But that night, Jiao Shun finally got what he wanted. Not only did he put You and Li Wan together, but he also used You's help to break Li Wan's shell of being a ruthless person and forcing the pretty widow to

The female lies on the bed and bares her heart.

When I woke up early the next morning, although my back and legs were inevitably sore, I was also in high spirits.

When he arrived at the Yamen, Jiao Shun took advantage of the situation and handed the previously prepared submission directly to the Minister's official case, and then ordered someone to invite Hu Zhiheng, the director of the Ordnance Department, to come to the General Affairs Office to discuss the matter.

The Ordnance Department and Jiao Shun had an old grudge for a long time. In the case of Han Sheng and Hou Yun, officials from the Ordnance Department were involved.

Under the old and new grudges, the rogue man naturally knew that Jiao Shun was coming with bad intentions.

Therefore, after receiving the invitation from the Secretary-General's Office, he immediately summoned his confidants to discuss the matter and formulated various countermeasures.

Feeling confident, Shanshan went to the appointment.

It was already approaching evening.

Jiao Shun personally welcomed Hu Zhiheng into the duty room. After the guests and hosts sat across the tea table, he asked straight to the point: "Sir Hu, among the departments of the Ministry of Industry, the Ordnance Department is the most important. There are ministers inside to inquire."

, there is the Ministry of War outside, and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies is paying attention, and because it was established by His Majesty himself, it truly bears the sacred hope."

"Therefore, since Jiao was transferred to the Department of General Affairs, he first reviewed the old files and new policies of the Ordnance Department in order to gain a deeper understanding of the Ordnance Department - However, although he gained a lot, there were still several questions that could not be answered, so he had to

Please come over and ask for advice in person."

Hearing this obviously intended to find fault with, Hu Zhiheng secretly sneered in his heart, with a look of arrogance on his face: "Although our Ordnance Department is newly established, it has been in office longer than Chief Jiao. Chief Jiao has some problems."

It’s not surprising that I have doubts.”

The authority of the head of the Siwu Department is not under the chief minister, and he can even exercise control over the various ministers in many matters - Jiao Shun is a sixth-rank official, but he can justifiably invite the fifth-rank official.

This is evident in the discussion.

It's just that the Ordnance Department is no better than elsewhere. Nowadays, Hu Zhiheng, who is the only arrogant person in the Ministry of Works, as the head of the department, can bypass the Department of Affairs and go directly to Tianting.

In addition, both parties have already made their plans clear, so naturally there is no taboo between words.

Hearing that Hu Zhiheng was mocking his lack of qualifications, Jiao Shun was not annoyed at all. He picked up the materials he had prepared long ago from the coffee table, pretended to flip through them, and then said tit for tat: "Jiao is an official for a long time, but how many

There is still some progress, but I have looked through the official documents, but I can't see any impressive progress from the Ordnance Department."

With that said, he threw the information in his hand on the table, stared at Hu Zhiheng and said, "In that case, what is the purpose of the new Ordnance Department in the imperial court?"

"you!"

Hu Zhiheng stood up suddenly and glared at Jiao Shun.

Although he had expected that Jiao Shun invited him here this time, most likely because he wanted to use the Ordnance Department to establish his authority, but he also thought that Jiao Shun's powerful killing stick directly negated the meaning of the Ordnance Department's existence!

But it’s hard to refute this.

The main reason why the imperial court established a separate Ordnance Department was to deal with attacks from the sea. Therefore, since its establishment, the Ordnance Department has been focusing on trying to imitate ironclads and improve the range and power of ship-borne artillery.

But how can these two things be easily accomplished?

Therefore, Hu Zhiheng really could not produce any decent results to refute Jiao Shun's doubts.

But he was prepared after all. After glaring at Jiao Shun angrily for a long time, he slowly sat back and said in a deep voice: "The purpose of establishing the Ordnance Department in the imperial court is to forge the country's important weapons. Since they are important weapons, how can they be accomplished overnight?

What’s the truth? Furthermore, since the establishment of the Ordnance Department, the quality and output of the firearms produced have improved to a considerable extent. How can it be said that nothing has been achieved?!"

Hearing this, Jiao Shun immediately laughed.

He shook his head and said: "Master Hu, you should know the truth of the opposite direction, right? If you go in the wrong direction, the more you do, the more mistakes you will make. Not only will it be of no benefit to the country, but it will also waste national funds..."

"absurd!"

Hu Zhiheng snapped at the case angrily: "According to what you say, our Ordnance Department is actually trying to harm the imperial court?! Come on, there's no need to say more, you idiot, let's discuss it in front of the ministry!"

With that said, he stood up again and glared at Jiao Shun.

"Master Hu is interested, so Jiao will naturally accompany you."

Jiao Shun slowly crossed his legs: "But don't Mr. Hu want to hear why Mr. Jiao said that the Ordnance Department is going in the opposite direction?"

Seeing Jiao Shun's calm look, Hu Zhiheng felt a little hesitant in his heart. Although he didn't think this matter was controversial at all, he still suppressed his anger and sneered: "The Ministry of Industry is not a business place. You want to rely on lies."

If you use intimidation to establish your power, Master Jiao may have made the wrong decision!"

"hehe."

Jiao Shun smiled slightly: "In Mr. Hu's opinion, how big is the difference between the Western Yi's muzzle-loading gun and our breech-loading gun? What difficulties will the Western Yi have if they want to imitate it?"

Hu Zhiheng frowned and said: "The Western Yi's muskets are also quite sophisticated. If you want to imitate our breech-loading guns, you should..."

At this point, he paused and asked: "What exactly do you want to say?"

Jiao Shun said seriously: "You and I both know that with Xiyi's current casting technology, it is almost not difficult to imitate a breech-loading gun. I even suspect that Xiyi has successfully imitated it now and even started mass production."

"Within three or four years at most, the elite of the Western Yi will be fully equipped with breech-loading guns. Is the Ordnance Department confident that during this period, it can build an armored fleet that can rival the Western Yi?"

"At that time, the Xiyi navy will still have the advantage, but I, Daxia, will lose the advantage of the musket. Once the war breaks out again..."

"ha!"

Just as Jiao Shun was talking about the key point, Hu Zhiheng suddenly interrupted him with a sneer and said disdainfully: "I thought you had something to say, but it turns out..."

He shook his head contemptuously and continued: "This breech-loading gun has been finalized since Taizu's time, and there have been only minor changes over the decades. You only know that the iron-clad ship is difficult to imitate, but you don't know how difficult it is to improve the firearm. Even

It’s more than enough!”

"After all, the armored ship can be used as a reference, but this musket is unique to me in Daxia. If I want to improve it, it's not easy..."

"Ha ha!"

Jiao Shun responded in his own way, and interrupted Hu Zhiheng with a laugh: "What are the difficulties in imitating armored ships? Jiao certainly doesn't know, but when it comes to the improvement of this musket... I had some ideas when I was at the handyman's office.

I’ve dabbled in it, and I’ve gained a lot recently!”

Hu Zhiheng's face finally changed color and he blurted out: "Seriously?!"

"How can such things be adulterated?"

Jiao Shundao: "Breech-loading guns are generally better than front-loading guns, but there are some problems with the sealing of the magazine, resulting in a lack of range and power - and Jiao Mou finally found a solution to this problem after various attempts.

A glue that is strong enough to withstand the impact of gunpowder and cheap enough.”

"If we use this as a basis to develop a new type of firearm..."

"Master Jiao!"

Hu Zhiheng interrupted Jiao Shun again, then gave a deep salute to Jiao Shun, and said solemnly: "On behalf of the Ordnance Department, I would like to express my gratitude to Chief Jiao for his efforts. I will go to the Ministry Master and ask for the help of Chief Jiao and the handyman."

achievement."

After a brief pause, he then said: "This matter is of great importance. Please ask Chief Jiao to transfer the formula and the corresponding craftsmen to the Ordnance Department to prevent the secrets from being leaked and endangering the country!"

I knew this guy was definitely trying to get a bargain!

"There's no need to hand it over."

Jiao Shun said unmoved: "The secrets involved in our Department of General Affairs are probably more than those of the Ordnance Department. The prevention methods are all ready-made, and there will never be any loopholes taken advantage of by those blond and blue-eyed barbarians."

"But the research and development of new firearms is the responsibility of our Ordnance Department. These things will be sent to our Ordnance Department sooner or later!"

"Isn't the Ordnance Department dedicated to building an important weapon for the nation? This new firearm is led by our General Affairs Department and jointly developed by the Miscellaneous Works Office and the Ordnance Department. Wouldn't this save Mr. Hu from being distracted?"

"Otherwise! The reason why the imperial court established a new Ordnance Department is to provide unified coordination without interference. Now, if we insist on involving the Department of General Affairs and the Handymen in ordnance development, doesn't it go against the original intention of the imperial court?!"

"Absurd! The duty of our General Affairs Department is to coordinate the various departments to work in parallel. If Mr. Hu wants to follow Mr. Hu's wishes, we are not allowed to interfere in the affairs of the Ordnance Department, but where does that put our General Affairs Department?!"

"Transferring certain craftsmen and formulas to our Ordnance Department, shouldn't it be the current priority of the Department of Administration?!"

The two of them had a heated exchange of words, but they couldn't get enough of each other.

Hu Zhiheng had never been faced with such a tit-for-tat confrontation since he took charge of the Ordnance Department. He was annoyed for a moment and couldn't help asking angrily: "So, Master Jiao must have withheld the formula and the craftsman? But I don't know if it will delay him."

This is a major military and national issue, can you bear this responsibility?"

However, Jiao Shun also sneered without hesitation: "Master Hu, please don't slander anyone. Jiao had already submitted the matter to the ministry in writing before Master Hu arrived in the morning, expressing his willingness to hand over the formula to the ministry.

And on this basis, we urge the Ordnance Department to develop new firearms as soon as possible."

Hu Zhiheng's face changed color again.

What Jiao Shun did was essentially still trying to compete for dominance, but it was covered with a shell that connected the past and the next.

And this is exactly the job of the Department of General Affairs.

In this way, if the Ordnance Department still insists on not allowing "outsiders" to interfere, it will change from arguing with the Department of General Affairs to fighting against the orders of the ministry.

No!

The ministry must be prevented from issuing official documents, otherwise this slave will not be allowed to occupy the rightful position?

Thinking of this, Hu Zhiheng was about to rush out the door.

However, he had just taken a few steps when he heard Jiao Shun say calmly from behind: "Master Hu, please go slowly, I won't send you far."

Hu Zhiheng's steps were stagnant.

The Ordnance Department ran rampant over the Ministry of Industry, relying on the imperial court - especially the emperor's attention. But with Jiao Shun, a master who was in the emperor's heart, this effect would be greatly reduced.

And Jiao Shun took the initiative to offer the formula, which can be regarded as sharing the credit with the lord. Although the lord will probably not care too much about this, but compared to the Ordnance Department who wants to take all the credit, I am afraid it is not clear which side the lord will prefer.

Ask yourself.

In this way...

Hu Zhiheng was silent for a long time, then suddenly turned around and said word by word: "The General Affairs Department and the Handyman's Office can only be subordinates, and our Ordnance Department must be the leader!"

It’s done~

Then only the bargaining step remains.
Chapter completed!