Ten years of gatherings, ten years of lessons. What Ming Dynasty needs now is time to increase its population, improve people's livelihood, develop science and technology, and use all means to widen the gap with its Western allies while strengthening its own strength.
Whether Zhu Youcong or other important officials of the Ming Dynasty knew that they could not stop the wheel of history. The most they could do was to lay landmines on the right path, set up a enchantment formation, and so on, and if possible, stop the wheel of history.
Build a side road to lead potential competitors astray, or send them spinning in circles.
In the Ming Dynasty, which was accustomed to using muskets and cannons, it would be unrealistic to expect those Western allies to suddenly change their minds and completely abandon powerful firearms and instead use cold weapons that have been developed to such an extent. Therefore, before the negotiations began, Zhu You
Cong has already set the tone. We can make less money on weapons, and even allow losses within a certain range, but we must make Western allies believe that the era of cold weapons will not end at least in a short period of time.
After several days of continuous discussions, all the negotiation work was ready, but how to negotiate with people was a bit difficult for Zhu Youcong. He directly thrust Zhuge Liannu into the hands of Sir Roy and Governor Cohen, and secretly told them this
Baby is better than a musket? That will be despised by others, and maybe they will even perform shadow kicks for free.
Bribing those allies through Bowery who was mixed in the Western purchasing group? Did they betray their monarch and buy some deceptive things to harm their motherland? This is not impossible, but the price to pay is too high. Not to mention the money,
I'm afraid the final effect will not be very good. You must know that the guys who can come to Ming Dynasty to be responsible for negotiations this time are the most die-hard elements, and once they fail, they will immediately arouse the vigilance of the allies. If you want to fool them in the future, you will not be able to do so.
It’s easier.[
In the end, Nan Juyi came up with a plan. Isn't it said that seeing is believing? Then let them see the power of the modified cold weapon. In order not to arouse others' suspicion, we can only let them discover it secretly.
, you must not send someone to take them to visit openly.
The Nanshan people came up with this trick and were inspired by the actions of Fang's allies on the way from Macau to Nanjing. The Ming Dynasty's industrial revolution has begun, and factories everywhere are undergoing trial production in full swing. If the roar of the machine,
If the plume of smoke soaring into the sky can't make Sir Roy and others curious, then they are not worthy of doing business with the Ming Dynasty as representatives of their country.
The Ming court allowed the Western allies to stay in Macau for an extra half year. In addition to asking them to seize the time to learn Mandarin, it also wanted to mobilize the masses to participate in the secret work. Under the instigation of Sun Qifeng, another enemy of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen sent officials from various places to
They received an imperial edict from the QGU, asking them to reward the people in their own name for arresting Westerners who left the mission without permission.
A reward of one hundred taels of silver plus two Japanese women. Although the reward is not large, it is enough to make people excited. The people of the Ming Dynasty are poor, and Japanese women are not very attractive to them. But the one hundred taels of silver is enough for five
The family spent a whole year. In order to get this bounty, they went to great lengths to deceive and kidnap, using honey traps to lure Westerners to stay alone, and secretly putting medicine in the tea. These were the most common methods.
.The brave ones dared to twist the sacks and carry the sticks, and follow the envoys openly, ready to kidnap them at any time.
What makes the Western missions most angry is that their people suddenly disappeared and are easy to find. As long as they go to the government offices along the way, they will be able to find out the news. But if they want to take them back, then they will know what bandits are. The official purchase price is
One hundred taels each. But the highest price they sold for it was already one hundred thousand taels! But they had to bite the bullet and redeem the person, because those envoys who were imprisoned were all detained as spies.
It was a crime, and according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, he would be executed in public.
Isn't this too dark? Officials from all over the country are not afraid of envoys coming to Beijing and complaining in front of the emperor? This... they really can't complain. Whether it is the Ming Dynasty or in the West, the spies who were captured are all
Those who will end badly, even if they are foreign envoys, generally do not need a new trial as long as they are labeled as such.
Officials from all over the country dare to do this. This is especially because the imperial court's unwritten secret order stated that as long as 20% of the extorted money is handed over to the imperial court in accordance with the rules, the rest is the legitimate income of the officials and will not be investigated. This has made the recent scandal of Chongzhen
How can the officials, who have made great efforts to rectify the officialdom and live a hard life, not be full of fighting spirit?
After several painful lessons, Sir Roy and others, who had gone through an extremely difficult journey, did not dare to have any evil intentions. Before arriving in Nanjing to see the Ming Emperor, let alone leaving without permission.
Go spy on those factories. Even at night, they don't dare to move alone outside the inn.
"Dear General, since you can't provide so many new firearms at once, can you sell some crossbows produced in your country? We also heard people mention it during the attack on Tianzhu..." Lying down in the muddy swamp
Throughout the whole day, Governor Cohen seemed to still be able to smell the stench on his body, but he no longer had the energy to worry about it.
By chance two days ago, the Western envoys who were visiting Niushou Mountain discovered that tens of thousands of Ming troops were training not far away. They refused the kind escort of Ming officials on the pretext of feeling unwell, and Cohen and Roy
After the two people avoided numerous warnings, they saw a scene that confused them extremely.
Cohen and Cohn had long known that the Ming army could not be offended, so they responded to the orders of the aloof commander with ease. Tens of thousands of Ming soldiers in heavy armor were able to advance and retreat freely both offensively and defensively, and they did not feel anything worth shocking.
place. What really caught their attention was the weird weapons in their hands.
There is no smoke and it is even difficult to hear the sound. After careful observation, it is certain that this is a crossbow. But Cohen and Roy did not give up. They wanted to know how the enemy's Ming army used such backward weapons. If so, what would happen in the future?
After conquering Tianzhu, it will be much easier to compete with the Ming Dynasty for territory.
However, following the commander's order, tens of thousands of crossbows were fired at the same time. Something happened that stunned Cohen and Roy. A full half an hour passed, and the crazy shooting showed no signs of stopping. It seemed that everyone
The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty who participated in the training all had inexhaustible arrows in their hands. How is this possible? There is no need to reach out to pick up the arrows, and there is no need to work hard to wind the arrows. You can just open the magical little box and you can continue to carry out long-range strikes?
Such a small weapon must be lacking in range and lethality, right? It was hard to wait until the training was over. Cohen and Roy secretly ran to the training ground when no one was around. After on-site measurements, they realized that their idea was valid.
How outrageous. Although the arrows had been recovered, they could still see from the dotted holes that the shortest shooting distance of this weapon was more than three hundred yards, and the farthest was actually close to four hundred yards. The longest distance
What frightened them was that the small piece of iron left on the ground was twice as thick as the knight's breastplate and had many holes densely pierced through it.
Is this still a cold weapon? Such efficient shooting and such huge power. Even if the shooting accuracy of this weapon is not yet known, it is not comparable to the primitive muskets they are currently equipped with. The average effective rate is three hundred yards.
The striking distance. Even a Scottish longbow can't reach it. What's more, who can use a Scottish longbow to shoot non-stop for an hour? He's not afraid of breaking his arm?
No wonder this empire has stood firm in the East for thousands of years. No wonder the Tatars, who possess advanced Western weapons, were dealt such a miserable blow. No wonder the Battle of Japan Island that I couldn’t witness with my own eyes ended so quickly. No wonder their firearms are so advanced.
, no wonder... with this kind of high-tech cold weapon as a reference, we are not on the same starting line as the West.
Therefore, after learning that the Ming Empire could only provide them with a maximum of 50,000 new rifles each year, the Western delegation headed by Cohen and Roy did not feel too disappointed. After all, it is not easy for anyone to make rifled rifles these days.
How could the Ming Dynasty ask for a high price of ninety-five taels per musket? Even if they agreed with gritted teeth, they could only provide so little supply? If they had enough production, how could they still retain troops using cold weapons?
?
Since you can't buy the best one, you can settle for the next best thing and go home with some bargains. The only thing that is slightly less powerful than the rifled guns produced by the Ming Dynasty is the evil crossbow they accidentally discovered. The most important thing is
, you don’t need to listen to any advice from that damn fat guy when it comes to imitating cold weapons. The chance of getting tricked will be correspondingly reduced, right?
"Crossbow? Does Ming Dynasty have any?" Zhu Youcong is better at pretending to be stupid than Cohen. Did you hear about it in Tianzhu? These guys think they can really escape the surveillance of the reconnaissance camp? Do you think Li Zicheng's soldiers really can't find anyone?
Peeping? But even if he has fallen into the pit, Zhu Youcong still can't act too impatient. Only by whetting one's appetite can the value of the product be reflected.[
"Your Excellency General, we are all old friends. This time we have traveled thousands of miles to congratulate your emperor on your glorious achievements..." Cohen is very good at making nonsense, speaking in Ming Dynasty Mandarin that is not very fluent, and narrates vividly.
from the risks they encounter at sea.
"This..." The heat seemed not enough, Zhu Youcong still remained reserved.
"Dear General, haven't you felt our sincerity in forming an alliance with your country?" Sir Roy's speech was very emotional, starting from the time they returned to the motherland and tried their best to persuade the monarchs to agree to the alliance, and continued to talk about how they
Get a bunch of Western princesses and elites.
"According to what you said, I seem to be really sorry for your sincerity in not selling!" Zhu Youcong pondered for a long time, pretending to be embarrassed and said: "But I really don't know what kind of crossbow arrows you are talking about..."
"General, God will not bless a liar! As a devout Christian, how can you..." This damn fat man's meaning is enough, but everyone is still busy. There are many more in Tianzhu.
If the place is not grabbed, how can one have so much time to act with him here? Bowery, the negotiator of the Knights of the Church, stood up and first warned Zhu Youcong, and then started his plan to deceive him.
Others are afraid that they will be labeled as spies and will never be able to leave the Ming Dynasty and return to their homeland in this life, but for Bowery, there is no need to worry about this at all. He was originally a spy, but was sent to the Western camp by the Ming Dynasty to cooperate with the Bishop.
Just leave the Ming Dynasty and go back to the west? Unless General Zhenguo has new mission arrangements, he is not that stupid.
"The Ming army in heavy armor?" Zhu Youcong seemed to have recalled something. He turned around and asked Nan Juyi, who had been talking to people for two days and had a bit of a sore throat.
Is the main force of our army training near Yingtian?"
"General, it seems that this is the case." As if he wanted to deliberately conceal something, Nan Juyi replied in a low voice: "The overseas legion that just returned from the Japanese island some time ago should be stationed near Yingtian...
"
The overseas legions of the Ming Empire? Although the next words could not be heard clearly, these few words were enough to excite the Western negotiators. Sir Roy and others, who had returned to their hometown to help the Ming Dynasty human trafficking, came to the East again.
At that time, the Japanese island had been rented by Zhu Youcong. They were not able to see the large corps of both sides fighting with their own eyes, and the spies arranged in advance were not able to retreat safely due to various reasons.
But through some vague rumors, they still know that the main force invested by the Ming Dynasty this time is called the Overseas Legion. A legion of hundreds of thousands of people can completely wipe out a country. For those who often win with less and rely on their own ships and strong artillery,
It's not a big deal for the bullying Western invaders, but it depends on who the opponent is.
Cohen, who has had trading experience, has a deep understanding of the madness of Japanese pirates. Those barbarians are willing to fight with their lives. Moreover, their weapons are not very backward, even if all the Western armies in Tianzhu are now included.
Even if they were transferred here, it would be impossible to capture the Japanese islands within a year. But the Ming Empire not only did it, well, it was called leasing in their own words, but the fact that those demons massacred three million Japanese pirates on the frontal battlefield alone was not
Anyone who hears it will be scared.
According to the understanding of Roy and others, this so-called overseas legion should be the Ming Dynasty's colonial army responsible for overseas expansion. Their equipment may not be the most advanced weapons, but they must be the most practical and reliable ones that have been tested on several battlefields.
This can also better explain why the cunning Zhu Youcong was unwilling to sell those seemingly backward weapons to them. This was because he wanted to have a back-up to prevent others from grabbing his territory!
When they thought of this possibility, the Western allies became angry. This damn fat man, how can he be ashamed of himself when everyone in the world looks at him? The people sitting here are all the most honest Western gentlemen, at least before the decline of the Ming Empire.
How could he adopt such an attitude towards his allies? After sending so many princesses to the emperor of Ming Dynasty, couldn't he get some friendship in exchange? Even if this friendship is temporary?
No! We must persuade this damn fat man to sell that evil cold weapon, and test it carefully on the battlefield in Tianzhu first. If it is really powerful, send it back to the country and modify it separately. Not only must it be used on the Western battlefield where the battle is now in full swing.
To gain an advantage, we must also lay the foundation for a possible conflict with the Ming Empire in the future. (To be continued...)