The prototype of the Hongyi cannon is a long-tube, spindle-shaped cannon invented in Europe in the 16th century. It was introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty and was quickly copied.
All artillery pieces of similar design are collectively called Hongyi cannons by China, also known as red cannons.
The red-clothed cannon is not actually a "passing word". For example, some people said that after the Manchus entered the customs, they replaced "yi" with "yi" to avoid taboos, but because Ming Dynasty officials wanted to express their disapproval. In awe of this powerful weapon, the cannon is usually covered with a piece of red cloth.
The Hongyi cannon has many advantages in design compared with the cannons owned by the Ming Dynasty at that time. The barrel is long, the wall is thick, the caliber is large, and the overall shape gradually becomes thicker from the muzzle to the tail. It conforms to the principle that the chamber pressure changes from high to low when gunpowder is burned.
There are cylindrical lugs on both sides of the center of gravity of the gun body. The gun can adjust the shooting angle based on this axis, and change the range according to the amount of gunpowder. It is equipped with a front sight and a rear sight, and calculates the ballistic trajectory according to the parabola. The accuracy is very high.
Most Hongyi cannons are about 3 meters long, have a caliber of 110-130 mm, and weigh more than 1 ton.
The first Hongyi cannon obtained by the Ming Dynasty was not purchased through normal trade channels, but obtained through salvage and defense of sunken ships.
In fact, when the Yi people exported Fran cannons to the Ming Dynasty, front-loaded cannons such as the Hong Yi cannon had already appeared in the West. However, it was difficult to manufacture such artillery at the time, so there were not many of them. .
Furthermore, because of their advantages in range and power, all Western countries also intend to conceal this weapon from countries such as Ming Dynasty, let alone trade with Ming Dynasty.
The original Hongyi cannon should be 22 that were salvaged from the British East India Company merchant ship "Unicorn" that sank off the coast of Guangdong by Deng Shiliang, who was then the official of Zhaoqing in the 48th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty. According to the records at that time Comparing European artillery standards, one of the prototypes of the Hongyi cannon is the British ship-borne 6-pound, 12-pound, and 18-pound front-loading smoothbore cannon.
However, there are also some historical records that the Ming Dynasty seems to have actually obtained the Red Barbarian cannon earlier. It was a Dutch naval cannon salvaged from a small Dutch fleet that was sunk by pirates and Japanese pirates, or it was used in the Philippines. The "Luzon Cannon" was brought by cannon-casting craftsmen from the Spanish colonies.
Wei Guangde didn't know these details. He could see the ancient artillery relics in some tourist resorts and read some military articles, and he also knew the term "body-gun ratio".
When measuring the barrel length and caliber, special attention should be paid to the ratio of "barrel length/caliber", referred to as the barrel ratio. The larger the barrel ratio, the higher the muzzle velocity and the longer the range.
Wei Guangde went to the Ministry of Industry to find Zhu Heng and stated his demands.
"How big is the cannon you are talking about? Shandai, time is so tight, I can't guarantee that I can deliver it to you on time."
Zhu Heng felt a headache when he heard that Wei Guangde said that the Ministry of Industry should step up the casting of a batch of artillery.
The Ordnance Bureau under the Ministry of Industry can cast cannons, but cannons cannot be made casually, and cannons cannot be made just once and used.
A single mistake in the casting process will lead to failure in casting the cannon and greatly increase the risk of bombing.
“This.”
Wei Guangde thought for a while and then gestured: “The gunner must be at least ten feet long, with a small muzzle, a thick tail, a thicker wall, and a thicker muzzle. I guess three or four inches will be enough.”
"Do you use copper or iron for this thing? Do you know how expensive it is to make this thing?"
Hearing Wei Guangde's words, Zhu Heng felt that his head was big. The cannon must not only be big, but also have a thick wall. This How much material must be scrapped?
“Also, you think casting a cannon is easy. The cannon mold alone cannot be completed in a month.
Even if it can be made, this thing cannot be used casually. We still have to test the cannon.”
“Stop, stop, stop.”
Wei Guangde waved his hand hurriedly, interrupted Zhu Heng's ramblings, and whispered his thoughts. He even thought of the reason why he didn't fire. The weapon was newly developed by the Ordnance Bureau, so it was just for display, and he really didn't dare to try it.
"You"
Zhu Heng frowned after hearing Wei Guangde's words, feeling a bit like the crime of deceiving the emperor.
"Master Zhu, as for this cannon, let the craftsmen of the Ordnance Bureau continue to work on it and make it as good as possible. There is no other requirement, just that it can shoot far.
Our Ordnance Bureau cannot just It’s not just copying something made by others, but also having to develop some of the country’s most important weapons.
If there are not enough craftsmen from the Arms Bureau, I will try to get some craftsmen from the Military War Bureau to help. "
Wei Guangde continued to persuade.
The arsenals managed by the central government in the Ming Dynasty were the Ordnance Bureau under the Ministry of Industry and the Military War Bureau of the Inner Court.
At the local level, there are also some craftsmen in the governor's offices and health stations in various places who can repair or even Manufacturing armor and weapons
The predecessor of the Arms Bureau was actually the Baoyuan Bureau of the Inner Court. At that time, most of the firearms were made of copper, which was very scarce. Therefore, the earliest firearms of the Ming army were cast by the Baoyuan Bureau and later on. The craftsmen were assigned to the Ministry of Industry and the Arms Bureau was established
Baoyuan Bureau, on the other hand, continues to do its old business of minting coins and no longer touches firearms manufacturing.
But for such an important position, how can the emperor rest assured that it will be supervised by the Ministry of Works alone?
Therefore, for a long time, internal officials have been involved in the management of the Ordnance Bureau, and matters such as the amount of weapons and military craftsmen have been reported to the superiors by internal officials.
In the 28th year of Hongwu's reign, the Gunpowder Bureau was established, which was attached to the Military War Bureau, which specialized in making swords, guns, swords and halberds. It was under the management of the inner court, allowing the inner court to also manufacture firearms.
Despite this, the largest arsenal in the imperial court was the Ordnance Bureau, where countless skilled craftsmen were deployed.
Zhu Heng just smiled, Wei Guangde's proposal was not feasible.
“The Bingzhan Bureau can only follow what the Ordnance Bureau has to do. How do you expect them to have any craftsmen.”
After Zhu Heng finished speaking, he added After pondering for a moment, he said: "If it is just a prototype, it should be cast in a month. Does it need to be bigger or longer?" ’
“Yes.”
Wei Guangde smiled and said, Zhu Heng has already agreed, so this is naturally the best.
However, before he left, he still told Zhu Heng that this cannon was not just a showpiece, and the craftsmen still had to study the casting method.
There are specialties in the art industry, and his little knowledge in later generations can only point out the direction. The specific method of making it is still up to the craftsman.
Wei Guangde still has a clear understanding of this point and will never get involved in it.
After leaving the Ministry of Industry, Wei Guangde went directly back to his hometown.
In the evening, the concierge reported to the inner courtyard and said that Qi Jiguang, deputy general of the Beijing camp and prime minister of military training, wanted to see him.
"Take people to the flower hall and entertain them happily."
Wei Guangde is playing with his children in the garden at the moment. He spends most of the day at the cabinet handling official business, so he can only be at home during off-duty hours. Spend time with my wife and children.
For guests who come to visit, you usually wait for a while, then politely go over and say a few words to understand their demands, and then prepare to see them off.
As for the things you want to do, if you can do them, you will naturally have to arrange them later.
If it cannot be done, we will let you know in two days.
He never felt that just because he was a time traveler, he should be an upright and upright official with integrity and clean shoulders, and also set off a wave of reform and opening up in the Ming Dynasty for the sake of the country and the people.
Impractical, too unrealistic.
It is impossible for the political system to develop beyond the productivity, which will only lead to the collapse of the stable social system.
He could only use his limited knowledge to make minor modifications and repairs to one of the bad policies of the Ming Dynasty, so as to continue this last, relatively fair Han Dynasty as much as possible.
You must know that the most serious problem in the Ming Dynasty was political corruption. However, a ruthless man like Lao Zhu could not change the situation by killing so many corrupt officials. Wei Guangde thought that he did not have that power. Get this done. Gao Gong just wanted to rectify the officialdom, so he was used by Xu Jie to infinitely magnify Gao Gong's harm in the court. Everyone worked together to drive him out of the court, making it impossible for Emperor Longqing to keep him.
Wei Guangde also saw Zhang Juzheng's attitude towards officialdom from the "Six Matters" he presented. Even if he passed the examination and urged officials to do things, he did not mention a word about the corruption that had already formed.
Zhang Juzheng does not intend to fight corruption, so he certainly has no confidence to do so.
Wei Guangde set three goals for himself. The first was to open up the sea, revitalize the economy, collect money through tariffs, and alleviate the financial pressure on the court to the greatest extent.
The second is to maintain the whip law and clearing the land created by Zhang Juzheng. It is best to use the results of clearing the land to reduce the taxes borne by the people on the basis of the taxation of prefectures and counties set by Zhu Yuanzhang. Pin it down.
You know, agriculture is just like that, it doesn't generate much wealth at all.
The economies of later developed countries have long since shifted away from agriculture and toward industry. They have successively exempted agricultural taxes and even provided subsidies in reverse.
Wei Guangde knew this very well, but the Ming Dynasty was not suitable for exempting agricultural taxes, but to be honest, the agricultural taxes set by Lao Zhu were really low, the lowest in all dynasties in Chinese history.
The people were exploited mainly because of the imposition of taxes imposed by the local government.
As long as the recruitment of local officials is fixed, the burden on the people will not be the lowest in history, but at least it will be acceptable.
To promote the development of industry and commerce, the Ming Dynasty could not collect much domestic commercial tax anyway, so he could profit from it.
Wei Guangde is not an old scholar. He thinks that a gentleman should stay away from cooks and the smell of copper.
This money should be earned.
As for the last one, that is to maintain the policy of "ploughing the courtyard and sweeping the holes".
Although he didn't know which family Nurhachi belonged to, he knew that the Qing royal family was called Aisin Gioro. As long as this family was eliminated, it would be difficult for the Jurchens to produce another genius within a hundred years.
The Ming court had always been wary of the Jurchens outside the Pass, and would carry out military strikes from time to time based on their level of development to weaken their military strength.
It was just that he got a bargain in Nurhaci. The Ming Dynasty mistimed the timing of taking action on him. It was a few years late and allowed him to develop and grow in Jianzhou, and finally reaped the consequences.
Wei Guangde is here, and naturally he will not let such a thing happen again.
Well, he thinks that as long as he does these three things well, his descendants will have no problem being rich and prosperous in the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years.
No matter how far it is, it means that children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, so don’t be a beast for your children and grandchildren.
When society develops to that point, perhaps the Ming Dynasty itself will launch a bourgeois revolution and establish a constitutional monarchy or something.
You must know that the struggle between imperial power and prime ministerial power in the Ming Dynasty actually began since the Yingzong period.
After delaying a cup of tea, Wei Guangde got up, handed the child to the wet nurse, and went to the flower hall to see Qi Jiguang.
Qi Jiguang did not post anything beforehand. He only knew about the discussions among the civil servants on the Grand Reading stage because Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of the Grand Reading, talked to him about it, so he decided to come to see Wei Guangde tonight and ask what happened. solve.
In Qi Jiguang's view, Wei Guangde's opinions can be regarded as the bottom line of what civil servants want, and they must be done well.
As for being left hanging out for a while after entering the flower hall, he didn't take it to heart.
There are many officials visiting, and he also knows that these officials in the capital like to put on airs.
This is usually the case even if nothing happens at home, as long as it is not a major matter concerning oneself.
It also shows that officials have many affairs, which cannot be seen just by looking at them.
“Yuan Jing is here.”
Wei Guangde stepped into the flower hall and spoke first.
"Mr. Wei Ge, I have no choice but to bother you late at night. Please don't blame me."
Qi Jiguang stood up, walked quickly to Wei Guangde and bowed.
“You’re welcome, brother Zili told me when he went to Jizhou, of course I have to take care of your business, sit down.”
Wei Guangde walked past Qi Jiguang and entered. Go to the flower hall and stand in front of the main seat, and say to him as you walk.
He motioned Qi Jiguang to sit down and sat down himself.
“I wonder why you are here at this time?”
Asked knowingly, although both of them knew it in their hearts, they still started like this.
In the eyes of the two of them, the two greetings upon entering the room were enough, and any more would be a bit foreign.
"Mr. Wei Ge, after today's great review, Cheng Guogong found the last general and talked about the arrangements for the great review"
Qi Jiguang briefly repeated what Duke Cheng Guo had said to him in the afternoon, and then looked at Wei Guangde and said, "Mr. Wei Ge, please give me some advice on how to arrange it appropriately for the general?"
"I haven't noticed this before when I watched the drills of each department. It only makes people feel like it starts and ends when we practice together."
Wei Guangde looked at Qi Jiguang and said with a smile on his lips, "The Jingying camp was trained so well by Yuan Jing that the other battalions, although they also had training, could not compare with the Jingying camp."< br>
“Yes, I feel the same today, but I don’t know how to solve it.”
Qi Jiguang said helplessly.
"I once proposed that all the cavalry in the Beijing camp be gathered together for another drill. Has Duke Cheng said this?"
Wei Guangde put away his smile and asked with a slight frown.
“I said it, but doesn’t this make Dayue look more anticlimactic?”
But instead of Qi Jiguang’s smile, his brows furrowed deeper.
“Huh?”
Wei Guangde was stunned for a moment, then realized, "Yuan Jing, you don't mean to think that the cavalry drill is placed behind the Shenji Camp, and the troops from the Beijing Camp are concentrated together, right?"
"Could it be that the cavalry drill is placed behind the Shenji Camp?" Isn't it? "
Qi Jiguang asked without thinking, and then he realized that Wei Guangde's intention seemed to be to move the cavalry brigade's drill to the end, and then he became thoughtful.
Wei Guangde saw that Qi Jiguang had figured it out and remained silent, waiting for him to think for himself.
He didn’t know that Qi Jiguang had now overturned his original considerations.
In fact, as the finale, Qi Jiguang had detailed arrangements, which was to use the actual combat experience of Jiubian Elite to conduct a practical version of the drill.
The number of elites mobilized in Jiubian Town this time ranged from over a thousand to a few hundred, for a total of 7,000 people. Therefore, Qi Jiguang planned to have them form a mixed military formation to be reviewed, and the drills were also displayed together. , and then join the cavalry of the Beijing camp as the finale