Dragon Sea Empire

The tenth day since the Spanish battleship Maria was trapped at the port of Taiwan.

The Chinese United Company sank four sailing ships around the Maria.At all costs, the possible escape channel of the Maria was blocked.Two 24-pound bronze cannons were added to the Dayuan Harbor Fort two miles away.The muzzle was aimed at the Maria.Most of the guards around Pier C were replaced by young student soldiers who had just entered the military academy.Although they now have high fighting spirit and vigorous blood.But it will inevitably look immature.Military discipline is lax.Plus the jagged knives and guns and old matchlock guns in their hands.The Spaniards didn't care much about them.It's just that I am very afraid of the cannons of the Dayuan Fort.

but.Ever since the negotiation with Li Lihua collapsed.The Chinese company began to provide limited food and drinking water to the Spaniards.

this day.Li Lihua will go to Macau on behalf of Zhonghua Company.Sign a specific business agreement with the Portuguese City Hall of Macau.Discuss the content with the municipal councilors who came to Taiwan for negotiations in the early stage.Make it clear in a written agreement.

Before Li Lihua boarded the boat.Asked Yin Feng who came to see him off, "What do you plan to do with these Spaniards?"

Only Yin Feng came to see him off.Everyone else avoided it with various excuses.Yin Feng didn't think there would be any danger for Li Lihua's trip.Only let Chen Zhongji escort Li Lihua to Macau; at the same time.Lin Xiao also sent several people.After preparing to reopen the Macau office of China United Corporation.Assign these people as supervisors; henceforth.This place in Macau will be the company's most important intelligence work base.Because only in Macau.Only then can we easily obtain information about the Spaniards in Luzon.

Facing this beautiful woman who bears the title of "Madame".Yin Feng is always a little guilty.certainly.Yin Feng went home.When I saw my wife in the house.Also very guilty.

He turned his eyes away from Li Lihua's pretty face.Watching the Spanish ships on the dock in the distance.With a cold smile: "No way. It can only be wasted. It is absolutely impossible for them to agree to our request. We also feel that we cannot agree to their conditions. There is no need to talk to them. Our purpose of trapping them is just to kill them morale. And confuse them with falsehoods. Make them let their guard down."

He turned around.Ai Aidi stuttered a bit during the period: "I'm going to Macau this time. You, you. That. Be careful. This is an extraordinary period. It can only be. That..."

Li Lihua giggled.Give him a Western courtesy.Not saying a word.He got on the boat with a smile on his face.

Yin Feng sighed.Watching the merchant ship that Li Lihua was on left the pier.this season.The southeast monsoon will soon prevail over the seas of East Asia.It is estimated that Li Lihua will not be able to return to Taiwan until half a year later.At least within half a year.Yin Feng didn't have to face Li Lihua in embarrassment anymore.

aboard the Maria.Senior officers, sailors, and soldiers were on the verge of mental and physical breakdown.Although the Chinese company supplies food and water.But each time the amount provided is only enough for half of the people on the Maria.After the average distribution.Most sailors and soldiers are hungry all day long.The most unbearable thing is that the land is so close.But you can't set foot on the beach.More than a hundred people were trapped on the ship with a small space.Everyone's emotions are a little out of control.And there are already signs of disease spreading.

Don Fernando was also unable to maintain his usual aristocratic style.The collar was torn off.He is holding a fan at the bow.Fan vigorously on one side.While watching the coastline with binoculars.Father Catalina still wrapped himself in the black robe.Sweating profusely, he walked over from the bottom cabin.

"Captain Andre is very ill. Let's make a request to the biological man... the Chinese." The priest said anxiously.

"What request." Fernando was a little impatient now.

"Demand for treatment. We need medicines and doctors: a quarter of the people on board are sick."

Fernando let out a long breath.He punched the side of the boat with a fist: "God. Isn't this just the way to make the conspiracy of these Chinese people succeed. Don't they just want us to beg them."

"I think the only important thing we have to do now is to get out of here." The priest maintained a calm attitude: "No matter what we promised. When we return to Manila, we can deny it; because promises of this nature It was not a fair negotiation. It was a false promise that was forced to make."

now.Yin Feng is inspecting the first movable type printing workshop owned by Zhonghua United Company.

This movable type printing house.It is the product of Yin Feng's joint venture with Zhang's Letterpress Bookstore in Nanjing in his own name.but.The production technology of this movable type printing workshop.It was hosted by Yin Feng himself.It was jointly researched by Portuguese teachers of technical schools and Chinese students.

Early typographic printing used clay type.Clay type inspired wooden type.Wooden movable type inspired metal movable type such as tin, lead, and copper.During the Hongzhi and Zhengde years of the Ming Dynasty.In the economically prosperous Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas.Copper movable type gradually appeared and became popular.Among them, the Huajia and Anjia in Wuxi are the most famous.The Sun family in Suzhou and the Zhang family in Nanjing, etc.There are many books printed and sold by them with copper movable type.Ye Dehui, a man of the Ming Dynasty, once pointed out in the book "Shu Lin Qing Hua": "The letterpress books in the Ming Dynasty. The ones that came out of Xishan's country. The most widely circulated."However.Copper movable type has not been promoted and popularized after all.The main reason is probably that copper is the main raw material for official coinage.Its production, transportation and use are under the control of the government.Therefore, the copper movable type had to die young.Books printed with movable copper type are few and far between.Most of them are also sealed in the palace and government.Basically invisible in the world.

certainly.Copper movable type printing itself also has big problems.People in the Yuan and Ming dynasties also developed tin movable type and lead movable type.Tried it out for a while.It is estimated that the effect is not ideal.Or there are still technical difficulties that cannot be overcome for a while.Therefore, it has not been handed down.Give up halfway.Yin Feng remembered.It is recorded in books related to the history of technology; after the people of the Ming Dynasty tried to print with movable lead type.On the contrary, I feel that the quality of printing with movable lead type is not as good as that of handwriting; the melting point of movable type of tin is low.Hard enough.If it is printed too much, it will be easily damaged.When printing with metal movable type.Requires fine ink.Most of the printed matter in ancient China used ink.It cannot be firmly attached to metal materials.Cause printing to fail.Writing is illegible and illegible.

thus.Although metal movable type printing has already appeared in China.But in the Ming Dynasty, it gradually declined.Finally, it was caught up by Germany's Gutenberg movable type printing.

Clay movable type and metal movable type have their own defects and weaknesses of one kind or another.And had to give way to wooden movable type.Because our country mainly uses smoke ink.No ink.This is one reason why woodblock printing was still used until the Qing Dynasty.certainly.Wooden movable type also has its weaknesses: if you use wooden movable type to print a book.About 200 copies were printed.The strokes of the typeface are due to absorbing the moisture in the smoke ink.Swelling and blurring.But the weakness of wooden type is much less than that of clay type and metal type.It should be pointed out that: even wooden movable type.No matter in the Ming Dynasty.It was still in the Qing Dynasty after the Ming Dynasty.Its status and weight have never surpassed woodblock printing.Woodblock printing eventually withdrew from the printing industry in China.Had to wait until the eve of the demise of the Qing Dynasty.

Yin Feng is determined not to let China's printing technology fall behind.So the technical school students who encouraged themselves came up with the ink.Officially overcome the first difficulty of movable type printing.Gutenberg boiled linseed oil.Cool until dark black.Stir turpentine obtained by distilling a small amount of pine resin with carbon black.After a few months, it becomes the ink.As a result of obtaining the model drawing of Gutenberg's printing press from the Portuguese in Macau.therefore.Yin Feng's men spent a lot of time in the process of developing the ink; fortunately, they were on the island of Taiwan.There is no shortage of raw materials such as flax and pine.So it took half a year to finally come up with the ink.the rest.The people of the Zhang family in Nanjing quickly based on their own workshop experience.Explored the entire process of ink plus metal movable type printing technology.

"In addition to the printing company "Business Daily", we have already started printing books." Workshop Advocate Jing Yue enthusiastically introduced the situation of the printing workshop to Yin Feng: "We have printed the full version of "The Peony Pavilion". My boss's "Journey to East and West" has been reprinted."

Yin Feng nodded.I thought: Although it is more than a hundred years later than Gutenberg.Although it refers to Gutenberg's printing press prototype.But after all, this is the metal movable type printing technology invented by the Chinese themselves.It's kind of like "filling in the blanks".

"Yin Dadong's family is thoughtful and ingenious. The structure of this printing machine is really convenient. Although our Zhang family has been engaged in movable type printing for a hundred years, we have always used the printing method of woodblock printing. I just didn't expect to use this type of printing How to print it."

This kind of praise for the Zhang family.Yin Feng blushed somewhat.Well deserved: Gutenberg exploited the principles of the vertical presses used in Europe to press grapes or wet paper.Rebuilt the world's first metal movable type printing machine.Yin Feng just copied his design principles.Then it was independently manufactured by those technical school students.He dared not claim the credit for inventing the printing press.Quickly said: "Where is it? I just borrowed the principle of the Western printing press. Those young students made it."

Zhang Jingyue didn't notice Yin Feng's embarrassment at all.Still enthusiastically said: "The Dadong family is really humble. Don't worry. These students of yours can already operate independently in various processes. The apprentices of our Zhang family have also started to operate on the machine. According to our agreement. Zhang's two years This printing technology can only be used in Nanjing later. We will definitely keep this promise.”

……

out of the printing workshop.Yin Feng went straight to Pier C of the port.He asked a temporary guard of the military academy on duty: "What's the matter with the Greeks?"

The whistle chief was about 15 years old.He was the son of a Zhangzhou fisherman who was rescued by Yin Feng from Luzon Island.He saluted Yin Feng excitedly: his left hand was across his chest.The whole body stood upright and straight: "Report to the owner. From morning to now. The Ganguanla people sent twice. Each time about 20 people wanted to get off the boat to fetch water. We drove them back. Three of us were injured in the conflict. We injured Ganguanla Five sailors."

"Very good. Our people have not suffered. You have done a good job. Now. You go to inform the Ganguan people. Let their leaders come down to negotiate. Just take two people off the boat." Yin Feng decided to settle the problem of the Spaniards up.From the beginning of the year to now.The Chinese company has already begun to prepare for the battle in an all-round way.No time to kill the Spaniards.Toss the Spaniards on the Maria for so long.It has also let the Spaniards see the company's determination.There's no need for extravagance.

Fernando and Father Catalina saw a group of people suddenly appear by the pier.A group of neatly lined up.A man in black with a matchlock gun.Surrounded by a tall Chinese man.

"Musketeers." The priest murmured dreamily.incident in Manila.Yin Feng's Sailor Musketeers have always been the most dangerous enemy of the Spaniards.The Spaniards have never figured out the details of this small army.

Fernando said with surprise and joy: "This should be the mysterious physiological human musketeer team. Father. I think their big shot is about to appear."

"Big man." The priest didn't react for a while.

"My lord priest. You forgot. There is a Portuguese legend. There was a Chinese businessman who led a biological man to guard the North Mountain Pass. He rescued a large number of biological rebels with his own boat. The main initiator of this Chinese company. These are the ones who escaped Physiological rebels in Luzon Island. I think. The one below. It should be the Chinese businessman." Fernando became excited: "I think. We can negotiate directly with their top leaders. We have a chance to get out of this ghost place."

Negotiations started again in the Chinese courtyard of the company's port management office.Yin Feng looked at the two Spanish envoys sitting at the bottom.Speak first: "Father Catalina. You were in the Manila massacre in 1603 AD. You were in the Dominican monastery in Manila. You were not involved in the war. Your hands were not stained with Chinese blood; Don Fernando .Governor of Pampanga Province, a Philippine colony. Your indigenous troops participated in the battle under Manila. Massacred a large number of Chinese; you also participated in the pursuit of Chinese fugitives... In a word. human blood."

The beginning of this negotiation.All at once discouraged the two Spanish envoys.Fernando was very puzzled and terrified; why.This Chinese will know the internal situation of the Spaniards in this way.Could it be that it was inquired through the Portuguese.Fernando shook his head with difficulty and said, "Mr. Yin. Do you have any specific views on the peace negotiations between us."

Yin Feng sneered and said: "My meaning is very clear. You are the executioner who slaughtered us. You have no right to negotiate commercial trade with us. We also refuse to negotiate with you. If the Spanish authorities in Luzon are sincere in doing business with our company, please contact us. A guy with clean hands came over and negotiated with us."