The Dutch were good at sea trade, and the British had plundering ships across the Atlantic. The two sides now had a common enemy, the Westerners and the Portuguese, who had the first-mover advantage in large-scale navigation, so they naturally cooperated seamlessly.
If one day the Iberian Peninsula weakens, Britain and the Netherlands may not be so close, and may even turn against each other for overseas interests.
This is the normal state of European countries, there are no friends or enemies, only interests.
Lilu is a Dutch businessman and Kristina is a retired British officer. It is not too difficult for the two of them to get two thirty-pound Fran cannons from the Dutch fleet visiting Southeast Asia.
The island country is already a world-famous treasure island. The Portuguese and Westerners are engaged in transshipment trade between the island countries of China, and the Dutch naturally want a share of the pie.
The Westerners have Luzon, the Portuguese have Macau, and later the Dutch have not found a reliable foothold in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, so they have adventures and explorations again and again.
A fleet visit is a dual political and military mission, which involves familiarizing yourself with hydrology and geography, looking for good ports, and establishing contact with local forces.
The Spo family had already shown signs of reunifying the island country. Under the persuasion of Lilu, a fellow countryman, the Dutch visiting fleet invested in two thirty-pound cannons to establish a good relationship with the future ruler of the island country.
This is a good start.
Yin Yin had some knowledge of the history of the Age of Discovery, where the Portuguese, Westerners, Dutch, and British had emerged one after another, and he could take advantage of the conflicts of interest among these southern barbarians to make profits for himself.
The game rules set by the Portuguese and Westerners not to import artillery to the island country have been broken by the Dutch. What does the thirty-pounder gun mean to this island country?
The island country's military families lack the ability to siege cities. When faced with strong mountain fortresses, they often have only two methods: siege and persuading them to surrender. The cost of a strong attack is too high, and most military families cannot afford it.
However, the islanders never considered the protection against artillery in their city-building methods.
Dayou's family was in Kyushu, and they relied on the artillery provided by the Portuguese to attack the city in one fell swoop. They were so happy that the country collapsed, and even the family governor converted to the Nanman religion.
After that, the daimyos of Kitakyushu began to believe in the Nanman religion. It is difficult to say that it did not play a role in the collapse of the country.
But now, the two thirty-pound artillery pieces in front of Yoshigan are far more powerful than the Otomo family's Kokubang.
Yiyin sighed.
"These two Fran cannons are good, but they are too heavy. The island country is mountainous and the roads are rugged, making it inconvenient to transport them.
If we can buy more three-pounders and six-pounders, the effect may be better and more practical."
Christina smiled.
“The casting process of the thirty-pounder cannon is complicated and difficult for island countries to copy, so I tried my best to ask Lilu to buy them.
As for the three-pounder cannon and the six-pounder cannon, we can actually imitate and cast them ourselves."
Yiyin was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
"You mean we can make our own cannons? Is the casting level of the island country really good?"
Christina answered seriously.
"The craftsmanship of the island country is a bit bad, but there is a lot of copper here. The craftsmanship of bronze cannons is simpler than that of iron cannons, it is not easy to explode and the weight is lighter. Of course we can imitate them."
Yiyin asked.
"Since bronze cannons have so many benefits, why don't you southern barbarians make bronze cannons?"
Lilu interjected from the side.
"Honored Saint, you don't know something.
The manufacturing process of bronze cannons is simpler, but the finished products are not as durable as iron cannons. The barrels are easily deformed and their service life will be shorter.
More importantly, copper is very expensive. The price of a bronze cannon is four to ten times that of an iron cannon of the same weight.
Expensive and short lifespan means the cost is too high. No one except the wealthy Ottoman Sultan can afford a large number of bronze cannons.
In fact, there are bronze cannons in Europe, but they are usually three-pounders and six-pounders that are easy to move in the field, and only wealthy legal personnel are willing to equip the army with more.
But it is different here. There is no shortage of copper in the island country, and the quality of copper is still very high. As long as there are professional guidance, the craftsmen here can make bronze cannons.
Although it is not as good as the iron cannon on our ship, the quality will be worse, and the service life will be shorter, but there is not much difference in power.
Rather than buying foreign artillery at high prices, Kristina and I believe that it is more cost-effective to imitate the artillery ourselves."
Yiyin nodded and smiled.
"You're right, it's better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish. Being able to imitate artillery is the best choice. Even if it's more expensive, you should try it.
I will fully support you and we must produce locally produced bronze cannons."
Christina smiled.
"Actually, it's not just bronze cannons. The island country is mountainous and has countless tall trees in the mountain streams.
We can also use local materials to make wooden cannons to attack the enemy when needed."
Yiyin was stunned.
"Can cannons be made from wood?"
Christina nodded.
"As long as the amount of gunpowder is calculated, a hollowed-out giant tree can also be used as a cannon barrel.
It's just that the dug-out wooden side wall can't withstand too much use, and it can only be fired two or three times at most. If it is used multiple times, there is a danger of the chamber exploding.
Moreover, there will be a limit on the poundage, and a maximum of three to six pounds of shells can be fired."
Yiyin nodded.
By purchasing large iron cannons weighing more than ten pounds, making their own three- and six-pound bronze cannons, and making improvised wooden cannons, the Spo family could even produce hundreds of cannons in a war if they were willing.
Artillery is the god of war. Thinking of the scene where a hundred cannons fired in unison, scaring the enemy to the point of peeing, Yiyin couldn't help but smile.
"Very good, very good, try your best to realize your ideas."
Christina bowed to Yiyin.
"Dear saint, in order to build the Shiba family's artillery team, I need to recruit elites.
There are many retired officers and gunners like me in Southeast Asia. They followed ships to Southeast Asia in search of opportunities to make a fortune.
If you can give them generous treatment, I am confident to persuade them to serve you.
In addition, I need a group of island warriors who are proficient in arithmetic. I will teach them algebraic geometry, ballistic correction and other artillery-related knowledge.
The Sibo family needs to train its own artillery soldiers and cannot always rely on external mercenaries."
Yiyin thought for a moment and waved to the Hamo clan behind him.
"From today on, Kristina will be fully responsible for the establishment of the Spo artillery team. Money is given to money, people are given to people, and resources are given to resources.
The Southern barbarian officers and gunners recruited by Kristina were all paid in gold, with an annual salary starting from 500 dan.
All Ji warriors who are selected into the artillery team will be awarded the Sibo rank, and their knowledge and practice will start with a hundred stones.
As for the selection of specific personnel, please Christina, please take your time."
Yiyin's attitude is very firm. The artillery brigade must be mobilized, and it must be carried out in a big way.
I originally thought that Kristina could at best add three or two kittens to the previous three-pounder and six-pounder cannons to form a southern barbarian artillery team.
I didn't expect this red-haired British woman to be so tough and ambitious to build a professional artillery force.
If you want to say that Yiyinzhi does not support it? Of course it does!
Oda Nobunaga once again became close to the Nanman Sect. The spear and iron cannon formations trained by the Nanman armed monks became increasingly powerful in combat and completely suppressed the traditional samurai military tactics of the island country.
Yoshigan could not be as aggressive as Oda Nobunaga and launch a large-scale army to attack on all sides, but he also needed a trump card to restrain Oda Nobunaga's arrogance.
The Oda family's iron cannon and spear array is a modern phalanx derived from the Iberian Peninsula. It was localized and transformed by members of the Knights Hospitaller, making it more suitable for island country operations.
The artillery unit that Yiyin plans to establish is the nemesis of the dense phalanx, and can be called a dimensionality reduction strike.
On the European continent, the way for the phalanx to counterattack the artillery was to set up elite cavalry on both wings to raid the artillery positions first.
But this method is useless in island countries.
The so-called cavalry in the island country's martial arts is actually horse-mounted infantry. The mountainous terrain here is not conducive to concentrated cavalry charges, so there are few examples of pure cavalry warfare in the island country.
As long as this artillery unit in Yoshigan's hands is used properly, it can become the nemesis of the Oda Army and a trump card of the Shiba family.
In order to cultivate this trump card, Yiyin was naturally willing to spend money, and Baishi Zhixing squandered it as if it was free of charge.
A heavy cannon requires four people to serve, and a light cannon requires two people to handle it. If Kristina were to put together dozens of cannons, the Spo family would have to spend at least tens of thousands of stones to support the people.
This is just to support people, and the money spent on cannon casting is only a lot more, as well as the consumption of gunpowder and cannonballs. Only the wealthy Spo family can afford such expensive firearms.
Generally speaking, a martial artist would feel pain playing with an iron cannon. How could he have so much money to build an artillery cluster and concentrate the military capabilities of hundreds of artillery pieces? That's why Yiyin dared to try it.
To be continued...