Chapter 289 When the New Navy Army and the Firearms Shop
saw Eunuch Tao, Su Ze also smiled, and they walked into the Shipping Department side by side.
As soon as he entered the Shipping Department, Eunuch Tao began to express his bitterness.
"Xianggong Su, you are finally back! This year, the Japanese pirates invaded, and the merchant ship of the Ryukyu Mission came once. The court has repeatedly ordered the money to be sent to the capital. If this continues, I, the guarding eunuch of the Shipping Department, will not be able to do anything. It's the end!"
Of course Su Ze knew it wasn't such an exaggeration. Nowadays, the position of guarding eunuch of Shibosi is a hot-butt position, and only Eunuch Tao can still manage to maintain it.
Entering the main hall, Su Ze did not beat around the bush and said directly: "I heard that Eunuch Tao built a batch of warships?"
Eunuch Tao sighed and said: "In order to open up the Ryukyu trade, I used the remaining silver from the Shipping Department and the money from the Mint Department. With the new money, I built twenty warships with thousands of materials, but they couldn't be driven!"
Eunuch Tao concealed the fact that the trial ship was robbed by Japanese pirates. It was really embarrassing.
Su Ze said: "Normally, this naval battle is different from a land battle. It is difficult to form an army in a hurry." "
Manipulating the sails and steering the rudder are all technical tasks. Even sea battles are different from land battles."
Eunuch Tao frowned. Now he also knows the difficulty of training a maritime army, but time waits for no one.
The inner court has urged him several times. If the backlog of silk in the Shipping Department is not sold, Eunuch Tao may lose his royal family.
Su Ze said: "I, Lin Baihu of Changning Guard, are good at naval warfare. However, Changning Guard is fully prepared and the number of sailors who can board the ship can only be five. If you want more escort ships, Changning Guard alone is the best choice." It won't work."
When Eunuch Tao saw that Su Ze didn't say no directly, he knew that there was still hope for the matter. He always trusted Su Ze and quickly asked,
"What can Mr. Su do?"
Su Ze said, "In the Yongle period, the Ming Dynasty The navy can conquer the oceans, and all countries pay tribute. Not to mention the small Japanese pirates, even the Japanese countries can be destroyed." "
But now that the peace has been long, the various defense stations have neglected training, and many naval warfare methods have been lost. Many naval warfare methods have been lost. The sea guards don't even have enough sailors to drive big ships."
Eunuch Tao nodded repeatedly, Su Ze was right, this is the situation of the guards in Fujian today.
One of the reasons why Qi Jiguang has been passive after entering Fujian is that the coastal guards in Fujian are too weak to allow Japanese pirates to come and go like the wind. It is difficult to achieve decisive results with just an elite army. Instead, they are constantly attacked by coastal Japanese pirates. The generals and soldiers were exhausted due to the mobilization.
Fuzhou Port was originally an important coastal town. When Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean, part of his fleet set sail from here.
Some of the ships used by Zheng He on his voyages to the Western Ocean were also built here.
This is why Eunuch Tao was able to find the manufacturing manual for the thousand-material ship from Zhuwei's dock.
But with only ships, without captains and sailors who can drive the ships, and without naval soldiers who can fight at sea, there is still no way to open up the route to Ryukyu.
Su Ze said: "Another reason for the chronology of guard posts is the traditional father-son succession and the shortcomings of family inheritance." "
In fact, in the early days of the Republic of China, all coastal guard posts were very good at this maritime warfare method. By the Yongle period, There are also many generals who are good at commanding naval battles." "
However, as the country has been peaceful for a long time, many methods of maritime warfare have been passed down from father to son. There are fewer and fewer guardsmen who can fight on the water and can operate sails and ships. These are all regarded as secrets passed down by the family, but many of the nobles from the coastal guards have never gone to the sea."
Eunuch Tao nodded. In order to make these twenty warships move, he had indeed been to many coastal areas. The Wei Institute is indeed what Su Ze said.
Su Ze said: "Marine warfare is different from land warfare. When land soldiers join the army, they only need to have enough soldiers and food to form an army in a few months. After fighting a few victories, they can be called elites." "But the navy is different
. "For maritime operations, we need to first let the soldiers learn combat drills and cooperate with practical training on the ship. It can only be accomplished in a few months." Eunuch Tao now
completely grimaced. If he followed Su Ze's method, he would have to wait until one year to complete the battle. After being trained as a naval officer, I am afraid that I have been sent to Nanjing to guard the mausoleum due to poor performance.
No, going to Nanjing to guard the mausoleum is considered a good job. There is a high chance that going to Fengyang to guard the ancestral mausoleum will be a good job.
Su Ze changed the subject and said: "But there is a quick fix."
Eunuch Tao was like a drowning man, grasping hope. He immediately asked: "What solution?"
Su Ze said: "Since the sea trade was cut off, There are many unemployed sailors in ports such as Zhangzhou, Fuzhou and Quanzhou."
Eunuch Tao's eyes lit up. Of course he knew where these sailors came from. These were sailors trained by maritime merchant families who had been engaged in smuggling trade for a long time.
Eunuch Tao originally wanted to recruit these people, but on the one hand, these people are all old oilmen at sea. He does not have anyone who understands military management to manage them. These old oilmen may even kidnap the ship and join the Japanese.
Su Ze said: "But these sailors can only be used to sail ships, not to fight."
Eunuch Tao nodded repeatedly, and he asked: "Then where do we recruit soldiers for fighting?"
Su Ze said directly: "This is the most important thing. Good soldiers are under the hands of the father-in-law."
"Under the hands of the Zajia family?"
Eunuch Tao pointed at himself in confusion.
Su Ze nodded and said, "May I ask my father-in-law, how many craftsmen are there in the minting workshops in Fujian now?"
Eunuch Tao was still casting money in Fujian, and he blurted out: "Now there are ten mints in Fujian, and there are two coin craftsmen. Thousands of people."
Su Ze asked again: "How many miners are there in the Dajianlu and mines managed by the Fujian Mining Company?"
Eunuch Tao thought for a moment and said, "There are probably more than seven or eight thousand people."
Fujian has a high output There are three Dajian furnaces for high-quality Fujian iron, and each ironworks has thousands of craftsmen.
In addition, there are various mines in Fujian, and there are also a large number of miners working in government-run workshops in these places.
Eunuch Tao was in charge of the entire Fujian minting and had investigated some places before. He also had management rights over the mines of these government-run workshops.
When Su Ze asked about this, Eunuch Tao finally came to his senses and asked, "Mr. Su, are you talking about recruiting these craftsmen and miners?"
Su Ze nodded.
Eunuch Tao paced back and forth and said, "When it comes to soldiers, these miners and craftsmen are really good."
Qi Jiajun was the miners recruited by Qi Jiguang from Zhejiang. These miners often fought with weapons. Qi Jiguang, who was training in Zhejiang, noticed that these miners were strong and very capable. They are well organized, able to advance and retreat together when fighting, and their combat effectiveness exceeds that of ordinary farmers.
Eunuch Tao said: "But is it really possible for these craftsmen to get on the ship?"
Eunuch Tao also put in a lot of effort. Combat at sea is completely different from that on land. Whether ordinary people can stand firm on the ship after going to sea is a problem, let alone It was said that he was fighting with weapons. Su Ze said confidently: "If I practice swordsmanship and archery now, I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up with the Japanese pirates even if I practice for another year. To quickly form an army, we need to find another way." "
This other way is a cannon!"
Of course Eunuch Tao also knows how to use blunderbuss.
In the words of Fujian's health stations and Qi Jiajun: "The bird guns issued by the imperial court are not used by dogs!" The
bird guns issued by the imperial court often extinguished the match and failed to ignite the powder. These are minor problems. If it is just that, forget it. .
Big problems such as exploding chambers and jamming of lead bullets also continued. Many soldiers did not dare to aim and shoot with the blunderbuss issued by the court for fear of being blinded by the blunderbuss.
Eunuch Tao said: "The soldiers are not willing to use the blunderbuss issued by the imperial court, and they are not as powerful as Fo Langji's blunderbuss." Su Ze said: "The blunderbuss issued by the imperial court are indeed not good,
but the quality of the iron in Fujian is That's good. There is no shortage of blacksmiths. The gunpowder workshops of various health centers can also produce gunpowder. Why not make bird guns by yourself?"
Tao Eunuch's eyes brightened: "Su Xianggong can also make bird guns?"
Su Ze was confident. He said fullly: "It's just a bird gun, what's the problem? The Folangji people can make it, but we in the Ming Dynasty can't make it? Eunuch Tao also knows why the Ministry of War's workshop can't make bird gun, right?" Tao Eunuch
said The father-in-law nodded repeatedly. He was a eunuch in charge of weaving, printing and dyeing in the palace, so he naturally knew the situation of these government-run workshops.
Although the craftsman household system in the Ming Dynasty was not as strict as the military household system, craftsmen near the capital still had to serve in the capital.
Some of the craftsmen in government-run workshops are craftsmen who have been working in this workshop for generations and are called sitting craftsmen.
Some of them were employed by nearby craftsmen in turn and were called craftsmen.
Since the imperial dynasty, no matter whether they are sitting craftsmen or practicing craftsmen, they are unwilling to serve in government-run workshops and will often try their best to escape from serving.
And the managers of these workshops are all there to make money and don't pay attention to production quality at all.
It's okay if it's a palace industry, but even if you're making money, you still have to ensure quality.
If it were a weapons manufacturing workshop like the Ministry of War, it would be shameless. Not only would the weapons delivered be of poor quality, but the quantity would also be lacking.
Now that the imperial court has ordered imitation of bird guns, there are still so many bird guns of poor quality issued.
By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the government-run workshops had almost lost their manufacturing capabilities. High-end weapons such as cannons could not be manufactured at all. Xu Guangqi could only purchase them from the Portuguese in Macau, or salvage Dutch shipwrecks from coastal areas.
Su Ze said: "Father, as long as we set up a firearms workshop outside Fuzhou City and recruit a thousand soldiers from the miners and coin craftsmen, we can clear the Ryukyu shipping routes and resume the Ryukyu tribute trade within two months!" "Okay!
" In order to keep his current position, Eunuch Tao gritted his teeth and spent all his family wealth to support Su Ze in training this navy.
The next day, the Fujian New Anti-Japanese Army was established, and Su Ze served as the general regiment's training envoy. Using the twenty newly built lucky ships of the Municipal Shipping Department as a team, he trained the new navy to fight against the Japanese.
Everyone in Fujian has expressed strong support for this team training.
The situation in Fujian was chaotic, and regiments were popping up all over the place. Many counties relied on the regiments organized by local gentry to protect themselves.
Su Ze was from Fujian Jieyuan and had experience in organizing team training in Jiangnan. It was not strange for everyone in Fujian that Eunuch Tao entrusted the ship to him to organize team training.
Even the entire Fujian officialdom gave Su Ze a lot of support.
On the edge of Fuzhou Port, Fuzhou officials also allocated land for Su Ze to build the "Navy New Army Lecture Hall."
However, Su Ze was not willing to build a military lecture hall on land. Instead, he chose to find a small island called Chuanshi Island outside Fujian Port and set up the Navy Lecture Hall on the island.
According to Su Ze, the martial arts hall is located on an island, which allows students to focus more on their studies. At the same time, the island is closer to the sea, allowing for some simulation training at sea.
In fact, Su Ze set up the martial arts hall on the island in order to better control these students and avoid the government's infiltration and interference in the martial arts hall.
The Fujian government naturally did not doubt his presence and strongly supported Su Ze in building schools and dormitories on the island.
Eunuch Tao was also very efficient in his work. In less than half a month, he recruited 300 merchant sailors, plus a thousand miners and coin craftsmen, all of whom were sent to the Kawaishishima Navy Lecture Hall.
The Fuzhou Ship Division also came forward to set up a gunfire workshop outside Fuzhou City, and also set up a water-powered hammer arsenal to specialize in the production of bird guns.
Su Ze asked Eunuch Hu for Little Eunuch You and asked him to be responsible for solving the problem of the gun barrel and gunpowder.
It took Su Ze half a month to settle the food, clothing, housing and transportation issues for the students on Chuanshi Island. He also transferred several junior officers from the Changning Guard to serve as instructors and first conducted discipline and formation training on Chuanshi Island.
After finishing his work at the New Army Lecture Hall, Su Ze had time to come to the gun arsenal outside Fuzhou City.
Young Eunuch You is very talented in making weapons. In the past half month, he has figured out the reason why the imperial blunderbuss exploded.
"Mr. Su, the imperial blunderbuss exploded in the chamber. The proportion of powder and gunpowder issued by the court was uneven, and the soldiers did not operate it in a standardized manner. They often overfilled the gunpowder, causing the chamber to explode." Su Ze nodded. He had trained bird blunderbuss
. They also know the level of the officers of the Ming Dynasty Guards today. They themselves don't even know how to fight with guns and bullets, let alone their soldiers.
Some generals believed that more gunpowder would be more powerful, and they took it upon themselves to ask their men to load more gunpowder, resulting in frequent bore explosions.
Young Eunuch You added: "Another reason is that the quality of the iron used by the imperial court is not uniform. According to Mr. Su, these irons contain more impurities, are not forged enough times, and have insufficient bearing capacity when the explosives explode, resulting in The chamber exploded."
"What's the solution?"
Little Eunuch You took out a gun barrel and said,
"This is a barrel made of our Fujian Fujian Iron. Mr. Su, do you think it is no different from a Folang machine gun barrel? "
After Su Ze took it, the barrel of this gun was very smooth, and it was indeed no different from the purchased Folan gun.
Young Eunuch You said: "You only need to beat it repeatedly to get a qualified gun barrel. In fact, the imperial court is not without this craftsmanship, but the arsenal of the Ministry of War is poorly managed and the number of forgings is far insufficient, which is why the quality is so low."
Su Ze sighed. He also knew that the technological gap between the East and the West had not widened at this time, and even some of Ming's technologies were still advanced.
However, low management levels and serf-style government-run workshops are important issues that restrict the yield rate of weapons.
Su Ze patted Little Eunuch You on the shoulder and said: "Gather the craftsmen, I want to talk to them about their monthly salary. Once these blunderbuss are made, there will be rewards." "
Little Eunuch You, you should also make a charter. All blunderbuss must be engraved with the name of the craftsman who handled them, and those with low yields must be held accountable, and rewards and punishments must be clearly defined!"
(End of Chapter)