"Yes, I think this is a good opportunity for the Jesuits to serve the imperial court. I am also a veteran. I have fought in Europe for more than ten years and have never built or fired cannons. I also know the basic principles of cannons - I can help you.
"
"Great, but what about the gunsmith problem? No one here knows how to cast the Western Race."
"The Portuguese will not give you a gunsmith, and it is useless for you to ask the president." Ma Yangchun said, "If you want to find someone from Goa, you will have to wait until next year."
"What can we do?" Li Luoyu thought to himself. He originally thought that relying on the Jesuits to hire Portuguese gunsmiths would be easy, but he didn't expect to find anyone at all. He turned his eyes to the British.
"Don't look at me." Quark raised his hands, "The gunsmiths of the East India Company are also in India, how can they be found here?" He took out a pipe, filled it with shredded tobacco, and started puffing away, "But I am.
Got an idea."
"What's the idea?"
"Borrow cannons!" Quack said, "Let the Jesuits come forward and borrow a few cannons from the Portuguese to bring them over, let the craftsmen measure them on the spot, and then cast them according to the dimensions. I don't think there is anything more sophisticated than the craftsmanship of Chinese craftsmen in the world.
, if you show them, they can always make it."
This is a feasible method, but borrowing cannon from the Portuguese is a big deal. You must get permission documents from the government, and it will definitely require some movement. Li Luoyou is sure about this, and he has already told his nephew
It was a marriage, and the other party was a Zan Hua in Wang Zunde's shogunate. It would not be a big problem to use his method to build and borrow cannons.
"Borrowing cannons requires the approval of the Macau City Council. The Jesuits cannot order the Macau City Council."
"I don't think it matters. As long as Wang Zunde, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, issues the order, the city council will not dare not borrow it."
"But, what kind of cannon is more suitable to borrow?" Although Li Luoyou is very enthusiastic about this matter, he is still a layman after all.
"I think the 12-pound naval gun from last time is very suitable." Quack Qiong said, "I heard that the Chinese army used it to kill the Tatar king."
"He's just a barbarian chief. What kind of prince is he?"
"If you just want to defend blindly, this kind of large-caliber cannon is naturally the most suitable. But it cannot be used in field battles." Ma Yangchun said, "When the infantry needs fire support, this kind of cannon is too heavy. It must be cast 3
Pound, 6-pound artillery..." He is indeed a veteran who has participated in the war, and has more experience in using artillery than the average person.
"The imperial army has a lot of light artillery..."
"I have seen the artillery used by the Chinese army to support infantry. They use pushcarts to maneuver. The artillery is too light and is not manufactured according to scientific standards. It is not easy to use." Ma Yangchun shook his head. "We need to make horse-drawn double cannons.
A round artillery carriage can effectively support the infantry in battle and resist the charge of the cavalry."
Li Luoyou shook his head repeatedly. It wasn't that he disagreed with him, but he knew too much about the situation of the Ming army. Not to mention that there were not so many horses at all, but even if they were, wouldn't it be cheaper to be a soldier than horses?
The monthly salary of a soldier is only one or two taels, and a horse costs at least dozens of taels of silver. To equip an artillery battalion like the red-haired men, just one cannon requires seven or eight horses to serve, and no one can afford it.
"Father, the imperial court is in great demand for heavy artillery. Besides, the imperial court is short of horses."
"Not only is there a shortage of horses, but even the horses that pull carts are not qualified." Ma Yangchun knew that except for the government, the army and a few wealthy people, you can hardly see horses in other places in China. And most of the horses here are of small size.
Short - at first he thought the Chinese were accustomed to using horses and horses. Later he discovered that this was not the case.
"It seems that we can only cast heavy cannons." Ma Yangchun thought for a moment, "But the largest Portuguese fort in Macau is only an 18-pound cannon..."
"That's about it. It took a lot of effort to transport 12-pound naval guns during the Tianqi years."
In the end, it was decided to borrow an 18-pound cannon, one 12-pound cannon, and one 6-pound cannon from the Macau City Council. The gun carriage's gun mount was also borrowed and imitated along with the cannon. Li Luoyou still held on to a glimmer of hope - with Xu Guangqi's attainments, he should not be able to
Can’t you see the importance of light artillery?
Li Luoyou took out his abacus and hastily calculated the various expenses of this transaction to determine the basis for the quotation for the cannon production in the future.
"With the foundry, I will first spread the gospel to the workers, and then spread the gospel of God through them..." Ma Yangchun returned to the state of a priest from a veteran, and said, "There is good news recently."
"What good news? Father."
"The flock of God has expanded. Do you remember Brother Lu Ruohua?"
"Of course, he and the Portuguese escorted the cannon into the capital."
"No, this is Lu Ruohan." Ma Yangchun shook his head, "I mean this is Father Lu Ruohua who went to Qiongzhou to spread the gospel last year."
Li Luoyou vaguely remembered such a person: "John's preaching of the gospel has made great gains?"
"No, not John."
John is the son of the famous Ming Dynasty Catholic Wang Hongjie, and his baptized name is John. Wang Hongjie and Xu Guangqi have always been the main hope of the Jesuits in preaching in the Ming Dynasty.
Ma Yangchun held the rosary and looked at the sky: "What a miracle! Thank God! The miracle that was originally thought to happen in Ding'an City on Hainan Island actually happened in Lingao City. God's will is really mysterious and unpredictable."
As he spoke, he greatly promoted Lu Ruohua's missionary achievements in Lingao: he baptized hundreds of believers and established churches and monasteries. He tried his best to praise the Australians on the island as a group of devout lambs of God. He was very interested in spreading the news.
No stone is left unturned in the cause of the gospel.
"Lingao? Australians?" Li Luo's expression turned solemn. The reputation of Australian products has been well-known in Guangdong over the past year. The Australians drove iron ships and landed in Lingao to build a fortress.
Li Luoyou had also heard about the Portuguese settling in Xiangshan Ao. However, after landing in Lingao, this group of people was honest. In addition to sending ships to Guangzhou for trade, selling various rare goods and purchasing supplies, they also
Nothing out of the ordinary was done.
"Yes, it is the Australians who are in Lingao now. I heard that they have built a castle there called Bairen." Ma Yangchun knew more about the situation in Lingao because of Lu Ruohua's relationship.
"They also want to learn the old tricks of the Portuguese." Quack said, "To be honest, I really want to see this group of strange people."
"I heard that some of your compatriots are among them." Ma Yangchun said with a smile, "Brother Lu said that he had met several women who spoke English."
"Australians like British women?" Quark laughed loudly, "I really want to go once. It's been a long time since I've tasted the taste of a female compatriot."
Ma Yangchun smiled and said: "Maybe they like the British very much." He said, "Father Lu said in the letter that some of them understand many European languages, but almost everyone understands English."
"This is really a strange thing." Quark's curiosity was aroused, "I can't think of any use for people outside England to learn English?"
In this era, intellectuals spoke Latin, and ordinary people spoke their own languages. Even French was not spoken in the remote areas of France. Yet there was a group of people in the East who could speak a few words of English no matter what they did.
This is a strange thing that goes against the rules of society and is something that no one can understand.
"God bless them, they are all believers in God and have not fallen into heresies..." Ma Yangchun crossed himself on his chest, and then looked at Quark sincerely, "Mr. Quark, God's door is always for the lost.
The lamb is open..."
"Father--" Quark knew that he would have to persuade himself to be re-baptized, give up his state religion and convert to Catholicism. Belief or not did not matter to this British man, as he once said when he was drunk: If necessary, he
You can believe in any religion at any time, or you can not believe in it at any time - this British man does not believe in the existence of gods at all. He is a complete "no king" and "no God" money worshiper. He only believes in the shining gold.
"Okay, let's not talk about this issue anymore." Li Luoyou changed the topic, "Australian products are extremely sophisticated. Some of them seem to be European products, but they are better. I don't know what their craftsmanship is.
Like? I would also like to see it."
"I also want to see it," Kua Keqiong said, "do business with them directly. Let's take a look at the rumored iron ship. But the Ming Dynasty court does not allow us to go deep into the prefectures and counties. The sea is not peaceful either."
Li Luoyou said, "Mr. Quark, if you are willing, we can go to Lingao together next month. Use my boat."
"Okay, I will definitely go." Quarkchon originally wanted to find a new trade opportunity, so he readily accepted it.
The three of them chatted until late at night. When they got up early the next morning, Li Luoyu went to Lin's house to congratulate him with birthday gifts, and reached a tacit understanding with Lin Ming. Ma Yangchun began to give teaching lessons to several guys from the local semicolon.
.Li Luoyou felt that it was a good thing for his men to believe in religion. At least they would have spiritual sustenance to avoid random thoughts.
During dinner, Yang Shiyi came to visit. After dinner, the two closed the door and talked in the study room for a long time, finalizing the deal. Yang Shiyi's mouth almost broke out with a smile - he learned from Li Luo
The red ginseng he received in his hand cost sixty taels of silver per catty, and was resold for one hundred taels. When it was finally sold to customers, the retail price was nearly two hundred taels per catty. He sold both retail and wholesale, making a profit from both ends.
silver.
Because of his appearance, Kuaikeqiong had no choice but to live in a small shop. Li Luoyou was very good at dealing with the red-haired businessman, serving him delicious food and drinks every day, and even brought him a woman to enjoy from time to time. Kuaikeqiong was far less picky than the time travellers.
, all accepted. In addition to eating, drinking and having fun, another thing he does is to choose the styles that Europe likes based on the samples that Shopkeeper Cheng gets from various stores every day. Sometimes, he will also draw some patterns and patterns himself and request customization.