Chapter 198: Seven Bureaus

"Apart from the cannon carts, the gun carriages commonly used by our dynasty's official troops are also crude. Most local troops, when transporting and using them, directly mount the cannon barrel onto a wooden carriage, haul it to the location on a heavy cannon cart, then dismount it for installation—not only is this time-consuming and laborious, but it also fails to deliver the proper power and effectiveness."

"These four Kofrin long cannons that have been transported to the capital this time—their cannon carts and carriages are all exquisitely crafted. Even the elevation mechanism has been moved to the front and made into a separate unit, so adjusting the barrel's angle doesn't require the entire cart to tilt with it. There is a dedicated towing mechanism that, through simple assembly, can convert it into a four-wheeled mode together with the cart, greatly facilitating mobility."

As he spoke, Bi Maokang's face lit up with admiration and longing for Western science and technology, and he continued:

"In your servant's view, our dynasty should employ more of those missionaries. If we use the barrels of these four long cannons, as long as the cannon's recoil vibration is kept along the axis of the firing direction, the impact on accuracy will be negligible.

"That is to say, if we use this kind of gun carriage, our troops need not keep the cannon perfectly still when firing. A moderate backward movement can effectively disperse part of the recoil without causing us to miss the target.

"This combination of cannon cart and carriage can even tow a massive cannon weighing two thousand catties out of the city for field combat, and it still won't seem cumbersome or affect firing accuracy."

The Chongzhen Emperor nodded, his expression gradually turning grave as he asked, "These fine mechanisms—how long would it take to fully research and apply them to the Great Ming's own cannons?"

"To answer Your Majesty, the cannon cart and carriage are certainly important, but if we wish for our artillery to fire accurately and not repeat the mistake of the Battle of Sarhu, where over a thousand small cannons killed only a few hundred of the enemy, we will need several other things as well."

"First is the shell. Our dynasty already has examples of exploding shells, but Western technology in this area is even more mature. The so-called exploding shell is one that, after being fired into the air, splits into several small solid shot that rain down like thunder and lightning."

"Once our dynasty has researched these things, your servant will give them new names to avoid confusion and trouble with the West." Seeing doubt in the Chongzhen Emperor's eyes, Bi Maokang added:

"Second, for many years, the accuracy of our dynasty's cannons has depended entirely on the gunner's personal experience, which is highly unreliable. Even veteran gunners, for all their precision, will miss two out of ten shots, while new gunners require constant drilling to achieve even slight accuracy—time-consuming and laborious.

"Has Your Majesty heard of the two instruments known as the goniometer and the gunner's square?

"According to Johann Adam Schall von Bell, Ferdinand Verbiest, and others, the West has long since popularized the use of these two instruments to measure straight-line distances and elevation angles. Even a newly enlisted recruit, after simple training, can fire a cannon with reasonable accuracy. Your servant believes it is worth a try."

"Third, the reason the Guanning Cavalry under Earl Pingxi is so formidable is, on the one hand, that their armor and weapons are of excellent quality, and their horses, bred in Mongolia and Liaodong, are sturdy and long-legged. On the other hand, it is because of the three-barreled muskets in their hands."

"The so-called three-barreled musket has a maximum range of over a hundred paces, yet at close range it can be swung like a club—even thick armor cannot stop it. But by now it is somewhat outdated." As he spoke, Bi Maokang presented with both hands a small, exquisite firearm and continued:

"Your Majesty, please look. This is a wheel-lock pistol. The Western cavalry of today, when going into battle, carry long sabers and each man is also equipped with one of these. Its range reaches over two hundred paces, and it is small and refined enough not to hinder cavalry mobility."

The Chongzhen Emperor took it and looked—his eyes went wide on the spot. Damn it all, this thing looked just like the Type 38 rifle of later generations! Did this thing already exist in the late Ming?

Just as the Chongzhen Emperor was marveling at this wonder, Bi Maokang poured cold water on him without missing a beat, saying:

"Unfortunately, your servant only has a wheel-lock pistol from a hundred years ago in the West, which still has many shortcomings. As for the modern wheel-lock pistols of today, your servant has no way to purchase them. Otherwise, if we could equip them on the new army's cavalry, our combat strength would surely rise by a large margin."

"......"

The Chongzhen Emperor and Bi Maokang discussed matters for an entire day. Apart from meals and trips to the latrine, they talked continuously about methods for improving various firearms. The Emperor was glad to listen, and Bi Maokang naturally poured out all the ideas he had long stored in his heart—once he started talking, he couldn't stop.

"It seems the matter of firearms is not to be taken lightly." As night fell, the Chongzhen Emperor nodded, having come to a thorough understanding of where the Great Ming's firearms differed from the West's. Suddenly he rose and announced in a loud voice:

"Transmit my decree: from this day forward, establish the Great Ming Royal Civil-Military Science and Technology Directorate. Merge the Armory Bureau, the Ordnance Bureau, and the Calendar Bureau into it, and newly establish the Firearms Bureau, the Shipbuilding Bureau, the Translation Bureau, and the Western Learning Bureau.

"Summon Jiao Xu to serve as Bureau Secretary of the Firearms Bureau, with the title of Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent, with Johann Adam Schall von Bell as his deputy; summon Shen Tingyang to serve as Bureau Secretary of the Shipbuilding Bureau, with the title of Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent; decree Li Tianjing to serve as Bureau Secretary of the Translation Bureau, with the title of Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent; decree Wang Zheng to serve as Bureau Secretary of the Western Learning Bureau, with the title of Grand Tutor to the Heir Apparent, with Giulio Aleni as his deputy; and have Song Yingxing, Bureau Secretary of the Ordnance Bureau, concurrently serve as the Great Ming Civil-Military Science Envoy of the Great Ming Royal Civil-Military Science and Technology Directorate, with the title of Grand Preceptor.

"The Great Ming Royal Civil-Military Science and Technology Directorate shall be independent of the Six Ministries and all other courts. It may come directly into the palace to report results and progress to me, and shall be devoted exclusively to copying, researching, and adapting various Western works and firearms. The seven bureaus under the Directorate and their sub-division officials shall all be decided by the respective Bureau Secretaries through their own consultation, and they need only submit the roster to me for my knowledge.

"Furthermore, order the Ministry of Works to select a site outside the Xihua Gate for the construction of the Directorate's various bureau offices, and order the Ministry of Revenue to disburse salaries on time—there must be no delay."

Since the establishment of the Great Ming Royal Newspaper, the common people had gone from ignoring it entirely, to occasionally buying a few copies, to now having one in every hand—they truly grew fonder and fonder of the thing.

This newspaper was a good thing. Not only did it gradually let the people see the true face beneath the skin of the Donglin Faction members, it also let them learn of the great and small events happening across the realm in recent days without ever leaving their city.

After all, no one had ever done a newspaper before. At first, the Chongzhen Emperor and Wang Cheng'en had been too eager for results, setting the publication schedule too quickly. Only after sending it out did they realize problems had arisen.

No sooner had the previous issue been distributed than people in some remote areas had yet to receive it, while residents of the capital were already reading the next issue. The disparity was truly severe.

Moreover, from another angle, although the newspaper's backing was the Eastern Depot—which gathered intelligence from across the realm and employed all manner of spies—news about those scholars was still not so easy to collect. At this rate of publication, within half a year the Eastern Depot would have nothing left to publish against the Donglin Faction.

That simply wouldn't do. They needed to proceed gradually—only by steadily and slowly smearing them would it be effective.

Later, the Chongzhen Emperor set the newspaper's publication schedule to one issue every seven days, which resolved all the previous problems. However, a new problem arose: after the abolition of the various postal stations and couriers across the realm, the newspaper's distribution speed was clearly not very fast. In seven days' time, it could only travel from the capital to Nanjing. As for more remote areas, who knew where it would end up along the way.

The newspaper having distribution problems—a matter neither great nor small—was not something the Chongzhen Emperor needed to personally worry about. Wang Cheng'en himself was too embarrassed to trouble the Emperor, so he naturally found ways to resolve everything himself.

First, Li Youcheng's going to Nanjing was his idea.

On the one hand, it openly placed a man right in the Donglin Faction's lair, with the intent of restoring the Eastern Depot's authority in Jiangnan and better serving the Emperor as his eyes. On the other hand, Wang Cheng'en had secretly instructed Li Youcheng to establish the Royal Newspaper's first branch office in Nanjing. When the time came, they could transmit the text by swift messenger and have the branch print it—most convenient.

Second, Wang Cheng'en was considering reestablishing the postal stations. Though this would add several million taels to the court's annual expenditures, it was a venture that would yield enormous returns for a small investment.

Only at this moment did Wang Cheng'en realize that abolishing the postal stations in the first place had been the most idiotic decision imaginable. Otherwise, little Li might still be delivering express packages to this day, and what Northwest bandit wars would there have been?