"Ignite!"
Along with Chen Ju's slightly trembling shout, the ten wrought iron cannons were ignited at the same time. Along with the sound of the fuse, everyone held their breath and looked at the cannons, waiting to see the wrought iron cannons fire.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Along with the sound of the iron cannons, the shell shot out of the cannon and flew into the distance. When it landed, it smashed a large hole in the ground and bounced off into the distance.
The wooden targets in front of the cannons were instantly sent flying and shattered into pieces.
Zhu Yijun saw this scene through the binoculars and nodded in satisfaction.
Yu Dayou, who was beside Zhu Yijun, became excited. He turned to look at Chen Ju and asked loudly: "Chen Gonggong, how far can this cannon shoot?
Have you tested it? "After asking this question, Yu Dayou stared at Chen Ju with a burning gaze.
Yu Dayou didn't expect Zhu Yijun to have such a place. He was fascinated by this secret cannon!
"Replying to Admiral Yu, this cannon has a firing range of about two miles and weighs 150 kilograms. Compared to a copper cannon with the same firing range, its weight is only 40% of a copper cannon.
It can be pushed by two people or pulled by a horse. It's very convenient. "
"Can it be used to forge cannons?" At this time, Zhu Yijun opened his mouth and asked.
This firing range was still a bit short for Zhu Yijun, but it was enough to use as a mortar. After all, he was light enough and could be easily pulled.
Although the firing range was only two miles, with a lot of them, the power would be very high.
"Replying to Your Majesty, this servant is currently arranging for people to manufacture the Francon cannon. It's temporarily not possible." Chen Ju quickly explained.
Zhu Yijun nodded. He knew about the Francon cannon. It was different from a front-loading cannon. It was a backloading smoothbore cannon.
This thing was indeed what Zhu Yijun wanted. Made of wrought iron, it could definitely be used to forge a lightweight and long-range Francon cannon.
"How's the rifling I asked you to study?" Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Ju and asked another question.
Zhu Yijun knew that in the future, rifled cannons would be the mainstream. Other than mortars, smoothbore cannons would no longer be used.
If they could create a rifled cannon based on the Franco machine cannon, that would be amazing.
Of course, this was just Zhu Yijun's suggestion. He wanted the Military Bureau to treat it as a research direction.
"Your Majesty, we don't have enough manpower!" Chen Ju scowled miserably as he replied with some difficulty.
Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, then he nodded. He knew that Chen Ju was telling the truth, but that was in the past. It would not be like this in the future.
Looks like I'll have to stretch my hands to the Ministry of War first, the Armory Department of the Ministry of War!
The Arsenal Department was in charge of the forging of Daming weapons, including cannons and muskets.
The Armory Department was in charge of many workshops and craftsmen, and this was what Zhu Yijun wanted.
These craftsmen who had been forging weapons for generations were definitely Daming treasures. Zhu Yijun was prepared to organize all of them.
"We will find more manpower for you!" Zhu Yijun smiled as he looked at Chen Ju and said softly.
"Chen Ju, receive the decree!" Zhu Yijun's expression turned solemn as he said directly.
Chen Ju immediately knelt on the ground and said loudly, "This servant Chen Ju receives the decree!"
"Chen Ju, for your meritorious service in the Military Bureau, will be given a bullfighting outfit, a thousand taels of silver, a hundred taels of gold, and will also be promoted to eunuch of the Rites Department!"
Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Ju and announced his rewards. This could be considered as a reward for Chen Ju's meritorious service.
"This servant receives the decree!" Chen Ju knelt on the ground and said loudly, but he was already crying.
"All the craftsmen who participated in forging the cannons will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver. Work hard in the future, and we will not be stingy with your rewards!"
If you wanted a horse to run, you had to feed it good grass. Zhu Yijun understood this principle.
These people had been working here for several years, so it was not good to be stingy with their rewards.
Fifty taels of silver was really a lot of money in this era.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The surrounding craftsmen also knelt down and said loudly.
Zhu Yijun looked at Chen Ju and said with a smile, "Work hard, and we will not treat our own people unfairly!" As he said this, he reached out and patted Chen Ju's shoulder.
A wrought iron cannon didn't mean much, and Zhu Yijun wanted more. However, this was a good start.
After leaving the Imperial Plantation, Zhu Yijun sat in the imperial carriage and returned to the Forbidden City. On the way, Zhu Yijun was thinking about the Armory Department of the Ministry of War.
The establishment of a new Armory Department of the Daming was imminent, but where to put it was a problem.
It definitely wouldn't work if it was in the hands of a eunuch. Eunuchs could participate, but he definitely couldn't hand over all the forging of weapons to eunuchs.
It also wouldn't work if it was in the military governor's office of the five armies. He could continue to place it in the Ministry of War, but the officials in the Ministry of War had already ruined the Armory Department.
After pondering for a while, Zhu Yijun couldn't think of any good ideas, so he could only put this matter aside for now.
After returning to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Cabinet sent him a piece of news. It was a piece of news that shocked Zhu Yijun.
This news was that An Dahan had died. The Sungai Of Gojoseon, the overlord of the northern grasslands, had died!
This matter was definitely a big deal for the Daming. The slightest mistake would definitely result in serious consequences.
As he sat on the Dragon Throne, Zhu Yijun thought of a person. To be exact, it was a woman. This woman was Sanniangzi, who had been at the borders of the Daming for a long time.
She was the consort of An Dahan, and the actual controller of military power in the grasslands.
"Interesting!"
A smile appeared on Zhu Yijun's face. He said to Zhang Jing, who was beside him, "The Minister of War, Wu Dui, has entered the palace."
If there was anyone who understood Xuan Da the most, it would naturally be Wu Dui. When Wang Chonggu was the Governor of Xuan Da, Fang Fengshi was the Governor of Shaanxi, and Wu Dui was the Governor of Xuan Da.
After Wang Chonggu left Xuan Da, Fang Fengshi became the Governor of Xuan Da. After Fang Fengshi left, Wu Dui became the Governor of Xuan Da.
Wu Dui was definitely the official who had been in Xuan Da for the longest time.
The key point was that Zhu Yijun knew something related to Wu Dui. Wu Dui and Sanniangzi had a very good relationship.
In the past, Dongchang had mentioned to Zhu Yijun that Sanniangzi could freely enter and exit Wu Dui's tent. She even danced on Wu Dui's lap.
Although the truth of this matter was not confirmed, An Dahan was still alive at that time. Plus, Wu Dui was a scholar of Daming, so it was unlikely that something dirty would happen. However, the relationship between the two was indeed very good.
It was the right time to ask Wu Dui about this matter.
Zhang Jing ran to call for Wu Dui. Wu Dui naturally heard about An Dahan's death. He was the Minister of War.
When he received the news of An Dahan's death, he felt that the Emperor wanted to summon him. When Zhang Jing arrived, Wu Dui had already finished his preparations.
Seeing Wu Dui come in, Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Alright, no need to greet me. You know why I want to see you, right?"