Nanming: I can build wonders

Chapter 226 The Bugarao Cannon Factory is Nationalized (Please subscribe!)

"I don't see many Portuguese troops in Macau. Where did they get so many muskets?"

Qian Yan asked puzzledly.

"Your Excellency, it's like this. In Macau, we have to change a governor every few years. The first thing every governor does is to purchase equipment."

Simon had long expected that Qian Yan would ask this question, and had already arranged for a Han Chinese from Macau to help with the translation.

Moreover, as soon as this Han man heard that Daming was coming, he quickly cut off the braid behind his forehead, which seemed to be very enlightened.

As soon as he heard this, Qian Yan understood, isn't it just to place an order and get a kickback.

Crows are black all over the world, and the Portuguese came thousands of miles just to make money.

No matter which country you are in, military spending is always the best thing to fight for, so the first thing every governor does after he comes to power is to send additional orders to the blacksmith shop in Foshan and the Bucarao gun factory in Macau.

Don't buy good ones, only expensive ones!
Moreover, the prices in the East are "high", and more money needs to be allocated, otherwise Macau will not be able to hold on.

Therefore, in the list of weapons presented by Simon, in addition to a large number of guns and artillery, there are also a lot of military equipment such as helmets, light plate armor, spears, swords, maces, halberds, and axes.

Coupled with a huge number of muskets, it is completely enough to arm an army of more than 1 people!

However, these equipment are usually either sold or rotted in warehouses.

Another reason why there are so many guns this time is that Hu Sangui and his gang of fake Dutch seized their Daqing market, resulting in so many heavy-duty matchlock guns being backlogged in the warehouse.

In addition, the Macau Governor's Office also stored a large amount of gunpowder and food in the St. Paul Fortress to cope with the long-term siege of the enemy.

Moreover, in order to be able to fight outside St. Paul's Fortress and in the invasion area, the Macau Governor's Mansion even set up a military horse farm, raising more than 100 Lusitano horses.

After reading the list of weapons, Qian Yan had to sigh: The emperor really has the foresight, Macau is really rich!
Seeing that Qian Yan had read the list of weapons, Simon tactfully handed over another list.

Simon smiled and said, "Your Excellency, this is the property list of the Macao Diocese, St. Paul's Cathedral, and St. Paul's Theological Seminary. Please look over it!"

And the gentleman next to him didn't want to talk at all. This is God's wealth, and he was flattered by this damn Portuguese traitor.

He was imagining that it would be great if the Qing Dynasty called, maybe Macau would be returned to him.

As soon as the treasury lists of the Diocese of Macau, St. Paul's Cathedral and St. Paul's Theological Seminary were delivered, Qian Yan's eyes lit up.

"So much money? It has to be the church!" Qian Yan stared at the number above. It was the same in Luzon before. Once the church is taken away, it has more money than the Luzon Governor's Mansion!

Moreover, Macau is the missionary center of the Eastern Catholic Church, with more wealth than the Luzon Church!
The bishops and major clergy of many dioceses, including the Diocese of Tartarism, Diocese of Waguo, Diocese of Koryo, Diocese of Annan, etc., are all under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Macau.

Before taking office, they will go to the St. Paul Seminary in Macau for further study.

Therefore, Macau has naturally become the wealth gathering place of Catholicism in the East!
As for the source of these wealth, it is mainly donated by Eastern believers, especially the diocese of Waguo.

In addition, the church itself will also engage in some financial businesses, such as money lending and remittances.

The Buddhist temples in the Indochina Peninsula and the churches in the West are notoriously rich. The Ming army will take care of them more in the future!
Simon paused, and then said: "Dear General Daming, the church said that if Daming is willing to maintain the status quo of Catholicism in Macau, then the church is willing to donate the wealth stored in Macau to you as a protection fee."

Qian Yan glanced at Simon, "Protection fee? It's just Daming's spoils of war, ha ha!"

"You said so!"

"Simon, take me to check the Bogarau Cannon Factory."

Before departure, Zhu Kezang explained that the Bukalau Cannon Factory in Macau was the core target of this battle, and it was necessary to ensure that the Bucarao Cannon Factory was completely occupied.

Now New Daming has no shortage of coal and iron, nor machinery and equipment, but it lacks the most important engineers and skilled workers in the arsenal.

In the sunshine, Qian Yan and his team arrived at the "Far East Macau Bugarao Cannon Factory" on foot.

The Far East Macau Bucarao Cannon Factory, referred to as the Bucarao Factory, was established in the middle of the 16th century and is located at the end of Luzhuzishi Village on Macau Island.

At the beginning of its establishment, it was supported by a group of Portuguese businessmen in Macau, and it was a joint-stock enterprise.

The original customer of the Bucarao factory was the "Macao Portuguese Municipal Council". The cannons and ammunition it produced were mainly used to strengthen the defense of Macau and prevent the invasion of the "Dutch East India Company", a rising star in the era of great exploration.

The Bugarao Factory once had a glorious history. It made Macao in the Wanli period the most famous casting base in the Far East.

In 1601, 1604, and 1622, the Portuguese of Macao used the red barbarian cannon produced by the Bocarao factory to repel the Dutch invasion three times.

However, the good times did not last long. In 1611, Peter Bugarao, the first director and chief gunsmith of the Bucarao factory, left Macau, and the Bucarao factory stopped technological innovation since then.

In the 17s, a new type of "steel cannon" appeared in Europe. The performance of steel cannons was better than that of iron cannons.

However, this gun factory is in the east, and the market is still huge. It occupies a large area of ​​land, has contiguous workshops and dormitory areas, and has thousands of employees alone.

"Warriors of the Ming Dynasty, please allow me to introduce the Bogarao Cannon Factory to you."

Qian Yan, Simon and the others were about to go in, when the Cantonese sounded from behind them.

Qian Yan looked back and saw a Chinese-Portuguese man with a cross hanging on his neck.

The young mulatto was very handsome.

This person is the current factory director, Luis Bogarao.

After entering the cannon factory, Qian Yan and other Ming troops followed factory director Louis to observe the internal situation of the cannon factory.

Louis is a descendant of the legendary cannon-casting master Peter Bugarao. Apart from being the director of the cannon factory, Louis also runs other businesses.

Louis has a lot of business. He doesn't have the cannon-casting talent of his ancestors, but his business talent is not bad.

Although the artillery factory is getting worse and worse, the business of the Bugarao family in Macau is getting hotter and hotter.

The Bugarao Factory has a large scale and is divided into areas such as iron smelting, copper smelting, gunpowder area, bullet making area, and cannon casting area. But very few.

Inside the factory were hundreds of hired Han workers, mainly from Xiangshan nationality, and a small number of black slaves engaged in simple physical labor.

As for Portugal, there are quite a few, mainly engineers and gunsmiths.

"Mr. Louis, I regret to inform you that for the strategic interests of the Ming Empire, the Bugarao Artillery Factory was nationalized, but because you are half of the Han blood, Ming will properly compensate you."

(End of this chapter)