Mr. Xu, a lot of things are completely different from what we imagine. Just like this rifling, I know it's good. The more, the better. Do you think I don't have the money?
Wrong! I have the silver! But rifling is too difficult to make. This gun was seized from the hands of the local French mercenaries when I was fighting in Burma. Later on, I got the first batch of craftsmen from the French in Macau.
They brought me the technology and told me that it was the best way to make rifling at the moment, and that there was no other way. Later, I sent people to the home of the Francois in Europe to investigate openly and covertly, and they came to the same conclusion.
Based on what I have been able to do for the past three years, the total number of rifled flintlock muskets I have in my hands is only a little more than a thousand. If all the craftsmen under my command were to work on these muskets, it wouldn't be impossible for me to make a few thousand more.
But the demand for the army is huge. For a battle like this, I need at least ten thousand muskets. Even if I give three more years, the production won't be able to keep up. "
Xiao Ruxun explained slowly.
Xu Guangqi asked, "Then if all the craftsmen in the court's Ministry of Works work together, it should be enough, right? There are many craftsmen in the court who can make many things. If everyone works together, we should be able to reach the number that the governor needs in no time, right? "
"Should?"
Xiao Ruxun laughed coldly. "Those officials from the Ministry of Works can make muskets into explosive muskets. I've suffered enough from that kind of explosive muskets. I really don't dare to compliment their standards. At the very least, the muskets made by the blacksmiths under my command have only had two incidents of explosive muskets in the past three years. One was five, and the other was six."
"When we were guarding the borders of Ningxia, we didn't dare to use the muskets used by the court to fight. According to the standards of Burma Town, only three out of ten muskets can barely be used. They explode at the slightest provocation and are not as good as a knife. Even the three-eyed musket, an old firearm from hundreds of years ago, is more reliable than them!"
Wang Hui continued to complain.
"The craftsmen of the Ministry of Works do have the skills, but the management of the officials is very problematic. Not to mention that making this kind of rifled flintlock musket requires very precise skills, even the iron used to make it cannot be pig iron, it must be the best iron. As for the imperial court, I really have nothing to say."
Xiao Ruxun shook his head helplessly.
"This … this subordinate really doesn't know …"
Xu Guangqi was speechless.
"So, it's not that the army is unwilling to use firearms to fight. Back then, Qi Shaobao's army had a lot of firearms, but even Qi Shaobao himself said that Daming firearms were too crude and would hurt himself more than the enemy. This kind of firearm was really not as good as a knife. People say that I'm good at using firearms, but that's because the firearms I use are of good quality."
After listening to Xiao Ruxun's words, Xu Guangqi's expression became more subtle.
Xiao Ruxun looked at the battlefield in front of him.
"The Northern Barbarians are not here yet?"
"Soon, the scouts have already discovered them. I has already ordered the army to get ready."
Xiao Ruxun nodded his head and then looked into the distance. Very soon, what he wanted to see appeared in his field of vision.
"They're here!"
Wang Hui quickly walked to the front. "Everyone, get ready!"
More and more panic-stricken Northern Barbarians appeared in front of the Ming Army. The number was so large that it was shocking. Xiao Ruxun frowned and asked, "There are quite a lot of them. What is Li Rusong doing? He still can't kill them all? "
Xiao Ruxun had wronged Li Rusong. He was already trying his best to kill them. However, they had made a mistake. They had wrongly estimated the number of Northern Barbarians. There were not a hundred thousand Northern Barbarians, but more than a hundred thousand. The number of old, weak, women, and children was beyond their expectations. It was estimated that the entire Tumut tribe was heading south, and that was not all.
Xu Guangqi asked anxiously, "Governor-General, there are so many Northern Barbarians, including the old, weak, women, and children. Can we handle them? The firing speed of these firearms seems to be very slow, and the range is not enough. If that is the case, why don't we use the cannons to attack first? "
"If we use the cannons, won't these Northern Barbarians be afraid and turn around to choose another direction to escape? Then why did I set up the formation here? We have to give them some hope. Let them charge forward. The faster they charge, the faster they die. My gunners and shield soldiers are not just for show. Only when they charge forward with all their might can we wipe out these Northern Barbarians. Not a single one of them will be able to return! "
Xiao Ruxun's words were filled with cold killing intent. It made Xu Guangqi shiver.
"If that's the case …"
Before Xu Guangqi could finish his sentence, a gunshot interrupted him.
"What's going on? No one gave the order to fire! Who fired? "
Gunshots rang out one after another. Xu Guangqi then realized that it was not the main force that fired. The main force did not fire. The ones who fired were the bodyguards of Xiao Ruxun!
"The firing range of the rifled flintlock musket is longer than that of the musket. Of course, we have to fire first. Don't worry, the firearms under my command have seen a lot of things. They can even fight against ten thousand cavalries head-on, let alone these mobs!"
Xiao Ruxun said confidently.
"Fight against cavalries head-on? Could it be … in Shanxi? "
Xu Guangqi's eyes burned as he looked at Xiao Ruxun. "Some people once thought that firearms were a magical weapon to fight against cavalries. However, firearms have many limitations and could not be realized. Can they really fight against cavalries now? Even without the use of cavalries? "
"That's not true. However, after careful training, self-defense is not a problem."
Xiao Ruxun gave an accurate answer. Although there was still room for improvement, wouldn't firearms be the one that would end the era of cavalries in the future?
Xu Guangqi, who had recovered, looked at the firearms formation in front of him with even more passion.
After countless Northern Barbarians were killed, the Northern Barbarians who wanted to escape hesitated. They looked at the Ming Army formation in front of them and did not dare to move forward. However, there were too many Northern Barbarians behind them. They could not stop their steps. After a moment of chaos, they finally entered the firing range of the musket gunners.
"Fire!"
Wang Hui shouted.
"Peng peng peng peng peng …"
A wave of smoke rose. Countless lead bullets flew forward. Perhaps they were not accurate, but there were enough of them. Under the charge of such a dense group of Northern Barbarians, it was difficult to miss. Countless Northern Barbarians were shot through by the lead bullets and fell to the ground, dying on the spot. Most of them were shot in their limbs and rolled on the ground, howling in pain.
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