I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 180 New Artillery and Plate Armor
"Reporting to your majesty, I know that the ministers are only in charge of the secretaries of the Privy Council. They will never delay my Ming Dynasty's next battle strategy."

Zhu Chengxun said: "It's just that the war is coming, and the army is short of food, grass, baggage and heavy weapons."

As for the general strategic direction of the Ming army, it has actually been planned for a long time.

That is to attack southern Anhui first, use the natural dangers of the Yangtze River to cut off the Qing army, and then use southern Anhui to move south to cooperate with the troops from western Zhejiang to attack Jiangxi.

The Privy Council's current goal is to push the front at least past Poyang Lake, to Fuzhou, and further to the Nangan Mountains below, depending on the situation.

In this way, most of the entire area south of the Yangtze River fell into the hands of the Ming Dynasty. Not only would the Qing government's future taxes be reduced by one-third, but the Ming army could also use this to invade Huguang at any time and seize this world's granary.

At that time, the world will be able to gain it, and the Han Dynasty will be prosperous!
The entire strategic plan is already very complete in the general direction and does not need to be changed much. The specific method of fighting requires further deliberation and the adaptability of the frontline generals.

After Zhu Chengxun finished speaking, Old Man Li from the Ordnance Bureau hurriedly patted his chest and expressed his position: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the Ordnance Bureau will continue to work overtime in the future, and the old man will also be in charge. Even if he fights for his life, he will not delay the supply of ordnance to the army. ."

Working overtime has become the norm for the Ordnance Bureau.

Now it's just a matter of continuing. Although it is easy to hurt the body, there is nothing we can do about it. The military weapons, especially the artillery armor, are all consumables.

Fortunately, the wages offered by Daming were high enough, and although the craftsmen and apprentices were tired, they were still willing to persevere.

The Ordnance Bureau was the first to express its stance, and naturally the cabinet also had to express its stance. Wang Li, the chief assistant, did not need Zhu Yijiong to hint, and immediately said: "Your Majesty, all cabinet ministries will also fully support the logistics of frontline sergeants."

This is the real purpose of today's imperial meeting. The strategic plan has been set long ago, and it is just a matter of adding some details.

Moreover, military matters have nothing to do with the cabinet. The military power of the cabinet has long been cut off by Zhu Yijiong, who took advantage of the opportunity to become emperor.

Gathering these people now is nothing more than trying to raise money to fight a big war.

This is also the only military-related power of the cabinet now, which is to provide money, food and military expenses.

Wang Li, the chief minister, expressed his stance, and naturally the other two cabinet ministers, as well as the ministries below, also expressed their stance one after another.

Only Chen Ji, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, was very reluctant, but seeing everyone else express their stance, and His Majesty's eyes seemed to be directed at him, he finally had no choice but to bite the bullet and express his stance: "The Ministry of Revenue will also fully support the Privy Council and the military. Bureau money and food supply!”

There was nothing he could do. Several cabinet ministers and colleagues had expressed their opinions, so he couldn't do it without saying anything.

Emperor Zhu was determined for this battle, otherwise the newly occupied southern Anhui would be at risk of being attacked from the north and the south.

In this way, it would be meaningless for the Ming army to invest so much money and food in attacking southern Anhui.

Fortunately, it is already May, and summer grain collection has begun one after another. Although the finances are a bit tight, we can still hold on.

Of course, it can only hold on. Next, the Ming army will have to supply a large army of nearly 10 people to fight on the front line. The logistical pressure will be astronomical.

It is basically equivalent to the summer grain harvest in the future, and even the autumn grain harvested in October, all have to be hit on this.

Moreover, this is under the condition that there are no natural disasters. Otherwise, if there is another famine within the Ming Dynasty, there will not be much money available for relief.

Because of this, Zhu Yijiong wanted to take advantage of the mountain people's problem to simultaneously vigorously promote cash crops such as sweet potatoes and corn (potatoes were already being promoted), and to deal with the mountain people without using troops as much as possible.

In fact, fighting in this kind of mountainous area is really time-consuming and labor-intensive, and Emperor Zhu doesn't have that much money and food to spend on it.

Calculating the time, it was time for Kang Zifei to lead the first batch of fleets to Nanyang to return. I wonder if they have brought back the cheap Siamese rice that they said.

Zhu Yijiong sometimes wanted to sneer at the prosperous place in the south of the Yangtze River. This so-called prosperous place, an important town that supplied one-third of the Qing government's tax revenue, was simply poor.

Ok!

This is actually Zhu Yijiong's own misunderstanding. The prosperous place in the south of the Yangtze River is compared to the prosperity of the feudal dynasty. An agricultural country, no matter how prosperous it is, will not be as prosperous as an industrial country. This is a problem of productivity.

In addition, it is true that Jiangnan can supply one-third of the country's tax revenue, but now the Ming regular army under Zhu Yijiong has exceeded 20.

The Qing court's army was actually about 60 strong. After conversion, there was not much difference.

Besides, who in ancient times raised soldiers like Emperor Zhu? Not only did they train every day, but they also had oil and water to eat every day. The rest of the military pay and pensions were paid in full, and they were also rewarded with land.This kind of treatment is almost comparable to that of Ding Yabing, the servant of the military chiefs in the late Ming Dynasty.

This means that no matter how much money there is, it is not enough for Emperor Zhu to spend.

Moreover, the most important thing is that the prosperity of Jiangnan is not only superficial, but also lies in the fact that there are many wealthy people here, that is, wealthy families.

However, if these wealthy families want to get their money, unless Zhu Yijiong imitates the king of Chuang in the past and directly robs it, he will be the emperor for a month and then be overturned by the gentry of the world.

Ha ha.

The Cabinet, the Privy Council, and the Ordnance Bureau expressed their stance one after another. Only then did Zhu Yijiong smile, and then asked the Cabinet and others to leave first and go to arrange money and food.

The purpose of the imperial meeting has been achieved, and the remaining detailed planning must be left to the Privy Council, the Ordnance Bureau, and the frontline generals.

Zhu Yijiong left Zhu Chengxun and Old Man Li behind, and gave them another warning, telling them to prepare for the next battle as soon as possible.

In particular, Old Man Li's Ordnance Bureau, in addition to paying attention to the production of ordnance, must also pay attention to the issue of artillery explosions.

The battle report Yang Gong sent back this time specifically mentioned this matter.

In fact, this was the first case of artillery explosions in the Ming army. It was so shocking that it also aroused fear among the artillerymen.

Fortunately, only two doors were destroyed by the explosion this time, and the Ming army relied on its excellent military quality, so the war was not greatly affected.

Zhu Yijiong repeatedly told Old Man Li to supervise the Ordnance Bureau and come up with a new method of casting cannons as soon as possible. He also indirectly told him the two ideas of sand mold and clay mold cannon casting.

Otherwise, when the artillery is cast now, it is not only inefficient, but also inevitably has pores on the surface. In addition, the Ming army's sugar medicine has been upgraded several levels compared to before.

The more powerful this is, the greater the damage to the artillery will be.

If you are unlucky one day and the artillery explodes during a key battle, that will be terrible.

In addition to the issue of artillery, Yang Gong's military letter also mentioned the actual combat effects of explosive ammunition and heavy armor.

Explosive bombs are very easy to use. At present, it is best to use mortars to fire. Giant mortars can be used directly to launch giant explosive bombs. They are more powerful and have a longer range than the grenadiers of the Ming army today.

However, grenadiers also have the advantage of rapid mobility, so Yang Gong suggested that they can be used in conjunction with each other to increase the proportion of explosive shells and mortars.

As for heavy armor, Yang Gong bluntly said that this thing is very difficult to use. It is resistant to beating, but you have to be a good soldier in the army and extremely strong to wear heavy armor.

Ordinary people wear heavy armor and are afraid that their strength will be exhausted after just a few steps.

Forget it, the heavy armor built by the Key Ordnance Bureau is indeed comprehensive in terms of protection, but it is really inconvenient to move.

Zhu Yijiong was not surprised by this. He had expected that he would not be able to play with the heavy armor.

These weapons and armaments have to be tried first to know their effectiveness, right?
Moreover, if full body armor is not enough, what about plate armor?
Although this thing was developed in Europe in the early days to defend against firecrackers, it served for a very short time.

Because as soon as the front leg of plate armor came out in Europe, people on the back leg immediately developed giant guns, that is, large-caliber muskets, which plate armor could not stop at all.

So the plate armor appeared suddenly and disappeared quickly.

But this does not mean that this thing is not easy to use, especially in this era, there are not as many flashy firearms for plate armor as there are in Europe.

Moreover, plate armor is not only for firearms, but also for ordinary cold weapons. The production of the entire plate armor is simpler than the current iron plate armor and the cotton armor of the Qing Dynasty, and can achieve large-scale mass production.

As long as you don't make progress with your firearm, the plate armor will be useful.

　The protective power of plate armor and the flexibility it brings to soldiers at the same weight are unmatched by other armors, and it also provides more convenient conditions for hot and cold processing.Whether it is chain mail, scale armor, or zhao armor, because its components (small iron rings, armor plates, etc.) are too small, the processing is extremely cumbersome, which not only consumes manpower, but is also difficult to process and strengthen.People believe that the reversal of the Hundred Years War between England and France in the mid-14th century was not unrelated to the invention of plate armor.The confrontation between plate armor and the British longbow is considered a typical example of the "shield" surpassing the "spear".It is also a sign of the maturity of plate armor. From the 16th century to the early 17th century, plate armor entered its heyday.This also created a new period in history. Experts worked hard day and night to penetrate armor and developed a large number of weird new weapons.

　　(Plate armor has become outdated in Europe, but it is becoming clear...)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)