nanming man

Chapter 252 The legal battle
Gao Yihuan explained the matter of compiling the book, and asked Chen Huiting to continue to improve the self-generated guns, reduce costs, and achieve mass production as soon as possible.

This self-generating gun is still far away from mass production, but Gao Yihuan finally saw the real thing, and he was quite happy in his heart.

At this time, due to the limitations of craftsmanship and materials, he wanted to use self-generated guns to fight in a short period of time. It was probably impossible, but since the thing was made, it would be useful sooner or later.

After watching the self-generated blunderbuss, Gao Yihuan and the others came to the gunpowder workshop.

Iron, gunpowder, and food, these three things are extremely important for war preparations.

Grain is the foundation, and it is related to the problem of eating. If you have food, you will not panic. Iron and gunpowder are the tools of war. With them, you have the confidence to fight against the Qing army.

Right now, Gao Yihuan is barely making food for himself, and the iron ore is also obtained from Li Yan. At the beginning of the year, 3000 people have been sent to mine, and the iron ore reserves will gradually improve.

In this way, the remaining problem is gunpowder.

In Gao Yihuan's team, the proportion of firearms is relatively high. Without gunpowder, the firecrackers are like burning sticks.

In order to store gunpowder, Gao Yihuan set up a gunpowder workshop early on, and more than [-] people were responsible for making gunpowder.

At this time, Gao Yihuan stood outside the workshop, watching the employees busy, and asked the person in charge of the workshop beside him, "How much medicine can be produced in one month now?"

The gunpowder workshop is managed by an old scholar in his fifties. He cupped his hands and said, "Report to the general, the workshop can produce [-] catties of gunpowder per month."

After Gao Yihuan heard this, his expression sank, "Why hasn't the output increased? Why is it still so little in one month?"

This bit of gunpowder can be finished after a few shots, and it is not enough for the army to use.

The old scholar was a little panicked and said: "Reporting to the general, the output cannot be increased. The main problem is the old problem. The workshop lacks raw materials, especially sulfur. If you want to increase the output, you have to trouble the general to solve this~"

When the gunpowder workshop was established, the workshop reported to him the lack of raw materials.

The formula of gunpowder is very simple, it is saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal.

Among them, the source of charcoal is always worry-free, the key is the lack of saltpeter and sulfur.

There is a saying in ancient times: "Boiling nitrate for a thousand days is not worth a shot of a general", which can well reflect the hardship of boiling nitrate.

The saltpeter in the Ming Dynasty mainly came from Yunnan, Guizhou and Northwest China. Another source was the folk method of making saltpeter.

For example, the old houses of the common people and the floating soil next to the toilet will form salt-like crystals. If you poke them with burning charcoal, sparks will appear. Scrape off these crystals and refine and purify them. Fire nitrate.

The saltpeter in the workshop mainly comes from the local method of saltpetre.

Not long ago, Gao Yihuan asked the craftsmen to come up with a solution to temporarily solve the problem of saltpeter, but he didn't want sulfur to be in a hurry again.

Although sulfur is not a large component in gunpowder, it acts as a binder.

Daming's sulfur was mainly imported from Japan, while Gao Yihuan's previous sulfur was smuggled from Nanzhi. However, since he attacked Nanzhi and wiped out Liu Liangzuo, the Ming Dynasty has strictly controlled this strategic material. It is difficult to get outside the horse.

Gao Yihuan didn't know where he could get sulfur. Now that he was using more firearms, obtaining a stable source of sulfur would be a big problem.

This made Gao Yihuan a little anxious, "Did the workshop think of a way?"

The old scholar bowed and said: "Reporting to the general, I also sent people to collect it everywhere, but it was difficult to receive it. However, not long ago, people who went to Henan Prefecture brought back a batch of sulfur in Luanchuan County, northwest of Funiu Mountain. The people who came back said that there is a sulfur mine over there, but it has been mined by people, and their asking price is very high, and the workshop doesn’t have enough money, so they can’t buy it in large quantities~”

Nanluan actually had a sulfur mine, Gao Yihuan couldn't help complaining, "Why didn't you tell me earlier." Then he waved his hand, "I already know about this. If you continue to produce, it will be resolved as soon as possible."

Gao Yihuan didn't expect that the sulfur was right in front of his eyes. Since it was in Henan Mansion, he should have no problem getting the sulfur.

Now he is barely self-sufficient in food, and he also has iron ore for casting weapons. The problem of gunpowder will also be solved, and he will not be stuck in the neck, so he has a bottom line in his heart.

Gao Yihuan then checked the Yijia workshop and Zhentianlei workshop before returning to the mansion.

At this time, as soon as he arrived at the gate of the mansion, a soldier stepped forward to help him hold the reins, and then said anxiously: "It's a coincidence that the general came back, I am going to invite the general to come back~"

~~~~~~~
At the beginning of May, Nanzhili, Suzhou Prefecture, Xipu, Luyuan, Changshu County, Qian Qianyi's hometown.

At this time, in a hall, the door was closed, and there were more than a dozen important figures of the Donglin Party sitting inside.

As the leader of the party, Qian Qianyi naturally sat upright in the middle hall, next to Liang Yungou, Huang Zongyi, Lin Shidui, Jin Bao, Ding Shikui and a group of disciples and opposition leaders.

"Everyone, a few days ago, Lu Zhenfei, governor of Huai'an, reported the fall of Beijing and the news that His Majesty had hanged himself, and he had already arrived in Nanjing." Qian Qianyi said.

After everyone heard this, their hearts trembled, and their expressions changed drastically. Some people began to cover their faces and sob, but Huang Zongyi got up and bowed: "Sir, I don't know if the crown prince and several princes can escape from the capital?"

Qian Qianyi shook his head, "Now the news is more complicated. Some say that the prince died together with His Majesty, and some say that the prince was taken away. There is no definite news."

Jin Bao said: "Sir, isn't it rumored that Shandong Gaofutai sent troops to serve the king to meet His Majesty and the crown prince on a southern tour? Is there any news from Gaofutai that it has arrived in Nanjing?"

Qian Qianyi shook his head, "According to the news from Ma Shiying, Governor of Fengyang, Governor Gao was defeated by the bandit general Liu Fangliang, and has already retreated to Jining Prefecture, and has not yet welcomed the prince back."

The Donglin party members present couldn't help being silent for a while. Throughout the Chongzhen Dynasty, party disputes continued, but generally speaking, the Donglin party members still controlled the ruling and opposition parties.

The collapse of the Chongzhen Dynasty is naturally a big blow to the Donglin Party, and since the Donglin Party members control most of the imperial court, now that the imperial court has collapsed, as the ruling party, is there any responsibility?

For a while, there was silence in the hall, and many people felt sad for Chongzhen's martyrdom, and also felt depressed about their own political future.

This is not surprising at all, since it is a big ruling party, they naturally would not want to overthrow the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty was indeed brought down by them, or they took a lot of responsibility.

Looking at the crowd, Qian Qianyi couldn't help saying in a deep voice: "Everyone, it's not the time to be sad yet. The most important thing now is to think about the future. It is to think about who should inherit the throne if both His Majesty and the crown prince have died!"

This sentence reminded everyone, and some people said: "If the crown prince can't go south, then from a legal point of view, the two feudal lords of Fu and Gui are the most suitable to inherit the throne."

As soon as these words came out, the faces of everyone in the hall changed immediately. Huang Zongyi, Lin Shidui, Jin Bao and others immediately stood up, "Fu Fan is definitely not allowed~~~"

(End of this chapter)