The Red House starts from Liaodong

The Overseas Office of Jeju Island ordered a batch of military supplies from the British, including a piece of flint, which was delivered to Jinzhou.

The British suffered a defeat in Canton, and their colonial ambitions were hit hard, but business still needed to be done.

Last year, I received a purchase order from an overseas office and did not dare to make the slightest mistake.

Artisans in the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty developed self-generating firecrackers. Jinzhou, which is very concerned about the mainland, learned this technology immediately after receiving the news.

In front of Tang Qing'an, there were more than a dozen self-generated guns smuggled from the pass, as well as short guns purchased from the Portuguese.

Engineering officer Cai Wen, with several subordinates, introduced the general carefully.

Tang Qing'an listened carefully.

Regarding the development history of firearms, he can confidently say that he is more sober than anyone present, but knowing it doesn't mean he can make it.

Ancient technology also has high requirements on materials, and there are many kinds of iron.

For example, the requirements for the nature of steel for bird guns are not understood by laymen, but require a lot of research and exploration by craftsmen.

"The craftsmanship of domestic self-generated guns is very perfect, but the materials are not up to standard. The biggest problem is the poor quality of flint."

Cai Wen picked up a self-igniting gun made in China, and pointed to the flint in the clip.

"This flint is made into flint by folks to meet the demand, but it can't meet the requirements of military use, and the rate of misfiring is too high."

What is the most important thing about firearms?
firepower.

One of the most important advantages is intensive shooting, giving the maximum output in a short time and causing a lot of damage.

If mass-produced self-fired guns, although it is convenient for soldiers to shoot, but because the misfire rate is too high, the power is not as good as the current arquebus.

The ignition efficiency of matchlock guns is not as good as that of self-proclaimed firecrackers, but the misfire rate is low, which is more reliable than self-generated firecrackers.

Reliable weapons are extremely important for soldiers on the front line.

"The Firearms Division made [-] of them, and they were distributed by the Military Division to the Third Army Town for testing. In the end, Zhu Xiu did not support self-generating firecrackers in the army unless the misfiring problem was resolved."

Domestic flint contains too little magnesium.

This is a problem of origin, which cannot be solved by technology. It is also one of the main reasons why Daming developed self-generating firecrackers in history, but they were not popularized and used.

Later, when purchasing from abroad, Western merchants also sold low-quality flint, which made the flintlock technology in the late Ming Dynasty enter a difficult situation.

Research stopped in the Qing Dynasty, and in the middle period, firearms were banned not only among the people, but also in the army.

Regression of civilization.

During the Opium War, facing the guns of the British army, the soldiers fighting in the north thought it was witchcraft, and used dog blood and women's menstrual belts to break the battle before the battle.

In the south of Guangdong, the red-clothed cannon, which was renamed Hongyi Cannon, has been pulled out for hundreds of years as a rusty antique.

"When I was an apprentice in Xue's family when I was young, I heard that the Huguang Changsha Mansion has flint with an excellent fire rate. The military commander can send people to inquire more about it."

There is no separation between Hubei and Hunan now. He vaguely remembered that in [-], a batch of high-quality flints were discovered in Hunan archaeology.

Because it was not a very important matter, there were no detailed reports in the country. Tang Qing'an didn't know whether there were high-quality flint mines.

But it is best to have it, otherwise purchasing flint from abroad is not only easy to be blocked, but also a lot of money needs to be wasted.

Buying flint from the British was not cheap.

When everyone heard the general revealing that he was born in a humble childhood, no one dared to intervene.

It's not an honorable thing, the general doesn't care, everyone dare not agree randomly, who knows if it will cause the general's inner dissatisfaction.

"What is the fineness of the flint the English sell us?"

"Compared with domestic flint, the flint sold by the British is much higher. Using the flint sold by the British, the misfiring rate of self-generating guns has dropped by more than [-]%."

If it is said that there were one hundred self-fired guns in the past, the misfiring was as high as thirty or forty, but now it is only three or four at most.

If you're lucky, it's possible to get all of them.

People use flint to light fire, once it doesn't burn twice, twice it doesn't burn three times, three times it doesn't burn four times, but the army can't.

Tang Qing'an nodded.

Jinjiang Town has an Overseas Department, and they have a good understanding of overseas markets. The British dare not pretend to be fake and sell inferior goods to Jinjiang Town.

Tang Qing'an still felt pain in his flesh just thinking about the silver to buy Flint.

Picking up a self-generating gun made in Jinzhou, a gunknife was stuck in the groove of the muzzle. Except that it was a muzzle-loading gun and needed a medicine bag to be poured from the muzzle. Tang Qingan was very satisfied with the rest.

Tried to aim it up, then put it down again.

"The shrapnel of our self-generating firecrackers is much smaller and more sophisticated than domestic self-generating firecrackers. What's the reason?"

Tang Qing'an asked very detailed questions.

Self-generating firecrackers solve technical problems, and they are definitely more advanced than arquebus guns, and will be equipped in the military in the future.

Although the current production is insufficient, building a thousands of elite firearms troops will be the top priority in the next two years.

"The shrapnel is made of different materials."

Cai Wen explained.

Compared with the problem of flint, the problem of shrapnel is not so big. The steel made of domestic materials cannot meet the needs of shrapnel, so it is thickened and enlarged.

Although it is a bit heavy, it does not affect the use.

Jinzhou's four-wheeled carriage has been promoted for many years, and it is more proficient in the manufacture of springs, so it is stronger than domestic shrapnel technology.

Tang Qing'an showed approval.

"This is an important weapon in the military. It should not be sloppy. It needs to be debugged many times, and it must be used in the military. It must be optimal."

"What the general said is very true. The military division has assigned a special person to take charge of this matter to ensure the close cooperation between the army and the Ministry of Industry."

Tang Qing'an looked at Jia Jian.

"King Zhongshun went to the three major battalions, and the three major battalions trained the new army. I heard that the military system is exactly the same as my Jinjiang army?"

Jia Jian came out and nodded solemnly.

"The whole army used a large number of bird guns, and the bird gunners were also equipped with gun knives and a lot of artillery. According to the news from the spies, the new army of the three major battalions formed an army very quickly."

Tang Qing'an sighed.

This is the advantage of firearms. In a few months, an army skilled in the use of weapons can be built.

In the current era, the efficiency of bows and arrows is not lower than that of firearms, and may even be higher than that of firearms.

But archers cannot be cultivated in a few months.

For example, the longbowmen in British history were all trained since childhood, and it took more than ten years to grow into a qualified longbowman.

Another example is the heavy bow of the barbarians. The tribe has hunted since childhood. Under such an environment, only a small number of people can use the heavy bow.

Moreover, the production of bows and arrows is time-consuming and laborious, and the maintenance is not easy, and the service life is also not as good as that of firearms.

"It's still necessary to win over the nobles in the country and the big families in the local area."

Tang Qing'an sighed in his heart.

Later Jin was able to successfully enter the customs, it was a coincidence that he gained the power of the big local households.

Without a place to rely on, even if Houjin had an army of 20, it would not be enough to consume just by fighting tough battles.

King Zhongshun is an opponent that needs to be taken seriously, so don't be careless.

It is the best policy to put it in the pot first, and then dissolve it separately.

……

Zheng Guoliang, Director of the Overseas Department, was led by a clerk and passed several courtyards.

The Jiedu Mansion is becoming more and more magnificent.

It is not because of the grandeur of the building, but because there are more and more government offices and more and more officials working in it.

It was also the first time Zheng Guoliang saw many yamen.

Overseas offices are established in Jeju Island, which is the trading port of Jinjiang Town. Countless overseas businessmen purchase domestic products in Jeju Island.

Countless domestic businessmen purchase foreign goods in Jeju Island.

Every year, the number of merchant ships departing from Jeju Island to Kyushu, Japan has increased from a dozen to 190 to three.

There are three classes, large, medium and small, with an average tax of 800 taels per boat, and a tax of 15 taels for a single boat.

Not counting taxes.

Last year, import and export taxes for trade with Japan, including shipping taxes, totaled nearly 50 taels of silver.

Counting only North Korea and Japan, the tax revenue of Jinjiang Town last year was 79 three-two-seven cents.

Siam, Luzon, Srivijaya, Mata Island, Panama, Sumatra...

England, Portugal, Netherlands, Spain, Germany, France...

and domestic trade.

Jeju Island's already staggering trade volume unexpectedly exploded last year, leaving everyone in a trance.

As the director of the Overseas Department, Zheng Guoliang was at a loss for such a high-ranking official.

"General, Jeju Island is full of people from all over the world. Countless people flood into Jeju Island every year. Do you want to control the scale?"

Zheng Guoliang said worriedly.

Tang Qing'an was flipping through the bank notes in his hand.

The dense patterns and various irregular patterns make people dazzled and confused.

In the black box in the middle, there are four words of redemption by ticket.The amount of 30 taels of silver is written below.

Above, below, left and right, the fonts are covered with chapters of various colors. The big chapter and the small chapter are half-cut, divided into two pieces of bills and stubs.

"No one else is afraid. You have saved 30 taels of silver. What are you afraid of?"

Tang Qing'an carefully touched a deposit note with the largest amount on Jeju Island, and couldn't help but said with a smile.

Don't underestimate this silver ticket.

This silver ticket represents the trust that the businessmen have in the Golden State.

On behalf of the economic system of Jeju Island, it has been accepted by foreign countries and complies with and supports the economic system of Jinzhou.

"What businessmen want most is a stable and safe environment. Japan has less than [-] merchant ships, which is far from my goal."

Tang Qing'an comforted the other party and said.

What is a merchant?A businessman is a big family, in fact, it is an extension of the scholar.

The owners of the major mines in Gyeonggi, which one is not a student, which family is not a scholarly family, and which one does not have a family member who is an official in the court.

Dazhou can't control big households, nor can it control businessmen.

Because a big family is a businessman, and a businessman is a big family.

The fact that Dazhou cannot collect the money from the sea trade does not mean that the sea trade does not exist. The private sea trade is huge, but it is not controlled by the imperial court, let alone paying taxes to the imperial court.

He, Tang Qing'an, joined forces with General Guangdong Sea to attack pirates along the southeast coast, in order to cut off the channels for the big households.

Combined with the expansion of domestic nobles' business routes in Jinling, it is to provide the only new channel for big households.

He actually did what Zheng Zhilong did, making him stronger and bigger.

Because the plates in Jinjiang Town are big.

On the surface, Zheng Zhilong is the leader of the pirates, but in essence he is a combination of merchant forces. Compared with himself, Zheng Zhilong lacks confidence in the elected leader.

Like Japanese trade.

At the peak of the Ming Dynasty, pirates built a base camp in Nagasaki, Japan, and even conspired to seize Japan.

It's a pity that it can't be kept secret. The shogunate got the news and beat the pirates first.

It is against this background that the original chieftain died, and Zheng Zhilong below had the opportunity to stand out.

In Tang Qing'an's plan, the scale of merchant ships going to Japan alone will reach 90, and the bare-ship tax will be able to collect [-] million taels of silver.

Where is it now? The peak period of Jeju Island's overseas trade is far away.

With a huge amount of silver.

Jinjiang Town can purchase the commodities and supplies it needs from the world.

Jinzhou can also spend a lot of money to purchase minerals with low cost performance such as saltpeter, sulfur, and flint, precisely because of the confidence in the profits of Jeju Island's maritime trade.

But money is not everything.

It is not just to produce raw materials from Dazhou's land, make them into commodities, and exchange them for practically useless silver.

Instead, it is necessary to obtain the commodities that one needs and spend money to form a virtuous circle, which is the way of the national economy.

"This year, we need to increase our efforts to purchase food from Japan, and don't waste money in our hands."

Tang Qing'an demanded.

"However, the town envoy Tao Kai reminded me that there is a shortage of food in Japan, there are countless victims, and the daimyo in various places have strict control over food, so it may be difficult to buy food."

Zheng Guoliang looked embarrassed.

"I don't care about the disaster victims in Japan. Let Liu Xianglian tell Tadaga Tokugawa that he must sell 30 shi of grain to Jinzhou this year."

The act of assassination broke the balance of Japan.

The death of the Japanese abdicated emperor dropped the prestige of the shogunate to a freezing point. Foreign daimyos from all over the country reprimanded the shogunate and even sent troops to assist Tokugawa Tadaga.

Even the foreign daimyo who did not act, actually indulged Tokugawa Tadaga's army and provided convenience for it.

Kyushu Island even expelled the officials sent by the shogunate, and with the strength of Kato Tadahiro and the reputation of Matsudaira Tadanao, they played the slogan of respecting the king and fighting against barbarians.

The current situation is more like a war between Tokugawa Iemitsu and Tokugawa Tadacho.

The pro-vassal daimyo remained neutral, most of the Fudai daimyo supported Tokugawa Iemitsu, and a few supported Tokugawa Tadacho.

But more foreign daimyos, they support Tadaga Tokugawa.

Tokugawa Iemitsu is strong, Tokugawa Tadacho has many supporters, and both sides have their own advantages and disadvantages.

But on the whole, it was Iemitsu's army that suppressed Tadacho.

Although Zhong Chang acted first and expanded a lot of territory, now he has spit it out step by step, and the situation is quite unfavorable.

Liu Xianglian has already suggested that the fourth town temporarily send [-] troops to assist the loyal commander who fell below.

But now Tokugawa Tadaga has not given in.

Therefore, the fourth town only sold high-priced weapons and equipment to Tokugawa Tadacho, and did not send troops directly.

It's good to fight.

Not only do more warriors need to be killed, but more civilians must be killed.

If history has not changed, one of the largest civil uprisings in Japanese history occurred in Kyushu this year. Tang Qing'an is beautiful when I think of it.

He has been laying out for so long, isn't it just to stir up civil strife in Japan, and finally split Japan easily with the help of the Kyushu civil uprising.

Now that the war in Japan has resumed, it is not just a matter for the Japanese to decide when it will subside.