Chapter 56 Times have changed
Chapter 56 Times have changed
Seeing Gao Gong's bitter smile, Zhu Zaigui encouraged him again: "Mr. Gao, don't worry about An Da. It seems that the initiative is not on the side of the Ming Dynasty. But times have changed!"
"It is an indisputable fact that the northern grasslands are barren. If the strong men on the grasslands want to remain strong, they must focus on how to break through the restrictions of the Great Wall and steal our people and supplies."
"But in the students' opinion, this situation will be reversed in the near future! The development of firearms is the trend of the times. Although the current cannons and muskets are still very ordinary, they cannot form a completely overwhelming advantage."
"But if our Ming Dynasty can attach importance to craftsmen and actively improve the quality of firearms and the invention of new firearms, I am sure that within 30 years, the Ming Dynasty will be able to use the unparalleled super weapons in its hands to form an unprecedented suppression on the grassland tribes and make them become docile sheep again!"
Zhu Zaigui's words also lifted Gao Gong's spirits.
How good were the firearms of the Ming Dynasty? Although Gao Gong had never actually come into contact with them, he knew that the firearms of the Ming Dynasty were not that powerful. Compared with the Yongle period, there had been some improvement, but the improvement was still not significant.
Moreover, the manufacturing cost is still high, and it is still difficult to fully equip the Ming army with it.
However, Zhu Zaigui's words are also a bright direction for Gao Gong to solve the problem now.
As long as there is a qualitative breakthrough in Ming Dynasty's firearms, the problem in the north may no longer be a problem.
Gao Gong bowed to Zhu Zaigui and said, "Your Highness, your opinion is profound! Indeed, the advantage of our Great Ming over the grasslands is firearms. If our Great Ming's firearms can be further improved and achieve new breakthroughs, no matter how fast the horses on the grasslands are, they can never be faster than bullets!"
"After I return, I will write a memorial to Your Majesty, requesting that you attach importance to the research and development of firearms and lay the foundation for the upgrading of firearms for our Ming Dynasty!"
When Zhu Zaigui heard what Gao Gong said, he waved his hands and said, "Mr. Gao, don't be impulsive. The cost of developing firearms is extremely high. How can the court have the spare energy to allocate a large amount of funds to support the development of firearms? Moreover, let's not talk about your majesty's opinion. Even the officials in the court may not really take this matter to heart."
"I think the most important thing now is to buy. Although students are confined to their homes, they have heard that the adventurers from the West seem to have new firearms that are different from those of our Ming Dynasty. If we can spend money to buy their firearms, then split them up for research, and then upgrade them on this basis, and develop new firearms that belong to our Ming Dynasty, this should be more in line with reality."
"Besides, the money spent on this operation will not be too much. Whether it is Your Majesty or the officials in the court, they will not have too much resistance."
"So, do you understand, sir?"
After hearing this, Gao Gong's eyes suddenly lit up.
Prince Yu is right!
Isn't silver the most in short supply at the court? If I come up with a way to improve the strength of Ming Dynasty with low cost and quick results, it will definitely be valued by the emperor and recognized by the officials at the court.
After all, no matter how foolish and ignorant they are, at least they have some knowledge about major issues.
Moreover, the suggestion they put forward does not affect the current political landscape and does not involve any political opinions, so they have no reason to oppose it.
Therefore, Gao Gong also felt that Prince Yu’s suggestion was really excellent!
Gao Gong asked, "Your Majesty, do you know which family in the West has the most powerful firearms?"
When Zhu Zaigui heard Gao Gong's words, he couldn't help but roll his eyes. How would he know such a thing?
At most, he knew that the firearms of the West were no longer what they used to be, and had begun to surpass the research and development of Ming Dynasty firearms. As for which company's firearms were more powerful, Zhu Zaigui was completely clueless. Zhu Zaigui said, "Things like this have to be tried. How can we know which one is better without trying more? And only after we have tried it, we can understand where the gap between our Ming Dynasty firearms is now."
"Today's world is no longer the era of the Han, Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties. Inspired by Eastern legends, Westerners have begun to drive small boats through hardships and tribulations to come to our Ming Dynasty to pan for gold and explore."
"I guess their knowledge has been growing along with their ships. Maybe they are no longer the same as they were before. While we can still be stronger than them, it won't be bad for our future to discover and study their strengths."
Gao Gong also deeply agreed with Zhu Zaigui's words. The world today is indeed different from the Han, Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties.
Although the Han and Tang dynasties were powerful, they were also limited. They only gained their unparalleled fame through the use of cold weapons.
But after the Song and Yuan dynasties, times changed.
The blades that existed in the Han and Tang dynasties are also found on the grassland.
Therefore, the advantages that originally belonged to the Han people were also offset.
After the Song and Yuan dynasties, firearms appeared, although they had not yet become mainstream.
However, in the various wars on the grasslands since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, firearms were the Ming army's reliance.
If the power of firearms could continue to grow, then the Ming Dynasty might be able to sweep across the world and dominate the world like the Han and Tang dynasties!
Therefore, at this moment Gao Gong could not help but think that the future world might really be like what Zhu Zaigui predicted, a world of firearms!
Whoever's firearms are strong enough and powerful enough will be the chosen one of the future.
Gao Gong said: "I will put my heart and soul into this and work hard for the benefit of Ming's firearms."
Zhu Zaigui said: "Mr. Gao, your talent does not lie here. Once you find a suitable candidate for this matter, you only need to hand it over to him. If you put all your energy here, wouldn't my Ming Dynasty be short of a prime minister in the future? Just leave professional matters to professionals. It is not necessarily a good thing to force yourself to take on too much."
Gao Gong was even more moved by Zhu Zaigui's words. If he had not been accustomed to Zhu Zaigui's way of thinking and the way he thought about problems during this period of time, Gao Gong would not have dared to believe that these were words that a thirteen or fourteen-year-old child could say.
Gao Gong said: "Your Majesty's teachings are very true. I was just impatient. I will never disappoint Your Majesty. I will devote my whole life to the Ming Dynasty until my death."
Zhu Zaigui looked at Gao Gong who was so serious and said with emotion: "Sir, you are truly a great man! If Your Majesty could have discovered your talent earlier, you might not be far from the cabinet now."
In fact, in the course of history, Gao Gong's talents did not come into the sight of Emperor Jiajing until after the death of Prince Jing in the 44th year of Jiajing, when the struggle for the throne that had lasted for nearly 20 years came to an end. He was promoted by Emperor Jiajing to be the Minister of Rites in preparation for the future succession of Zhu Zaigui.
It can be said that in the next ten years, although Gao Gong's official career was relatively smooth, he still had no chance to participate in the court's secrets.
If Gao Gong could really submit a few serious memorials to Emperor Jiajing this time, perhaps his fate would have taken a turn for the better and he would have come into Emperor Jiajing's sight earlier.
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Finally finished writing... Drinking is a mistake! Please learn from my mistakes... You can buy me a drink when you have nothing to do~~~
(End of this chapter)