Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The improved Type 4 electric-breathing gun was warmly welcomed by the feudal nobles.

This kind of musket that can shoot and kill enemies from one or two miles away is really to their liking.

In particular, Mao Chenglu, who envied Cui Nanyi and others for being conferred titles, immediately expressed his desire to buy this kind of musket.

In order to obtain the priority to purchase, he took out 20,000 yuan from the money he got from selling the shipping group's shares:
"Dongjiang County is willing to pay 20,000 taels of silver to purchase 1% of the Arsenal shares."

"I only ask that the arsenal give priority to making muskets for the Dongjiang leader so that we can use them to fight the Jian invaders as soon as possible."

Zhu Youjian laughed loudly and said to Mao Chenglu:
"The Lord of Dongjiang wants to buy one thousand breech-loading rifled muskets, right? The price I offered before was fifty thousand taels."

"But this new musket has a simpler structure, and the price has been reduced to 40 taels of silver each."

"There is also that kind of trapdoor musket, the price is fifteen taels."

"It only costs 100,000 taels to buy 1,000 rifled muskets and 4,000 smoothbore muskets, just enough to equip one guard."

This was the package Zhu Youjian offered for the feudal nobles. It was a 1:4 combination of rifled muskets and smoothbore muskets. After being tried out in the army, it was found to be very suitable, taking into account both range and cost.

A guard has 5,600 soldiers, and 5,000 musketeers. It would cost 100,000 taels to equip them with musketeers. The actual number of musketeers might be even less, so some musketeers could be kept as reserves.

This price is not low at all. Ordinary wealthy people cannot afford 100,000 taels of silver.

But it can't be said to be high. Those families in the Ming Dynasty that have accumulated wealth for more than 200 years can basically take it out.

But Dongjiang Territory was not among them. Mao Wenlong, who had just been conferred the title of Earl, did not have much accumulation.

Dongjiang Town had already done its best to feed the people who escaped from Liaodong.

It was not until the current emperor ascended the throne that he specially arranged officials to urge Korea to raise funds, and their financial situation did not improve.

However, the war that broke out in Korea this year caused the cultivation in Dongjiang Territory to be destroyed by the Jianlu. Not only did they not have much income, but they also had to provide relief to the victims.

It was already a great effort to collect the 50,000 taels before, otherwise Mao Chenglu would not have sold the shares even though he knew that the shares of the shipping group were valuable.

Hearing the emperor's offer of 100,000 taels for a guard, Mao Chenglu said in embarrassment:

"I can only take out 60,000 taels of silver. I can't afford so many muskets?"

"Your Majesty, please give me some time. I will find a way to raise funds."

I plan to sell some more of the shipping group shares I have.

However, this part of the shares is actually held by Dongjiang Shipping Company. When he sold them before, most of them were transferred to shareholders, so he got their consent.

Now it was not so easy to continue selling it, and he was reluctant in his heart.

Zhu Youjian also didn't want Dongjiang Ling to sell too many shares of the Ming Shipping Group, weakening the connection between Ming and Dongjiang Ling.

After estimating the cost, he said to Mao Chenglu:
"A 60% deposit is fine, and the remaining 40% can be deferred until next year."

"You, the Dongjiang leader, are fighting on the front lines, so you should be treated more favorably."

It was believed that 60,000 taels of silver was enough to cover the cost, and the Tongzhou Arsenal could produce 5,000 muskets with the deposit.

Mao Chenglu was overjoyed and thanked the emperor repeatedly.

Zhang Weixian then stood up and said:
"I am willing to pay three hundred thousand taels of silver to buy three guards' muskets."

Zhu Youjian disagreed and said to him:

"The Tongzhou Arsenal was designed to produce five guards' worth of muskets each year."

"It is better for the British prince to buy one first and the rest later."

This made the Duke of England exclaim "Ah", somewhat reluctantly.

He really didn't expect that he couldn't buy it even if he took out the money.

This made him say to the emperor again:

"I am willing to spend another 100,000 taels to expand the scale of the arsenal."

"I think that at least ten of these firearms should be produced every year."

Other fiefdom nobles also suggested that the emperor increase the production of muskets, and expressed their willingness to invest in arsenals and purchase musket equipment.

But Zhu Youjian did not agree, because even for the Tongzhou Arsenal, he was not sure whether it could reach the designed production capacity.

In the handicraft era, production relied entirely on humans, and it took a long time to train qualified craftsmen.

The reason why he was able to open the Tongzhou Arsenal was because he had plundered craftsmen from Korea during the Korean War years ago.

Without these craftsmen, he couldn't even gather the initial team to open the Tongzhou Arsenal, let alone recruit workers to expand the scale and produce more firearms.

After learning about this situation, British Duke Zhang Weixian could only reluctantly say that he would buy a Wei first this year.

We have also booked production for the next two years and plan to purchase two more.

With his time running out, he urgently wanted to strengthen the Zhang family's strength.

He even planned to see the Zhang family successfully establish a fiefdom before he died.

Zhu Youjian agreed to his request and asked him to pay 120,000 taels of silver to reserve two more guards.

Now, of the 15 wei produced in three years, only 4 have been sold. If the scale is not further expanded, only 11 more wei can be sold.

Zhang Yunxiu, the representative of Jiangling Principality, said hurriedly:

"Jiangling Principality is also on the front line and should be purchased first."

He took out 20,000 taels of silver as a share and prepared to raise a deposit of 60,000 taels to purchase muskets.

Li Shunzu, the representative of Ningyuan Earl State, spent 200,000 yuan to buy a Weihuo gun and also bought 5% of the shares.

They were quite ambitious and were not satisfied with being just earls. They planned to gain the title of duke or marquis by making meritorious contributions in the attack on Jianlu.

The current investment not only reflects the optimistic outlook for the development of the Tongzhou Arsenal, but also prepares for the purchase of more firearms in the future.

Zhu Jingli, the representative of the Han clan, also wanted to purchase a guard, but Zhu Youjian did not agree.

First, Han Fan was relatively poor, and the most he had to pay to buy a firearm was a deposit.

Second, the Han vassal state has now successfully established itself as a vassal state, so why buy so many muskets? There are no strong foreign enemies around it.

Zhu Jingli complained at this time:

"Although Japan did not dare to attack the North Sea Island, there were many scattered Japanese pirates who landed and robbed the island."

"And the natives on the island would rebel from time to time, and we had to use firearms to suppress them."

Zhu Youjian didn't know whether what he said was true, but in any case, these were minor problems.

So he said to the representatives of Han and Qing:

"Han Fan and Qing Fan can purchase a thousand households. It only costs 20,000 taels of silver, and another 20,000 taels of silver to buy shares."

"The remaining three thousand households' weapons will be distributed to Nanyang."

This made Zheng Hongkui in the crowd breathe a sigh of relief.

It's not that he didn't want to buy muskets, it's just that the Zheng family's current title was too low, and they couldn't compete with the previous families at all.

Now that the emperor had specially reserved three thousand of them, he hurriedly stood up and said:

"The Zheng family is willing to buy 2,000 guns and set up two thousand-household units."

"And take out 100,000 taels to buy 5% of the shares."

Obviously, he thought that the Zheng family's title would not stop at Viscount, and was preparing for the future. This year's output was only one thousand households, and Zhu Youjian was just about to leave it to Li Guozhu to let him contain Zheng Zhilong. Yangwu Hou Xue Lian jumped out and said:

"Your Majesty, the Yangwu Marquisate is also in Nanyang!"

"Is there only one thousand-household-based military force?"

He said he would invest 20,000 taels to buy a musket for the guards.

This made Chengguogong Zhu Chunchen look at him with a sidelong glance. He never expected that Xue Lian, who had just stood with him, would actually want to form a guard post and go to his fiefdom.

It was not that he did not want to buy firearms before, but he thought the price was too high. However, after a little hesitation, the production of firearms for the five guards this year was allocated by the emperor.

Zhu Chunchen was once again in hesitation, not knowing whether to stand up with Yangwu Hou Xue Lian or continue to keep his head down and ignore it.

While he was hesitating, Zhu Youjian had already made his decision:
"Three thousand muskets were distributed to Nanyang, with one thousand each for Yangwu Marquis, Zheng Zijue, and Li Nanjue."

"If there is enough production, we will sell it to you."

"This year's five guards' muskets have been distributed. In the next two years, in addition to the British public's reservation, more will be distributed later."

He ended the sale of muskets cleanly and efficiently without giving anyone else a chance.

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After hearing this, Zhu Chunchen really regretted it, because without new firearms, he would have to use bows and arrows to open the vassal state.

There were wild Jurchens in the area around Wudihewei. If he wanted to conquer them, he would need new firearms.

This made him ignore the emperor's words and jump out and say:
"Your Majesty, my servant Cheng Fan is also on the front line fighting the Jurchens!"

"Cheng Fan needs a new firearm for the guard."

Hearing the nobles looking at him, Zhu Youjian also frowned and said:

"This year's five Wei production has been allocated."

"If Duke Cheng wants to buy it, he should wait until next year!"

"If there is more production this year, I will have the arsenal allocate some for Duke Chengguo to purchase."

Let him ask next year and don't bother yourself this year.

Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen wanted to say something else, but he saw that the emperor's eyes had become somewhat cold.

This made him suddenly realize that he had offended the emperor because of the issue of establishing a vassal state and the shipping group's shares.

Now is not the time to fight for interests, but to make the emperor satisfied.

Otherwise, the Chengguo Mansion will suffer in the future, and he will not get any benefits in the future.

This made him grit his teeth and decide:
"Duke Cheng is willing to pay 100,000 taels to purchase 5% of the shares."

"I only ask Your Majesty to allocate a thousand muskets this year, and let Chengguo purchase them first next year."

Zhu Youjian was a little surprised when he heard this.

He really didn't expect that Duke Chengguo, after hesitating and shrinking for so long, would suddenly make up his mind.

However, Zhu Youjian was very skeptical about how long his enthusiasm could last. So he did not make a promise, but asked Wang Chengen, who was serving beside him:
"How much money have each domain invested and reserved so far?"

“Can it reach a million?”

Wang Chengen hurriedly looked at the record and calculated:

"The Duke of England will invest 100,000 taels of silver to fully purchase the firearms for one guard, and reserve two guards in the next two years, so a total of 320,000 taels of silver will be required."

"Duke Jiangling invested 20,000 taels to reserve a musket for one guard, which would cost a total of 80,000 taels."

"The same is true for the Duke of Dongjiang and the Duke of Jiangling, both are 80,000 taels of silver."

"Ning Yuanbo invested 100,000 taels, and the full purchase amount is 100,000 taels, a total of 200,000 taels."

"Zheng Zijue invested 100,000 taels, and the full purchase amount is 20,000 taels, a total of 120,000 taels."

"Marquis Yangwu invested 20,000 taels, and the full purchase amount is 20,000 taels, a total of 40,000 taels."

"The amount of shares invested by Lord Li is unknown. The full amount is 20,000 taels, which is temporarily calculated as 20,000 taels."

"Han Fan and Qing Fan each invested 20,000 taels, and the full purchase amount is 20,000 taels, a total of 80,000 taels."

"A total of 940,000 taels of silver, 60,000 short of one million."

This made Zhu Youjian nod his head and say:
"Then allow Duke Chengguo to invest 100,000 taels and hold 5% of the shares."

"Then the million taels will exceed the forty thousand, and there is no need to raise additional funds."

"The families that have just made the promise must deposit the money into the Shuntian Bank account as soon as possible. This money must be used for a specific purpose to build the Tongzhou Arsenal as soon as possible."

He announced that the fundraising was over, asked Li Fengxiang and Wang Chengen to arrange the next hand gun and hunting gun drills, and left with his men.

This made Duke Chengguo extremely happy. Fortunately, he made a request and was able to invest 100,000 taels.

If it's any later, maybe there won't even be this chance -

For Li Guozhu, whose investment amount was unknown, it was easy for him to take out one hundred thousand taels of silver.

Thinking about the profits that the 100,000 taels of silver could bring, he hummed a little tune happily, and didn't care that he didn't buy a musket this year:
In a bitter and cold place like Wude River, anyone who wants to establish a fiefdom can go.

He, Duke Chengguo, only wanted to enjoy the treatment of a fiefdom noble, but did not want to actually go to the fiefdom.

The other nobles who had hesitated before regretted their decision at this time. They surrounded Wang Chengen and asked him why he didn't sell the remaining shares?

The emperor clearly said that he would offer 50% of the shares for fundraising, so why did he only sell 25%?
Facing these inquiring nobles, Wang Chengen said with a fake smile:
"The Emperor's fundraising this time is a preferential treatment for the nobles of the fiefdom."

"In addition to those present, there are also Lord Wangzi, Lord Huo, Lord Li and others. They haven't even sent a representative."

"They are all able to buy shares, so of course they have to keep some shares."

Everyone knows who Baron Li is. He is Li Guozhu, the second most powerful pirate in the pirate gang after Zheng Zhilong.

But many people couldn't figure out who Wang Zijue was.

It was not until Yangwu Hou Xue Lian reminded everyone that they realized it was Wang Tiqian.

This former second-in-command of the eunuch party was conferred the title of viscount by the emperor and sent to Southeast Asia.

The fiefdom was right next to the Yangwu Marquisate, so they could be said to be neighbors.

Viscount Huo is of course Huo Weihua, one of the former eunuch party’s masterminds.

This made the nobles suddenly aware that in addition to them, eunuchs and civil servants who were granted titles could also enjoy preferential treatment.

It’s not just the descendants of meritorious officials who are competing with them.

At this time, families such as the Duke of Dingguo, the Duke of Qianguo, the Marquis of Xining, and the Marquis of Funing began to consider whether or not to establish their own fiefdoms.

Especially the Duke of Qian's family. Because Mu Qiyuan did something wrong, the Mu family has been quite low-key since coming to the capital, and they don't have the domineering attitude they had in Yunnan at all.

At this time, he was wondering if he had done something wrong. He should actively support the emperor and enjoy the treatment of a fiefdom noble.

However, although the Mu family has ruled Yunnan for generations, there are government offices such as the Provincial Government in Yunnan, so it is not correct to say that it is their fiefdom.

This makes the current position of the Qianguo family extremely embarrassing.

When the emperor made promises to the nobles, he used the Mu family's ancestral settlement in Yunnan as an example.

But when the feudal nobles were treated favorably, they were never thought of.

The Mu family must get rid of this situation and get out of this embarrassing situation. (End of this chapter)