The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 285 Nine Border Generals
Qinghe Shipyard.

When Zuo Yidao saw Marquis Zhongshan again, he almost cried.

Although Qinghe Shipyard did not encounter any problems during his tenure, it was still subjected to countless attacks and plots, both overtly and covertly.

Although he, as a captain of the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, could block most of the external pressure, the problem was that Zuo Yidao did not like such a life.

He yearned for a pure and simple life, either standing guard in the palace or fighting in the wars with Marquis Zhongshan. Instead, he was annoyed by the conspiracies and tricks of these gentry in this ghost place.

So when he saw Lord Zhongshan for the first time, Captain Zuo immediately grabbed Tang Hao's arm and said with tears in his eyes: "Lord, don't let me continue to guard this time, even if you leave Tang Mu behind!"

When Tang Mu heard this, he immediately became angry and glared at Zuo Yidao.

Tang Hao burst into laughter upon hearing this, and then looked at Zuo Yidao with a joking expression on his face.

"What? You can't even handle such a small matter?"

"Are there any problems with the Qinghe Shipyard? How is the fleet being built?"

When talking about serious matters, Zuo Yidao also stopped laughing.

"There are basically no problems. There were officials who wanted to encroach on the authority of Qinghe Shipyard, such as those from the Ministry of Revenue, but I forcibly stopped them. Then, didn't the Marquis drive those rebels to slaughter a large number of gentry? These guys don't dare to do it anymore."

That was because I really didn't dare, or I was panicked.

At that time, Tang Hao drove Qi Yanming and others to slaughter a large number of gentry and also massacred the Kong family in Qufu. At that time, these gentry let alone continue to plot against Qinghe Shipyard. They wished that Tang Hao would put down the rebellion as soon as possible and then go back to Qinghe Shipyard.

"As for the fleet, according to the Marquis' previous instructions, the craftsmen are mainly building large sea vessels and warships. There are currently ten Fu ships, twenty 400-ton warships, twenty 400-ton patrol ships, as well as several Mengchong, Doujian, Haigu, Zouge, and Yingchuan in the shipyard."

When these words were spoken, everyone was shocked, even Tang Hao was a little stunned.

"Why so many?"

"Is there something wrong?"

According to Zuo Yidao, the warships in the Qingjiang Shipyard are enough to equip a miniature version of Zheng He's navy!

Zheng He's Fleet was a large-scale long-distance fleet composed mainly of treasure ships and auxiliary ships. It was composed of more than 200 ocean-going ships of different purposes and types, with more than 20,000 officers and soldiers. It was large in scale, large in personnel, and well organized.

Zheng He's treasure ships were as tall as buildings. The largest one was 444 feet long and 180 feet wide. The largest ship in the fleet was the treasure ship, which was the flagship of the maritime task force led by Zheng He.

However, what Tang Hao wanted was a warship, not a flagship like a treasure ship. He wanted a mixed fleet of maritime mobile teams specifically for responding to wars, powerful enough to destroy any enemy navy at sea!

"Don't worry, Lord. I am in charge of all matters in the shipyard. There will be no problems."

Zuo Yidao explained with a smile: "The reason why the progress is so fast is because... the money given is too much!"

"Whether it's the raw materials for building the ship or the wages for the craftsmen, as long as you pay enough silver, there won't be any problems. If there are any problems, it's because you didn't pay enough silver. Just increase the money."

Hearing this, Tang Hao didn't know what to say.

Before he left, he left several million taels of silver to the Qinghe Shipyard, which came from the wealth accumulated by the military generals and nobles of the Ming Dynasty.

Facts have proved that money can make the devil work, and it can also make people obedient.

Zuo Yidao chose to use silver to pave the way. If anyone refused to cooperate, he would continue to throw money until the other party was satisfied.

With money being spent at all costs, progress will naturally speed up.

Is this the charm of silver?
"Okay, good job!"

Tang Hao patted Zuo Yidao on the shoulder, feeling very pleased about this.

"By the way, my lord, in addition to the fleet, there is also good news about firearms."

"The craftsmen successfully built the Rumi gun according to the drawings left by the Marquis. I tried it myself and the effect was surprisingly good. It can be called..."

As he was speaking, Zuo Yidao asked someone to bring him a Rumi gun.

Tang Hao took the new weapon and looked at it carefully.

The Rumi gun weighs about seven or eight pounds and is about six or seven feet long. The firing mechanism is in the bed. It can be knocked off with a pinch and the fire will be reignited. There is a steel knife at the end of the bed, which can be used as a saber if the enemy approaches. It is slightly heavier than an ordinary musket.

The entire structure of the Rumi gun consists of the gun barrel, gun bed, curved buttstock, tap and trigger, vent, machine rail, front mouth, rear door, and aiming devices called rear sight and star sight.

After careful observation, Tang Hao confirmed that it was what he wanted and was quite happy for a moment.

No matter how good the three-barreled gun is, it still has many disadvantages, such as its short range, poor quality and risk of explosion.

In fact, it was because of quality reasons that firearms could easily explode and injure soldiers, so many soldiers were unwilling to use them, and the development of Ming Dynasty firearms was seriously hindered.

So much so that by the end of the Ming Dynasty, soldiers would rather go into battle with swords than use fire against the enemy, for fear that they would not be killed by the enemy but would be injured or killed by the fire in their own hands.

However, history has proved the advancement of firearms. If firearms are used, there will be many advantages. First of all, the lethality is much stronger than bows and arrows. For example, the three-barreled gun can spray a large area and penetrate armor, which is far beyond the reach of bows and arrows. Another example is the range of firearms is longer than that of bows and arrows, such as the Rumi gun in Tang Hao's hand at this moment.

Among all bird guns, only the Rumi gun has the longest range and is the most poisonous.

In later generations, Tang Hao was a military enthusiast who specialized in studying the Ming Dynasty's "Wubei Zhi", so he had a relatively good understanding of these Ming Dynasty firearms.

He had already drawn up the blueprints for the Rumi Gun, the Dian Dian Gun, the Xunlei Gun, etc., and then handed them over to the craftsmen as a bounty task, with a clearly marked price waiting for the craftsmen to complete it!
The Rumi gun was the most advanced standard musket in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. It was improved by firearms developer Zhao Shizhen in the 26th year of Wanli in imitation of the matchlock gun tributed by the Turkish Kingdom of Rumi (Rum Sultanate). It was more advanced than the Niaotong (matchlock gun) and the three-eyed gun, mainly characterized by its long range and great power.

The Rumi gun has a range of up to 100 steps, about 150 meters, and is equipped with a trigger device, so it can be used in windy environments. This is a feature that neither the matchlock gun nor the three-eyed gun has. The disadvantage is that it is relatively bulky.

The electric gun has the advantages of both Western guns and Portuguese guns, and the thunder gun has the strengths of both the bird gun and the three-barreled gun.

But no matter what, these muskets are still at the level of matchlock guns and are still in the most primitive stage of ignition and firing!
If we want to truly change the dilemma of the difficult operation of firearms, we must develop the second-stage flintlock rifle!

The flintlock is a type of musket that uses the striking of flint to ignite and fire. Compared to the matchlock, it has many advantages, including faster rate of fire, smaller caliber, shorter gun body, lighter weight, less recoil, and longer range.

Especially during night battles, the light and smell of the burning matchlock in a matchlock rifle could easily expose the soldier's target, but there was no such worry with a flintlock rifle.

Therefore, the flintlock rifle is the way to go, which is a leap forward in firearms!

Tang Hao handed the Rumi gun to Zuo Yidao and instructed: "Tell the firearms workshop to work overnight and produce 10,000 three-barreled guns and 10,000 Rumi guns."

"Also, tell the craftsmen in the firearms workshop that the most important thing is the flintlock. If anyone can solve the problem of the flintlock, I will reward him with 10,000 taels of silver and promote him to the head of the firearms workshop!"

After hearing this, Zuo Yidao also realized the importance of the flintlock rifle.

Lord Zhongshan has never attached so much importance to anything until now, except this flintlock rifle.

Whether it was the three-barreled gun or the Rumi gun, Zuo Yidao had personally experienced their power, so at this moment he was even more looking forward to the flintlock rifle that Tang Hao mentioned.

Next, Tang Hao led 10,000 soldiers to stay temporarily at the Qinghe Shipyard to form a fleet and prepare for going to sea.

On the one hand, he was waiting for the general Qiu Yue who was coming from the Nine Frontiers, and on the other hand, he was waiting for the Jinyiwei to pass on the news.

Zuo Yidao had received the notice in advance and sent his elite troops to Tsushima Island to collect the intelligence that Ma Yong and Deng Boyan deliberately left on Tsushima Island.

Because they were across the ocean and located in Japan, the transmission of intelligence was not as convenient as they had imagined. They could only resort to this last resort and barely maintain contact with the Ming Dynasty.

Ten days passed, and finally Tang Hao saw the person coming.

Qiu Yue, dressed in iron armor, walked into the commander's tent and bowed to Tang Hao in a neither humble nor arrogant manner.

Tang Hao looked at this powerful general from the middle period of the Ming Dynasty. He was about forty years old, eight feet tall, strong as a mountain, with a square face and thick and dense beard covering half of his face. His nose was slightly wide, and the corners of his mouth drooped slightly on both sides. He had an aura of majesty without even being angry.

Obviously, this is the type of general that was truly forged from the nine frontier military garrisons.

"I, General Qiu Yue, pay my respects to the Marquis of Zhongshan!"

While Tang Hao was looking at Qiu Yue, the latter also looked up and secretly observed the Marquis of Zhongshan. To be honest, Qiu Yue was very dissatisfied with Tang Hao at first, thinking that he had taken away his chance to rise.

After all, the general that Duke Yingguo Zhang Mao and others had always favored was none other than Qiu Yue. Just when the group of military generals and nobles were preparing to make some moves to push Qiu Yue to the top, unexpectedly a man named Tang Hao suddenly appeared. He was not only a descendant of the famous founding general Tang He, but also had made great contributions in saving the emperor in the Nanyuan Tiger Case.

Therefore, any discerning person could see that Tang Hao was worthy of inheriting the pending title of the Tang family based on his merit in saving the emperor. Therefore, the group of military generals and nobles decisively abandoned Qiu Yue and instead devoted all their efforts to supporting Tang Hao and helping him win the hereditary title of Marquis of Zhongshan.

Facts have proved that the decision made by Zhang Mao and others was undoubtedly wise. Today, Tang Hao, Marquis of Zhongshan, has long become a leading figure in the military and noble group. He is not only a popular new noble in the court, but also commands the Beijing army. The military and noble group, which was originally gradually declining, has gradually stabilized with the secret support of this Marquis of Zhongshan.

However, this is not good news for Qiu Yue!
Fortunately, Marquis Zhongshan had no intention of suppressing Qiu Yue. Instead, he supported him again and again.

For example, the last time when suppressing the rebellion of Anhua Prince Zhu Zongqiang, Qiu Yue performed extremely well. It was Zhongshan Marquis Tang Hao who made the final decision in the court and won a hereditary earl title for Qiu Yue, officially making him a member of the Ming Dynasty Military Merit Group.

So, no matter what, Qiu Yue was still grateful to Tang Hao.

This time, Marquis Zhongshan led an expedition to Japan and also brought Qiu Yue with him, obviously to share the credit. Qiu Yue was even more grateful.

No matter what, this general from the Nine Frontiers now looked at the Marquis of Zhongshan with fanaticism in his eyes.

"Hurry up and stop talking nonsense!"

Tang Hao stepped forward and enthusiastically took Qiu Yue's hand, then laughed and said, "Come on, I'll take you to see something good."

"From now on, you will be responsible for training this navy's Shenji Battalion. If you perform well, you may be able to advance to a higher rank!"

Hearing this, Qiu Yue's heart was shocked.

One step further to the title!
That would be a hereditary marquis!

Can Qiu Yue really achieve such an achievement in his lifetime?

Needless to say, Tang Hao dragged Qiu Yue to the shooting range, naturally to test the gun.

Qiu Yue initially thought it was a good thing, but when he saw it was a musket, he immediately lost interest.

He grew up in the Nine Frontier Military Town, so he had been fighting against the Tatars for many years. Naturally, he was familiar with firearms, a standard weapon in the army.

It is because we understand that we look down on it.

Because muskets have a very bad reputation in the Nine Frontiers, no normal person would choose to use them.

What is the use of this thing?
Apart from making some noise to scare off the Tartar cavalry, what other use is there?

And there is also the risk of explosion. The Tartars haven't even been hit yet, but the firearm exploded first, injuring or killing me. Who can I go to for justice?

Because of this, the soldiers of the Nine Frontiers were generally resistant to firearms. They would rather fight the Tartars with real swords and guns than use these rubbish firearms.

Tang Hao took in Qiu Yue's expression, and he could understand it, because this was what the gentry did intentionally, using these crudely made armaments to reduce the possibility of the soldiers from the nine borders to achieve success.

"Look carefully and learn well. These muskets are all made of fine steel. There is no risk of explosion!"

hiss……

All made of fine steel?
Qiu Yue took a breath of cold air when he heard this.

This is really a big deal!
Where did Zhongshan Hou find so much fine steel?
Tang Hao waved his hand and asked Zuo Yidao to demonstrate the terrifying killing power of the three-barreled gun.

Looking at the armored scarecrow that was almost torn into pieces, Qiu Yue was so shocked that his scalp went numb and he stood there in disbelief.

"My Lord, what kind of firearm is this?"

"Can you mass-produce it, Lord? This is simply a powerful weapon for killing the Tartars!"

After a brief moment of astonishment, Qiu Yue was filled with ecstasy and asked excitedly.

He was in charge of the Nine Frontier Military Town, so he saw the value of this three-barreled gun at a glance.

If this could be mass-produced and popularized in the nine border military garrisons, then why would the soldiers be afraid of the Tatars?
The reason why the Tatars were able to suppress and ravage the Ming army was because they were naturally strong and had unparalleled skills in riding and shooting. Even now, the Mongolian cavalry cannot be compared with the Ming cavalry.

However, if all the Ming cavalry could be equipped with these three-barreled guns, a single volley of fire when the two cavalrymen collided would completely disrupt the formation of the Tartar cavalry. Then, even if they were not loaded with gunpowder, the weight of the three-barreled gun alone would be enough to serve as an iron hammer, allowing them to be wielded directly into the Tartar formation!

"Do you understand? This is a powerful weapon for cavalry!" Tang Hao said with a chuckle.

In fact, just as Qiu Yue thought, the three-barreled gun had become an indispensable weapon on the battlefield for soldiers in the nine frontiers by the end of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming cavalry, who were familiar with the three-barreled musket, sometimes used shotguns "with two or three lead bullets in each gun" to improve the hit rate when using the three-barreled musket, but the mounted infantry would generally dismount and form a formation to fire the three-barreled musket. If they did not have time to dismount, they would form long camps according to the team lines and take turns fighting and marching, advancing without retreat.

When used alone, the three-barreled gun fires continuously; when used in conjunction with a shotgun, sometimes in order to make up for the shotgun's weak firepower, three bullets are fired at once; sometimes, in order to increase the killing effect at close range, each gun barrel uses two or three lead bullets, which has enormous killing power.

Therefore, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, almost all towns in Liaodong used three-barreled guns as standard equipment, and both cavalry and infantry were generally equipped with three-barreled guns.

"But don't be too happy yet."

“It’s true that there is some mass production, but the problem is the materials.”

Tang Hao said in a deep voice: "I think you also know those crudely made firearms. The quality is not good at all. There is a risk of explosion at any time, not to mention killing the enemy."

"That's why I personally reformed the Laiwu Iron Works and set up a firearms workshop to make firearms with top-quality steel. This is the problem."

Tang Hao looked at Qiu Yue and said, "Those civil officials and gentry will not be happy to see the Ming army become stronger. Otherwise, military generals and nobles will rise again, and the civil officials and gentry will not be able to continue to control the government."

"So they would rather watch the Ming army retreat behind the Great Wall, watch the Ming army continue to decline, and watch someone use these crudely made things to harm the soldiers of the nine borders for personal gain..."

Hearing these heart-piercing words, Qiu Yue was so angry that his face turned blue!

"damn it!"

"How dare these bastards?"

"Are the lives of the soldiers and civilians of the Nine Frontiers not lives?"

Tang Hao sneered when he heard this.

"Haven't you figured it out yet?"

"Ever since the late emperor changed the salt law and changed the grain tax to silver tax, you should have understood that no one in the court cares about the soldiers and civilians in the nine border areas!"

The change from paying grain to paying silver resulted in the abandonment of military farming in the Nine Borders, merchants no longer went there, all commercial farming stopped, and the military and civilians in the Nine Borders lost everything in an instant!
To put it bluntly, Emperor Hongzhi's salt law reform was aimed at damaging the interests of the military and civilians in the nine border areas in order to fill the increasingly empty national treasury!
As for the lives and deaths of the soldiers and civilians in the nine borders, did Zhu Youtang, the chief minister of the cabinet Xu Pu, or the minister of the Ministry of Revenue Ye Qi take care of it?
No one cares!
Qiu Yue gritted his teeth and then lowered his head silently.

"My Lord, if this thing goes to the Nine Frontiers, it can save the lives of many soldiers and civilians!"

"It's not the right time yet!" Tang Hao shook his head with a deep look in his eyes. "Before that, we must ensure that the person who controls the court is no longer the civil officials, but His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Only when His Majesty the Emperor supports us, can the soldiers and civilians of the Nine Borders live a good life!"

Qiu Yue smiled bitterly and nodded heavily.

"The general understands."

Tang Hao patted his shoulder.

"Fight the battle at hand first!"

"After we defeat Japan, we will have plenty of iron ore to produce firearms!"

"Japan is not a barren land. We have a lot of mineral resources. The imperial court and the gentry want gold and silver mines, so this iron mine should belong to us!"

(End of this chapter)