Chapter 233
The Eighth Princess is a large ship with 2,500 materials. When converted into displacement, it is equivalent to more than 800 tons. Europa is already considered a fourth-tier cruiser.
However, the problem is that when Cheng Shijie gave it to Zhu Weiti, he did not install any artillery. However, the sea is not peaceful now. The roles of merchants and pirates can be switched at any time. When they cannot be defeated, they are merchants and can Doing business relatively fairly, once the other party is weak.
In the boundless sea, it is possible to attack nearby ships at any time and at any time. In order to protect Zhu Weiti, Cheng Shijie loaded four thunder cannons on the left and right sides of the Eighth Princess, two at the front and two at the back. , the entire battleship has a total of twelve thunder cannons. With this level of firepower, even if it faces small and medium-sized pirates, it will definitely not suffer.
Of course, unless facing pirates equipped with naval guns, the ship still has the ability to defend itself. The big ship naturally has great benefits. Zhu Weiti asked the craftsmen to renovate a swimming pool on the first deck. Of course, , Zhu Weiti doesn't like swimming, she prepared it for Cheng Shijie.
In addition to a swimming pool, there is also a small terrace for barbecues on the first deck, as well as a movable greenhouse.
When Catherine boarded the Eighth Princess, her first feeling was that of luxury. Only Cheng Shijie could use a standard level four battleship as a yacht. If Catherine owned a Eighth Princess level battleship, she would definitely be on it. Load forty or fifty artillery pieces to make it the main battleship.
It's just a pity that no matter how unhappy Catherine is, this is Cheng Shijie and Zhu Weiti's freedom.
At this time, Catherine, the first family of the Venetian City-State Republic and the second heir of the Contarini family, was grilling squid on the iron plate with a spatula.
"Your Majesty the Duke, how about you try my craftsmanship!"
In order to obtain Ning Haijun's unparalleled naval warfare artifact, Catherine is willing to pay no matter how much it costs, because what is very difficult is that the current Venetian City-State Republic has lost their overseas colonies one after another. If the Ottomans win the Venetian City-State Republic The last overseas colony was Crete.
If Crete is captured, the Ottoman Empire's navy will reach the mainland of Venice. This is the real reason why the Venetian City-State Republic most urgently needs a naval weapon such as the Ning Navy.
Of course, Cheng Shijie did not know about Catherine's worries. If he did, he would laugh at Catherine's unfounded worries, because historically, Crete was not successfully captured by the Ottoman Empire until more than thirty years later, in 1669.
This has to be said about the brilliant achievements of the Huskies and the Ottoman Empire in the country. They fought against the Venetian City-State Republic with a population of less than 200,000 for more than two hundred years, and their own losses were hundreds of times that of the Venetian City-State Republic.
Cheng Shijie smiled lightly and said: "It's not bad, I can barely get in!"
Zhu Weiti doesn't like to eat squid, she only eats vegetables baked by Gu Ziyi.
Catherine was dumbfounded when she heard Cheng Shijie's comments. Of course, there was nothing that could be done about it. As the second heir to the Contarini family, she had been taught law, politics, culture, fencing, and fighting since she received education. The Doge of Venice, Niccolo, raised him as his son.
It can be said that if it were not for the time at sea, she would have no chance to be exposed to these menial jobs.
Even if she didn't get Cheng Shijie's praise, Catherine didn't care. She tried her best to smile and smiled very charmingly: "Your Excellency, can we talk about the sale of naval guns?"
"There's no need to talk about this, it's impossible."
Whether it is Ning Haijun's three-inch cannon or Ning Haijun's four-inch cannon, they all carry the black technology brought by Cheng Shijie. The technological content of these artillery has reached the technical level of the mid-19th century. To put it bluntly, even if Ning Haijun were to fight against the British Royal Navy in 1860, Ning Haijun could still defeat the British Royal Navy.
This is the gap in technology.
Catherine smiled and said: "Your Excellency, there is nothing in this world that cannot be traded. It's just the price. I only need one artillery, okay?"
Catherine thought that as long as she bought a cannon, she could imitate it with the technological level of the Venetian City-State Republic.
Seeing that Cheng Shijie had no intention of talking, she continued: "One hundred thousand ducats!"
Ducat is also called Ducat coin or Jersey coin or Sikun coin. The gold coins minted in Venice were made of approximately pure gold (the gold content was determined to be 0.997 by later generations) and weighed 3.56 grams.
It can be said that Catherine's sincerity is quite good. One hundred thousand ducats is equivalent to 356 kilograms of gold, but the gold content in the Ming Dynasty was not as high as that of ducats. Due to the continued depreciation of silver, the current exchange ratio between gold and silver has changed from one to eight at the beginning to one to ten now. After conversion, one gold kart is equivalent to nine cents and five cents of silver, or one hundred thousand pieces. That’s ninety-five thousand taels.
The normal price of artillery is only more than one thousand taels to five thousand taels of silver, which also includes the heavy 48-pound Hongyi cannon.
"This is our Ming Dynasty's most powerful tool for ruling the country, and I won't sell it!"
"Your Excellency, Duke, I understand your concerns. However, we in Venice have no interests in the East and no desire for territory. We are tens of thousands of miles away from you. It would take nearly ten months at the fastest to go back and forth. We can't Threaten the Ming Empire."
Cheng Shijie shook his head and said: "Did you know? Our heroic naval officers just now will not surrender even after they run out of ammunition and food. They will choose to self-destruct the warship, letting the gunboat sink to the bottom of the sea, and preventing the enemy from getting our artillery!" "
"One hundred and fifty thousand ducats!"
Catherine upped the ante.
"no!"
"Two hundred thousand ducats!"
Cheng Shijie held the wine glass and began to think.
Two hundred thousand ducats is equivalent to 712 kilograms of gold, which is close to one ton of gold. It is impossible to say that Cheng Shijie is not tempted. After all, Ning Haijun, a group, spends too much money.
However, Cheng Shijie's principles will not change.
Catherine was observing Cheng Shijie carefully. She could tell that the price was about to exceed Cheng Shijie's psychological bottom line. She slapped her hand in front of Cheng Shijie: "Fifty thousand ducats!"
"impossible!"
Catherine glared at Cheng Shijie: "One million ducats, no more!"
Cheng Shijie shook his head and said: "I can help you solve the crisis you are facing in Venice, just one million ducats!"
"You want an idea for a million ducats from our Venice?"
"You can choose not to change!"
Cheng Shijie has no special feelings for Venice. It can be said that the life and death of Venice are not directly related to Cheng Shijie.
"How do I know if you're lying to me?"
"You can choose not to believe it!"
Cheng Shijie stood up, clapped his hands and said, "Okay, lunch is over, it's time for me to eat!"
Cheng Shijie ignored Catherine and went directly to the swimming pool to take a bath.
Although life at sea is very boring and fresh water resources are very precious, as the leader of the entire fleet, Cheng Shijie actually has no shortage of fresh water.
Because the Ninghai navy is actually not short of fresh water, they have learned how to simply purify seawater. Of course, it is actually a distillation device. Although the cost is high, it can solve the sailors' drinking water problem in the most difficult times.
Catherine was caught in a dilemma. One million ducats was not a small amount. Although ocean trade was a huge profit, the problem was that her capital was not rich. She actually did not have one million ducats now, and a large amount of funds were needed to purchase it. Things like silk and porcelain.
Now she is staying in Ming Dynasty instead of returning to Venice. She is still waiting for a batch of silk. Now that the deposit has been paid, she is just waiting for the delivery. If she breaches the contract, the deposit of one hundred thousand taels of silver will be wasted.
Of course, if you don't want to waste money, you can only use Xu Shumin's face to borrow money from Liaodong Bank.
Catherine did not want to withdraw the money, but when Catherine was depressed, she unexpectedly met an acquaintance from Venice. When Catherine went to sea from Liaodong, Virgil, a Venetian, applied for the Ning Navy with his excellent naval command tactics. He served as a teacher at the Naval Academy and is now an instructor at the Ninghai Naval Academy.
Due to the rapid expansion of the Ning Navy Navy, even the cadets were pulled onto the battleships, which forced Virgil, an instructor, to follow the Sixth Squadron south. He is now the combat staff officer of the Sixth Squadron of the Ning Navy. Aboard the Liangzhou of the Sixth Squadron.
Virgil hadn't seen this former boss and fellow countryman for more than a year, so naturally he had a lot to say.
As the operational staff officer of the Ning Navy's Sixth Squadron, Virgil still had a lot of dignity. He arranged a table of food and wine and chatted with Catherine in the second-floor cabin.
Seeing Virgil, Catherine's eyes couldn't help but light up: "Virgil!"
Having said this, Catherine looked around, but no Ning Navy Admiral paid any attention to Virgil.
Catherine asked: "You should know the news about Ning Haijun's defeat of Zheng Zhilong's fleet, right?"
"I know, many of the soldiers and commanders who participated are my students!"
"You are very proud now!"
"Of course!"
Virgil said even more proudly: "Miss Contarini, you don't know that I now own a castle in Liaodong, which is bigger than the one you have on the Aegean Sea!"
Of course, what Virgil calls a castle is actually a reinforced concrete courtyard. As an instructor at the Ninghai Navy Naval Academy, Virgil participated in actual combat teaching at the very beginning and led the navy cadets to wipe out a group of pirates.
According to Ning Haijun's regulations, rewards are naturally needed, but the problem is that Virgil is not from the Ming Dynasty and cannot reward land like other Ning Haijun officers. Therefore, he was given an exception of three acres of homestead, which is 1,980 square meters. Virgil used the reward of beheading to have a nondescript castle built.
Judging from the Ming Dynasty's habits, this is a courtyard house. The only difference is that the surrounding houses are all eight feet high. The entire castle has more than a hundred rooms, and there is a huge garden in the middle.
"It seems like you're doing really well. Have you found love in Ming Dynasty?"
At this point, Virgil looked helpless: "No beautiful Ming woman is willing to marry me, no matter how much gift I give, it's useless, they are discriminating against me!"
If Virgil were in other parts of the Ming Dynasty, he could really use money to buy a girl from a local family in the Ming Dynasty. In the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty except Liaodong, there were too many poor people and countless people who sold their sons and daughters. . But the problem is that Liaodong is different.
Now women in Liaodong can also work, and they can earn at least 18 taels a year. There is no such thing as selling children. Moreover, Liaodong has legislation prohibiting human trafficking. Once reported, you can get ten times the amount of money sold. award. The seller will be punished with no more than ten years of hard labor, while the buyer will be severely punished. Even if he has a fortune of 100,000 yuan, he will be fined and bankrupt.
Seeing that Virgil seemed to be in a good mood, Catherine lowered her voice and asked, "Have you collected the information we need?"
"certainly!"
Virgil told Catherine: "So far, the Ning Navy has three types of warships in service. One is 2,000 materials, which is 650 tons, and is equipped with 18 cannons. This type of warship, called the Sea Wolf class, has only been built so far. Four ships, named Jinzhou, Haizhou, Gaizhou and Fuzhou, and the construction of Seawolf-class battleships has been stopped. They may be built in the future, but not now. The second one is a 3,000-class battleship. , nine hundred and seventy-five tons, named the Sea Shark class, this kind of warship is equipped with twenty-four three-inch guns and twelve four-inch guns, for a total of thirty-eight naval guns."
Catherine frowned: "Why is a warship of nearly a thousand tons equipped with thirty-eight cannons? Doesn't it make sense?"
In Europa, a warship like the Ninghai Haisha-class battleship requires at least fifty or sixty artillery pieces.
This means that Ning Haijun's thousand-ton warships are only equipped with half of the artillery of Europa's warships of the same level.
Virgil smiled bitterly and said: "Miss, you don't know that Ning Haijun's cannon casting skills are very good. Their three-inch cannon and four-inch cannon are both 28 times in diameter and have a very long range. From this, it is not difficult to see that the Ming Dynasty Man's cannon-casting technology is indeed very powerful. No country in Europe dares to adopt such a diameter ratio. It is generally twenty-one times the diameter, and very few can achieve twenty-three times. Of course, a longer barrel can increase the range and accuracy. , but it will also put the gun barrel under greater pressure. If the metallurgical technology is not up to standard, it will only explode the barrel."
"The Sea Shark class is not the largest, so a warship like yours should be the largest class of warship?"
"Actually not yet!"
Virgil said bitterly: "They also have bigger warships, which are said to exceed two thousand tons!"
"Two thousand tons, how is that possible?"
As a maritime power, Venice's shipbuilding technology is actually very advanced, and it is also top-notch in Europe. Spain, Britain, France, and the Holy Roman Empire are all learning from Venice's shipbuilding technology.
It is no exaggeration to say that Venice is the world's shipbuilding giant.
"nothing is impossible!"
Virgil said with some emotion: "The Ming Dynasty said that they had manufactured sailing ships of five thousand to eight thousand tons more than two hundred years ago. They had manufactured more than three thousand sailboats more than a thousand years ago. Tons of battleships!”
Catherine is actually not interested in Ning Haijun's warships. In fact, although Ning Haijun's warships have smooth hulls and are very fast, they are about the same speed as Venetian Golden Lion-class warships. The controllability of Ning Haijun's warships is actually better than that of Venetian warships.
"So, how much do you know about their artillery?"
"Their three-inch cannon is..."
While they were talking, a Ning navy soldier came over, scaring Virgil into silence.
Fortunately, this naval soldier Ning just came over and left with a meal.
After watching the Ning Navy soldier leave, Virgil breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Katharine and said, "Miss, I know what you want to do. Do you want to imitate the Ning Navy's naval guns?"
Catherine nodded and said: "Yes, I originally wanted to buy it, but when I offered one million ducats for a cannon, His Excellency the Duke was still unwilling to sell it! We had no choice but to make this decision!"
"But I tell you, this is impossible!"
"Why is it impossible? Haven't you seen their artillery?"
"Don't say I've seen it before. In fact, I can recite all the parameters of Lian Ning Navy's three-inch guns and four-inch guns..."
"That's great. With you guiding them, we have a greater chance of success!"
"On the contrary, it is absolutely impossible for us to imitate it!"
Virgil smiled bitterly and said: "We may be able to imitate Ning Haijun's naval guns, but the problem is that their naval guns are not complicated. What is really complicated are their cannonballs. Without the cannonballs, the cannons we imitated are just a bunch of useless Scrap iron…”
"how so?"
Catherine was very distressed.
"The artillery shells used by the Ningjun navy are not black powder at all, but a new type of explosive that we have never seen before. This explosive is extremely powerful, and there is almost no residue left after the explosion, so their gunners are During the battle, you can bury your head in silence and fire hard without cleaning the barrel of the gun. We don’t have such gunpowder, and we can’t make cannonballs like theirs!”
Catherine was startled and said: "New explosive? How much do you know about this new explosive?"
"This is their core secret, which is difficult for outsiders to access..."
Virgil smiled bitterly and said: "Ning Haijun's gun factory adopts assembly line operations, and every worker knows part of the process. It is said that there are many factories specially manufacturing this kind of explosives for them. As for the process, it is top secret, and only a few people know it. , it is estimated that even the people who produce this type of explosives do not know the uses of what they produce."
Virgil This is indeed the truth.
He didn't know that the various factory areas of the guncotton-producing military factory were strictly divided. The workers responsible for cleaning and degreasing cotton might think that this job was specifically for washing and boiling cotton, and the workers responsible for soaking cotton with nitric acid also believed that this factory It specializes in destroying cotton. In a word, no one knows the use of the work they do. They only know that the management is very strict and the craftsmanship requirements are extremely high, which is almost impossible.
Catherine sighed, her excitement turning into frustration.
She had to admit that she was too naive. She simply thought that as long as she got the data and drawings of the naval gun, she could imitate it. However, she never expected that the seemingly ordinary cannon was actually from an industrial system. Crystallization, just concocting it is useless.
what to do?
In fact, even if Ning Haijun's naval guns are leaked, no one can imitate them. Today's artillery is either made of bronze or cast iron. Only Ning Haijun's cannons are made of steel.
Virgil's ability to do this is already the limit. Even if he is willing to risk his life for many secrets, he may not be able to get them, so he has to find another way.
However, is there any way for her to obtain these key technologies that are related to the future destiny of the Republic of Venice? Cheng Shijie is not easy to deal with. This guy seems to be greedy for money, but once these key technologies are involved, the magic of beauty and money will be lost. No matter how hard you try, you can use coercion and inducement, but he will not nod!
Thinking of that abominable guy, Catherine was so filled with hatred that she could die if you sold me two new naval guns. I won’t miss your money!
On July 19, the seventh year of Chongzhen, Cheng Shijie arrived at the port of Manila in Luzon smoothly.
Cheng Shi, Li Zhixiang, Xie Jinglin, Wu Shangzhi and other six to seven hundred Luzonning navy or Chinese representatives lined up at the port to greet Cheng Shijie.
"Welcome to the handsome tiger!"
"Excuse me, please stay safe!"
Cheng Shijie reviewed the Ning Navy Navy and Army units stationed in Luzon at the dock. As Cheng Shijie disembarked, the fifth and sixth squadrons of the Ning Navy Navy came with Cheng Shijie, a total of thirty-two warships.
This made Li Zhixiang breathe a sigh of relief. In the Subic naval battle, the Ning Navy lost five warships and 25 warships were injured. Among them, 11 seriously damaged warships did not have the strength to repair in Luzon, and 14 were slightly injured. The ship can be used, but the problem is that with the four King Kongs sinking two and damaging two, the Ning Navy's main fleet only has thirty-eight warships that can still fight normally.
If Zheng Zhilong makes a comeback, Li Zhixiang really doesn't know what to do.
Well now, with the arrival of the Fifth and Sixth Squadrons, even if Zheng Zhilong fights again, Li Zhixiang is no longer afraid of them.
Cheng Shijie looked at the energetic soldier Ning Haijun and was very satisfied.
"Meet the Marshal!"
"Thank you for your hard work, soldiers!"
"Death for the commander-in-chief!"
"Death for the commander-in-chief!"
Although Wu Shangzhi is a businessman, when a businessman reaches a certain level, he is actually very concerned about politics. Although Wu Shangzhi is far away from the Ming Dynasty, he also has an amazing sense of smell because he often deals with Spanish people.
Just when Colonel Cheng Shijie was reviewing Ning's naval officers at the dock, as Ning's navy and army officers came ashore, the officers and soldiers did not mention their allegiance to the Ming Dynasty, but only said they were loyal to Cheng Shijie. This shows that this army has become Cheng Shijie's private army.
Political struggles have always been bloody, and they placed their treasure on Cheng Shijie, which meant that they would part ways with the court in the future.
However, Wu Shangzhi and Li Guoqun looked at each other.
Li Guoqun lowered his voice and said, "Does the imperial court have anything to do with us?"
Wu Shangzhi was slightly startled: "That's right, the court has nothing to do with us!"
"How many of us did the Spaniards kill back then? Does it mean that the imperial court farted?"
"yes!"
"We can't look back now. No matter how difficult it is ahead, we have to keep going!"
(End of chapter)
