Although he spent 20 million silver coins, Colbert believed that the trip was worthwhile because he saw a huge and prosperous empire.
Fortunately, this empire is located in the eastern world. If it lived next to France, it would be a huge enemy, as terrible as the Ottomans.
After the beginning of spring, a certain new emperor specially held a military parade for two major customers.
Even though all the troops participating in the military parade were left-behind troops, they walked in a graceful and orderly manner.
Just from the military size and formation, Kolbe and Ruyter could guess the approximate combat effectiveness of these troops.
The Marquis of Turenne once told Colbert that the Ming army, especially the emperor's direct troops, would give top priority to obeying orders and maintaining discipline.
Goose-stepping is one of the pragmatic embodiments of this concept, allowing viewers to truly feel what it means to have a mountain of military orders and a united will.
In the military parade, in addition to holding matchlocks, flintlock rifles, and revolvers, the soldiers in the infantry square also received a brand-new light weapon-a magazine-type bolt-action rifle!
At first, a certain new emperor wanted to make a Ming Dynasty version of the AK-47, because this thing could be made even in the valleys of Central Asia.
As a result, the Academy of Sciences has been tinkering for several years, but has not made much progress. In the end, it can only settle for the second best.
I made a Ming Dynasty version of the Lee Enfield, which is also in bolt-action mode, but the caliber is 10 mm, the bullet is 10×60 mm, the magazine capacity is 15 rounds, and the firepower is 2.5 times that of a revolver.
The gun is 110 centimeters long and 140 centimeters long with the bayonet attached. It weighs about ten kilograms when fully loaded, and its cost is comparable to that of a revolver.
The advantage of the latter is that it doesn't tend to jam, but the chamber of the revolver determines that it cannot hold too many bullets. If it is replaced with eight or even ten rounds of capacity.
The scrap rate during manufacturing will skyrocket, causing the cost to remain high, which is not conducive to large-volume equipment.
Rather than that, it would be more reliable to directly adopt the current magazine-type bolt action mode.
As long as the Ming Dynasty King's Division is equipped with more than 100,000 such rifles, the infantry will not have to bear too much pressure against the braided cavalry in the future.
Although it is not a semi-automatic rifle, let alone a machine gun, as long as the number increases, with the advantage of large magazines, the firepower density can reach the standard of defending against the braided cavalry.
The French Type 1777 flintlock was named the "Invincible Type 1", the revolver was named the "Invincible Type 2", and the magazine rifle was the "Invincible Type 3", which happened to be of the same origin.
Due to poor spring performance, the magazine can only hold less than twenty rounds of bullets at most, with fifteen rounds being the best.
However, as long as the level of metallurgical technology is improved in the future, the "Invincible Type III" rifle can also increase its ammunition capacity.
This kind of rifle can only be used by special forces and a few elite troops for the time being.
The cost of the gun is not a problem, the problem is that the rate of fire is too high, resulting in a huge consumption of ammunition.
In order to reduce blind shooting, a certain new emperor also asked his consort Sun Yunqiu to develop a recommended optical sight.
The magnification is only double, but the advantage is that the cost is low, it can be used in large quantities, and each gun can be equipped with a scope.
During the development, a certain new emperor asked the Academy of Sciences to create a guide rail that could be installed on the rifle so that soldiers could quickly disassemble and install the scope according to their needs.
Some guys with good eyesight are used to aiming with the naked eye, and they really don't need this thing. The sight is not as good as their own eyesight, and it will reduce the hit rate.
Although the effective range is only less than 300 meters, for a rifle with not obvious rifling, it should be enough for the time being.
A certain new emperor has asked the Academy of Sciences to improve the Invincible Type III rifle. Two of the important improvements are to draw obvious rifling and to increase the magazine capacity.
Regarding the expectations of this rifle, a certain new emperor believes that it can become a landmark light weapon.
Especially the transition from smoothbore guns to rifled guns, and laid a solid foundation for the birth of semi-automatic rifles.
It would be best to gradually improve it into a quasi-rifled bolt-action rifle with an ammunition capacity of twenty-five to thirty rounds.
In the next ten years, the Academy of Sciences should be able to make breakthroughs...
Zhou Yuji took away 3,000, of which 2,000 were in the hands of Zhang Huangyan's special forces. Ma Xianglin's Baigan Army had sacrificed a lot before, so they got 500 this time, and the remaining 500 were distributed to the sharpshooters of each department.
Beidu Arsenal is still producing in an orderly manner. The initial monthly output is only 500 pieces. As time goes by, it will naturally increase in the future.
After more than three years of various experiments, a certain new emperor was basically satisfied with the performance of this rifle and met the requirements for large-scale deployment in the army.
The Ministry of War has decided to purchase 50,000 units in the first batch. After the arsenal has completed this batch of orders, the subsequent quantities will be drawn up.
Zheng Zhilong, who came to Beijing to pay New Year's greetings, received a gift from a certain new emperor, 666 invincible Type III rifles.
Each gun comes with ten magazines, 200 rounds of bullets, instructions and various maintenance supplies and parts.
After Zheng Zhilong tried firing once, he decided to purchase 10,000 guns first, and received permission to purchase another 30,000 guns at a preferential price.
The new emperor did not intend to give away the two thousand revolvers that the special forces had replaced to France and the Netherlands.
Even if it is a second-hand product that has been used for many years, it is much more powerful than many flintlock guns.
As long as the chamber is fine, it's still a good gun.
The guns of the special forces are in very good condition. After all, the soldiers in this unit are no longer illiterate.
Of course, the special forces will take good care of those who can make money in their hands.
This batch of second-hand revolvers, according to the wishes of a certain new emperor, was distributed to the Baigan Army and the East Palace Guards in one thousand units.
In view of the contribution made by the Marquis of Turenne to the Ming Dynasty, a certain new emperor also gave him a thousand pieces.
Of course, Turenne would not dislike this batch of second-hand goods, because even second-hand goods are expensive and in short supply in the market.
The factory's price is five hundred taels of silver each, but the actual transaction price is often as high as a thousand taels.
To equip 10,000 people, it would cost 10 million taels of silver, which France could never afford.
After obtaining these small weapons, the Marquis of Turenne returned to his homeland and presented them to King Louis XIV, so that they could be used to equip the brave and capable dragoon troops.
Due to the six-shot design, one thousand dragoons can be used as the previous six thousand dragoons, not to mention that the reloading speed of fixed-loading revolvers is much faster than that of flintlock rifles.
"Your Majesty, to be honest, my country has concluded a permanent non-aggression treaty with the Netherlands, and before that, my country also reached a Treaty of Amity and Commerce with your country. I wonder if the three countries can form a treaty? It would be best to cover military aspects! "
Colbert also had another important task during his trip, which was to test the attitude of the emperor of the Ming Empire towards the conclusion of a trilateral treaty.
Because the previous cooperation between the two countries has long exceeded the scope of the trade treaty, it is not too much to regard it as a military alliance.
After helping the Ming Empire defeat its main enemy, Mazarin decided it was time to further strengthen bilateral or even trilateral relations.
Because France's expansion on land has come to an end, the next step is to expand overseas.
Being able to shake hands with the Netherlands would mean having multiple powerful allies on the sea, but this was not enough to give France an invincible position.
With the decline of the Spanish Empire, the title of the most powerful empire in the world has returned to the East...
The French navy and the Dutch navy join forces to deal with the British navy, and the probability of victory is very high.
But if the British navy joins forces with the Spanish navy, even if the French and Dutch fleets win, they will pay a considerable price.
If you want to lower the cost, you need to bring in a strong partner on the basis of a strong alliance.
For France, the Ming Empire could not be more suitable. There is no one more suitable in the world.
"It's not impossible, but there is a prerequisite!"
"Your Majesty, can you please speak frankly?"
"I want the entire East Indies, and then completely open the sea route to Australia. The Netherlands seems not to want me to get what I want, so Ming Dynasty has a certain conflict of interest with the Netherlands. But I can guarantee that as long as the Netherlands gives up the East Indies, Islands, then I can give them certain compensation and at the same time conclude the Three Kingdoms Alliance Treaty immediately!"
"Your Majesty, the compensation you are referring to is..."
After listening to what the translator said, Ruit asked attentively.
Giving up the East Indies and gaining support from the Ming Empire was not non-negotiable.
Although the East Indies controlled most of the spice production areas in the Eastern world, they could not make the Netherlands the final winner.
However, the Ming Empire could help itself defeat Britain and Spain. This was something that the Netherlands, which had been fighting alone, could not do.
While taking a battleship to receive supplies in Quanzhou, Ruit saw Zheng Zhilong's fleet of armored ships and was truly envious of them.
Although there were only eight ships seen at the time, Putmans told him that Zheng Zhilong already had forty ironclad ships, which was twice as many as France and the Netherlands purchased combined.
There is no doubt that these forty ironclads can easily destroy the British fleet led by that damn guy Blake.
The question is, why should Zheng Zhilong fight for the Netherlands?
It seems to be a more cost-effective thing to exchange the entire East Indies for the Ming Empire to send troops to help the Netherlands destroy the British navy.
But this is just Ruyter's idea. When it comes to the ears of the East India Company and the parliamentarians, it is another matter...
"To compensate your country for six armored ships, I will also let Zheng Zhilong lead the armored fleet to Europe. At that time, the combined fleets of the three countries can encircle and suppress the British fleet and the Spanish fleet, solving these two troubles once and for all. Maybe you think this is not enough, Then I can tell Mr. General that without the navy, Britain will not threaten your country's New Amsterdam and other territories in North America. France can also use Quebec and Louisiana, two large territories. If you take a long-term view If you do, you will find that the North American territories are much more valuable than the East Indies. The east coast is particularly suitable for fishing, growing cotton and food. If your country emigrates on a large scale, it will be the best place to stay. Your country’s strategic depth will increase more than tenfold in an instant.”
After the new emperor said this, he sent someone to bring a map, which showed a planned way to divide the cake.
The Netherlands got the entire east coast to the Great Lakes, and France got Quebec, northeastern Canada, Louisiana, and Mexico.
The Ming Dynasty obtained the entire west coast, which is equivalent to saying that North America has been completely carved up by the three countries, and no fourth party can come over and interfere.
The land area obtained by France is much larger than that of the Netherlands because France has a population of more than 18 million and is fully capable of immigrating to North America.
The Netherlands has a population of less than five million. It is difficult to even protect itself on the mainland. Not to mention the territory in North America, it has really suffered a defeat in Europe and cannot even protect the East Indies.
Of course, if these two families don't plan to move there, they will definitely not be able to control the North American settlers.
In less than two hundred years, North America will have a Dutch-speaking country, a French-speaking country, an English-speaking country, and a Spanish-speaking country.
With the help of a certain new emperor, there are also Zhang Da Zongzi’s armed gangs, including the Indian Jones Empire and the Black Uncle Jordan Empire...
Several empires stew together every day, what a joyful scene it will be!
The entire Ming Dynasty moved to North America, which would really make people vomit blood. Just let Zhang Xianzhong take the prisoners there to stir things up.
A certain new emperor also did not want to see a country in North America that could rival the Ming Dynasty. That would be a huge threat.
There must be at least four or five countries in North America in order to maintain a balance of power.
Since Zhang Xianzhong's army has a small population, it is impossible to have too many troops. A certain new emperor will continue to add firewood to it.
In the future, we must at least help this group to conquer the entire west coast, so as to ensure that North America will not be overtaken by the Europeans.
The Ming Dynasty controlled Southeast Asia, occupied Australia, and maintained connections with the Middle East. It was equivalent to sitting on the iron mines and obtaining a steady supply of oil.
Indonesia also has the Minas Oilfield with huge reserves, but it can be regarded as a strategic reserve and temporarily stored for emergencies.
As long as the Ottoman Empire still controls the Middle East, a new emperor can exchange a bunch of commodities produced by the Ming Dynasty for a large amount of the other party's oil.
This move can not only dump goods to the other party and control the Middle East market, but also earn the price difference.
Since the oil reservoirs in the Middle East are very shallow, many of them are spontaneous wells, which are even more cost-effective than developing your own oil fields.
Controlling oil with one hand, various technologies with the other, and sitting on a mountain of iron ore means that all the prerequisites for the development of industry have been met.
Southeast Asia, which can produce three crops a year, is positioned as the granary of the Ming Dynasty, and the food provided every year must meet the standards.
If the natives continue to be lazy and slippery, there will be no value and necessity for their existence!
Therefore, whether the Dutch give it or not, Ming Dynasty will eventually get the entire East Indies.
As for what method to use, it depends on the wisdom of the Dutch.
Maybe they don't have a certain degree of wisdom, and all their decisions depend on the heads and tails of a silver coin...
"Your Majesty, if you want to persuade our country's parliament to agree, you'd better come up with twelve brand-new ironclad ships!"
Ruit decided to raise prices to give himself more wiggle room.
"I can give you twelve brand-new iron-clad ships, but you have to promise not to increase the price. I won't add one more ship."
The total cost of building twelve Zhiyuan ships is less than twelve million taels. It is undoubtedly a very cost-effective thing to acquire the entire East Indies.
A certain new emperor can also send Zheng Zhilong's fleet to capture it, and if the Dutch and British come together, they can also add the Spanish.
The three gangs have made a comeback. Before the braids have been completely eliminated, Daming will be attacked from both sides and will feel very uncomfortable.
You know, as long as the two sides fight, the cost of the war will definitely be more than 10 million taels.
Rather than that, it would be better to buy the East Indies...
