The advent of the Age of Discovery brought massive wealth to the red, yellow and blue monkeys in the West, but at the same time it also buried a dark shadow in the hearts of these bandits.
Just like practicing magic skills, step-by-step development is not as refreshing as robbery.
Therefore, when the English saw Spain, the Netherlands and other countries relying on colonial plunder to move shiploads of gold, silver and jewelry back, they were already salivating.
It's a pity that they started late, one step behind, one step after another. Shipbuilding is okay, but firearms are not something that can be learned at a glance.
As the envoy of England, after watching the Bactrian Firearms Demonstration, Pascual Laurent's mind kept echoing Jia Cong's seemingly boastful words: Bactrian artillery, whether in terms of rate of fire, range or power, has... Far more than the Western countries.
The envoys from Spain, Portugal and other countries who will be traveling with him don’t seem to have very good looks on their faces...
Of course, Sir Laurent doesn't care how bad their mood is. Since the changes in their faces have confirmed what the Earl of Daxia said, Sir Laurent is in a great mood.
Jia Cong personally sent the English envoy away and stood at the gate of Rongguo Mansion to watch his carriage drive out of the intersection of Ningrong Street.
"Does Third Master think highly of this yellow-haired devil?"
"Gouzi, someone has given you a large box of gold and silver jewelry, will you value him?"
Ergouzi smiled coquettishly: "No, the villain will treat him as a god."
Jia Cong casually threw a red object to Er Gouzi. Er Gouzi caught it, exclaimed, and subconsciously held it up to Jia Cong with both hands.
The value of this thing is not less than a thousand taels of silver. If the third master rewards him with golden beans or silver beans, he will definitely say good luck happily and happily put it in his pocket.
But this ruby is too precious.
Jia Cong waved his hand indifferently: "Just take it for you. A-hua is a good girl. This can be regarded as my wedding gift to you."
Although Er Gouzi stood guard at the gate every day, he acted as a slave to the concierge.
But their family has long been accepted as retainers of the Rongguo Mansion, and their status is no worse than that of their brothers and sisters.
When he was alive, he was worshiped by the Jia family, and after death, he was worshiped by the Jia family.
Er Gouzi is good at swordsmanship, has excellent skills, good eyesight and a bright mind. Otherwise, how could he have been guarding the gate of Rongguo Mansion?
Jia Cong patted him on the shoulder and whispered: "Remember to spread the word as soon as possible that the English envoy gave me a large box of gold and silver jewelry. If you have nothing to do, take this thing to the market and let people in the capital know it." Open your eyes."
Er Gouzi's eyes lit up when he heard this, Third Master wants to trick him again...ahem...don't say it, don't say it~
…
Someone in Nanchifang City sold a rare red gemstone. The item that originally cost three thousand taels of silver was suddenly raised to more than five thousand taels, and the matter quickly spread throughout the capital.
Along with it, the origin of this gem was spread.
It is said that the Yi envoy sent a large box of various jewelry to Rongguo Mansion in order to buy Daxia's artillery from Yongfeng Bo.
As for which country's envoys they are, to the people of Daxia, whether they are red-haired or yellow-haired, they are all uncivilized devils.
"My third master said, our Chinese artillery is this..."
Er Gouzi received five thousand taels of silver and generously gave each table of guests in the restaurant a jug of wine.
He raised his thumb and boasted drunkenly. Of course, what he said was not bragging. After all, Daxia's artillery technology far surpassed that of the Western countries.
"The envoy from England just hugged my third master's lap and cried for help. It means that the third master is kind-hearted and doesn't want to see the people of England being harmed by pirates. After all, we were also plundered and harassed by pirates in the past... …”
"Five hundred of the latest artillery pieces are enough to equip a hundred large ships!"
"Third Master said that when our Chinese naval fleet arrives in the West, it will definitely help the English to wipe out the pirates, so that our maritime merchants in Great Xia can carry out maritime trade safely and smoothly."
…
"Oh~ Damn it! England actually purchased five hundred Xia Kingdom's artillery pieces. This guy Lauren is just deceiving the Xia Kingdom people. His purpose is definitely not to be a pirate. They themselves are the biggest pirates!"
If there is anyone who is most wary of England, it is Diego Starr, the envoy of the Kingdom of Spain.
As England has developed over the years, its royal family-funded sea trade exploration fleet has gradually threatened the interests of the Kingdom of Spain.
Of course, now that Spanish ships and artillery have the upper hand, they can basically suppress the expansion of England's power.
But it would be different if England had Xia's artillery. That day they went to watch Xia's artillery drill. At least in Diego Starr's eyes, their own artillery would definitely be inferior when encountering Xia's artillery. Will be beaten.
"Damn Xia people, damn English people... Come here, prepare a box... no, two boxes of jewelry for me!"
The servant stepped forward respectfully and replied: "Master, the jewelry we brought has been sold to merchants in Xia Kingdom and replaced with exquisite silk and porcelain. Now there are only two boxes of gold coins left."
"Damn it! Damn it! Why didn't you stop me? The English exchanged a box of jewels for five hundred powerful artillery pieces. They are obviously coming for us..."
Diego Starr was hysterically cursing, but the servant could only accept it respectfully. When he was done scolding, the servant said tentatively: "Master, I heard that the Xia people have always wanted to build a maritime transfer station. There are so many useless lands in the Philippines. Why don't you exchange them for Xia's artillery?" ?”
"this……"
Seeing that Diego Starr was still hesitating, the servant began to persuade again: "The kingdom, Portugal and the Netherlands have been competing for control of the islands in the Philippines. The master will bring the Xia people in to reduce the pressure on the kingdom. When the time comes, The master returns to Madrid with Xia's new artillery, and as long as our craftsmen understand the Xia people's technology, His Majesty the King will definitely grant the master the title of Duke!"
Diego Starr was moved. As the servant said, the Portuguese and the Dutch had been trying to take away Spain's colonial dominance in the Philippine Islands, and small-scale frictions between the three countries occurred from time to time.
Moreover, there are vague signs of cooperation between Portugal and the Netherlands, leaving Spain somewhat alone.
If we can exchange a useless island for Xia's artillery, and at the same time draw the Xia people into this whirlpool and reduce the pressure on the kingdom, then...
It’s not impossible!
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this plan was feasible. Diego Starr ordered his servant to fetch a box of gold coins, and hurried to Rongguo Mansion while it was still early.
After Diego Starr left the Sifang Pavilion, the originally respectful and humble servant suddenly straightened his back and quickly went to a bamboo forest in the Sifang Pavilion.
"Dear Lord Shangguo, I have already passed those words to Diego Starr according to your Lord's instructions. At this time, he is rushing to Rongguo Mansion..."
…
Jia Cong didn't even leave the house for the past two days. As the news of England's purchase of British artillery spread, the Portuguese envoy was the first to come to buy the artillery.
The Portuguese envoy not only purchased 300 artillery pieces, but also learned from Jia Cong the latest direction of Daxia's artillery research.
After sending the Portuguese envoy away, Jia Cong casually threw the so-called latest artillery research chart on the table and smiled as he looked at the Portuguese envoy going away.
Daxia's latest Yuanyou Type 11 modified artillery has been developed to use steel as the barrel. With this method of casting iron and copper cannons, no matter how large the caliber is or how thick the barrel is, what?
Let the Yi people do such a waste of money!
"Hey, another fool comes to give money, how cool it is!"
Through the window, Jia Cong saw the soldiers leading Diego Starr, the envoy of the Kingdom of Spain, and the slave behind him carrying a large box.
He glanced at the artillery-style drawings on the table and felt happy.
It seems that I need to print a few more drawings. This thing is simply a big killer weapon for the Western devils.
After waiting for a cup of tea and seeing the artillery drawing on the table, Diego Starr finally stopped beating around the bush with Jia Cong. Not only did he express his idea of exchanging land for artillery, he also asked about the artillery drawing on the table. About the artillery blueprints.
"Oh, Uncle Ben forgot to put it away. I can't give this to you. Bello Barry bought it from me. He spent a total of two million taels of silver~"
Jia Cong pretended to be anxious and wanted to take away the drawings on the table.
But I saw Diego Starr reaching out to press the corner of the drawing, gritting his teeth with a dark face and saying: "Your Excellency, I will pay you 2.2 million taels, and the Kingdom of Spain will also buy one!"
Spain and the Portuguese are almost fooling around in the New World. If the Portuguese use this blueprint to develop more powerful artillery, wouldn't Spain lose the initiative in the naval battle?
It's just more than two million taels of silver. When the time comes, we will snatch more from those savages and sell a few more ships of black slaves.
Jia Cong looked embarrassed and confused on the surface, but his hands holding the drawings relaxed a little.
Diego Starr knew that the other party was moved, and he couldn't help but despise Jia Cong's greed and shamelessness.
"Your Excellency, the Kingdom of Spain can provide the Xia Kingdom with the latest warship blueprints. Of course, the Xia Kingdom also needs to show sincerity, such as a more advanced artillery design than this blueprint!"
"Oh? A three-masted galleon?"
"Exactly, it seems that His Excellency the Count is very concerned about our Kingdom of Spain."
Jia Cong was really moved. Today, the Kingdom of Spain is the well-deserved maritime overlord, and no one can easily shake the strength of the Armada.
The three-masted sailing ship is the most powerful warship on the sea at present, and Daxia's latest warship cannot compare with the three-masted sailing ship.
There is no way, Daxia has not finished making up the classes. A century-old navy is not just a joke, it is really difficult!
Jia Cong slapped his thigh, stood up and asked Diego Starr: "Your Excellency Starr, are you interested in seeing our country's latest artillery? Yes, it is not the Yuanyou Seven Type, but our country has just developed it. Not equipped with the eight Yuanyou styles in the army."
Diego Starr believed that he was the person who understood the Xia Kingdom best in the entire Western world.
As soon as he heard Yuanyou's eight-type artillery, he knew that Jia Cong had not lied to him. Xia Guo's naming method was very unique, one type, two type...the larger the number, the more powerful the artillery was.
Soon, Jia Cong brought Diego Starr outside the city.
The master craftsman from the Ministry of Industry brought a cannon covered with red cloth to the testing site. After lifting the red cloth, Diego was fascinated by the dark and thick barrel.
This artillery is indeed thicker, longer, and more powerful than the Yuanyou Seven Type!
boom!
The roar of the artillery made Diego's ears buzz. The ultra-long range of about one thousand two hundred steps made Diego's eyes widen with disbelief on his face.
"The front-loaded smoothbore copper cannon. Uncle Ben gave it a nice name, the red cannon! How about it? This is definitely the longest range and most powerful artillery gun at the moment. With it, the enemy can't get close at all!"
The red cannon can also be called the red barbarian cannon. This thing was basically built by Jia Cong to satisfy his weird collecting habit.
The Ministry of Industry's previous experiment with crucible casting of large steel blocks was a great success, and with the open-hearth steelmaking method in progress, this thing is just for fun.
Besides, copper is a material that is in short supply. The country and the dynasty are in short supply!
Diego Starr didn't know that the latest artillery in Daxia had long abandoned cast iron materials. He thought that the brand-new copper artillery in front of him was the most advanced in Daxia. He immediately made an agreement with Jia Cong that in two days After both parties verified the drawings of the battleship and the artillery, a secret contract was formally signed.
Jia Cong even "generously" gave this experimental red cannon to Diego as a testimony of their "friendship".
After Diego left with satisfaction, Jia Cong immediately summoned the master craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry and ordered the army to eliminate the artillery before the Yuanyou 10th type as soon as possible, to cast cast steel cannons with all their strength, and to increase research and promote the development of more advanced firearms. .
…
In the spring of March, Jia Cong never had a day of leisure. He was always meeting customers, collecting cash, and fooling people.
Jia Cong "sent" a design drawing of Daxia's latest firearms to the envoys from various Western countries. Every time he left, Jia Cong would hold their hands with great solemnity and give them repeated instructions.
"Your Excellency XX, this design is our country's most advanced artillery. I am only willing to trade with XX Kingdom for the sake of friendship with you. Remember not to let other envoys know about it."
The emperor laughed loudly when he looked at the several large boxes of gold and silver jewelry and several secret agreements that Jia Cong sent to the Qinzheng Hall.
This kid is really a monkey, he can even think of such a harmful move.
"The Spaniards are actually willing to trade the land of Luzon for artillery. I'm so sleepy that I can bring you a pillow and let the governor's office discuss it and choose the right person to lead the troops south to win the first colony for me!"
…
In early April, the second batch of Daxia's fleet to sail to the Western Ocean was ready.
Also leaving were the deputy envoys from the Western countries and the businessmen. On the contrary, a few envoys stayed in the capital, leasing land and building embassies of various countries.
Daxia did not allow the Yi people to purchase land within the country's territory. Even if the envoys from other countries spoke out about this, Jia Cong did not take a step back.
On the ninth day of April, before noon, Jia Cong was rubbing his wrists tiredly, when he heard the clerk came to report that someone from his family came to the Yamen of the Ministry of Industry, saying that he was looking for something urgent.
Jia Cong was confused and asked someone to come in. It turned out to be Baoyu's personal servant Mingyan.
"Huh? Why are you here?"
Although Mingyan is eager, she also understands that Mr. Cong hates it most when his servants don't behave themselves.
He bowed and said: "Third Master, Second Master Bao beat up Li Baokun, the son of Li Henian, a lecturer at the Hanlin Academy, and now the matter has reached the Shuntian Mansion Court. Second Master Bao ordered the villain to come and report to Third Master, please go there save him."
ha? Baoyu fights with others? Did you even go to court?
"Second Brother Bao is so soft and weak, how can he beat someone up? Do you still need to go to court?"
Mingyan smiled bitterly and replied: "Third Master, Second Master Bao is a little bit more serious this time~"
Monthly ticket recommendation ticket
Thanks to user SCP049 for the tip!
I’ll stop here tonight and continue tomorrow. Good night!
(End of chapter)
