It took nearly 100 million taels of silver and a year to build the armaments, but in the end, only a few hundred submachine guns and related shells were left, and the rest were losses and labor costs.

Because there is no corresponding technology, research and preparation are required, which results in a great loss of materials and a waste of time and effort.

Originally, Jiaqing believed it so easily, but the answer he got now was that the material cost was no more than one million taels of silver, and the actual labor cost was only a mere tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Because craftsmen have no human rights, the monthly salary they can finally get is pitifully low, and it is difficult for them to even support their families, so craftsmen will steal materials.

The entire Arsenal was completely rotten. In Jiaqing's view, even if all the tens of thousands of people in the Arsenal were killed, few of them would be killed by mistake.

When Jiaqing first received the information, he was so angry that his whole body was shaking. He really had the urge to kill everyone in the Military Equipment Bureau. However, after reading all the military reports, Jiaqing calmed down.

The moon was dim and the stars were sparse. Jiaqing's face was as gloomy as water. He walked alone in the imperial garden. After a long time, his heavy footsteps gradually became light.

"Sir, I'm afraid etiquette and morality can't save the Qing Dynasty!" Jiaqing looked at the moon in the sky and sighed.

Zhu Gui did have a profound influence on Jiaqing, but facing the current situation, Zhu Gui's approach is obviously no longer appropriate.

Jiaqing turned his head sharply and glanced at Zhao Tiande who was accompanying him, and ordered: "Xuanhe Shitai will come to the palace to see the emperor immediately."

"Whoo!"

State affairs were in turmoil, and Zhao Tiande knew that Jiaqing was on the verge of an explosion. Even though it was already the middle of the night, Zhao Tiande still did not dare to delay. He immediately agreed to Jiaqing's order and then turned around to arrange for people to leave the palace to find He Shitai.

Niuhulu Heshitai, a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, was only 25 years old, but he was already a Niulu Ezhen in charge of 300 bannermen because he was the younger brother of Jiaqing's second empress.

Upon receiving Jiaqing's late-night summons, He Shitai did not dare to delay. He immediately stood up and soon followed the eunuch into the palace fully armed, his face full of excitement.

Young people are always passionate. They dare to do things that older people dare not do, and they do not have the concerns that older people have.

In the past few days, Heshitai has been sending people to secretly investigate the Military Equipment Bureau, and the results obtained are shocking. At this time, Jiaqing summoned him late at night, which means he must have made a decision.

As long as Jiaqing gave the order, Heshitai would lead his men to arrest and kill people without hesitation and work for his brother-in-law, the emperor. He had nothing to worry about.

"Your servant, Heshitai, pays homage to the Emperor. Long live the Emperor!" Heshitai bowed to Jiaqing and shouted fanatically.

The Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty was actually a slavery system, and Jiaqing was the leader of the Bordered Yellow Banner, which means that the Bordered Yellow Banner was equivalent to Jiaqing's private property. So Heshitai called himself a slave, but not everyone was qualified to call themselves the emperor's slave.

Seeing Heshitai, Jiaqing smiled for the first time, nodded and said: "Heshitai, I appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the new army, and order you to select young Eight Banners men from the Bordered Yellow Banner to form a new army.

Now I give you your first task. Capture all the people on this list and torture them to make them confess their crimes. Can you do it?"

He Shitai took the imperial edict handed over by Jiaqing and took a look. It was filled with officials of all levels of the Military Equipment Bureau, and even their backers, more than 200 Manchus and Han people. "I can do it, I can do it tonight!" He Shitai said excitedly.

Jiaqing nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile: "Very good, then do it immediately. After dawn, I need confessions from these people."

"Whoo!"

After receiving the imperial edict, Heshitai immediately left the palace and returned to the garrison of his Niulu. One flag had 7,500 people, and one Niulu had 300 people, which was actually 300 households. Naturally, it had developed to the point where it was far more than 300 households, let alone 300 people.

Now Heshitai is the commander-in-chief of the new army, which means he can form an army of 7,500 people. The people in his own Niulu are definitely not enough to form such a large army.

But it doesn’t matter. The Niuhulu clan has plenty of people, and He Shitai has the imperial edict in his hand, so he is not worried about not being able to find people to form a new army.

After returning to his Niulu base, Heshitai immediately summoned the registered soldiers of his Niulu. He first opened the imperial edict and showed it to his generals and soldiers, and then immediately began to confer official titles on a large scale.

He himself was the commander-in-chief, that is, Gushan Ezhen, and the generals under him were promoted to Jiala Ezhen and Niulu Ezhen, and even ordinary soldiers were promoted by one or two levels.

“You only have half an hour. After half an hour, as long as you can fully staff your soldiers, your official positions will be confirmed. If you cannot fully staff your soldiers, the official positions granted to you will not count.

Half an hour later, we will be tested here. Remember that everyone must bring their equipment and horses. After the test, we will carry out the first mission of the new army. This mission is a test given to us by His Majesty.

If the new army is approved, there will be no new army. So, if you want to get promoted and make money, then do your best. He Shitai is counting on you!" He Shitai shouted loudly.

There was an uproar among the crowd, but they quickly got into their new roles. After all, getting promoted two levels for no reason was something that was hard to come by. It was okay for an ordinary soldier, but to get promoted two levels was a huge leap.

Of course, the temptation is also huge, so everyone took action immediately after hearing the order. Who doesn’t have a few relatives and friends? Other things are fine, but isn’t it easy to recruit people?

You should know that a registered Eight Banners soldier can receive a salary of four taels of silver and several dozen kilograms of rice every month, which is much better than that of ordinary bannermen.

So it didn't take half an hour at all. Even though it was already night, these guys still found all the people within two quarters of an hour, and they came to report fully armed. Even more than half of them came with war horses.

Taking advantage of this time, Heshitai divided the arrest list into twenty-five parts. After everyone arrived, Heshitai handed the list to his twenty-five Niulu Ezhen.

"Arrest all the people on the list, make sure to catch them personally, and then torture them to force them to confess their crimes. Remember, you must get definite evidence of their crimes, evidence sufficient to confiscate their property.

Let's arrest the people first, and then I will provide you with their detailed information to facilitate your interrogation. Don't worry, we have evidence of their crimes in our hands, and we also have the emperor's order.

So, even though it's okay to be ruthless, it's better to leave someone alive to avoid being criticized."

(End of this chapter)