Preparation is in full swing.

From Xuanfu to the capital, from Xuanda Governor's Office to the Beijing Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of War, everyone was busy with this matter, and only Chen Xi showed an indifferent attitude towards it.

This time, Zhu Houzhao didn't want to accept Chen Xi's help, but secretly he hoped to get Chen Xi's guidance. He even asked from time to time whether Chen Xi's separate memorials were made. Once the Ministry of Personnel reported memorials, he would ask in detail whether Chen Xi's opinions on this dispatch.

By the end of June, the preparations for the war were not over, and whether to send troops was still unknown, which made the civil and military officials of the court very difficult.

Li Jue led the Ministry of Works. He was originally responsible for the work of ordnance manufacturing for this preparation, but the Ming Dynasty has manufactured many firearms in the past few years, and there is no shortage of them for the time being. Moreover, according to the latest military reform measures, the ordnance manufacturing of the nine borders was delegated to the local area and was no longer under the responsibility of the Ministry of Works.

However, due to preparations for war, the Ministry of Works had to open many workshops in the capital and surrounding areas, and the Wanggong Factory was much more lively than before.

On June 28th, Li Li hurried to find Chen Xi and met Chen Xi in the courtyard of Chang'an Street.

It was just the time for Sanchao to have dinner, and Chen Xi invited Li Li to have a meal together in the courtyard. Li Li was not polite. After the two of them, Li Li explained the difficulties he faced.

"...Your Majesty hopes that the court can create a batch of more advanced weapons, mainly firearms, and specifically points out that the previous multiple guns should be improved."

The "multiple gun" mentioned by Li Jue is the "primitive Gatling machine gun" that Chen Xi once used to establish a victory in Yuxi River. This weapon shines brightly on the battlefield of Yuxi River, and when the cavalry encounters it, they will perish themselves. When Chen Xi went to Jiangnan to fight against Japanese pirates and Folang Jimen, this weapon did not appear, and the improvement work stagnates.

But apart from Chen Xi, others cannot improve it. Many technical things, especially the design parameters, are only mastered by Chen Xi. The Ministry of Works has studied the drawings provided by Chen Xi before and found that it is very difficult to make them, let alone improve them. Zhu Houzhao's requirements exceeded the capabilities of the Ministry of Works.

Chenxidao: "When things are made, they need to be improved. How much does it take to be considered excellent?"

Li Li thought about it and understood that Chen Xi was talking about standards. Zhu Houzhao only talked about improvement, but did not mention which direction to change. He did not mention the advantages and disadvantages. He just opened his mouth and did not even determine the direction. It was almost a fantasy to optimize the design.

"Well... I've actually seen the drawings below and the finished product. I know how lethal this thing is. It's about fifty steps away from it. It can be said that it's so divinely blocking the god of killing. Unfortunately, it's too bulky and cannot be operated by one person. If this thing can be reduced and the weight can be reduced, it will be more widely used..."

Li Jue is the Minister of Works. Although the Minister of Works is in charge of administration, Li Jue usually likes to tinker with some strange and lewd skills, which is also his special hobby.

Li Yu had a bit of research on the "original version of the Gatling machine gun" and found that the thing was too bulky and could only be used as a cannon on the battlefield. The bullets were troublesome, and the complexity of firing and operation made Li Yu feel that it could be improved from this direction.

Chen Xi shook his head: "Since the Ministry of Works has determined the direction, why should I come to me?"

"well!"

Li Jue heard that Chen Xi was not very interested in this matter, so he hurriedly said, "Yeshuo, let alone improve it. Even if the Ministry of Works wants to re-made a multi-tube musket, it will require great manpower and material resources, especially the barrels of the gun. Five or six out of the ten are defective products and cannot be used... Big tubes are so difficult, and they still want to change them to smaller ones... Isn't this a embarrassing thing?"

Seeing Li Li's suffocation, Chen Xi couldn't help but smile: "Brother Shi Qi, it's not that I'm ruling, I really can't do it. If you want to say that the manufacturing drawings were obtained from the Folang Ji people, they are studying them. I made them first and used for actual combat. It's an anomaly. Isn't it difficult for you to make me transform?"

"What? Didn't you invent it?" Li Li was quite surprised by this.

In the past, whenever I mentioned that magical killing weapon, I thought it was independently developed by Chen Xi. Who would have thought that there was such a variable?

In order to avoid trouble, Chen Xi did not take credit for himself and deliberately sighed: "Is this necessary to cover up this kind of thing? We fabricated the technology of the Flang machine man, from the Flang machine cannon at the beginning to the multiple fire guns later, if we want to innovate, we must invest a lot of effort... I have been so busy all these years, do I have the time?"

When Li Li heard Chen Xi mention the Folang cannon used in the Ming Dynasty a few years ago and the Folang fire guns developed based on this research, he did not have much doubt about what Chen Xi said about Gatlin also used Folang fisherman technology. Li Li was very curious before, why did Chen Xi, a civil servant who was born in the two-rank Jinshi, be so skilled at those strange and lewd skills.

"I have to say that without you, the Ming Dynasty would not have these powerful firearms, and it would be impossible to control the grassland well." Li Li said with emotion at last.

Chen Xi smiled and said, "I will give the Ministry of Works another copy of the drawings. As for how to improve it, it depends on the Ministry of Works...especially Brother Shiqi."

Li Li originally came to the door to "seek advice" but in the end he didn't get what he wanted. Now he no longer has hope for Chen Xi to take over the improvement of Gatlin.

After the two had a brief conversation, Li Li said farewell in a hurry.

Chen Xi thought that Li Li should be unable to sleep recently, so the emperor named the Ministry of Works to improve the firearms. As the Minister of Works, Li Li had no choice but to gather people to study in order to complete his errands. The Ministry of Works began to prepare for the emperor.

...

...

Li Ju left, but Chen Xi did not go back. He spent the night in the courtyard that night because the Ministry of Personnel's assessment was not completed.

He couldn't accompany his wife and children when he got home. It would be more quiet than staying alone in the yard. He would have someone go back and say hello early.

Until midnight, Chen Xi was about to fall asleep, Yun Liu hurried over and brought the matter of making ships and firearms on Luzon Island.

"...Sir, according to your instructions, the firearm has been further improved. Now it can be refined on a large scale. The cast steel pipes can be used to make more advanced musket barrels, and more refined abrasives can make parts. This is a sample sent from there..."

Yunliu brought a wooden box, and after opening it, there were some inconspicuous things inside that looked epoch-making.

Firearm parts produced by modular production, such as triggers, springs, screws, etc.

"There are not many things sent, but now they can be made in batches." Yun Liu said excitedly when he saw Chen Xi use wooden calipers to measure the data of the small parts one by one.

Chen Xidao: "Li Shangshu of the Ministry of Works just came to ask me to help improve the firearms. I can make large quantities of improved firearms, and to a certain extent, it has even achieved miniaturization... If these things appear in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, it will be difficult to explain."

Yunliu asked for instructions: "Would you hand over some of the samples to the Ministry of Works, or..."

Chen Xi raised his hand and interrupted Yun Liu's words, "Leave it to the Ministry of Works, which means that what I research must be shared with the court. So why is it necessary for me to develop it separately outside?"

"Sir, don't you be afraid of being criticized?" Yun Liu frowned. Although she knew Chen Xi's intentions, she was worried that something would happen.

Chen Xi shook his head: "On the first thing I will not use these things to rebel, and on the other hand, I do not intend to sell these things to Fanbian to make money. Why should I worry about criticism from others? The most important thing is that I cannot let people know that this is the case... It's such a good thing!"

After hearing what Chen Xi said, Yun Liu wanted to know Chen Xi's intention to secretly study weapons.

But because Chen Xi refused to say it clearly, Yun Liu felt a little more worried, afraid that what Chen Xi did outside would be known sooner or later.

Chen Xi studied for a while, and then turned around and saw Yun Liu standing there in a daze. He couldn't help but smile and said, "What are you worried about? I know that these things will come in handy in the future. Even if I really need to hand them over to the court, I have some reason, just say that they are obtained from the hands of the Folang Ji people or those I have made unintentional improvements. How could others criticize me?"

Yun Liu suddenly realized that it was different from the past.

Chen Xi is no longer the young man who was suppressed by others and had to act everywhere. Now Shen Xi is a state-controlled country and a person who can call the wind and rain in the court. He doesn't even dare to offend Chen Xi anyway, even the emperor dares to offend him.

Chen Xi closed the wooden box and put it down: "Don't put these gadgets here here first, find a place to destroy them. Ordinary people don't know what's the use, but they are not very bad, but they are afraid that they will fall into the hands of those who are interested. It will be bad to find fault at that time."

"Um."

Yun Liu nodded and said, "Sir, the Zhang clan members have been making frequent changes recently... There is news in the northwest that some generals in the army actually defected to the two brothers."

Chen Xi smiled and shook his head and said, "This is called being a traitor for four or five years, and committing to the sect in 1949, seeking death... Since some people are optimistic about the two brothers of the Zhang family, they can let them go. I have some means to let them know that they are powerful! We have to follow rules when doing things, but sometimes the biggest rule is that you are strong enough."

“My sir means…”

Yun Liu could not understand Chen Xi's strange words and looked at Chen Xi curiously.

Chen Xidao: "I won't hide it from you. Anyone who wants to surrender to the relatives of Zhang in the northwest will be dealt with by me. They will be transferred to a more difficult place to serve. I will not kill them, but if they do something wrong, they should be punished. Because from the beginning, Your Majesty has set the rules."

Yunliu lowered her head: "I did things inappropriately and did not stop it in advance."

"fine."

Chenxidao, "Someone must have wanted to burn a cold stove. After all, the Zhang brothers are the queen mother behind it. Some ideas are normal, but they should not ignore the imperial edict and deserve to be unlucky."

...

...

Zhu Houzhao's life in Xuanfu was a little depressed.

It was said that it was sending troops to the grassland, but after the Tatars raided Datong, it no longer appeared on the border of Daming. Zhu Houzhao sent a scout to investigate and found that the Tatars had no sign of invading the border of Daming. The so-called harassment before was more like tribal migration, and by chance, passed by the pass.

"Several tribes came to the border together, and they said it was an accident? Do you think I am so easy to fool?"

Zhu Houzhao was very dissatisfied with the results of the investigation below, and lost his temper at Xiao Jingtong, which made Xiao Jing feel ashamed.

Xiao Jing discovered that although Zhu Houzhao had not really replaced him in the past few months, he had already lost patience with him and never treated him as a life-threatening minister, and was more like a useless slave.

So Xiao Jing was so upset: "No matter how incompetent I am, I am better than Zhang Yuan? Even Liu Jin will just curry favor with His Majesty, but the government affairs are in a mess. Why is His Majesty so dissatisfied with me?"

Xiao Jing couldn't understand why he was not valued by his ability. However, he didn't know whether Zhu Houzhao was capable of the position of Sili Supervisor. It mainly depends on whether the person was in line with his wishes.

So no matter how capable Xiao Jing is, in Zhu Houzhao's mind, Xiao Jing is far inferior to Liu Jin, and even Zhang Yuan is not as good as Zhang Yuan.

Just when Zhu Houzhao was angry, Jiang Bin came in from outside and saluted respectfully: "Your Majesty, I will lead two teams of thousands out of seclusion and capture more than one hundred Tartars!"

"So awesome?"

Zhu Houzhao was very excited.

Just as he reported that there were no Tatars approaching the border, Jiang Bin sent people to catch more than 100 Tatars, as if he was deliberately trying to hit Xiao Jing and the generals of Xuanda Town in the face.

Jiang Bin was very proud: "The person has been escorted to Zhangjiakou. Did Your Majesty go to check it out in person?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "Of course, prepare the horses immediately, I am going to ride the horse. Eunuch Xiao, I won't come back in the next few days. You can solve the small matters by yourself. Stay at the big matters and set off!"

...

...

Zhu Houzhao acted without any scruples.

He can go wherever he wants, just ride a horse. Even if he is at the border of Xuanfu, he is fearless and has only 500 followers. This makes Xiao Jing both anxious and helpless when he sees it.

"Your Majesty is leaving again? Go to Zhangjiakou for nearly a hundred miles, go for one day, come back for one day, stay for another one for at least three days. What should I do if something happens?"

Xiao Jing came out of the palace with concern and was listless and had no intention of going back to deal with the affairs of the Sili Supervisor.

As soon as he walked out of the palace gate, someone came towards him, but was Wang Shouren, the Minister of War who was summoned by Zhu Houzhao to Xuanfu to serve as Governor Xuanda.

"Eunuch Xiao?"

Wang Shouren stepped forward and saluted, holding a memorial in his hand, looking at Xiao Jing who was dejected in curiosity.

Xiao Jing said: "It's Bo'an, what are you doing? Your Majesty... Your Majesty is not here, so he's going to Zhangjiakou."

Wang Shouren was very surprised: "Your Majesty goes to Zhangjiakou? I am Governor Xuanda, why don't you know about this? Didn't you arrange for troops to accompany you?"

Xiao Jing said helplessly: "Let's not mention Your Majesty's trip for now...Boan, let's ask you, you said that there are no traces of Tatars outside Datong and Zhangjiakou. Why did Jiang Bin report to capture more than 100 Tartars with two thousand men?"

"Is there such a thing?"

Wang Shouren was very surprised by the news. As the Governor of Xuanda, he was in charge of military affairs. He would learn about any wars inside and outside the gates as soon as possible, but he had never heard of this at all. Even Jiang Bin led his troops out of the frontier and realized it later.
To be continued...