Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Xu Guangqi was very unhappy that the emperor would use his people and then discard them.

He said to the emperor:

"Your Majesty, the artillery skills of the Western gunners are superb, even surpassing those of the Beijing garrison gunners."

"I believe he should be retained to continue guiding artillery techniques."

Zhu Youjian did not agree upon hearing this; instead, he frowned and said:

"how?"

"Could it be that these people have been hiding their true knowledge and haven't been teaching anything real?"

"They lack professionalism and have let down the court's spending."

Xu Guangqi hadn't expected the emperor to think that way, and hurriedly explained:
"It's not that they didn't teach it, it's that the math required for artillery is difficult for the gunners in the army to learn in a short time."

"They can only fire according to the fixed firing table now, and have not yet reached the level of applying what they have learned in practice."

Upon hearing this explanation, Zhu Youjian's expression softened slightly.

But he knew the problem was still very serious, and specifically instructed Xu Guangqi:
"You are a great mathematician, you shouldn't make such a mistake."

"I think the mathematics required for artillery should be added to the Ming Suan Ke and Shu Su examinations."

"Artillery should also be included in math textbooks, so that more students can become gunners."

"In terms of martial arts, there should be a dedicated artillery department. The Academy of Military Sciences should also have an artillery research institution."

"We must improve our artillery skills and not fall behind the West."

Xu Guangqi hurriedly agreed, and then secretly wiped his sweat with his sleeve.

He originally intended to retain the Western mercenaries by using their artillery skills, but the emperor instead used this as a reason to hold him accountable.

The various methods proposed did not include any place for the Westerners; they only said that artillery technology should not lag behind that of the Westerners.

This made him realize that the emperor would not retain these people.

Zhu Youjian didn't actually not want to retain them, but rather he didn't want to leave any unstable elements in the army.

He knew that these people from Xiangshan'ao were deeply influenced by Jesus and were not loyal to him.

So he sent these people to the Foreign Legion as mercenaries from abroad.

At the same time, knowing that Western artillery technology had advanced rapidly due to continuous warfare, Zhu Youjian issued the following order:
"Western wars are frequent, and artillery and tactics have improved rapidly. The Ming Dynasty should pay attention to learning from them."

"Sun Yuanhua also brought back mercenaries on this mission. In the future, we should establish a system to invite some Western mercenaries to join the Foreign Legion every five years, or at most ten years, and give them better treatment than those from the West."

"We must let them demonstrate their Western tactics and artillery skills, and train the foreign legion."

"The foreign legion will also serve as the Blue Army, and will conduct exercises with the Red Army, which is composed of the Ming army, every one or two years."

“We should learn from the beneficial aspects and improve upon the Ming Dynasty’s regulations.”

This was his strategy to stimulate the Ming army's progress, but it wasn't safe enough.

Zhu Youjian found it somewhat absurd that the Navy had proposed building treasure ships as warships some time ago.

This method isn't impossible from today's perspective, as armed merchant ships can participate in naval warfare. However, with advancements in artillery and shipbuilding technology, and the widespread adoption of line-of-battle tactics, armed merchant ships and warships will become completely distinct, rendering this tactic outdated.

The naval personnel who proposed this method completely overlooked the development of artillery.

Therefore, he issued another order:

"The navy should also form a squadron that allows foreign personnel to participate and absorb the most advanced naval tactics from the West."

"There are also gunners from the army and navy. They are evaluated every year to see which side has the best gunnery skills."

"Future wars will be artillery battles, so we must pay attention to the power of artillery."

This conclusion can be drawn because, with the widespread use of shrapnel, hand grenades, and landmines, the Ming Dynasty's fuse technology has advanced rapidly. Impact fuses for artillery shells have already been developed. If black powder were more powerful, exploding shells would soon become practical artillery shells.

Currently, the Equipment Research Institute is researching a lower-cost impact-fuze ordinary shrapnel grenade, verifying its explosion effect upon landing, and improving its power.

Once ordinary shrapnel shells, which cost far less than arrow-type shrapnel shells, can also cause area damage and inflict damage on a large number of enemies around the point of impact, the firepower of artillery will far surpass that of muskets, revealing its glory as the king of war.

Therefore, after Xu Guangqi mentioned artillery techniques, Zhu Youjian paid close attention. He decided to do everything possible to improve artillery skills and seize the initiative in this military revolution.

At the same time, it is also necessary to prevent the leakage of advanced technology, which is why he drove the Western mercenaries to the Foreign Legion.

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Zhu Youjian asked again:
"How's the matter of the Scholar's Army going?"

"We should recruit more scholars who are good at math and set up artillery calculators and artillery staff officers in the army to assist artillery command."

Xu Guangqi hesitated and said:

"Many scholars are getting old, and there are not enough young scholars to join the army."

"We are currently recruiting students for the imperial examinations, and we aim to recruit 500 students by May."

Zhu Youjian shook his head, quite dissatisfied with the current social atmosphere.

Since the Song Dynasty weakened its military, the status of soldiers has been extremely low. Despite his continuous praise of military achievements over the years, few scholars are willing to join the army.

There aren't even enough civilian officers to go around, let alone send scholars to serve in the military.

He was already thinking of ways to encourage more soldiers to join the army.
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Xu Guangqi had no idea of ​​the emperor's inner thoughts. He was pleased with the emperor's emphasis on artillery, but also somewhat helpless about the emperor driving his own people out of the army.

This was not the outcome he wanted, but the reason for it was that the Jingjiao Church was unwilling to accept investiture and was unwilling to become a true church.

In this matter, they were in the wrong, since it was considered a matter of course for the people of Ming to accept the emperor's investiture as a deity.

Even Guanyin Bodhisattva had to avoid using the taboo name of Li Shimin and changed her name to Guanyin. What's so great about the gods worshipped by foreign monks?

He could only put this matter aside for the time being and talk about his disciple Sun Yuanhua's upcoming return to the capital.

After Sun Chengzong returned in triumph due to his achievements in Liaodong, Xu Guangqi hoped that the court would hold a similar ceremony for his disciple.

He believed that Sun Yuanhua's mission lasted nearly four years, covering tens of thousands of miles, and that he brought back many seeds and technologies, achieving a feat comparable to that of Marquis Bowang in opening up the Western Regions. Even if he wasn't welcomed by the Three Auxiliary Regions, he should at least have been given a regent.

When Zhu Youjian heard him mention this matter indirectly, he nodded and said:

“Sun Yuanhua’s mission to the West was a monumental achievement that will be recorded in history, and the court naturally had to pay attention to it.”

"Let my uncle, the Prince of Lu, represent me and Huang Fuzheng, the head of the Court of Colonial Affairs, go to Tianjin to welcome him."

"When they arrive in the capital, the Grand Secretary should lead all the officials to personally welcome them and give the meritorious officials sufficient courtesy."

“Sun Yuanhua is eligible to be granted the title of Earl. Ask him whether he will accept the title immediately or wait until he retires.”

Such high-level courtesy and generous rewards surprised Xu Guangqi.

At this moment, he vaguely understood why the emperor had driven out the Western mercenaries before Sun Yuanhua entered the capital.

After all, those people were recruited by Sun Yuanhua, who had served as a military commander in the patrol battalion for a period of time.

Now that his status has risen so high, it would be dangerous for him to take control of the capital's army.

Therefore, before the emperor gave Sun Yuanhua an important position, he first eliminated Sun's men in the army.

This realization brought Xu Guangqi both joy and a touch of bitterness.

Because those people were not only Sun Yuanhua's people, but also his people.

Fortunately, he had promoted many young people in the new army over the years, and they were not completely wiped out.

At the same time, he was pleased that Sun Yuanhua's elevated status would allow him to inherit his influence in the court.

My posthumous reputation should be secure. (End of Chapter)