Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 429 Red Cannon
Hearing that Chen Ce was going to give him another sharp weapon, Emperor Hongzhi asked expectantly, "What?"

Chen Ce said: "Red Cannon."

He had previously obtained the blueprints of the red cannon in the courtyard, intending to use it at the critical moment of the attack on Japan.

Now is the time for the red cannon to come out.

Emperor Hongzhi and Zhu Houzhao were both puzzled and asked curiously, "What is a red cannon?"

"Yeah, little brother, the name sounds very powerful. Is it more powerful than the All-Victory Chariot?"

There is no way to compare the two. The Victory Chariot can naturally play a huge role in plain land positional warfare, but if it is used to attack a city, it will seem useless.

But the red cannon is different. No matter how solid a city is, if it is bombarded by a few shots, the soldiers on the city will be blown to the ground.

Today's cannons are different from those in later generations. Today's cities are extremely strong. It is unrealistic for the red cannon to blow down the city walls.

But it can cause all the soldiers defending the city to be blown to pieces.

"They have different uses, and it's hard to say which is better or worse."

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Chen Ce meaningfully and asked, "How do you know how to make weapons?"

Chen Ce: "I saw it in an ancient book, and then I made some associations... Well, I'm not sure how it will work in actual combat, but let's give it a try anyway."

"However, during the New Year period, the Emperor may have to get the Ministry of Works busy, and try to make the red cannon before the New Year."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded and said, "That's no problem. I'll have Minister Xu come to see you later."

"it is good!"

Zhu Houzhao hurriedly said to Chen Ce: "Little brother, if this red cannon is made, you must tell me as soon as possible. I want to be the first to see the effect of the red cannon."

This guy loves these military equipment. Chen Ce smiled bitterly and said, "Then you have to ask the Minister of Industry."

Zhu Houzhao said, "Okay."

When Emperor Hongzhi learned about this, he immediately returned to the palace to summon the Minister of Works Xu Guan, who was on vacation.

When Xu Guan heard that Chen Ce had developed a new weapon, he hurried to find Chen Ce.

"Minister Xu, are you feeling better?"

The last time Chen Ce was planning to give the Victory Chariot Map to Xu Guan, Xu Guan was sick, so he went to the Ministry of War.

This time, Xu Guan would not let the Ministry of War take advantage of this opportunity. He smiled and said, "Well, Chun Jian, I heard from His Majesty that you have a new weapon that can be used for siege?"

Chen Ce said: "Yeah."

He handed the red cannon blueprint that he had prepared long ago to Xu Guan, and said, "Minister Xu, try to get the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works to manufacture it according to this blueprint."

Xu Guan took the blueprint and said hurriedly: "Okay!"

……

The residence of Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War.

Liu Jian found Ma Wensheng. He heard from Emperor Hongzhi that the Ministry of War had once again presented weapon drawings to the Ministry of Works, which were said to be powerful weapons for siege.

Liu Jian knew that Xu Guan and Chen Ce had a good relationship. If this siege weapon really played a huge role in the battlefield on the Japanese island, Xu Guan would not be greedy for credit and would give all the credit to Chen Ce. Liu Jian did not want Chen Ce to make great contributions again, so he hoped that the Ministry of War could take over this task from the Ministry of Works.

After all, Ma Wensheng and Chen Ce have an average relationship. If the weapons are playing a role on the battlefield, Ma Wensheng will definitely take some credit from Chen Ce.

However, Ma Wensheng didn't care at all. He said to Liu Jian, "Lord Liu, you think too highly of Chen Ce."

"Yes, Chen Ce does have talent that is beyond the reach of ordinary people, as evidenced by the last victory."

"But siege equipment is different from land warfare. Over the past thousands of years, there are only so many siege equipment that can be extended, and there is no weapon that can win the battle in one move."

The reason is very simple. For example, a weapon like the Victory Chariot, although powerful, is actually possible to manufacture as long as we study it carefully.

Liu Jian frowned and said to Ma Wensheng, "This is an opportunity. Do you still remember the incident with the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War?"

At that time, Chen Ce first presented the Victory Chariot to the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War, but the other party did not take Chen Ce's drawings seriously. What happened in the end?

Now the opportunity is in front of you, Ma Wensheng, why don’t you cherish it?
But no matter what Liu Jian said, Ma Wensheng didn't care. The end of the year was approaching, and Ma Wensheng just wanted to have a good New Year. Once he took this job, the subordinates of the Ministry of War would have to work until the end of the year, and wouldn't they complain about him as the Minister of War?

I would rather do nothing than make a mistake.

Liu Jian left with a look of disappointment on his face.

The steward of the Ma Mansion said to Ma Wensheng, "Master, the elder came to give you advice in person, which is enough to show that Chen Ce is not a simple person. Why don't you follow the elder Liu's wishes?"

Ma Wensheng held the tea and said with a smile: "I tell you, Liu Jian is just a scholar-official after all, and he doesn't know anything about the Ministry of War."

"That's too naive!"

"Take the siege equipment for example. I have already told him that for thousands of years, no matter how weapons have evolved, they are still the same few siege weapons. How can they be more creative? This is one reason. So I don't have any hope for Chen Ce's new weapon at all."

"Secondly... hehe, Liu Jian, this old fox, is targeting Chen Ce openly and covertly. Others can't see it, but do you think I can't see it?"

"He was afraid. He was afraid that Chen Ce's contributions would become greater and greater, and the emperor would rely more and more on Chen Ce. He was afraid that Chen Ce would take away his power."

"This old man, at his age, is still fussing over a junior. Besides, Chen Ce still has a few years left to live. Why is he so worried and wants to release Chen Ce?"

The manager of the Ma Mansion was shocked and said, "I never thought that a cabinet minister would be so petty?"

The fact that he could speak to Ma Wensheng like this and talk casually about the Prime Minister of the Cabinet was enough to show the status and loyalty of this steward of the Ma Mansion in Ma Wensheng's heart.

Ma Wensheng smiled and shook his head, saying, "You old dog, you are wrong. Liu Jian is not petty, but Chen Ce is too capable, so capable that even the Prime Minister of the Cabinet is worried!"

These are two different concepts. If Chen Ce was really a talented junior, Liu Jian would naturally support him, but Chen Ce was too evil, so Liu Jian felt a sense of crisis.

hiss!
The Ma Mansion's steward took a deep breath and said, "Master, if that's the case, why don't you try to get the job at the Ministry of Works?"

Ma Wensheng: “…”

"Did you not listen to me? I said that no matter how talented Chen Ce is, he can't do anything special with engineering equipment!"

"What should I do after I get this job? Let the military officials who were supposed to be on leave for the New Year come back to take up their duties? Won't these people hate me to death by then?"

"I am not a fool like Xu Guan. He is almost at the age of a scholar, so he doesn't care what the officials below think of him."

"I want to go one step further!"

(End of this chapter)