Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1068
Lu Yang said: "There is really no way out. Master Lu has some properties in Fujian and Zhejiang, so just send them to farm to open up wasteland."

Sun Yuanhua didn't quite believe it - he was from Jiading, and Zhejiang was a place very close at hand.Although northern Zhejiang is a fertile land, it has long been covered with fields and fields, and there is no place to reclaim wasteland; southern Zhejiang is full of mountains, with many people and little land.As for Fujian, although he has never been there, he knows that it is a province with mountains and mountains and very little land. The food produced is not enough for the population of the province, and a large number of people leave the province every year.

Naturally, the refugees collected by Master Lu went elsewhere—just look at the trestle bridge extending into the bay in the distance.Apart from a large number of ships docking, what is the purpose of building such a long trestle bridge?It is clear that the population is being transferred by boat.

Thinking of the boat, Sun Yuanhua's gaze stayed on the boat by the trestle bridge—his eyelids twitched.

This place is not close to the pier, but the weather is clear today, and the boats moored by the pier can be seen clearly against the blue background.

Beside the trestle bridge, apart from some small fishing boats that are common in the local area, there are more than a dozen large boats of more than [-] materials!Sun Yuanhua is well aware of the importance of cross-sea support and mobility for the navy in Liaodong operations, and he worked hard to manage the navy when he was the governor of Denglai.In order to expand the size of the fleet, in addition to trying to build their own, they also sent people to North Korea to buy large naval warships.

Unexpectedly, there is such a huge fleet gathered under his nose!He suppressed his surprise and excitement, wiped his eyes, and carefully looked at the ships on the pier.

Although the details are not clear, it seems that the ship is in good condition, the rigging is almost new, and the flag is flying at the stern-blue and white.There are also protrusions on the deck covered with tarpaulins, which seem to be cannons in shape.

"Are these boats owned by Master Lu?" Sun Yuanhua asked casually.

"That's right." Lu Yang said, "It's all under the control of the owner of Luzhuang. Would you like to take a look, sir?"

Lu Wenyuan doesn't intend to hide his true identity -- after all, the following is to carry out in-depth cooperation.Furthermore, if you don't show a little muscle, the other party may not be able to trust you.

"Very good." Sun Yuanhua nodded.

Sun Yuanhua immediately came down to the trestle under the guidance of Lu Yang. There were 9 naval ships moored at the pier of Qimu Island: 1 901 gunboat and 8 special service boats.Because the appearance of the 901 gunship is very different from that of ordinary ships, the Daishuang is moored in the middle of the two rows of spy boats.Not only the artillery on the deck, but even the chimneys were camouflaged with tarpaulins and fishing nets.

Sun Yuanhua immediately boarded a special agent boat - this is a Cantonese ship type that is rarely seen in the local area.From the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang all the way to Liaodong, because there are many coastal shoals, the mainstream ship type is flat-bottomed sand boat.Among the battleships of the Denglai Navy, there are also more sandships.However, this kind of ship has a shallow draft and slow speed. As a warship, it only enjoys an advantage because the opponent is Houjin, who has almost no navy.

He looked with interest at the modified poop, masts and rigging.I was especially impressed with the light deck.This is impossible in his impression.

After climbing up to the poop, Sun Yuanhua became very interested in the rudder wheel again—the sailboats at this time, both Chinese and foreign, are steered by the rudder stock, and the rudder wheel, a convenient and sensitive device, immediately caught his attention.

He tried to turn the steering wheel, and found it quite light, and he was amazed.

Then, at his request, Lu Yang ordered someone to remove the tarpaulin on the cannon.The 24-pound smoothbore cannon and 68-pound Caron cannon mounted on the exposed turret are exposed.

Sun Yuanhua is an "artillery expert". Although most of his knowledge comes from Western missionaries who are not very professional, after all, he has come into contact with a large number of Western firearms books and objects, and has long-term contact and cooperation with Portuguese soldiers. The ability to discriminate can be said to be second to none in the court.

He could tell at a glance that the cannons in front of him were bigger than the Hongyi cannons bought from Macau that the imperial court regarded as "military weapons".Not to mention the thick and short cannons, even the muzzles of the smaller long cannons are much bigger than the Hongyi cannons.

"Is this cannon firing a 24-jin cannon?" Sun Yuanhua asked.At that time, Chinese translations of Western artillery works did not convert Chinese and Western weights and measures.Although Sun Yuanhua is an expert, he can't understand Portuguese or Italian, so he made mistakes along with it.

Of course Lu Yang knew it. Although his unit of measurement was wrong, he could tell the approximate caliber of the artillery just by looking at it, which is considered very professional.

"It's the 24-jin cannon."

"The cannon over there, how many catties are used?"

"That's a 68-jin cannon."

"68 catties?!" Sun Yuanhua was quite shocked.In his opinion, the Hongyi cannon that fires 12-pound shells is a "giant cannon".And the cannons on this ship are ordinary 24-jin shells, and even 68-jin shells!

"Since it is firing a 24-jin cannonball, it must be filled with a lot of gunpowder." Sun Yuanhua raised a second question, "I see that the cannon body is very thin, and it is not made of copper. I wonder if it can not be exploded?"

The Ming Dynasty introduced Western artillery, but it did not fully introduce standardized artillery training and use. Therefore, there were many problems in the amount of gunpowder loaded, the control of shooting frequency, and the forced cooling of the gun body. Explosion accidents happen from time to time.

In order to ensure the safety of the artillery, the thickness of the barrel of the artillery is only thickened when casting the cannon.The result is that the cast artillery is very heavy.This trend developed to the end. During the Opium War, cannons weighing several thousand catties simply appeared, and the shells fired were only equivalent to European 12-pound or even 9-pound, 6-pound shells.

In contrast, Lingao's smoothbore guns are all manufactured by integral casting, heat treatment, hammer forging and drilling. The raw materials and processing methods used are hundreds of years ahead, and the quality of the cannons produced is far better than Traditional cast artillery.

"It's not a problem." Lu Yang smiled slightly, "Don't talk about a 68-jin cannon, even a cannon with a hundred-jin cannon is fine."

"A cannon that weighs more than a hundred catties!" Sun Yuanhua repeated in amazement—in his opinion, a cannon that weighed 68 catties was scary enough, let alone a cannon that weighed a hundred catties!

He looked at the artillery in front of him again in disbelief. The smooth muzzle and shiny barrel all gave him a strong visual impact.The whole cannon gave him the impression that it was "exquisite".

He cast his eyes on the gun mount under the gun barrel. It was not a Western-style four-wheeled wooden gun cart that he personally supervised, but it was mounted on an exquisite iron gun mount. There were many iron rods, wheels and some The incomprehensible copper and iron pieces seem familiar—similar to the objects in the illustrations of the Far West Strange Artifacts, but not completely similar.

I don't know what is the use of this pile of objects under the barrel of the cannon?
As if to answer his doubts, Lu Yang opened the lock on the cannon body and gently pushed the cannon.

The heavy cannon barrel turned, and it was pushed by a young man who didn't look strong, and it could be seen that he didn't exert all his strength.

Sun Yuanhua had stayed in Liaodong before, and he was a person who experienced actual combat. Of course, he knew the significance of such an easy movement of the muzzle direction for actual combat.And this problem is that neither the Franz robot nor the missionaries can solve it!

Then Lu Yang quickly turned the handwheel again, and the barrel of the gun was gradually raised. Sun Yuanhua was already stunned - the Portuguese adjusted the elevation angle of the gun muzzle by beating a wedge-shaped piece of wood with a hammer. Not only was the adjustment speed very slow, but also slightly If you apply uneven force, you will overdo it.

People say that there are strange weapons in the West, but they are not owned by China.However, the various "magic weapons" on this ship far surpassed those of the West.

When things were like this, his original vague guess had come to a conclusion.Master Lu is a "kun thief"!
Who else in the world could make such an exquisite and wonderful instrument except the Kun thief?What happened in Guangdong has more or less reached Sun Yuanhua's ears-especially he has frequent correspondence with the Jesuits in Macau, and employs Portuguese to serve in the army, so the information he has about the Senate is better than that of the court. The general officials in China are much more detailed.He knows all the novelties of the "big iron boat", "iron clipper", "cannon" and "fast gun" of the Kun thief.

Although the ship in front of me is a Guangzhou ship, the cannon is an Australian product!Master Lu and the young man in front of him are all Australians, and this cottage on Qimu Island is also an out-and-out "den of thieves"!
They built a stockade here, and took great pains to accommodate the refugees. It is obvious that they must have been transferred to Hainan Island.Hainan Island is located in the southern border with a sparse population.The Portuguese said that the thieves had been trying to attract immigrants from the mainland.The thieves on Qimu Island must have the same purpose!
Sun Yuanhua's feelings towards the "Kun Thieves" are nothing more than: the other party is nothing more than a group of businessmen who want to do business to make money, as long as Daming does not hinder their making a fortune, they will not harm Daming either.It is much better than the vicious Tartars who are capable of robbing and killing.

On weekdays, regardless of whether people come from Portugal or Guangdong, it is said that Australians have a good impression of them: they are said to be good at work and business, and they are trustworthy, honest and reliable in doing business.Not to mention that the church praised the "Australians" like an angel descending.

Although he already knew it in his heart, Sun Yuanhua was not in a hurry to tell the truth, sometimes it was better to deliberately pretend to be confused.Furthermore, I can't see that they have any malice towards themselves.

These people have taken great pains to save themselves from the rebels, and they must have a plan.He might as well just sit on the sidelines and see what they want to do.Anyway, he, Sun Yuanhua, has nothing left.

(End of this chapter)