Smiling Sheng, with his intelligence online, finally understood something but was still skeptical. "Young Master Zhu, even if they lack iron, iron isn't that difficult to make, is it? Can't they just make it themselves? I, I don't quite believe it..."
"Hehe, they can make it, of course, but the problem is it's not cost-effective! You know, they have fewer people, so they can't make that many. On the frontier, when they clear the battlefield, they even pull out the arrowheads and reuse them with new shafts..."
He intended to teach those idle people in the Ministry of War a lesson. Pointing to the pot in the corner, he said, "These pots, they don't take them back to eat hot pot, but to melt them down and make arrowheads. You are all from the Ministry of War, do you know this?"
The surrounding Ministry of War officials were immediately choked and bewildered—
So that's how it is. No wonder Zhang Taiyue didn't allow selling pots on the frontier. They were using them to make arrowheads to attack us! Alas, those people in the Nine Garrisons are idiots. We can't give them any more in the future...
But talk is talk. Everyone thought that if Zhu Mo brought so many iron pots and sent them to the frontier, wouldn't that be aiding the enemy?
Everyone dared to think, but no one dared to speak. Who didn't know Zhu Mo's current influence? Even the Yan family feared him, so why should others court disaster?
Zhu Mo was too lazy to explain to them—
With this batch of goods as a token of goodwill, Anda should believe in Zhu Mo's sincerity. After all, these scrap irons could be re-melted to forge arrowheads. If he had no sincerity, why would he give away things used to make weapons?
And another meaning was also in this pile of gifts:
He, Zhu Mo, was different from others. He was not afraid of Anda having more arrowheads, nor was he afraid of them attacking the Great Ming with these arrowheads in return.
...
At noon,
News of the collection of iron pots continued to be reported. Zhu Mo estimated that it was about time, so he immediately ordered all the soldiers to escort the iron pots to the imperial granary in the suburbs of the capital, and then to proceed with the second major task.
That was—
Improving firearms.
Zhu Mo had read many online novels and knew that the Ming Dynasty only had matchlock firearms. Each shot required ignition, and the gun barrel had no rifling, making it inaccurate and short-ranged.
In fact, even for matchlock firearms, the Great Ming did not have many. He recalled that Qi Jiguang had a firearm squad of just over a hundred people, who usually served as guards and honor guards, their role being more for deterrence than actual combat effectiveness compared to artillery.
And to deter Anda Khan in a short period, there was only one thing—
The flintlock musket.
Once a team of musketeers increased their firing rate, as long as there was enough gunpowder, and each person had three guns to switch between, they should be able to withstand a cavalry charge. In a short period, during the brief fifteen to twenty minutes of cavalry charge, the musket team using flintlock muskets should be able to increase their firepower by tens of times, enough to resist the enemy during this period...
If Anda Khan saw it with his own eyes, he should immediately be terrified and abandon his foolish thoughts. If he were to show enough sincerity at this time and negotiate a treaty, it should not be too difficult...
At the Ministry of War main hall,
Zhu Mo, while thinking, drew a sketch of a flintlock musket from memory, and then a cross-section of a rifled barrel. He said, "Old Liang, I'll have to trouble you to accompany me this time..."
Liang Menglong asked, "Go, go where?"
"The Arsenal!"
Along the way,
Zhu Mo was also feeling anxious—
Did the Great Ming truly have the foundation for this? Were the investigations of those Ming Dynasty enthusiasts reliable? If there was a foundation, skilled craftsmen should be able to make such a simple mechanism.
And if there was no way to improve it, then he could only leave it to fate.
...
Half an hour later, he hurried into Wanggong Factory.
Zhu Mo asked them to lead the way to the firearms arsenal. He saw rows of connected rooms filled with everything related to firearms: countless gun barrels, stocks, matches, gunpowder... all materials were readily available.
As a Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, Liang Menglong gave an order, and the most skilled craftsmen from the Great Ming Arsenal, twelve in total, who had been working at the Arsenal for over twenty years, were summoned to wait outside the arsenal.
Zhu Mo was stunned by the scene before him. As he walked and observed for a full half hour, he finally found a batch of small parts at the foot of a cabinet. It was a small bag of small iron awls, with a groove at the tip, inlaid with white flint...
His heart skipped a beat, and he picked up one, examining it meticulously from head to toe dozens of times. This small awl was only the size of a thumb, and the flint was only about the size of a fingernail. It was very firmly inlaid; he tried to pry it with a dagger a few times, but it didn't move at all.
At this moment, only one thought spun in his mind—
Is this really the Great Ming during the Jiajing era?
Is this thing really a flintlock mechanism?
But,
Where is the spring? Why can't he see the spring?
While he was still wondering, he saw a pile of spiral springs, more than ten centimeters long, and cannon barrels, base mounts... placed in the corner on the right.
This scene immediately reminded him of a news report: on the coast of Chaoshan and Nan'ao, archaeologists discovered a sunken ship from the mid-Ming Dynasty, which contained over a dozen cannon barrels and springs...
"Could this be it? So, it existed even before Jiajing..."
"The investigations of those enthusiasts were indeed correct. The Ming Dynasty already had all the conditions for a breakthrough, but unfortunately, they stumbled at the last step..."
As his heart pounded, he strode out of the arsenal, hands clasped behind his back, observing everyone carefully. Feeling that they were reliable, he took out the drawings from his embrace and slapped them onto the table, saying, "Take a look at these two drawings... Look first, then speak."
Hiss!
The craftsmen immediately gasped and gathered around to look at the drawings. Several of them wanted to speak several times, but an old craftsman stopped them.
These drawings were found by Zhu Mo from the system. They were the structural drawings of the first-generation flintlock musket invented by the Frenchman Ma Han of the same era, less than 20 years before this time. The system was very rigorous and would absolutely not go beyond the era, but horizontally, it encompassed all fragmented information from any corner.
At this moment,
He stared at their expressions and found that the old man's eyes shot out a look of urgency, as if he recognized the item. Another young man in his twenties also had an unusually excited expression, as if he had seen the most precious treasure in the world. He wanted to speak several times but looked at Zhu Mo and forcibly held back.
Zhu Mo felt that this person was also very good and asked, "What is your name? Can you understand this drawing?"
"Your subordinate's name is Zhao Shizhen, uh... Your subordinate, your subordinate believes this is a drawing of a firearm, sir. May I ask where you got this from? Is it from the West? It's amazing! This drawing is simply brilliant... The difficult points that I have pondered for years have been resolved. After all, there is always someone better, and I thought I had reached the peak, but it turns out I was only halfway up the mountain..."
He was so excited that he spoke incoherently, tears welling up in his eyes. It was the complete ecstasy of an artist seeing a decisive work.
Hehe,
This person is capable...
Zhu Mo immediately remembered—
Zhao Shizhen,
Wasn't he the most formidable firearms expert of the Great Ming Dynasty? He was so young! He had also worked at the Arsenal. It seemed he returned to his hometown later due to disappointment...
"Hehe, why don't you tell me what's so brilliant about it? And, sir, what is your name?"
The old man said calmly, "This old man is called Li Huai... um... hehe..."
Oh?
Zhu Mo saw his eyes flickering, as if he also had some knowledge, like a merchant waiting for someone who recognized his goods, but also like he had some reservations, wanting to speak but daring not to...
The reason for this was obvious—
Suppression by the Yan family.
He immediately emboldened the two, smiling, "Li Huai, Zhao Shizhen, do you know who I am?"
Liang Menglong immediately interjected, "What are you still dallying for? This is the current Young Master Zhu, Zhu Mo, the Imperial Envoy Zhu whose fame resonates throughout the land!"
Ah?
It's him?
Indeed, it is Zhu Mo!
He is indeed remarkably talented.
Upon hearing this, Li Huai's eyes immediately lit up. After a moment of hesitation, his resolve was made. He thought that if he continued to hide, he would never realize his dream in this life. He immediately bowed and said tearfully, "You, you... you are indeed Young Master Zhu? That's wonderful! Young Master Zhu has finally come to the Arsenal, finally to the Arsenal... Alas... the Great Ming is saved... this old man, alas..."
He and Zhao Shizhen were also friends despite the age gap. Seeing Zhu Mo's extraordinary demeanor, and how the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War was subservient to him, and having heard about his battles of wits and courage with the Yan family, they both felt that their lifelong ambitions were finally about to be realized, and they wept in each other's arms...
Zhu Mo, understanding the situation, couldn't help but be moved—
These two are high-tech talents! Their pursuit of research and development is so sincere! If not for this, why would they be moved to tears?
It can be seen that,
The Great Ming is not without talented people; they are just buried. Since he has come this far, he must champion them...
He calmly said, "Li Huai, Zhao Shizhen, whatever you have wanted to say but dared not, you can tell me... I will champion your lifelong aspirations! You should bring out your best ideas and skills and do something great with me. We must revitalize the Great Ming in our lifetime..."
At this moment,
After hearing Zhao Shizhen's reply, he already felt that the matter was six or seven parts complete, and a large stone in his heart finally loosened by half. He couldn't help but feel even more emotional—
The Ming Dynasty was not incapable of producing finely crafted firearms, but unwilling to do so. The reason for their unwillingness was the Yan family.
After the downfall of the Yan family, Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang produced some, but Zhang Juzheng died soon after, and the fine craftsmanship route failed again.
Afterward,
No one in the Great Ming bothered to pursue fine firearms anymore, and they returned to the era of cold weapons. A ray of dawn dimmed, leaving later generations to sigh endlessly... If these people had been able to contribute, what would the Great Ming's firearms have looked like, no longer confined to drawings and the manuscripts of village folk?