Nanming: I can build wonders

Chapter 161 Li Hongzhang Shakes His Head When He Comes

Why did Zheng Kezang want to sell weapons to Kangxi? Isn't this an enemy?

The answer is that blocking is worse than sparse.

Kangxi attached great importance to firearms, and he wanted to revitalize the Eight Banners with powerful firearms from Xiyi!

Immediately, he turned his attention to the Portuguese in the trench mirror and the "Dutch" in Xiangjiang.

After Zheng Kezang learned of Kangxi's movements, he thought that instead of letting Portugal make a profit, it would be better to make a fortune by himself.

It is sold as an extra version, and I am not afraid that the Tartars have good weapons.

There is one thing to say, Zheng Kezang is really a good man. He not only sent a fleet to Kangxi to guard the country, resettled refugees who were dissatisfied with the Qing Dynasty, and assisted in the development of a small fishing village in Xiangjiang. Now he also arranges weapons and equipment for Kangxi.

It's just Daqing's father!

Selling low-quality weapons and earning 50 taels with tears and blood, as a former low-level soldier, Julio is simply pulling his ass with a knife this time, and his knowledge has increased.

What he didn't know was that this was just the beginning, and Kangxi hadn't given up on his navy dream.

"Julio, I heard that there are many armed merchant ships in the Netherlands, can you give some of them to the Qing envoy?" Kangxi expressed his intention to the overjoyed Julio.

This is a bit difficult to refuse, because it is just a few armed merchant ships, and it is not a rare thing.

But this is not within the scope of Julio's authority, he can only reply: "Your Majesty the Emperor, I have to ask my father for instructions."

As soon as he heard that there was something interesting, Kangxi immediately became ashamed and delighted: "Naturally, tell your father, I am not short of money in Qing Dynasty!"

Of course, this armed merchant ship is not a rare thing for the "Netherlands", but for the current Qing Dynasty, it is really a treasure.

After Shi Lang's Fujian Navy was sank into the sea by the Minhai Fleet to feed the fish, he was afraid that Kangxi, who came to Tianjin from Ming Zheng by sea, immediately ordered the establishment of the Tianjin Eight Banners Navy.

The Tianjin Eight Banners Navy is mainly responsible for the defense of Dagukou. It is set up under the unified name of the first-rank Manchuria, and governs the battalions of the navy.Such a high-level commander is really rare in the navy of the Qing army at this time.

It can be seen how much Kangxi valued this Tianjin navy.

The Qing Dynasty tried its best to collect [-] large and small warships and several sampans from the people.

But just having a boat is not enough. You must know that these Eight Banners students who have been transferred here can't even handle boats, let alone water warfare.

For this reason, there must be instructors who are proficient in handling ships, so many instructors and sailors were transferred from the Lvying Navy to guide and assist the Tianjin Eight Banners Navy in training and maneuvers. They also designated a place as a camp for them to take good care of of.

Therefore, under the ardent hope of Kangxi, the Tianjin Eight Banners Navy was established in a glorious manner.

It's just that the Tianjin Navy is too close to Kangxi, so he goes to see the Tianjin Navy drills from time to time.

Looking at it, it made him lose his mind.

The well-known Eight Banners Navy, even if the ship is small and cannon, the sailing level of these Eight Banners sailors is unsightly even for a layman like him.

I almost bumped into each other, can I catch it?

It is impossible for the "Dutch people" to come to help guard such an important location in the sea near Tianjin, otherwise it would be too shameful!

If the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty knew about this, they would be so angry that they would lift the coffin boards and grab Kangxi's braids!
No matter what, people can't do it for the time being, but boats can do it, right?
So he ordered the Ministry of Industry to build ships quickly!

However, the reply he received made him very disappointed. There was a lack of wood for shipbuilding.

This made him furious, the Qing Dynasty has a vast land and abundant resources, how could there be no wood!
Fortunately, a professional later told him that the materials used in shipbuilding are extremely harsh, and there are requirements for tree species, tree age, and degree of shade drying. If new wood is used to build a ship, the hull will be corroded by sea water soon.

In this case, you have to wait for the wood to be ready before you can start building the ship.

He can't import timber either. Although the war with Mingzheng has ceased, there is basically no maritime trade anymore. It is difficult for ships outside to come in without Mingzheng's consent, and it is difficult for ships inside to get out.

Moreover, there is also the inner ghost "the first Dutch East India Fleet", and the Qing Dynasty would never have seen the wood for shipbuilding.

what is it now?
I can only ask my good teammate "Dutch" for help with the cheek. Before I bought a warship in the Qing Dynasty and you didn't give it to me, then let's buy some armed merchant ships. If you don't give it to me, it will hurt my feelings a bit.

Therefore, Kangxi felt that there was a high probability of success, so he happily invited Julio, the son of the governor, to a dinner and had a good time.

After the dinner, in order to bring the news back to Dongning Mansion as soon as possible, Julio took 50 taels of silver and went back by boat overnight.

When Zheng Kezang, who was busy making Mines guns, learned of this, he was amazed, and felt that the money in the Qing Dynasty was really good!
The next time the contract is signed, Daqing must pay more money.

It's just an armed merchant ship, Zheng Kezang will definitely sell it, he is a fool if he doesn't make money!
Zheng Kezang has a lot of armed merchant ships.

The main forces of the Minhai Fleet and the Guangdong Fleet are "protecting trade" at sea every day, and from time to time, they make guest appearances in "friendly" drills between pirates and Dutch merchant ships.

The Dutch were very "moved", so they took the initiative to hand over the merchant ship to Ming Zheng for safekeeping, so Zheng Kezang had a lot of inventory here.

Moreover, armed merchant ships in the Netherlands are no longer banned in this era.

For a long, long period of time before the mid-17th century, a small number of warships paired with a large number of temporarily modified merchant ships for combat was the norm in Europe.

Until the outbreak of the Anglo-Dutch War, the shortcomings of the Dutch armed merchant ships were clearly seen in the war.

Compared with warships, the armed merchant ships of the Netherlands are weak in structure and equipped with too few heavy artillery. In summary, they are weak and vulnerable.

This war also woke up the Netherlands, which must fight specialization with specialization, and armed merchant ships are not suitable for military use.

However, if this kind of armed merchant ship is used by the Qing Dynasty, it is indeed easier to use than the ships they themselves collected from the people.

Of course, Zheng Kezang will not give them a complete armed merchant ship, he must change it!

For example, the structural modification of the fixed artillery position is more fragile, and the wooden boards at key positions are slightly hollowed out, all of which can be changed.

As long as the modification does not affect the use, it will be over if you can’t see it. Now it’s a seller’s market, and it’s good if you can sell it to Na Daqing. Still want to pick and choose?
"Julio, sell them five ships and ask them for a high price. Don't let them get them too easily." Zheng Kezang ordered. He is well versed in the benefits of hunger marketing. The more goods you have, the less valuable they are.

"It's time to order!"

Julio didn't know if he learned it in the Tartar capital. Recently, the taste of Chinese has become more and more weird. It always feels like Beijing, and Zheng Kezang's head is black.

If he dares to pronounce "嗻", he must not be allowed to go back to Dongning Military Academy to reform.

Regarding the matter of buying a ship, Kangxi handed it over to Li Xiangen, a good friend of the "Dutchman".

They are all "good friends", and the two sides hit it off after talking for a long time.

The Qing Dynasty bought five armed merchant ships of the "Dutch East India Company" at a price of 200 million taels of silver.

This price will make the future Li Hongzhang shake his head, because the Qing Dynasty only spent 170 million taels for an iron-clad ship like Dingyuan, and this sail-armed merchant ship actually sells for 50 taels of silver, what a profiteer!

No wonder the imperialists love Qing Dynasty!
(End of this chapter)