Speaking of this, Zhu Su felt a burst of pain. Li Jinglong is a young man who doesn't know how expensive firewood and rice are, but the cannonballs are as good as sugar pills for a few people... Whose fleet is so luxurious that they use cannons to create a fire net?
Firing artillery at sea is no better than firing a hail of arrows on land. If the arrows are shot out and the battlefield is cleaned afterwards, 60% to 70% of the arrows can be recovered. Regardless of whether the cannon fired at sea hits or not, the shells will sink directly to the bottom of the sea. Not to mention that the cost of cannonballs is much higher than that of arrows!
Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty actually still doesn't pay much attention to the navy's ship-based firepower. Most of these cannons were built to be replaced by the Ming Dynasty's frontier army, the Western Expedition Army, and the Southern Expedition Army in the past few years. Zhu Su borrowed them and installed them. on various warships and merchant ships. Cannons can be borrowed, but cannonballs cannot be borrowed. You know, the cost of a cannon is only a hundred taels at most, and the cannonballs that are consumables consume the most silver. Zhu Su talked hard and finally convinced the officials from the Ministry of War to use loans to supply the artillery shells in the Baoyuan Bureau warehouse.
It was originally thought to be used to guard against pirates and possible Western warships at sea. Who knows, just after arriving at the treasure island, Li Jinglong directly poured out a third of the ammunition of more than ten ships. This one-third of the ammunition is really worth tens of thousands of taels of silver. You know, the cost of building a port on this treasure island is only more than 10,000 taels of silver. Li Jinglong, a prodigal son, directly increased the cost of building this Liuqiu port several times in one day.
After hearing the account Zhu Su calculated for him, Li Jinglong was stunned. This is not a war, this is simply using money to kill the opponent's army!
But having enjoyed the feeling of crushing and mowing grass, and consciously glimpsed the progress of life in the future, how could Li Jinglong let go of such an artifact as an artillery piece so easily? Although his face turned white due to the pain in his body, he still gritted his teeth and said fiercely: "But it will be buttoned. My nephew has been sitting in the bank for many years, welcoming businessmen to and from business, and he has some savings in his pocket."
"Furthermore... my father and grandfather always thought that I could not take over the whole family. Now they have finally found a way for me to become famous overseas for the country. Even if it costs money and money, my family is willing to do it."
"My position as Duke of Cao is originally given by His Majesty. If I can be loyal to the country, even if my family is destitute, it is nothing."
Although he is considered a dog's son, he actually sees clearly that today's Ming Dynasty is dominated by military achievements, and even if the family has accumulated a mountain of gold and silver, it is nothing more than an external possession. If you can use cannonballs to achieve an unparalleled achievement, it doesn't matter if you use up mountains of gold and silver.
Li Jinglong had made up his mind. From now on, he would rather live frugally than build ships and cannons, and use cannons to blast them at sea. You don’t have to enjoy the happiness, but the firepower must be in place. Firepower is victory, firepower is meritorious service, firepower is making achievements and leaving a name in history!
What's more, with firepower... are you afraid that you won't be able to get money?
Seeing that he had obviously made a decision, Zhu Su let him go. At least Li Jinglong has gained confidence, and although his summary of naval battles is very expensive in terms of productivity in this era, it is actually not wrong.
What Zhu Su didn't know was that because of Li Jinglong's epiphany, a very vicious and greedy man would appear in the Ming Dynasty in the future. Decades later, the Chinese countries headed by the Ming Dynasty and the Western world would When a full-scale war breaks out, if he hears that a certain country is rich and extravagant, Cao Guogong Li Jinglong will use his fleet to plunder its land, loot its treasury, and return with its treasures. Wherever his evil reputation spread, those European nobles who loved luxury became disloyal and no longer dared to show off their wealth. This actually indirectly promoted the virtue of diligence and frugality to become popular in various European countries...
Li Jinglong's extravagant and frightening maritime warfare methods also left a mark in the history of world war. Later generations mentioned Li Jinglong, the Ming Dynasty's sea war god at the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century, and they all recognized him as the "firepower superiority theory" "The founder of...
After learning the details of the previous battle, Zhu Su dragged Li Jinglong off the ship and boarded the port named "Tanjiang Port". Because the name Da Liuqiu Island was too difficult to pronounce, Zhu Su followed the Fujianese name in his text sent to Yingtian and called the place "Dawan". Before arriving, Zhu Su had already interviewed local people and officials in Fujian and had a certain understanding of the tribal situation on Dawan Island. Therefore, as soon as Fang landed, Zhu Su asked Li Jinglong: "The one you mentioned visited Where is his tribe? Draw him on the map."
"That tribe lives on a high mountain, probably here." When it came to business, Li Jinglong was also solemn. He said to Zhu Su: "Fifth Uncle, that tribe doesn't seem to have much hostility towards us, and it has been very close to my Han merchants before."
"My nephew heard that they seem to have some quarrels with other Fan tribes. We are still guests here, so why not win them over for our use?"
Surprised that Li Jinglong could pick up these clues when he first arrived, Zhu Su nodded approvingly: "You are right. These tribes living in the mountains are called "high mountains" by the Fujian people. The tribe you have interacted with before The Gaoshan tribe has a long history with the Fujian merchants. Because among the isolated Dawan tribes, they are one of the few tribes willing to trade with our Han family. Therefore, they are quite wealthy among the tribes and are not like other tribes. So ignorant."
"However, because of this, they have always been hated by other tribes, and even some other tribes who are also members of the Gaoshan Tribe have a rather harsh view of them."
"That's it." Li Jinglong nodded. "Nephew, I understand. It's pretty much the same as Miaojiang's 'raw seedlings' and 'ripe seedlings'."
"Yes." Zhu Su said. "This department is undoubtedly our breakthrough point to open up the situation in Dawan, and we must win over him. After I found out the news, I wrote to my father, asking for permission to recruit this chieftain of the Ming Dynasty."
"There are many tribes in Nanyang who admire our Han culture. Ming Dynasty will spare no effort to recruit and win over these tribes, and gradually educate and assimilate them, so that they can become members of our Chinese nation in the future."
"However, most of these tribes are not liked by other tribes. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty must have a deterrent effect in Nanyang so that we can have the leverage to make these tribes who admire the Ming Dynasty join us and make them believe that relying on the Ming Dynasty can protect their own safety."
"I have asked my father to set up a Nanyang Fleet, and I will first use a part of the Fujian and Guangdong naval forces as a team. There are currently no candidates for the position of Admiral Commander of the Nanyang Fleet, but now it seems that you have a lot of experience in naval warfare, so I I recommend you to be the admiral and commander-in-chief of the Nanyang Fleet!"
(End of chapter)
