Volume 140 Treatises 115: Military 11, Manufacturing

志一百十五

Treatise 115

兵十一

Military 11

製造

Manufacturing

清代以弧矢定天下，而威遠攻堅，亦資火器。故京營有火器營鳥槍兵之制，屢命各省防軍參用槍砲。初皆前膛舊制，繼購歐洲新器。其後始命各省設局製造。製造之事，實始天津。當咸、同間，中原未靖，李鴻章疏請在天津設機器局，自造槍砲，以供北方軍隊之用。同時，江蘇亦創立機器局。

The Qing won the empire with the bow, but projecting power at a distance and breaching fortifications also depended on firearms. Hence the capital garrison maintained a Firearms Battalion with musket troops, and the court repeatedly directed provincial defense armies to adopt rifles and artillery. At first everything was the old muzzle-loading pattern; later the government began buying new European arms. Only later were the provinces ordered to set up manufacturing bureaus of their own. Domestic arms production in fact began at Tianjin. In the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years, while the heartland was still unsettled, Li Hongzhang petitioned to found a machine bureau at Tianjin to build rifles and artillery for the northern forces. Jiangsu established a machine bureau at the same time.

同治四年，江蘇巡撫李鴻章疏言，統軍在江南剿賊，習見西洋火器之精，乃棄習用之抬槍、鳥槍，而改為洋槍隊。留防各軍五萬餘人，約有洋槍四萬枝，銅帽月須千餘萬顆，粗細洋火藥十數萬斤，均在香港、上海購買。又開花砲四營，每砲一具，重者千餘斤，輕亦數百斤，砲具精堅，藥彈繁重。惟器械子彈皆系洋式，所用銅鐵木煤各項，均來自外洋。必須就近設局自造，以省繁費。江蘇先設三局。嗣因丁日昌在上海購得機器鐵廠一座，將丁日昌、韓殿甲二局移並上海鐵廠。以後能移設金陵附近，濱江僻地，最為久遠之謀。五年，閩浙總督左宗棠疏言，外洋開花砲，近日督飭工匠仿造，已成三十餘尊。用尺測量，施放與西洋同其功用。十三年，船政大臣沈葆楨疏請飭沿江海各省，仿津、滬二廠，自設槍砲子藥廠局。

In Tongzhi 4 (1865), Governor Li Hongzhang of Jiangsu reported that his forces fighting rebels in the south, having seen how fine Western firearms were, had dropped their familiar wall guns and muskets in favor of companies armed with foreign rifles. The more than fifty thousand troops left on garrison duty fielded roughly forty thousand foreign rifles, and each month needed over ten million percussion caps and tens of thousands of catties of foreign powder, all bought in Hong Kong and Shanghai. There were four battalions of shell guns as well; each piece weighed over a thousand catties in the heavy types and still several hundred in the lighter ones—superbly made, with ammunition to match. Yet every weapon and round was of foreign design, and the copper, iron, timber, coal, and other inputs all had to be imported. Bureaus had to be set up locally for domestic production if costs were to be brought under control. Jiangsu opened three bureaus at the outset. Later Ding Richang bought a machine ironworks in Shanghai and merged the bureaus named for him and Han Dianjia into it. Relocating the works eventually to a quiet riverside site near Jinling would be the soundest long-term plan. In Tongzhi 5 (1866), Zuo Zongtang, governor-general of Fujian and Zhejiang, reported that his craftsmen had lately copied foreign shell guns and already turned out more than thirty pieces. Measured and test-fired, they performed the same as Western pieces. In Tongzhi 13 (1874), Shen Baozhen, superintendent of naval affairs, asked that every coastal and river province be directed, on the model of the Tianjin and Shanghai arsenals, to establish its own gun, artillery, and munitions works.

光緒二年，李鴻章、沈葆楨、丁日昌疏請選派製造學生十四人，製造藝徒四人，由出洋監督帶赴法國學習製造。此項學生，既宜另延學堂教習課讀，以培植根本，又宜赴廠習藝，以明理法，俾兼程並進，以收速效，備他日監工之選。其藝徒學成後，可備分廠監工之選。凡所習之藝，均須新巧，勿循舊式。如有他廠新式機器，及砲台、兵船、營壘、礦廠，應行考訂之處，由監督酌帶生徒前往學習。山東巡撫丁寶楨疏言：「今在山東省城創立機器製造局，不用外洋工匠一人，局基設在濼口，自春及秋，將機器廠、生鐵廠、熟鐵廠、木樣廠、繪圖房，及物料庫、工料庫大小十餘座，一律告成。其火藥各廠，如提硝房、蒸硫房、煏炭房、碾炭房、碾硫房、碾硝房、合藥房、碾藥房、碎藥房、壓藥房、成粒房、篩藥房、光藥房、烘藥房、裝箱房，亦次第告竣。其各廠煙筒，高自四十尺至九十尺不等，凡大小十餘座。所買外洋機器，次第運取。俟機件煤炭各種備全，廠局告成，不逾一年，即可開工。將來如格林砲、克魯伯砲、林明登槍、馬梯尼槍，均可自造，不至受制於人，並可接濟各省，由水路轉運。即使洋商閉關，不虞坐困也。」直隸總督李鴻章、兩江總督沈葆楨、江蘇巡撫吳元炳疏言：「上海製造局自同治四年開辦，閱七年，曾請獎一次。今又閱七年，先後增造機器二百三十三座，大小銅鐵砲三百四十八尊，砲架七百八十餘座，開花實心砲彈十萬一千餘顆，各式洋槍一萬八千六百餘枝，槍彈八十餘萬顆，火藥十七萬磅，其他零件關係軍事者甚多。在事諸人，寢饋於刀鋸湯火之側，出入於硝磺毒物之間，積數年之辛苦，乃克有此成績。請優獎以資鼓勵。」

In Guangxu 2 (1876), Li Hongzhang, Shen Baozhen, and Ding Richang petitioned to send fourteen manufacturing students and four apprentices to France under the overseas superintendent to learn arms production. These students should study in a classroom to build a solid foundation while also training in workshops to master technique—pursuing both tracks at once for rapid progress and eventual appointment as factory supervisors. The apprentices, once trained, would be candidates to supervise branch plants. Every skill taught had to be up-to-date; obsolete methods were not to be followed. Wherever new machinery, batteries, warships, fortifications, or mines deserved study, the superintendent might take students to learn on site. Governor Ding Baozhen of Shandong reported: "We have now founded a machine manufacturing bureau in the provincial capital without hiring a single foreign craftsman. The site at Luokou has seen more than ten buildings finished between spring and autumn—the machine shop, pig-iron and wrought-iron plants, pattern shop, drafting room, and material and supply storehouses. The powder works followed in turn—rooms for extracting saltpeter, steaming sulfur, charring and grinding charcoal, grinding sulfur and saltpeter, compounding, grinding, crushing, and pressing powder, granulating, sieving, glazing, drying, and packing—all were finished one after another. More than ten chimneys for the various plants, from forty to ninety feet high, were also in place. Foreign machinery on order was arriving in stages. Once parts, coal, and other supplies were in hand and the plants complete, production could begin within a year. Eventually Gatling guns, Krupp cannon, and Martini rifles could all be built at home, ending dependence on foreigners, and surplus output could be shipped by water to other provinces. Even if foreign merchants cut off trade, we would not be left helpless." Li Hongzhang, governor-general of Zhili, Shen Baozhen, governor-general of Liangjiang, and Wu Yuanbing, governor of Jiangsu, wrote: "The Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau opened in Tongzhi 4 (1865); seven years later its staff received rewards once. Another seven years on, they had added 233 machines, 348 bronze and iron guns large and small, more than 780 carriages, over 101,000 shell and solid shot, more than 18,600 foreign rifles of various types, over 800,000 rifle rounds, 170,000 pounds of powder, and a great many other military parts besides. The men involved lived beside forges and saws and worked amid niter, sulfur, and other hazards; only years of hardship produced these results. They asked for exceptional rewards as encouragement. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

三年，湖南巡撫王文韶疏言：「近年上海、天津、江寧均有制造局，濱海固宜籌備，而內地亦應講求。湘省一年以來，先建廠，次制器，仿造洋式，規模粗具。後膛槍及開花砲子，試演均能如法，與購自外洋者並無區別。以後隨時添造，自數千斤以至萬斤大砲，或鋼或銅，均可自造。湘省向產煤鐵，攸縣、安化各處所產之鐵，與洋鐵一律受鑽。火藥一項，督匠精造，與洋火藥不相上下。自光緒元年五月開辦，至二年十月，共用二萬二千餘兩。以後每月以三千兩為度。請援津、滬二局成案，專摺奏銷。」四川總督丁寶楨疏言：「川省已設機器局，今外洋機件運到，即行開局，自造洋槍子彈等項。」

In Guangxu 3 (1877), Governor Wang Wenshao of Hunan wrote: "Shanghai, Tianjin, and Jiangning have all had arsenals in recent years. Coastal defense rightly demands such provision, but the interior should not be neglected either. Over the past year Hunan has first built plants and then begun turning out arms on foreign patterns; the establishment is roughly in place. Breech-loading rifles and shell-gun projectiles test-fired correctly and were indistinguishable from imports. More can be added at any time thereafter—from guns of a few thousand catties up to ten-thousand-catty pieces, in steel or bronze, all can be built at home. Hunan has long produced coal and iron; iron from You, Anhua, and other districts drills like foreign metal. Gunpowder, made under close supervision, is a match for foreign powder. From opening in the fifth month of Guangxu 1 (1875) through the tenth month of Guangxu 2 (1876), the outlay totaled more than 22,000 taels. Henceforth the monthly budget is set at 3,000 taels. He asked to follow the Tianjin and Shanghai precedent and report expenditures in separate memorials." Governor Ding Baozhen of Sichuan reported: "Sichuan has already set up a machine bureau. Now that foreign machinery has arrived, work will begin at once on rifles, ammunition, and the like." (closing quotation mark in the source.)

四年，總理衙門王大臣疏言：「前陳海防事宜，有簡器一條，巨砲應如何購辦，各軍洋槍應如何一律，以後應如何自行仿造，請飭疆臣切實詳議以聞。」嗣據各將軍、督、撫覆陳：「有言前膛槍穩實者，有言後膛槍靈捷者，有言線槍勝於洋槍者，有言宜勤加操練磨洗者，有言不宜多購防新出更勝者，有言宜派人赴外洋學習者，有言宜內地設局以防後患者。臣等查外洋槍砲，近時皆用後膛，名目甚多，必須擇其至精之品，一律切實辦理，庶在彼不敢售其欺，在我得以適其用。外洋軍械價值，本無成案可考，故承辦之員，視為利藪。查上海為各洋商聚集之地，多在該處交易。請以精明廉正之員，總理其事。各省有委辦軍火者，責成該員核定。如有浮冒等事，嚴行治罪。至仿造外洋軍火，李鴻章先後奏在上海、天津設局製造。丁寶楨、王文韶亦在山東、湖南二省各設局廠，不用洋人，其費最省。丁寶楨復於四川設局。以上三局，均設在內地。滬局製造槍藥，歲用銀四、五十萬兩。津局歲用銀二十餘萬兩。近據李鴻章、沈葆楨奏報，津局造後膛砲，滬局則前膛、後膛洋槍並造，既非通力合作，未必易地皆宜。請飭兩局派得力人員，隨時酌核，畫一辦理。」時廷臣有議以上海機器局款，充固本餉及賑捐者。兩江總督沈葆楨疏陳，謂機器局締造十餘年，僅恃二成洋稅，入不敷出，而南北洋所用槍砲子藥，咸取給於此。海防重要，未可停工。

In Guangxu 4 (1878), the princes and ministers of the Zongli Yamen wrote: "In our earlier report on coastal defense we included an item on streamlining armaments—how heavy guns should be procured, how foreign rifles in the various armies should be standardized, and how domestic imitation should proceed—and asked frontier officials to deliberate fully and report back." Governors and generals then replied with a welter of views: some favored muzzle-loaders as steadier, others breech-loaders as handier; some held rifled guns superior to foreign rifles; some urged more drill and maintenance; some warned against overbuying lest newer models appear; some wanted students sent abroad; some wanted inland arsenals as insurance for the future. We find that foreign arms today are almost all breech-loading and come under many names. The finest types must be chosen and applied uniformly, so that sellers cannot palm off inferior goods and our forces can use what they buy effectively. Because foreign arms had no fixed price schedule, those who handled procurement treated the trade as a source of profit. Shanghai is where foreign merchants congregate and where most such business is done. We ask that capable, upright officials be put in overall charge. Provincial agents charged with munitions should be held to verify purchases through that office. Padding or fraud should be punished severely. On domestic imitation, Li Hongzhang had already memorialized for arsenals at Shanghai and Tianjin. Ding Baozhen and Wang Wenshao had each set up plants in Shandong and Hunan without foreign staff, at the lowest cost. Ding Baozhen had also opened a bureau in Sichuan. All three of these inland bureaus lay in the interior. The Shanghai bureau, producing rifles and powder, spent four to five hundred thousand taels a year. The Tianjin bureau spent more than two hundred thousand taels annually. Li Hongzhang and Shen Baozhen recently reported that Tianjin built breech-loading cannon while Shanghai built both muzzle- and breech-loading rifles; without full coordination, what suited one region might not suit another. Both bureaus should be ordered to assign capable staff to review production continually and standardize practice." At that time some officials proposed diverting Shanghai arsenal funds to garrison pay and relief contributions. Governor-General Shen Baozhen of Liangjiang replied that the bureau, after more than ten years, relied on only twenty percent of customs revenue and ran at a deficit, yet supplied all rifles, cannon, and ammunition for the northern and southern fleets. Coastal defense was too important for the plants to be shut down.

五年，丁寶楨疏言，四川機器局近以恩承、童華疏請停辦，奉諭令酌度辦理，仍請設法興辦，毋令廢墮，遂復開局製造。

In Guangxu 5 (1879), Ding Baozhen reported that En Cheng and Tong Hua had lately petitioned to close the Sichuan machine bureau. Although the throne ordered a measured response, he still urged that operations be revived rather than abandoned, and manufacturing resumed.

七年，兩江總督劉坤一疏言：「金陵製造局，於光緒六年，即飭工匠加工製造。各軍撥用洋槍，先後已及萬枝。今軍械所尚存來福前膛槍一萬三千餘枝，馬梯尼後膛槍七千餘枝，林明登後膛槍八千餘枝，細洋火藥六十五萬餘磅，洋砲火藥四十餘萬磅，棉花火藥九萬九千餘磅，銅火一千萬磅，各項銅管火十七餘萬件，又水雷應用之電線七十五車，所儲尚不為少。而上海製造局現造之洋藥及林明登槍，可隨時接濟金陵。復定購機器，增設洋火藥局，並定購前後膛槍一萬五千枝，尚不在此數內。至各處明暗砲台所用之砲位，有上海製造局現造之一百二十磅子之鋼砲，年內可成。金陵局中所造陸營之砲，亦多可用。」是年，督辦寧古塔等處事宜吳大澂疏請吉林創辦機器局。

In Guangxu 7 (1881), Governor-General Liu Kunyi of Liangjiang wrote: "At the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau, craftsmen were already ordered in Guangxu 6 (1880) to step up production. Foreign rifles issued to the various armies had already passed ten thousand in all. The ordnance depot still holds more than 13,000 Enfield muzzle-loaders, over 7,000 Martini breech-loaders, over 8,000 Martini-Henry breech-loaders, more than 650,000 pounds of fine foreign powder, over 400,000 pounds of artillery powder, nearly 100,000 pounds of cotton powder, ten million percussion caps, over 170,000 copper primers, and seventy-five cartloads of torpedo wire—the stock is substantial. Powder and Martini rifles now coming from the Shanghai bureau can resupply Jinling at any time. Machinery has also been ordered, a foreign-powder plant added, and fifteen thousand muzzle- and breech-loading rifles contracted for—none of which is included in the figures above. For batteries open and concealed along the coast, 120-pounder steel guns now under construction at Shanghai should be ready within the year. Field guns from the Jinling bureau are also largely serviceable." That year Wu Dacheng, superintendent for Ningguta and related territories, petitioned to establish a machine bureau in Jilin.

十一年，直隸總督李鴻章疏言：「上海、江寧、天津、廣東各機器局，大都分造砲械子藥，以供各軍操練戰守之用，尚未能仿造後膛大砲。至若三、四寸口徑後膛小砲，後膛連珠砲，為水陸軍必需之利器，應就內地已開煤鐵礦近水之處，分設造槍、造砲專廠。至克魯伯鋼砲，近來德、奧、義各國，恐純鋼不盡合用，均改造硬銅後膛小砲，融煉別有新法。日本已聘洋匠仿造。中國亦宜踵行。各國後膛槍式樣不一，新式改用連珠，或六、七響，精利無匹。日本已設廠自造，中國亦宜專造，以應各省之用。約計造槍及小砲機器皆不過數十萬金，尚不甚鉅。水師所用之魚雷、伏雷，與砲並重。各種伏雷，中國機器局多能自造。至魚雷則理法精奧，別有不傳之秘，只可向西洋訂購。天津機器局已購備試雷修雷之具，仿造則未易言也。」兩廣總督張之洞疏言：「粵省請募款開設槍、雷各局，其大砲仍歸滬、閩二廠製造。」又疏言：「省城有機器局，城西增步地方有軍火局，以器具未備，僅能制小鋼砲開花子、尋常洋火藥、白藥、水雷殼、洋火箭、修理船砲尋常機器，除火藥、火箭尚可用，其餘能成而不能精。設局十餘年，用銀數十萬，迥非津、滬、閩各局之比。今重加整頓，以機器、軍火二局，併入城西增步一局，以就水運之便，名曰製造局，仍制槍砲彈火藥等物。其修理魚雷，歸黃埔雷局。就制械而言，以槍彈與行營砲為尤要。蓋購槍可用數年，購彈不能支三月，一舉而購槍數千則易，一舉而購砲數十則難。自宜分條並舉，循序圖功。期以一年半而鑄槍砲廠成，兩年而砲台備，庶足以御強敵。」大學士左宗棠疏言：「各省製造局廠，宜合併籌辦，以專責成。前曾疏請開徐州、穆源各礦，為鐵甲鋼砲材料。茲奉諭飭議設廠處所，若論常格，自應由兩江、閩浙籌款試辦，或委公正富紳，集股創辦，並招通曉化學之人，研求煉法，俾速出鋼鐵應用。其實礦政船砲，相為表裡。應設海防全政大臣，所有制造船砲礦廠軍火事宜，皆宜一手經理，以歸畫一。」

In Guangxu 11 (1885), Li Hongzhang, governor-general of Zhili, wrote: "The arsenals at Shanghai, Jiangning, Tianjin, and Guangdong mostly turn out cannon, small arms, and ammunition for drill and defense, but cannot yet copy large breech-loading guns. Three- and four-inch breech-loading field pieces and repeater cannon, essential to army and navy alike, should be built at specialized plants sited inland near coal and iron mines and navigable water. Even for Krupp steel guns, Germany, Austria, and Italy lately doubted that pure steel was ideal and shifted to hard-bronze breech-loading field pieces cast by new smelting methods. Japan has already hired foreign engineers to copy them. China should follow suit. Foreign breech-loading rifles vary in pattern; the newest repeaters fire six or seven rounds and are unrivaled in accuracy and power. Japan already manufactures them domestically; China should do the same to supply the provinces. Machinery for rifles and light cannon would cost only a few hundred thousand taels—not a huge sum. Naval torpedoes and mines matter as much as guns. Chinese arsenals can already build most types of mine. Torpedoes, however, involve subtle principles and trade secrets and can only be ordered from the West. The Tianjin bureau has bought gear for testing and repairing torpedoes, but copying them is another matter." Zhang Zhidong, governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, asked to raise funds for rifle and torpedo works while leaving heavy guns to the Shanghai and Fujian arsenals." He added: "The capital has a machine bureau and an ordnance bureau at Zengbu west of the city. Equipment is incomplete, so they can only turn out small steel guns and shells, ordinary foreign powder, white powder, mine casings, foreign rockets, and common ship-gun repair machinery—powder and rockets are still usable, but everything else is crude rather than refined. After more than ten years and several hundred thousand taels spent, the results are nothing like those of Tianjin, Shanghai, or Fujian. We are now reorganizing: the machine and ordnance bureaus will merge into a single plant at Zengbu for ease of water transport, to be called the Manufacturing Bureau, still producing rifles, cannon, shells, and powder. Torpedo repair will go to the Whampoa torpedo station. For armaments, rifle ammunition and field guns are the priority. Rifles bought once last years, but ammunition bought in bulk lasts barely three months; procuring thousands of rifles at once is easy, dozens of cannon at once is hard. Tasks should therefore be divided, pursued in parallel, and advanced step by step. The goal is a gun and cannon foundry in a year and a half and batteries ready in two years, enough to face a strong enemy." Grand Secretary Zuo Zongtang urged that provincial arsenals be consolidated under unified planning and clear accountability. He had earlier petitioned to open mines at Xuzhou and Muyuan to supply ironclads and steel guns. An imperial order now required plans for factory sites. Under normal procedure, Liangjiang and Min-Zhe should raise funds for a trial run, or upright wealthy gentry could be enlisted to gather capital and launch the enterprise, while chemists were recruited to develop smelting methods so steel and iron could be turned out quickly. In truth, mining policy, naval construction, and artillery were two sides of the same enterprise. A single high commissioner for coastal defense should oversee shipbuilding, cannon manufacture, mining works, and ordnance under one authority to keep policy uniform. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

十二年，兩江總督曾國荃疏報金陵洋火藥局竣工。四川總督丁寶楨疏言：「川省建設製造局，已及五年。仿造洋槍，為數不下一萬五千餘枝。除接濟廣西、雲南軍營外，局中尚存後膛洋槍三千五百枝，前膛洋槍四千枝。恐不敷用，向上海洋商訂購克虜伯開花砲、格林砲各十尊，另造得用之劈山砲七十餘尊，抬槍五百枝備用。其火器彈丸銅帽等，除撥用外，尚存九萬餘斤。今加工製造，每月可得火藥七千餘斤，以資接濟。」

In Guangxu 12 (1886), Governor-General Zeng Guoquan of Liangjiang reported that the Jinling foreign gunpowder works had been completed. Governor-General Ding Baozhen of Sichuan wrote: "Sichuan's manufacturing bureau has now been in operation for five years. It had copied more than 15,000 foreign rifles. Besides supplying camps in Guangxi and Yunnan, the bureau still held 3,500 breech-loading rifles and 4,000 muzzle-loading rifles. Fearing shortages, he ordered ten Krupp shell guns and ten Gatling guns from Shanghai merchants, built more than seventy serviceable mountain guns, and held five hundred wall guns in reserve. Apart from what had been issued, the bureau still had more than 90,000 jin of powder, balls, copper caps, and related supplies. With production stepped up, the bureau could now turn out more than 7,000 jin of gunpowder each month. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

十三年，四川總督劉秉璋疏言：「川省機器委員曾照吉等，能用巧思，不招洋匠，自教工徒，仿造外洋槍砲，創用水輪機器，以省煤力。又於省城外設局，以水機製造火藥。數年以來，成機三部，機器一千五百九十件，洋槍一萬四千九百枝，火藥二十八萬餘斤，銅火帽一千三百七十五顆，後膛藥彈六十八萬五千五百顆，鉛子六十萬五千顆，洋砲三具，成績甚優。」兩廣總督張之洞疏言：「前以籌辦海防，購運軍火，並濟雲南、廣西軍營，而後膛槍彈需用尤多，必須購置機器，自行仿製。乃在上海洋行購運製造槍彈機器來粵。正擬設廠開辦，適廣西撫臣李秉衡，以廣西所購槍彈機器一部，運解到粵，而廣西撤防，且無力設局，請留在廣東備用。當即在省城之北石井墟地方，創立製造槍彈廠一所。所有機器大廠一座，打鐵、烘銅殼、鍋爐、造木箱、裝子藥房共五處，儲料、發料庫各一處，又有裝蠟餅紙餅火藥及工匠等房，共安設機器二副，能造毛瑟、馬梯尼、士乃得、雲者士得四種槍彈。試辦之初，每日約造二千顆。熟習之後，每日可造八千顆。目前即可開造。尚有需用鎔銅、碾銅等機器，並增建廠屋，俟次第到齊，即可舉辦。」

In Guangxu 13 (1887), Governor-General Liu Bingzhang of Sichuan wrote: "Sichuan's machine commissioners Zeng Zhaoji and others showed real ingenuity: without hiring foreign artisans, they trained their own workers, copied foreign rifles and cannon, and introduced water-wheel machinery to save coal. They also set up a bureau outside the provincial capital to make gunpowder with water power. Over several years they turned out three water-wheel sets, 1,590 machine parts, 14,900 rifles, more than 280,000 jin of gunpowder, 1,375 copper caps, 685,500 breech-loading cartridges, 605,000 lead balls, and three foreign cannon—a record of outstanding achievement." Zhang Zhidong, governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi, wrote: "While preparing coastal defense, procuring ordnance, and supplying camps in Yunnan and Guangxi, demand for breech-loading ammunition was especially heavy, so machinery had to be bought for local manufacture. He therefore bought rifle and cartridge machinery in Shanghai and shipped it to Guangdong. Just as he was planning to open a factory, Guangxi Governor Li Bingheng forwarded a set of rifle and cartridge machinery that Guangxi had bought. With Guangxi demobilizing and unable to set up its own works, he asked that the equipment remain in Guangdong. He promptly founded a rifle and cartridge factory at Shijing market, north of the provincial capital. The plant included a main machine hall, five shops for forging, baking copper shells, boilers, crate making, and cartridge loading, separate storage and issue depots, rooms for wax-paper powder charges and workers' quarters, and two complete machine sets capable of turning out Mauser, Martini, Snider, and Snider-Enfield cartridges. At first the trial run produced about 2,000 rounds a day. Once the crews were trained, daily output could reach 8,000 rounds. Production could begin at once. Additional copper-melting and copper-rolling machinery and expanded buildings were still on order; once everything arrived, full operations could begin. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

十五年，張之洞疏言：「廣東籌建水師、陸師學堂，並於堂外建機器廠一座，鑄鐵廠一座，煙筒一座，及儲料所、打鐵廠、工匠房、操場、演武廳、石堤、馬頭等，約用銀六萬兩。機器廠內有十二匹馬力汽鍋機爐全座，大小旋鐵床、削鐵床、鑽鐵機、剪鐵機共一十七架，手用器具，銅鐵鋼料，約用英金二千五百鎊。其機器在英國廠訂購之。」又疏言：「前曾由文武官紳及鹽埠各商分年捐銀八十萬，造小兵輪十號。今接續捐募三年，專為購買製造機器並建築廠屋經費。乃電詢德國柏林地方力拂機器廠，訂購新式製造連珠毛瑟槍，及造克魯伯砲、過山砲各項機器全副，其汽機馬力加大，以便槍砲兼造，鍋爐並為一廠，較為節省。旋由出使德國大臣與該廠訂造槍機器一分，每日能造新式連珠十響槍五十枝，汽機馬力一百二十匹，又造砲機器一分，每年能成克魯伯砲口徑七生的半至十二生的之過山砲五十具，又購槍尾尖刀機器全分，價共一百八十一萬七千兩。今擇定省城西北石門地方，依山臨江，輸運便利，於建廠相宜，乃即日開工起築。其槍管鋼料及鍊鋼罐等，均向德國名廠購備，以期精良。他日鐵礦各山開採得法，則鋼鐵材料取給內地，次第擴充，並可接濟各省軍營也。」

In Guangxu 15 (1889), Zhang Zhidong wrote: "Guangdong planned naval and army schools and, alongside them, a machine shop, an iron foundry, a smokestack, a materials depot, a forge, workers' quarters, a drill ground, a martial arts hall, a stone embankment, and a wharf, at a cost of about 60,000 taels. The machine shop would contain a complete twelve-horsepower steam boiler engine, seventeen lathes, planers, drills, and shears, plus hand tools and copper, iron, and steel stock, at a cost of about £2,500. The machinery was ordered from a British factory." He also reported that civil and military officials, gentry, and salt merchants had pledged 800,000 taels over several years to build ten small gunboats. Fundraising would continue for three more years, earmarked solely for buying manufacturing machinery and building factory structures. He telegraphed the Lifu machine works near Berlin to order a full set of modern machinery for repeater Mauser rifles and for Krupp and mountain guns, with a larger steam engine so rifles and cannon could be made in one plant with a shared boiler, saving expense. The minister to Germany then contracted for rifle machinery with a 120-horsepower engine capable of fifty new ten-shot repeater rifles a day; cannon machinery able to finish fifty Krupp mountain guns a year of 7.5 to 12 centimeter caliber; and a complete bayonet-making set—all for 1,817,000 taels. He chose Shimen, northwest of the provincial capital, backed by hills and fronting the river with easy transport—a site well suited to factory building—and broke ground at once. Rifle-barrel steel, refining crucibles, and related materials would be bought from leading German firms to ensure quality. Once iron mines were opened and worked properly, steel and iron could be drawn from domestic sources, the works expanded step by step, and ordnance supplied to provincial camps as well. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

十六年，湖廣總督張之洞於湖北省城初建兵工廠。是年，總理海軍事務大臣與戶部會議，以廣東槍砲廠改移湖北省，開廠後，常年經費，由湖北籌辦。旋由湖廣總督張之洞覆陳：「鄂省開廠後，督飭洋匠，悉心考求。原定造槍機器一副，每年能造新式連珠十響毛瑟槍一萬五千枝，造砲機器每年能成克魯伯七生的半至十二生的行營砲及台砲共一百具。又應添購造槍砲藥、造白藥、造彈、造砲車、造砲架各機器。每槍一枝，隨彈五百顆，每年須成槍彈七百五十萬顆。每砲一尊，外洋向例隨帶砲彈三百顆，茲就最少之數，亦須隨彈二百顆，每年須成實心彈、開花彈各種彈共三萬顆。統計一切經費，約需銀七十五萬兩。計一年所造槍砲全分，比外洋買價所省甚多。特是鉅款難籌，此次開廠試辦，所有槍砲藥彈，每年各造一半，約需銀四十萬兩。機器今已到鄂，置閒必至鏽壞，工匠亦必練習，方能精熟。就鄂省財力自行籌措，查四川機器製造局，系奏明支用土藥稅釐，今湖北槍砲廠乃奉旨特辦，較四川製造局大小懸殊，關係尤重。請將湖北省歲入土藥稅銀二十萬兩，川鹽加價銀十萬兩，共三十萬兩，撥充槍砲廠常年經費。將來各省需用，撥款由鄂廠代造，則隨時收回價本，即可推廣多造。此次鄂省新設槍砲廠所造各械，皆系南北洋、廣東、山東、四川等省製造局所無者。至鄂廠所造克魯伯各種車砲，尤為邊防海防及陸道戰守必不可少之利器。前大學士左宗棠曾言購械外洋，以銀易鐵，實為非計，一旦有警，敵船封口，受制於人，運購均無從下手。況陸續遠購之器，種式既殊，彈碼亦異，每至誤事。懲前毖後，則建廠自造，乃未雨綢繆之計也。」是年，兵工廠成。

In Guangxu 16 (1890), Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of Huguang began building an ordnance factory at the Hubei provincial capital. That year the superintendent of naval affairs and the Board of Revenue agreed to move the Guangdong rifle and cannon works to Hubei, with Hubei to fund its regular operations once it opened. Zhang Zhidong then reported in follow-up: "Once the Hubei plant opened, he would supervise the foreign artisans and investigate every detail. The original plan called for rifle machinery to turn out 15,000 new ten-shot repeater Mauser rifles a year and cannon machinery to finish 100 Krupp field and fort guns of 7.5 to 12 centimeter caliber. Additional machinery would also be needed for rifle and cannon powder, smokeless powder, shells, gun carriages, and gun mounts. At five hundred rounds per rifle, the plant would need to produce 7.5 million cartridges a year. Foreign practice supplied three hundred shells per gun; even at the minimum of two hundred, the plant would need 30,000 solid shot, explosive shells, and other projectiles each year. Total annual costs would run to about 750,000 taels. A full year's output of rifles and cannon would save far more than buying abroad. But such a large sum was hard to raise; for the trial opening, rifles, cannon, powder, and ammunition would each be made at half the planned rate, costing about 400,000 taels a year. The machinery had already reached Hubei; left idle it would rust, and the workers needed practice to reach proficiency. Hubei would raise what it could on its own. The Sichuan machine bureau drew on the native opium tax surcharge, but the Hubei rifle and cannon works was an imperial special project, far larger than Sichuan's and of even greater consequence. He asked that 200,000 taels from Hubei's native opium tax and 100,000 taels from the Sichuan salt surcharge—300,000 taels in all—be set aside as the plant's regular annual budget. When other provinces needed arms, they could pay the Hubei plant to manufacture on contract, recover costs as work was delivered, and thus expand production. The weapons the new Hubei plant would make were items none of the arsenals in the Northern and Southern Ocean regions, Guangdong, Shandong, Sichuan, or elsewhere yet produced. Above all, the Krupp carriage guns the Hubei plant would build were indispensable for frontier defense, coastal defense, and land warfare. Former Grand Secretary Zuo Zongtang had warned that buying arms abroad—trading silver for iron—was a poor strategy: in a crisis, with enemy ships blockading the coast, the country would be at another's mercy and unable to procure or transport supplies. Moreover, arms bought piecemeal from abroad varied in type and caliber, often causing confusion in the field. Learning from past mistakes, building domestic factories was the prudent course. That year the ordnance factory was completed.

十九年，直隸總督李鴻章、兩江總督劉坤一疏言：「上海機器局於光緒十五年，令道員劉麒祥辦理局務，專心創造新式槍砲，及自鍊鋼料。外洋新出利器，不肯以秘法示人。其機括靈巧，猝難臆測。開辦之始，幾無端緒可尋。乃精選洋匠，博訪窮探，考索成式，參以心得，造成試驗之，有稍不如法者，拆改重造。於二年之內，盡群才之力，竟造成新式槍砲，並煉就鋼料，迭次考驗，與西洋所造一律精堅。」湖廣總督張之洞疏言：「湖北新建煉鐵廠告成，開煉生鐵爐一座，已煉成生熟鐵具銅碾鐵軌鐵條，均有成效。其煉西門士鋼廠，開煉時極險，北洋、上海各爐，迭有炸裂堵塞之患。鄂省此項鋼爐，飭洋匠詳考火候，向來至速須六點餘鍾出鋼，今止三點餘鍾已能煉就鋼料，成色無異洋制，足以為造砲之用。砲廠亦即開工，即以煉出之鋼，試造六生的半及七八生的克魯伯陸路車砲。若能鋼料精堅，演放有準，即可造十二生的大砲。以軍需孔急，飭工匠多煉西門士鋼，及貝色麻鋼，為製造槍砲之用。外洋陸戰，全恃連珠快砲，僅有後膛槍砲，不足以盡之，鄂廠添購制快砲機器，尤為利用也。煉鐵廠之鐵路運道，及洋匠華工，原為二爐之用。今止一爐，每年只能出鐵一萬五千餘頓，折虧甚鉅。馬鞍山煤井焦炭爐完工在即，擬以湖南省所出白煤和攙焦炭冶鍊，勉供二爐之用，始足以資周轉。」

In Guangxu 19 (1893), Governor-General Li Hongzhang of Zhili and Governor-General Liu Kunyi of Liangjiang wrote: "In Guangxu 15 (1889) the Shanghai Machine Bureau put Intendant Liu Qixiang in charge and set him to developing new rifles and cannon and refining steel locally. Foreign makers of the latest weapons would not share their secrets. Their mechanisms were ingenious and hard to reverse-engineer at a glance. At the outset there was almost no clear path forward. They selected skilled foreign artisans, investigated thoroughly, studied existing models, added their own insights, built prototypes for testing, and dismantled and rebuilt anything that fell short. Within two years, pooling every available talent, they produced new rifles and cannon and refined steel that repeated testing showed to be as fine and solid as Western manufacture." Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of Huguang reported: "Hubei's new ironworks was complete. One pig-iron furnace was in operation, and pig iron, wrought iron, copper, rolled iron, rails, and iron bars had all been successfully produced. Its Siemens-Martin steel plant was extremely hazardous at startup; furnaces in the Northern Ocean region and Shanghai had repeatedly exploded or clogged. Hubei's steel furnace, with foreign artisans studying firing conditions closely, now tapped steel in just over three hours instead of the six hours previously required; the quality matched foreign steel and was fit for cannon making. The cannon works also began operations, trial-building Krupp field guns of 6.5 and 7 or 8 centimeter caliber from the newly refined steel. If the steel proved sound and test firings accurate, 12-centimeter heavy guns could follow. With military demand urgent, workers were ordered to produce more Siemens-Martin and Bessemer steel for rifle and cannon manufacture. Modern land warfare depended on repeater quick-firing guns; breech-loading rifles and cannon alone were not enough, so adding quick-firing gun machinery at the Hubei plant was especially valuable. The ironworks railway and its foreign and Chinese workers had originally been planned for two furnaces. With only one furnace running, annual output was just over 15,000 tons, and losses were heavy. With the Ma'anshan coal mine and coke ovens nearly complete, Hunan anthracite would be mixed with coke to keep two furnaces running and make the operation viable. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

二十年，總理衙門王大臣疏言：「軍務緊急，以趕造軍火為先務，而經費有限。以之購買外洋軍火則不足，且多須時日，以之就各省現有局廠加工製造，則軍火可倍而出之。前由戶部撥款，在吉林設立機器局，專供吉林、黑龍江二省常年操防之用。請飭吉林機器局加添工料，增造軍火，以應急需。」湖廣總督張之洞疏言：「湖北新設之漢陽鐵廠，先開生鐵大爐一座，日夜出鐵八次，共五十餘頓，以後日見進步，有每日出六七十頓者。其次乃煉熟鐵、煉貝色麻鋼、碾鐵條、制鋼軌以及錘鍊烘壓各法，一時並舉。所出之鐵，雖系初煉，已與外洋相較，無甚軒輊。現在江夏馬鞍山煤井所出之煤，可作焦炭，合於煉鐵之用，已開橫穴煤巷，現擬進掘三層橫穴。外洋之大洗煤機及運煤之鐵掛線路，均已次第竣工。洋式焦炭爐十座，年內當可一律告成，足敷生鐵一爐及各廠鍊鋼之用。參以湖南所產白煤油煤，即可二爐齊開。」此制造鋼鐵已有成效之情形也。

In Guangxu 20 (1894), the princes and ministers of the Zongli Yamen wrote: "With military affairs urgent, rushing ordnance production was the top priority, but funds were limited. That sum was too small to buy arms abroad and would take too long; applied to intensified production at existing provincial arsenals, ordnance output could be doubled. The Board of Revenue had previously funded a machine bureau in Jilin to supply the regular drill and defense needs of Jilin and Heilongjiang. He asked that the Jilin machine bureau be ordered to add materials and labor and step up ordnance production to meet urgent demand." Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of Huguang reported: "At Hubei's new Hanyang ironworks, one large pig-iron furnace was tapping eight times around the clock for more than fifty tons a day; output was improving daily, with some days reaching sixty or seventy tons. Wrought-iron refining, Bessemer steel production, bar rolling, rail making, and hammering, refining, baking, and pressing were all launched at once. Even as first-run output, the iron compared favorably with foreign product. Coal from the Ma'anshan mine in Jiangxia could be coked for iron smelting; horizontal tunnels had been opened, and three more levels were planned. Large foreign-style coal washers and the iron cable railway for hauling coal had been completed in turn. Ten foreign-style coke ovens would all be finished within the year, enough to supply one pig-iron furnace and the steelworks. Combined with Hunan anthracite, both furnaces could then run together. Such was the progress already achieved in steel and iron manufacture.

又疏言：「鐵廠之設，實兼採鐵、鍊鋼、採煤三大端為一事。而開煤所費，幾與煉鐵相等，本難併入造廠煉鐵計算。開平煤礦，費至二百萬，始克成功。今鐵廠自經始至觀成，用款繁鉅，所有奏明撥用之款，早經用罄，雖以槍砲經費勻撥，不敷仍多。非原估續估之多疏漏，實因開煉以後經費，與造廠工程本系二事，必須先行籌墊一年。且事皆創舉，機局變更無常，隨時補救，增出用款，多在洋匠原擬之外，非預料所及。其增出之款，除零星雜費數十項不計外，舉其重大者數端：一、增購機爐工料，如增置十五頓大汽錘一具，增貝色麻大壓汽機一副，增造西門士爐底火泥管及造火磚機器，增改生鐵大爐架一座，爐內用磚，令與礦煤之性相合，增生鐵廠內之鐵瓦敞棚，增中西兩式洗煤機，增內地火磚焦炭爐，增鋪地鐵板，增廠內運物鐵路，增運礦煤鐵車，增爐上鐵蓋，爐外水池水溝，及四周之保險門，增銅鐵管及水箱，增化驗煤鐵大小各項器具材料，以及汽表風表水表，皆為精細貴重之件。一、增募開煉洋匠，原擬僱用八人，其餘僱用熟手之華匠百餘人應用。開煉之事，以生鐵大爐為重，中國向未煉過。若欲選用華匠，非有極聰明之人在廠精練多年，難與此選。即鍊鋼各廠，亦非得專門名家之洋匠領首作工不可。若手法稍不中程度，即致變生意外，危險之至。現募到洋匠二十八人，均萬不可少，較原估八人多出二倍餘。一、添補不全機器，外洋運到之機件，沿途損缺頗多。其簡便者，由漢陽本廠自行修補二千餘件外，其重大精細機器，必須由外洋或上海洋行重行購補。或此種不甚靈動，則洋匠必另購一機以救之。或此式之爐，試煉焦炭不淨，或舊法所采之礦不多，則洋匠又思一法以損益之。曠日加工，致多糜費。一、外洋金鎊值價日昂，比初定機器時，價高過半。而改換機器，訪訂洋匠等事，日積月累，亦成鉅款。一、多用煤斤，凡鐵山煤礦，開採轉運，以及鐵廠起重運料、試鑽開井、抽水壓氣，無在不需機器，即無日不用煤斤，為數甚鉅。又生鐵大爐，購用外洋焦炭，試煉兩月，費亦不貲。各款皆原估所難周悉，加以煤井開至數十丈，已費盡人工機器之力，而煤層忽脫節中斷。外洋辦法，必仍就原處追尋，另行開井。而重開一井，非鉅款不辦。現實無此財力。若非馬鞍山煤井有成，則全恃湘煤，所費更鉅。此則時局變遷，多費用款，初非意料所及。前曾督飭局員及洋匠礦師，續估用款，以為能銷貨周轉，不致再有增加之款。乃移步換形，層折過多，加工遂致加料，費日因以費工，不特非局員所能限定，並非洋匠所能預知，多方補救，繁費滋多。今撥借各款，所餘無幾，若行銷挹注，必俟兩爐齊開，一年以後，始能流通周轉。尤須鋼鐵各料，胥臻精美，合於製造之用，方可期流通無滯。至暢銷後，尤防洋鐵有減價奪售之患。此開煉之初，必須寬籌經費，庶不致停爐待款。原擬就槍砲廠經費挹注，無如槍砲廠增設砲彈、槍彈、砲架三廠，計機器運費等，已需銀三十萬兩，建廠之費，尚不在內，勢不能全行撥用。值此廠工已竣，煉鐵已成之際，所欠者僅此籌墊之款。若鎔鋼煉鐵，因此停工，則製造槍砲，何所取資？當海防緊急之秋，而軍械缺乏，貽誤戎機，關係匪淺。今各省財力，自顧不遑，豈能協助。惟有就湖北本省各款，竭力勻撥周轉，機爐勿使停工，軍實得資接濟，庶不致功虧一簣也。」

He further reported: "The ironworks combined three major undertakings—iron mining, steel refining, and coal mining—in one enterprise. But opening coal mines cost nearly as much as smelting itself and could hardly be folded into the factory construction budget. The Kaiping coal mine had cost two million taels before it succeeded. From groundbreaking to completion, the ironworks had consumed vast sums; approved allocations were long exhausted, and even shifting rifle and cannon funds left a large shortfall. This was not mainly faulty estimating; operating costs after smelting began were separate from construction costs, and a year's operating budget had to be raised in advance. Moreover, everything was new; equipment arrangements changed constantly, repairs were needed on the fly, and added costs mostly exceeded what foreign engineers had originally planned. Among added costs, aside from dozens of minor items, the major ones included: first, additional machinery and materials—a fifteen-ton steam hammer, a Bessemer compression steam engine, Siemens-Martin furnace fire-clay pipes and brick-making machinery, reconstruction of a pig-iron furnace frame with bricks matched to the ore and coal, iron-roofed open sheds, Chinese and Western coal washers, domestic fire-brick coke ovens, floor plates, in-plant freight railways, ore and coal cars, furnace covers, cooling pools and ditches, safety doors, copper and iron pipes and water tanks, coal and iron testing equipment, and steam, air, and water gauges—all precision items of considerable cost. Second, additional foreign smelting specialists: eight had originally been planned, with the rest to be more than one hundred skilled Chinese workers. Smelting turned on the large pig-iron furnace, a process China had never undertaken before. To rely on Chinese workers, one would need exceptionally able men training in the plant for years before they could fill these roles. Even the steelworks required foreign specialists to lead operations. The slightest deviation from proper technique could cause accidents—extremely dangerous work. Twenty-eight foreign artisans had been hired, every one indispensable—more than double the eight originally planned. Third, replacing damaged machinery: many parts shipped from abroad had been damaged or lost in transit. Aside from more than 2,000 simpler parts repaired at Hanyang itself, major precision machinery had to be reordered from abroad or from foreign firms in Shanghai. If a machine type underperformed, the foreign engineers would buy another to fix the problem. If a furnace of this design yielded impure coke in trials, or ore from the old mining method ran short, the foreign engineers would work out another fix. Work dragged on for days and months, wasting large sums. Fourth, foreign sterling rose steadily; compared with the original machinery orders, prices were more than fifty percent higher. Replacing machinery, hiring foreign specialists, and the like piled up month after month into another major expense. Fifth, coal consumption was enormous: mining and hauling at the iron hills, hoisting and moving materials at the works, trial drilling, shaft sinking, pumping, and compressed air—all required machinery and coal every day, in very large amounts. The large pig-iron furnace also bought foreign coke for two months of trial smelting, at considerable cost. None of these costs could be fully covered in the original estimate; coal shafts might be sunk dozens of feet at great labor and machinery expense, only for the seam to fault and break off abruptly. Foreign practice was to keep tracing from the original spot and open a new shaft elsewhere. Opening a new shaft required a large outlay. At present there was no money for that. Without success at the Ma'anshan coal mine, the works would depend entirely on Hunan coal, at even greater cost. These were changes in circumstances and added costs no one had foreseen. He had previously ordered bureau staff, foreign engineers, and mining specialists to revise the budget, expecting sales to sustain operations without further increases. But circumstances kept shifting and complications piled up; extra processing meant extra materials, and lost time meant lost labor. Bureau staff could not cap it, foreign engineers could not foresee it, and every remedy added more expense. Allocated and borrowed funds were nearly exhausted; sales could replenish operations only after both furnaces were running together for a year. Steel and iron stock above all had to reach fine quality suited to manufacturing before sales could flow smoothly. Even after sales picked up, foreign iron underselling remained a serious threat. Smelting required generous funding at the start so furnaces would not sit idle for lack of cash. The plan had been to draw on the rifle-and-cannon factory budget, but that factory had added shell, cartridge, and gun-carriage plants; machinery and freight alone already required 300,000 taels, not counting construction—clearly the full amount could not be diverted. With construction finished and iron smelting under way, only this advance funding was still lacking. If steelmaking and iron smelting stopped for lack of funds, where would arms production get its materials? With coastal defense urgent and ordnance scarce, missing the moment for action would have serious consequences. Provincial finances could barely cover local needs; assistance from other provinces was out of the question. Hubei could only do its utmost to apportion local funds, keep furnaces and machinery running, and supply military stores—so the work would not fail within sight of completion. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

又疏言：「前因開鍊鋼鐵為造械之本，以槍砲廠經費勻撥濟用，而槍砲廠更形支絀。前辦海防所購軍械，每槍式參差，彈碼互異，及舊槍攙雜，藥彈潮濕，流弊滋多。故砲架、砲彈、槍彈三廠之設，萬不可緩。今竭力籌款，先將砲架、砲彈機器，於十八年夏間，在德國力拂廠購定制造水陸行營各種砲架機器全副，每年能成六七生的至十二生的砲架砲車一百副。購定制造克魯伯砲彈機器一副，每日能成六七生的至十二生的砲彈一百顆。其他開花彈、實心彈、群子彈、子母彈，均能自造。又購定小口徑槍彈機器一副，每日可成槍彈二萬五千顆，造銅板、造鉛條、裝藥入彈、修理器具俱全，共用銀三十萬兩有奇。又添廠屋、大小鐵梁、鐵地板、水泥、火磚各種建築工程，三廠合計共用銀十五萬八千兩。近日外洋快砲益精，即兵船八十磅至百磅之大砲，亦用機器造成。鄂廠本系製造新式連珠槍，若能兼造快砲，于軍事尤多裨益。已電詢洋廠，增購新式快砲機器及砲管各件，共價銀三萬兩有奇。其廠仍舊，俟機器到齊，即可改制，較之另起廠屋，所省經費實多。此種快砲六生的者，每分鐘可放三十齣，九生的者，每分鐘可放二十餘出，洵為制勝之具也。」是年，陝西巡撫鹿傳霖疏請以甘肅省舊存製造軍火機器全具，運至陝西省城，試造槍砲子藥。

He memorialized again: "Because refining steel and iron was the foundation of arms manufacture, rifle-and-cannon factory funds had been evenly allocated to support the ironworks, leaving that factory still more strained. Earlier coastal-defense purchases mixed rifle patterns and incompatible ammunition; old rifles were intermingled and powder and cartridges were damp—problems multiplied. Establishing plants for gun carriages, artillery shells, and rifle cartridges could not wait. They had now strained every effort to raise funds and first ordered carriage and shell machinery—in the summer of Guangxu 18 (1892), at the Lifu works in Germany, a complete set for making field, naval, and camp gun carriages and mounts, able to turn out one hundred carriage-and-limber sets from 6 to 7 through 12 centimeter caliber each year. They ordered one Krupp shell-making set able to produce one hundred shells of 6 to 7 through 12 centimeter caliber each day. Exploding shells, solid shot, case shot, and shrapnel could all be made locally. They also ordered one small-caliber cartridge set able to produce twenty-five thousand rounds daily, with complete equipment for sheet brass, lead wire, loading, and repairs—totaling somewhat more than 300,000 taels. Added plant buildings, iron beams, iron flooring, cement, firebrick, and other construction—the three plants together cost 158,000 taels. Foreign quick-firing guns had grown ever more refined; even warship guns of eighty to one hundred pounds were now machine-made. The Hubei plant already made new-style repeater rifles; adding quick-firing guns would help the military even more. They had already telegraphed foreign firms to add new quick-firing gun machinery and barrel parts, at somewhat more than 30,000 taels. The existing plant would remain; once machinery arrived it could be converted—far cheaper than building anew. Quick-firing guns of this type could fire thirty rounds per minute in 6 centimeter caliber and more than twenty in 9 centimeter caliber—truly decisive weapons." That year, Shaanxi Governor Lu Chuanlin asked that Gansu's complete set of old ordnance-making machinery be moved to the Shaanxi provincial capital to trial-build rifles, cannon, and ammunition.

二十一年，奉天增練新軍，將軍依克唐阿遣員在山東、吉林、奉天、遼陽等處，製造銅鐵等各項砲位，華、洋各式步槍，以及砲車砲架，併購製造子彈、碾火藥、造地雷器具，暨刀矛等件，在正餉動支。山東巡撫李秉衡以山東省自設立槍砲機器局後，供給各路軍火，逐年增加製造，請增常年經費。兩江總督張之洞以前年任湖廣總督，創辦湖北漢陽煉鐵廠，及興國州、馬鞍山二處採煤，以供煉鐵之用，著有成效，請優獎在事人員。陝西巡撫張汝梅以陝西省各軍所用里明、毛瑟、中針、後膛各式洋槍，皆由他省協撥，不盡合用。咨商甘肅省撥舊存製造軍火之機器等件，運至陝西，即在省城設立機器局，試造槍砲子藥，隨時修理舊械。

In Guangxu 21 (1895), Fengtian expanded drilling of the new army; General Yiketang'a sent men to Shandong, Jilin, Fengtian, Liaoyang, and elsewhere to build copper and iron artillery, Chinese and foreign-pattern rifles, gun carriages and mounts, and to purchase machinery for cartridges, powder grinding, and land mines, along with spears and halberds—all charged to regular pay funds. Shandong Governor Li Bingheng reported that since Shandong's rifle-and-cannon machine bureau had been established, it had supplied ordnance to various routes with output rising each year, and he requested added regular funding. Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of the Two Jiangs reported that as former Governor-General of Huguang he had founded the Hanyang ironworks and coal mines at Xingguo and Ma'anshan to supply smelting, with notable results, and asked that personnel involved receive special rewards. Shaanxi Governor Zhang Rumei reported that Remington, Mauser, Snider, and various breech-loading foreign rifles used by Shaanxi troops were all allocated from other provinces and not fully suitable. He consulted Gansu to transfer old stored ordnance-making machinery to Shaanxi, establish a machine bureau in the provincial capital to trial-build rifles, cannon, and ammunition, and repair old arms as needed.

兩江總督張之洞上言：「天津、江南、廣東、山東、四川原有制造局，所造軍需水陸應用各件頗多，而所成槍砲甚少。或止能造槍砲彈而不能造槍砲，或能造槍，而汽機局廠尚小，均宜量加擴充。福建船政局現有大鍋爐機器及打鐵各廠，並多諳悉機器員司工匠，若增置造槍砲機器，費省而工亦易集。如奉天為根本重地，而道遠難於接濟，宜專設一廠。陝西為中原奧區，且可以接濟西路，亦宜專設一廠。至各廠製造，大率皆宜以小口徑快槍及行營快砲為主，或槍砲並造，或槍砲分造，宜每項擇定一式，各廠統歸一律，以免參差。腹省各局，只須陸路過山小砲，即足供陸戰之用。若沿江沿海數局，並宜造船台大快砲，每廠每年至少須出快槍五六千枝，陸路、過山二種小快砲一百餘尊，方能濟用。一面僱用洋匠，一面選派工匠赴外洋名廠學習，冀他日能擴充製造廠數處。惟各省局廠，上海、金陵二處雖各有制造局，而金陵局規模頗小，機器未備，所出槍砲無多。其設局之處，限於地勢，不能展拓，僅能擇行軍要需者酌增機器，究不能多。上海製造局雖較宏大，惟所造槍彈、砲彈、水雷、火藥及修理輪船等門類頗多，而不專一，並非專造快槍之機器，每月成槍不過百餘枝，亦無造陸路、過山二種快砲之機器。至大砲則一年或出一、二尊不等。且該局軍械，須運出吳淞江後，再轉入長江。若有兵事，敵人以戰船封口，一切轉運，立即束手。前此開局滬上，只圖取材便利，未能盡善。故沿江內地，必須添設局廠。湖北槍砲廠，因上年槍廠被火後，改造鐵料廠屋，修補機器，甚費經營。快砲所增新機，以工匠初試，未熟線路，猝難較准。今甫造快槍式樣數十枝，快砲式樣一尊，車砲二尊，均尚合用。以後所出，自可日多。惟槍機曾經火灼，敏速之力稍減。一年以內，人器相習，每年約計可造成快槍七八千枝，陸路、過山二種快砲百尊。局廠地踞上游，最為穩固。上可接濟川、湘、陝、豫，下可接濟江、皖，轉運甚便。若在江南另行擇地建造，所費至鉅。不如就湖北廠添購機器，廣為擴充，其鋼鐵即用鄂省鐵廠所煉。除鄂廠原造之數外，今每年能加出快槍一萬枝，無煙藥槍彈一千萬顆，陸路、過山二種快砲二百尊，砲彈二十萬顆。湖北向無新式藥廠，擬並造無煙藥、棕色藥、黑藥，令足敷各種槍砲之用。合計槍砲架藥彈各項機器，與外洋名廠考較，諸從節省，凡運費造廠，約需銀二百萬兩。又因湖北省鐵廠，開煤井，煉焦炭，煉各種精鋼、熟銅、熟鐵，正在緊要之際，槍砲廠則趕造五處廠屋，試造槍砲。此二廠皆經費支絀，所造軍械，非專供湖北之用，請就江南籌防局撥款協濟。」

Governor-General Zhang Zhidong wrote: "Tianjin, Jiangnan, Guangdong, Shandong, and Sichuan already had manufacturing bureaus turning out many land and naval supplies, but relatively few rifles and cannon. Some could make shells but not guns; some could make rifles but their steam shops were still small—all should be expanded as appropriate. The Fujian Naval Yard already had large boiler machinery and forging shops, with many skilled staff and artisans; adding rifle-and-cannon machinery would save money and labor. Fengtian was a fundamental stronghold but distant and hard to supply; it should have a dedicated plant. Shaanxi lay in the heartland and could supply western routes; it too should have a dedicated plant. Plants should generally focus on small-caliber quick rifles and field quick-firing guns; whether rifles and cannon were made together or separately, each item should have one standard pattern across all plants to avoid inconsistency. Interior province bureaus needed only mountain guns for land warfare. River and coastal bureaus should also build emplacement large quick-firing guns; each plant needed at least five or six thousand quick rifles and more than one hundred field and mountain quick-firing guns per year to meet demand. While hiring foreign specialists, craftsmen should also be sent to famous foreign plants to learn, in hope of expanding manufacturing capacity later. Among provincial plants, Shanghai and Jinling each had a manufacturing bureau, but Jinling was small, its machinery incomplete, and its arms output limited. Terrain limited the site and prevented expansion; it could add machinery only for essential field needs and could not produce much. The Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau was larger but spread across cartridges, shells, torpedoes, powder, and ship repair without specialization; it lacked dedicated quick-rifle machinery, made only a little over one hundred rifles a month, and had no machinery for field and mountain quick-firing guns. Large cannon might appear once or twice a year, if at all. That bureau's ordnance also had to cross the Wusong River before entering the Yangtze. In war, if enemy warships blockaded the river, transport would stop immediately. Opening the bureau at Shanghai had favored material convenience over strategic soundness. Additional bureaus and plants were needed along inland river routes. After the Hubei rifle factory burned the previous year, the rifle-and-cannon plant rebuilt iron-material buildings and repaired machinery at great expense. Workers were still on first trials with the new quick-firing gun machinery and unfamiliar with the wiring, so calibration was slow. They had just produced several dozen sample quick rifles, one sample quick-firing gun, and two carriage guns—all still usable. Output should increase steadily thereafter. But rifle mechanisms scorched in the fire had slightly reduced firing speed. Within a year men and machines would adapt; annual output should reach roughly seven or eight thousand quick rifles and one hundred field and mountain quick-firing guns. The plant stood upstream and was strategically secure. Upstream it could supply Sichuan, Hunan, Shaanxi, and Henan; downstream Jiangsu and Anhui—transport was very convenient. Building anew elsewhere in Jiangnan would cost enormously. Better to expand the Hubei plant with added machinery and use steel from the provincial ironworks. Beyond existing output, the plant could now add ten thousand quick rifles, ten million smokeless-powder cartridges, two hundred field and mountain quick-firing guns, and two hundred thousand shells each year. Hubei had no modern powder plant; it proposed also to make smokeless powder, brown powder, and black powder sufficient for all rifles and cannon. Total machinery for rifles, cannon, carriages, powder, and shells—compared with famous foreign plants and with economies applied—would require about 2 million taels for shipping and construction. The Hubei ironworks was opening coal shafts, refining coke, and producing fine steel, wrought copper, and wrought iron at a critical stage, while the rifle-and-cannon plant was rushing five buildings and trial-building arms. Both plants were short of funds and their output served more than Hubei; he asked the Jiangnan coastal-defense bureau to allocate assistance. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

又以「江南省製造局，自光緒十七八年，沿江各省，教案會匪紛起，深恐海上有警，當將製造局應行增制快槍快砲、新式火藥各件，籌議購機試造。迨光緒二十年，日本軍事起，各省徵調頻繁，處處調撥軍火，局中積年所造之槍砲藥彈，幾至撥發一空。自應及時擴充機器，加緊製造。近年軍械，以槍砲藥彈為先，而槍砲尤以新出快式為利。是以鄂省設廠自鍊鋼料，為砲筒槍管之用。又因新式巨砲，皆用栗色火藥餅，快砲快槍皆用無煙火藥，局中自造者無多，應增置各項機器，擇要先辦。將鍊鋼、製藥，及造快槍、快砲各機器數十座，向洋商定購。又購買基地，增建鍊鋼廠、造栗色火藥餅廠、無煙火藥廠，及添購製造鋼料，與造火藥物料，合計用銀四十餘萬兩。其在外洋訂購之器件，與洋商籌議，令其暫行墊辦，不致稽延時日，先將各項機器運到，即可開廠製造。自光緒二十年海防戒嚴，各省防軍需用軍火甚急，而火藥子彈尤為大宗。外洋守局外之例，不肯代購。即使設法運購，而價值驟增數倍，遠涉重洋，敵船又不時邀截，至為困難。今江南製造局購機設廠，自能仿造，不待外求，自為當務之急。但局中常年經費，僅有二成洋稅數十萬兩，只能製造各項子藥，分濟南北兩洋操練防守之需。若加造新式槍砲接濟各軍，則機廠既增，工料自倍加於昔。擬於江海關常年洋稅，或洋藥稅釐，每年加撥銀二十萬兩，為擴充製造後常年工作之需」。

He also reported: "From Guangxu 17–18 (1891–1892), as missionary cases and secret-society unrest spread along the river, the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau feared trouble at sea and planned to expand production of quick rifles, quick-firing guns, and new-style powder, arranging to buy machinery for trial manufacture. By Guangxu 20 (1894), when war with Japan began, provincial requisitions were constant; ordnance went out everywhere, and years of accumulated rifles, cannon, powder, and shells were nearly exhausted. Machinery should be expanded promptly and production stepped up. Recent ordnance priorities were rifles, cannon, powder, and shells; among arms, the newest quick-firing types were especially advantageous. Hence Hubei had set up a plant to refine its own steel for gun barrels and rifle tubes. New large guns all used brown powder cakes, and quick-firing guns and quick rifles used smokeless powder; the bureau made little of its own and should add machinery on a priority basis. Several dozen sets of steel-refining, powder-making, and quick-rifle and quick-firing gun machinery were ordered from foreign firms. Land was purchased for added steelworks, a brown powder cake plant, a smokeless powder plant, and materials for steel and powder manufacture—totaling more than 400,000 taels. For foreign orders, merchants were asked to advance payment temporarily to avoid delay; once machinery arrived, production could begin at once. Since Guangxu 20 (1894), with coastal defense on alert, provincial forces urgently needed ordnance, especially powder and cartridges in bulk. Foreigners observed neutrality and would not buy on others' behalf. Even when purchase was possible, prices multiplied; long ocean voyages and enemy interception made it extremely difficult. With the Jiangnan bureau buying machinery and setting up plants, it could manufacture locally without foreign dependence—an urgent priority. But regular funding was only several hundred thousand taels from twenty percent of customs revenue—enough only for ammunition to supply north and south coastal drill and defense. Adding new-style rifles and cannon for the armies would double materials and labor at the expanded plants. He proposed adding 200,000 taels annually from Jianghaiguan customs revenue or opium tax surcharges for regular operations after expansion."

二十二年，成都將軍恭壽因四川省軍實不充，而防務重要，乃與駐防川省之八旗協領等量力捐廉，製造抬槍九十六枝，鳥槍四百八十枝，均用煅煉純鐵纏絲製造，堅實可恃。其舊存槍枝，一律修整，為操練之需。直隸總督王文韶以北洋機器局所造各種砲子，名目雖不同，而十生的半之子彈居多，皆系舊式，不盡合用。乃向洋商訂購洋式翻沙泥，及造彈各機器，自行仿歐西新式製造。兩江總督劉坤一考核機器局成績，於常年製造之外，鍊鋼廠每年可出快砲快槍筒及槍砲槍件砲架器具等鋼料共二千二百餘頓，栗色火藥廠每年可出栗色火藥二十餘萬磅，無煙火藥廠每年可出無煙火藥六萬餘磅。所創立造槍砲新廠，購機已備，加工製造，每年可出快利新式槍一千五百枝，一百磅子之快砲六尊，四十磅子之快砲十二尊，快利新槍子一百三十餘萬顆，快砲子彈一千五百顆，大小鐵彈一萬餘顆，漸著成績。四川總督鹿傳霖以四川省機器局自光緒十二年至十七年，前督臣劉秉璋曾將在局出力人員獎勵。今又屆五年，所陸續造成機器藥彈等項，皆精良合用，增造後膛毛瑟抬槍亦頗快利。在局各員，仍行獎勵之。

In Guangxu 22 (1896), Chengdu General Gong Shou, finding Sichuan's military stores insufficient and defense critical, joined Eight Banners assistant commanders stationed in the province in salary contributions to build ninety-six wall guns and four hundred eighty matchlock muskets, all of forged pure iron with wire-wrapped barrels—solid and reliable. Old rifles on hand were all repaired for drill. Governor-General Wang Wenshao of Zhili reported that although Beiyang Machine Bureau shells bore different names, most were old-style 10.5 centimeter shells and were not fully suitable. He ordered foreign-style sand-turning mold clay and shell-making machinery from foreign merchants to imitate Western new-style production locally. Governor-General Liu Kunyi of the Two Jiangs assessed bureau performance: beyond regular output, the steelworks produced more than 2,200 tons of steel annually for quick-firing gun and quick-rifle tubes, rifle and cannon parts, gun-carriage fittings, and tools; the brown powder plant produced more than 200,000 pounds of brown powder; the smokeless powder plant produced more than 60,000 pounds of smokeless powder. At the newly established rifle-and-cannon plant, with machinery in place, intensive production could yield each year 1,500 Kuaili new-style rifles, six 100-pounder quick-firing guns, twelve 40-pounder quick-firing guns, more than 1.3 million Kuaili rifle rounds, 1,500 quick-firing gun shells, and more than 10,000 iron shells large and small—results were gradually taking shape. Sichuan Governor Lu Chuanlin reported that from Guangxu 12–17 (1886–1891), former Governor Liu Bingzhang had once rewarded the hard-working staff of the Sichuan Machine Bureau. Five years had passed again. Successive output of powder and shells was fine and serviceable, and the added production of breech-loading Mauser wall guns was also brisk and effective. The bureau staff were rewarded once more.

直隸總督王文韶因京師練兵處王大臣以京營訓練，需用打帽抬槍一千五百枝，令北洋製造局如式製造，以應要需。乃造成邊機抬槍、中機抬槍各一枝，試放均屬靈捷合用。惟邊機抬槍分兩太重，不便施放。若用中機抬槍改造邊機，其尺寸斤兩，仍與中機抬槍一致。即令製造局按照此式，製造邊機前門大式抬槍五百枝，隨槍物件共五百分，以中機抬槍改造邊機前門小式抬槍一千枝，隨槍物件共一千分。其制造款項，由北洋作正開支。北洋製造局向有歲造荷砲子彈經費銀四萬兩，本年以此項荷彈歲費，改造後門抬槍。今練兵處需槍孔急，擬即以此款移用。

Governor-General Wang Wenshao of Zhili reported that the grand ministers at the capital Drill and Training Office, preparing to drill the capital garrison, needed 1,500 percussion-cap wall guns and ordered the Beiyang Manufacturing Bureau to build them to pattern. One border-mechanism and one medium-mechanism wall gun were built; test firing showed both were nimble and serviceable. But the border-mechanism model was too heavy to handle comfortably. If the border mechanism were adapted from the medium-mechanism design, dimensions and weight would remain the same as the medium-mechanism model. The bureau was ordered to build 500 large front-loading border-mechanism wall guns with 500 accessory sets, and 1,000 small front-loading border-mechanism wall guns adapted from the medium-mechanism model with 1,000 accessory sets. Beiyang would cover the manufacturing costs from regular funds. The Beiyang Manufacturing Bureau's annual 40,000-tael appropriation for howitzer shells would this year be diverted to build breech-loading wall guns instead. With the Drill and Training Office urgently short of rifles, he proposed redirecting the funds at once.

湖廣總督譚繼洵以「湖北省製造軍火，向年所造舊式抬槍、線槍、抬砲、劈山砲等項，均系前膛，不及後膛新槍砲之敏捷，擬向外洋購置機器，改造各項後膛槍砲，並製造砲彈槍彈銅殼等項。今因部臣允從奉天府丞李培元之議，令各省製造局兼造抬槍，並造內地火藥，籌度辦理。因抬槍、抬砲本中國向日制勝之具，將弁兵丁素所習練，今若改用後膛，操演易於精熟，用款不多，而日後可收大效。雖漢陽槍砲廠規模宏遠，而機器種類各有不同，若抬槍、抬砲等器，他日能製造精純，亦可為漢廠之助也」。山東巡撫李秉衡考核機器局成績，於光緒二十一年所造成各種火藥十五萬六千九百六十斤，大銅帽火七十二萬顆，開花炸子一千六百顆，炸子銅螺絲引門一千六百副，克雷力伯銅砲拉火銅管四萬四千枝，帶活架瓶砲九尊，大砲子一千四百九十顆，洋鉛彈丸一百三十九萬四百五十粒，添造各廠應用機器及熟鐵大鍋爐一具，修理各營損壞洋槍洋砲，製成各項軍火箱盒，修理槍子廠、軋銅廠房屋及大鍋爐，爐台、烘銅爐、大煙筒、生鐵廠、保險爐、提硝房、工務廠之屋宇等，又採買硝磺銅鐵鋼鉛及華、洋各種物料，暨員匠工役薪工運腳雜費等，共支用銀六萬四千七百餘兩有奇。是年，戶部從吉林將軍長順之議，增吉林機器局製造軍火常年經費，除黑龍江軍隊領用外，其餘分給奉天防軍。

Governor-General Tan Jixun of Huguang reported: "Hubei's ordnance works had long turned out old-style muzzle-loading wall guns, line guns, wall cannon, and mountain guns—less agile than new breech-loaders. I propose buying foreign machinery to convert production to breech-loading rifles and cannon and to manufacture shells, rifle rounds, brass cartridge cases, and the like. With the Board having approved Assistant Prefect Li Peiyuan of Fengtian's proposal for provincial bureaus also to build wall guns and domestic powder, he was planning accordingly. Wall guns and wall cannon were China's traditional weapons of victory, and officers and men already knew them. Switching to breech-loaders would make drill easier to master at modest cost and pay large dividends later. Although the Hanyang Rifle and Cannon Works was immense, its machinery served different purposes; if wall guns and wall cannon could one day be built to a high standard, they would also strengthen the Hanyang plant." Shandong Governor Li Bingheng assessed the machine bureau's Guangxu 21 (1895) output: 156,960 jin of various powders; 720,000 large percussion caps; 1,600 explosive shells; 1,600 shell fuse gates; 44,000 Krupp cannon priming tubes; nine mounted bottle cannon; 1,490 large cannonballs; 1,390,450 foreign lead bullets; plant machinery and a large wrought-iron boiler; repairs to camps' damaged foreign rifles and cannon; ordnance boxes; repairs to bullet and copper-rolling plant buildings, boilers, furnace platforms, copper-drying furnaces, chimneys, cast-iron plant, safety furnace, saltpeter rooms, and works buildings; purchases of saltpeter, sulfur, copper, iron, steel, lead, and Chinese and foreign materials; and staff, craftsmen, labor, transport, and miscellaneous costs—totaling more than 64,700 taels. That year the Board of Revenue approved Jilin General Chang Shun's proposal to increase regular funding for the Jilin Machine Bureau; aside from Heilongjiang army allotments, the rest would go to Fengtian defense forces.

二十三年，大學士榮祿上言：「製造軍火，以煤鐵為根本。外洋購價日昂，中國各省煤鐵礦產，以山西、河南、四川、湖南為最，應令山西等疆吏籌款，從速開採，設立製造局廠，漸次擴充，以重軍需。」廷議允之。令督撫臣就地方情形認真籌辦，總期有備無患，庶足倉卒應變。是年，湖北巡撫譚繼洵以湖北省製造軍火，增置砲架、槍彈、砲彈三廠，所有機器工料之價，並改換新式快砲機器，尚需銀十四萬餘兩，即在籌捐項下撥給。

In Guangxu 23 (1897), Grand Secretary Rong Lu wrote: "Ordnance production rests on coal and iron. Foreign prices kept rising; Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan, and Hunan had China's richest coal and iron deposits. Frontier officials in Shanxi and elsewhere should raise funds to open mines quickly, establish manufacturing plants, and expand gradually to strengthen military supply." The court approved. Governors and governors-general were ordered to plan earnestly according to local conditions, aim to be prepared against trouble, and be ready for sudden emergencies. That year Hubei Governor Tan Jixun reported that Hubei was adding gun-carriage, rifle-round, and shell plants; machinery, materials, and new quick-firing gun equipment would require more than 140,000 taels, to be drawn from fund-raising donations.

山東巡撫李秉衡上言：「山東機器局於光緒二十二年間所造軍火，共造成各種洋火藥十九萬六千餘斤，堅利遠後膛大抬槍二百十六枝，步槍六枝，大銅帽火四百四十二萬顆，粗細銅管拉火六萬二千枝，銅砲炸子二千一百顆，炸子引門二千一百副，砲子一千一百九十個，各種群子八萬四千八百個，各種後膛自來火帶藥槍子一百十六萬八千四百顆，洋鉛丸一百七十二萬一千五百粒，抬槍、抬砲、來福槍、鳥槍及裝配毛瑟槍、哈乞開司槍各種大小鉛丸一百五十九萬粒，捲筒鉛子二萬一千二百斤，並修成各營抬槍、抬砲、洋槍、洋砲，添買車床、鑽床及各項雜費，均歸戶部核銷。原有機器局，設法擴充製造，添造槍械，採購應用材料，增建廠屋，購買機器，乃於機器廠後建設洋式大槍廠一所。造槍需用銅鐵零件甚多，則熟鐵廠必須擴充，乃於舊鐵廠之後，另建洋式熟鐵大廠一所。造槍則用槍子倍多，乃於舊槍子廠之東，另建洋式槍子廠一所。槍子需銅最多，乃另建軋銅大廠一所。外洋製造廠，視鍋爐之大小，以定煙筒之高下。今造成九十五尺高之煙筒一座，七十五尺高之煙筒一座，五十五尺高之煙筒一座，鐵煙筒一座。廠基深掘五尺，煙筒基深掘八尺，均密釘排椿，上築三合土，蓋以大石板，再砌條石牆腳，則扁磚實砌，純灌灰漿，梁棟皆用外洋木之方而巨者，屋柱則生鐵鑄成，即機器常年震動，不致有鼓裂之虞。此外所增建者，軍械日富，則有存儲之區，工匠日多，則有休息之所，乃建軍火庫二十間，工匠房四十間。又建水龍房以備不虞，泥工廠以資修葺，皆不可少之工。共增廠四座，群屋八十餘間，較原廠擴充三分之二。至製造抬槍機器，外洋本無抬槍名目，故無此專用機器。嗣選通曉製造之員，與洋商參酌，定造抬槍機器，並可兼造毛瑟洋槍機器共六十餘種。此外地軸皮帶鎚鉗軸枕螺絲各種輪模刀鑽，共一百七十餘件，已陸續運解到省。俟機器及銅鐵鋼料運齊，工匠募足，即可開車製造。共用銀十二萬兩，先由籓庫及南運局籌給。」

Shandong Governor Li Bingheng reported: "In Guangxu 22 (1896) the Shandong Machine Bureau produced more than 196,000 jin of foreign powder; 216 sturdy long-range breech-loading large wall guns; 6 rifles; 4.42 million large percussion caps; 62,000 copper primers; 2,100 copper cannon explosive shells; 2,100 shell fuse gates; 1,190 cannonballs; 84,800 canister rounds; 1,168,400 breech-loading self-igniting cartridges; 1,721,500 foreign lead balls; 1,590,000 large and small lead balls for wall guns, wall cannon, rifles, matchlock muskets, and Mauser and Hotchkiss rifles; 21,200 jin of rolled-tube lead bullets; repairs to camps' wall guns, wall cannon, foreign rifles, and foreign cannon; added lathes, drill presses, and miscellaneous costs—all subject to Board of Revenue audit. The existing machine bureau would expand production, add arms, buy materials, erect new buildings, and purchase machinery; a foreign-style large-rifle plant was built behind the machine shop. Rifle production required vast numbers of copper and iron parts, so the wrought-iron plant had to expand; a foreign-style large wrought-iron plant was built behind the old iron works. Rifle production doubled bullet demand, so a foreign-style bullet plant was built east of the old bullet works. Bullets consumed the most copper, so another large copper-rolling plant was added. Foreign factories sized their chimneys to match their boilers. The bureau built chimneys ninety-five, seventy-five, and fifty-five feet high, plus one iron chimney. Plant foundations were dug five feet deep and chimney foundations eight feet; both were densely piled, capped with rammed earth and large stone slabs, then cut-stone footings, solid flat-brick walls, and pure mortar; beams and rafters used large square foreign timber and roof columns were cast iron, so constant machinery vibration would not crack or bulge the structure. As ordnance stocks grew, twenty storehouses were added; as the workforce expanded, forty craftsmen quarters were built. A fire-engine house was added against emergencies, and a masonry shop for upkeep—both indispensable. Four new plants and more than eighty grouped buildings expanded the original works by two-thirds. Foreign arsenals had no category called "wall gun," so no dedicated wall-gun machinery existed abroad. Staff skilled in manufacture then worked with foreign merchants to order wall-gun machinery that could also turn out Mauser rifle parts—more than sixty types in all. More than 170 additional items—ground shafts, belts, hammers, vises, shaft pillows, screws, wheels, molds, knives, and drills—had already reached the province in batches. Once machinery, copper, iron, and steel arrived and craftsmen were fully hired, production could begin at once. The project cost 120,000 taels, to be raised first from the provincial treasury and the Southern Transport Bureau. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

大學士榮祿建議，通飭各省製造快槍、快砲、無煙火藥，並鍊鋼鐵各項機器。海疆多事，武備為先，須通力合作，以備強敵。河南巡撫劉樹棠上言，河南機器局規模甚小，若遵榮祿所議，兼造各式軍械，財力實有未逮。豫省機器局建設於省城南門外卓屯地方。其造彈機器，已向上海信義洋行定購，在外洋加工造成，陸續運至河南，安置妥貼，開工製造槍彈火藥。其造抬槍車床，亦經運到，並訂購鋼筒五百枝。先造後膛抬槍五百桿，以資應用。本省新練之豫正全軍，一律改習洋操。又通令各州縣，籌款自練勇隊，所需槍械子藥，皆省局自造。

Grand Secretary Rong Lu proposed ordering every province to manufacture quick rifles, quick-firing guns, smokeless powder, and steel-refining machinery. With coastal troubles mounting, military preparedness came first; provinces had to cooperate to meet a formidable enemy. Henan Governor Liu Shutang reported that the Henan Machine Bureau was very small; if Rong Lu's plan required building every kind of ordnance, the province simply could not afford it. The Henan Machine Bureau stood at Zhuotun outside the provincial capital's south gate. Bullet-making machinery had been ordered from the Xinyi foreign firm in Shanghai for manufacture abroad, shipment to Henan, installation, and production of rifle rounds and powder. Wall-gun lathes had also arrived, and five hundred steel barrels were ordered. Five hundred breech-loading wall guns would be built first for immediate use. The province's newly drilled Yuzheng full army would all switch to foreign drill. He also ordered every prefecture and county to raise funds and train local militia; rifles, ammunition, and powder would all come from the provincial bureau.

湖廣總督張之洞上言：「大學士榮祿議令產煤鐵各省，咸從速開採，已經設立有制造局廠省分，規模未備者，尤宜擴充，自鍊鋼以迄造無煙藥彈各項機器，均須實力講求，以重軍需。所言切中機宜，亟應籌辦。湖北製造廠所造快槍、快砲，為新式最精之械。若有械無彈無藥，仍屬虛器。故既添設銅殼廠，又須添設無煙藥廠。因外洋裝配快槍、快砲，悉用無煙火藥，他項洋藥皆不合用。又槍管砲身，必須精鍊之罐子鋼，方足以受無煙火藥之漲力。湖北鐵廠所煉之西門馬丁鋼，以之制他器，則已稱精良。以之制槍砲，則尚非極致。外洋罐子鋼之價值，數十倍於常鋼，非徒購運道遠也。故鋼藥二者，必須購機自造。雖物力困絀，終不敢畏難自沮，致已成之槍砲廠，有不全不備之弊。故於上年即飭局員在漢口禮和洋行議定向德國格魯森廠添購無煙火藥機，每十點鐘能出火藥三十三磅，每年約出火藥五十頓，共價德銀十三萬六千八百馬克。今機器已運至上海。上年又與禮和洋行訂購德國名廠煉罐子鋼機器全副，每日能煉罐子鋼二、三頓，鑄鋼機能鑄塊鋼，每塊重二頓，價值運保各費，共用德銀十三萬馬克，久已起運，即可到滬。至廠中侭制行營快砲，以備陸戰之用。因經費太絀，故於砲台之大砲，未經議及。外洋新式十二生的長快砲，安置沿江砲台，能施放有準，足禦敵艦。上年由出使德國大臣許景澄在力拂廠訂購十二生的快砲並架彈等機，共用德銀三十二萬五千馬克，機器月內可到。以上各機，皆屬無款可籌，不得不與洋商婉商墊欠，分期歸款，庶可及早舉辦。加以添購大小新式樣砲、碾銅板機、拉鋼機、壓鋼機、大汽錘以及添配最精之鋼模樣板等件，約須銀十數萬兩。再加增建廠屋，又需銀十餘萬兩。其增雇華、洋工匠常年製造工料之費，為數甚鉅，又需銀二十三萬兩。各款均無所出。如上海製造局年撥八十萬兩，嗣因添制快槍，並加撥常年工作之需，每年用款已逾百萬兩。現在湖北廠所造槍砲子彈，比津局既逾數倍，比滬局亦復加多，近又添造無煙火藥，添煉罐子鋼，添造砲台所用十二生的大快砲，功用益廣，而常年經費僅土藥稅等三十六七萬兩，較滬局止及三分之一。惟有請加撥常年專款，符原估七十五六萬之數，庶可增料加工，使舊有各廠得盡機器之力，新增各廠早收美備之功。況近年武備最重，鄂廠調撥槍砲供給各處，為數甚多，造成槍砲，並非湖北一省之用。事關全局，滬廠、鄂廠，理無二致，軍實要需，必多為籌備也。」

Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of Huguang wrote: "Grand Secretary Rong Lu urged coal- and iron-rich provinces to open mines quickly. Provinces with manufacturing plants that were still incomplete should expand especially—from steel refining through smokeless-powder and shell machinery—all must be pursued in earnest to strengthen military supply. His proposal was exactly right and should be pursued at once. The quick rifles and quick-firing guns from the Hubei plant were the finest new-style arms. Arms without rounds and powder were still useless metal. Having added a brass-cartridge plant, a smokeless-powder plant was also required. Abroad, quick rifles and quick-firing guns all used smokeless powder; other foreign powders would not do. Rifle barrels and cannon bodies also required finely refined pot steel to withstand smokeless powder's explosive force. The Siemens-Martin steel from the Hubei ironworks was already excellent for other implements. For rifles and cannon, it was still not the highest grade. Foreign pot steel cost dozens of times ordinary steel—not only because of distance and transport. Steel and powder both had to be produced with purchased machinery. Resources were tight, but he dared not be deterred by difficulty and leave the existing rifle-and-cannon plants incomplete. Last year he ordered bureau staff at the Hankou Carlowitz foreign firm to negotiate adding smokeless-powder machinery from Germany's Gruson works—thirty-three pounds every ten hours, about fifty tons a year—for 136,800 German marks. That machinery has now reached Shanghai. Last year he also ordered through Carlowitz a complete pot-steel refining plant from a leading German factory—two or three tons daily, with casting machinery for two-ton ingots—for 130,000 German marks including transport and insurance; it had long been shipped and would soon reach Shanghai. The plant had so far made only field quick-firing guns for land warfare. Funds were too tight to address the large guns for fort batteries. Foreign new-style 12-centimeter long quick-firing guns in riverside batteries could fire accurately and repel enemy ships. Last year Minister to Germany Xu Jingcheng ordered 12-centimeter quick-firing guns plus carriage and shell machinery from the Lifu works for 325,000 German marks; the machinery would arrive within the month. None of this machinery had allocated funds; he had no choice but to negotiate advance credit from foreign merchants and repay in installments so work could begin promptly. Adding large and small new-style guns, copper-plate rolling machinery, steel-drawing and steel-pressing machinery, large steam hammers, and the finest steel pattern plates would cost several hundred thousand taels more. New plant buildings would require more than 100,000 taels more. Hiring additional Chinese and foreign craftsmen and paying for regular materials would require another 230,000 taels. There was no source for any of these funds. The Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau, for example, received 800,000 taels a year; after adding quick rifles and regular operating funds, annual spending already exceeded one million taels. The Hubei plant already produced several times more rifles, cannon, and shells than Tianjin and more than Shanghai as well; it had lately added smokeless powder, pot-steel refining, and 12-centimeter fort quick-firing guns—yet regular funding was only about 360,000–370,000 taels from the native opium tax and the like, just one-third of Shanghai's allotment. He could only ask for added regular dedicated funds matching the original estimate of 750,000–760,000 taels so materials and labor could expand, existing plants could fully use their machinery, and new plants could soon reach full capacity. Military preparedness weighed heaviest in recent years; the Hubei plant supplied rifles and cannon to many places—the output was not for Hubei alone. This concerned the whole empire; Shanghai and Hubei should be treated alike, and military stores urgently needed fuller funding. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

二十四年，山西巡撫胡聘之以山西省向無機器製造局，亟宜籌辦。因派員赴天津向洋商定購製造槍砲各種機件，並酌建廠屋，雇集工匠，仿洋式自行製造。在省城北關外擇地建廠。因山西僻在內地，非通商口岸，凡辦料募匠等事，用費極昂，即以歸化城關稅盈餘之款撥用。各機器運到晉省，開廠興工。山東巡撫張汝梅以山東省機器局自創造至今，並未延聘西人，而內地風氣初開，其精於製造人員，實不多見。且所造全系銅鐵硝磺等火器，局員工匠，素鮮經驗，非洋匠專門之比，稍一不慎，即有損傷炸裂之虞，至難極險，與尋常差使不同，乃量予獎敘。

In Guangxu 24 (1898), Shanxi Governor Hu Pinyi reported that Shanxi had never had a machine manufacturing bureau and one should urgently be established. He dispatched staff to Tianjin to order rifle-and-cannon machinery from foreign merchants, planned plant buildings, hired craftsmen, and began foreign-style local manufacture. A site outside the provincial capital's north gate was chosen for the plant. Shanxi lay remote in the interior, not a treaty port, so procuring materials and hiring craftsmen was extremely costly; funding would come from Guihuacheng customs surpluses. Once the machinery reached Shanxi, the plant opened and work began. Shandong Governor Zhang Rumei reported that since the Shandong Machine Bureau was founded it had never employed Westerners, and with inland industry only beginning, skilled manufacturing personnel were scarce. Everything produced was ordnance of copper, iron, saltpeter, and sulfur; bureau staff and craftsmen had little experience and were no match for specialized foreign artisans. The slightest mistake risked injury or explosion—the work was extraordinarily difficult and dangerous, unlike ordinary duty—so he granted measured rewards.

直隸總督裕祿以北洋之軍械共有二局，一為機器局，一為製造局。機器局所有制造火藥、毛瑟槍子銅帽、各式後膛砲彈及硝磺鏹水、雷電器具、卷銅鍊鋼等機，每年能造黑色火藥七十餘萬磅，栗色火藥二十五萬餘磅，棉花火藥五萬餘磅，無煙火藥八千餘磅，毛瑟後膛槍子四百餘萬粒，銅帽火二千八百餘萬粒，鋼彈一千二百顆，大小砲子一萬四千餘顆。製造局每年能造七生的半開花砲子一萬二千顆，銅件一萬六千副，克魯伯鐵身砲車十具，銅管拉火二萬四千枝，哈乞砲子五萬餘顆，哈乞開司槍子二百十萬餘粒，雲者士得槍子一百四十餘萬粒。而外洋所出軍械，日新月異。今各路軍營所用毛瑟快槍、小口毛瑟槍、格魯森五生的過山快砲、克魯伯七生的半陸路行營快砲、七生的過山快砲，頗為合用，宜次第仿造。

Governor-General Yu Lu of Zhili reported that Beiyang ordnance had two bureaus: a Machine Bureau and a Manufacturing Bureau. The Machine Bureau made powder, Mauser rifle caps, various breech-loading shells, saltpeter, aqua fortis, lightning equipment, and copper-rolling and steel-refining machinery; annually it could produce more than 700,000 pounds of black powder, 250,000 pounds of brown powder, 50,000 pounds of cotton powder, 8,000 pounds of smokeless powder, more than 4 million Mauser breech-loading rounds, more than 28 million cap primers, 1,200 steel shells, and more than 14,000 cannonballs large and small. The Manufacturing Bureau could produce 12,000 7.5-centimeter explosive shells, 16,000 sets of copper fittings, ten Krupp iron gun carriages, 24,000 copper primers, more than 50,000 Hotchkiss shells, more than 2.1 million Hotchkiss rifle rounds, and more than 1.4 million Werndl rifle rounds each year. But foreign ordnance changed month by month. The Mauser quick rifles, small-bore Mauser rifles, Gruson 5-centimeter mountain quick-firing guns, Krupp 7.5-centimeter field quick-firing guns, and 7-centimeter mountain quick-firing guns used by armies on various routes were quite suitable and should be copied in turn.

兩江總督劉坤一以江南省製造局之後膛抬槍，上海製造局之快利新槍，及大小砲位，均稱合用。金陵局機器無多，凡大宗軍火，胥由上海製造局供用。近年增設煉銅廠、栗色火藥廠、無煙火藥廠三處，其所制砲，有十二磅子六磅子二種快砲，與北洋所用快砲口徑相同。惟北洋之七生的快砲，湖北之三生的七快砲，南洋之六生的快砲，若購自外洋，終非久計。乃擬增換機爐，自行製備，專精仿造。所有槍砲子彈，與天津、湖北二廠咸歸一律。四川總督文光因前奉朝旨，令四川製造局漸次擴充。前督臣恭壽擬就川省原有機器局擴充製造，不必另設局廠。但機器局雖創設多年，而規制未宏，若欲廣制槍砲，殊不敷用。乃擬增置長刨床一部，小車床及壓銅機器、引長機器、齊口機器各四部，緊口機器二部，均已一律制全，靈動堅固，與購自外洋者不異。惟機器既已增加，則製造亦宜推廣，應加常年經費銀二萬兩，以備製造之需。

Governor-General Liu Kunyi of the Two Jiangs reported that the Jiangnan bureau's breech-loading wall guns, the Shanghai bureau's Kuaili new rifles, and cannon large and small were all judged serviceable. The Jinling bureau had little machinery; bulk ordnance all came from the Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau. Three plants were added in recent years—a copper-refining plant, a brown-powder plant, and a smokeless-powder plant; their cannon included 12-pounder and 6-pounder quick-firing guns of the same caliber as Beiyang quick-firing guns. But Beiyang's 7-centimeter quick-firing guns, Hubei's 3.7-centimeter quick-firing guns, and Nanyang's 6-centimeter quick-firing guns could not rely on foreign purchase forever. He therefore proposed upgrading furnaces and machinery to build them locally and specialize in imitation production. All rifle, cannon, and shell production would be standardized with the Tianjin and Hubei plants. Sichuan Governor Wen Guang reported that under a former court order the Sichuan Manufacturing Bureau was to expand gradually. Former Governor Gong Shou had proposed expanding the province's existing machine bureau rather than founding a separate plant. Although the machine bureau had existed for years, it was still small; it could not support large-scale rifle and cannon production. He therefore proposed adding one long planing machine, four each of small lathes and copper-pressing, drawing, and facing machines, and two tightening machines—all already completed, nimble and solid, no different from foreign purchases. Since new machinery had been added, production should be expanded as well—20,000 taels in regular annual funding should be added to meet manufacturing needs.

二十五年，湖廣總督張之洞上言：「軍實最為急需，利器必須完備，近日鍊鋼造藥，尤為槍砲廠必不可少之需，無罐子鋼則槍砲不精，非無煙藥則槍砲無用。屢經奉旨，責令湖北與上海各局，趕造軍械，供京營之用。而籌款艱難，何從趕辦。前所請加撥宜昌關稅銀五萬兩，仍請照撥，俾購機建廠製造等事，徐底於成。上海製造局新增鋼藥三廠，每年加撥經費銀二十萬兩，鄂廠事同一律，舊設各廠，經費本屬不敷，新廠所需，更無從出。若從部議，不得動用關稅，則製造將無可措手。綜計新廠需款共二十餘萬兩，但能加撥宜昌稅銀五萬，當設法周轉，不使廠務停滯也。」吉林將軍延茂于吉林省機器局增置機器，並代造黑龍江鎮邊軍及靖邊新軍各營軍火。山東巡撫毓賢擴充東省機器局，增建製造新槍大廠、造槍子廠、熟鐵廠、軋銅廠、化銅廠、泥工廠、軍火庫房、水龍廠房、法藍爐房、儲器房。又造大小磚鐵煙筒鐵柵等件。黑龍江將軍恩澤上言：「黑龍江鎮邊軍，每年由練餉內提銀三萬兩充軍火經費，歸吉林機器局兼造。近年物料昂貴，實不敷用。以新編之師，操練宜勤，軍火尤為繁巨。應仿照奉天、吉林二省設局自造軍火成案，於黑龍江省城擇地設立專局，悉心製造。此項購買機器建築廠房各費，約用銀十萬餘兩，在鎮邊新軍歲需軍火經費內分年籌撥。」

In Guangxu 25 (1899), Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of Huguang wrote: "Military supplies are the most urgent need, and serviceable weapons must be fully provided. Steel refining and powder manufacture have become indispensable to rifle and cannon plants; without crucible steel, rifles and cannon lack precision; without smokeless powder, they are useless. Imperial orders had repeatedly directed the Hubei and Shanghai bureaus to rush production of arms for the capital garrison. But raising funds was difficult—how could they hurry the work? He again asked that the previously requested supplemental allotment of 50,000 taels from Yichang customs duties be granted, so machinery purchases, plant construction, and manufacturing could gradually be completed. The Shanghai bureau had added three steel and powder plants with a supplemental annual appropriation of 200,000 taels; the Hubei plant should receive the same treatment—existing plants were already underfunded, and there was no source for new plants. If the board's decision barred use of customs duties, production would have no way to proceed. The new plants would need more than 200,000 taels altogether, but with the supplemental 50,000 taels from Yichang customs, he would find ways to keep funds moving so plant operations would not stall." Jilin General Yan Mao added machinery at the Jilin Machine Bureau and also produced ordnance for the Heilongjiang Frontier Defense Army and the battalions of the Jingbian New Army. Shandong Governor Yu Xian expanded the provincial machine bureau, adding a large new-rifle plant, a rifle-round plant, a wrought-iron plant, a copper-rolling plant, a copper-refining plant, a masonry plant, ordnance storehouses, a fire-engine building, an enamel-furnace building, and a storage building. It also produced brick and iron chimneys, iron fences, and other items large and small. Heilongjiang General Enze wrote: "The Heilongjiang Frontier Defense Army drew 30,000 taels each year from drill pay for ordnance expenses, with production handled by the Jilin Machine Bureau. In recent years materials had grown costly and the funds no longer sufficed. With newly organized divisions requiring steady drill, ordnance needs were especially heavy. Following the Fengtian and Jilin precedent of establishing local ordnance bureaus, a dedicated bureau should be set up in the Heilongjiang provincial capital for careful production. Machinery purchases and plant construction would cost about 100,000 taels, to be raised by annual allotments from the Jingbian New Army's ordnance budget. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

是年，令各省疆臣，製造槍砲，為邊防第一要著。惟各省財力不齊，自應就原有局廠切實擴充，以備鄰近各省就近購用。又令各疆臣：「天津、上海、江寧、湖北等處，均有制造槍砲局廠，曾令督撫臣切實會商，務將所制槍砲膛口，子彈大小，各局統歸一律，以期通用。並將每年所造槍件子藥若干，據實上聞，並按季咨報戶部、神機營查核。乃為時已久，並未據報有案。槍砲為行軍要需，豈容因循延宕。」令裕祿、劉坤一、張之洞：「詳析查明各廠局所造槍砲，究系何項名目，是否業已會商，造成一律，迅即切實復陳。嗣後仍遵前旨，按年按季分別奏咨，毋得延緩。各督撫督率承辦各員，認真經理，精益求精。並將槍砲膛口子彈，彼此比較畫一，務令不差累黍，庶各省互相接濟，臨時不致缺誤。倘管理局員草率從事，虛糜經費，或演放時有炸裂等事，治以重罪。」旋經兩江總督劉坤一覆陳：「當飭滬、寧二處製造局員，將出入款項，核實勾稽，製造軍械，詳細考究。並令與天津機器局、湖北槍砲廠隨時知照，互相講求。復由上海製造局員馳赴湖北比較數次，兩局所製成槍砲子彈，格式分量，口徑大小，一律合膛，並無歧異。惟江寧製造局所造後膛抬槍，系出新創，各省槍械，均無此式。其兩磅子、一磅子後膛快砲，亦與上海局中所造一律。此外砲架、砲彈、各種槍子拉火等件，分解南北洋各軍應用。以經費有限，未能加撥擴充。該局在江寧城外，粗具規模。且居腹地形勝之區，一旦海上有事，在內地製造，接濟軍需，庶幾緩急足恃。至上海製造局，並能造各項快砲，除砲台所用之大砲外，其所造四十磅一種，即北洋之十二生的快砲，其十二磅一種，即北洋之七生的半快砲，其六磅子一種，即北洋之五十七米里快砲，其兩磅子一種，即湖北三生的七快砲。洋廠名稱雖殊，其尺寸大小，則不差累黍。今由上海製造局派員與天津、湖北二局逐一比試，均無參差。其快利新槍，系以舊機參用人工所造，亦頗便利。究嫌費用多而出槍少，去年飭各軍改用小口徑毛瑟快槍。本擬訂造此種槍枝及造槍彈機器，專一仿製，以歸一律。訪之上海各洋行，需款數十萬，為期且甚久，一時無此財力。遂仍用舊機，更易機簧，添配車座，訂購改造七米里之毛瑟槍枝槍彈等件，按照合同，每日可出槍十枝。俟安裝全備，即日開工，嚴定章程，按年按季上聞，以期核實。各局兼造各項快砲，均系新式，尚敷應用。至仿造小口徑毛瑟槍，僅有湖北、上海二廠，其機器一系新購專門，一系舊式更改，能力所限，每年造槍不多，各路軍營，恐難遍給。曾與直隸、湖廣督臣商酌添購造槍新機，無論在津、鄂、寧、滬何廠承造，均以款絀，未能即行擴充。南洋軍火經費，但期洋稅暢收，並竭力撙節，另款存儲，以備添置仿造小口徑毛瑟槍機器一部，能數年之內，機器購全，與湖北槍砲廠分途仿造，以期器械日精。又擬請設立工藝學堂，學習船械槍砲汽雷等各種製造，以廣人才。」是年，浙江巡撫劉樹堂向金陵軍械所撥用德國老毛瑟槍三千枝，子彈一百五十萬顆，供浙省防軍之用。

That year the court ordered provincial governors and frontier officials to make rifle and cannon production the first priority of border defense. Since each province's finances differed, existing bureaus and plants should be earnestly expanded so neighboring provinces could buy locally. Frontier officials were again ordered: "Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangning, Hubei, and other places all have rifle and cannon plants. Governors were once told to confer earnestly and standardize rifle and cannon bores and bullet sizes across bureaus for mutual interchangeability. Each year's rifle parts and ammunition produced should be truthfully reported to the throne and quarterly to the Board of Revenue and the Shenji Camp for verification. Yet a long time had passed without any such reports on file. Rifles and cannon were essential to campaigning—delay could not be tolerated." Yulu, Liu Kunyi, and Zhang Zhidong were ordered: "Investigate in detail what types of rifles and cannon each plant produces, whether consultation has taken place, and whether production has been unified; report back earnestly at once. Thereafter they were to follow the former order, reporting annually and quarterly in memorials and dispatches without delay. Each governor and governor-general was to supervise responsible officials, manage earnestly, and keep improving quality. Rifle and cannon bores and bullets were to be compared and standardized to the smallest measure, so provinces could support one another and not fail in an emergency. If bureau managers worked carelessly, wasted funds, or explosions occurred during test firing, they would face severe punishment." Governor-General Liu Kunyi of the Two Jiangs then replied: "He had ordered the Shanghai and Jiangning bureau officials to audit receipts and expenditures and to study ordnance production in detail. They were also to keep the Tianjin Machine Bureau and Hubei Rifle and Cannon Plant informed and to work together on improvements. Shanghai bureau officials also traveled to Hubei several times for comparison; rifles, cannon, and bullets from the two bureaus matched in pattern, weight, and caliber without discrepancy. Only the Jiangning bureau's breech-loading wall guns were a new design; no other province had this pattern. Its 2-pounder and 1-pounder breech-loading quick-firing guns also matched those made at the Shanghai bureau. Gun carriages, shells, rifle rounds, primers, and other items were allocated to the northern and southern fleets. Funds were limited, so no additional allotments for expansion could be made. That bureau outside Jiangning city had reached a modest scale. It also lay in a strategically placed interior region; if trouble arose at sea, inland production could supply military needs in an emergency. The Shanghai bureau could also make various quick-firing guns; aside from large fort guns, its 40-pounder type matched Beiyang's 12-centimeter quick-firing gun, its 12-pounder matched Beiyang's 7.5-centimeter quick-firing gun, its 6-pounder matched Beiyang's 57-millimeter quick-firing gun, and its 2-pounder matched Hubei's 3.7-centimeter quick-firing gun. Foreign plant names differed, but the dimensions matched to the smallest measure. Officials from the Shanghai bureau had compared them one by one with the Tianjin and Hubei bureaus and found no discrepancy. Its Kuaili new rifles were made with old machinery supplemented by hand work and were fairly convenient. They were costly and output was low; last year all armies were ordered to switch to small-caliber Mauser quick-firing rifles. The plan was to order machinery for this rifle and its ammunition and specialize in imitation to achieve uniformity. Inquiries at Shanghai foreign firms showed several hundred thousand taels would be needed over a long period—beyond current means. Old machinery was therefore retained, with springs replaced and carriages added, and conversion to 7-millimeter Mauser rifles and ammunition was ordered; under contract, ten rifles could be produced daily. Once installation was complete, work would begin at once; regulations would be fixed and reports made annually and quarterly to the throne for verification. The quick-firing guns made at each bureau were all new patterns and still sufficed for use. Only the Hubei and Shanghai plants imitated small-caliber Mauser rifles—one with newly purchased specialized machinery, the other with converted old equipment. Capacity was limited, annual output was modest, and camps on every route would be hard to supply fully. He had consulted the governors of Zhili and Huguang on buying new rifle-making machinery, but whether production was at Tianjin, Hubei, Jiangning, or Shanghai, funds were short and expansion could not proceed at once. For Nanyang ordnance funds, he hoped foreign-tax receipts would remain strong and that through strict economy separate funds could be saved to buy machinery for small-caliber Mauser rifles, so that within a few years equipment could be fully purchased and imitation carried out alongside the Hubei Rifle and Cannon Plant, with arms growing steadily finer. He also proposed establishing a technical school to train men in shipbuilding, ordnance, rifles, cannon, torpedoes, mines, and related manufacture, to broaden the talent pool." That year Zhejiang Governor Liu Shutang drew 3,000 old German Mauser rifles and 1,500,000 rounds from the Jinling Ordnance Depot for Zhejiang's defense forces.

二十六年，直隸總督裕祿上言：「北洋機器局經費，每年用銀二十五萬餘兩，所造軍火，向供北洋海軍及淮、練各營操防之用。近年經費減收，而向例撥解軍火之外，又加以新練武衛等五大軍，而京師神機、虎槍等營，復時有調撥，每虞缺乏。況增募各軍，皆以快槍、快砲為利器，各項槍砲子彈，必須自行製造，始能不誤操防。因於光緒二十四年，始陸續購辦製造快砲快槍子彈及造無煙槍砲火藥等項機器，今始由外洋次第運至天津，安設入廠。並派員赴上海、江寧等處，將各局所造快槍、快砲格式，及槍子、砲彈分量，互相討論，取到江南、湖北二局所造槍砲各種子彈，詳加比較，以求畫一。所有北洋增造快槍子廠、無煙火藥廠、快砲子廠，並整頓鍊鋼廠等項經費，每年至少須增用銀十五萬兩，應由部臣在各海關洋稅內加撥，以濟軍用。」

In Guangxu 26 (1900), Governor-General Yulu of Zhili wrote: "The Beiyang Machine Bureau spent more than 250,000 taels each year; its ordnance ordinarily supplied the Beiyang navy and the Huai and training camps for drill and defense. In recent years revenues had fallen, yet besides customary ordnance allocations there were now the five newly trained armies such as the Wuyi Army, and the Shenji, Huqiang, and other capital camps also required frequent transfers—shortages were feared at every turn. Moreover the newly recruited armies all relied on quick-firing rifles and guns; all rifle, cannon, and ammunition had to be manufactured locally to keep drill and defense on track. Machinery for quick-firing gun and rifle rounds and smokeless rifle and cannon powder was therefore purchased gradually beginning in Guangxu 24 (1898); only now was it arriving from abroad at Tianjin for installation. Officials were also sent to Shanghai, Jiangning, and other places to discuss quick-firing rifle and gun patterns and the weights of rifle rounds and shells; samples from the Jiangnan and Hubei bureaus were obtained and compared in detail to seek uniformity. Funds for Beiyang's added quick-firing rifle-round plant, smokeless-powder plant, quick-firing shell plant, and steel-refining reorganization would require at least 150,000 taels more each year; board officials should add allotments from port foreign customs taxes to meet military needs. (closing quotation mark in the source.)

二十八年，兩江總督劉坤一以上海製造局自製之新式無煙快槍、車輪快砲協濟廣西軍營。四川總督奎俊以四川省機器局自光緒三年創建廠房，製造槍砲，五年停辦。六年奉旨復開局製造，並增修熟鐵鍋爐碾火藥各廠房，各洋火藥局，迄今二十餘年，所造軍械，成績頗多。而屋宇年久漸多朽壞，一律修造，以濟要工。上年因擴充製造，已增設繪圖委員，既經培修各廠，乃增繪圖房、白火藥房各一所。四川人心浮動，調撥威遠軍一營，常年駐守局旁，以資巡察。並建修表碼廠一所，為演試槍砲之地。閩浙總督許應騤以上年防務戒嚴，福建機器局製造槍子所需用魚子火藥，及海口砲台所用砲位藥餅，因外洋禁售軍火，乃採購土硝硫磺，以備製造。復飭機器局，按照洋式，自造車輪快砲並快槍，共採買土硝七萬斤，硫磺一萬斤，自製成魚子洋式火藥五萬磅，各大砲藥餅六百九十三出，三磅子車輪快砲十二尊，十二磅子快砲二尊，後膛新式抬槍一百枝，修改後膛子輪快砲六尊，在海防經費內開支。

In Guangxu 28 (1902), Governor-General Liu Kunyi of the Two Jiangs supplied Guangxi camps with new smokeless quick-firing rifles and wheeled quick-firing guns made by the Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau. Sichuan Governor Kuijun reported that the Sichuan Machine Bureau had built plant buildings and manufactured rifles and cannon since Guangxu 3 (1877) and ceased operation in Guangxu 5 (1879). In Guangxu 6 (1880) manufacture reopened by imperial order, with wrought-iron, boiler, powder-grinding, and other plants and foreign-powder bureaus added and repaired; over twenty years since, ordnance output had been considerable. But buildings had gradually deteriorated over the years and were all to be repaired to meet urgent needs. Last year, with manufacture expanding, drafting commissioners were added; once the plants were repaired and expanded, one drafting room and one white-powder room were added. Because Sichuan's populace was restless, one battalion of the Weiyuan Army was stationed at the bureau year-round for patrol. A firing range was also built and repaired for test-firing rifles and cannon. Governor-General Xu Yingqi of Fujian and Zhejiang reported that last year, with coastal defense on alert, the Fujian Machine Bureau needed pellet powder for rifle rounds and powder-charge cakes for fort batteries; because foreign countries forbade ordnance sales, native saltpeter and sulfur were purchased for manufacture. The machine bureau was also ordered to build wheeled quick-firing guns and quick-firing rifles on foreign patterns; 70,000 jin of native saltpeter and 10,000 jin of sulfur were purchased; it produced 50,000 pounds of foreign-style pellet powder, 693 large-cannon powder-charge cakes, twelve 3-pounder wheeled quick-firing guns, two 12-pounder quick-firing guns, one hundred new breech-loading wall guns, and six modified breech-loading wheeled quick-firing guns—all charged to coastal-defense funds.

二十九年，兩江總督張之洞以滬上之制造局所有機器，七年以前所造，系林明登槍，乃外洋陳舊不用之式。兩年以前所造，系快利槍，乃製造局臆造之式，亦不甚合用。故槍械新舊湊配，出數無多，砲機亦未能完備，而歲費巨款，頗為可惜。當整頓武備之時，軍營所用槍械，宜歸一律。乃定議上海廠仿照湖北廠，改造小口徑新式毛瑟快槍。惟上海廠槍機不能全備，必須兼以人工，費工多而出槍少。近年雖增機整頓，每日止能出槍七枝，一年出二千餘枝，於武備大局無裨。其砲廠所造車輪砲，亦不甚合用，必須購新式造槍機器，每年能造五萬枝快槍者，添配新式造砲機器，每年能造大台砲十尊，七生的半口徑快砲二百尊者，庶數年之後，足以應各省之求，而歸畫一。

In Guangxu 29 (1903), Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of the Two Jiangs reported that the Shanghai bureau's machinery had produced Remington rifles more than seven years earlier—an obsolete foreign pattern no longer used. Within the last two years it had produced Kuaili rifles—a pattern improvised by the bureau—and those were also not very suitable. Old and new firearms were therefore mixed, output was modest, cannon machinery was incomplete, yet huge sums were spent each year—a waste. At a time of reorganizing armaments, camp firearms should be unified. The Shanghai plant was therefore to follow the Hubei plant in converting to small-caliber new-pattern Mauser quick-firing rifles. But the Shanghai plant's rifle machinery was incomplete; manual labor had to supplement it, costing much labor for modest output. Although machinery had been added in recent years, output was only seven rifles daily—about two thousand per year—of little help to the larger cause of armaments. The wheeled guns from its cannon plant were also unsuitable; new rifle machinery capable of fifty thousand quick-firing rifles per year must be bought, along with new cannon machinery capable of ten large platform guns and two hundred 7.5-centimeter quick-firing guns per year, so that within a few years it could meet provincial demand and achieve uniformity.

江西巡撫夏★J9以江西省製造局規模狹小，擬先造快槍，向外洋定購小口徑毛瑟槍新式機器全副，每日約能出槍十五枝，彈殼機器全副，每日約能造槍彈三千顆，並向洋商酌配購機件，俾一機能造數器，以期價省而用宏。另備公用機器一副，為添配修理各廠機器之用。

Jiangxi Governor Xia Min reported that the Jiangxi Manufacturing Bureau was too small; it planned first to make quick-firing rifles, ordering from abroad a complete set of new small-caliber Mauser rifle machinery capable of about fifteen rifles daily and cartridge-case machinery capable of about three thousand rounds daily, and consulting foreign merchants on matching parts so one machine could serve several tools, hoping to save cost and broaden utility. A separate set of general-purpose machinery was also to be provided for adding parts and repairing plant machinery.

閩浙總督崇善以福建省於光緒二十五年，將前所移附馬尾船廠之機器，仍移設省城水部門內，專制各砲台砲子炸釘等項。旋於二十六年，在機器局旁擴充地基，增建槍子廠屋一座。又於二十八年，在省城西關外另設製造局，專造無煙快槍。其機器槍子二廠，自開辦至二十八年，止共用經費銀一十七萬八千餘兩，製成三磅子快砲二十四尊，與上海局所造砲同式，福字一號二號陸軍後膛快砲二尊，洋式十二磅半快砲二尊，而機簧標準，均不甚靈捷。尚有修改船廠舊式陸路快砲四尊，福強軍後膛車砲六尊，製造新式後膛抬槍一百枝，改造短柄洋槍一百枝，製造各項後膛槍子三百二十餘萬顆。其餘修理各項洋槍，製造前膛砲子彈等件，為費甚多。其機器槍子二廠，建設在水部門內人煙稠密之處，存儲軍火，大非所宜，不如西關外製造局地面寬大，不近民居。蓋製造槍砲，與製造子彈，本系一事，與其分廠而費大，不如合廠而費省。乃飭二廠一律暫行停造，歸併製造一局，將製成槍砲子彈及機件材料，妥為存儲。其員役工匠，大加裁減，每年只造各式抬槍，及各式子彈，以備操防所用。

Governor-General Chongshan of Fujian and Zhejiang reported that in Guangxu 25 (1899) Fujian moved back to the provincial capital at Shuimen the machinery previously transferred to the Mawei shipyard, specializing in fort-battery shells, explosive nails, and related items. In Guangxu 26 (1900) land beside the machine bureau was expanded and one rifle-round plant building was added. In Guangxu 28 (1902) a separate manufacturing bureau was established outside Xiguan west of the provincial capital, specializing in smokeless quick-firing rifles. Its two machine and rifle-round plants, from opening through Guangxu 28 (1902), had used only 178,000-odd taels; they produced twenty-four 3-pounder quick-firing guns of the same pattern as Shanghai bureau guns, two Fu No. 1 and No. 2 army breech-loading quick-firing guns, and two foreign-pattern 12.5-pounder quick-firing guns—but springs and standards were not very nimble. They also modified four old-pattern land quick-firing guns from the shipyard, six Fuqiang Army breech-loading field guns, one hundred new breech-loading wall guns, and one hundred short-stocked foreign rifles, and produced more than 3,200,000 breech-loading rifle rounds of various types. Repairs to various foreign rifles and manufacture of muzzle-loading cannon rounds and other items also cost greatly. Its two machine and rifle-round plants stood inside Shuimen in a densely populated area—storing ordnance there was unsuitable; the manufacturing bureau outside Xiguan had ample space and was not near dwellings. Manufacturing rifles and cannon and manufacturing rounds were originally one matter; merging plants would save expense rather than running separate plants at greater cost. Both plants were therefore ordered to suspend production temporarily and merge into one manufacturing bureau; finished rifles, cannon, rounds, machinery parts, and materials were to be properly stored. Staff and artisans were greatly reduced; each year only various wall guns and rounds would be made for drill and defense.

山東巡撫周馥以山東省為海防要地，而軍隊器械不足。請向金陵製造局購新制三十七米里小快砲，湖北槍砲廠購格魯森五生的七過山快砲，並開花子彈。兩江總督張之洞以東西洋各國章程，於槍砲等件，每得新式，一律通行，其舊式軍械概行作廢。今湖北、上海二局，一律專造小口徑毛瑟快槍，乃將上海製造局所存快利槍枝悉行報廢，期軍火日精。河南巡撫張人駿以河南省機器局製造軍械，規模未備，亟應增購槍砲子彈需用銅鐵各料，並自造毛瑟快槍、無煙火藥。山東巡撫周馥以山東省機器局歷年造成各種西式槍枝火藥槍丸，今復採買外洋銅鐵各料，增造各廠機器爐房箱盒。是年，以湖北漢陽廠仿格魯森新式所造五生的三及五生的七之開花砲彈二種，又曼利亞槍彈、黎意槍彈各槍拉火，撥毅軍備用。福建機器局增造無煙火藥機器。

Shandong Governor Zhou Fu reported that Shandong was a key coastal-defense area but army equipment was insufficient. He asked to buy newly made 37-millimeter small quick-firing guns from the Jinling Manufacturing Bureau and Gruson 5.7-centimeter mountain quick-firing guns from the Hubei Rifle and Cannon Plant, along with explosive shells. Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of the Two Jiangs reported that in Eastern and Western practice, whenever a new rifle or cannon pattern was adopted, it was adopted uniformly and old arms were discarded. The Hubei and Shanghai bureaus now specialized exclusively in small-caliber Mauser quick-firing rifles; the Shanghai bureau's stored Kuaili rifles were therefore all written off as scrap, expecting ordnance to grow steadily finer. Henan Governor Zhang Renjun reported that the Henan Machine Bureau was not yet fully scaled; copper, iron, and other materials for rifles, cannon, and rounds should urgently be purchased, and Mauser quick-firing rifles and smokeless powder should be made locally. Shandong Governor Zhou Fu reported that the Shandong Machine Bureau had over the years produced various Western-style rifles, powder, and balls; it was now buying foreign copper, iron, and other materials and adding machinery, furnaces, buildings, and boxes at the various plants. That year two types of Gruson-pattern explosive shells—the 5.3-centimeter and 5.7-centimeter types—made at the Hubei Hanyang plant, along with Mannlicher and Lee rifle rounds and primers, were allocated to the Yi Army for reserve use. The Fujian Machine Bureau added smokeless-powder machinery.

三十年，河南巡撫陳夔龍以河南省原有機器局，因陋就簡，未能講求新法，請增購機器十部，及一切應用物件，併購兩磅銅砲胚二十尊，四磅銅砲胚十尊，以備自行製造，逐漸開拓。兩江總督魏光燾擴充金陵機器局，仿照外洋，製造各式砲位架具、炸彈銅火，及砲台需用各件，分設機器翻沙、鐵木、火箭各廠。

In Guangxu 30 (1904), Henan Governor Chen Kuilong reported that Henan's original machine bureau had made do with what was at hand and had not pursued new methods; he asked to buy ten additional machines and all needed items, along with twenty 2-pounder and ten 4-pounder copper gun blanks, to prepare for local manufacture and gradual expansion. Governor-General Wei Guangtao of the Two Jiangs expanded the Jinling Machine Bureau; following foreign models, it manufactured gun-mount fittings, explosive shells, copper primers, and fort-battery items, establishing separate machine, sand-casting, iron-and-wood, and rocket plants.

三十一年，兵部議江南、天津、山東各處機器局，並金陵洋火藥局，所有運送軍裝軍火等運費，一律報部。四川總督錫良因奉部臣議，自光緒三十年以後，所有修整廠房機器，並造成機器火藥洋槍等件，遵新章呈報戶部。山東巡撫楊士驤以山東省機器局自創設以來，所造西式各種火藥大銅帽火，各種後膛槍來福槍，各式洋鉛丸，並增各廠機器爐房，尚不敷用。又採買外洋銅鐵物料，擴充製造。河南巡撫陳夔龍擴充河南機器局，即開工製造槍砲子彈，以供軍實。是年，戶部定議，通飭各省所有機器製造局，以後如採購物料，必報部核銷。

In Guangxu 31 (1905), the Board of War ruled that transport costs for military equipment and ordnance at the Jiangnan, Tianjin, Shandong, and other machine bureaus and the Jinling foreign-powder bureau should all be reported to the board. Sichuan Governor Xi Liang, following the board's ruling, reported to the Board of Revenue from Guangxu 30 (1904) onward all plant and machinery repairs and all production of machinery, powder, foreign rifles, and related items under the new regulations. Shandong Governor Yang Shixiang reported that since the Shandong Machine Bureau was established, its output of Western-style gunpowder, large copper percussion caps, breech-loading rifles, rifles, and foreign lead balls, together with the machinery and furnace buildings added at the various plants, was still insufficient. Foreign copper and iron materials were purchased again to expand production. Henan Governor Chen Kuilong expanded the Henan Machine Bureau and immediately began manufacturing rifles, cannon, and bullets to supply the army. That year the Board of Revenue ruled that every provincial machine manufacturing bureau must report material purchases to the board for audit and reimbursement.

三十二年，四川總督錫良綜核機器局成績，續造機器槍械、蜀利抬槍、利川手槍等一百有四起，火藥二萬餘斤，馬梯尼槍彈、毛瑟槍彈三十餘萬顆。湖廣總督張之洞以湖北省新增鋼藥各廠，所有經費，由兵工總局兌收。兩江總督周馥上言，上海製造局各項軍火，悉仿西式造成，分給各省，共經費二百三十八萬兩有奇，所用材料，多系洋產，工資物價，均無定例，難以常例相繩。陝西巡撫曹鴻勛以陝西省製造局陸續制給各營火藥三萬餘斤，鉛丸七千餘斤，為滿、綠各營操防之用。直隸總督袁世凱、兩江總督端方會議，令金陵機器局仿照外洋製造各式砲位車輛架具、炸彈銅火以及修配砲台等處需用物件，分設機器翻沙、鐵木、槍子、卷銅、火藥各廠，雇募工匠，常川製造。四川總督錫良擴充川省製造槍砲所，造毛瑟槍彈，一切改良，仿造外洋九響毛瑟等槍子彈，亦能如式命中，修造機件，日益加多。是年，命政務處大臣會同部臣，嚴核各省機器槍砲局廠，五年保獎一次。

In Guangxu 32 (1906), Sichuan Governor Xi Liang reviewed the machine bureau's output and continued production of 104 sets of machine weapons, Shuli sniping guns, and Lichuan pistols, more than 20,000 jin of gunpowder, and more than 300,000 Martini and Mauser rounds. Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of Hu-Guang reported that all expenses for Hubei's newly added steel and powder plants were to be covered by the Ordnance General Bureau. Governor-General Zhou Fu of the Two Jiangs submitted a memorial that the Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau's Western-style ordnance, distributed to the provinces, had cost more than 2.38 million taels; most materials were foreign imports, and wages and prices had no fixed standard, so ordinary regulations could not be applied. Shaanxi Governor Cao Hongxun reported that the Shaanxi manufacturing bureau had successively supplied the camps with more than 30,000 jin of gunpowder and more than 7,000 jin of lead balls for Manchu and Green Standard training and defense. Governors-General Yuan Shikai of Zhili and Duan Fang of the Two Jiangs jointly ordered the Jinling Machine Bureau to follow foreign models in manufacturing gun mounts, vehicles, fittings, explosive shells, copper primers, and fort-battery items; separate machine, sand-casting, iron-and-wood, bullet, copper-rolling, and powder plants were established, craftsmen were hired, and production was kept running continuously. Sichuan Governor Xi Liang expanded the provincial gun and cannon works, producing Mauser rifle rounds; with steady improvements it copied foreign nine-shot Mauser and other rifle ammunition to standard accuracy, and the machinery it repaired and built grew steadily. That year grand councilors of the Bureau of Government Affairs were ordered, together with ministry officials, to strictly audit every provincial machine rifle and cannon bureau and plant, with retention and reward once every five years.

三十三年，陸軍部議建四大兵工廠，使所出軍械，日精日多，以備緩急之用。護理四川總督趙爾豐綜核機器局成績，於光緒三十二年內，共修理機器五十九起，舊式洋槍一千餘枝，新造法藍單響毛瑟槍一千四百餘枝，標刀帽火針簧一千四百二十餘起，洗把一百四十餘個，九響毛瑟槍藥彈一百零四萬二千餘顆，毛瑟槍藥殼三十三萬餘顆，單響毛瑟槍藥彈三十三萬六千顆，銅擊火八百顆，十三響馬槍彈一千二百顆，碰火二千顆，紅銅小火四十六萬顆，黃銅釘五十二萬顆，火槍八枝，洋鼓二百十二個，各項機件一萬五千十一起，已成洋火藥二萬八千一百八十五斤，均經試放合用，分別存儲。

In Guangxu 33 (1907), the Army Ministry proposed building four major ordnance plants so that output would grow steadily finer and more abundant for emergencies. Acting Sichuan Governor Zhao Erfeng reviewed the machine bureau's output: in Guangxu 32 (1906) it repaired 59 sets of machinery, more than 1,000 old-pattern foreign rifles, more than 1,400 newly made single-shot French Mauser rifles, 1,420-odd sets of bayonet caps, firing pins, and springs, more than 140 cleaning rods, more than 1,042,000 nine-shot Mauser rounds, more than 330,000 Mauser cartridge cases, 336,000 single-shot Mauser rounds, 800 copper primers, 1,200 thirteen-shot cavalry rounds, 2,000 friction primers, 460,000 small red-copper fire caps, 520,000 brass nails, 8 fire lances, 212 foreign drums, 10,511 assorted machine parts, and 28,185 jin of finished foreign gunpowder—all test-fired, found suitable, and stored separately.

湖廣總督張之洞創建湖北兵工廠，始於光緒十六年，經營籌度，至是年而規模始具。初辦時，每日所出七米里九口徑毛瑟快槍不過十餘枝，復經設法擴充，增置機器，以後每日可造成五十餘枝。槍彈一項，僅日造數千顆，逐漸加造至五萬餘顆。所造三生的七格魯森快砲，自開機至二十五年止，共造成六十餘尊。嗣於二十五年改造五生的七過山快砲，每年可造成六十餘尊至九十尊。開花砲彈，由五萬餘顆遞加至每年七萬餘顆。所造各項槍砲子彈，與來自外洋者無所區別。至鋼藥二種，逐年次第增設鍊鋼、拉鋼各廠，所煉出鋼質，亦頗精良合用。火藥廠所造成無煙火藥，足能源源接濟，使兵工廠無誤製造子彈之用。所造軍械至三十二年年底止，共造成馬步快槍十萬一千六百九十枝，槍彈四千三百四十三萬七千九百三十一顆，各種快砲七百三十尊，前膛車砲一百三十五尊，各種開花砲彈六十三萬一千七百顆，前膛砲彈六萬零八百六十顆。辦事各員，不辭勞瘁，寒暑無間，乃能有此成績。光緒二十四年，曾加獎勵，今又及十年之久，仍匯案給獎。

Governor-General Zhang Zhidong of Hu-Guang founded the Hubei Ordnance Plant in Guangxu 16 (1890); after years of planning, by that year its scale was finally complete. At first daily output of 7.9-millimeter Mauser quick-firing rifles was only about ten; after further expansion and added machinery, it later reached more than fifty per day. Rifle rounds at first totaled only a few thousand per day; production was gradually raised to more than 50,000. From the plant's opening until Guangxu 25 (1899), it produced more than sixty 3.7-centimeter Gruson quick-firing guns. From Guangxu 25 (1899) it switched to 5.7-centimeter mountain quick-firing guns, producing sixty to ninety per year. Explosive shell output rose step by step from more than 50,000 to more than 70,000 per year. The rifles, cannon, and ammunition it produced were indistinguishable from foreign imports. For steel and powder, steel-refining and steel-drawing plants were added year by year; the steel smelted was also quite fine and serviceable. The powder plant's smokeless powder supply was steady enough to keep bullet production at the ordnance plant from falling behind. By the end of Guangxu 32 (1906), total output was 110,190 cavalry and infantry quick-firing rifles, 434,379,031 rifle rounds, 730 quick-firing guns of various types, 135 muzzle-loading field guns, 631,700 explosive shells, and 60,860 muzzle-loading shells. The officials in charge worked through cold and heat without rest—only thus could such results be achieved. Rewards had been granted once in Guangxu 24 (1898); after another ten years the cases were assembled again and rewards issued.

安徽巡撫馮煦以安徽省所用槍彈，向年購自他省，乃以原有之造幣廠改為製造局，為自造子彈及修理槍械之用，遂購機募匠，開局興辦。四川總督錫良以上年曾派員出洋考察製造軍械事宜，即在德國名廠訂購製造小口徑毛瑟快槍及造子彈、造無煙火藥各種機器，分運到川。因舊日製造局無可展拓，乃另擇相宜之地，建築造槍廠、造槍彈廠、造無煙火藥廠，仿德國蜀赫廠新式自造。

Anhui Governor Feng Xu reported that Anhui's rifle rounds had long been bought from other provinces; he converted the existing mint into a manufacturing bureau for local bullets and rifle repair, bought machinery, hired craftsmen, and opened operations. Sichuan Governor Xi Liang reported that the previous year he had sent officials abroad to inspect arms manufacture; at famous German plants they ordered machinery for small-caliber Mauser quick-firing rifles, bullet-making, and smokeless powder, shipped to Sichuan in separate consignments. Because the old manufacturing bureau could not be expanded, a new site was chosen and rifle, bullet, and smokeless-powder plants were built, copying the new German Suhl pattern for local production.

三十四年，直隸總督楊士驤在保定省城內軍械局增建火藥庫及兵房。東三省總督徐世昌以近年東省新軍日增，乃於省城設立軍械總局，吉林、黑龍江二省各設分局，以修械司附屬之。

In Guangxu 34 (1908), Zhili Governor Yang Shixiang added a powder magazine and barracks at the ordnance bureau in Baoding. Governor-General Xu Shichang of the Three Eastern Provinces reported that the eastern provinces' new armies had grown steadily; he established a general ordnance bureau in the provincial capital, with branch bureaus in Jilin and Heilongjiang and attached repair services.

宣統元年，陸軍部建議，泰西各國軍械製造局廠內首領以次各官，多與我國副、協都統、參領、軍校諸秩相埒。我國製造軍械，設立學堂，將來製造人才造就日多，應仿各國成規，於各製造廠設工官以供驅使，湖廣總督陳夔龍以湖北省兵工鋼藥廠自成立以來，為軍械要需，每年經費，增銀至八十萬兩，以維局務。

In Xuantong 1 (1909), the Army Ministry proposed that in Western ordnance bureaus and plants, the chief and subordinate officials mostly ranked on a par with Chinese vice commanders, assistant commanders, staff officers, and military academy graduates. As China manufactured arms and trained talent in its schools, technical officers should be established at each plant following foreign practice; Governor-General Chen Kuilong of Hu-Guang reported that since the Hubei Ordnance Steel and Powder Plant was essential to ordnance, its annual budget was raised to 800,000 taels to sustain operations.

二年，東三省總督錫良在奉天省垣設立軍裝製造局，選集木材鐵革各工師，分科製造，以供奉、吉、黑三省軍隊、巡警之用。

In Xuantong 2 (1910), Governor-General Xi Liang of the Three Eastern Provinces established a military-equipment manufacturing bureau in Fengtian, gathering wood, iron, and leather craftsmen by specialty to supply the armies and police of Fengtian, Jilin, and Heilongjiang.

三年，吉林巡撫陳昭常以吉林省陸軍改編成鎮，設立軍械專局，附設修械司，備軍警之需。

In Xuantong 3 (1911), Jilin Governor Chen Zhaochang reported that the Jilin army was reorganized into a brigade; a special ordnance bureau was established with an attached repair service to meet army and police needs.

綜舉各省製造軍械之事，同治元年，天津初造槍砲，二三年間，江蘇分設機器局於江寧、上海，共設三局。四年，並三局於上海，定名機器製造局。六年，天津擴充製造，設軍火機器局。九年，改名天津機器局。十三年，福建設機器局，自造開花砲。上海製造局仿造林明登槍。天津、上海二局，均仿造水雷。廣東設機器局、軍火局。上海、江寧二局，增槍砲子彈機。光緒二年，派學生藝徒出洋，分赴各國學習製造。湖南、山東二省，均設機器局，自造軍械，不用洋匠。三年，四川設局專造馬梯尼後膛槍。四年，津局造後膛砲。六年，江寧局造來福槍、馬梯尼槍、林明登槍。七年，上海局造砲台鋼砲。吉林設機器局。江寧增設洋火藥局。十一年，廣東設製造局及水雷局。十三年，江寧局造田雞砲。廣東設槍彈廠。十六年，湖北設兵工廠，所造新式槍砲，為南北洋、川、廣各製造局所無，並籌備煉鐵廠及開煤礦，為製造之基。十八年，貴州設爐煉鐵。十九年，天津、上海二局，均設爐煉鐵。上海局增造新式槍砲。湖北設煉鐵廠。二十年，湖北增設砲架、砲彈、槍彈三廠。陝西運取甘肅舊存機器以備造械。二十一年，天津機器局改名總理北洋機器局。廣東造抬槍、線槍。湖北、江南二省，均增設鍊鋼廠、栗色火藥廠、無煙火藥廠。陝西設機器局。二十二年，江南新廠造快利新槍。天津局購機造新式砲子。四川局造後膛毛瑟抬槍。天津局造中機、邊機前門抬槍。湖北廠以舊日之抬槍、線槍、抬砲、劈山砲，均改造後膛。山東增熟鐵廠、軋銅廠、槍子廠、大槍廠。河南局增造槍彈火藥及造抬槍機器。二十三年，湖北廠增造罐子鋼及造無煙火藥機器。二十四年，山西設製造槍砲廠。上海、天津二局，均增造快砲機器。二十五年，山東增建造槍、造彈、化銅、軋銅各廠。黑龍江設機器局。二十六年，福建增建槍子廠。天津增建快砲子廠、快槍子廠、無煙火藥廠。二十八年，江西局增造槍砲機器。二十九年，福建並造槍造藥二廠為一廠。三十年，河南局增造槍砲機器。三十三年，陸軍部議建四大兵工廠。四川設造槍廠、造彈廠、造無煙火藥廠。安徽建槍彈廠。宣統二年，奉天建軍裝製造局。三年，吉林設軍械局。各省機器局廠之設，歷時垂五十餘年，開局遍十七行省，幾經增改，漸就精良。此制造軍械之大概也。

In summary, provincial arms manufacture began when Tianjin first made rifles and cannon in Tongzhi 1 (1862); in Tongzhi 2–3 (1863–64) Jiangsu established separate machine bureaus at Jiangning and Shanghai—three bureaus in all. In Tongzhi 4 (1865) the three bureaus were merged at Shanghai as the Machine Manufacturing Bureau. In Tongzhi 6 (1867) Tianjin expanded production and established the Ordnance and Machine Bureau. In Tongzhi 9 (1870) it was renamed the Tianjin Machine Bureau. In Tongzhi 13 (1874) Fujian established a machine bureau and began making explosive shells locally. The Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau copied Remington rifles. The Tianjin and Shanghai bureaus both copied torpedoes. Guangdong established a machine bureau and an ordnance bureau. The Shanghai and Jiangning bureaus added rifle, cannon, and bullet machinery. In Guangxu 2 (1876) students and apprentices were sent abroad to study manufacturing in various countries. Hunan and Shandong both established machine bureaus and made arms locally without foreign craftsmen. In Guangxu 3 (1877) Sichuan established a bureau specializing in Martini breech-loading rifles. In Guangxu 4 (1878) the Tianjin bureau made breech-loading cannon. In Guangxu 6 (1880) the Jiangning bureau made rifles, Martini guns, and Remington guns. In Guangxu 7 (1881) the Shanghai bureau made fort steel guns. Jilin established a machine bureau. Jiangning added a foreign-powder bureau. In Guangxu 11 (1885) Guangdong established a manufacturing bureau and a torpedo bureau. In Guangxu 13 (1887) the Jiangning bureau made frog guns. Guangdong established a rifle-round plant. In Guangxu 16 (1890) Hubei established an ordnance plant whose new-pattern rifles and cannon surpassed those of the northern and southern fleet bureaus and the Sichuan and Guangdong plants; it also prepared an iron-smelting plant and coal mines as the foundation for production. In Guangxu 18 (1892) Guizhou established furnace iron-smelting. In Guangxu 19 (1893) the Tianjin and Shanghai bureaus both established furnace iron-smelting. The Shanghai bureau added new-pattern rifles and cannon. Hubei established an iron-smelting plant. In Guangxu 20 (1894) Hubei added plants for gun carriages, shells, and rifle rounds. Shaanxi brought old machinery stored in Gansu to prepare for arms manufacture. In Guangxu 21 (1895) the Tianjin Machine Bureau was renamed the Superintendent Northern Seas Machine Bureau. Guangdong made sniping guns and muskets. Hubei and Jiangnan both added steel-refining, brown-powder, and smokeless-powder plants. Shaanxi established a machine bureau. In Guangxu 22 (1896) the new Jiangnan plant made Kuaili rifles. The Tianjin bureau bought machinery to make new-pattern shells. The Sichuan bureau made breech-loading Mauser sniping guns. The Tianjin bureau made center- and rim-fire front-gate sniping guns. The Hubei plant converted its old sniping guns, muskets, sniping cannon, and mountain-blasting guns entirely to breech-loading. Shandong added wrought-iron, copper-rolling, bullet, and large-rifle plants. The Henan bureau added rifle rounds and powder and machinery for sniping guns. In Guangxu 23 (1897) the Hubei plant added crucible steel and smokeless-powder machinery. In Guangxu 24 (1898) Shanxi established a rifle and cannon manufacturing plant. The Shanghai and Tianjin bureaus both added quick-firing gun machinery. In Guangxu 25 (1899) Shandong added rifle, shell, copper-refining, and copper-rolling plants. Heilongjiang established a machine bureau. In Guangxu 26 (1900) Fujian added a bullet plant. Tianjin added quick-firing shell, quick-firing rifle-round, and smokeless-powder plants. In Guangxu 28 (1902) the Jiangxi bureau added rifle and cannon machinery. In Guangxu 29 (1903) Fujian merged its rifle and powder plants into one. In Guangxu 30 (1904) the Henan bureau added rifle and cannon machinery. In Guangxu 33 (1907) the Army Ministry proposed building four major ordnance plants. Sichuan established rifle, bullet, and smokeless-powder plants. Anhui built a rifle-round plant. In Xuantong 2 (1910) Fengtian built a military-equipment manufacturing bureau. In Xuantong 3 (1911) Jilin established an ordnance bureau. Provincial machine bureaus and plants took more than fifty years to develop; bureaus spread across all seventeen provinces and, through repeated expansion and revision, gradually reached a high standard. Such, in broad outline, was the manufacture of arms.

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