Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 151: Ideas for Equilibrium Policies

What Zhu Jing'an wants to build is the largest arsenal in China and even the world.

Because, in war, guns and artillery are actually consumables.

For example, artillery generally has a design life and can fire as many rounds as it wants.

Once used excessively, the quality of the artillery itself cannot be guaranteed, and the barrel may be slightly deformed.

The deformation of the gun barrel will lead to a decrease in the accuracy and range of the artillery fire. This is only a small problem. The biggest problem is that the risk of the gun blasting the barrel will greatly increase.

For example, take the grandpa cannons in the Qing army. Why didn't the Qing army use full charges?
Is it because they don't want to?

Of course not, they don’t dare!

Although the reason for this is also related to the production and casting process of the artillery, the main reason is that the service life and number of uses of the artillery far exceed the design life.

They are already old antiques, how can they not cause problems!

Therefore, Zhu Jing'an required that the production speed of the arsenal must be able to meet the army's replacement needs for old equipment.

Once weapons such as muskets and artillery reach the limit of use, they must be replaced.

Also, muskets and artillery are not only subject to wear and tear in wars, they are also subject to wear and tear during live ammunition training.

If you want to ensure the quality and power of firearms, you must replace them frequently.

This requires that the Ming Dynasty must have strong ordnance production capacity to maintain the combat and training needs of the army.

Hearing this, Guo Dashan looked troubled and spoke.

"Grand Governor, I will try my best to do it, but I really dare not guarantee it..."

Zhu Jing'an frowned when he heard this.

"I don't try my best, I have to do it to a certain extent."

"Let's do this. The governor will then allocate 50 taels of silver to the arsenal to support the arsenal's expansion."

"If you have any other requirements, just mention them to me. Whether it is manpower, material resources or financial resources, I will definitely satisfy you."

"However, the only request I have for you is that at the beginning of next year, the number of production workers in the arsenal must be increased to 5000, and before the end of next year, this number must reach 1."

"Can it be done?"

The combat effectiveness of the army must be invested with money!

Similarly, the production capacity of the arsenal can also be piled up with money.

Anyway, after copying the Eight Banners in Guangzhou, what Zhu Jing'an needs most now is money.

He will never be stingy with spending on military construction.

If you dare to waste on the cost of army construction, when the army goes to the battlefield, you will waste on its combat effectiveness.

Hearing this, Guo Dashan gritted his teeth and said.

"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief, I promise to complete the mission."

Zhu Jing'an nodded with satisfaction.

"very good!"

"This governor knows that he is right about you, old Guo Tou."

Suddenly, Zhu Jing'an seemed to remember something again and asked.

"By the way, how is the production efficiency of rifled guns? Is there any progress in the production of bottom-expanding bullets?"

For rifled guns, Ming Dynasty’s arsenal can also produce them.

It's just that the production efficiency is a little low, and most of them have to be done by master craftsmen and rifling by hand.

Zhu Jing'an wanted to know whether Ming Dynasty had made a breakthrough in the production of rifled guns.

Hearing this, Guo Dashan shook his head.

"Back to the Governor, the production of rifled guns is still the same. There are only about a hundred guns every month, and the efficiency has never been improved."

"The main problem is that rifling is very difficult, and most workers, except for those master craftsmen, can't do it."

"The machine tool project you explained is still under research and testing and cannot be applied to the production of rifled guns, but I believe the results will be available soon."

"On the other hand, the project of bottom-expanding bombs has already begun to take shape. Our army's arsenal has produced some in small batches and conducted live-fire experiments. The results are very good."

The so-called bottom expansion bomb is actually the famous Mini bomb.

The diameter of the cone-shaped bullet is slightly smaller than the diameter of the gun bore, which makes loading easier.

There is a conical cavity at the bottom of the bullet. When loading, a wooden plug is used to plug the bottom of the hole. When fired, the gas presses the wooden plug into the cavity, which forces the lead bullet bottom to expand and stick to the rifling.

In this way, the rifled gun can take into account both the rate of fire and accuracy to the greatest extent.

With the introduction of bottom-expanding bullets, rifled guns have become possible to equip troops in large quantities.

The only problem is that the current production efficiency of Ming Dynasty's rifled guns is still too low, and they all rely on the hands of old masters.

Zhu Jing'an was a little helpless about this, but he could only tell the people below to continue working hard.

Although he was determined to solve the problem himself, he had no choice but to find that although his theoretical knowledge was at full level, his practical ability was zero.

Zhu Jing'an inspected the arsenal again, then left the arsenal with a batch of weapons and equipment and returned to Guangzhou City.

……

Zhu Jing'an had just returned to Guangzhou when he received news that Macau had rejected his ultimatum.

Zhu Jing'an was not surprised, and immediately ordered the Ming army to prepare to regain Macau by force.

While the Ming army was making preparations for the expedition, Old Pitt, one of the current artillery department directors of the Ming army, came to ask for a meeting.

Although Zhu Jing'an didn't have a good impression of foreigners, he still valued old Peter, a foreigner who played a great role in the establishment of Ming Dynasty's artillery force.

Although Old Pete was paid to do things, his contribution to the formation and training of the Ming Dynasty's artillery force was also real.

Zhu Jing'an met Old Peter in his study and asked warmly.

"Old Pete, why did you come to see the governor instead of training artillery today?"

Old Pete took a sip of the tea in front of him and spoke with a slight hesitation.

"When I return to the Grand Governor, old Peter is asking to see you today. Mr. Charles, the representative of the French East India Company, found me and hopes that I can introduce him to him."

"He wants to represent France and establish friendly relations with Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Jing'an frowned, thought for a while and then said.

"of course can!"

"My governor has always regarded France as a friend of the Ming Dynasty. You know this, old Peter."

Zhu Jing'an looked calm on the surface, but in his heart he had already thought about it.

The Portuguese and British rejected their own ultimatum!

But the Frenchman came to see him through old Peter's route.

It can be seen that the foreigners today are not monolithic. Each foreign country has its own position and interests.

In this case, I might be able to fight against those foreigners and play a balancing policy.

For example, after the Seven Years' War, Britain defeated the naval forces of France and Spain, seized all French colonies except India and North America, and became a well-deserved empire on which the sun never sets.

(PS: Book friends have corrected me. At this time, France still had two colonies in the Caribbean and the Pacific. It has not lost them all. Thank you.)
Its national power ranks first in Europe and even in the world.

In this era, although Britain has not yet entered the heyday of the Victorian era, it is already a global hegemon.

But, will the French be willing to do this?

the answer is negative.Otherwise, Louis XVI would fully support American independence only when he was full and strong, and even supported himself to the guillotine.

To put it bluntly, the reason why France, the Netherlands and other countries chose to support American independence was because they were unwilling to lose the Seven Years War, so they wanted to create obstacles for Britain in North America.

In this case, can the Ming Dynasty transfuse France with blood through trade, enhance France's national strength, and impose trade sanctions on Britain at the same time.

How about supporting France to fight against Britain through a fight and a pull?

Zhu Jing'an felt that it might be feasible.

In any case, it is better for Europe to become a two-power struggle for hegemony than for the British to dominate.

As for what to do if France loses control after the emperor is born?
Haha, isn't there a Prussia next to France?

Even if Prussia fails, isn't there still an anti-French alliance led by Britain and Russia?

The worst that can happen is adding another Ming Dynasty to the anti-French alliance!
Anyway, halfway around the world, no matter how awesome the French Army was during the imperial era, they still couldn't take a single hair off the Ming Dynasty.

After hearing this, Old Peter withdrew with a face full of joy, and went back to Charles and Filosa who had asked him to intercede.

……

Zhu Jing'an then summoned Zhang He, the commander-in-chief of the Ming Dynasty's naval battalion.

Zhang He soon arrived at Zhu Jing'an's study and bowed down.

"The general will pay homage to the Commander-in-Chief. May the Commander-in-Chief wish you peace and prosperity and may your military fortune be prosperous!"

Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly and then spoke.

"Sit down, don't be restrained in front of the Governor, and drink tea!"

Zhang He took the order and sat down in front of Zhu Jing'an, but he still seemed cautious and only sat down halfway.

Although Zhu Jing'an had no airs, as he led the Ming army to victory after victory, he was shrouded in a halo in the eyes of others.

Even if he spoke very easily to the generals below, the generals below could feel the aura and pressure coming from Zhu Jing'an.

Now, no one in the Ming army, except Zhu Jianzhuo, the supervisor and old father, can be calm in front of Zhu Jing'an.

Zhu Jing'an picked up the teacup, took a sip, and asked.

"The imperial court is about to use force against the foreigners to regain Macau, which has been occupied by the foreigners for many years. When the time comes, the foreigners' powerful ships and cannons will inevitably invade."

"How are the navy officers and soldiers under the Qing family prepared? Are they sure of retreating from the enemy?"

Zhang He said slightly cautiously.

"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief, all the brothers in the Navy are gearing up and eager to try."

"As long as foreigners dare to invade, the soldiers will make sure they never come back. Which foreigners' heads will be used to demonstrate the prestige of our Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly and said with great satisfaction.

"Very good. I am very pleased that the soldiers have such confidence."

"This battle may be the most dangerous battle since our Ming Navy formed an army."

"The enemy is no longer the weak brigade of the Qing navy, but the powerful ships and artillery of the foreigners, but I have confidence in the officers and men."

"I believe that the victory in this battle must belong to my Ming Dynasty!"

Zhang He also nodded vigorously.

"Don't worry, Commander-in-Chief, our naval officers will definitely give you victory."

"No matter how powerful the foreign warships are, the soldiers will not be afraid of them."

Zhu Jing'an nodded again and asked immediately.

"By the way, how are you doing with your drills on rocket naval warfare tactics?"

Rockets are what gave Zhu Jing'an the confidence to fall out with the foreigners.

Therefore, he wanted to know whether Zhang He's naval battalion had practiced rocket naval warfare tactics during this period of time.

Hearing this, Zhang He's eyes suddenly burst out with confidence, and he spoke.

"To tell you the story to the Commander-in-Chief, this rocket is really a powerful weapon in naval battles."

"Our soldiers drove clippers and fired rockets, gathering and attacking like swarms of swarms. During the drill, rockets fell like rain. Just one round of covering fire quickly caused fatal damage to the target ship. Damaging effect.”

"The lethality is extremely shocking!"

"No matter how powerful the foreign warships are, they will definitely be destroyed under the fire of my Ming Dynasty's rockets."

When Zhu Jing'an heard this, his face was also full of joy.

"That's good, that's good!"

Due to its weak navy and backward shipbuilding and cannon-casting technology, the Ming army is certainly unable to compare with the foreigners in terms of strong ships and powerful cannons.

Therefore, we should simply find a new way and not play with the foreigners by using strong ships and cannons or sailing battleships to bombard each other.

Instead, they used small boats and clippers, equipped with rockets, and used wolf pack tactics to rely on their own advantages in speed and flexibility to attack the foreigners' strong ships and artillery.

Although such tactics cannot be used in ocean operations because the ships are too small to withstand wind and waves.

But if they only fight in the Ming Dynasty's own coastal waters, they can be in an invincible position.

Anyway, judging from the current situation, Ming Dynasty has no need for ocean warfare for the time being.

Just ensure that your offshore waters are not threatened!

When the Ming Dynasty's navy needs to fight in the ocean and move towards the deep blue in the future, the worst it can do is spend money on building ships, casting cannons, and spending money on people to help train sailors.

Anyway, at this time, as long as you have money, you can buy almost anything.

Although this kind of tactics has not been tested in actual combat, it is still very useful in terms of the results of simulated combat exercises.

Zhu Jing'an opened his mouth and gave instructions.

"Send the order to the navy officers and soldiers, let the officers and soldiers prepare for the expedition!"

"At the end of this month, the imperial court will send troops to Macau."

"When this battle is over, the size of our navy will continue to expand..."

Zhu Jing'an did not forget to draw a big cake for Zhang He in the end.

Zhang He happily ate the cake painted by Zhu Jing'an, then resigned and left.

……

After sending Zhang He away, Zhu Jing'an was just about to rest and have dinner when old Peter came to see him again.

This time, he also brought Charles, a representative of the French East India Company, and Filosa, a representative of the Dutch.

Zhu Jing'an was not polite and prepared to receive them at the dinner table.

One is because he is a little hungry.

The second reason is that for the Chinese, receiving guests at the dinner table is actually a matter of importance.

For this reason, Zhu Jing'an also ordered a few more dishes.

In the flower hall, an Eight Immortals table was placed in the middle, with eight meat and eight vegetarian dishes, plus two cold dishes and two soups, a total of twenty dishes.

In addition, he also ordered someone to warm a pot of Shaoxing Huadiao.

Compared with Zhu Jing'an's usual three dishes and one soup, four dishes and one soup, such a dinner is a bit luxurious.

If he wasn't entertaining guests, Zhu Jing'an would usually just eat enough and would never be extravagant or wasteful.

(End of this chapter)