Six ships were floating in the quiet harbor, slowly heading towards the sea under the gaze of the stars.
A fish jumped out of the water, bent its body and brought out some water droplets, and then fell into the water, causing splashes and ripples to swim around, and was suddenly overwhelmed by more powerful water waves.
The starlight shone on the iron-wrapped corner, and he covered his eyes in fear.
Above the sea, it's darker.
In the bow cabin of the ship, Chu Xing pointed to a copper-colored firearm that was one foot and one inch long and three and a quarter inches in diameter, and said to Gu Zhengchen, "Well, this is a large-mouth cannon, which can be regarded as a weapon on the water."
"Water weapon?"
Gu Zhengchen squatted down, looked at the cannon as big as the mouth of a bowl, and asked, "Do you think so too?"
"nature!"
Chu Xing is full of confidence.
Gu Zhengchen looked at the inscription on it, stood up and clapped his hands: "I heard that the navy chased and suppressed the pirates several times, but they escaped?"
Chu Xing frowned: "Those pirates are all small boats, easy to move in and out, and can only accommodate a dozen people. Ours is a big fortune ship, which can accommodate more than a hundred people. Naturally, we will not let anyone go in a face-to-face confrontation, but they can see them from several miles away Even if the navy runs away, we can't catch up."
Gu Zhengchen sighed and pointed at the big bowl of cannon: "In the final analysis, this thing still doesn't work."
"no?"
Chu Xing's face looked a little strange.
Gu Zhengchen said seriously: "This is garbage, garbage that cannot be used."
"What?"
Chu Xing's eyes widened.
Qianhu Meng Wanli was unhappy and immediately stood up to retort: "Mr. Gu County, this is a firearm you have never seen before. Isn't it too much to say that it is trash?"
Gu Zhengchen burst out laughing and kicked the big cannon with his foot: "Take these things apart for me and use them to go on a long voyage. I'm afraid I won't be able to defeat the pirates."
"Tear it down, tear it down?"
Chu Xing was a little stunned and shook his head: "What's the point of dismantling it? This is a big cannon. It can smash a big hole in the opponent's ship at a distance of 150 steps."
"How many steps?"
"One hundred and fifty steps."
Gu Zhengchen was depressed: "What kind of water weapon is this? A bow and arrow can reach a hundred steps, a hard bow can reach a hundred and fifty steps, but an artillery can't have the same range as a bow and arrow?"
Chu Xing looked at Gu Zhengchen as if he were an idiot: "This is a great fortune ship. It is mainly used for sea combat. The wind direction on the sea is uncertain. At some times, bows and arrows cannot be deployed. When the wind is strong, a strong bow cannot be used, let alone 150 steps." , even within a hundred steps, it is difficult to be accurate. But this big bowl-mouthed cannon is different, it can hit a ship a hundred and fifty steps away when the wind is against it."
Gu Zhengchen thought for a while and realized that ordinary bows and arrows did have certain limitations at sea. He apologized to Chu Xing: "It is inappropriate to compare bows and arrows with large-mouth cannons. I was wrong about this."
Seeing Gu Zhengchen like this, Chu Xing quickly smiled and said: "It's not that serious. This big bowl of muzzle cannon is still a treasure..."
Gu Zhengchen shook his head: "Bows and arrows cannot compete with big-mouth cannons. What about bed crossbows?"
Chu Xing frowned and said carefully: "The shooting distance of the bed crossbow is naturally beyond that of the big bowl muzzle cannon, but the cost of the bed crossbow is much more expensive than the big bowl muzzle cannon. The big bowl muzzle cannon only costs two dollars, and the bed crossbow is afraid It’s no less than six guan of money. Besides, one person can handle the large-mouthed cannon, but the bed crossbow requires forty or fifty people to handle it. Even if its power is weakened, at least a dozen people are needed to handle it..."
Gu Zhengchen nodded, raised his hand to support his chin, and thought thoughtfully: "If we could make a bed crossbow for one or two people, wouldn't the matter be solved?"
Qin Song and Mei Hong's eyes lit up, looking at Gu Zhengchen full of expectation.
Xiao Cheng couldn't help but be startled by Gu Zhengchen's thoughts.
You must know that Gu Zhengchen also has another identity as a doctor of the Ministry of Industry. This doctor of the Ministry of Industry was not given to him casually, but because he single-handedly created the Jurong General Academy and created many highly practical utensils.
What's more, he is also the chief seal officer of the Yuanhuo Bureau. The Yuanhuo Bureau has already reported good news to the court, and this good news is not only the work of the craftsmen, but also the work of Gu Zhengchen! If he says this now, maybe one day he will actually be able to see a simple crossbow!
Chu Xing and Meng Wanli were not optimistic about this.
Meng Wanli bluntly said: "Crossbows have a long killing range. Some individual crossbows are indeed more capable of killing enemy soldiers than bows and arrows, but crossbows are not as flexible as bows. In the army, crossbows are often defensive weapons. They are mostly used for guarding camps and ambushes, and are not suitable for offense. . The same is true for bed crossbows. It may not be suitable to use these in water battles on ships."
"Besides, I have never heard of bed crossbows that can be handled by a single soldier or two people. Over the past few years, many people have modified bed crossbows, which has greatly reduced the number of handlers. Therefore, the county man may wish to take a closer look at the navy's equipment and believe in the navy's combat capabilities. force."
Qin Song was a little unhappy and stood up and said: "Commander Gu has his own reasons for saying this. If it comes to a water battle, he may not lose to you. Don't forget that in the battle of Nansha at the mouth of the Yangtze River, hundreds of pirates Lost his life..."
"Okay, don't talk about this anymore."
Gu Zhengchen interrupted Qin Song and said firmly: "Everything that needs to be dismantled has been dismantled. All the big cannons have been dismantled."
Chu Xingzhi frowned: "This is inappropriate, isn't it? You are seconding the navy for escort. Dismantling the cannon is equivalent to losing a large part of the navy's combat strength. This can easily make the sergeant uneasy."
Gu Zhengchen smiled and said: "Are you worried without the big cannon? Then find something to give them reassurance."
Chu Xing took a step forward: "What is it?"
Gu Zhengchen smiled mysteriously: "You will know when the time comes. Marquis Jinghai even sacrificed his life to accompany me, and I will always offer some good things to repay the favor."
Chu Xing pointed to the big bowl of cannon and asked, "Is it better than this?"
Gu Zhengchen smiled and said nothing.
Chu Xing still wanted to ask more questions, but a sergeant ran over and reported: "The lookout sergeant found six ships coming out of Quanzhou Port and heading towards Shihu Pier."
"come yet?"
Gu Zhengchen stared at Chu Xing and said, "Please ask General Chu to stop him."
Chu Xing nodded slightly and looked at Meng Wanli: "Leave two ships to stare at the port. The other ships will go to Shihu Pier and intercept all the ships seen!"
Meng Wanli took the order and walked out.
Gu Zhengchen also had no time to talk about the renovation of the Dafu Ship. At present, the voyage manpower has not yet been found, and the renovation of the Dafu Ship can be postponed appropriately.
The big lucky boat rides on the wind, and the sails make a sound.
Gu Zhengchen stood on the deck and looked down at the sea water.
The great fortune ship is like a plow, and the sea is like the land. When it passes by, the plow turns over the land. However, the land will leave ravines, but the sea will return to its original state in an instant.
It didn't take long for the Dafu ship to approach six ships. Meng Wanli shouted at the top of his lungs: "Navy investigation, all ships are anchored!"
Bu Shou heard the noise and looked sideways at the approaching Dafu Ship. His expression suddenly changed: "It seems that it's not that Gu Zhengchen's movements were slow and sluggish, but that he got to the sea first. Now it seems that the opponent who should have appeared has not appeared. In front, it must have gone around behind."
Bu Fang lost his previous calmness, with fear in his eyes: "What should we do now?"
Bu Shou smiled sadly: "What should I do? Of course I need to meet Magistrate Gu! If you want to leave, it's still late. You can swim to Shihu Pier with your water skills."
Bu Fang hesitated for a moment, but finally shook his head: "If you hadn't taken me in back then, I would have starved to death in the wilderness. You gave me this life. I, Bu Fang, am not an ungrateful person."
Bu Shou nodded happily and ordered people to anchor.
The boat stopped and the lanterns were hoisted.
Bu Shou's figure looked very dazzling in the lights.
A big lucky boat slowly approached and slowly stopped.
Bu Shou heard the footsteps on the deck of the Dafu ship. He looked up and saw a familiar face appearing high up. He couldn't help but frown.
Gu Zhengchen slapped the side of the boat, looked down at Bu Shou, and said with a smile: "Old man Changyuan, when you come out to sea so late, do you want to go fishing, or do you want to go out to sea to find your roots and return to your ancestors? But your ancestors are from the country of Dashi. As far as I know, the Great Food Kingdom was destroyed by Genghis Khan's grandson and Kublai Khan's brother Xu Liewu more than a hundred years ago. Going back at this time is not a good choice. In the near future, there will be a terrifying The lame men went about fighting and killing.”
Chu Xing, Xiao Cheng and others looked at Gu Zhengchen, not knowing what he meant.
The scary cripple?
who?
How could Gu Zhengchen know something so far away?
Bu Shou frowned, looked at Gu Zhengchen, and shouted: "Prefect Gu, you are very clever, why don't you catch me at the port? Don't tell me that you got to the Navy's ship in advance and couldn't go to the port!"
Gu Zhengchen smiled heartily: "To be honest, I really shouldn't go directly to the government office, but should go to the Shibo Department first. As early as in Jinling, I heard Zhao Yihui talk about the injustice and injustice case, and also talked about the city's shipping department. There are many problems in the Shipping Department. If I went to the Shipping Department first, folded silk, and used the name of an envoy to cover up the voyage trade, how could it have come to light today?"
"Zhao Yihui?!"
Bu Shou took a deep breath: "He's not dead yet?"
Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly: "He is doing well in the dungeon of the Criminal Department. The reason why I chose to wait for you at sea is because of the Shipping Department!"
"You want to arrest Wei Hong, but you don't have a direct excuse, right?"
Bu Shou suddenly realized.
Gu Zhengchen snapped his fingers: "That's right! Wei Hong controls the Shipping Department, is willing to be your Bu family's slave, helps the Bu family do business overseas, and deceives the court and His Majesty. These crimes are worthy of death. But if you want to be convinced of these , you always need a reason to arrest him and interrogate him slowly, and allow others to go to sea in violation of the sea ban, this one is enough to catch him."
Bu Shou smiled bitterly.
If he was caught at the port, it would be hard to find an excuse to catch Wei Hong. Now that he has left the port, the evidence of Wei Hong's guilt is certain.
Gu Zhengchen is so calculating!
"Bu Shou, everything is over."
Gu Zhengchen watched Lin Baifan, Meng Wanli and others board the boat, controlled Bu Shou and others, and said in a deep voice.
Bu Shou sneered, looked up at Gu Zhengchen, and shouted: "The end? Haha, Gu Zhengchen, you are too naive. If you catch me, this will not be the end, but the beginning! Do you know that you will Get into endless trouble because of it!”
