Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 726: Is it taking credit for someone else's work?
In the center of the venue, a group of Jinyiwei were steadily pushing the artillery forward and entering the first preset position.

Wang Shu put down the telescope in his hand, looked into the distance, and then looked at the thing in his hand.

Just as he was wondering what the principle of this thing in his hand was that could allow him to see distant objects so clearly, Ma Wensheng walked over.

"Wang Bu Tang."

Ma Wensheng bowed.

Wang Shu looked over and asked, "Futu, do you know what this thing is? Why can it bring distant scenery closer? It's incredible!"

Ma Wensheng said: "It is said that it is made of Huangshan mica, a natural treasure. As for why it has such magical powers, I don't quite understand. But now... there seem to be a lot of them, and every minister has one. During the time of the previous emperor, this item was extremely rare, and only a few people in the army had it."

“It’s not easy.”

Wang Shu stroked his chin and said thoughtfully, "If this is used on the battlefield, it will surely help us anticipate the enemy and generals will be able to command the battle better... I wonder who created this?"

Ma Wensheng explained: "When Your Majesty was the Crown Prince, the Eastern Palace took the lead in building it. I heard that it was only possible with the help of merchants from Huizhou..."

Wang Shu continued to ask: "It was made by Huizhou merchants? Who specifically?"

Despite trying to cover it up again and again, when the time came, Ma Wensheng knew he could no longer conceal it, so he said bluntly, "It was the father-in-law Zhang Luan."

"Oh."

Wang Shu seemed to remember something.

I watched the military parade today, but didn't see any big scenes.

But there must be a reason why they went to so much trouble to summon the emperor, the little Tatar prince, and so many ministers to watch the ceremony.

Is it to let everyone see how magical this telescope is?

"Oh, by the way, are those artillery pieces pushed forward by the Jinyiwei?"

Wang Shu pointed forward.

Ma Wensheng introduced: "I was just about to mention this to Wang Bu Tang. It is said that it was the craftsmen organized by the foreign relative Zhang family who finally improved the cannon with great difficulty. Today we are here for this thing.

"There is an unconfirmed rumor that His Majesty has seen the artillery in advance and knows how powerful it is. Today he just gathered people to witness it with their own eyes..."

Wang Shu nodded and said, "If your majesty knows the inside story, it means that he believes that this cannon can deter foreign invaders and boost the morale of the Ming army.

"In this way, today's events seem more reasonable."

Ma Wensheng frowned and said, "Anyone who has served in the Northwest Frontier should know that artillery suppresses Tatar cavalry by relying on numbers. What's the use of just one or two cannons? Could it be that Your Majesty has never seen a real cannon, and only thinks that this thing is magical from what others say, but in fact..."

Wang Shu said, "Then wait until you finish reading it, and you will make a decision."

Although Ma Wensheng had once served as the Minister of War, he could be considered an old official in the court.

But at this moment, his eyes seemed to be filled with hatred.

It was not entirely directed at Zhang Luan or Li Zisheng, but rather out of indignation at the emperor's non-conventionality.

Before that, there was Emperor Chenghua, who sold official positions and titles and conferred titles on numerous officials.

Later, Emperor Hongzhi did not listen to the advice of civil officials, promoted the treacherous Li Zisheng, and became close to his relative Zhang Luan!
You are an emperor, why do you have nothing to do with being different? And you asked us to stand outside the city with you? What's even more tragic is that you even let people from other vassal states come to watch the ceremony.

Does it mean that if one's family makes a fool of themselves, they have to show it to outsiders?

However, when Ma Wensheng saw Wang Shu's expression, he also thought of a possibility.

That is……

Wang Shu also thought that what was happening was nonsense.

Making a fool of themselves in public, just this one time is enough to ruin the reputation of the Zhang family, the in-laws. Even if it temporarily damages the reputation of the Ming Dynasty and makes the Zhang family unable to recover, it is worth it.

……

……

"boom!"

The first shot finally fired.

This cannon is a mother-and-child cannon, which is a traditional Portuguese cannon, that is, the mother gun and the child cannon are separated. After firing, the "magazine" can be quickly removed, and then replaced with a new magazine and fired again.

In the late Zhengde period and early Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, due to the arrival of the Portuguese, the Ming Dynasty began to imitate the Portuguese cannon.

However, in the early years of Hongzhi, the Ming Dynasty did not have this kind of firearms.

Especially the Portuguese cannon made by Zhang Yanling at that time had advanced casting technology and stronger sealing. In terms of range, it can be said that it had a longer range and greater lethality than the Portuguese cannon made locally.

As soon as the shot was fired, before the people watching on the scene noticed anything special, the shell had already landed over a vast area.

"boom--"

A violent explosion sounded.

The Portuguese cannon fired shotgun shells.

After landing, as the shrapnel exploded, the lead balls, iron filings and other objects contained in them scattered all over the sky, splashing up huge dust and smoke.

In a flash, dozens of scarecrows wearing armor that were originally standing in an area more than a mile away from the place where the artillery was fired were immediately torn into pieces after being hit by the artillery. Ashes, rags and other objects were flying everywhere in the sky.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, some were still wondering, could it be a trick?
In other words, the firing was actually fake. The artillery on this side only fired a blank bullet, and the bullet impacted the opposite side, detonating the gunpowder buried in advance, creating the illusion of great damage.

This was a deliberate magic trick in front of the Tatars, making them think that it was caused by the power of the splashing shells, but in fact it was an explosion on the spot.

At this moment, several Jinyiwei who were responsible for firing the cannon quickly completed the replacement of the sub-gun. When the second magazine was replaced, the second cannon was ignited.

"boom!"

Another shot.

And it was fired from the same cannon just now.

The time interval between the two was extremely short, so short that before people could figure out why the previous shot was so powerful, the second loud bang was heard.

Just when everyone thought that the second shot might be a blank, the scene on the opposite side was shocking.

About ten feet ahead of the first impact point, another group of fully armored scarecrows were blown away.

There were also all kinds of smoke and dust flying around. The straws that were originally flying in the sky were now even more numerous. Combined with the mushroom-shaped smoke and dust formed by the two explosions, it seemed to cover the sky and the sun.

Now everyone present was silent.

……

……

Zhu Youtang was very happy to see this and asked Huai En who was standing beside him: "Huai Daban, did you see it? This is the kind of cannon! After one shot, it can quickly fire the second, third, and even fourth rounds...

"If we have more cannons in formation, no matter how many cavalrymen there are, they won't be able to break through. And a cannon like this is not heavy at all. With wheels, it can be towed forward by a horse. It can even be disassembled and carried by packhorses, and then assembled again when we get to the right place."

After watching the current artillery demonstration, Huai En was still somewhat dazed.

The Zhang family father and son are really amazing. They can even make something as unconventional as a shotgun?
How many people are helping behind the scenes?
No, it must be Li Zisheng’s doing!

If what he expected was correct, the Ming Dynasty had actually already researched this technology a long time ago, and even when the previous emperor was still alive, he had used a lot of manpower and material resources to develop it. It was just that it was forcibly suppressed by Li Zisheng, resulting in the fact that no one in the court knew that they had this good thing.

When Zhang Luan rose to power in the court, Li Zisheng, in order to curry favor with his in-laws, took out his treasures and let the Zhang family show off in front of people!
That must be it!

"It would be great if such a powerful artillery could fire farther."

Zhu Youtang introduced, "The distance chosen by Yanling is actually relatively conservative. The only advantage is that the aiming is more accurate. If you want to shoot farther, you can hit an extra half mile."

Huai En thought to himself, this is almost a mile away.

It covers such a large area and can hit such a long distance, which is already amazing, okay?
You actually said you can hit it farther?

It seems that the craftsmen of our Ming Dynasty are truly amazing. Why was it able to conceal it for so long even though it was made before? Why did the court only know about it now?
Or was it really just created recently?

Why was it not the Ministry of War or the Ministry of Works that reported it, but Zhang Luan and his son?
"it is good!"

There were already soldiers in the crowd cheering.

Even the ministers couldn't help but applaud and cheer.

After all, not everyone wants to get involved in the court’s factional struggles. Seeing such powerful and creative artillery, they will naturally cheer.

Zhu Youtang said with great excitement: "There is another cannon, which is said to be able to fire very far, as far as four or five miles away, and with high accuracy. It should be hitting the wall in front, right?"

As he spoke, Zhu Youtang picked up the telescope and looked at the open area in the distance. There was a temporary wall built beside the pond, which was about two meters wide and long. Huai En looked over and found that in the center of the field in front, compared with the cannon that just fired the shotgun, the cannon next to it seemed unusually heavy, and the barrel alone was more than ten meters long.

It is so majestic and powerful that it is easy to imagine that once the shell is fired, it may really hit very far.

As for how powerful it is...it is unknown.

Huai En couldn't help but wonder, how could such a huge cannon not explode when fired?

……

……

Just as the people watching the artillery demonstration were in shock and confusion, Qin Yun had already led his men to set up the second cannon.

This gun is very heavy and does not look like it can be easily moved, but because it has wheels, the loading and firing speeds are not very slow.

The artillery looked completely different from the previous ones. The two front wings were covered with iron armor, which was obviously used to prevent bows and crossbows from the front and to protect the gunners at the rear.

There is no visible wooden structure on the entire gun body, and the wheels are specially made, so there is still room for improvement and innovation in terms of maneuverability.

"boom!"

After a short period of preparation, the second gun also began to fire.

The muzzle flame was spurting out, and it was impossible to see the parabola drawn by the shell as it flew in the air. One could only vaguely see a large iron ball flying towards the distance, at a high altitude and high range.

The iron ball flew forward at a high speed, directly crossing a distance of about three miles and steadily hitting the high wall that was built temporarily over there. The wall was directly destroyed, bricks and dust flew everywhere in the air, and at the same time a cloud of black smoke rose into the sky.

"Wow!"

After one shot, everyone present was amazed.

Even those civil officials who were determined to look down on this military exercise and were planning to severely impeach the Zhang father and son who presided over the military exercise later could not help but stand there in a daze.

"Your Majesty, it was a direct hit."

"Yes, Your Majesty, it flew so far and hit the target with one shot. It's really accurate."

At this time, Zhu Youtang was looking carefully at the scene in the distance through a telescope. Originally, he didn't feel comfortable with other people flattering him, but when he heard the admiration from his followers, a knowing smile appeared on his face.

Zhu Youtang put down the telescope, looked at Huai En beside him, and asked with a smile: "Huai Daban, what do you think of the effect of the artillery demonstration?"

Huai En put down the telescope, wiped his eyes, shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, my eyes are blurry and I can't see that far."

Zhu Youtang kindly handed over his telescope and said with a smile, "Use mine."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty."

Huai En smiled and said, "Just by listening to others' stories, I know that this cannon is very powerful. It can accurately hit the high wall built in the meantime from such a long distance, and it has such great power. It fully proves that this thing will be very useful on the battlefield in the future."

"Yes."

Zhu Youtang then looked at the Tatar envoy standing on the opposite high platform and looked into the distance, and smiled slightly, "I just don't know what these barbarians would think of this situation."

Huai En was so embarrassed at this moment, but he still replied seriously: "When the foreign envoys see the power of this cannon, they will surely be convinced and loyal to the Ming Dynasty in the future. They will never dare to have second thoughts."

"I hope so."

Zhu Youtang was already losing interest at this time, as if he had just finished watching the artillery firing and became tired.

"It's getting late, we should go back to the palace."

Zhu Youtang looked around and asked, "Are there any other plans next?"

Huai En quickly waved his hand and called Ning Jin, who was in charge of the Jing army training, over.

"Your Majesty asked, are there any other arrangements?" Huai En said.

Ning Jin was cursing in his heart at this moment.

I thought to myself, if I had known that artillery was so powerful, I should have let the Jing Army perform well today. Even if it is just a warm-up, a show, or some fancy tricks, it will also show that our Jing Army is well-trained.

That's good.

After listening to your Huai En's arrangement, I deliberately refused to cooperate today, which resulted in the people I brought being completely unprepared. Where can we make arrangements at this last minute?
Ning Jin said respectfully: "Your Majesty, that's all. I haven't seen the young uncle come yet, and I don't know what his plan is... Besides, today's military exercise process was all arranged by Eunuch Huai himself, and I am just cooperating..."

He cursed Huai En's ancestors in his heart, but did not show it on his face. He even looked like he admired and was grateful to Huai En.

Zhu Youtang nodded and said, "Yes, I said it long ago that military exercises should not waste money and manpower, and it is enough to show the basics. After these few shots, I think the goal has been achieved, right? Alas, the same goes for Yanling, why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Ning Jin thought to himself that Uncle Zhang was the one who had a clear mind.

He knew that no one would look at him well if he came today, so he simply decided not to come.

Under the current situation, is it necessary for someone to be present in person?
You just need to arrange everything and wait for your trusted ones to fire a few shots. The power of the artillery alone will be enough to shock everyone present. This is called strength.

On the contrary, there are some people with ulterior motives who are thinking of conspiring all day long, but forget that this is a major matter concerning Your Majesty's face... It is really hateful and annoying that they disregard the emperor's face for the sake of political games!
Huai En said: "Your Majesty, do you need to call Uncle Zhang to give him a reward?"

Zhu Youtang said, "No need. I think he is ready to enter the palace now... I have agreed with him before that we will meet in the palace if not outside the city."

Huai En felt very upset after hearing this.

Before that, it was the charlatan Zhang Guozhang, who was very close to the emperor, and constantly had interactions with the emperor outside the court, acting as the emperor's adviser.

Now it has been replaced by his son!

Huai En said again: "Then... Your Majesty, should we order a reward for the craftsmen who built the cannons and the people who worked hard behind the scenes?"

"It's natural."

Zhu Youtang said, "The relevant people must be rewarded. As for the specific measures, I will talk about them after I ask Yanling and know who has contributed."

"But……"

Huai En seemed very straightforward. "Regarding the craftsmen who built the cannons and the people who worked behind the scenes, we should ask the officials and others, so that we can find the real heroes and protect them well to prevent them from being taken advantage of by the Tatars. If we ask that little uncle..."

Zhu Youtang asked curiously, "But this cannon was originally built by Yanling. Do you have any questions?"

"what!?"

Huai En had never expected the emperor to give this answer, and he actually retorted, "Your Majesty, it's good enough for a child to have some quick wit, why can't you..."

"I don't know either. I'm afraid I'll have to ask God."

Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "I asked my father-in-law before, and he said that Yanling's talent might be a gift from God, and he suddenly became smart somehow. And Yanling is an honest child, and he doesn't have any bad intentions. Isn't he gradually showing what he knows?"

In the emperor's eyes, my brother-in-law is as powerful as my family members.

My family members are so awesome, but others still want to talk behind their backs and think they are disloyal or something. It's simply unreasonable.

You know, I am his brother-in-law and my wife is his sister.

Huai En said: "From what I have investigated before, I learned that when the late emperor was alive, he sent someone to oversee the construction of artillery. Should we investigate this in detail to see who was in charge of it?"

"Huai Daban, are you saying that Yanling was not the one who actually supervised the construction of the cannon, but took credit for someone else's work?" Zhu Youtang asked with a frown.

Huai En said quickly: "I didn't say that, and I don't know if these two things are related. But if there really is such a craftsman who is familiar with the process of building artillery, and whose credit is taken away by others, he will feel resentful and do something harmful to the court..."

It's almost like saying that your brother-in-law is taking credit for other people's work, which will bring disaster to the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youtang looked at Ning Jin and asked, "Will this happen?"

Ning Jin had a bitter smile on his face and thought to himself, no matter what opinions you have, don't ask me.

How would I know where to go?
Also, Eunuch Huai, how do you know that the young prince-in-law was taking credit for something?
To say this, you need evidence.

If you really have evidence, you should bring it out.

Ning Jin said: "I don't know. Maybe... I can check it out?"

no way.

Although Ning Jin knows that standing on the side of Zhang father and son is the right choice, he is forced to choose the wrong side many times due to the situation.

He was also thinking in his heart, our eunuch Huai is so capable, he can be said to be the number one talent in the two dynasties before and after. When he said that there was something wrong with the credit, it should not be nonsense. He must have solid evidence, so he would slander the young uncle and alienate the relationship between Your Majesty and the young uncle, right?

Zhu Youtang said: "If that's the case, there may be something behind it, so let's investigate. Huai Daban, since you are the one who accused me, you should investigate it. I will go back to the palace first."

At this point, Zhu Youtang seemed a little depressed.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the emperor was very unhappy because of Huai En’s last words.

It was supposed to be a happy thing, but you insisted that my brother-in-law, who has such great abilities, was taking credit for other people's work. Since you said so, then go and check it out!
I don't want to play with you anymore!
(End of this chapter)