"Tum!!!"
With an explosion, Wang Dahong, who was hiding behind the sandbags, saw the mess at the shooting position and shook his head helplessly. He really had no choice.
In May, Heshen came to the fowler again and took out a sandalwood box as a treasure, which contained five rounds of bullets wrapped in yellow satin. He told Wang Dahong that this was the gun used by Zhao Ni that he had finally obtained. Let him study it carefully and see how to imitate it.
The brass imitation of Beihai Town's standard rifle had been sitting there for a long time. During this period, it was presented to Qianlong. After seeing it, Qianlong, the second-hand swordsman, actually thought that the imitation was accurate and was very satisfied.
Now we finally have a gun, but how do we install it? Two French craftsmen, Wang Dahong and Ba Maozhen, thought about it for many days, and finally loaded the bullet accidentally.
Okay, now you can try a real gun. Wang Dahong is old, so the young Ba Maozhen is responsible for the shooting. Two thick wooden boards were stuck together as a target. Ba Maozhen stood twenty meters away, raised his gun and pulled the trigger. As a result, the huge sound of the gunshot alarmed the entire fowler department, and the recoil when the shot was fired shocked Tomoe Shinya.
If there is nothing wrong with the original gun, then it’s time to try the imitation handicraft. Although Wang Dahong, who has played with clocks all his life, is good at mechanics, he is not a gunsmith. And even if he knew how to make guns, he didn't understand the shooting principle of the Beihai Town rifle at all. He just carefully measured the dimensions of each component and then made an accurate imitation of the appearance.
The reason why I use handicrafts to explain is because if you don’t understand the aerodynamic structure of a modern rifle, no matter how you imitate it, it is a handicraft, and as long as real bullets are loaded, it will definitely explode.
As for the air tube and air conduction method, let alone him, even if the best armorer in Europe comes, it will be in vain.
Due to the recoil when firing the first shot, Bamaozhen's shoulder was injured, so a craftsman from the fowling department volunteered to apply for a replacement. The unlucky man pressed the brass craft against his shoulder, and then pulled the trigger.
The first shot didn't work, so he continued to pull the button. After about a dozen clicks, there was a loud bang and the bullet exploded. The craftsman was bruised and his carotid artery was blown away with copper pieces. He was cut open and blood spurted out on the spot, and no one could save him.
Now they were in serious trouble. Wang Dahong and He Shen hurriedly apologized to Qianlong. Qianlong also knew that the development of firearms would be dangerous, so he just comforted them with gentle words and asked them to make another one.
Wang Dahong and Ba Maozhen carefully studied the exploded handicrafts. In the end, they thought that the gun from Beihai Town was too powerful and the brass was not hard enough, so they decided to use the hard-tempered gun for the second imitation. Made of iron. However, due to the unsatisfactory craftsmanship, the size of the entire imitation is much larger than the original gun.
A group of people over there were busy making guns, while several other craftsmen used pliers to remove a bullet head and poured out the gunpowder inside.
The propellant of modern rifle bullets is granular smokeless powder, which is obviously different from black powder particles in color and appearance. Not to mention the primer, a group of top gunsmiths in the Qing Dynasty couldn't figure it out even if they tried their best.
Then, someone proposed sawing the bullet casing into sections. Fortunately, the propellant in the cartridge case was empty, otherwise it would have been another accident. After research, Ba Maozhen felt that the primer should be a unique gunpowder used to ignite the gunpowder in the cartridge case. He was amazed by the people who could design such a bullet structure.
After working day and night, a group of craftsmen produced a second "craft imitation" made of fine iron. This time the barrel is obviously much stronger than the previous one, and the outer diameter is a circle larger; not even a tiny sand hole can be seen on the entire barrel.
Then let’s try the gun. No one came forward this time. The tragedy last time is still vivid in our minds!
So the gun was fixed on a wooden stand, and a hemp rope was used to pull the trigger. The shooter hid behind a thick sandbag cover.
The first shot was fired, but the barrel did not explode. All the craftsmen were so excited that they forgot about it. Baitang'a from the fowling department also hurriedly went to report the good news to Shu Wen, the minister of the Military Academy.
Shu Wen was also very happy after hearing this, thinking that the hard work of the past few months was finally not in vain. He just wanted to report the good news to He Shen, but he always felt uneasy, so he went to the fowling place in person and said he would take another shot and report to He Zhongtang if there was no problem.
As a result, the second shot was just like what was written before. The barrel made of wrought iron finally could not withstand the more than 300 MPa chamber pressure of the middle-power bullet, and it exploded like a twist.
Done!
Seeing Heshen kneeling in front of him and reporting the situation at the fowler, Qianlong smiled indifferently and said: "I have said long ago that if you can conquer the world just by relying on sharp firearms, why did Jinchuan and Jinchuan fight twenty times? Year. The way to govern the world is to govern the hearts of the people. The way to fight a battle depends on whether the general is firm in determination and smart in decision-making. If all ministers work together and all the armies are angry and brave, why worry about success? Get up."
"Master is really a very knowledgeable person! In short, it's all because of the servants' incompetence in doing things that makes Master worry about it!" He Shen kowtowed and stood up immediately.
"Is it okay to buy the warship with money?"
Heshen said quickly: "Master, don't worry, the payment will be collected from the contributions of each of the thirteen companies, and will be paid through Guangdong Customs at that time. According to Western rules, 30% will be paid first after the contract is signed, and the rest will be paid gradually according to the construction progress. Appropriate.”
In May, as the tea trade season began, Sun Shiyi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and the British finally finalized the purchase of warships. The East India Company was extremely happy to obtain this business, thinking it was a huge breakthrough in trade with the Qing Dynasty, and simply sent someone from Bangladesh to negotiate.
Sun Shiyi still adheres to the habit of not having direct contact with foreigners, and all communication matters are mediated by the Pan family of the Thirteenth Line. After Zhao Xin made a scene in Guangzhou, the Cai family of Wanhe Bank was fined 100,000 taels of silver, and the general business was handed over to the Pan family of Tongwen Bank. The Cai family was really struggling this time. Including the fine and the previous repayment, they paid a total of 600,000 taels; but thanks to the money borrowed by Beihai Town, they were able to survive the disaster.
The final purchase intention reached by both parties was five second-class sailing battleships. The total cost of each ship and ninety cannons was 28,000 taels of silver, which was almost 15,700 pounds. Considering that the British had to hire a large number of sailors to transport the ships from Europe, this price was considered a reasonable price.
In response to Sun Shiyi's urgent request to deliver the ship within two years, the East India Company representative who came from Bangladesh fully agreed. He said that he would immediately send people back to China to negotiate and bring over the newly launched sailing battleship from Portsmouth Shipyard.
In addition, the training of sailors is also a top priority. The British suggestion is to send dedicated personnel to the UK for training, and finally let the sailors come back with the ship, so that combat effectiveness can be quickly formed.
However, this proposal did not need to be sent to Qianlong, Sun Shiyi rejected it directly. The British were helpless, so they suggested that Sun Shiyi buy an old third-class sailing ship first, and then have the East India Company send people for training. After all, a third-level battleship requires 300 people to pilot it. After two years of training, the ship can be used immediately upon arrival.
After thinking about it, Sun Shiyi agreed to the British method, but in the end he still needed to report to Qianlong for his approval.
In early June, Qianlong approved Sun Shiyi's proposal and ordered the Ministry of Husbandry, the Lifan Academy, and the Ministry of War to jointly handle it. Five second-class sailing battleships, one third-class battleship, and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver were really nothing to the finances of the Manchu Qing court at this time.
Compared with Zhao Xin, who has been standing still and not claiming kingship and hegemony, Qianlong's current focus is mainly on the "general marshal of the alliance leader" in Taiwan.
In the first month of the first lunar month, because Chang Qing, the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, was unable to suppress the army, Emperor Qianlong issued an order to swap the governor of Huguang, Li Shiyao, with Chang Qing. By the end of the first year, the chaos in Taiwan could no longer be concealed. Since then, the Tiandihui, which had been secretly established for twenty years, finally entered Qianlong's sight.
After that, the Qing army continued to mobilize troops from the interior, and Lin Shuangwen led tens of thousands of people to surround Taiwan's capital city. During this period, one after another false and mixed memorials were reported to the capital, which made Qianlong unable to see what was going on, so he could only keep issuing orders.
At this time, the old Qianlong also saw that Chang Qing, Lan Meiyuan and others were not doing things well. After thinking about it, he decided to use Fukang'an again.
...
"Hey, let me ask, is the Heaven and Earth Conference what it says?" At the exercise headquarters in Fuldan City, Liu Sheng curiously asked Zhao Xin about Taiwan.
"Brother, you've already said yes, but you really think you have tattoos on the soles of your feet? It's not itchy to death." Zhao Xin ate the lunch brought by the adjutant, chewed two mouthfuls, and continued to explain: "I've been here for so long, and you're still... Don’t you understand? This is a group of reactionary Taoist sects that haven’t even conquered the Taiwan government before they started to grant officials and titles.”
Wang Yuanfang on the side suddenly asked curiously: "What do you think we should do if they come to us for help?"
"Cold salad! I don't have time to pay attention to them." Zhao Xin blurted out.
Liu Sheng said: "By the way, I read the report written by Ding Guofeng yesterday. What should we do with the village south of Bitter Leaf Island?"
Zhao Xindao: "I asked Lao Chen to arrange to send two hundred families of immigrants there. We cannot let the islanders dominate."
Ding Guofeng has been back for almost half a month, and now he is busy pulling people back from Jeju Island. Before leaving Otomo Town, he asked the acting mayor, Murayama Denbei, to gather people to clear an area of 20 acres in the north of the town, and informed him that two three-masted sailing ships would bring people over next month.
In order to prevent Murayama Senbei from playing tricks, Ding Guofeng asked Chai Zhong to lead a company to stay in Dabo Town and wait for the construction team and immigrants to arrive next month before considering rotation.
In order to keep his fiefdom, Murayama Denbei tried his best to curry favor with Ding Guofeng. He almost emptied the warehouse of all sea goods and treasuries, and even wanted to send women to Ding Guofeng to sleep with him. But his calculation was wrong. Ding Guofeng had already fallen in love with him.
That girl was none other than Xue Wu, the younger sister of the former Shachuan clan leader. Zhao Xin was happy to see this matter come to fruition and asked A Miao to help as a lobbyist.
Since Xue Wu came to Beihai Town, she originally thought she would become Zhao Xin's wife, but who knew that Zhao Xin had no intention of doing so. The little girl studied Mandarin in school for half a year and mastered hundreds of Chinese characters. Now she is working as a nurse in Beihai Town Hospital.
After lunch, everyone got busy again. Zhao Xin returned to his office, and adjutant Chen Jishan came to report that Shen Jingdan was here. The "quasi-father-in-law" was here to report on official business. As the head of the trade department, Shen Jingdan took a boat trip to Jeju Island a few days ago and had private contact with Li Shangyi, who had been here before.
"The Li Dynasty asked us not to resettle immigrants on Jeju Island in the future. Someone in their court suggested sending troops to expel them."
Zhao Xin was happy when he heard this and said with a smile: "Do they really dare to do something?"
Shen Jingdan smiled and said: "We are still discussing, and Li Zuo has not expressed his position. However, Li Shangyi is very satisfied with the goods he brought this time, especially various iron farm tools and matches."
In the eighteenth century, the Li Dynasty was short of materials and needed almost everything when conducting foreign trade with the Qing Dynasty, including livestock, daily groceries, metal products, textile raw materials, medicinal materials, etc. Its exported products are only ginseng, Korean paper, furs, dried seafood and some metal raw materials.
Because when Li Chao came to visit the year before last, Zhao Xin raised the territorial issue of southern Jiangyuan, which made Li Chao's monarchs and ministers very angry, so they have not yet made formal contact with Beihai Town.
Zhao Xin asked: "How much did the Japanese lead buy this time?"
Shen Jingdan said: "It's a little less, only 50,000 jins, and the difference is made up with red copper and mulberry paper. Before I came back, Li Shangyi had sent people to South Hamgyong Province to buy another 100,000 jins of Japanese lead. He said that in the future we can guarantee a supply of 150,000 kilograms per year. In addition, I asked Xu Dayong to send someone to contact Lao Huang and ask him to help buy it from Lianghu."
The so-called "Japanese lead", also known as zinc, is the raw material for making brass. The brass used in rifle bullet cases requires a zinc content of 30%, so zinc has become an important raw material for military production in Beihai Town.
The clear zinc mines are mainly concentrated in the Yunnan, Guizhou and Lianghu areas, and are used to prepare brass for casting money and making various utensils. The purity of zinc ingots produced in Guiyang, Guangxi can reach 98.99%, and they are even exported to Europe.
Zhao Xin's current attitude towards raw materials for industrial and agricultural production is that they can be purchased from this time and space, and he should try not to purchase them from another time and space.
In fact, the largest lead-zinc mine closest to Bukhae Town is in the Kamdeok area of South Hamgyong Province that Shim Kyung-dam mentioned. This is a very large lead-zinc deposit, with later proven zinc metal reserves of 70 million tons. However, at this time, the Li Dynasty's mining in the Jiande mining area mainly focused on silver and lead.
"It doesn't matter. When the Northern Navy captures Hunchun, look at how the people of the Li Dynasty knelt down and begged us." Zhao Xinru explained.
Shen Jingdan's eyes flashed and he asked the question he was most concerned about: "So, when will we take Hunchun?" For him, no matter how good the outer Northeast is, it is just a barren land. Zhao Xin is the one who leads the troops into the pass. His greatest hope.
"Soon." Zhao Xin smiled lightly and showed his habitual deceptive expression.
When Shen Jingdan saw this, he couldn't ask any more questions. He couldn't interfere in military matters. This was the condition Zhao Xin had negotiated with him before. Several of the Shen family children he had brought from Yangzhou were now working as clerks in the civil affairs, and none of them wanted to be soldiers. This also gave Shen Jingdan a headache.
In fact, Zhao Xin's plan is to conduct a large-scale military training this year and train a group of local management talents, and then capture Hunchun and Ninggu Pagoda in one fell swoop next year, and then move all the way west to attack Khalkha Mongolia.
The reason why he wanted to attack Mongolia first instead of going south was because he was worried that once he sent his troops south and threatened the capital, the various Mongolian tribes would become a factor of instability. It would be too long-winded if these princes and princes saw that the situation was not going well and started to collude with the Russians.
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