I really don't want to be emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty

Cheng Shijie looked at Chen Guodong and said, "What new information do you have over there?"

Chen Guodong thought for a while and said: "It's true. Anthony's current position is very dangerous. Since the profits of the Dutch East India Company last year dropped by two-thirds compared with the previous year, the gentlemen have instructed the Ministry of Justice to investigate senior employees of the Dutch East India Company." ."

Cheng Shijie said: "So, the Dutch Ministry of Justice has really found the problem?"

"How can there be no problem?"

Chen Guodong pointed to the files he had just sent over and said: "Last year alone, their Dutch East India Company had about four million guilders of money that they could not account for. As the Ministry of Justice began to investigate senior employees of the Dutch East India Company, they were found guilty. More and more people are involved, and everyone in several key departments of the East India colonial government is in danger, and many people have submitted their resignations to Anthony, which has seriously affected the normal work."

To put it bluntly, there are really not many officials these days who can withstand investigation. What's more, when they were still colonial officials, the Dutch were willing to come to Southeast Asia. Most of the Dutch officials were not in a good economic situation. Well, they can barely survive in the Netherlands, which is what forces them to leave their homeland.

Therefore, after these people take power, their appearance is really ugly. Officials with aristocratic backgrounds are somewhat restrained, while officials with ordinary backgrounds are simply unscrupulous.

For example, the highest protection fee paid by the Dutch East India Company to Zheng Zhilong was 120,000 francs per year. One franc is equal to one hundred centimes, which is approximately equal to five grams of silver containing 90% silver. One franc is approximately It is equivalent to 500 grams of silver, which is equivalent to about 1.62 million taels of silver.

In fact, the Dutch East India Company reported 400,000 francs to the country, which was more than three times the expenditure. As well as the Governor's Palace in Batavia, there were serious fictitious costs and corner-cutting. It originally only required 100,000 francs. It could be built with only 1.1 million guilders, but the total expenditure actually reached 1.1 million, and many parts of the structure that were marked as requiring the use of marble were secretly replaced with reinforced concrete. In the end, it was estimated that even 100,000 guilders would not be used up.

The Gentlemen's Association usually turns a blind eye to these things. After all, the Dutch also understand that if they want their horses to run, they have to let them eat grass. Now they are just affected by the financial crisis and urgently need the Dutch East. Indian companies are transfusing blood into the country.

Cheng Shijie sighed and said: "I see, this Anthony wants to take refuge in Ming Dynasty?"

This reminded Cheng Shijie of the rectification and evacuation in another time and space. There were not many people taking refuge in the beautiful country, and the beautiful country had become a place of filth and evil.

Sun Zhiyi read Anthony's resume and said, "So this is a big rat who relied on nepotism to get to the top?"

"They want to be included, but there are conditions, right?"

Cheng Shijie said: "We can stop talking to them for the time being and let's fight first!"

Although Anthony's trouble is not small now, it has not yet reached a desperate situation. No matter what dimension he considers, Anthony will definitely seek to maximize the interests for himself and his allies. But the problem is that unlike later generations, the world now consists of two superpowers, the Ming Dynasty and Spain.

Neither Great Britain nor France had yet risen, and even the Maritime Horsemen had not yet gained independence. It was at least seven years later, in 1648, that the Netherlands forced the Spanish Empire to allow the Netherlands to become independent.

Another reason why Cheng Shijie decided to take action was that the Guns and Artillery Bureau had made a new breakthrough, that is, a real mortar was finally produced.

The large-scale application of steam engine-type machine tools and mechanical equipment and the improvement of spring technology have allowed soldiers operating long-barreled mortars to finally get rid of the annoying job of stuffing explosive cannons into the barrel. Now they only need to insert the long-tailed shells into the barrel. Once placed in the barrel, the nitrocellulose is released to detonate the primer of the shell, and the shell will scream and fly towards the enemy, which is very convenient.

Although the technology is not very good, nitrocellulose can only be used to replace the lighter firing pin, but compared with the previous cumbersome heavy artillery, it is already powerful to the sky!

The most important thing is that the entire gun is made of steel and is very light. A few people can dismantle a four-inch caliber mortar and carry it away, and replace it with a four-inch cannon. Too tired to stick out my tongue, let alone someone to carry it.

Located at the Xishan Gun Bureau production factory outside the capital, Cheng Shijie looked excitedly at the dozens of mortars that had been manufactured. At present, the Ming Dynasty's naval or army guns only have three calibers, the smallest three. Inch gun, four-inch gun, and five-inch gun, the calibers converted into later generations are 94.5 mm, 126 mm, and 157.5 mm.

The artillery will have such a caliber because it adopted the standardization of the Ming Dynasty. Now with the increasing influence of the Ming Dynasty, the stone, the unit of measurement for grains, has basically formed a global consensus, and the units of length are also steps and feet. , Zhang, as for the difficulty of conversion, there is nothing we can do about it.

Who makes Ming Dynasty strong now? Because the Ming Dynasty was so powerful and influential, the land area was mostly in units of acres and acres, rarely square meters.

Cheng Shijie excitedly patted the dark mortar and said to Bi Maokang, the current director of the Gun and Artillery Bureau: "You have made a great contribution! With this sharp weapon, our army can fight even in the lofty mountains. With powerful artillery support, a few such artillery pieces may be able to change the outcome of a battle and save the lives of thousands of soldiers!"

Bi Maokang was given the courtesy name Menghou and his nickname was Dongjiao. He was born on the road in Shexian County. He was a Jinshi in the 1598th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty () and was awarded the title of Zhongshusheren. He later moved to Guangxi Province to be the censor of the Dao Supervision, the censor of Youqiandu, and the inspector of Shaanxi Province. , Shandong Salt Patrol Censor. In the early years of Chongzhen's reign, he was appointed as the general envoy of Nanjing and promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of War, but he was exempted from return. When bidding farewell, Emperor Chongzhen ordered the construction of Wugang chariots, Shenfei cannons, etc. After the weapon was completed, he compiled the "Illustrated Description of Military Weapons" for Emperor Chongzhen. Due to his meritorious service, he was promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing and the governor of Liangli. He refused to join the eunuchs and returned home.

Later, Cheng Shijie invited Bi Maokang back to serve as the director of the Gun Bureau and the Minister of Machinery. He entered the cabinet of the Dingxin Dynasty and became one of the cabinet ministers.

Bi Maokang said in confusion: "This lightning strike cannon has a fast firing speed, is small in size, light in weight, and has a simple structure. It has many advantages, but it is not very powerful. It is far inferior to a cannon. I think it does not have a lot of equipment." meaning!”

Cheng Shijie shook his head: "No, although its lethality is weak, its deployment is very flexible. After dismantling it, a few soldiers can carry it all over the mountain. This is something that no cannon, mountain gun, or field gun can do." , this is very important! You allocate some manpower and machines, and set up a branch factory to specialize in the production of this kind of... Oh, you call it a lightning cannon, right? Build a branch factory specifically to produce this kind of lightning cannon!"

Bi Maokang was a little puzzled. He had personally tested this kind of gun. It was easy to operate, had a fast rate of fire, and was strong and durable, but its power could only be said to be average. He believed that as artillery technology became increasingly mature, the power of the three-inch millimeter cannon With the weight further reduced, this kind of lightning cannon should be withdrawn from the equipment list. Why does Cheng Shijie pay so much attention to it?

Cheng Shijie thought for a moment and then added: "By the way, after it is put into mass production, you should try to develop a smaller caliber lightning cannon. Nine or eight centimeters will do. It doesn't matter if the range is shorter. The important thing is that it must be lightweight and It’s durable and cheap. In the future, the army will need to equip it in large quantities. It’s too expensive and everyone can’t afford it!” Bi Maokang couldn’t help but ask: “Is this kind of gun really worthy of mass production?”

Cheng Shijie said with a smile: "You have never been in the army, so you don't know its value... just do as I say!"

Bi Maokang had no choice but to comply. After Cheng Shijie left, he allocated manpower and machines to set up a branch factory specifically responsible for manufacturing and improving this extremely cheap lightning cannon.

Cheng Shijie originally wanted to teach the Dutch a lesson and ask Anthony to lower his demands when negotiating. However, Cheng Shijie's order had not yet been issued to the troops, and a fight broke out in Zhanzhou, that is, Australia.

As a large number of immigrants and labor reform prisoners came to Zhanzhou, the animals in Zhanzhou were also an eye-opener for everyone. Kangaroos are no longer a rare thing. When everyone sees kangaroos in groups, their first reaction is that the meat tastes almost like beef, a bit fishy and a bit nauseating.

However, the thylacine with weird stripes on its fur, the koala that hangs on the eucalyptus tree all day long and slowly eats young leaves, and the bandicoot with a pair of huge rabbit ears that looks like a mouse, all make the prison inmates confused. It was quite a surprise and an eye-opener.

Everyone also discovered that Australian animals, apart from evolving a pouch at the slightest disagreement, are also docile and easy to bully.

For example, the thylacine is very small and thin, and it is doubtful whether it can defeat hounds in the Ming Dynasty. There is also a koala, which hangs on a tree all day long. It is not afraid when someone approaches. It just stares at the visitor with wide, curious eyes. It is so cute.

The Dutch are also very interested in these animals in Australia, and their interest is expressed by doing everything possible to hunt them and then take the carcasses back as specimens, even the cute koalas are no exception.

This barbaric behavior made the Ming people very angry, and a quarrel broke out. The Dutch said that they wanted to take these specimens back for research, all for the sake of science. The Ming people said that Zhanzhou was the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the people on this land Everything belongs to Ming Dynasty, and they are invading Ming Dynasty’s territory.

This is also caused by the differences in traditional concepts between China and Europe. In the Ming Dynasty people's concept, the dead are the most important, and the things they like, even if it is a cat or a dog, should be taken care of until they die, let it be buried in peace, and the body should be buried. Being taxidermied is unbearable, even eating it is better than this.

After the Renaissance in Europe, the atmosphere of scientific research became increasingly intense, and people eagerly explored the unknown world. It was a common practice to make specimens of novel species and bring them back to the local area. Not only could they contribute to scientific research, but if they encountered rare species, they would also be cultivated. Will make a fortune.

The conflict of ideas makes both parties think that the other is unreasonable, and the quarrel becomes extremely fierce.

Fortunately, the Dutch were very restrained and no direct conflict broke out. But the problem was that until that day, Chen Dachun, a patrolling Ming Dynasty soldier, found several koalas that had been shot by muskets. The large-caliber muskets smashed the koalas' heads. Broken: "The damn Dutch did it!"

There is no way, Zhanzhou is too big. Although the number of Ming people in Zhanzhou exceeds one million, one million people are too few for Zhanzhou.

Chen Dachun reported this phenomenon and proposed to protest to the Dutch.

Chen Dachun's boss was Huang Yulang, the son of Huang Sizheng, the guerrilla general of the Dongjiang Army who was killed in action.

Huang Yulang said: "Dachun, you are a kind person, but your thoughts will put you in a very dangerous situation! You know, there are too many very barbaric countries and tribes in the world, and one of their The characteristic is that you are good to them, and they try their best to kill you. But you beat them up and slaughtered several tribes, but they are obedient to you! You only want to be good to everyone, but the result is only Maybe everyone will regard you as a fool..."

Chen Dachun explained: "I'm not that stupid! I am..."

"It's not an explanation, everyone knows it!"

Huang Yulang said: "You can't be polite to the Dutch at all. If you don't take action, that's it. If you do, you'll kill them all."

But when the Ming Dynasty army stationed in Zhanzhou wanted to take action, they found that the strategic shift of the Dutch expedition fleet was decisive and rapid, which greatly exceeded the expectations of the Zhanzhou army. However, the Zhanzhou army's great determination, quick response, and decisive actions also exceeded the Dutch's expectations.

The Dutch expedition left Zhanzhou more than seven hours earlier than the Ming army. When the Dutch enjoyed a delicious meal and began to fall asleep soundly, the vanguard of the Zhanzhou fleet had already appeared in their sights. .

The one running at the front was not the warship of the Ming army, but the armed merchant ship Dongfang, which officially belonged to the Liaodong Dongfang Trading Company. Although the Dongfang was an armed merchant ship, it was a large ship with six thousand materials and equipped with twenty-four guns. Heavy naval guns, of course these are purchased backward Hongyi cannons.

Zhang Chen, the boss of Dongfang Trading Company, likes koalas. However, two koalas died unexpectedly. Zhang Chen was sad for a long time. The guys at Dongfang Trading Company blamed themselves very much, and naturally they would not let them go for the murderer of the koalas. ,

"fire……"

The Dutch soldiers screamed, scurrying around like flies being chased, and even bumped into each other. Some guys were fighting with each other, kneeling on the ground and making the sign of the cross wildly, with earth-colored faces, muttering to themselves and begging God for blessing.

The damage caused by the bombardment was actually not great, but it almost caused them to have a psychological breakdown. There was no way. There were too many warships from the Ming Dynasty, and they were so densely packed that they stretched as far as the eye could see. There were not only warships, but also a considerable number of merchant ships, fishing boats, and civilian ships. . (End of chapter)