One characteristic of Qi Yu's character is that he will never give up until the last moment.
Whether it is a motto or an outlook on life, in short, he relied on this belief to pass the imperial examination and finally succeeded in becoming an official.
Recently, he also relied on this belief to resist the revenge from King Yong. To be more precise, it should be called an attack by Japanese pirates disguised as Yongwang forces.
This is easy to judge.
The real Japanese pirates were good at using Fuso swords, but how could they be equipped with matchlock guns and artillery?
From this, we can guess that King Yong not only found out about himself, but was also a little angry.
Could it be that someone leaked the news?
In fact, it is not the case. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that, among other things, where did the three artillery pieces standing proudly at the Qiongzhou Pier come from?
King Yong is not stupid, he can figure it out with his toes.
Then, revenge came.
It's a matter of time. If you can hide from the first grade of junior high school, you can't hide from the fifteenth grade. You will always have to pay back if you come out to fool around.
However, King Yong's side did not disclose their identity, but attacked under the guise of Japanese pirates. Qi Yu did not expose this lie and carried out a self-defense war under the guise of resisting the Japanese.
In fact, they both understand each other tacitly.
Facing the invasion, all Qi Yu could do was resist. At worst, he could give it a try and end up with a life-and-death outcome.
Never give up until the last moment.
Fortunately, the Westerner named Mahan turned out to be a master of artillery. Under his careful guidance, the 'Defenders' actually overturned two of the opponent's large ships, and their record was quite impressive.
Alas!
Master Qi is mighty!
The morale of the Qiongzhou defenders was greatly boosted, and they relied on their geographical advantages to resist stubbornly. They not only displayed majesty but also momentum.
There is a saying in the classic "Zuo Zhuan": A husband fights with courage. Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted. He is exhausted and I am overflowing, so I overcome him.
Not to mention, this is actually the case.
King Yong's attacks ranged from strong to light. Except for the first time, which was quite sharp, the subsequent two attacks were basically weak. They didn't feel shocking, a bit like going through the motions.
Probably because he couldn't attack for a long time and lost his fighting spirit.
This offensive and defensive battle lasted for months, and today, under the leadership of the wise Lord Qi, we finally successfully resisted the invasion of the 'Japanese pirates' for the fourth time.
As for the Yingming theory, it was Peng Wenchang who first put it forward, and other core staff also followed suit.
They had something to say: If Mr. Qi hadn't prepared the firearms to suppress the formation in advance, how could we resist the invasion of the thieves now?
Relying on one's own strength to develop military equipment to defeat the enemy?
Even if it’s too late!
It can be seen how foresight Master Qi is.
Just like what he said during the first mobilization, you have to survive first, and then you are qualified to consider development issues. If you can't even protect your old nest in Qiongzhou, how can you develop an egg?
The words are rough but the reason is not rough, that is indeed the truth.
By fighting these four tough battles, Qi Yu also unexpectedly discovered a small wave of potential talents. For example, the newly promoted Bingfang Jingcheng Fuxian was a very courageous person who made contributions in these self-defense battles. Quite abundant.
Well, talents must be reused, and I, Qi Dalang, am eager for talents!
Speaking of talent, Qi Yu couldn't help but feel worried.
What is urgently needed now are the scholars needed by culture and education. How should these elites be solved?
Alas, there is no solution!
After collecting the troops, Qi Yu held a grand celebration banquet to reward those who had made meritorious service in the self-defense war.
The banquet was held in a wine shop newly taken over by the Shi brothers, but they didn't make much money from it.
Why do you say that?
You see, each table contains four side dishes and a pot of wine. Although it is known as a grand banquet, it doesn't cost much at all.
This time it was pretty good. Last time, the prefect brought his own drinks...
Open the banquet.
Peng Wenchang poured the wine first and said: "Master Qi, the intensity of the 'Japanese pirates' harassment is getting worse with each wave. From the looks of it, they should die out soon."
Qi Yu agreed: "I guess... almost! Since you haven't been able to eat me four times, you shouldn't try again. Alas, it's a pity that our current strength is still insufficient and we can't effectively counterattack. Otherwise, I will definitely take advantage of the victory to pursue them and annihilate them to get rid of this sullen feeling in my heart."
It is indeed a pity that we can only defend ourselves and cannot fight back. However, with our current strength, we are still unable to annihilate the enemy invisible.
The number of firearms is not enough, and there is not a single battleship. How can we only use courage to fight back?
However, you can't just increase the ambition of others and destroy your own prestige. From a large-scale perspective, Qi Yu is still very confident about future development. Currently, he is only lagging behind at one point.
In this regard, he confidently said: "As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning, but once you get this started, the road ahead will be much easier."
"For example, our cement test, although it took a long time, hasn't it been completed? Now that we have started, the construction of our college, the construction of the research institute, etc. can be carried out as scheduled, right? ?”
"Your Excellency is wise!"
"Do it!"
"Do it!"
There are many ways to build this type of project. It is not easy to say it is easy, but it is not difficult to say that it is not difficult. As long as you have the money and materials in place, the speed at which the work can be started can be described as rapid.
After all, money is still needed to support it.
In fact, in addition to these infrastructure constructions, there is also a major secret project that Qi Yu has not publicly mentioned: the improvement of matchlock guns and the development of artillery.
This matter is an absolute secret and cannot be discussed with anyone who is not close to the matter. Even the court officials within the jurisdiction cannot let him notice any clues.
Why?
Let’s listen to the explanation:
As far as the system of this dynasty is concerned, there is a huge difference in armament between prefects and governors. The former has neither the right to dispatch local armies nor the ability to have private armies for garrison. Once it is considered to be privately armed, it will be punished with the crime of treason.
How to define?
There is no clear limit, so if you want to sail a ten thousand year ship, you must be careful.
Meng Lanshan, his mentor, once told himself that if a tree is beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy it, so why bother showing off its beauty?
It’s better to keep a low profile!
At present, the research and development of firearms has indeed made good progress.
Let’s talk about firearms first. After Qi Yu proposed the concept of using flintlock guns to replace matchlock guns, the foreigner Ma Han worked day and night and studied carefully, and finally made a breakthrough.
The first one to undergo the improvement test was Mr. Qi's own small gun. After it was implanted with flint for ignition, its firing efficiency was directly increased several times.
Then there's the artillery thing. In order to increase the furnace temperature to produce good steel, Ding Liuzhi also built a small coal-burning furnace for Mahan for the casting of gun barrels. On weekdays, you can also make some projectiles to increase supplies.
However, due to the small scale of this furnace, only two small cannons for shipboard use have been built so far. In terms of output, there is still room for improvement.
Even so, Qi Dalang was still very satisfied.
As the same saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning, but it is not difficult once you have made a good start. It is only a matter of time before you develop and grow.
While I was drinking a happy drink, I suddenly saw Huang Fei arriving in a hurry.
It turned out that he was worried that Qi Yu was in danger while fending off the enemy, so he decisively abandoned Harry and rushed over. However, after seeing that everything was safe, he showed an awkward expression that he shouldn't worry about.
"Brother Huang, has Harry's behavior been unusual recently?" Qi Yu asked straight to the point as soon as they met.
"He is very normal. He works as a supervisor in the mine every day and has not gone anywhere." Huang Fei replied.
"Well...then is he dissatisfied with the price I offered?" Qi Yu continued to ask.
"No, he gladly accepted it."
Huh?
Something's wrong!
In the business world, people always charge high prices and pay back on the spot. This trick has been used all over the world in ancient and modern times. Why doesn't Harry lower his own price?
At the very least, he has to express his dissatisfaction at being squeezed by him, right?
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster!
Could it be that he is hiding his capabilities and biding his time? In other words, is there another good plan?
Qi Yu shuddered and suddenly sobered up.
