Dragon Sea Empire

The typhoon hit the Taiwan Strait for three consecutive days, causing all human activities on the sea to stop.

Manpower cannot fight against the power of nature. In this era of sailing warships, this is the truth that sailors believe deeply. Pigeons are also products of nature. In such windy weather, the little pigeons released by the Macau intelligence department of the Chinese company Unable to complete his mission, when Yin Feng received the information brought by the communication ship Haidan from Macau, the typhoon had already passed.

Among the leaders of Yin Feng's two major intelligence departments, Zeng Rui, the head of the military intelligence department, went to the northeast in person, and Lin Xiao, the head of the company's business intelligence department in charge of domestic intelligence, went to the south of the Yangtze River in person in order to find out how the Ming court was training the new army. The information about the government's purchase of Western cannons in Macau sent by the No. [-], made Yin Feng immediately connect it with Nanjing Xu Guangqi, Xiong Tingbi and others starting to train the new army.

Yin Feng immediately wrote a letter and asked Li Lihua, who is proficient in many languages, to translate it into Dutch, and sent the Sea Urchin to Macau immediately: he clearly ordered Li Jin to continue negotiating with the Portuguese in Macau, and at the same time, he and Yu Anfu worked out the reasons for the government's purchase of cannons. Details.

He recalled that in the original historical time and space, it was Xu Guangqi who advocated the purchase of Western cannons in order to fight against the Northeast Golden Banners, and it is very likely that Xu Guangqi presided over the purchase of cannons by the Ming Dynasty government.

Regarding the development and popularization of firearms technology in the Ming Dynasty's government-controlled area, Yin Feng actually did not intend to restrict it. The technological level of the Chinese Army is much stronger than that of neighboring countries, and even compared with the European powers, its firearms technological level is at least as high as For decades, he is optimistic about the introduction of advanced firearm technology by the Ming government, which is also Chinese; In the minds of the key members of the merchant group, the ultimate goal is to defeat the Ming Dynasty and replace it. Yin Feng is no longer an unsuspecting traverser, but a Chinese army who is surrounded by a large group of emerging maritime merchants who have tasted the sweetness in the war. He is the sea supremacy supported by the officer corps, so he must have a deep understanding of and control any attempt by the Ming Dynasty to innovate in the military.

In fact, he didn't believe that Xu Guangqi's training of the new army would have any great effect. The historical facts in the original time and space can prove that Sun Yuanhua's firearms army was defeated not because of backward weapon technology, but because of lack of food and wages and being punished by civil officials. The insult led to a mutiny, which easily disintegrated Xu Guangqi's efforts to train the new army for more than ten years. In the end, the main force of the firearms troops that Xu Guangqi spent many years cultivating with painstaking efforts, all defected to Houjin's side and became the "Han Eight Banners" Wuzhenchaoha" (heavy firearms) troops, in general, the failure of this firearms military innovation was due to the cultural traditions of the Ming Dynasty and its own political system.

However, since Xu Guangqi is training the new army this time to deal with the Chinese army, Yin Feng, as the president of the Chinese army, and King Jinghai, the ruler of Taiwan, Ryukyu, Luzon, and Nanyang, must figure out the situation of this new army, so After getting the information from Macau, Yin Feng then sent Mai Xiaoliu, who had just been transferred from Nanyang, to Jiangnan to cooperate with Lin Xiao to inquire about the situation of Xu Guangqi's new army.

Mai Xiaoliu has been busy in Nanyang for ten years. Now that the overall situation in Nanyang has been settled, he can finally return to Taiwan. He was rewarded with 5 taels of silver for his special merit and became a shareholder of the company. Vice President.

He married the daughter of the Javanese Chinese businessman Lin's family in Nanyang, and followed him back to Taiwan with Yin Feng. Yin Feng bought him a big house and let him rest for a few months. As a result, he almost fell ill Finally, Yin Feng sent him an order to go to Jiangnan, and Mai Xiaoliu excitedly left Taiwan Harbor City and arrived at the Chinese Navy Navy General Base: it was originally called Yaogang, but now it is called Taiwan Military Port.

Since the only shipyards that the Chinese company can manufacture giant battleships are Taiwan's military port and Cavite on Luzon Island, after the Nanyang War ended, many large warships of the three major fleets came to the military port for maintenance. The Taiwan Military Port Shipyard in the north of Taiwan Harbor is a large-scale shipyard that has extended to the north shore of Taiwan Harbor. There are dry docks for shipbuilding and maintenance, and piles of wood placed in open sheds for drying. There are large round logs that are felled from the mountains of Taiwan and floated by the river to be used for masts and sails. They are all stored in ponds, as well as sawmills, ironworks, sail sheds, and There is also a walkway for making ropes and a small bronze cannon foundry.

Around the military port, workers are constantly making cables of various specifications by hand on machines every day. There are also shipwrights from Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong coastal areas, including various skilled nautical technicians. Many people know everything about the ship. The navy chief Mai Dahai is in charge of all matters in this shipyard. The technical chief is Boss Lin, a veteran shipbuilder in Quanzhou. The deputy technical chief is a Dutch engineer. In the north of the military port, there is a A large number of young students attend classes at the Sailor Technical School and the Navy Branch of the Chinese Military Academy, and often work as interns in the shipyard.

During this temporary period of peace, the construction of new ships took a backseat. Teams of technicians were serving the battleships Feizihao and Yuanzihao. Their number may reach more than 1000. Carpenters, cablemen and sailmakers, every sailor knows how to tie ropes, join boards, and caulk leaks. On the warships at anchor, the black masses of people clinging like ants are constantly going up and down, A new mast was replaced under the hanger on the ship, a group of people climbed up, reinstalled the rigging on the mast, and countless people were hoisting new pull-type naval guns, dismantling old-style cannons, some Teenagers are also in the busy crowd. A group of more than a dozen people is led by the master and is teaching on the spot. From time to time, a few blond Westerners with high noses and eyes, and blue eyes flash by in the crowd. They talk very harmoniously with the Chinese craftsmen around them. Let's work together.

In the rope-making walkway on the shore, the machinery is beeping, and the winch pulled by the oxen is twisted into several miles of rope. In the sail-making shed, there are even many Pingpu indigenous women sitting cross-legged patiently, using brown Rope and stitched canvas, no louder than the knocking of carpenters, caulkers, and blacksmiths.

Mai Xiaoliu, a son of Danmin, is both familiar and unfamiliar with the busy scene of this kind of shipyard: he has also learned shipbuilding skills since he was a child, but he has never seen such a large-scale shipyard.

Under the leadership of a junior officer from the Military Intelligence Department, Mai Xiaoliu walked through the busy factory area and came to the wharf and dock area. The junior officer was also a descendant of Danmin in Hainan. He pointed to a freshly baked flying shear boat and said in Hainan dialect: "This is the ship. Your Majesty has named it the Sea Breeze. The final inspection has just been completed today. Tonight, Brother Mai, you can take it out to sea."

Mai Xiaoliu nodded and said excitedly: "Great, I haven't made this kind of communication ship yet, I heard that this is the fastest ship on the sea."

The little officer laughed: "Of course, this is a ship designed and manufactured by the owner, oh, the king himself. The best materials are used. Only five ships have been built in the past ten years. This is the fifth ship. You This is where to go,"

Mai Xiaoliu's tanned face in Nanyang showed a smile: "Little guy, this is something you shouldn't ask, have you forgotten the rules of the Military Intelligence Department?"

The little officer blushed and stood at attention to salute: "Your sailors are already on board, and my mission has been completed. I wish Brother Mai a smooth journey."

……

The weather was approaching autumn, and there was a wave of refugees in the Jiangnan control area of ​​the Zhonghua Company: a large number of Ming people outside the control area fled to the control area of ​​the Zhonghua Company with their families.

The reason is nothing more than the resumption of tax collection in the south of the Yangtze River by the Ming government, the retaliation of the gentry and landlords who returned to their hometowns against their tenants, the corruption of the Ming army's discipline, etc. The most important thing is that the government imposed heavy taxes: the Chinese army occupied Jiangnan. During the period of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was announced that the tax would be exempted for three years; after the peace talks, the Chinese Army gave up half of the occupied area, but the government ignored the raging public opinion and announced that it would make up for the tax that was not collected during the Chinese Army's occupation of the previous year from the local people. , All kinds of corrupt officials began to run rampant in the countryside again, and the landlords and gentry lost a year's rent due to the war, and now they are intensifying the collection.

The general tax bearers of the Ming Dynasty were rarely able to pay taxes with large silver ingots. Most of the silver used by the common people when paying taxes was scattered silver. This brought a lot of inconvenience to taxation and silver collection. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, taxation and silver collection gradually formed a relatively complete set of systematic collection procedures. And sheathing, etc., but in every link, there will be negative problems such as corruption and embezzlement.

However, the Chinese silver dollar that the Chinese company just started to promote is a standard currency, so there will be no such problems. However, the government of the Ming Dynasty did not allow the people to pay taxes with the Chinese silver dollar, and it must be melted into silver. People in Jiangnan are full of complaints: Although most people in Jiangnan may not be able to survive because of paying twice the tax of previous years, such blatant predatory behavior by the government is in sharp contrast to the light tax burden and fair trading in the areas controlled by Chinese companies. In contrast, Chinese people in this era have no concept of democratic voting. However, people in Jiangnan are now voting with their feet very clearly: they have fled to the Chinese military-controlled areas in order to pursue a life that is not robbed by the government.

When Lin Xiao and Mai Xiaoliu came to Jiangnan, Xu Hongji, chief of Jiangnan's political affairs, Chen Zhongji, chief of military affairs, and others were busy taking in refugees from all over the country.

When Zeng Shan was working in the Temporary Town Guard Mansion in Jiangnan, he organized manpower to excavate water conservancy projects and support industry and commerce, which doubled the favorability of the people in Jiangnan to Zhonghua Company. He was busy opening banks to promote Chinese silver dollars, opened many silk weaving workshops, and absorbed a large number of refugees who fled from various places.

Xu Guangqi was only responsible for negotiating, recruiting and training new troops. He had no jurisdiction over local government affairs. He could only watch the people in the south of the Yangtze River defecting to the "sea bandits". Years of taxation, demands to purge Jiangnan officials, etc., most of them are like a muddy cow entering the sea without any response.

However, his attempt to go to Macau to buy Western cannons has finally responded.

Just four months before Lin Xiao and Mai Xiaoliu came to Jiangnan, Hu Ke sent a large sum of money to Yao Zongwen during the incident, saying that it was a special fund from the imperial court for training the new army, and Fang Congzhe, the chief assistant of the cabinet, also persuaded Emperor Wanli agreed to his proposal to buy Western-style cannons.

However, Yao Zongwen conveyed Fang Congzhe's instructions: the new army must be trained in Zhejiang, and after training, it will be used to expel the pirates who occupied Zhoushan, Zhejiang.

When Xu Guangqi was overjoyed, he also felt strange. In the government office of Yingtian Mansion, Xu Guangqi hesitated for a moment, and then asked Yao Zongwen: "The imperial court is currently using troops in Liaodong, and the military salary is tight everywhere. Is the salary of my new army training? Out of the emperor's money, "

Yao Zongwen grinned: "You don't have to worry about Mr. Xu. The first 50 taels of military pay will be sent directly to Xiong Tingbi, the Nanjing Economic Bureau, and will be called by the two of you. There will be another payment after two months. It is used to buy the cannons of the Macau Frang Robot, and for the purchase of the cannons, we have to ask the Western Catholics around you for help..."

Xu Guangqi is a person who likes to be more serious, so he has always been unable to develop in the officialdom. He still asked persistently: "The Chinese pirates occupying Jiangnan are the harm of Jiangnan's heart. Why should they go to Zhejiang for training? Kou occupies Zhoushan, and it depends on the navy to regain it..."

Yao Zongwen was a little impatient, but Xu Guangqi had a higher rank than him and was still an imperial envoy, so he had to deal with it: "My lord Xu, this is the imperial court's intention, and the lower officials don't know the clue."

Xu Guangqi sighed secretly, nodded and said, "Okay, these days I will write a report on military training, please pass it on to the imperial court, Lord Yao, I will definitely go to Zhejiang to train as soon as possible, but after I leave here, what should I do about the peace talks in Nanjing?" manage,"

Yao Zongwen smiled: "Master Xu, what Fang Xiangguo means is... just one word: procrastination,"

Xu Guangqi smiled helplessly: "I think the meaning of those pirates on the other side is also the same: delay,"

……

Lin Xiao and Mai Xiaoliu arrived at Zhenjiang Port only three days apart. Lin Xiao, who arrived three days earlier, used all his connections in Jiangnan to only find out the news that Xu Guangqi had gone to Zhejiang. He asked Xu Hongji, Xu Hongji Tell him: "Originally, Master Xu and I had to meet two or three times a month. In the past month, I have been busy with taking in refugees... well, I haven't negotiated with Xu Guangqi for a whole month. I don't know where he went. ...what, went to Zhejiang, "

When Mai Xiaoliu brought the news that the government had purchased cannons in Macau, Lin Xiao immediately reacted: "The cannons must have been bought for Xu Guangqi's new army."

Mai Xiaoliu nodded and said: "Yes, the captain of the ship also said the same thing. He asked us to quickly find out how Xu Guangqi's new army has been trained, where and how the scale is. It costs a lot of money to buy cannons. We also need to find out where Xu Guangqi’s salary for the new army comes from.”