A good deal was definitely a good thing for Xiao Ruxun. Arms sales could not only digest the surplus arms production capacity of Daqin, but also make some extra money.
Daqin's arms production capacity had so far been surplus.
In less than two years, Xiao Ruxun had introduced a system of accountability and performance, as well as a system of confidentiality. She had started to use streamlined production, and she had also introduced the mold concept that she had developed in Myanmar. This had greatly increased the production of Great Qin's traditional weapons, and the quality of their weapons had also been improved.
The same was true in the production capacity of firearms.
Musket production was no longer a problem, and the Great Qin Empire had 17 official firearms factories. They were located in the outskirts of the capital, and they were quite a distance away from the capital, making it relatively safe. Most of them were musket factories, and there was only one factory that made flintlock muskets.
Technological innovation was not so simple. It could not be explained clearly. It took a long time to explore and sum up experience, and a lot of data to be recorded.
As for data recording, it had always been a special case.
Arabic numerals were relatively convenient and fast in mathematical operations. It was introduced into China in the late Song and early Yuan Dynasty. However, China had its own set of calculation methods for a long time. Before the Ming Dynasty, Abacus was the main method, and after the Ming Dynasty, Arabic numerals were represented by abacus. It was not until modern times that Arabic numerals were popularized in China.
Xiao Ruxun summoned Ricci and asked him to tell him in detail about the current development of Arabic numerals. From Ricci's description, Xiao Ruxun learned that there was a clear concept and expression of 123456789 for Arabic numerals.
Ricci conveyed the concept in detail to Xiao Ruxun, and praised China's abacus and abacus. He said that he was also interested in such a calculation method. Secondly, China and their countries happened to use the decimal system, so it was not difficult to learn at all.
Xiao Ruxun did not have much of an opinion on whether or not to promote Arabic numerals. He felt that everything would be fine as long as nature took its course. China had its own way of calculating, and there was nothing wrong with that. They could teach Arabic numerals as a strange thing in teaching materials to young children and let them learn and compare by themselves.
However, Xiao Ruxun still came up with the 9 by 9 Multiplication Table and issued an order to all the officials of the Ministry of Education, telling them that the 9 by 9 Multiplication Table must be popularized and learned, ensuring that every child learning in the new school could recite the 9 by 9 Multiplication Table.
However, Zhao Shizhen was very interested in the calculation method of Arabic numerals.
Traditional Chinese beads were calculated from high to low, while the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of Arabic numerals were calculated from low to high. Zhao Shizhen was very interested in the conversion between the two. After learning it himself, he even promoted it on a small scale within the Ministry of Military Works.
Xiao Ruxun did not interfere, support, or oppose this.
When some old pedants heard about this matter, they would submit a memorial to accuse Zhao Shizhen of messing around. He would pretend that nothing had happened. In private, he would also teach Zhao Shizhen the four methods of calculating Arabic numerals and personally educate him in mathematics.
No matter how much Zhao Shizhen learned about Arabic numerals and European mathematical theories, he did a very good job in the Ministry of Military Engineering. Many people could not find any fault with him, so they could only use these unrelated things to criticize him.
After Xu Guangqi was transferred out to take charge of the locusts, Zhao Shizhen was promoted by Xiao Ruxun to be the second-in-command of the Ministry of Military Engineering. In other words, he was the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Military Engineering. In name, he was the Left Assistant Minister. In reality, when Xu Guangqi went out to work, he was the First Assistant Minister.
Xiao Ruxun saw how this First Assistant Minister did and remembered it in his heart. Zhao Shizhen did a good job.
He inherited the achievements left behind by Xu Guangqi and further promoted and carried them forward.
He led the technical staff of the Ministry of Military Engineering to summarize a lot of skills and experience. They summarized many rules and regulations that were similar to formulas. Xiao Ruxun felt that he had started to move towards modern science.
This was not a joke. Zhao Shizhen was a firearms expert. In the original history, he was able to successfully replicate flintlock muskets. He also summarized a lot of firearms knowledge and passed it down to the later generations. In those troubled times, he was an extremely rare talent in the field of technology.
Talented people emerged in troubled times. People like Xu Guangqi and Zhao Shizhen were the light of hope that the heavens had given to the Ming Dynasty. However, the Ming Dynasty did not manage to grasp this last hope.
They could not grasp it at all. It was true.
In order to save the country in troubled times, they had to start from the top. They had to completely clean up this corrupted society and rebuild its upper echelons. Then, they would gradually carry out reforms from top to bottom. Xiao Ruxun used the advantage of a little foresight to successfully lead the Daqin into the future.
However, he was not a scientist. He did not understand technology or the development of science. Without a system, he could not climb the technology tree. He could not personally lead the Daqin into the era of the universe. He could not let the journey of the Daqin become a sea of stars.
He could only take this traditional and conservative inland empire step by step towards hope.
He entrusted his hope to generations of heroes, created a good environment for them, and gave them the guidance, direction, and goals that he could give. He entrusted his hope to them.
Zhao Shizhen did not disappoint Xiao Ruxun.
Xiao Ruxun met seven or eight monarchs in a row. They all came to ask him to buy the Daqin's standard armor, weapons, and firearms, especially cannons.
These monarchs, without exception, had a strong interest in the Daqin's cannons. They all tried to buy the powerful cannons from Xiao Ruxun.
There were also monarchs who asked the Daqin if they could customize some special armor according to their requirements, the kind that met their aesthetic standards.
Xiao Ruxun talked to them in detail one by one.
Zheng Song, the ruler of Annan, expressed to Xiao Ruxun that he wanted to buy the Daqin's muskets and cannons, as well as all kinds of standard weapons and armor. He asked Xiao Ruxun if he could sell these weapons to him.
Xiao Ruxun expressed that it was completely possible. The Daqin could sell these weapons to him.
Zheng Song was overjoyed. He immediately requested to start negotiations on quantity and price. Xiao Ruxun expressed his approval and arranged for the commissioners of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to negotiate with them.
Next, apart from the Mo clan and North Korea, other people came to Xiao Ruxun to ask to buy the Daqin's latest weapons. After obtaining permission, they began to negotiate with the people of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine the quantity, price, special needs, and so on.
Within two or three days, the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance were negotiating with these vassal states.
Some countries were small and weak. They could not bear the relatively high price of guns and cannons. However, they themselves coveted the power of guns and cannons. Therefore, under the guidance of the Daqin officials, they proposed the idea of using their own resources to exchange for weapons with the Daqin.
They were willing to exchange their own mineral resources, their own tree resources, and all kinds of special things that the Daqin didn't have with the Daqin.
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