Chapter 1160: Military Equipment

"I truly never dreamed that Great Song would have such a magnificent scene today."

Gazing at the night sky dyed yellow by the lights, Dong An let out a sigh of admiration.

Just as this prosperous scenery was making him feel intoxicated, a person walked past him, even giving him a look, with the appearance of someone who recognized him but dared not confirm it.

Dong An was stunned for a moment; this person was none other than the former Director of the Weaponry Bureau, now the Minister of the Military Industry Department, Wang Ying.

It was possible that because he had traveled a long distance and become dark and thin, he had not recognized him.

Thus, he pulled Wang Ying and said, "Minister Wang, it is me, Dong An."

"I was wondering who this was, why they looked so familiar; so it is you. You have finally returned. Tomorrow I will treat you to Wine; right now, while the Emperor has not yet returned, I must hurry to report some important matters to the Emperor," Wang Ying said in a hurried manner.

Hearing this, Dong An roughly guessed what it was about.

Just now, when he was chatting with the Emperor, the Emperor had mentioned it.

He said the Military Industry Department was preparing to show him the recent achievements in military equipment.

Wang Ying was likely there for this matter.

After all, Wang Ying was an honest man, unlike some people in officialdom accustomed to worldly ways, who only associate with others based on the size of their official rank or whether it is beneficial to themselves.

Thinking of this, he cupped his hands toward Wang Ying and smiled, "Then tomorrow I shall wait at home for your invitation."

"Certainly, certainly." Wang Ying also cupped his hands, then turned and headed toward the palace.

Dong An went home, and Wang Ying arrived at the Imperial Study.

At this time, Zhao Xu stretched, preparing to return to the Hougong.

His daily schedule was the same as the officials in the outer palace; there were fixed time slots, which could be called a standard work schedule.

Unless there were urgent matters, the ministers were also very self-aware and would not disturb him during his rest time.

"Wang Ying pays respects to the Emperor." Seeing Zhao Xu, Wang Ying performed a salute, presented a booklet, and added, "Emperor, this is the category of firearms and Artillery to be displayed by the Military Industry Department tomorrow, as well as the schedule."

Zhao Xu nodded and took the booklet from Wang Ying's hands.

Today he had been waiting for Wang Ying to come all day.

Dong An had mentioned that Britain had imitated the Rear-loading Rifle, which made him have even more expectations for this display.

Moreover, after Great Song developed the Rear-loading Rifle and Rear-loading Cannon, he did not interfere much with the research and manufacturing affairs of the Military Industry Department.

Because this level of firearms and Artillery was enough to form a crushing momentum against the Western Lands.

Furthermore, the Military Industry Department had also established an independent research and manufacturing system, and he had already determined the general direction, so there would be no mistakes.

The progress of firearms and Artillery was merely proceeding according to plan.

It was precisely for this reason that Wang Ying did not frequently introduce the research and development progress of firearms and Artillery to him as before.

Instead, he kept accumulating it, testing it repeatedly, and only displayed it to him once the technology was mature.

"Good, tomorrow I will take the generals of the Defense Department to watch together," Zhao Xu smiled.

The current Military Industry Department was no longer inside Yancheng, but had moved into the mountains north of Yancheng.

There was a dedicated Railway leading there.

Wang Ying had also specifically taken a Steam Locomotive to Yancheng.

"Then this subject will go back now to prepare some more, to prevent any oversights. I have kept this hidden for so long, I cannot make a fool of myself when the time comes." Wang Ying was always rigorous in his work; although he was well-prepared, he was still a bit uneasy.

Having said this, he took his leave of Zhao Xu and took advantage of the night to return.

The next day, early in the morning, Zhao Xu had Xiao Guizi make a Telephone call to the Defense Department, telling Chang Wei, Yang Feng, and the others to set off with him.

The strength of an army certainly cannot rely entirely on Weaponry, but Weaponry is absolutely indispensable for a strong army.

Westerners, relying on a small population, ran rampant across the world for three hundred years, relying on strong ships and powerful guns.

At present, Great Song's population was also not large.

Among them, precious young and strong resources were mainly used for industrial development.

As such, Great Song could not maintain a massive army.

Previously, in order to drive the Westerners out of Dongtu and stabilize the situation in Dongtu, he had hurriedly expanded the army, bringing the Great Song army to nearly six hundred thousand standing troops.

This number was too high for him.

Next, he prepared to reduce the army and maintain the number of standing troops at around three hundred thousand.

After all, Great Song had now implemented a conscription system.

If a large-scale war occurred, they could just mobilize these Reserve Service troops.

And his confidence in reducing the army was the progress in Weaponry.

Thus, by utilizing the advantage in Weaponry, the Great Song army could achieve its goals with a small number of troops.

Just like the Westerners back then, three or five thousand could occupy a country.

Thinking about these things along the way, the Steam Locomotive drove into the Yanshan in the north of Yanzhou and finally stopped at the location of the Military Industry Department.

Chang Wei and Yang Feng were not strangers to this place; they were even very familiar with it.

On weekdays, for the sake of military equipment, they often dealt with the Military Industry Department.

"This Wang Ying has been secretive for so many days; I don't know what he has come up with."

Under the guidance of the Military Industry Department officials, the group arrived at the Wuqichang.

Looking at the Weaponry covered by black cloth in the drill ground, Yang Feng wished he could see through it at this moment.

Chang Wei's eyes were also filled with excitement, and he kept rubbing his hands.

The rise of the Electric Power Industry and the emergence of numerous electric power industrial products naturally made them very expectant regarding Weaponry.

And today, after Great Song entered the Electric Power Industry, the Military Industry Department was finally showing them for the first time guns and cannons manufactured entirely by the Electric Power Industry.