When Zhang Jing and his party were about to leave the pig pen, the sound of cannons rang out without warning, followed by a series of compact bangs of muskets. Although everyone knew it was cannons and muskets, they were still instinctively startled by the sudden sound of gunfire, just like ordinary people suddenly hearing firecrackers.
Of course, it was just a minor shock, which didn't even last half a second, and everyone recovered quickly.
However, at this moment, someone heard a surprised voice, "Hey, young..."
"What's wrong?" Everyone looked at the man. It's just the sound of gunfire. Is it worth making such a fuss
"Look, these pigs are not afraid at all?" The man pointed at the heartless pigs in the pigsty that were eating slop with gusto and said to everyone.
"Hey, you're right. Aren't these beasts most afraid of thunder? Why are they so calm? Is this a new species?"
Everyone also discovered it at this time and were all surprised.
"Oh, these pigs, chickens, ducks and geese were also frightened and jumped up and down at first, but now they are used to it. The mules and horses in our camp are the same, they are used to the sound of artillery and muskets."
Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and explained to everyone.
"Well, even the animals are used to it. It seems that your camp has been conducting frequent firearms drills recently."
Mr. Huang was speechless.
"My dear nephew, such intensive firearms training, the damage and gunpowder consumption are all very high. I know your camp has made some money from selling knife-cutting medicine, but it can't afford such consumption, right?"
Duke Wei couldn't help but shook his head, and said with some heartache that he felt sorry for the money Zhu Ping'an had spent.
Hearing about the secret knife-made medicine, everyone looked at Zhu Ping'an, and some officials could hardly hide their excitement.
The secret knife medicine is very popular these days. Many people boast about its efficacy and rush to buy it, but it is still hard to get. Zhejiang Army only sells it once a month. It is said that every time Zhejiang Army sells medicine, there are crowds of people outside the camp... ...
Zhu Ping'an must have made a lot of money.
"Uncle, we can only earn a few silver coins. We don't know how to make medicine. We are just middlemen, or second-hand dealers. We get medicine from Miao Man, and the bulk of the profits goes to them. We just earn some hard-earned money. Compared with our military expenses, it is just a drop in the bucket." Zhu Ping'an said seriously, pulling Miao Man over as a target to divert everyone's attention. The principle of not showing off wealth and making a fortune in silence applies not only to individuals, but also to military camps.
The imperial court is now facing financial constraints and it is difficult to pay for military expenses. If people knew that the Zhejiang Army was rich, it would be even more difficult to apply for military expenses.
You should complain when you need to. The crying child gets the milk. This is a truth that has been passed down from ancient times to the present.
Zhu Ping'an's explanation was quite convincing, and everyone's conjunctivitis improved immediately.
"Since you don't make much money, you shouldn't practice with firearms like this. It doesn't cost any money to practice with cold weapons, but practicing with firearms is a money-eating beast. Firing a musket costs money, and firing a cannon costs even more. Firearms are easily damaged, so it's a bottomless pit." The Duke of Wei shook his head and lamented.
The Duke of Wei felt sorry for Zhu Ping'an from the bottom of his heart, because Zhu Ping'an had helped him several times and because of his relationship with Marquis Linhuai, the Duke of Wei regarded Zhu Ping'an as his own. Seeing Zhu Ping'an squandering money to train his troops, he felt sorry for him.
"Uncle, the Japanese invasion is getting more serious and the war to suppress them is about to begin. In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the soldiers as soon as possible, we have to intensify the training. Although it costs a lot of money, we can't care about it at this critical moment of defending our country. We can only tighten our belts and rack our brains to save some money here and there to maintain it."
Zhu Pingan replied with a wry smile.
Everyone immediately thought of Zhu Ping'an's pioneering efforts in raising pigs, feeding chickens and growing vegetables in the military camp, as well as his work as a middleman reselling Miao and Man's secret knife and wound medicine. All these actions were probably done to save money and make enough money to practice firearms.
"Hey, Lord Zhu, firearms are only supporting roles, while cold weapons such as bows, crossbows, swords and knives are the main characters. You can use cannons and muskets for long-range combat, but once you engage in combat, you still have to rely on cold weapons. How can the enemy give you time to reload your firearms? After the battle, firearms are just fire sticks, and you can't even kill the enemy with them. Lord Zhu, why do you bother to spend so much money and effort to practice firearms? Training should still focus on traditional cold weapons."
An official sighed, shook his head slightly, and lectured Zhu Ping'an with a look of disapproval.
"Thank you for your warning, sir. However, I believe that the future will be dominated by firearms. If we practice and use them well, we will be able to influence the outcome of a war and become invincible."
Zhu Ping'an said confidently that no one in the world knew the importance of firearms better than him.
"If you practice and use it, you can influence the situation of the war and be invincible in the world? Haha, Lord Zhu is too arrogant. Firearms can only be used before engaging the enemy. They cannot be relied on as the main weapon. After the engagement, you still have to rely on cold weapons."
"It's OK for young people to be full of vigor and enthusiasm, and it's OK for them to be confident, but it's not OK for them to be arrogant."
Several officials couldn't help but shake their heads.
Zhang Jing also shook his head imperceptibly. The lethality of firearms is not trivial. Firearms can be valued and should be valued, but they cannot be relied on. As everyone said, firearms are used before engaging the enemy. After engaging the enemy, cold weapons must be used to cut and kill. Cold weapons still control the situation of the war. Only by making full use of cold weapons and properly playing the special auxiliary role of firearms can we win the war. Blindly emphasizing and using firearms is not the kingly way of war. This is a misguided path and a wrong path, which will suffer a great loss in the future.
Zhao Wenhua was also a little disappointed at this time. Zhu Ping'an's understanding of firearms was too extreme. He was too young and too unstable in doing things.
Thinking of this, Zhao Wenhua couldn't help but look at Hu Zongxian, and couldn't help but feel lucky and secretly happy. Hu Zongxian was still experienced, steady and reliable. Zhu Pingan left, and Hu Zongxian came. It was really a gain.
After training and recapturing Zhu Ping'an in the future, we will still have to rely mainly on Hu Zongxian and Zhu Ping'an as a supplement.
Hu Zongxian couldn't help but shake his head at this moment. He also disagreed with Zhu Ping'an's conclusion about firearms.
Firearms can only be used in limited ways, and wars should still be fought mainly with cold weapons.
This is proven by history.
The Shenjiying was in charge of firearms, mainly cannons and muskets. Did they attach enough importance to firearms? But how did they perform in the Battle of Tumu? Although it was a disaster for a monarch who did not care about state affairs to be commanded by an unlearned eunuch, the Shenjiying was completely defeated in the duel between firearms and sabers and was completely destroyed.
I don't know why Zhu Ping'an is still so obsessed with firearms...