Guo Shao could not hide his disappointment at the situation before him. The firearms were not as powerful as he had imagined. Instead, they were quite useless, not even half as good as a bow and crossbow. They were slightly farther away than lances, but much more troublesome, and were of little use.
People are very practical. If anyone else were to make the decision, they would definitely just treat it as a gimmick of a new weapon to scare people. But Guo Shao didn't think so: firearms were definitely not as good as cold weapons at the beginning, but the future direction was hot weapons, there was no doubt about that.
Guo Shao had personally witnessed the great advantages of gunpowder weapons over swords and arrows. Until the Opium War, the great powers also used black powder weapons. It would be unreasonable for someone who had personally verified the results not to move in the right direction. Knowing that guns and cannons were powerful, he deliberately avoided them and did not even try. Guo Shao felt that there was no need to do so.
Moreover, even if firearms are not very useful now, Guo Shao has the resources of the entire country in his hands, so he does not lack the research and development expenses. The disappointment was fleeting, and in a blink of an eye, Guo Shao adjusted his mentality and planned to continue.
He asked the military equipment supervisor Zan Jurun to rearrange the test and personally see the effects of metal tubes of various materials. When the group arrived at the training ground, the craftsmen set up the target, loaded the gunpowder into the musket, and then fixed it on the ground with a wooden frame facing forward.
The muskets were all semi-finished products, consisting of only a metal tube. After the gunpowder bullets were loaded, a long fuse was pulled out from the front. The fuse was paper-wrapped gunpowder, similar to the fuse of firecrackers.
After a while, the craftsman lit the fuse of the firecracker and ran away. The musket on the wooden frame started to bang and smoke rose. Just looking at the scene, it really looked like a musket firing. After a test, everyone checked the damage to the gun barrel and the bullet holes on the target. The situation was not much different from what Zan Jurun described. Guo Shao was completely sure that the power of this thing was indeed not great.
Guo Shao brought Zan Jurun and others to a room next door and sat down. There were many tools in the room, including the drill that Guo Shao had seen before, which used the twisting force of hemp rope.
Guo Shao asked someone to set out paper and ink, picked up a pen and asked casually: Even if it is a bronze fire gun, the production cost is cheaper than a crossbow.
Of course. Zan Jurun said that although the court was short of copper, a bronze gun did not require much copper, and the manpower consumed in casting, drilling and grinding was far less than that consumed by crossbows. Moreover, the right to mine was in the hands of the government. Even if copper was expensive, it consumed less manpower and caused less harm to the national strength and people's livelihood. Making bronze guns was much less of a burden on the court than making crossbows.
After hearing this, Guo Shao nodded in approval and thought: People who hold central government positions have more knowledge and intelligence than ordinary people. When Zan Jurun talks about something, he already considers and explains it from a broad perspective.
Guo Shao picked up the pen not to record, but to draw a table. After a long time, he put the pen on the inkstone, picked up the paper in his hand and blew on it, handed it to Zan Jurun, and said: "In the future, when reporting various matters of the Military Equipment Supervision, follow this form, which will be clearer and easier to miss."
Here. Zan Jurun took it with both hands and watched it carefully.
For each item, write down the size and material, and then write the craftsmanship and production process in another column, as well as the description after the test. First sort and organize, and then write a few sentences of summary. Guo Shaodao, there are also standards for length and weight. The sizes used in the world are not accurate. Zan Gong thought of a way to set the basic standards. In the future, the sizes of various military equipment produced by the Military Equipment Supervision will follow the official standards.
Zan Jurun hurriedly clasped his fists and replied: I obey your order.
Guo Shao added: "The craftsmen we have hired are paid well, and they may be more dedicated to their work at first, but it is hard to say whether this place will become a place for people to slack off over time. You need to set some rules, clearly define rewards and punishments, and reward those craftsmen who work hard to produce results generously so that everyone can have a goal."
Guo Shao stayed here for a while and also ordered the development of artillery and the throwing of explosives.
Anything related to the use of gunpowder, firearms workshops can request funding to try. However, Guo Shao's focus is still on guns and projectiles, only these three things are the most practical, and the conclusion still comes from experience.
In later times, when black powder weapons developed to their peak, especially when the Western world came from behind, after years of fighting and testing among countries, musketeers, artillery and grenadiers became the most useful arms. Other fancy and strange things, for example, rockets, seemed to have no practical use, but because the trajectory was completely uncontrollable, they had basically no lethality.
However, Guo Shao did not intend to suppress people's attempts. If they made something new and practical, he would not reject it. Anyway, the effect would be seen in the training ground.
Guo Shao's wish to solve military problems with firearms was dashed, so he did not stay in the firearms workshop for too long and left soon. However, the emperor's personal visit also showed Guo Shao's attention to the matter.
He returned to the imperial study in Jinxiang Palace, where Zuo You and others had already submitted the compiled memorials. Guo Shao did not read them immediately, but first thought about what he was going to do - to conquer the Northern Han.
However, the preparations were far from complete. First, he had to wait for the spies sent to the Northern Han to bring back more detailed intelligence before deploying troops and tactics. Sun Tzu said, "Know yourself and the enemy, and you will win every battle." If it is a battle that is completely uncertain, the best choice is not to fight if possible.
Guo Shao began to process memorials, which were all translated by Zuo You and Huang Binglian, and seemed to be processed quickly. At a time when military affairs were the top priority, government affairs were secondary. This method allowed Guo Shao to improve his efficiency in government administration, but it was not a good method. He had discovered the drawbacks before, and it was difficult to obtain the advice and thoughts of ministers and wise men. Therefore, Guo Shao had to read the original text written in classical Chinese from time to time. He could probably understand it, but it was a little more difficult.
A while ago, he attended two lectures on classics, where great scholars with great talent and reputation gave lectures to the emperor. Guo Shao felt that it was not a good experience because the great scholars focused on the thoughts in the classics, and Guo Shao did not agree with their ideas. So after two visits, he stopped going.
Guo Shao needed a teacher to teach him classical Chinese. In fact, a private school teacher in the countryside could be enough to teach him classical Chinese systematically. But he didn't dare to invite such a person to teach the emperor, fearing that he would be laughed at by the scholars. So Zuo You took on this task.
After finishing his business, Guo Shao called Zuo You to the back room and asked him to teach him basic courses. He also had to copy calligraphy assignments every day. The two of them spent a lot of time alone in that small room almost every day. If you didn't know, you would think they had some conspiracy. Guo Shao didn't want to be watched by a group of officials outside while he was studying.
Guo Shao studied very hard. He sat in front of the table like a good student, reciting the Analects of Confucius without punctuation in a very serious manner, in a similar way to those children. Because Guo Shao realized the importance of knowing how to read and punctuate in classical Chinese in this environment, otherwise he couldn't even understand the memorials, so how could he govern the country? He thought of the Tianqi Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who was a carpenter as a hobby and didn't want to handle government affairs personally; now Guo Shao understood the carpenter emperor a little bit, because he was illiterate, and how difficult it was for an illiterate person to handle government affairs. Guo Shao, a semi-illiterate person, felt the same way.
After reading the content of the day, Zuo You talked with Guo Shao for a while.
Zuo You picked up a memorial and said: This document was written by a local magistrate. His intention was to advise Your Majesty to prohibit officials over the age of 50 from serving as the highest bureaucrat in a place.
Guo Shao asked: What is Mr. Zuo's attitude
Zuo You said: This person is somewhat cynical and his words are bold, but they are not without reason. After years of being in the officialdom, older officials have no hope of future promotion, so they will only care about two things: lust and greed. Once such people have the power of life and death, they will accumulate wealth and indulge in extravagance. As for their political achievements and the people's livelihood and governance, what good are they
Zuo You spoke freely: "I think it is not just these people who are just sitting there doing nothing. There are many more officials who have no hope of promotion and are in the same situation. The reason is that for many years, military generals can be promoted based on their military achievements, while civil officials can only be promoted based on the appreciation of their superiors. This method of seeking talents cannot benefit most officials. It is too difficult for people without background, connections and fame to achieve something."
Guo Shao nodded in agreement. Zuo You was a low-level official and might be very familiar with the situation.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said: "However, to solve this situation, we need to reform the system, which is not a one-day job, and it is not the most important thing at the moment. The first thing the court needs to do now is to open up the situation and pattern, to push the territory and national defense to the Great Wall, and then we can sort out the internal affairs like cooking a small fresh fish."
At present, we should not act rashly, as it will affect the interests of too many people, otherwise it will cause turmoil. Although the current governance is not very good, it is the result of a century of chaos. It is very peaceful after the new king ascended the throne, which is a good thing. We should not touch them easily before we are sure.
Zuo You thought it was a good idea after hearing it.
Guo Shao reviewed the layout of the Imperial Study and said, "I need a knowledgeable and wise staff. It's time to establish a cabinet to assist in government. The rooms here are not easy to use. I feel that I can't do anything. Mr. Zuo, please ask someone to bring the construction plan of the Jinxiang Palace and help me choose a place to rearrange a center for handling state affairs."
Guo Shao immediately picked up his pen and wrote down his ideas. He needed a room outside to issue imperial edicts and pass on messages; a place for cabinet officials to work and rest, to assist the emperor and provide advice at any time; a room for the emperor to work; a place for him to think alone, a place to store military secrets; and a place to summon ministers for private discussions, as well as a place for important ministers to gather for discussions.
While discussing with Zuo You, he wrote down his plans to build a central core that would serve as the brain of the entire court.