Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 397 Stop the noise, just do it!
Outside the northern city of Bianjing, in the military camp of the capital region, there was a troop of soldiers from the capital, with more than a hundred carriages...

All the items on the carts were being unloaded and slowly piled up in the open space of the military camp, forming piles, with a tent erected on top of each pile for cover...

Hundreds of riders galloped in from Bianjing City, and a dark-skinned man in his thirties or forties stood at the entrance of the military camp, gazing longingly into the distance…

As soon as he saw the fast horse approaching, he was overjoyed and turned around to shout, "Quick, quick, the king is here! Line up and don't wander off..."

The soldiers quickly lined up and stood in formation, most of them from the Jingdong region...

Su Wu rode swiftly to the camp gate, dismounted, tossed his whip aside, and strode over to the dark-skinned man, saying, "Let me see you..."

The man quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please come with me!"

Su Wu walked forward and casually remarked, "Ling Zhen, you're from Bianjing, so you must be homesick... If you have nothing else to do later, go into the city and take a look..."

"Yes, sir!" The dark-skinned man was none other than Ling Zhen, a former member of the Tokyo Armory.

"You reported in your letter that the gunpowder this time was extremely powerful?" Su Wu looked at Ling Zhen with suspicion.

Ling Zhen nodded hurriedly: "I have tried countless formulas, comparing them one by one, and finally selected the most powerful one. This time, I am sure it will satisfy Your Majesty..."

Reaching the open space, Su Wu glanced around, taking in its size. This brought back many memories from the depths of his mind; he was, in fact, familiar with firearms…

"Right here, give me half a jin to try..." Su Wu pointed with his hand.

"Half a catty? Your Majesty, half a catty is no small matter..." Ling Zhen was afraid of frightening Su Wu, which would also be a sin.

"Half a jin!" Su Wu didn't care about anything else and just told him to do it.

"Understood!" Ling Zhen quickly turned around and went into a tent. Soon after, he came out with a small burlap bag, with a black string attached to the outside of the bag.

This thing actually looks quite realistic, like a bomb.

Ling Zhen came in person, sprinting towards the open space in the distance, glancing back every now and then to check the distance...

They were only seventy or eighty steps away when Ling Zhen was still running. Su Wu shouted, "It doesn't have to be that far..."

A cloth bag containing only gunpowder, on its own, isn't that powerful. But if there's something else in the bag, it will naturally travel farther...

Ling Zhen stopped in his tracks. From a distance, he could only see him bending down, fiddling with something for a while, and then turning and running away...

The lead wire was clearly long enough for Ling Zhen to run back...

Ling Zhen, still panting, spoke to Su Wu: "Your Majesty, the commotion is quite significant..."

He was genuinely afraid of frightening Su Wu, and he couldn't bear the thought of Su Wu getting angry and lashing out...

Su Wu simply waved his hand: "It's alright..."

A few moments later, a deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth, flames shot into the sky, and white and black smoke billowed into the air...

Ling Zhen was clearly used to it, and just kept staring at Su Wu, afraid that Su Wu would be frightened.

But a loud bang was heard, and Su Wu did not move an inch. Instead, he immediately burst into laughter: "Good, good, good stuff!"

But then they saw that the many people behind Su Wu had all crouched down, their faces filled with horror. Even the horses were startled and neighing, trying to run away. The crowd quickly pulled them back...

Su Wu brought many military generals with him, all of whom wanted to see what he was capable of.

Lu Da immediately said, "Good heavens, brother, we've seen gunpowder before, but this kind of noise is truly the first time we've ever seen it!"

Su Wu turned his head and smiled, pointing in the direction of the explosion: "What was once a useless tool has now become a powerful weapon in battle!"

Lu Da was overjoyed and patted Ling Zhen on the shoulder, making Ling Zhen sway. Lu Da said, "You really don't waste money. I saw you spending money like water before and wondered what you needed so much for. This thing is really good!"

Ling Zhen laughed, "General Lu is really strong, please be gentle!"

As the smoke slowly rose and dissipated in the distance, Su Wu's expression turned serious, and he said, "This recipe is really good!"

"Your Majesty, it's not entirely about the formula. The quality of the raw materials is also crucial. All kinds of charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur were selected and refined repeatedly, which was truly laborious and time-consuming..."

Ling Zhen answered with his expertise.

Su Wu understood and nodded: "It's worth the money. How much gunpowder have you prepared?"

“We prepared about three thousand catties…” Ling Zhen replied.

"Not enough, far from enough. What good is this? We need to expedite production, at least 10,000 jin... It needs to be produced within a month and a half..." Su Wu also had many things to coordinate.

For example, it was necessary to train a group of people to use gunpowder, and even to occasionally rouse the horses from the sidelines to get them used to the loud noise...

Ling Zhen nodded: "Yes, sir!"

"Look at the equipment you mentioned in your letter!" Su Wu raised his hand.

Ling Zhenzi quickly turned his head again. There were actually only two kinds of equipment, one of which was a hand-thrown grenade about the size of a fist...

It's the same as the tiger crouching cannon, which is about the same size as a calf...

There's no need for Ling Zhen to demonstrate personally; someone else will go ahead...

A hand-thrown grenade is a hollow iron shell filled with gunpowder, with a fuse left inside. It is lit and then thrown...

This isn't high technology; it already existed in the Song Dynasty. It's just that the quality of gunpowder is different now.

A distant explosion, nothing more, yet its power was extraordinary.

Su Wu raised his hand: "Let me see one..."

Ling Zhen took one and placed it in Su Wu's hand.

Su Wu examined it carefully for a moment and said, "This iron shell can't be so smooth... It needs to be hammered a bit more, to create horizontal and vertical lines on it, dividing the iron shell into sections. That way, when it explodes, it will shatter more evenly, and the power to kill the enemy will be greater, with fragments flying in all directions..."

Upon hearing this, Ling Zhen thought for a moment, then replied with delight, "Your Majesty's plan is brilliant! Your Majesty is truly wise! I will change it immediately!"

Su Wu simply said, "I need three thousand... that will take a month and a half!"

"Order!"

"Let's try the Tiger Crouching Cannon..." Su Wu continued to look.

It wasn't complicated. The cannon wasn't actually that big, about the size of a calf. There was a stand underneath it, which could adjust the elevation and depression angles. You just put it on the ground, dug a small pit to hold the cannon in place, stuffed gunpowder into the barrel, stuffed rags in to pack it tightly, and then put in a projectile...

There's a small hole at the back; insert the lead wire, and you can ignite it...

Then came another explosion, a plume of smoke, and the projectile flew out. It was barely visible, only about three or four hundred paces away, with dirt flying everywhere...

Su Wu looked at it from afar, actually quite satisfied, but sighed, "It's still too small..."

Ling Zhen hurriedly said, "The large ones Your Majesty mentioned are also being built. They've been built several times, but there are always some problems. If we give the smaller ones another three to five months, we'll definitely be able to build the larger ones, weighing eight hundred jin, one thousand jin, or even two thousand jin, it's all within our capabilities..."

"What are the problems?" Su Wu asked as well.

"The main problem is cracks. I've looked for many reasons, but it seems the cast iron isn't solid enough; there are air bubbles... there are always some... But I've found many craftsmen and come up with a solution, which we're trying now..."

Ling Zhen answered.

Su Wu also thought that air bubbles in casting were quite normal in large ironware, and there were many ways to solve the problem, but most of the methods were not very effective in this era.

Su Wu said, "Try it by constantly stirring while pouring the water..."

"Your Majesty and I have the same thoughts, but the mold is too narrow and difficult to stir, requiring extremely skilled techniques. I'm also wondering if there's a better way, like placing the mold on a vibrating platform that can be moved around. Let's try that... I'll just have to see how to make the platform first..."

Ling Zhen is truly a professional; people of this era are no less intelligent than those of later generations…

Su Wu added, "In that case, you should try it with copper first; copper will be much better..."

"Making large bronze cannons?" Ling Zhen was taken aback. It wasn't that he was unfamiliar with or had never seen them before, but bronze was truly expensive...

What is copper? Copper is money in circulation. Almost all the copper you see in society has been cast into coins!
How much is a thousand catties of copper?

How much would this cannon be worth?

"Don't worry about those things. Make as much as you can within a month and a half, at least a thousand catties, two thousand catties is also acceptable... As for the copper, I will send someone to deliver it to you myself, first... twenty thousand catties! If you want more, I will procure it for you locally in Jingdong!"

Ling Zhen was clearly taken aback. What kind of copper could the King possibly send? Wasn't it just strings of cash?
"In that case, it would be best if we could build ten or twenty cannons weighing a thousand catties each. If we could build more, that would be even better. With these cannons firing projectiles from the rear and the tiger-crouching cannons firing iron pellets from the front, and with such coordination, we could throw grenades upon entering the battle... The effect would definitely be excellent..."

Su Wu himself was also calculating in his heart that, in fact, all these things combined would not have a great destructive power and would not create a situation of so-called one-sided crushing slaughter.

But... this thing, once it appears on the battlefield against the Jurchens, will definitely catch them off guard, and after a series of attacks, it will surely shatter their morale...

That's enough!
This unexpected move was enough to recoup the losses and even directly determined the outcome of the war against the Jurchens!
"Your Majesty, I will certainly do my best to complete this task. I will not go to the capital for a while, I will ride back immediately..."

Ling Zhen was under a lot of pressure, as time was of the essence.

Su Wu nodded: "Of the three thousand catties of gunpowder we brought, we need to leave some men in the army to teach the soldiers how to handle the powder packs, and even how many times to fire them near the horses, so that the horses can get used to it as soon as possible..."

"Brother, leave this to me..." Lu Da said, rubbing his hands together, clearly also wanting to try this powerful thing.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you. Get two... four battalions of soldiers to familiarize themselves with the gunpowder, and get them to handle the cannons and mines..."

Su Wu was truly delighted at this moment; his early investment was now paying off.

Regardless of the era, technology ultimately relies on spending money and the exhaustive method of discovery.

In the future, improvements in production technology won't require much effort from Su Wu himself. As long as the industry continues to invest and Su Wu maintains demand, the industry's scale will remain...

Skilled craftsmen will handle all matters, big and small.

What Su Wu needed to do was very simple: provide funding for research and development, state the requirements, and actually make purchases!
At most, like today, I might offer a small suggestion.

The speed at which cannons and guns developed might even exceed Su Wu's imagination.

Match cord, flintlock, muzzle-loading, breech-loading...

Su Wu also recalled a saying: What is the most basic element of industry?
It's basically all kinds of screws, and then there are all kinds of gears...

And so, these are machines, all sorts of machines...

Of course, there's another point: power output, coal...

It seems really not difficult... Of course, this is just Su Wu's self-suggestion. No matter how arduous the task or how long the road ahead, Su Wu must simplify these things. This way, he will have enough confidence and more motivation to do them...

"I'm back! Hurry up, don't slack off! This concerns the fate of the nation!" Su Wu was indeed a ruthless boss. He had already mounted his horse and turned back to say, "Get an order from the Secretariat and the Chancellery. In addition to the two prefectures, three offices, three provinces, and six ministries, establish a separate Ministry of Crafts, on par with the six ministries. Promote Ling Zhen to the third rank, the Vice Minister of Crafts!"

Su Wu left without looking back, but his words remained. They seemed casually uttered, yet they marked the first step in Su Wu's reform of everything.

Ling Zhen stood there, stunned, with only one question in his mind: What grade?

It was only when someone nudged him that he came to his senses and bowed deeply to Su Wu's back, saying, "Thank you for your boundless grace, Your Majesty!"

The king's figure galloped further and further away on horseback, while Ling Zhen still stared blankly at the people around him, asking, "What rank is he?"

"From the third rank!" "Huh?" Ling Zhen was still a little dazed. What? From the third rank?
What is the third rank? That's a rank held only by the most senior officials in the imperial court. How could someone be a third rank official?
Su Wu didn't answer. His mind was filled with many things. The Three Departments and Six Ministries had become the Three Departments and Seven Ministries; it wasn't as simple as just bestowing an official title upon Ling Zhen…

It required a complete team, including an office to handle the work, a fixed budget, and workshops and facilities for craftsmen...

Many things, the entire framework, had to be decided by Su Wu himself. No one else could understand or comprehend Su Wu's thoughts and plans...

Upon returning, Su Wu immediately set about establishing this framework.

However, it was Su Wu's order, and upon reaching the Secretariat, there was naturally some discussion...

The gentlemen were certainly serious, whether it was Cheng Wanli, Zong Ze, Zhao Sicheng, or even Zhang Shuye, the Minister of the Three Departments...

Wu Yong also frequented the Hall of State Affairs, where he worked, even though he was a Hanlin Academician.

After much discussion, the group went to see Su Wu...

It was still the Funing Palace, and several people were there...

Su Wu picked up his brush and started writing, without even looking up: "Speak!"

Zong Ze cupped his hands and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, this Ministry of Crafts is on the same level as the Six Ministries. Is it...? It's not that this matter is unimportant, but if it is, wouldn't the Six Ministries become the Seven Ministries? There is already a Ministry of Works, why not just place this office directly under the Ministry of Works?"

“No need, let’s do it this way! What’s wrong with seven departments?” Su Wu said.

Clearly, Su Wu viewed this matter differently; the Ministry of Works was, in fact, more of an engineering department.

The crafts department? That's the industrial department!
These two things need to be separated. Only by elevating their status can their influence and importance be highlighted. This inevitably involves issues of financial weight.

Zhang Shuye then said, "Your Majesty, this matter also involves the treasury. Should the Ministry of Crafts be treated the same as the Six Ministries?"

Su Wu nodded: "That's for sure..."

Uncle Zhang frowned. He hadn't even figured it out yet, and now this big spender was coming along to eat his money...

Wu Yong then said, "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, it would be better if this yamen were placed under the Ministry of Works. The Ministry of Works itself has many officials and skilled craftsmen. This way, they can exchange resources, save manpower and materials, save official positions, and save..."

Su Wu looked up at Wu Yong and said only one sentence: "Stop making a fuss, just do it!"

Explaining this would require a lot of talking, and even then, would it make sense?
When that happens, another debate is bound to take place, and the debate will grow larger and larger until all the civil and military officials in the court have to say a few words...

Su Wu knew very well that if you wanted to save on administrative costs and improve administrative efficiency, sometimes you needed to be assertive and have your own say. That's how it was done!

He must do so when he has the power to rule with absolute authority, because his descendants may not be able to do so, nor will they have the foresight of Su Wu...

After scolding Wu Yong, Wu Yong immediately lowered his head and said no more.

The group then all gave up...

Su Wu continued, "What I've written here will be sent to the Hall of State Affairs in a little while. You should act according to what's written in the document. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I will also check and supervise from time to time..."

Su Wu didn't blame these people; in fact, he relied on and made important use of them. Many things couldn't be resolved through debate; one only needed to observe the effects and results, and naturally, everything would become clear...

Cheng Wanli stepped forward: "Yes, sir..."

Having said that, since he was feeling rather disgruntled, he naturally decided to leave.

Suddenly Su Wu looked up and said, "Wait a moment..."

Everyone stood still.

Su Wu had been pondering something for a long time, and now he spoke up: "From now on, court assemblies will be divided into civil and military assemblies, and they will not need to be in the same hall. On court days, the civil assembly will be in the morning, and the military assembly will be in the afternoon. Only during grand court assemblies, or when there are matters to be discussed together, may they be in the same hall!"

The group looked puzzled.

Su Wu continued, "Another decree must be issued: from now on, no civil or military official, except those in the Council of State Affairs, shall have any private dealings with each other!"

Su Wu wanted to completely separate civil and military officials, separating civil officials from military officials.

Apart from the highest-ranking political officials, no civil or military officials may have private relationships with each other.

There are many reasons. You could say it's to maintain the army's independence, or to preserve its purity... or even to maintain the emperor's absolute control over the army...

Su Wu also said: "From now on, all the troops in the land will be divided into two categories, A and B. The A army, regardless of where it is stationed, will not interact with the local government, except for matters concerning money and provisions. The B army, stationed in city defenses, will be responsible for apprehending thieves and other such matters, and may interact with the local government! Furthermore, all military units must not be involved in any commercial activities. The details will be carefully determined after I ascend the throne..."

Everything is clearly distinguished...

Su Wu was very serious this time, as it concerned the continued maintenance of the army's combat effectiveness in the future.

Of course, these reforms still need to be gradually improved and cannot be accomplished overnight.

His words, spoken repeatedly, left everyone listening in a daze...

In other words, from now on, the Privy Council will remain the Privy Council, and the Council of State Affairs will remain the Council of State Affairs...

The intersection of the two systems lies entirely with Su Wu, or rather, entirely with the Emperor.

This could also advance another reform: in future wars, generals would be in charge and leading the operations, instead of civilian officials directing them...

Another point is that the evaluation and promotion of military personnel will have almost nothing to do with the civil service system from now on, except in the Privy Council system, where the emperor will still be involved.

The advantage of this is that military officers no longer need to be so obsequious when they meet civil officials; there is absolutely no need, and they can even completely ignore them when they don't get along...

This is the true backbone and foundation of the military. Of course, Su Wu's requirements for the military will become increasingly higher in the future. You must truly graduate from the military academy and be able to analyze situations clearly and eloquently, explaining the advantages and disadvantages in detail.

At least during Su Wu's decades in office, things will become increasingly strict!
We'll think about how to preserve this tradition in the future...

Whether or not to fight a war in the future is a decision made by the collective wisdom of the people, but how to fight the war is the business of the general.

When Su Wu spoke, Wu Yong looked around, but neither of them spoke, and Wu Yong remained silent, just as he had learned to be obedient...

The main problem was that he didn't quite understand what kind of rules or regulations these were.
Has this existed since ancient times?

Don't understand...

Su Wu said, "Write it down. Take a pen and write it down. We'll discuss it again tomorrow..."

Wu Yong reacted the fastest, quickly grabbing a pen to write it down.

"Once you've finished taking notes, you can go back to your work... Gathering here at such a busy time is delaying things in the government office..."

Su Wu also had criticisms; high-ranking official positions and generous salaries were not easy for him to obtain...

Wu Yong quickly wrote it down, showed it to Su Wu, and then hurried away...

As for Ling Zhen, he'll pay whatever money he asks for...

Finally, we'll conduct an audit of the three companies...

As for Yan Qing, once the system is fully developed, we'll have to keep an eye on it. The Crafts Department and the Works Department are of paramount importance.

Su Wu was also thinking about something, and wanted to see who would be the first to run into trouble.

Su Wu wasn't worried, but rather looking forward to it...

What to expect?
I hope there will be someone like Su Wu who can formally tell the entire court that officials who commit crimes will truly be beheaded!

Execute him and confiscate his property!
The affairs of the Song Dynasty are now over!
It's not very meaningful to say this out loud.

We need to do it once, then everyone will know.

Then, do it a few more times from time to time.

Once everything is stable, we'll have to pull off a major case!

However, Su Wu had one redeeming quality: he was willing to pay. At this time, he did not change the salary system of the Song Dynasty. The salaries of officials in the Song Dynasty were perhaps the highest in history.

Even later, after another thorough investigation of redundant officials and staff, it wouldn't hurt to add a few more...

What are the various military commanders and regional military governors?

I don't want any of them...

The entire official system should be streamlined, with each official position having a specific job title and a job that involves actual work.

We will not hire anyone who does not work, and those who do not work enough will be given a higher position.

The same goes for any official institutions; those who actually do the work will be plentiful, but there will be no honorary titles or honorary ranks...

Only one honor system remains: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron...

This is a genuine offer of title; since ancient times, the bestowal of titles has been something that subjects have always sought!

This also highlights the scarcity of honorary titles!
This time, there will certainly be those who are granted the title of Marquis, and there are quite a few in the army, but there is not a single one who will be granted the title of Duke.

No surrender commissioners, no pacification commissioners... we don't want any of those...

However, each route still needs a commander, a resident commander, whose title is shortened to "Route Commander".

In the Song Dynasty, the direct administration of the imperial court down to the prefectures and counties also significantly increased administrative costs…

Therefore, at the road level, there still needs to be a level of government that centralizes things like transportation, criminal investigation, and regular maintenance...

The reason why the Song Dynasty changed it this way was because the Tang Dynasty's military governor system frightened people.

Now, Su Wu has completely separated the military and administrative systems, greatly reducing this potential danger. Therefore, it is still necessary to have an integrated "provincial" level government.

Otherwise, there are far too many instances of government departments passing the buck and shirking responsibility, making it difficult to hold anyone accountable without a final person in charge.

Su Wu had just delivered a framework document for the Crafts Department, and now he was tasked with drafting an official document to integrate the provincial-level government...

It wasn't that Su Wu didn't know how to use people; it was simply that doing things himself at that moment would be more efficient.

Once they get to the Secretariat-Chancellery, there will inevitably be another round of back-and-forth discussions and deliberations...

Once you have a general framework, it becomes much simpler to discuss the details within that framework. This applies to many things that follow.

Those who can endure hardship will always have endless hardship to endure; those who can work hard will always have endless work to do...

We'll wait until the framework is finalized before having another meeting...

Su Wu spent several days in a row in the Hall of State Affairs...

Their families also came from Jingdong...

The coronation will be in just a few days...

Everything happened at once, and Su Wu was constantly running around in circles, his feet barely touching the ground...

(End of this chapter)