Top Scholar

Chapter 642 I can't really be a treacherous minister!

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing upon it the name 'Zhengde Divine Gun'!" Everyone hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

"Hurry, reload! I haven't had enough!" Zhu Houzhao, however, was addicted and fired more than a dozen shots in succession while everyone was on tenterhooks, each shot hitting the target perfectly.

Moreover, because it used paper-packaged powder, the loading speed was much faster than ordinary muskets. Zhu Houzhao's ears were ringing from the noise, but he finally shouldered the gun with satisfaction and said to Su Lu, "That's amazing, brother! It's a complete transformation of the musket!"

"With such muskets equipped, how can the Divine Machine Battalion not rebuild the glory of our ancestors?" He raised the Zhengde Divine Musket high, and once again, the mountains roared with shouts of "Long live the Emperor!"

"Make ten thousand of them first! Can they be completed within a month?" Zhu Houzhao asked Su Lu excitedly.

Su Lu was sweating bullets, thinking to himself, "This guy really thinks I'm a wish-granting machine..."

He then looked at Tang Yin, who immediately stepped in to help his superior, saying, "Your Majesty, the Zhengde Divine Gun is still in the research and development stage and is currently made entirely by hand. Everything else is fine, but the barrel has to be forged and then bored to make the chamber smooth. It takes a skilled gunsmith almost a month to complete one."

"Huh? Is it that slow?" Zhu Houzhao was greatly disappointed.

“That’s enough, Your Majesty.” Su Lu smiled and said, “Slow and steady wins the race. A fine war bow will take another two or three months to make.”

He paused for a moment, then proceeded to paint a rosy picture for the emperor: "Furthermore, take the mint for example. At first, they relied on manual labor and could only produce a few thousand coins a day. Now, with water-powered machinery, they can easily produce tens of thousands. In just a few months, they can expand production to fifty thousand coins."

This is actually an art of presentation. Can minting silver coins be compared to making gun barrels? Silver is so soft, while steel is so hard. But you have to make it sound to the leader that there is a lot of hope.

"So you can make gun barrels with water too?" Zhu Houzhao became excited again.

“Of course,” Su Lu nodded. “As long as it’s a repetitive mechanical movement, such as forging and drilling, there are ways to replace people with machines.”

He then instructed Tang Yin and the others, "This is the key point you need to tackle next. If you have no clue, you can consult your colleagues in the Ministry of Works. Many principles are the same."

"Yes, sir." Tang Yin and the others hurriedly replied in deep voices.

Zhu Houzhao chuckled to himself after hearing this, knowing that Su Lu was going to poach people from the Ministry of Works again. But he was very supportive, since those skilled craftsmen would just be wasting their time in the Ministry of Works anyway, and it would be better for them to shine under the wing of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

~~
In comparison, Su Lu's modifications to the artillery were not as revolutionary.

Unfortunately, the structure of artillery is quite simple; there's not much room for innovation. Increased power primarily comes from advancements in shells, but that's far beyond his capabilities. I simply cannot do it…

He could only make some improvements to the cannons within his capabilities, the most important of which was to replace the original iron cannons with bronze cannon barrels cast using the lost-wax casting method.

Cast iron is brittle, so to prevent barrel explosions and injuries, the cannon walls had to be cast very thick and reinforced with iron rings. Bronze, on the other hand, is tough and sturdy, making it less prone to barrel explosions. Even if an explosion did occur, it wouldn't cause injury. Therefore, for the same caliber, the cannon walls could be nearly half the thickness, making it naturally lighter.

"How much lighter?" Zhu Houzhao pressed.

"Your Majesty," Tang Yin replied, pointing to the bronze cannon in front of him, "a bronze cannon of the same caliber is 30 to 40% lighter than an iron cannon."
"Take this bronze cannon, for example, which is two feet long and has an inner rim of two and three-tenths inches, and weighs one hundred and thirty catties. An iron cannon of the same caliber would weigh two hundred and twenty catties, a difference of a full ninety catties. The larger the cannon, the greater the weight difference, making it much more convenient to accompany the army on campaign!"

Zhu Houzhao wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "Yes, the biggest problem with cannons is their bulkiness. It's excellent that they can be made so much lighter."

As he spoke, he reached out and touched the breech, finding the barrel walls smooth and even. He then asked, "Did you bore it?"

“Yes, copper is easier to bore than iron.” Tang Yin nodded and said, “Don’t be fooled by how thick the cannon barrel is; it can be bored in half a month.”

The old foreman of the ordnance bureau exclaimed, "Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work of chopping wood! The cannon barrels that have been bored will be much more accurate!"

"You've never fired a gun or cannon before, so how do you know that a smooth barrel makes for more accurate shots?" Zhu Houzhao asked Su Lu. "Is this something from the Song Dynasty?"

“Yes, the book says that ‘the gun barrel must be smooth, straight, and round so that the bullet will not deviate.’” Su Lu said with a smile, not telling Zhu Houzhao that these words were actually said by Qi Jiguang.

~~
In addition, Su Lu added trunnions to the gun barrel and equipped it with an adjustable gun mount, which allowed for flexible adjustment of the firing angle.

Furthermore, the manufacturing standards for artillery shells were raised. Previously, as long as they could be inserted, it was acceptable. However, the Soviet Union required all shells to be of uniform size and fit perfectly into the bore, thus ensuring a tighter seal and a greater range.

As the sun began to set, casting long shadows, Zhu Houzhao remained in high spirits. He walked around the new cannon, waved his hand, and ordered, "No matter how well you talk, nothing beats firing a shot! Come on, load me with another cannonball!" The craftsmen quickly stuffed the prepared gunpowder into the breech, pushed in the gun-loaded iron ball, compacted it, adjusted the elevation angle, and finally inserted the fuse.

"I'm coming!" Zhu Houzhao snatched the fire rope.

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Yong knew that calling out was useless, so he just made a token sound.

"Don't worry, firing cannons is safer," Tang Yin reassured him. "We've specially lengthened the fuses, so you can take cover if it gets lit."

"Sigh, alright..." Zhang Yong sighed and nodded.

Everyone watched intently as the emperor lit the fuse with a match, sparks hissing and white smoke rising.

"Your Majesty, get out of the way!" Zhang Yong quickly pulled Zhu Houzhao behind cover.

"Cover your ears and open your mouths!" Su Lu shouted, and everyone, including the emperor, quickly covered their ears and opened their mouths wide.

The next instant, a deafening roar erupted as the cannon spewed forth a fierce tongue of fire, and the iron bullet whistled through the air! In the blink of an eye, it slammed into the adobe wall three hundred paces away, instantly creating a huge hole the size of a jar!

"The Mighty General Cannon! It must be called that!" Zhu Houzhao jumped out from behind the bunker and named it again.

~~
The sun shines on the western hills, and rosy clouds fly.

The sound of guns and cannons was exactly what Zhu Houzhao wanted. On the return journey in his imperial carriage, he remained incredibly excited, standing before the throne gesturing and mimicking firing guns and cannons, accompanied by loud "bang" sounds, and proudly proclaiming:
"With such a powerful weapon, I can't wait to meet that damned little prince! And those damned rebels all over the country, behold our mighty General Cannon, let's blast them clean!"

Su Lu's pupils contracted upon hearing this; he knew the emperor's words had a source...

This all started with that scoundrel Liu Jin. No one knows what triggered this year that powerful eunuch Liu suddenly reformed himself, not only ceasing to solicit or accept bribes, but even arresting and punishing anyone who dared to come to his door with gifts.

And this wasn't an isolated incident. This had happened several times before; many officials, refusing to believe a dog could change its nature, continued to offer gifts, and without exception, they were all imprisoned. Eunuch Liu even confiscated the bribes from them and sent them to the Imperial Treasury, leaving the court and the public baffled.

Besides retiring from the criminal life, Eunuch Liu also worked diligently to govern the country and select virtuous and capable officials.

Within a few months, he issued several decrees that reached the entire country. Moreover, unlike in the past when he relied heavily on eunuchs and garrison officials, this time he actually used civil officials. After years of purging and promotion, most of the officials in the court were his cronies, so there was no shortage of people he could manipulate.

Although his judgment was questionable, and he mostly appointed ruthless officials who flattered the emperor, it cannot be denied that he was genuinely trying to reverse the current chaotic situation in the court, which was beset by internal and external troubles.

This year, Eunuch Liu has three major tasks: first, to survey the land and farmland along the nine borders; second, to inspect the treasuries and grain reserves throughout the country; and third, to quell the rebellion!
Leaving aside the first two matters, let's focus solely on the matter of suppressing the rebellion. Previously, the Censorate had reported that banditry and rebellion were rampant in Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Huguang, and Sichuan, with widespread burning, killing, and looting. Countless other incidents went unreported… For example, in places like Daba in Jizhou, many people were killed by bandits, but the local governments, fearing accountability, concealed the reports! We request the Imperial Court to order all garrison commanders, patrol commanders, and local military officials to treat the suppression of bandits and rebellions as a top priority, to decide on appeasement or suppression based on the actual situation, and to restore stability as quickly as possible to prevent a major disaster.

The memorial elicited a strong response from both the court and the public. The rebellions across the country were escalating and severely disrupting the normal operations of various government offices. Zhu Houzhao was deeply concerned about this and convened a court meeting with his officials to discuss how to quell the unrest.

At the meeting, Liu Jin strongly advocated using severe punishments in chaotic times, demanding a thorough crackdown on rebels across the country as a warning to others. No one in the court dared to go against his wishes, and any scattered dissenting voices were quickly suppressed by him.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao himself also favored swift and decisive measures...

Ultimately, the imperial court adopted a policy of suppressing the rebellion, ordering all regions to reverse the chaos within the year.

Liu Jin further appointed eunuch officials to various regions to oversee the suppression of rebellions. These officials, eager to complete their missions and curry favor with Liu Jin, betrayed their promises, arresting and slaughtering all those who had already surrendered. They also engaged in widespread guilt by association, implicating entire families and even clans of those who had joined the rebellion.

The methods employed were extremely cruel, yet the results were counterproductive. The number of secret reports from fellow graduates of the Dragon and Tiger Class suddenly surged, all complaining of excessive collateral damage and that some were taking advantage of the situation for retaliation. It even became a tool for extortion by corrupt officials and local bullies… anyone who refused to pay was arrested as a relative of a thief and their property confiscated!
Su Lu disagreed with the policy of suppressing the rebellion, but since the national policy was already set, he couldn't easily voice his opinion. However, after receiving secret reports from his fellow graduates across the country, he knew he could no longer remain silent and had to find an opportunity to persuade the emperor…

Today is a great opportunity.

Once he made up his mind, he nodded in agreement with the emperor: "That's right, these new guns and cannons are prepared for the little prince! The Tartars have been invading our borders for years, robbing us of our money and grain, and killing our people. Your Majesty is determined to restore the glory of the Yongle Emperor. As your subject, I will certainly help Your Majesty to become even more powerful, so that the Tartars will remember the terror of being dominated by the Divine Machine Battalion!"

"Ah, yes, yes, I'm going to be Emperor Zhengde's man!" Zhu Houzhao beamed and nodded vigorously: "You are my Xia Yuanji and Yang Shiqi! No, no, you are my left and right arms, stronger than them combined!"

(End of this chapter)