Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 655

At the gate of the city, more than a dozen Dutchmen were watched by the crowd coming in and out like cattle.

At this time, the Xiyi did not have such a high status as later generations. At that time, whether it was the Ming in the south or the Qing in the north, they had enough reasons to look down on these red barbarians. In the eyes of the people at that time, the Netherlands were just foreign barbarians. Most of the passers-by also glanced at it, just looking at it in surprise.

"Your Excellency Kuiyi, the Chinese are arrogant and unreasonable, while the Tatars are even more arrogant and even more difficult to contact than the officials of the Ming Dynasty. That Governor Hong must also be an arrogant Tatar official. I personally feel that the actions of the mission, It makes no sense at all, the company can only use cannons to communicate with them." A Dutchman complained after waiting for a long time.

As soon as Kui heard this, he glanced at the city gate, and then said: "Louis, you must know that the company's power in the east cannot challenge the Ming Dynasty. In fact, even Guo Xingye can't deal with it. , you must learn to communicate with Ming’s enemy Tatar.”

"I hope Governor Hong is an enlightened Tatar official."

Several Dutchmen were talking, and a group of green battalion soldiers came slowly, surrounded by an upright official, and slowly stopped in front of them.

An upright official in a black official robe, wearing a bamboo hat, and looking at the patch on his chest, he is a seventh-rank official. He glanced at He Yi, and did not dismount, with an arrogant attitude, "You want to see the governor?"

This group of well-dressed beasts treat the Han people under their rule like this, so naturally they won't give a few Baifan good looks.

The main target of Dutch trade in the East is China, so most of them can speak some Chinese. Kui was used to such Tatar officials when he was in Beijing. He led the head, put his hands on his chest, and bowed. My lord, we are recommended by Governor Ma of Zhejiang Province, and we want to meet the honorable Governor of Jiangnan, Lord Hong."

"Follow me!" Hearing this, the upright official waved his hand annoyedly, pulled the reins, and headed into the city.

Kui and the others looked around and could only follow. He said to the left and right, "Let's go!"

The Netherlands is known as the sea coachman. The road they take is different from that of Spain and Portugal. They are mainly engaged in maritime transportation and do not produce much material. Naturally, transportation needs goods for them to resell.

In the east, their main source of goods is Chinese porcelain tea, but now that the Ming Dynasty built their own ships to go to sea, they cut off their financial resources, and the Dutch urgently needed to find new sources of goods.

The Netherlands is a commercial country. For them, commercial interests are more important than anything else. Being able to cooperate with the Tatars is second only to dealing with the Ming Dynasty. The key is to be able to bypass the maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty and obtain the source of goods under the rule of the Tatars.

The Qing Dynasty emphasized riding and shooting, but in fact the green battalion below still maintained the characteristics of the Ming army and was equipped with a large number of firearms.

Jiangning Zhubaofang was originally owned by the Ming Dynasty. After the Qing army occupied Nanjing, it gradually became deserted. Gradually exhausted, Hong Chengchou re-established Zhupaofang.

The Cannon Workshop was restored last year, but the real expansion of production was after the defeat of Duoduo this year.

At this time, the Cannon Workshop actually included two workshops of smelting and casting. Thanks to the foundation left by the Ming Dynasty, it is now the most important weapon casting place in the entire Jiangnan, and even the entire Qing Dynasty.

Since last year, Hong Chengchou has purchased a large amount of crude iron and crude copper from Tongling and Jiangbei through the eight imperial merchants, and transported coal from Huaibei and Changxing, Zhejiang. The fine iron of the gun.

These refined iron and refined copper were recast into red cannons, Franji small cannons, bird guns, swords, armors, etc. However, as the waterways were controlled by the navy of the Ming Dynasty, the copper and iron from Tongling could only be transported by land. , the cost has skyrocketed, and there is a lack of coal in the south of the Yangtze River. There is only one coal mine in Changxing.

Wang Yan recruited new soldiers in Huguang, and Hong Chengchou also recruited green camps in Jiangnan, but this weapon cannot be manufactured, so what is the use of recruiting more people?

The Cannon Square is located next to the Shuixi Gate. The location is very reasonable. Ships can enter the Qinhuai River from the Yangtze River, and then pass through the Shuimen to transport copper, iron and coal into the city.

The whole site covers an area of ​​[-] mu. Hong Chengchou repaired the original warehouse and furnace, and built a high wall around it. It is patrolled and guarded by a thousand green battalion soldiers, and the guard is very strict.

Hong Chengchou did not place the place to meet the Hong Maoyi in the Governor's Mansion, but in the Cannon Workshop.

The firearms of the Ming Dynasty accounted for [-]% to [-]% of the army at most. As a high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty, Hong Chengchou's understanding of firearms was naturally not comparable to that of the Manchu nobles in the mountains and fields.

The Manchu nobles in the capital didn't know what a red-haired barbarian was, but as a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty, although he didn't know much about red sweaters, at least he knew that the red-haired barbarians were powerful firearms. s reason.

Of course, by doing so, he undoubtedly exceeded his authority, but the situation in Jiangnan is not optimistic at the moment, so he can only have a chat first, and then write a note to defend himself.

At this time, there was a "boom" sound, and a moment later, there was another "boom".

Hong Chengchou was dressed in the horseshoe official robe of a Qing official, with a bowl hat on his head, a red crown with flower feathers, and a string of big court beads on his chest. He looked serious, and a group of Manchu civil and military men stood behind him.

"Shooting two miles can break bricks and stones." After a few cannon shots, several Qing soldiers rushed out on horseback. One of them got off his horse and observed the place where the bullets fell. Report loudly.

After hearing this, Hong Chengchou's expression remained the same, and after a while, he heard the report from the soldiers beside him: "Shoot three miles, the force of the bullet is exhausted, and the bricks cannot be broken."

Judging from the information collected by the Qing court, especially in the first half of the year, Wang Yanzheng successfully conquered Quanzhou and Zhangzhou in the east. The red cannon used in it can also be used three miles away, and has returned to the level when Xu Guangqi cast the cannon. The technology of the Qing court has degraded.

After hearing the report, Hong Chengchou's face turned cold. This was the fourth time he had tried the cannon.

At this time, a full-fledged official behind him immediately stepped forward and issued an order: "The cannon supervisor cane is thirty, dismissed from his post and exiled, the craftsman cut off his right hand, and ordered to cast it again."

"My lord, have mercy~" On the cannon test field, the cannon inspector immediately sat down on the ground, and two Qing soldiers immediately dragged him away, and all the craftsmen bowed down in horror.

Hong Chengchou didn't say much, this is the Manchu way of doing things, the law is not strict, how can he face the big with a small one, he was not in the mood to watch the punishment, turned around and left the cannon proving ground, just in time to meet the upright official who was going to meet Hongyi.

"My lord, the group of red-haired barbarians were brought in by the humble officials, did you bring them in?"

Hong Chengchou was in a hurry to cast cannons. Naturally, he wanted to restore the defense of the river. He needed enough red cannons with a long range to cover the river and force the Ming navy away. However, the cannons with an effective range of only two miles could only hit the river. Heart, not at all.

He had an intuition that maybe he could find a solution to this group of Hongyi for the problem of artillery.

"Bring them in!" Hong Chengchou waved his hand and walked straight to a room in the Cannon Workshop.

　Thank you fmh for the two hundred book coins, thank you for the two hundred book coins for laughing at me, thank you Yuedong Woxin for your reward, thank you Shouzhou Liang Silang, the abandoned de cat, book friends 150109, 2602yy, and the monthly ticket with dazed eyes
　　
　
(End of this chapter)