Perhaps it was because Sakai Town was too close to Osaka Castle that Toyotomi Hideucha insisted that the Maritime Trade Alliance's garrison in Sakai Town should not exceed five thousand. He also said "very considerately" that 4,038 of the 5,000 people were planned to be a standard infantry corps of the Sea Trade Alliance, and the remaining about 1,000 people could be the family members and servants of the officers of this confederation. wait.
Well, in order for the Maritime Trade Alliance to station fewer troops near Osaka Castle that can actually fight, Toyotomi Dainagon Hideuchi really worked hard and almost died.
Luo Yuan argued with him for a long time, but in the end he couldn't defeat this "professional staff", and finally reluctantly agreed, setting the upper limit of garrison strength at five thousand.
Regarding this result, Toyotomi Hidenaga was relieved, while Luo Yuan looked disgusted but was secretly happy.
Why can I still be secretly happy? That's because among the three places that Gao Jingshi had previously made plans for, Sakai Town was originally ranked first, and Gao Jingshi also knew the sensitivity of Sakai Town, so what he told Luo Yuan was to "strive to garrison above one mark."
Biao is directly one level lower than Xie, and the difference in the number of people between one Biao and one Xie is not small. The establishment of a town of the Jinghua Department is two regiments in each town, and there are 4,038 officers and soldiers in each association; there are two bids in each association, and there are 1,756 officers and soldiers in each bid. The number of officers and soldiers in Mabiao is slightly less, which is one. One thousand one hundred and seventeen people; each bid is divided into three battalions, each battalion has four companies, each company has three rows, each row has three sheds...and so on.
The reason why there are only 3,512 people in an association formed by the two bids, which does not seem to reach the total number of people in an association, is because the association also has a security company, direct artillery, reconnaissance cavalry, direct engineers, etc. .
Gao Pragmatic's request was to strive for a standard for garrisoning troops, which roughly meant to try to garrison two thousand troops. This number was less than half of what Luo Yuan actually achieved. Of course Luo Yuan was happy now - even if the master only ended up with Send a bid, but it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the upper limit given by the Toyotomi family is too high! What's more, he didn't think that the master would be unwilling to put more people in Sakai Town.
After discussing this big issue, Luo Yuan originally estimated that Toyotomi Hidenaga would mention the relationship between the Maritime Trade Alliance and the Hojo family. Who knew that he actually miscalculated - what Toyotomi Hidenaga mentioned next was actually a sum of money. Business, a big deal.
On behalf of the Toyotomi family, he formally proposed arms purchase to the Sea Trade Alliance!
Yes, it's the kind of arms purchase that everyone knows: buying warships, buying artillery, buying muskets, buying gunpowder... He even wants to introduce some production lines - of course he doesn't know the word production line, but this is what his statement undoubtedly means:
"Build the necessary facilities and tools for us to build relevant warships, artillery, muskets and other items. If we need to teach and train craftsmen, please send someone to guide us. We are willing to pay the corresponding cash for this." Then he added One sentence: "The price is negotiable."
If Gao Pragmatic were here in person, he might not be praising Toyotomi's handsome vision in his heart. People a few hundred years ago actually had a far-sighted view than some comprador entrepreneurs in later generations. They didn’t even think about “building is worse than buying”. They introduced production lines and trained industrial workers. They were indeed worthy of being among the “East Asian Monster Houses”. One of the main members.
However, even if Gao Pragmatic was not around, Luo Yuan would never agree to this proposal. Commander Luo rejected him cleanly and said: "I am only the commander of the Guandong Squadron, and I rarely get involved in specific business matters. But as far as I know, our factories in Jinghua only sell products and have never sold production technology. .”
Toyotomi Hidenaga was obviously disappointed, but having said that, he was disappointed, and it was actually what he expected.
In fact, the deal he just proposed was not made by him alone, but was an idea that Toyotomi Hideyoshi came up with after being persuaded by Ishida Mitsunari, Nagasu Masaie and others. When Hideyoshi told him about it, he also agreed, so the above scene happened.
But they all know that this idea has a low chance of success, so they also have a backup plan. The backup plan is very simple. There is nothing you can do if the production line cannot buy it temporarily. It is also good to buy some finished products in case of emergency. However, these finished products are "customized services" and must be discussed in detail with Jinghua.
Take warships as an example. In the past, Jinghua only sold armed transport ships to domestic merchants in the Ming Dynasty. However, due to its high pragmatism and emphasis on standardization (this was from cost considerations, including production and maintenance), Jinghua’s armed transport ships were all of the same specification. , very unified.
Of course, specifically, there are also certain "customized services", but this kind of customization service is relatively simple, mainly due to the difference in gun load, which is divided into four types: standard gun load, medium load gun, small amount of gun load, and no gun load. Class - The thirty armed transport ships ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi before were the lowest standard unloaded gun models. Of course, that was mainly because Gao Pragmatic refused to sell him guns.
However, the warship the Toyotomi family proposed to purchase this time had to be customized even in model, because they felt that the armed transport ship was too big and the various costs were a bit expensive. They needed smaller warships.
This matter has to start with the reality of Japan’s “Navy Army”. I have said before that the Japanese "Navy Army" was actually just a later name. The earliest Japanese maritime power should be called "Pirates." As early as the Heian period, pirates, an armed robbery group at sea with the same nature as bandits, appeared in Japan.
By the Muromachi period, pirate was no longer a contemptuous term, and powerful pirate leaders were even more proud of the title of "pirate general". They no longer even made a living by robbing property, but used commercial activities as their main source of funds. The original military strength existed to strengthen their rule. Later, in order to distinguish the difference between the two, the latter was called "Navy Army".
There are roughly three types of ships used by the Japanese Navy and one special model. The conventional order in order of size is Anzhabu, Guanfune, and small morning boat. All three types of ships are single-masted, using sails for oceangoing operations and oars for close combat. The hull is divided into three parts, the upper and middle parts, with the bottom below the waterline. There is also an unconventional model called an iron-clad ship, but it is too heavy to go to the open sea, and because Japan has insufficient iron production, there are very few built, so we can't mention it for now.
So the first thing to talk about among the other three types of ships is the Anzha ship. This kind of ship is large and sturdy, using "tortoise bones", but it is much more fragile than the Mingfeng of the same era outside the Kyoka system, and is comparable to Kyoka's armed transport ships. Not to mention comparison.
There is a police building in the middle and rear of the ship, which is divided into three floors and equipped with 160 small oars and 80 large oars. The weapons are large barrels and iron cannons (artillery and muskets), which are the core force of the regular navy and the core of the navy's formation. Large ships with more than two thousand stones (referring to the load measurement unit, different from the Ming Dynasty) can be classified into this category. Such. But it should be noted that even Japan's largest Anzha ship is not as big as Kyoka's armed transport ship.
The second is Guan Ship, which is a medium-sized warship. The design concept is to improve maneuverability on the basis of taking into account defense power. The two sides have between eighty and forty oars. The weapons are also large barrels and iron cannons. This kind of ship is currently the main battle force of the Japanese navy.
Then there is the small morning boat, which is a small boat. The design idea is to give up defense and increase maneuverability as much as possible. Under forty oars on both sides, it is mainly responsible for reconnaissance and reporting in the regular navy. However, because of its lightness and flexibility, relatively high cost-effectiveness, and low technical content, it has become the mainstream ship of pirates and is often used in groups.
Small morning boats can be divided into iron cannon boats, long-handled boats, odd boats, monojian boats, ban boats, military and food boats, etc. Taking an eight-hundred-stone ship as an example, it is generally equipped with a hundred oars, which requires a hundred sailors, five bow helmsmen, and about a hundred musketeers. Combatants account for half of the total number. If sails are used as power, the number of sailors can be greatly reduced, and a hundred-man iron cannon team can be used.
As can be seen from the above ships of the Japanese Navy, the small morning ships can only fight and basically have no carrying capacity; the Kansai ships can fight and carry, but considering that sea-going ships need to reserve the supplies required by the ship to ensure self-sustainability, Therefore, the carrying capacity of the customs ship is also relatively limited; if the Anzha ship is not mainly used for combat, the carrying capacity will be relatively larger, but this kind of ship runs slowly, and the carrying tonnage is wasted accordingly.
Since the Japanese navy is accustomed to using smaller ships, and they do not yet have the "giant ship and cannon" doctrine, they believe that it is not cost-effective to replace all the armed transport ships of the Jinghua standard, so they put forward a plan for two customized warships. I hope Jinghua can design and build a batch specifically for it.
According to the plan proposed by Toyotomi Hidenaga, the Toyotomi family first needs to use the size of the Anzha ships as a rough standard, and ask Keihua to design and build a batch of new Anzha ships. The main requirement is to not reduce their defense capabilities and carrying capacity. Significantly increase the speed.
The second custom-made warship is of course the new Kansai ship. The requirements are opposite to those of the new Anzha ship. It is to strengthen its defense while maintaining its speed, and preferably also increase its carrying capacity.
Theoretically speaking, if shipbuilding technology reaches a certain level, the relationship between these three standards is nothing more than that if you are strong, I will be weak, and if you are weak, I will be strong. There is no premise of maintaining one or two dimensions and improving the other. dimensions. But the problem is that Japan's shipbuilding technology is quite backward at this time. There is still a lot of room for improvement in the technical level of Anzha and Kanfune, so in fact, Jinghua is capable of technological upgrades for them.
This kind of technological upgrade does not even require Jinghua to spend too much effort, because at this moment, apart from Jinghua, the Ming Dynasty's own shipbuilding level can almost meet the requirements of the Toyotomi family - of course this refers to the warship level of the Ming Dynasty's regular navy , rather than referring to the products of private shipyards, which are too complicated and have mixed quality.
In fact, even if you don't count Beijing or the Maritime Trade Alliance, the strength of the Ming Dynasty navy is not weak in the world at this time. Based on this year's standards (1590), its comprehensive combat capabilities can probably be ranked among the top five. The design and shipbuilding capabilities are not bad either. From the Jiajing to Wanli years alone, there were as many as 21 models of warships in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If Fujian and Guangdong and Guangxi are included, the models are even more numerous.
From a global perspective, with the extensive application of firearms, naval tactics have also undergone major changes. In the early years, Yu Dayou promptly proposed a basic principle of naval warfare: "Naval warfare is nothing more than using big ships to defeat small ships, and using big guns to defeat small ones." Guns; many ships are better than few; many guns are better than few guns."
It can be seen that the naval warfare of the Ming Dynasty entered the modern mode very early. During the Jiajing period, more than half of the combatants on the Ming army's warships used firearms, and by the Wanli period, the proportion reached more than 70%, which is considered to be a very high level of firearms in the world.
As for the full use of firearms in Jinghua's two ocean fleets, that is another matter, and this was not achieved until the advent of the bayonet. Originally, the Beijing-China Liangyang Fleet did not recommend follow-on boarding operations, but in the early years, considering that this situation might still occur occasionally, it was also equipped with Yan Ling Dao. Later, when bayonets were introduced, the separate Yan Ling Dao was cancelled, and all muskets equipped by the fleet were bayonet models.
At this time, the equipment of the Ming Dynasty Navy was mainly based on Fu Chuan, which is a general name for a type of ship born on the coast of Fujian. It has a wide bottom tip, a wide bow tip and a wide tail, and two raised ends. The building materials are mainly pine, fir, camphor and nanmu from Fujian, and there are six models in total.
The lucky ships used in naval battles, specifically No. 1 and No. 2. According to Qi Jiguang, who had won several great victories in 1560, he said: "The blessing ship is as tall as a city and cannot be driven by human power. It depends on the wind. The Japanese ship is naturally shorter than my little cang ship, so the blessing ship rides the wind and pushes down. It's like a chariot crushing a mantis. Fighting against ship power, not manpower." His views on naval warfare are basically consistent with Yu Dayou's, and of course they are also basically consistent with Gao's pragmatism.
According to the "Military Bei Zhi": "Using firearms and the undulations of the waves may not necessarily hit the thieves. Even if they hit, it will not be much, but they can frighten the enemy's heart and ears. There are two things to rely on: shooting Buddha It's a good idea. But if you don't hit it, no ship will be smashed, that's one thing. Use fireballs like fireballs on the bows of the ship. When they meet, throw them down from a high place, and the fire will start and the pirate's ship will be burned." This can be seen from this. Compared with the Japanese navy, the military navy also has obvious advantages in large ships, high freeboard, and ability to ram into close combat situations.
Among these great fortune ships, the first one is called the great fortune ship. It has three turrets, a wide bottom, and a high bow and stern. It can accommodate a hundred people. "The draft is too deep, starting and stopping are slow and heavy," and its maneuverability is relatively poor. No. 2 is called the Fortune Ship, which is slightly smaller than No. 1 and is "commonly used".
The lucky boat is as tall as a building and can accommodate hundreds of people. The bottom tip is wide, the bow is raised and spread, the stern is high, the draft is about 3.5 meters, the bow is equipped with a head gun, and the sides are equipped with 6 Qianjin Folang machines, 3 bowl-mouth blunderbuss, 20 thunder cannons, and spray cannons. 60, 10 fire blunderbuss, 500 crossbows, 10 gunpowder crossbows, 300 rockets, 100 fire bricks, and thousands of cold weapons. There are 64 crew members, 9 sailors and 55 soldiers.
Similarly, according to the description in "Military Bei Zhi", this kind of giant ship has a three-story building on top. It is surrounded by protective boards, protected by thatch and bamboo, and erected like a wall, with two sails and masts. There are four floors in it. The lower floor is equipped with ballast stones, the third floor is placed with fresh water tanks, and the second floor is where soldiers live. The uppermost level is a terrace, which needs to be climbed up from the ladder on the third level. The wings are used as railings on both sides. People can fight on it, and the arrows, stones and artillery can be fired overlooking it. It is actually a weapon in naval warfare.
The floors here are different from the Western terminology used by Jinghua. For example, Jinghua's so-called "two-deck gun" refers to the two decks that can fire artillery, and does not count the deck below.
The common shortcoming of these two types of Dafu ships is that they have poor maneuverability. "They are as tall as a city and cannot be driven by human power. They rely entirely on favorable winds and tides. However, it is inconvenient to maneuver. Moreover, their drafts are deep, and they can only benefit from the open ocean. In the Caspian Sea, it is difficult to maneuver." The glue is shallow and must be rescued by the sentinel ship." ("Comprehensive Examination of Continued Documents")
The latter types of Fuchuan are generally not used for long-sea operations, so there is no need to say more here. In short, the first two types of Fuchuan can fully meet Japan's needs. The only thing Jinghua has to do is to slightly change the design to increase their speed.
This is not difficult for Jinghua, because Jinghua has already developed the clipper bow of the wooden warship era, and also has copper-laying technology on the bottom of the ship, which can increase the speed completely within its technical level.
The only question now is what price the Toyotomi family is willing to pay.
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