Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 1069
Finally, Sun Yuanhua boarded the 901 gunboat "Daishuang".

Although the hull of the Daishuang is not much larger than the largest spy boat, the ship shape, equipment, and spy boats are completely different from Chinese civilian ships, especially the sails——901 does not use the improved Chinese and Western spy boats. Mixed sail, but Barquentine style.Sun Yuanhua looked at it for a long time, and felt that the shape and sailing of this ship were somewhat similar to the European-style sailboats the missionaries had shown him, but it looked lighter and more beautiful than the European-style sailboats.

Although Sun Yuanhua didn't know the saying "A plane with superior performance must be good-looking", he instinctively felt that the performance of Australian ships is much superior to that of European ships.

What left the deepest impression on him was the 130mm Glenshell "cannon" on the Daishuang. When the canvas was uncovered and the bottle-shaped, shiny cannon was exposed to his eyes, Sun Yuanhua Suddenly realized that all the "military weapons" I had seen before seemed so pale and powerless.

Although the 68-pound Caron cannon gave him a great shock, he also knew from his gunnery skills that although the shells fired by the shorter barrel could be large, the range would not be too far.

And the "big cannon" in front of him not only has a large caliber, but also has a long barrel, taking into account both power and range. What surprised him even more is that the heavy cannon can be turned easily without manpower, Lu Yang With an order, several sailors ran up to the gun positions at the same time and took their positions. Someone turned the handwheel on the brass pole, and there was a strange low humming sound from the deck below the cannon, and then the heavy gun barrel began to rotate.

Suddenly, a thick white gas sprayed out from under the deck and from the gun mounts, which startled Sun Yuanhua.A gust of sea breeze blew by, and the water vapor dissipated quickly. He could clearly see the cannon turning left and right and pitching freely under the control of several sailors.As nimble as a chopstick.

This one battleship surpassed the ten division ships of the Navy!Sun Yuanhua thought to himself, no wonder the Australians can cross the sea!

"How can such a giant cannon be turned freely without manpower?" he asked.

"This is the power of water and fire." Lu Yang briefly explained the principle of the steam engine. He used the explanation in "[-] whys." Explain the power of steam.

Sun Yuanhua listened very seriously. The principle of the steam engine is actually very simple, but it is not a simple matter to convert this principle into usable power.So he didn't ask how the power of steam propels the cannon - it must be a secret technique of the Australians, and they will never show it to others easily.

"What is this?" Sun Yuanhua came to the huge chimney in the middle of the hull.The chimneys were wrapped in fishing nets and tarpaulins.

"chimney."

"Chimney?" Sun Yuanhua wondered, "Such a big chimney?"

There is a stove on any large ship, but I have never heard of a stove so large that a chimney should be installed.

"Exactly." Lu Yang said, "Since the power of water and fire is used, this chimney is necessary."

"So, there is a huge furnace under this deck?"

"Mr. guessed right. It is a huge stove and a pot of water."

This aroused Sun Yuanhua's strong curiosity: he couldn't figure out how to build a huge stove and put a pot of water in such a rickety environment on board.Wouldn't the water overflow the boat as soon as it sailed?

While wondering, I saw a small boat sailing in the bay, emitting black smoke and white gas.

There is a large piece of floating ice in Longkou Bay, and the Dafa boat is transporting ice-breaking laborers to the ice surface for artificial ice-breaking to maintain the smooth flow of the channel.

Sun Yuanhua suddenly noticed that this small boat sailing in the bay had no sails or oars, and he couldn't help being very surprised—he had heard that Australian ships could sail without sails and oars, and now seeing is believing.Looking at the continuous black smoke, water vapor and the chimneys on the boat, he suddenly understood, and asked:
"This ship moves freely on the sea, maybe it also uses the power of water and fire that Mr. Lu said?"

"Sir is right." Lu Yang secretly admired him.

"Although this ship has sails, can it sail without sails?"

"Yes." Lu Yang said, "The power of water and fire can propel cannons, ships, and many other things."

Sun Yuanhua sighed, "It's really a skill of gods and ghosts!"

"Sir, isn't the best at studying things?" Lu Yang said, "The way of water and fire is also the study of studying things."

On the way back to the village. "Use troops to help suppress!" This word jumped into Sun Yuanhua's heart.

The other party showed his warship and cannon openly, and he naturally understood that this was intentionally hinting at him.

After he was captured in Dengzhou, he was already desperate for his future--according to the emperor's usual style of conduct: even if Kong Youde remembered his old feelings and released him, even if he returned to the court with the help of his teacher and old Zhou Ge, he might not be able to return. Doomed.

Originally, he was ready to die, but now he was rescued again: Dengzhou fell for only two or three days, and neither the imperial court nor the local government would receive definite news...

People in desperate situations will have a strong desire to survive as long as they have a chance.Sun Yuanhua immediately realized that a great opportunity was appearing in front of his eyes.

If he can lead his own troops to defeat Kong Youde and regain Dengzhou, even if the position of governor cannot be kept, at least there is a possibility of recovery in the future.

As for the other party being a "kun thief", this is something to worry about.However, it seems that the other party doesn't want to reveal their true identity, otherwise they wouldn't have to spend so much trouble to set up a Zhuangzi here to act.

Back in the village, Jin Lige invited him to attend the morning mass.The mass was held in a simple shed on the island, and the participants were mainly new converts among the refugees. Because Lu Wenyuan was already a Catholic, he had to go to church with him.

After the worship service, Sun Yuanhua and Jin Lige had another conversation.Jin Lige expressed concern about his current state, saying that his failure in Dengzhou would not only endanger him, but also be a huge blow to the spread of the entire Holy Church in China.

Of course, Sun Yuanhua understood what the church meant. The mission of the Jesuits in China relied heavily on the upper class scholar-bureaucrats.But now there are not many scholar-bureaucrat Christians who can be called "high officials".His mentor, Xu Guangqi, is in his dying years, and he is physically and mentally exhausted because of his academic qualifications. He is the last hope of the missionaries.

Then, Jin Lige talked about the piety of the Australians to the church, and how the church has gained unprecedented gains in Hainan with the support of the Australians. He pointed out with great regret: If the leader of the Australians is a Christian, the Pope will definitely Canonized for him.

Under the guidance of the Jesuit priests, Sun Yuan already had the heart of "borrowing teachers to help suppress".

He still has a lot to figure out, though.The first is how many soldiers the Australians can send.Sun Yuanhua knew that Dengzhou and Liaodong faced each other across the sea, and the local area was barren and difficult. After Kong Youde occupied Dengzhou, he would have food, wages and weapons.

Among these tens of thousands of people, most of them are trying to make a living by making a living, but there are many local prostitutes and Dongjiang old people among them.

Although these soldiers fought against the Tartars with fewer victories and more defeats, they were "strong soldiers" in the Ming army.In particular, Li Jiuzheng, Kong Youde and others are all Liaodong veterans, and they have received training in Western firearms in Dengzhou. If they really want to fight, if the imperial court does not draw elite frontier soldiers from the Shanhaiguan area to defend the capital, it will only rely on a temporary army Not necessarily their opponents.

In particular, the large amount of firearms and gunpowder stored in Dengzhou City added to their combat power.Furthermore, there are warships in the water city.This is what Sun Yuanhua is particularly worried about.

All naval warships fell into the hands of the rebels, which meant that they had the ability to maneuver freely on the sea.The Dongjiang army in Lushun and the Liaodong Islands may echo the rebels in Dengzhou by sea at any time.

At that time, the momentum of the rebel army will grow like a snowball, and if the rebel army can't support it, they may throw themselves into the sea... The defense line of Denglai, which the imperial court has painstakingly managed for more than ten years, will collapse.

Faced with such a powerful enemy, Sun Yuanhua certainly couldn't count on his small number of troops in Laizhou and Qingzhou to suppress him—even with the troops sent by Shandong governor Yu Dacheng, he had no chance of winning.

Sun Yuanhua did not expect the imperial court to send reinforcements anytime soon.The imperial court's military strength in the north is tight, and it will take three or four months to send troops to attack, even if the court's proposal is passed immediately.

His plan is to stick to Laizhou and Qingzhou to prevent the rebellion from spreading.Invite the Australian navy to help the battle at sea, and the rebels will not be able to link up with the old Dongjiang people in Liaodong.

The old people from Dongjiang couldn't cross the sea to reinforce Kong Youde, and they couldn't take Laizhou and Qingzhou, so the rebels could only stay in Dengzhou. The food in Dengzhou could last for about half a year. Whether it is to appease or the court mobilizes a large army to encircle and suppress, it can get twice the result with half the effort.

Sun Yuanhua didn't have much hope for the Australian army - he only saw Xiangyong on the island.Even if there are some brave Australian soldiers, there are no more than 300 at best. Even with the legendary excellent firearms, after all, the number is too small to even put the teeth of the rebels.

In contrast, he has much confidence in the Australian navy-the warships shown to him by the Australians can easily block Dengzhou.Neither the Dongjiang navy nor the Dengzhou navy has any warships that can fight against them.If you really want to start a war, it is really the so-called destruction.

However, it is not easy to make this determination-after all, the Australians are "thieves" who have seen battles with the imperial army. Good intentions, this cannot but make him suspicious.

(End of this chapter)