Ningbo's finances seemed to be good, but in fact Zhu Yicheng couldn't bear it anymore. Before taking Ningbo, the rebels made money in Tonglu. After arriving in Ningbo, in addition to seizing the money and grain from the government, there were also the family wealth of Zhao Jishi and others who hit the gun. This money and grain seemed to be a lot. If it were an ordinary person, I would probably not spend it all in my life, but in fact it was not much for the entire Ningbo or the rebels.

In Ningbo, there are too many places to spend money. First, the military pay and expenses of the rebel army were large, so of course we could not just stutter and wear like we had before with hundreds of brothers. Moreover, after Zhu Yicheng became the chief commander, he divided the officials of the rebel army into all positions, trying to change the structure of the rebel army before and thus develop it to the regular army. In this way, these expenses are inevitable.

Secondly, the grain shortage in Jiangnan also had a great impact on Ningbo. Although Zhu Yicheng asked major merchants to purchase grain everywhere in advance to Ningbo, most of the grain purchase payments were paid by the merchants themselves, the grain still costs money after all. In addition to the consumption of the army and Ningbo, Zhu Yicheng also spent a lot of money on it.

Third, stabilizing the market and pacifying Ningbo also requires a large amount of money and grain, not to mention the establishment of Sihai Commercial Banks, training of naval masters and recruiting personnel, the money consumed is also quite large.

Finally, the development of firearms and other technologies is all big money-spending. After counting them one by one, the money and grain flow out almost like flowing water. Even if there is taxes and other income, it still cannot make ends meet.

At this time, the return of the Sihai Commercial Fleet from the Nanyang fleet was a great joy, especially this time, not only opened up the Nanyang channel, but also related to the Western countries. Judging from the gains brought back by the fleet this time, it can greatly alleviate Ningbo's financial problems.

Regarding the importance of Sihai Commercial Bank, Zhu Yicheng even personally met with the person in charge of leading the fleet, and the shopkeeper of Sihai Commercial Bank and Wang Fan, deputy envoy of the Ministry of Revenue, were there to accompany him. On the one hand, it was encouragement and commendation of the fleet, and on the other hand, it was also an understanding of the situation in the South and Western Oceans. More importantly, it was to make the next maritime trade plan to prepare for the subsequent fleet as soon as possible.

The reception was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere. As the leader of Ningbo, Zhu Yicheng was approachable and performed the achievements made by Sihai Commercial Bank. At the same time, he asked all the personnel of Sihai Commercial Bank to keep their efforts in arrogance and impetuosity, promote the spirit of daring to innovate, and achieve greater achievements in their future work...

He appointed a few small officials to the meritorious personnel as a reward. After encouraging them, Zhu Yicheng accompanied Wang Fan to see what he gained this time.

When he saw the Western firearms he bought specially, Zhu Yicheng fiddled with interest, but soon let it go with a little disappointment.

"These are the Red-haired Ghost's current equipment?"

"Go back to the Grand Governor, that's right." Wang Lianjie, who accompanied Zhu Yicheng and Wang Fan, quickly replied that Wang Lianjie was Wang Fan's nephew and was also the person in charge of going to Nanyang this time.

"It's not the old equipment that was eliminated, right?" Zhu Yicheng asked coldly.

Wang Lianjie quickly knelt down on the ground: "Grandmaster, how dare the young man dared to destroy the big man? These equipment were used by the Red-haired Ghost himself. The young man spent a lot of money to take the goods directly from a red-haired merchant. It is said that it is the existing equipment in the local Red-haired Ghost Army. For this reason, the young man specially sent someone to inquire, and there will be no mistake!"

After hearing this, Zhu Yicheng continued to pick up a musket and looked at it. Zhu Yicheng couldn't help frowning. These firearms were really backward and looked not very good. They were far inferior to his own, the muskets found in Ningbo Mansion. But after careful reading, their structure was similar, and there were several of them that were still new muskets that had not been fired. Wang Lianjie should not lie.

Ningbo's firearms have been developed, and some small batches of finished products have been made. In terms of power and practicality, there is almost no difference from Western muskets, and some are even better than Western muskets.

Zhu Yicheng actually didn't know that in this era, China's firearms were not behind, and some of them were even ahead of Western countries. For example, the so-called mother-child cannon that Nan Huairen blew up in front of Kangxi actually existed as early as the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and there was also a famous name called Fran machine cannon. This cannon is divided into cannon bodies and sub-guns, which can quickly replace sub-guns for firing.

In addition to the Fran machine cannon, there are also tiger squat cannons similar to modern mortars, red-clothed cannons used to defend and siege cities, etc. In addition, there are many types of muskets, such as three-eyed muskets, four-eyed muskets, ten-bead guns, crooked jaws, thunder guns, etc. If you add other different types of firearms, there are countless.

Therefore, China's firearms are truly lagging behind Western countries mainly since the late Qing Dynasty, that is, during the Daoguang period. Moreover, with the development of science and technology, the firearms of Western countries are changing with each passing day, thus far surpassing China, the old empire.

"It seems that the guns and cannons are better, and Western things are not very good now." Zhu Yicheng threw the musket in his hand and said in his heart. The main thing that restricts the firearm exhibition is technology, and the most important thing is smelting. Without reliable steel, the firearms created always have one or another. In addition, there is no standardized system, and the quality of firearms is also very different. However, Ningbo is now trying to develop small blast furnace steelmaking. Although Zhu Yicheng is not an expert, his simple physics and chemistry knowledge is still far from the people of this era, and there is no problem in controlling some general directions. As for specific research, Zhu Yicheng does not have many solutions now. He can only continue to invest and try one by one to find a suitable process as soon as possible.

After a look around, Zhu Yicheng lost interest in these things. However, although these firearms were a little disappointed, they were still usable. Zhu Yicheng turned around and made arrangements for the people, and then went to the firearm workshop to see the progress of his development.

"The little one has seen the Grand Governor!"

When he arrived at the local area, the official in charge of the workshop rushed over and saluted Zhu Yicheng.

This official is a native of Zhejiang, named Cao, Bofeng. He was originally a minor official in charge of fortifications in Ningbo Prefecture. His ancestors were also craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that the development of firearms was his ancestral craft. After occupying Ningbo, Zhu Yicheng was particularly concerned about the development of firearms, including other technologies, recruited a large number of various craftsmen, and also selected low-level officials in Ningbo Prefecture. Among them, Cao Bofeng had outstanding abilities and was professionally matched, and was appointed as the head of the workhouse.

"I am just here to see today. Director Cao, how is the progress of the workshop?" This is not the first time Zhu Yicheng has come here. In fact, he will come to see it every once in a while, and immediately asked directly without hesitation.

Cao Bofeng and Zhu Yicheng have been dealing with each other. Of course, they knew Zhu Yicheng's temper and immediately started reporting.

The firearm workshop was originally just a large workshop. After continuous integration over the past few months, it is now divided into five parts. The first is the smelting department, which is mainly responsible for metallurgy, that is, refining work. The second is the manufacturing department, which is responsible for specific modeling and structure. The third is the musket department, which is responsible for the design and development of muskets. The fourth is the artillery department, which is responsible for the design and development of gunpowder. The last is the gunpowder department, which is responsible for the development of gunpowder.
Chapter completed!