"Simang, you are indeed here." The speaker was a tall-nosed French man.
"Come, Louis, have a drink with me. In the words of the Ming people, do it." Simang picked up the jug, poured a glass of wine and handed it over.
The cup of wine the size of a copper coin was put into Lewis's hand, he raised his head and drank it in one sip, and then his tongue was so spicy that he stuck out his tongue.
"Ha ha."
Seeing Louis' appearance after drinking, Simang couldn't help laughing.
After the laughter stopped, he said, "The wine from the Ming Dynasty can be regarded as the wine that a warrior should drink. Lewis, you are not good. You have been in the Ming Dynasty for so long and you still can't even take a sip."
"The Ming people's wine is too spicy. Fortunately, I'm just a cannon maker, so I don't have to be the warrior you call me." Louis took a mouthful of potato puree with a spoon and put it into his mouth and ate it.
Simang's tone suddenly dropped and he said: "I really envy you Louis. You can do what you like. Unlike me, I have been in the East for so long and can only test cannons for you in the artillery factory."
"Okay Simang." Louis put his arm around Simang's shoulders and said, "What's wrong with the artillery factory? It's much safer than when you were a mercenary before. At least you don't have to worry about being hit by the enemy's cannons. , thus losing his life.”
"This is not the life I want." Simang said, "I like battlefields and the smell of gunpowder, so I came to the East."
Louis shrugged and said, "I think you prefer those shiny gold coins."
"Of course, I like those little cuties so much, don't you? It would be even better if I could go to the battlefield again." When he mentioned the gold coins, Simang's eyes sparkled.
"I love those little cuties, too," Louis said.
"I heard that the Ming people are at war with the Tatars in the north. Do you want me to join the Ming army?" Simang looked up at Louis.
"You have no chance." Louis said: "The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has an army of millions. He will not hire mercenaries like you, so just give up on this idea, unless you want to go to the Tatars." stand together."
Simang shook his head and said: "The Tatars in the north of the Ming Dynasty are just a group of barbarians. I, Simang, will not fight for the barbarians."
"So, the gun factory is the best place for you, unless you want to go to sea and become a sailor." Lewis said.
"No, I am an excellent army gunner." Simang's eyes widened, as if being a sailor was a humiliation for him.
Louis said: "You are just a mercenary with an artillery background. There are also cannons on the ship. You can stay on the ship as a gunner and use your talents in the same way."
"That's different," Simang said. "Give me a four-pounder, and I can easily hit a target five hundred yards away. But at sea, even if you give me a twelve-pounder, I'm not sure of hitting it." Target."
"Then there is no other way." Louis said, "The emperor of the Ming Dynasty had millions of troops, so there was never a shortage of soldiers to serve the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. They didn't need mercenaries at all, and those Tatars had tens of thousands of people. I believe that people will be pacified by the emperor of the Ming Dynasty soon."
Simang said, "I heard from Father Jose that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was defeated several times by the Tatars in the north and lost a lot of land, so the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty needed a powerful gunner like me."
Seeing that his friend Simon didn't listen to his advice at all, Louis shrugged helplessly and said, "You'd better talk to Nicholas about this."
"Is this smart boy Nicholas here?" Simang turned around and looked in the direction of the door.
"Louis, Simon, nice to meet you." Zheng Yiguan came over and greeted the two people with a smile.
He walked to the empty seat between the two people and sat down.
"Come, Nicholas, have a drink with me." Simang picked up the jug, poured a glass of wine, and handed it to Zheng Yiguan.
Zheng Yiguan took the wine cup, the two of them touched it and drank it all in one gulp.
"I really don't understand you, what's so good about such a spicy wine." Lewis, who watched the two people clinking glasses, shook his head in confusion.
Zheng Yiguan took the wine jug and filled a cup for Xi Mang and himself.
Simang smelled the aroma of the wine and said with an intoxicated look: "This is the wine that warriors drink. Louis, you have never been on the battlefield, so naturally you don't understand."
"I like this life better than going to war," Louis said.
Zheng Yiguan said with a smile: "There is a saying in our Ming Dynasty that everyone has their own preferences for radish and green vegetables. Louis, if you don't like drinking, you can drink tea. The tea in our Ming Dynasty is also very good."
"No, with you accompanying Simon, I think I can go back. I have to go to the artillery factory to work tomorrow." Louis stood up and said to Simon again, "Simang, drink less, or you will get drunk. You were late the next day, and Vittorino is already very dissatisfied with you."
"Louis, wait a minute." Zheng Yiguan called to Louis, who was about to leave, and said, "Sit down for a while, I have something I want to talk to you about."
"Nicola, I'm very angry. I thought you came to drink with me, but it turned out you came to see Louis." Simang pretended to be angry.
"Okay Simang, Nicholas is not a casual joker. Maybe he has something important to come to me." Louis said to Simang and sat back in his seat.
"Okay! You guys talk." Simon shrugged, raised the wine cup, and took a sip.
Zheng Yiguan turned to look at Louis and said, "Louis, have you ever thought about leaving Xiangshan'ao and going to the north of Ming Dynasty?"
"The north of the Ming Dynasty? Could it be that your Ming Dynasty emperor wants to hire people to fight the Tatars?" Simang's eyes lit up while he was drinking, and he put down the wine glass in his hand.
Zheng Yiguan said: "It's not our emperor, but a big businessman in the north of the Ming Dynasty who wants to find a cannon maker to cast cannons."
"What a pity. I thought your Ming Emperor needed mercenaries. I'm an excellent gunner." Xi Mang looked regretful.
Zheng Yiguan explained: "The place where the Tatars are fighting is the northeastern region. The north where the big businessman is located is the Datong area of Xuanfu. The Tatars there did not go to war with the Ming Dynasty."
"Your Ming Kingdom is simply too big. There are several places in the north." Xi Mang said with a frown.
Louis said doubtfully: "What are the merchants of the Ming Dynasty doing making cannons? Do they want the Tatars to go to war?"
Zheng Yiguan said: "To protect the safety of the caravan! The Tatars on the grassland are very barbaric and always like to do some looting."
Lewis shook his head and said: "I'm sorry Nicholas, I'm afraid I can't build a cannon for that big businessman."
"Don't refuse in a hurry." Zheng Yiguan said, "The businessman in Datong is willing to pay twenty taels of silver. If you stay here in Xiangshan Ao, Vittorino will only give you a salary of three taels of silver at most every month. It’s not as much as those sailors making just one trip on the ship.”
