From the second day onwards, the whole of South Zhili was in an uproar. The news of the Ministry of Internal Affairs purchasing one million taels of goods spread like wildfire. Such a large scale purchase naturally attracted countless merchants.
For a moment, the merchants of Yangzhou City were all busy. The Ministry of Internal Affairs was instantly flooded with people and carriages.
"Shopkeeper Liu, nice to meet you. I didn't expect you to come as well. This business is not small. I think Shopkeeper Liu will definitely make a fortune."
"Not at all. Who doesn't know that the Songjiang cloth in Shopkeeper Qian's hands is a hard currency. Shopkeeper Zhao, don't forget your brother."
This kind of greeting could be seen everywhere in Yangzhou. There were merchants everywhere.
In other places of South Zhili, merchants also began to gather in Yangzhou.
In all industries, merchants definitely had the sharpest sense of smell.
In the past, Yangzhou was a land of calamity. Everyone stayed far away from it. Now, it was a blessed land. Merchants quickly gathered here.
In the backyard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs's office.
Although it was very busy in front, this place was very secluded. Li Zhonghang quickly walked towards a person while smiling and cupping his fists: "Manager Li, my apologies. There are too many chores here at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. I've neglected you, neglected you!"
The person called Manager Li was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was dressed like a scholar. Hearing Li Zhonghang, he quickly cupped his fists and said: "Sir Li is too polite. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is so prosperous. This Li is very envious!"
The two of them exchanged a few pleasantries before changing the topic to business.
Li Zhonghang smiled and said: "Manager Li, I've already prepared a place for you. Using this opportunity to buy goods, the Royal Bank will become famous.
I've already told my subordinates that the silver from the shipping company and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will all go through the bank. "
Manager Li quickly cupped his fists and said: "Thank you, Sir Li!"
As the business in Yangzhou became prosperous, a name was quickly mentioned. It was the Royal Bank.
Everyone who sold goods to the shipping company would receive a certificate. With this certificate, they could go to the Royal Bank to withdraw money.
The use of the bank was also quickly known. It was used for saving money, loans, and deposits and withdrawals.
Of course, the bank's certificate was not registered. If you lost it, it was your own problem.
All of Jiangnan, because of the bank, because of the boat business, quickly set off a storm.
The reason for this storm was the trade to the Northwest. Many people had already begun to transport goods to the Northwest, and there were also a few who had joined forces to transport goods.
The war in the Northwest had been won, and the war had been pacified. The entire Northwest had become a hot commodity in the eyes of the merchants.
While the merchants of Yangzhou were excitedly transporting goods to the northwest, the capital was very peaceful.
Ever since the news of victory came, the celebration in Beijing lasted for a long time. However, after this period of time, Beijing calmed down.
There were also fewer things to do in the court, which made Zhu Yijun feel a lot more relaxed.
After this incident, Zhu Yijun's prestige increased a lot. No one dared to look down on this young emperor anymore.
Forbidden City, Wenhua Palace.
Zhu Yijun looked at Pan Jixun and Chen Ju and said with a smile, "In your hands, the Armaments Department is operating smoothly. We are very satisfied. You have made great contributions. We have already sent someone to reward you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Thank you, Imperial Majesty!"
Zhu Yijun nodded, then said to Pan Jixun with a smile, "Pan, you said that the hydraulic press has been made?"
Before the steam engine appeared, the hydraulic press was a good thing. It could solve a lot of problems.
It greatly increased productivity. Zhu Yijun had been looking forward to this thing for a long time. How could Zhu Yijun not be happy?
"Your Majesty, it has been made!" Pan Jixun said with a smile.
The hydraulic press had been made, which made Pan Jixun very happy. With this thing, many things in the Armaments Department could be mass-produced.
It was a good thing that the production had been greatly increased.
"Good, very good!" Zhu Yijun smiled and slapped his thigh.
"Imperial Majesty, these are copper and silver coins cast by the hydraulic press!"
Zhang Jing, who was holding a box, walked to Zhu Yijun with a smile and said respectfully, "This was given to Old Slave by Eunuch Chen just now."
Zhu Yijun glanced at Chen Ju and then at Zhang Jing. He just smiled and nodded. He didn't expose them.
Chen Ju stayed in the Armaments Department all day and rarely went to the palace. Naturally, his foundation in the palace was weaker. It wasn't a big deal to find a eunuch to pay his respects.
Zhang Jing was popular now, so it was normal for Chen Ju to find him.
The key was that Zhang Jing also knew how much he valued Chen Ju, so he naturally wouldn't treat Chen Ju too much.
The two hit it off, which made many of the hands that reached out to Chen Ju shrink back.
Zhu Yijun reached out and picked up a silver coin from the box. Then, he blew on it and put it by his ear.
Hearing the sound, a smile immediately appeared on his face. "Good, very good!" After saying that, he looked at the silver coin in his hand.
This silver coin was similar to the ocean in the future. There was a dragon on the front, and the dragon's head was very clear. Behind it was a traditional Chinese character, "One."
Zhu Yijun didn't let anyone print his face on it. This thing was probably not widely accepted in this era.
When the time came, there would definitely be trouble, and there would probably be a lot of people making a scene.
In order to avoid trouble, Zhu Yijun didn't choose to print his face on it.
For Zhu Yijun, there were too many things that needed to be reformed. It was really not worth wasting energy on this.
After putting the silver and copper coins back, Zhu Yijun raised his head to look at Pan Jixun and Chen Ju. He said with a smile, "This is very good. How is the forging of weapons?
I am waiting for your good news! "
"Your Majesty, the Armament Department is experimenting day and night. Although the casting of the molds is difficult, it will be solved very soon," Pan Jixun said confidently.
Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction. Once the molds could be cast, Daming's weapons and equipment would definitely be upgraded. His idea of a field army could be realized.
In fact, Qi Jiguang's Qi Family Army already had the appearance of a field army. Zhu Yijun planned to build a field army like the Qi Family Army.
Zhu Yijun looked at the Qi Family Army's vehicle battalion in detail and found that it was really an army that surpassed the times.
Putting military discipline aside, just the composition alone was definitely an epoch-making existence.
According to the establishment of the Qi Family Army, a complete vehicle battalion would have a total of 8,517 people. At least three vehicle, infantry, and cavalry battalions, together with the supply battalion, would have a total of nearly 30,000 people. This way, they would have enough combat power. In Zhu Yijun's opinion, this was also the establishment of a field army.
In such a field army, they would need to be equipped with 624 vehicles, 1,248 Franc Cannons, 12 rocket vehicles, 24 General Cannons, 180 Crouching Tiger Cannons, 10152 shotgunners, and 1,296 quick gunners.
124800 Franc Cannons, 720 General Cannons, 2073600 shotgun bullets, 388800 quick gun bullets, 104280 rockets, and 162000 Crouching Tiger Cannons. The total number of people was 30531.
This was about the firearms and equipment of the three vehicle battalions, and this did not include cold weapons.
When it came to the specific tactics and the basic establishment, Zhu Yijun's blood was boiling.
The establishment of the Qi Family Army was: Team, Flag, Bureau, Division, Department, and Battalion. Each team had 12 people.
In this team, everyone's equipment was different.
Everyone's equipment was different, and their occupation was also different. Just like the squad in the future, there were explosives, machine gunners, snipers, and so on.
12 people formed a team, and they were equipped with different equipment, thus forming a very thorough formation.
12 people were used as an attack unit, and at the same time, they could form a larger attack formation. This was Qi Jiguang's vehicle battalion.
Currently, there was only one such vehicle battalion in the whole of Daming, and that was the new army that Qi Jiguang trained in Liao.
This army was built with the support of Zhang Juzheng. It was not that he did not want to build more, but he did not have the money.
Whether it was equipment or training, the amount of money and rations needed to support such an army was definitely an astronomical figure.
In history, when Qi Jiguang was demoted, and his subordinates were split up, this army basically died out.
When Qi Jiguang trained the new army, Emperor Chong Zhen could not afford so much equipment and money. The Qi Family Army of that time and the current Qi Family Army could not be mentioned in the same breath.
The key was that Qi Jiguang was still around, and what Zhu Yijun wanted was the Qi Family Army of this era.
In the past, he also wanted it, but Zhu Yijun could not afford it. Now that the production technology had improved, and the casting cost had dropped, Zhu Yijun dared to think about it.
Together with the Military Division's new steel cannons, new flintlocks, as well as all kinds of new firearms, as well as this type of scientific military organization and a famous general like Qi Jiguang, Zhu Yijun believed that the future of the Great Ming's field army was something to look forward to.
As for Zhu Yijun's thoughts, Pan Jixun and Chen Ju naturally did not know.
However, the two of them were well aware of the importance the Emperor placed on firearms. From the establishment of the Armament Division until now, the amount of money the Emperor had spent on firearms research would shock many people.
His attitude was also extremely generous. As long as they could produce something, the Emperor would not be stingy with his money.
"Your Majesty, rest assured, we are making use of the trial production, and there will be results soon."
Hearing Pan Jixun's words, Zhu Yijun nodded in satisfaction, and then asked, "Are there any results on the flintlock guns and metal fixed ammunition that I asked you to develop?"
In fact, this was the thing that Zhu Yijun was most concerned about. The flintlock guns were too lousy.
If his new field army was all equipped with flintlock guns, their combat power would definitely increase to a whole new level.
If metal fixed ammunition could be made, then it would be even more powerful. Just thinking about it was a beautiful scene.
Hearing Zhu Yijun's question, Pan Jixun and Chen Ju were a little embarrassed.
In fact, ever since the establishment of the Armament Division, the Emperor had spent the most money on this area of research, but there was no progress until now.
"Your Majesty, the trial production of the flintlock gun has been successful, but it can only be made by hand. It is still not possible to mass produce it. There are too few good quality ones, only one out of seven or eight are qualified, so we are temporarily unable to mass produce it."