Chapter Seventy: The Firearms Factory

  Sun Chengzong paused for a moment before continuing, "The first point is about the troops. The majority of the troops are the family slaves of the generals, and in one camp, there are probably hundreds of them who receive monthly salaries but are not soldiers. Not only does this waste national treasury funds, but they also have no combat effectiveness. Another problem is the issue of eating empty rations, where generals falsely report personnel numbers, which is a common occurrence in the military. Only by solving these two problems can the capital's troops become elite." Sun Chengzong had a deep understanding of military matters and his words were extremely insightful at this time.

  As soon as Sun Chengzong finished speaking, Emperor Tianqi spoke up and said: "Since Minister Sun understands so clearly, I wonder if he has any solutions?"

  Seeing Tianqi Emperor's determination to do so, Sun Chengzong was naturally delighted in his heart and couldn't help but express his own intention.

  "Your Majesty, the problem with the Imperial Guards only requires selecting one capable official to oversee their reform, and they will surely be revitalized."

  "What candidates does Your Excellency have in mind?" Since Sun Chengzong said so, the Tianqi Emperor naturally would not object and asked with a smile.

  "I recommend Sun Chuanting, the head of the Ministry of War. Although he is a jinshi by origin, he understands military affairs and is loyal to the court with all his heart, and can undertake major responsibilities." Sun Chengzong immediately spoke out his own candidate, not for personal gain, but really thinking that Sun Chuanting was suitable.

  As for Sun Chuanting, the Tianqi Emperor was not very familiar with him, but there was one thing he did that the Tianqi Emperor knew about. That is, capturing and killing Gao Yingxiang. Since this person could capture and kill Gao Yingxiang, it seemed that his ability was not a problem. Later, it seemed that he also died in battle, so loyalty was not a problem either. Such an official with both ability and loyalty, the Tianqi Emperor would naturally not let go of.

  He smiled slightly and said to Sun Chengzong: "Let's follow your proposal, tomorrow I will issue a sacred decree."

  In the following days, two things became the focus of attention for everyone. The first thing was that the Tianqi Emperor issued an edict to rectify the Jingying Camp. As for the Jingying Camp, no official in the world did not know about it. Once a crack troop that followed the King of Yan to sweep the north, it had long since lost its former splendor.

  At that time, following the King of Yan to sweep the north, the troops that could face the Mongolian iron cavalry head-on and win a big victory no longer existed. The Imperial Guards were weak and incompetent, not to mention facing the Eight Banners Iron Cavalry, even later dealing with Li Zicheng's troops, they were all defeated and scattered!

  Li Zicheng's troops were not a motley crew, but they weren't much better either. These self-taught guerrilla fighters could only deal with the incompetent Ming officials. Later, Wu Sangui led his army into the pass and in just over a dozen days, he fought his way to the capital, giving this would-be emperor a loud slap in the face.

  It is worth noting that the 10,000-strong Eight Banners Army could defeat Wu Sangui's 20,000-strong army in a field battle and still emerge victorious. If we were to rank the combat effectiveness of these armies at this time, the first place would undoubtedly go to the Later Jin's Eight Banners troops, followed closely by the Mongolian cavalry. Whether it was Lin Danhan, who had been defeated by the Later Jin, or the Mongolian Khorchin tribe that had surrendered to the Later Jin, their combat effectiveness was not something that the Ming army could match. In third place would be Yuan Chonghuan's troops from Liaodong, known as the Guanning Iron Cavalry, which later became Wu Sangui's army.

  The fourth place should be Li Zicheng's troops, this group of rebellious civilians has a stronger combat power than the Ming Dynasty border army. The fifth place is the Beijing garrison of the Ming Dynasty, which guards the capital. Although there were some military achievements in the early stage of suppressing peasant uprisings, they were eventually defeated by Li Zicheng who learned guerrilla warfare tactics. The last one should be the official army of the Ming Dynasty, this army not only lacks personnel but also has many old and weak soldiers, it is said that no matter who they fight with, they will collapse at once.

  According to this ranking, it can be seen that the Ming army was weak to what extent. Although nominally there were more than 2 million troops, in reality, except for the Guanning Iron Cavalry, all others were useless. Not to mention the armies of other countries at that time, Europe had already begun to appear with all-gun units, among which Holland and Spain were representatives, and France was even later to rise, quickly establishing gun units. Moreover, the study of artillery also differed greatly, at this time the Ming dynasty was still using the Red Coat Cannon, while the European cannon had already been invented.

  The gap between the Great Ming and European countries has already opened up, and after more than 300 years of dragging on by the Qing dynasty, the difference is too great. The gap started from this time, if there was no external intervention, it's likely that it would be impossible to turn back the tide.

  For the strict governance of the capital garrison, these civil officials had no say in the matter. Historically, when civil officials interfered with military affairs, most were plotting something sinister and ultimately became targets of public criticism. The Ming dynasty's civil officials, although they themselves were quarrelsome, looked down on military officers. Even if they were put in charge, many people would be disdainful, unless it was to serve as a supervisor, otherwise these literati would avoid it like the plague.

  For those military officers, although they were terrified, there was nothing they could do. The Ming dynasty's system did not give the military generals a chance to rebel, even if they had this idea, these people did not have the guts.

  What made everyone feel uneasy was that although the official in charge of this purge was Sun Chengzong, Emperor Tianqi had also dispatched the Imperial Guards and Eastern Depot to intervene. It was only later learned that these people were all taking orders from Sun, which allowed many people to breathe a sigh of relief. In fact, many people did not understand that Emperor Tianqi had the Imperial Guards and Eastern Depot participate mainly in order to preside over the legal proceedings and gather intelligence.

  Compared to the solemnity of the capital's garrison, another thing was a good thing, because the Tianqi Emperor's concubine had entered the capital. Every day, the four gates of the capital city were filled with concubines from all over the country, and countless people wanted to catch a glimpse of their beauty, but few had the opportunity to see them. Even if they did see them, they were always wearing veils, making it impossible to see their faces clearly.

  In the eunuchs' words, Your Majesty hasn't even seen it yet! You want to see it? What are you thinking?!

  For the two things that everyone cares about, Emperor Tianqi is not concerned at all. As for the Imperial Guards, they can be entrusted to Sun Chuanting with ease, and as for the selection of officials, even if Emperor Tianqi wants to say something, it doesn't count.

  Although these two things had nothing to do with the Tianqi Emperor, the emperor was not idle either, because he received a memorial from Xu Guangqi, and something had been born in the firearms factory.

  Early that morning, the Tianqi Emperor, accompanied by the Grand Eunuch Wei Zhongxian and fifty imperial guards, went to the Imperial Villa in disguise. The newly appointed Grand Secretary of the Imperial Cabinet, Xu Guangqi, also joined them on this trip.

  After arriving at the Huangzhuang, Emperor Tianqi slowly got down from his horse and looked back at Sun Chengzong who had just dismounted. Emperor Tianqi smiled slightly and pointed to the Huangzhuang in front of him, saying: "Sun Ai Qi, have you heard of this place?"

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