To build a large iron ship, technically speaking, it was not difficult for Zhu Hao at all.
Iron ships can better adapt to the turbines of steam engines, have high stability, and are more suitable for ocean going. They are also an inevitable trend for future large-scale navigation. This is why Zhu Hao built large iron ships.
But the problem is that when he was in the Ming Dynasty, it was impossible to have so much steel for him to build a giant ship. Others would also question that the maritime disasters in the Ming Dynasty were just caused by a group of pirates in small boats. It was enough for you to fight with wooden ships. Why did you have to build a giant ship?
An extremely expensive large iron ship? Does it have some ulterior purpose?
So at that time, Zhu Hao focused more on building wooden ships and reinforcing key parts with iron sheets to ensure the stability of ocean voyages. At the same time, he also used tactics such as fire attacks against the enemy, which was conducive to naval battles.
Now Zhu Hao has opened up many iron mines in the New World, and coal is also guaranteed, so he makes steel. Results are achieved in a short time, and the supply of materials is guaranteed. He has begun to build railways in the Inca Empire, and he is still worried
Build a big iron ship on your own territory?
However, it may take half a year or even more than a year to build an all-steel ship, and he needs to provide technical guidance.
This is another reason why he did not strongly advocate the construction of large iron ships when he was in the Ming Dynasty. The technology must be in his own hands. Judging from the experience of the great voyages that started Europeans to immigrate to the American continent, there is no need to use iron ships.
, only needed when fighting for hegemony.
That being the case, why should advanced technology be left in the extremely conservative Ming Dynasty?
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Zhu Hao returned to Xincheng and lived in the shipyard for more than half a month. After solving many craftsmen's questions about using steel to build ships, he left temporarily.
The soldiers brought from the Inca Empire could not perfectly integrate into the northern society, so they would be taken back by Zhu Hao. However, before returning, Zhu Hao ordered Lu Bing to lead his troops to march north to conquer the vast North American continent.
"I will allocate you 10,000 troops and horses, of which only 1,000 are officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. Can you complete this arduous and glorious task?"
Zhu Hao has high hopes for Lu Bing.
This kid has been wandering between Xincheng and Chang'an City recently. Even if he has a chance to fight, he can't earn any performance, because the Europeans are defeated almost every time. Now Zhu Hao asks him to expand the territory and conquer the land in the north. His whole body
It was like being injected with chicken blood, and I was extremely excited.
"There is no problem!"
Lu Bing patted his chest and made a promise, then asked about the doubts in his heart: "But I heard that walking a few hundred miles to the north may be the sea. What should I do if there is no way?"
Zhu Hao glared at him angrily: "Relax, go north from here, you can go all the way to a place where there is always ice and snow, and you can even cross a strait that is always frozen and return to Daming. You will never let
You have no way to go.
"But you must keep in mind that you must come back before winter. If you capture the aboriginal cities along the way, you should try your best to garrison the aborigines you brought with you. You only need to bring yourself and a thousand Ming officers and soldiers back."
"oh."
Lu Bing seemed to understand but not quite.
In the eyes of a native Ming Dynasty person like Lu Bing, only the land of China is orthodox, and the concept of the world being divided into nine states is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Other than that, all other lands are barbaric. The land area should not be too large, and most of them are
Primitive jungle.
After arriving on the American continent, the scene he saw was similar to what Lu Bing knew. Now he had to rely on himself to break this deep-rooted obsession.
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The shipbuilding project began to advance, and Lu Bing led his troops on the way north.
At the same time, Zhu Hao led his troops to Chang'an City. He wanted to have a head-on confrontation with the European colonists in central Central America.
Among the soldiers and horses Zhu Hao brought, there were two thousand Ming soldiers. In addition, they were Inca Empire soldiers. Plus the local indigenous people who transported supplies, there were about 20,000 soldiers and horses, all the way through the valley where Chang'an City is located.
, advancing toward the east coast of Mexico.
After passing Chang'an City, after walking for only two days, you can clearly feel the desolation of "the bones are exposed in the wild, and there is no human habitation for thousands of miles".
As far as Zhu Hao knew, this was once the activity range of the Aztecs. After the European colonists arrived in Central America, they adopted an inhumane scorched-earth policy, which resulted in heavy casualties among the native Aztecs.
In areas with fertile land, the situation is more serious.
After the European colonists completed the first round of sweeps, they began to implement long-term business strategies, but they only chose to open plantations near the coast. In addition, they exploited gold and silver mines in Central America, even close to the inland.
Much of the fertile soil has been abandoned for a long time.
The Aztecs who were lucky enough to escape could only flee to North America or the West Coast as much as possible. Even if there was land cultivated by their ancestors for generations, they did not dare to come here to cultivate it because they knew clearly that European colonists were still there.
They plunder everywhere, and once captured, they will be treated as slaves and thrown into plantations until they die.
Zhu Hao led his troops through the central region of later Mexico. Before reaching the east coast, he encountered only three fortified cities with only a few European colonists inside. However, he obtained a large silver mine and seized more than three million taels.
Silver, this silver would have been used as trophies and sent back to Europe by the colonists to the Spanish royal family. In other words, this silver mine was actually considered a royal property.
"Just wait for death to come!"
A man from Folangji actually knew Chinese and shouted at Zhu Hao.
This was the first person Zhu Hao met who understood the Chinese language after he set foot on the American continent.
It is said that this person once visited the Ming Dynasty. As for who he learned Chinese from, it is not yet clear, but as far as Zhu Hao knows, in fact, European colonists, especially those officially certified pirates, had a better understanding of language in this era.
The mature training system makes it easier for them to interact with different people from all over the world.
It is not necessarily true that this person has been to the Ming Dynasty. It is also possible that the pirate organizations taught him the language of the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty and trained him to deal with the Ming Dynasty, but in the end he was sent to America to look at the mines.
This man's name was Heli, and he was very arrogant. If he hadn't understood Chinese, Zhu Hao might have had him killed.
"You Orientals are arrogant and short-sighted. You don't even know how to use firearms. Unfortunately, the distance is too far. It would take more than half a year to go there. Otherwise, we would have conquered you long ago... Just wait and see, we will be eliminated sooner or later.
A civilization that you are proud of!"
This person's words aroused the resentment of the Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers.
If it weren't for Zhu Hao's strict military discipline, everyone would have killed this man alive.
Zhu Hao smiled coldly and responded: "Really? Then when I lead my troops to destroy your country, you will know who is further behind! Hold on!"
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When Zhu Hao obtained a large silver mine, he also obtained more than 10,000 indigenous people, including more than 9,000 men and less than 1,000 women.
There were very few women and children, which shows that the European colonists did not plan to manage Central America well and did not think about the reproduction of the slaves they kept in captivity.
Zhu Hao ordered a hundred soldiers to be assigned to take these indigenous people to transport the silver back to Chang'an City, and then make unified arrangements for the work. After a year and a half, the inspection was completed before granting them the status of free citizens.
Zhu Hao then continued to lead his troops to conduct a sweep on the east coast of Central America, and soon he came to the base camp of European colonists in Central America.
On the map, this city did not exist in later generations.
This place is not like a big city, but more like a temporary settlement. There are no city walls, fortresses, or fortresses for protection. Only a large number of residential buildings and warehouses have been built. The port is well built, with five large docks. It is probably here.
A deep-water port through which the wealth plundered by the colonists from Central America was loaded onto ships and shipped back to Europe.
Zhu Hao led his troops and encountered the fiercest resistance since he led the Northern Expedition.
The European colonists stationed more than 500 troops in this port, and everyone had firearms and artillery. Unfortunately, the range was far less than that of the Ming Dynasty's firearms.
In terms of the level of defense here, it may not be as good as Panama City.
But the problem was that this was a land confrontation, and Zhu Hao could not suppress it with the intensive artillery fire from sea ships. In addition, the port occupies a vast area, and the soldiers stationed inside were on guard and relied on various buildings to carry out resistance one after another.
The confrontation between the two sides lasted all morning.
First, due to the firepower density of the firearms, and then the range, the soldiers in the city did not dare to rush out, and the Ming Dynasty was not in a hurry to rush in. The two sides fired at each other from a distance, and gradually the European colonists discovered that the range of their own firearms was far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty.
The shells or bullets fired by their firearms could not hurt any of the Ming soldiers, but they were always under the firepower of the Ming Dynasty.
In the end, the European colonists evacuated the buildings and wanted to board ships to escape. It turned out that the enslaved Aztecs launched an uprising. They first fought hand-to-hand with the Francons in one building after another.
Unable to take advantage of their firearms, the people had no choice but to retreat. The Aztecs pursued them all the way to the port.
Zhu Hao dispatched his own troops at the right time and successfully captured the port before noon. Together with the dozen or so ships of the Fo Langji people, none of them escaped.
"The warehouses are filled with gold and silver."
When the soldiers learned of this result, they were not very interested.
When Ming people first came to the American continent, seeing gold and silver was like seeing relatives. That excitement always inspired them to follow Zhu Hao without hesitation.
But as time passed, they discovered that the most indispensable thing on the American continent was gold and silver. Everyone had a large amount of gold and silver in their hands. They felt that it didn't matter whether gold and silver were captured on the battlefield. Anyway, even if they got it here,
If not, you will get it elsewhere.
The most important thing is that Zhu Hao has now begun to implement a new monetary policy in Central America. Gold and silver will no longer be able to directly purchase items. And as the ruler of the Celestial Kingdom, Ming people will not have to worry about food and clothing in the territory, even women.
You can also get that, although they are just a group of indigenous people, the feeling of being superior to others is still quite good.
Of course, there are also people who want to take the gold and silver back to the Ming Dynasty to enjoy life, but the people sent by Zhu Hao began to consciously instill a sense of crisis in them - in the Ming Dynasty, it does not mean that if you have gold and silver, you will definitely be able to enjoy a good life.
In life, others will be concerned about you, and there are many ways to target you, unless you have the ability to ensure that your wealth is not robbed.
Mingren knew a lot about protecting their wealth, and the people sent by Zhu Hao were reasonable. In the end, they decided to follow Zhu Hao first. Zhu Hao said he would take them back in the next one or two years.
Just let it be.
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The port was occupied by the Ming army.
More than half of the five hundred European soldiers were killed or wounded, and the rest were imprisoned. In addition, more than a thousand merchants and their families who came to the New World from Europe to prospect for gold were captured. There were two European women with blond hair and blue eyes.
He is in his early 100s and has more than a hundred children.
Here, there are actually black people from Africa.
Then there were the Aztecs who had revolted before. There were more than 6,000 Aztecs in the port, so they suddenly launched an attack. Outnumbered, the Francons had almost no resistance and fled in confusion. They were finally discovered.
However, there was not even a single indigenous woman in this port city. Later, Zhu Hao learned that in order to threaten the Aztecs to work for them, the Aztecs' family records were placed in two buildings south of the port.
In a town more than ten miles away.
Then, led by the Aztec guide, Zhu Hao detached 200 cavalry and quickly captured the town.
There were more than 8,000 Aztec old and weak women and children rescued from it...
This is the first time Zhu Hao has seen so many indigenous women and children. From this, he can see that the Aztecs at the port received the best treatment from the European colonists, but they still resisted at critical moments.