Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 423 Your Majesty, you are so confused. If you reduce the price like this, the people may not benefit, and the court may not benefit either.

Lantau Island, the highest peak.

The Dutch lookout saw the fleet stretching for miles on the sea in the distance from a distance. He first fired a warning shot and then used flag signals to notify his own people.

An officer on duty rushed into the room:
"General, a large number of ships appeared in the southeast."

Rand rushed out of the house with his sword and boots in hand and boarded the warship.

The Dutch sailors frantically raised the sails and weighed the anchor.

inside the cabin,

The gunners pried open powder barrels to distribute ammunition and pushed the guns out of the portholes.

The tricolor flag on the top of the mountain has been lowered, and the lookout stationed at the highest point is repeating flag signals.

Rand observed the flag signals through the telescope and said:

"The Tatar fleet came with more than 100 ships, at least half of which were civilian ships. There were 12 large old-fashioned sailing ships, without formation or alert."

……

The sailors all looked at Rand.

He instantly thought of a naval predecessor from his country a hundred years ago - Michel de Ruyter.

With his superb navigation skills and admirable courage, Ruiter defeated the Saxon main fleet, allowing the Netherlands to end the Third Anglo-Dutch War with dignity and thus gain peace for hundreds of years.

Until today~
Rand stood on the bow and pointed southeast:
"I will lead you to defeat the Tatars' fleet at their doorstep! We will return to Amsterdam like heroes and receive the cheers of the people."

"Attack! Attack!!"

……

The Guangdong navy returned triumphantly from Chaozhou Prefecture with a full load.

The queue is scattered~
Everyone was immersed in the joy of returning home, unaware that a disaster was about to happen.

Even the lookout on top of the mast secretly drank soju.

Squatting in the fog, putting my head into my hat to keep warm.

suddenly,

Someone on the foredeck yelled:
"There's an enemy ship!"

Bang the gong desperately to remind everyone.

Everyone in the Qing fleet looked to the front right in horror - four tall masts appeared in the blind spot of Lantau Island.

……

The distance is too close.

Guan Daguan's back was covered with cold sweat, and he asked loudly:

"Is it Wu Zetian's navy? Did you see the flag?"

"Quick, prepare for battle, adjust the formation, and let the big ship take the lead."

Enemies at sea,

Adjusting the formation suddenly is a difficult task.

It is a test of the sailors' quality and the commander's understanding of the performance of his warships and the quality of his sailors.

Of course, there is also God's will~
The wind direction and ocean current of the day will randomly select one side to inject assistance.

Ah, the Navy!

……

From the moment the mast was discovered, the distance between the two sides was less than 5 nautical miles.

For naval warfare,

The distance was too close and it was too hasty, leaving no time to prepare.

The Guangdong Navy fleet was in extreme chaos during the adjustment process, with small boats blocking large ships and large ships colliding with small boats.

Guan Daguan's forehead was covered with sweat and he stretched his neck nervously.

He finally saw the entire enemy ship.

There were four large gunboats, one of which had a red, white and blue flag flying at the stern.

Frank!
"Brothers, you are a small country, and we, the great Qing, are not afraid of you."

"Hang up the admiral's banner. My ship will be in the front."

The eye-catching admiral's flag was raised on the mast.

On the one hand, it stabilized the morale of the troops. On the other hand, it also became the target of concentrated fire.

……

Rand saw this eye-catching gold-embroidered banner through the telescope.

Immediately shout:

"I decided to use two level 2 ships to sink the Tatar's flagship first."

"Tell the other two level 2 fast ships to deal with those small boats and keep their distance. The Tatars like to use fire attacks~"

The Sea Coachman, truly worthy of the name.

The skill of maneuvering a sailboat is superb, and even the Saxons could not have done better.

The Dutch like to use "staysails".

The rigging sail is different from the cross sail, which is the sail connecting different masts. It is a kind of thing that only experts like to use.

The boat looked out of sorts, with the sails overhead in disarray.

But it can make the huge warship like a petrel, skillfully utilizing all wind power.

however,
For the Dutch, their skill points are limited to "shipping" and "business".

In addition to these two points, the Saxons also clicked on "Industrialization", "Shipborne Guns" and "Stirring Sticks".

……

Rand walked around the deck, making sure everyone was where they were supposed to be.

suddenly,

He saw the national flag at the tail, which was hung at a 90-degree angle, which made people want to raise their hands.
I couldn't help but adjust it and rotated the flag 90 degrees.

Frank became the Netherlands~
……

A fourth-class cruiser from the late 18th century with a displacement of about 1000 tons, normally had a crew of 350 and 50 guns.

Generally serves as the flagship of overseas squadrons.

For the Qing army, the fourth-level ships were a crushing force.

Guan Daguan's ship had 20 guns, and was known for its sturdy hull and powerful guns.

When cruising the oceans, pirates all flee at the sight of them.

At this moment, he was counting the number of gun portholes on the enemy ship through a telescope.

“1、2、3……11、12”

"Double gun deck?"

thump,
The brass telescope fell to the deck and the lens shattered into pieces.

"Sir~"

The bodyguard quickly picked it up and felt so distressed that he wanted to cry.

This thing is very expensive. It costs 80 taels of silver to buy a Western-style naval model from foreign merchants in Haojingao.

……

Guan Daguan calmed down,
He suspected that the other party had learned Sun Tzu's Art of War.

Maybe the portholes were fake, just painted black, or maybe it was just wood painted black to pretend to be cannons.

Correct!
It must be like this.

160 against 4, a huge advantage.

"Brothers, fight well. If you sink a large foreign ship, you will be rewarded with 1 taels of silver. If you sink a small foreign ship, you will be rewarded with 2000 taels of silver."

The Qing army's maritime command system was backward, with flag signals and gongs and drums.
It took a long time for this military order to reach all ships.

at this time,

The Dutch's two level 2 cruisers were ready for bombardment.

The gunners half-crouched beside the gun, waiting for the gunner's order.

……

Rand went down from the deck to the gun deck and looked through the porthole:
"The Tatar navy's formation is like a big pancake. All the warships are crowded together in a mess. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Captain, let's begin."

The gunner put down the brass artillery quadrant in his hand, and after confirming through the porthole that there were several Qing warships on the artillery path, he loudly announced a series of shooting parameters.

At this time, the Qing army began to slowly level the ship.

After 10 breaths,

Flames burst out from both gun decks of the Dutch.

……

The waves were rising and falling, and the warship was pitching up and down all the time.

The ship-borne guns hit the enemy ships randomly.

but,

If there are multiple enemy ships in the path of the cannonball, the probability of hitting the target is greatly increased.

A solid bullet that was obviously fired too high flew over the Qing flagship and landed on a small boat 1 feet behind. The small crab boat loaded with spoils instantly broke into two pieces.

All the boat people on board fell into the water, and the sea water turned deep red.

The Qing army flagship at the front was hit by two shells, one hit the deck and one hit the side.

The loss is not great, but the psychological pressure is great.

……

"fire."

The Qing army gunners seemed to have been pardoned and hurriedly lit the fuse, filling the cabin with smoke.

There was no scientific estimation, no visual aiming.

Most of the Qing army gunners believed that artillery could not be aimed, so they just had to fire. As for where the shells landed, it was neither their business nor their superiors' business.

Therefore, there is a saying that people buy incense, candles and pig heads to worship the cannon god before going into battle.

Advanced and backward are relative.

If time goes forward 300 years,
This practice of the Qing navy gunners was also very advanced.

……

The Dutchman looked at the beautiful splashes rising from the sea nearby, which was quite far away.

The tension dropped significantly.

Rand was relieved and smiled:
"Gentlemen, we have encountered a scout group. Come on and bravely sink the enemy flagship." Before the decisive battle,
The Dutch lowered most of the sails from the mast, leaving only the topsails.

This is because once the naval battle begins, speed is not very important.

The best way is to reduce the number of deck sailors, let them go down to the cabin to serve the cannons, and fire more shots at the enemy.

……

The Guangdong Navy's six main warships faced off against the Netherlands' two level 6 cruisers.

The distance between the two sides gradually narrowed to half a nautical mile.

For the navy at that time, less than half a nautical mile was the optimal shooting distance.

The sound of artillery is deafening~
Both sides were firing, reloading, and firing again frantically.

Guan Daguan, wearing the admiral's official robe, sat on the deck with an imposing manner, like Guan Erye.

It seems reckless, but it actually calms people's hearts.

"General, hide."

"Humph, where can you hide? Our great Qing is a great country. There are rebels causing chaos inside and foreign soldiers burning and killing outside. Although I am a military man, I also know how to be loyal to my country."

The voice just fell,

A chain bullet hit the rear mast.

The broken mast and sail fell into the sea.

The Dutch on the opposite side burst into wild shouts.

They began to adjust their direction and prepared to go around the tail of the Qing flagship and blow off the rudder.

……

A main battleship of the Guangdong Navy, chasing the silk ship, the navy soldiers are making the final mobilization.

A lieutenant general took off his official robe and rolled his long braid around his neck.

"Brothers, our guns are inferior to those of the barbarians. Let's get close to them and engage in hand-to-hand combat. All the silver will be yours."

4 silver chests.

The lieutenant general split them one by one, and the white silver ingots rolled all over the deck.

This kind of sea silver party is more suitable for my physique as a Qing Dynasty warrior~
Morale soared, everyone rolled up their long braids, held long swords and axes, and stared at a Dutch-class VI ship 2 nautical miles away.

After the initial panic, the Tanka Camp
He suddenly realized what was going on and rushed forward to board the boat.

Fast crab boat, go ahead.

Ride the wind and waves
……

Seeing the large number of ships surrounding them from both sides, the two Dutch level 6 fast ships immediately adjusted their direction, took advantage of the wind and rushed straight to the gap in the Qing army in the southeast direction, at a speed like a galloping horse.

At the same time, the gunners switched to grapeshot and fired.
The unarmored Qing army units gathered on the deck suffered heavy casualties.

After this happened several times, the morale of the Qing army plummeted.

Silver Party Incentives are no longer effective~
……

The admiral's ship was hit by at least 16 shells and was covered in blood and black smoke.

The overturned artillery vehicles and corpses piled up together looked like the Asura Hell.

The frequency of artillery fire was decreasing.

The tail rudder was blown to pieces, and the direction was completely out of control, so it could only drift with the current.

"General, please run away."

Guan Daguan covered his injured arm with a sad expression:

"My Great Qing has its national laws, my Guangdong Navy has its military laws, and I, Guan, also have my dignity."

Speaking of which,

His eyes were bloodshot and his hair and beard were standing on end.

He pushed aside the shields of his personal guards, rushed to the side of the ship, and roared at the Dutch warship 20 feet away:

"Come on, Fayi."

"Do you dare to fight with me?"

……

boom,
A lead bullet hit Guan Daguan's chest, and the sword in his hand fell to the ground.

The man staggered and fell into the sea.

"Military~"

The bodyguards rushed to the side of the ship and called out sadly.

In the crow's nest on top of the main mast of the Dutch warship, a gunner shouted excitedly:
"Why, I shot the Tatar general."

The sailors below raised their heads and waved, indicating that they were witnesses.

The gunner squatted in the crow's nest, looking forward to the end of the battle and how much Dutch guilder reward he would get.

Such a way to die,

Neither Guan Daguan nor Nelson could have thought of it!
……

Half an hour later,
There are corpses floating in the waters of Lantau Island and shipwrecks everywhere.

The Dutch annihilated the main force of the Guangdong Navy at the cost of 66 deaths, 2 ships slightly damaged, and 13 guns scrapped.
Only 20 or so fast crab boats escaped.
Not many of those who fell into the water survived. Most of the naval soldiers drowned, but many of the boat people survived.

All they needed was a piece of plank to drift with the current until they were pushed ashore by the sea.

Strong vitality~
after all,

There is a long coastline nearby and countless unknown islands.

……

A rare sunny day in winter.

On the main peak of Dieshitang Mountain, on Haojingao Island, dozens of miles away.

Governor Franco held up a telescope and looked towards the east. He could only see the outline of Lantau Island and black smoke drifting everywhere.

"Oh my God, there is a real fight between the Tartar navy and the Dutch."

"Governor, who do you want to win?"

"From the perspective of Macau's future, I hope the Dutch win, but not by too much. It would be best if both sides lose."

"The Dutch envoy wants us to provide food, gunpowder, vegetables and fruits. How do you think we should respond?"

"It depends on the war situation. We French people love peace by nature and wish for world peace."

Everyone was so excited that they almost laughed out loud.

You guys are good at fighting, it's better to have a pair of dog brains. Only then can everyone make money in the chaos~
Once the war breaks out, the original order will definitely collapse, the only difference is the degree of collapse.

By the time,
The Guangdong maritime ban is just a dead letter.

……

The whole of Southeast Asia is paying attention to the situation in Guangdong.

The powerful and rising Wu State entered the vision of various forces in Southeast Asia for the first time.

Some people wait and see, while others take the initiative to contact.

Some people were standing still and jumping back and forth.

However, Jinshanwei's maritime trade has grown significantly.

Goods such as spices, lead, tin, silver, wool, cotton, clocks and watches flowed in, while tea, silk and porcelain flowed out.

Many merchant ships that come to do business do not fly the national flag, and the sailors have ugly and fierce faces.

Can't rule out the possibility of pirates.
but,

The State of Wu adhered to the principle that "two ingots of gold make no moral distinction" and accepted all offers.

Do business well and follow the rules.

No matter which country you are from or which sect you belong to, we don’t ask.

If you want to find something,
The Jinshanwei Fort and surrounding garrisons are on standby to suppress the situation at any time.

Okay,

People who engage in maritime trade these days are well aware of the truth that "he who knows the current affairs is a hero" and do not have the bad habit of protesting at the slightest disagreement.

……

Suzhou Prefecture,
As soon as the smoke from the firecrackers dissipated, the accumulated snow had no time to melt before it was covered by new snow.

The former four great salt merchants of Yangzhou, now the four great idle merchants of Wu State, finally got the opportunity to meet the emperor.

Li Yu sat upright on the

The four people stood respectfully at the foot of the hall.

After some formalities, we got down to business.

"I heard that Mr. Jiang invested in a brick factory."

"Your Majesty, this is indeed the case."

"What about the other three business owners? Don't they have any profitable businesses?"

The three bowed their heads respectfully:
"We have been engaged in the salt industry for generations, and we know nothing about other industries."

Li Yu smiled and made his attitude clear.

"The salt of our Wu Kingdom must be government-run, and it must be operated at a low price, leaving no room for operation."

The four people looked up in surprise.
There is disbelief in his eyes~
Jiang Chun asked softly:

"I don't understand. Throughout the dynasties, the salt industry has been the lifeline of the imperial court's finances. Your Majesty is so caring for the people, but if the imperial court needs money in the future~"

……

Li Yu turned his head and looked at the guard next to him:
"Bring me a sample."

"Yes."

The guard brought a salt brick on a tray. It weighed one pound and was square in shape. It was wrapped in a layer of rough earthenware paper.

After unpacking, some large salt grains scattered.

However, the main body of the salt brick did not collapse, indicating that it was pressed before packaging.

Salt, is it packaged and sold like this?

The rice merchant saw the back of the package, in the middle of which was a large, benevolent-looking head in military uniform (Your Majesty).
There is another line of text below:

"The Emperor Wu has given me a price of 6 coins out of my kindness. I wish the world will be peaceful and everyone can eat salty food."

……

The four business executives were stunned for a moment, as if struck by lightning.

Are ordinary people worthy of such low prices?
Your Majesty, you are confused.

Mr. Huang knelt down, as if he had lost his parents, and spoke earnestly:
"Your Majesty, if the price is so low, the people may not benefit, and the court may not benefit either."

……

(End of this chapter)