Captain Alfonso was stunned for a moment, not realizing the seriousness. He took Suze to the gun room.
This armed "merchant ship" was built in Manila. Because it had to travel to the New World, it had sufficient firepower.
This ship adopts a side gun room design. When preparing for an artillery battle, a ship with this design only needs to turn the rudder and face the enemy ship with the side of the ship, and then use the side salvo to bombard the target.
The New World had three gun rooms on the left and right sides, with a total of six guns.
Su Ze excitedly opened the gun room and saw only a Franco machine gun lying on the gun mount.
Sure enough, there is a cannon!
[You can learn the skill "Cannon Shooting" in the gun room where you found it. Do you want to learn it? 】
"study!"
It was these Western businessmen who brought the Fo Lang machine gun to the Ming Dynasty. These guns were originally naval guns!
Su Ze walked up to the cannon and touched the barrel of the cannon. He was very excited. Someone would come to deliver a pillow when he fell asleep!
The price of blunderbuss is not high, but a Folang machine gun costs twenty or thirty taels of silver.
Money is second, but the key is that Su Ze can't buy it at all!
Now someone came to the door, and Su Ze naturally couldn't let it go. He looked at the Folang machine gun carefully. This kind of rear-mounted artillery can actually only be regarded as a transitional weapon.
Because of the casting technology problems of this era, the Franco machine gun is a breech-loading smoothbore cannon, consisting of a barrel, a belly and a sub-cannon.
When firing, load the powder and projectiles into the sub-cannon, then put the sub-cannon into the belly of the cannon. After aiming with the front sight and rear sight on the barrel, ignite the sub-cannon fire gate to launch the projectiles.
In fact, the Folang machine gun had already appeared in the Ming Dynasty during the Zhengde period. At that time, it was called the "Invincible General Cannon" in the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Yangming once wrote an article "Book of the Legacy of Fo Langji", which tells the story of how he put down the rebellion of Prince Ning Chenhao and had people cast the Folang cannon overnight.
However, although the Ming Dynasty court has begun to manufacture Folan cannons, that is a matter for the court. A small coastal guard station like Changning Guard will never be able to get the Folan cannons cast by the court.
Although Su Ze longed for artillery, he also had a clear understanding of the power of the Folan cannon.
Although it is powerful in various time travels, the power of this kind of cannon is actually limited.
The reason is also very simple. The shooting of the breech-loaded sub-cannon looks very sci-fi. In fact, this design sacrifices the air tightness of the artillery.
The air tightness is insufficient, and the amount of explosives must not be too much. Compared with the power of the Folan cannon and the Hongyi cannon introduced to the Ming Dynasty later, it is really far behind.
But now Su Ze had no choice. More advanced than the Franco cannon was the Hongyi cannon, which was a front-loaded smoothbore cannon that had already appeared in Europe at this time.
But the Portuguese were so poor that they couldn't afford this new firearm.
It would have to wait until the seventeenth century for the Hongyi cannon to enter China.
Forget it, people still can't be too greedy.
These six Folan cannons are advanced enough for the Changning Guard.
Su Ze stroked the Fran cannon, making Captain Alfonso on the opposite side feel a chill.
Isn't this Ming officer a pervert?
Su Ze waved his hand and said to Captain Alfonso:
"Captain Alfonso, first tow the New World back to our dock in Changningwei, and then we can make a long-term plan!"
Captain Alfonso wanted to resist, but now the ship was grounded and unable to move.
Captain Alfonso wanted to move, but when he saw the black hole of the blunderbuss, he swallowed his words of protest.
Captain Alfonso could only accept his fate and obey Su Ze's "suggestion".
There are more than 70 crew members on the New World. Among them, only five people are from Portugal like Alfonso, and two priests are from France. The identities of the remaining crew members are complicated.
Among them are chief mates who are mixed descendants of Portuguese and local natives from Goa, Cambodian sailors from Southeast Asia, Malaccan lookouts, Gujarati, Luzon, Bengali, Champa and Nanyang Chinese sailors. .
This was very surprising to Lin Mojun, who had never seen a Western ship before. She had never seen so many skin colors of people.
However, the entire cabin of the New World was stinky, and the crew and sailors were also dirty. Considering the various horrific infectious diseases in this era, Su Ze suggested that Lin Mojun place them near Changning Guard. on a small island.
Su Ze also asked people to prepare anti-virus lime, and ordered the sailors to burn all their clothes and let them clean them before giving them cotton clothes.
Special people were sent to deliver food and water. Although Captain Alfonso expressed strong protest, Su Ze still detained the crew in Changning Guard.
Lin Mojun asked with some confusion:
"Should these Xiyi be reported to the Haido Yamen?"
Su Ze looked at the New World anchored outside the dock. He was reluctant to hand over the ship to the Fujian Haido Yamen!
The New World is a 400-ton ocean-going ship!
Compared with the New World, Changningwei's Fortune Ship was too small.
If the New World had not been stranded, there is no telling whether Changningwei could have captured the New World!
How could Su Ze give up on the fat meat that was delivered to his door?
The entire New World is made of high-quality teak, which is a good shipbuilding wood produced in Southeast Asia. And because this ship has to cross the Pacific, the materials used are very solid, and they are all trees that are more than decades old. The finest shipbuilding wood that has been dried for ten years!
In fact, during the Ming Dynasty, the firearm technology of the Ming Dynasty was not lagging behind. After discovering the lethality of Western firearms, the Ming court soon introduced imitation firearms.
The Ming Dynasty's truly backward shipbuilding technology.
When Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean, the Ming Dynasty could still build large ships for ocean voyages, but now, few of the Ming Dynasty's maritime guards still have docks.
Not only were they unable to build ships, many warships lacked effective maintenance. For example, Changning Guards originally had two large ships worth 500 pieces each. Later, they began to dismantle the large ships into medium-sized ships. Some guards simply had only small ships left.
However, in this era, because artillery has not widened the intergenerational gap, the Ming Dynasty can still protect the sea by relying on small boats.
For example, in the Tuen Mun naval battle between the Portuguese and the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty used fire ships and ship-jumping tactics to defeat the Portuguese fleet, making the Portuguese dare not use force to compete for the Ming Dynasty's port.
This is also similar to the tactics adopted by the Ottomans in the Indian Ocean. In an era when artillery had not yet formed an absolute advantage, relying on lit fireships (Greek fire) and the flexibility of small boats, such land-based powers could still ensure their own Maritime security.
However, as the involution of maritime warfare technology intensified, various new shipbuilding technologies emerged one after another. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing army could no longer resist the powerful ships and guns of the great powers.
The Ming Dynasty's ships, including Changningwei's Fu Ship, and Western sailing ships are two different technical routes.
The ships of the Ming Dynasty basically traveled in coastal areas, where the winds were relatively gentle and had relatively high requirements for wind control performance. Therefore, the ships of the Ming Dynasty all had hard sails and fore-and-aft sails, but Western sailing ships have developed complex soft sails and horizontal sails.
During the Ming Dynasty, seagoing ships rarely sailed across oceans. After the Longqing Switch, most seagoing ships went as far as the Strait of Malacca. These waters were rocky and shallow, and were more similar to inland sea navigation, so small and medium-sized flat-bottomed ships were sufficient.
At this time, Western sailing boats with complicated sails and large bodies that are difficult to control are at a disadvantage.
For example, during the Battle of Tuen Mun, the Ming army took advantage of the mobility problem of Portuguese warships that were not easy to turn around and won the victory through fire ships.
But the Ming Dynasty ships had a major flaw, and that was the cannon.
The Ming Dynasty's hull structure has a shallow draft and the deck wood is not tight enough to withstand the recoil of the naval gun. If the ship is not strong, the gun will naturally be disadvantageous.
This New World is a treasure to Su Ze.
But treasures are treasures. On ships sailing on the sea these days, I don’t know what dirty things they carry with them.
You must know that the Black Death that swept across Europe was the plague spread through rats on ships. Who knows what terrible infectious diseases these guys have.
Su Ze ordered the New World to stop on the sea outside the dock, spread lime on the deck, and wait until some time later before boarding the ship to dismantle the Franco cannon.
At the same time, Su Ze also severely punished these little carrots like Lin Liangjun and prohibited them from approaching the New World.
Next is this harvest. According to today's maritime rules, the New World and the goods on board are the spoils of Changning Guard.
Su Ze was not worried at all about the Portuguese coming to seek revenge. There was no long-distance communication technology these days, so sailing at sea was inherently risky. There were too many ships that sank in storms at sea.
The Portuguese would not know that the New World was captured by Changning Guard. As long as they watched Captain Alfonso and his party, this ship belonged to Changning Guard!
The food on the ship is also an asset of Changning Guard. In addition, the six boxes full of spices are a huge income!
Peppers from Sumatra and cloves from the Maluku Islands are very popular goods in the Ming Dynasty!
It's a pity that this thing cannot be sold in Nanping County.
The reason is naturally because there are not many sales of these luxury goods in Nanping County.
If you want to sell these things, you can either go to Fuzhou City, the provincial capital of Fujian, or go to Yuegang, the smuggling base on the southeast coast.
It looks like he is going on a long trip.
Su Ze made some calculations and decided to go to Yuegang once he returned to Changning Guard from school in mid-July.
In addition to selling the stolen goods, Su Ze also needs to buy more guns.
He wanted to improve the musket, or make his own cannon at Changning Guard, which would also require more materials and equipment, so he could develop his "firearm manufacturing" skills as soon as possible.
This time the New World ran aground, Su Ze felt the pressure of the approaching storm. In the 33rd year of Jiajing, the brief peace of Changningwei and Nanping County made Su Ze relax his tight strings. In fact, at this time , both the Ming Dynasty and the entire world were in a turbulent era.
Changning Guard is still too weak!
Su Ze felt a sense of urgency again. In the next few days, Su Ze would read the military books written by Yu Dayou, or go to the school to discuss the art of war with Lin Mojun, striving to reach Level 5 in the art of war as soon as possible.
Lin Mojun did not object to Su Ze's approach of imprisoning these Western barbarians. The Ming Navy also suffered heavy losses in the Tuen Mun naval battle. Lin Mojun did not have a good impression of these Western barbarians. He was just worried that Su Ze's unauthorized disposal of the Western barbarians would lead to More trouble.
Fortunately, Changning Guard is a small guard station. All the soldiers who participated in the boarding were strictly blocked by Su Ze. Su Ze, the Chen family from Beishan and other outsiders, had already taken precautions to prevent them from entering and exiting the guard house at will. During this period, they should Can block messages.
Su Ze knew that King Lu would attack Fujian in a few months. When Fujian was in chaos, no one would pay attention to the disappearance of the Xiyi merchant ship.
But Alfonso is a senior captain who can sail from Portugal to Malacca, and the crew on the New World are basically hired. For Changning Wei, these people are also quite useful "talents".
You must know that navigation is the most technical thing in this era. Although Su Ze has a system, operating a sea ship requires a large number of sailors and professional crew members.
They will be isolated and imprisoned for a period of time, and Su Ze will recruit them after returning from the county.
The time soon came to July 14th, and it was time for Su Ze to enter the city.
The Yu family's theater troupe has been rehearsing for a few days. Although there are still many things that are unsatisfactory about the excerpt "A Dream in the Garden", it has been able to be performed on stage.
Su Ze returned to the county town with the Yu family troupe, and as expected, an impatient Yu Zongyuan was waiting at the gate of the county town.
When Yu Zongyuan saw Su Ze, he immediately pulled Su Ze aside. Hearing that the troupe had completed training, Yu Zongyuan was overjoyed.
"Brother Su, you are my great benefactor!"
Yu Zongyuan also figured it out. Now that his family has been separated, if he wants more family property, he needs to take good care of his mother.
Commander Yu's wife had always been partial to his youngest son. In recent months, Yu Zongyuan had grown a lot, and even more pleased Commander Yu's wife.
Yu Zongyuan couldn't wait to see the results of the troupe's rehearsal, then he took out a gilded invitation and said:
"Brother Su, it's my mother's birthday in two days. This is a formal invitation. I should have sent it to Changning Guard in person, but I'm afraid of delaying your rehearsal, so please attend with honor."
I don’t know who Yu Zongyuan learned these two sentences from. He said them in a formal manner. Su Ze was also very polite to his angel investors. He said in the invitation:
"When the time comes, I will definitely come to my door to express my birthday wishes."
Last time Yu Zongyuan talked about inviting Su Ze to his mother's birthday, so Su Ze also prepared a gift this time.
Yu Zongyuan immediately said politely: "My mother loves listening to plays the most. This play is the best gift! How can I let Brother Su spend more money!"
Accompanied by Yu Zongyuan, Su Ze led the horse into the city. Naturally, the mayor of the county did not dare to check on the second young master Yu, so Su Ze quickly entered the county.
After parting ways with Yu Zongyuan, he saw a familiar figure at the gate of the city.
"Brother Su!" The person who greeted Su Ze was Lin Qingcai's clan brother Lin Qingyuan. He was recommended by Sun Dianshi to enter the household, and it was Sun Dianshi who originally pushed him out to compete with Xu Shisheng.
After Xu Shisheng's death, the county government office was reshuffled, and the scribes and assistants related to Xu Shisheng were all driven to the bench. Because Lin Qingyuan did not have Xu Shisheng's background, he got the job of collecting taxes at the city gate.
After Lin Qingyuan saw Su Ze, he pulled him enthusiastically and whispered:
"Brother Su, I heard some news about you scholars in the household."
Su Ze quickly pricked up his ears. Hufang is a key department of the county government, and Lin Qingyuan's news must be important.
Lin Qingyuan said: "I heard that the court is going to put Nanasu in prison!"
Ps
1. Portugal is really poor. When Vasco da Gama’s fleet sailed to the Indian Ocean for the second time, they once captured a pilgrim ship. Many of the women and children on this ship were pilgrims. At that time, a wealthy businessman was willing to pay 30,000 grams. Luzardo came to redeem the people, but Vasco da Gama still ordered the ships to be set on fire.
30,000 Cruzado was one-tenth of the income of the Portuguese royal family at that time.
2. It was true that the Portuguese controlled Malacca at this time, but the Portuguese were indeed colonial colonists. From the time they occupied Malacca until they were driven out of Malacca, the Portuguese purchased spices through trade, which was indeed incomparable to the British.
3. From now on, instead of talking about Northeast Asia, the above words have been changed to East Asia. Thank you for your correction.
(End of chapter)
