drove the people of Ninghai to the seaside and shot them all.

Your Majesty, an ambitious person like Jia Cong deserves to be cut to pieces with a thousand swords. Please ask Your Majesty to issue an order to take the lock back to the capital, where the three departments will interrogate and correct the punishment. "

No one expected that Liu Fang would suddenly impeach Jia Cong. At this time, everyone was shocked. Some people even looked up at the emperor to observe his words, regardless of the crime of disrespect.

After Liu Fang finished speaking, she knelt down with a heroic attitude of dying, which greatly admired the civil servants and generals in the DPRK.

Seeing this, Gu Mingchen glanced at Yan Weiyong, Minister of Industry.

After Yan Weiyong met Gu Mingchen from the corner of his eye, he also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Supreme Emperor has sent Eunuch Dai several times to issue orders to build the Moon Tower. The minister immediately arranged for people to start the work, but the Ministry of Household Affairs could not allocate money. Come out. It’s hard for a clever woman like you to make a meal without rice!"

Liu Fang glared at Yan Weiyong fiercely, "What time has it been?" He was still talking about climbing the moon tower. He was really useless as a scholar, he was so careless at the critical moment.

The emperor also breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to deal with Jia Cong for the time being. It was still useful for him to keep Jia Cong. Although Yan Weiyong's nature made things more difficult for him, as long as he could keep Jia Cong, it was okay to make a little sacrifice. After all, 300 Jia Cong made more than ten thousand taels of silver.

The key point is that the emperor cannot pretend to be deaf and dumb about the Supreme Emperor's affairs.

The emperor didn't want to talk about Jia Cong, so he asked Zhao Song, the Minister of Household Affairs, "Do you have any way to deal with the silver issue?"

Isn’t Zhao Song just following the lead of Daming Palace?
There was Zhang Qilin in the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the emperor could still instigate actions, so he pretended that Zhao Song, the Minister of Household Affairs, did not exist. His intention was very clear. If Zhao Song had the ability, he would raise money for the Supreme Emperor. If not, he had no choice.

Zhao Song said in embarrassment, "Your Majesty, this is a time of crisis. Last year there were either floods or droughts, and there were snowstorms everywhere in the winter. The state governments have not had time to do anything to encourage farmers to grow mulberry trees. There are refugees everywhere and there is no money to resettle them. The department has no money left to adjust."

"Even so, dear friends, you still have to think of a way. The Supreme Emperor is devoted to the Tao and has not yet ascended. I think the only thing left is the Moon Climbing Tower. No matter how hard it is, I don't want to suffer the Supreme Emperor. Otherwise, , how can I talk about governing the country with filial piety?"

"The Emperor's great filial piety!" Zhao Song knelt down and said sincerely.

At this time, Gu Mingchen stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have an idea."

The emperor's eyelids twitched and he said, "Tell me about it!"

He could escape the first grade of junior high school, but he could not escape the fifteenth grade. The emperor knew that Gu Mingchen ran to the Daming Palace every day. Now it was time to make a bigger move. He wanted to know what Gu Mingchen was going to fart?

(End of this chapter)