Chapter 503 Portuguese traitors, muskets
The imperial physician went to Feng's house, uncovered the cloth covering Feng Yuan's forehead, carefully examined the wound, and said, "It has healed. Be careful from now on, and you should be fine."
Feng Yuan sat on the bed and said happily, "Thank you, sir."
The old wife handed over a teacup and said, "Have some tea."
The imperial physician shook his head and packed his things. "I will not be here from tomorrow. If you need anything, you can go to Xin'an Lane."
"Thank you." Feng Yuan stood up and sent the imperial physician out.
After returning home, he asked his wife to prepare some dry food.
"You've just recovered, where are you going now?" the old wife asked dissatisfiedly.
"Go to Xin'an Lane!"
"You should have said it earlier." The old wife went to the kitchen quickly, and soon smoke rose above the kitchen.
……
"Boer has met the respected nobleman of the Ming Kingdom."
Boll was kneeling on the ground with his head down, and only a pair of feet wearing cloth shoes could be seen.
Since being captured in Burma, Boer has been thrown into prison without anyone paying attention to him. This is probably the first white-skinned prisoner in the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Every day, the jailers gather around him, and even the prisoners talk about him. The dead silence of the prison has thus brought some life.
When Boll was in Myanmar, he heard a lot about the Ming Dynasty. In the words of the Burmese, the Ming Dynasty was a place where honey flowed everywhere and gold and silver were everywhere.
As he followed the captives north, the towns they passed through made Boll feel that what they said was absolutely true.
He even thought of his native Portugal.
“Are you from Portugal?”
"Yes."
"Is Vasco da Gama still alive?"
the young noble asked.
The young nobleman dealt a heavy blow to the Burmese on the battlefield and captured the emperor to whom Boll was loyal. For Boll, he just wanted to survive in this mysterious country, even if he had to beg.
But when he heard the name Vasco da Gama, he was still surprised, "You know him?"
"Answer your Excellency's question." The interpreter said coldly. He was from the Ministry of Rites.
Bol spoke in fluent Ming dialect, "Dear Lord, before I left Portugal, Vasco da Gama had been dead for more than ten years."
"That butcher, I hope your gods can protect his soul!" Jiang Qingzhi said lightly.
"Yes." In the eyes of the Portuguese, Vasco da Gama is an unprecedented hero. Without Vasco da Gama, there would be no Portugal's current global hegemony.
Without da Gama, the Spice Islands would not belong to Portugal, let alone Malacca.
"Where is your fleet now?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"Malacca, respected uncle."
"Malacca...Malacca!"
damn it!
Jiang Qingzhi shook off the ashes from his cigarette and said, "That place controls the strait and is extremely important."
"Yes, your wisdom makes me feel ashamed."
"What is the attitude of the Portuguese towards the Ming Dynasty?" Jiang Qingzhi needed to know the attitude of the current Western hegemons towards the Ming Dynasty, and thus decide the timetable for external expansion.
"Portugal hopes to become friends with the Ming Dynasty!" Pol said sincerely.
If he could deceive this young noble, Pol was prepared to take the initiative to suggest that Ming and Portugal make contact, and he would become the matchmaker between the two sides. Not only would his status soar, but he might even have the possibility of returning to Portugal.
There was a subtle cunning in his eyes, and he glanced at Jiang Qingzhi seemingly casually.
The eyes were a little unclear in the smoke. A gust of wind blew, the smoke dissipated, and Boll saw the mockery in the eyes.
"Stone."
"Master!"
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at Boll with a cigarette, "Send him back and tell the jailers that he is useless."
Boll was stunned for a moment.
He had been in prison for quite some time and knew what uselessness meant to a prisoner.
The Ming prisoners had nothing to do and often told some unconventional and erotic stories. Some of them turned their eyes to Boll, but the jailers used sticks to make them shrink back.
But now this young master said he was useless. Bol could almost imagine that when he was thrown back into prison, he would become the prison boss's exclusive love tonight...
Find another way!
"No!"
Bol screamed, but Sun Chonglou easily dragged him out with just one hand.
"My dear Lord, I am willing to tell the truth, I am willing to tell the truth..."
"Stone."
Kneeling in front of Jiang Qingzhi again, Boll no longer had any hope. He panted and listened to the young nobleman speaking in a calm tone as if he had known Portugal for many years:
"Da Gama discovered the Spice Islands, which brought a group of robbers to the East. You easily defeated India, a place of loose goods. You thought the East was nothing special. Then Malacca changed hands, which made you despise the Ming Dynasty even more. So you fought a war with the Ming Dynasty thirty years ago..."
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Xu Wei and said, "Old Xu!"
Xu Wei said: "Thirty years ago, the Portuguese gathered on the so-called Tuen Mun Island, looting the surrounding areas and killing people at will. As soon as your majesty ascended the throne, he ordered the expulsion of the Portuguese.
The Ming navy was dispatched, and the Portuguese relied on their powerful firearms and were quite arrogant. But my navy then imitated them, using the barbarians to fight the barbarians, supplemented by fire attacks, and defeated the Portuguese fleet... and then defeated them again."
This was the news Xu Wei had inquired about at the Ministry of War. "Minister Wang found several navy officers and soldiers who participated in the war in Guangzhou. They are now in the Ministry of War. They said that the Portuguese were smelly and looked barbaric..."
Ha ha!
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at Boll.
Dao Ye was naturally intolerant of foreign races. As soon as he ascended the throne, he ordered the expulsion of the Portuguese, which triggered the first naval war between the East and the West.
"The victory report has reached the capital. His Majesty has ordered the navy to sink any ships flying Portuguese flags they see from now on!" Holy crap!
Does the Taoist priest have such an awesome order?
Boll was sweating profusely after hearing this.
"How does the Portuguese view that naval battle, and how does they view the current Ming Dynasty?" Jiang Qingzhi asked again.
Boll didn't dare to lie. "His Majesty the King appointed a Chinese castle commander-in-chief to come to the East to take charge of the situation. He then led his army to fight against the Ming Kingdom. That was... the second naval battle that the nobleman mentioned earlier."
The Battle of Xicaowan did not leave a significant mark in history, but in Jiang Qingzhi's eyes at this moment, this naval battle allowed the Ming Dynasty to avoid a direct confrontation with the Portuguese, the overlord of the world at that time.
"After the defeat at Xicaowan, there were many discussions in the country. Under the advice of his ministers, the king gave up the plan to send out an expeditionary fleet."
"So, what do you know?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
"How to steer a warship," said Boll.
"How about making it?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.
Boll was startled, his instinct made him want to lie and brag, but looking at the huge Sun Chonglou, he chose to tell the truth, "I won't."
He was worried about hearing the young nobleman say that he was useless, so he quickly made up for it, "I am willing to serve the respected Lord, I know a lot about Portugal..."
Portuguese traitor?
Jiang Qingzhi waved his hand, and someone came in. Boer screamed again, "I am willing to be your servant and be loyal to you for generations. I swear on my ancestors!"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled, "I'm curious, where did the name Boll come from?"
Pol gasped, "There are several bloodlines of villains."
Jiang Qingzhi said: "Find a place to settle him down."
"Your kindness will move even the gods." Boll wanted to lick Jiang Qingzhi's shoes.
After Boll left, Jiang Qingzhi asked, "Have you visited Feng Yuan?"
Xu Wei said, "I went to see him yesterday, and he said he was recovering well."
"You can go again later."
Xu Wei was somewhat puzzled by Jiang Qingzhi's regard for Feng Yuan. "My Lord, there are many craftsmen like him in the Ministry of Industry."
"No one can match Feng Yuan's understanding of firearms." In terms of firearms manufacturing, at least for now, Jiang Qingzhi has not found anyone who can be compared with Feng Yuan.
"Uncle, Feng Yuan is here."
Feng Yuan came with some dry food and saluted with some restraint.
"The firearms I need to make here are different from the current ones." Jiang Qingzhi said: "Tell me about the current situation of Ming Dynasty firearms."
"Yes." Feng Yuan said, "In the early days, the firearms of the Ming Dynasty looked impressive, but they were not sharp enough after all. Later, we seized some firearms from the Portuguese, and we copied a lot of them. But most of them are not shown..."
Only then did Jiang Qingzhi understand why he didn't see any Portuguese firearms the last time he went to the Armory.
"The current Armory Bureau can make Portuguese muskets, but the big muskets are not popular among the nobles, so they make more small muskets. When Xinjian Bo suppressed the rebellion, he used a replica of the musket, and the first shot scared the rebels."
Jiang Qingzhi asked: "What is the current situation?"
Feng Yuan said: "At present, the Armory Bureau is making Portuguese guns and sending them to the nine borders. These guns are heavy and can be used for warships or city defense, but they cannot be used with the army, so..."
"Don't take it seriously?"
"Yes."
"continue."
"The imitation falconet gun is not as far-reaching as the falconet gun. I have seen the original falconet gun, which is more sophisticated than the Ming Dynasty's..."
"Is it sealed?" Jiang Qingzhi thought of this question.
"That's right." Feng Yuan looked at Jiang Qingzhi with more respect in his eyes, "After all, those sub-guns don't fit well, and the Ming Dynasty's imitation Portuguese guns have less gunpowder, so the range is a bit shorter..."
This involves the issues of processing and the strength of the artillery.
Jiang Qingzhi took out a piece of paper and handed it to Feng Yuan, "Take a look at this."
Feng Yuan took the blueprint, took a quick look at it, and then looked up at Jiang Qingzhi, "Uncle, this is a small gun!"
"Take your time and watch."
Feng Yuan looked at the blueprint carefully, and suddenly raised it and asked, "Excuse me, sir, what are these?"
Jiang Qingzhi took a look and said, "Rifling."
"What's the use?" Feng Yuan gradually immersed himself in it.
"When the gunpowder pushes the lead bullet, it rushes out along the rifling and begins to rotate continuously..."
“It will be more accurate!”
"This is……"
"This is a flintlock. Have you seen it?"
"I have never seen it before. May I ask what this is for, sir?"
"Put a flint at the back and hit it with a mechanism. The flint will ignite and trigger the gunpowder, and then the gunpowder will pass through here..."
Jiang Qingzhi walked over to Feng Yuan, pointed at the blueprint and said, "This is where we ignite the gunpowder in the barrel, and then drive the lead bullet to fire..."
"No ignition required to launch..."
Feng Yuan looked at Jiang Qingzhi enthusiastically, "This is an unprecedented firearm. May I ask, sir, who invented it?"
Jiang Qingzhi really wanted to say that it was the invention of the Mohist predecessors, but in the end he chose his own.
"Ben!"
Feng Yuan carefully returned the drawings to Jiang Qingzhi and saluted.
"From today on, I will sell my life to you, my Lord!"
(End of this chapter)
