Chapter 182: Responding in Ganyang Palace

Love Shenjing, West City, Hongxiang Inn.

Jia Cong was also surprised to see an attendant from the palace find the inn.

The attendant conveyed Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's oral decree: the Ministry of War is currently preparing to establish the Five Military Firearm Battalion. Because Jia Cong pioneered the three-stage firing method and is familiar with the use of firearms, he is ordered to enter the palace for consultation and response after the morning court tomorrow.

Along with him to enter the palace for consultation were the Marquis of Zhongjing, Shi Ding, and the Minister of War, Gu Yankui.

On the three-stage firing method, Jia Cong had a personal experience, that is, the wisdom of the ancients should not be underestimated.

People of this era lacked a brand-new vision and angle due to their lack of understanding of firearms, but once they came into contact with things that attracted them, they could burst out with amazing wisdom and energy.

Before he arrived, firearms were not valued or used in a systematic way.

But once Jia Cong proposed the three-stage firing method, Prince Ning could train a firearm team with great lethality in a very short time according to the law, successfully encircling and suppressing more than 50 Japanese ronin with strong combat power.

And Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, upon learning of the three-stage firing method, could keenly foresee the huge potential of reasonable use of firearms and immediately issued an imperial decree to establish the Five Military Firearm Battalion, which required extremely strong forward-looking vision and courage.

Just as the sky was turning bright, Wu'er brought Jing Hui into his room, because living in an inn, it was not convenient for maids to serve him at night.

In the morning light gradually brightening outside the window, the two had an indescribable harmony and tacit understanding, as if they were used to doing it for many years.

If this were the case, it would be truly short-sighted and shallow.

Including the establishment of the Firearm Battalion, military regulations, individual equipment standards, ammunition carrying quantities, firearm training assessments, coordination of bow and arrow arrays and firearm arrays to kill the enemy, etc.

So he spent half the night writing a conceptual plan for the establishment of the Firearm Battalion.

When he returned, he saw Jia Cong sitting there, Jing Hui was combing his hair, her eyes turning, her expression focused, her movements gentle and carrying an unusual familiarity.

And the hundred-man firearm team trained according to the law had combat power far superior to the firearm team trained by Prince Ning in a rush.

Wu'er woke Jia Cong up, because he had to enter the palace to see the Emperor today, and helped him find suitable clothes and headgear, and went out to arrange hot water for washing.

Jia Cong wouldn't feel that because he had some fresh insights from later generations, he could override others, or that he could be slightly contemptuous and careless.

Wu'er put down the hot water and looked at the scene in front of her, a bit distracted.

Entering the palace for consultation tomorrow was not just him alone.

Each item was detailed as much as possible, and he wrote for half the night before stopping. Actually, some things he didn't dare to write, because they were too shocking.

At this time, what Jia Cong didn't know was that the Marquis of Zhongjing, based on his three-stage firing method and combined with the art of military training, had further refined the three-stage firing method, further improving its practical operability.

In later generations, he had once presided over an exhibition of ancient weapon artifacts and the research and editing of related popular science materials, some of which could be used just right.

The two saw that the candle in the room had long since burned out, and a sheet of rice paper was placed on the table, with dense characters and even some diagrams. Wu'er knew that he must have stayed up half the night before resting.

In addition, he mentioned some concepts such as establishing a special department for firearms, promoting the study of things, networking with capable people from the West, and training firearm craftsmen.

Back then, they relied on each other in the East Courtyard, and every morning was definitely such a scene. Now the old things were familiar, but Zhi Shao couldn't remember the past anymore.

The Marquis of Zhongjing, Shi Ding, was a long-famous veteran general in the army, and the Minister of War, Gu Yankui, heard that he had also guarded the border for the country for many years. These were not ordinary figures.

This was already Jia Cong's second time entering the palace. As usual, he waited in the rest room for two hours. It was not until the second quarter of the Si hour (9:30 AM) that an attendant from the palace brought him into the Ganyang Palace to see the Emperor.

After he was brought into the Ganyang Palace, he waited for a while before seeing Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao, who had finished the morning court, enter the main hall with two ministers.

One of them was an old minister with white hair and beard, wearing a black gauze hat, a jade belt, and a second-rank scarlet official robe, with a golden pheasant embroidered on his chest. He must be the Minister of War, Gu Yankui.

The other was a middle-aged man, also wearing a second-rank scarlet official robe, with a resolute military spirit on his face. He must be the Marquis of Zhongjing, Shi Ding.

Because the Five Military Firearm Battalion was still under preparation and involved military secrets, it was not suitable for discussion in the court, so all matters were discussed in private after the morning court.

Minister of War Gu Yankui first reported the progress of the preparation of the Firearm Battalion to Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao in detail.

According to the early planning of the monarch and ministers, the initial establishment of the Five Military Firearm Battalion was 3,000 people. This was also considering the constraints such as the lack of existing firearm resources and the lack of firearm-commanding officers, and it was the highest number of troops that could be formed.

Only with such a number of troops could they exert the expected basic scale of combat power in actual combat. After they were on the right track, they would carry out corresponding expansion.

At present, the selection of soldiers and the initial training for firearms are progressing smoothly, but according to the current inventory in the armory and purchases from foreign barbarians, only over a thousand Rumi muskets have been procured, which is still far from the actual demand.

Furthermore, the Ottoman Empire, the main producer of Rumi muskets, has many restrictions on the export of firearms, making it impossible to purchase them in large quantities.

Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding is responsible for the selection and combat training of soldiers for the Firearms Battalion, and he has also encountered many problems in the use of firearms; among them, the Rumi muskets are prone to various malfunctions after frequent firing, and some even explode and injure people.

However, in the Love Shenjing, craftsmen capable of repairing firearms are extremely rare; the battalion has already accumulated quite a few malfunctioning firearms, and the number of muskets available for combat training is also severely insufficient.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao has long experienced political affairs and knows that whenever something new is started, it will inevitably encounter various problems, and both Gu Yankui and Shi Ding are diligent in their work, leaving no room for criticism.

Seeing Jia Cong standing quietly to the side—having been in Jin Ling for half a year, his face had lost some of the childishness of a youth and gained a bit more calmness and capability—and thinking of the things he had done in Jin Ling, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's expression softened slightly.

"Chengshilang, you are familiar with firearms; do you have any suggestions?"

Jia Cong recalled the reports from Gu Yankui and Shi Ding just now and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the way of firearms is currently on the rise; although it is only a first attempt in the Great Zhou, it has long been regarded as the art of a powerful nation among the various Western barbarian countries.

Countries like the Ottoman Empire and other Western barbarians cherish their techniques and guard against providing advantages to their enemies, so naturally, they will not sell firearms in large quantities.

Your Majesty is establishing the Firearms Battalion, and the number of firearms required is enormous; relying solely on purchases from Western barbarians, I fear it will be difficult to achieve your wishes.

As far as this subject knows, the preaching of Western barbarians in the Great Zhou is becoming increasingly frequent, and there is no shortage of various Western barbarian scholars who travel the world; Your Majesty could offer a heavy reward to find among them capable people who are proficient in the art of firearms and the method of investigating things.

And select capable and shrewd individuals from among the blacksmiths and pyrotechnicians within the Great Zhou to serve as a reserve of firearm craftsmen, and let the invited Western barbarian experts teach them the methods of firearm construction and repair.

In this way, within a few years, our Great Zhou will be able to have its own firearm casting industry; accumulating strength and waiting for the right moment, in a few decades, we will surely become a powerful nation of firearms..."

These words of Jia Cong were incisive and reasonable; he not only analyzed the reasons why it was impossible to purchase firearms in large quantities from the Western barbarians but also proposed a solution.

Seeking out Western barbarian experts, building a reserve of firearm craftsmen, establishing a firearm industry, and creating a powerful firearm nation—although these were only a few words, the vision was grand and the thinking meticulous, already touching upon the essential arts of governing the country and strengthening the military.

Gu Yankui and Shi Ding, who were on the side, listened to Jia Cong speaking freely and eloquently without any hesitation, and the look of astonishment in their eyes grew even more intense.

They all knew that this young man from the Rongguo Prefecture was born with innate wisdom and had astonishing literary talent; this time in Jin Ling, not only did he handle the imperial mission excellently, but he also became famous throughout Jiangnan with two new poems.

But all of this could be explained by exceptional natural talent; although rare, there were still quite a few such people in historical records, which was strange but not anomalous.

Even if he proposed the three-stage firing method, it could be understood as being born intelligent and capable of having strange ideas that others do not have.

Many things in this world can be accomplished by relying on natural intelligence, but a person's knowledge and vision cannot be achieved by intelligence alone; they also require extremely rich experience and encounters.

However, it was only heard that he had been studying behind closed doors, and his only outing was this official mission to Jin Ling under imperial decree.

Since that is the case, where did this extraordinary understanding of firearms and this strategic insight, which is completely disproportionate to his age, come from?

(End of this chapter)