Win the Ding 1617

"boom!"

A cannonball flew out of the barrel and rushed towards the target in the distance—human figures bound with straw. As the shells fell to the ground, those straw figures were hit by the shells, and the flying straw played the role of human remains. , when it fell from mid-air, it had been ignited by the scorching heat brought by the shells, and smoke and flames kept rising around the cannon test ground.

"This is our six-pound gun. It is very effective in mountain combat! The effective range is four hundred paces."

Sitting on the golden throne covered with two Bengal tiger skins, His Majesty the Sultan twisted his beautiful beard with his hands and nodded in satisfaction. Just now he had seen the scene of the artillery hitting the target through the binoculars .

"My national teacher told me that after Thaipusam, there will be a new source of strength. I didn't expect that those damn Tamil festivals would bring me good luck!"

His Majesty Sultan Shahi proudly held the handle of the scimitar inlaid with jewels in his right hand, and continued to observe Lin Wenbing's demonstration for him.

Thaipusam is a festival for Tamils ​​who believe in Hinduism. According to the Tamil calendar, on the day of the full moon in October every year (that is, between January and February in the Gregorian calendar), it is the youngest son of the great god Shiva and the snow mountain goddess. The birthday of Murugan, the god of strength (well, I don’t know if the water in the Ganges is composed of his brothers).According to Hinduism, on this day, he got the spear given to him by his mother Snow Mountain Goddess, and he has been invincible ever since.Those Hindu believers call his birthday Thaipusam.

As the Shahi family with Kipchak and Turkic ancestry, naturally they would not go to this kind of festival.But, on days like this, gaining strength is always a good thing.Especially when the Mughal Empire continued to use troops in the Deccan region, it is always a good thing that Chinese merchants traveled across the sea to send weapons.

After Lin Wenbing demonstrated the power of the eight-pounder and six-pounder guns he brought, His Majesty the Sultan was extremely satisfied. He motioned to the warriors around him to take his saber and prepare to give it to Lin Wenbing as a reward.In recognition of his achievements in transporting weapons from thousands of miles away.

Unexpectedly.His Majesty the Sultan's good intentions were reversed by a two-handed warrior and a two-handed sword interpreter!Almost a catastrophe!

Holding the scimitar adorned with gold and precious stones by His Majesty the Sultan, the warrior walked towards Lin Wenbing with a straight brow. All Nanzhong businessmen instinctively sank, not knowing what the warrior was going to do.

The samurai just pulled the knife out of the sheath an inch or so.Immediately under sunlight.The blade glistened.

"What is he saying?"

Lin Wenbing asked Tong Shi in a low voice.while asking.While staring at the bearded warrior without blinking, he was definitely not a kind warrior at first glance.

Tong Shi didn't quite understand the samurai's accent, but only vaguely heard a few words. "I, you, the knife, His Majesty the Sultan, reward."

"This warrior came to compare the quality of the knife with us at the order of His Majesty the Sultan!"

"Go! Let him see if our Juehu Dao is sharper than his machete!"

Lin Wenbing looked up at Sultan Shahi who was sitting high on the throne, and indicated with his eyes what the scimitar in the warrior's hand meant. The Sultan smiled, but nodded, with his head stuck high in the middle of the turban The resplendent and resplendent peacock feathers moved up and down a few times.

"Go, take the razor-sharp knife made of iron and steel that the lord rewarded me, and slash it against that guy!"

Lin Wenbing took out two short-handled firecrackers from his carry-on package, which were specially used as gifts for high-ranking officials and dignitaries everywhere, and they were inlaid with patterns made of gold and silver threads.

After thinking about it, he took out a set of armor made of iron steel, that is, high manganese steel, from the cage. It was also decorated with gold and silver threads. Although it was not as exaggerated as Sudan's scimitar, it shone brilliantly in the sun. The light of man.

"Tell His Majesty the Sultan, these two treasures are the treasures of my Nanzhong, and they are right to bet on the game. No matter whether you win or lose, after the two sides match swords, the armor and firecrackers will be given to His Majesty Sultan."

After listening to the translator's stammering interpretation.The samurai leaped into the arena, swung the scimitar in his hand, and chopped off at the sailor who listed a family with the sword in his hand. The sailor was also unambiguous, and swung upward suddenly, and the two swords met in the air. There was a crisp sound of gold and iron clashing in everyone's ears.

Sultan Shahi was full of confidence when he saw his own samurai slashing at the knife in the hands of the Nanzhong caravan soldier with his precious sword. A so-called Indian iron produced in Hyderabad was made. The local smelters sealed black manganese ore, bamboo charcoal and certain plant leaves in a pottery furnace and burned them. When these things were melted, the dross formed a ball of metal, and then This metal was repeatedly melted and cooled four or five times, and finally smelted into a metal block with a diameter of 5 inches, a thickness of 0.5 inches, and a weight of about 2 pounds. This kind of iron was sold by merchants to Syria and other places to make weapons. The Westerners took a well-known name, Damascus steel, just like the Arabic numerals, a product of the Indians, but the Arabs enjoyed the name.

However, Damascus steel, which has been famous for hundreds of years, is actually the product of ultra-high carbon steel (1.5-2% carbon content) or carburized high-carbon steel and low-carbon steel smelted in a crucible. The high manganese steel phase to compete?

Moreover, the size and weight of the Juehu Dao are far stronger than the machete, if I can't cut you, can I still hit you? !

With a clatter.A knife head fell to the ground, but it was the result of the Sultan's treasured knife being chopped and smashed by the Juehu knife.Looking at the half blade in his hand, the warrior couldn't help being startled and angry. He shouted loudly in some tribal language. The Sudanese soldiers next to him pulled out their waist sabers one after another. Some musketeers held their muskets flat. Ready to listen to the Sudan's call at any time to fire and kill this group of Chinese businessmen.

"stop!"

Sultan, who had been sitting firmly on the throne, put down the hookah in his hand, opened his eyes and walked down the throne step by step, walked up to the sailor, and stretched out his hand to look at the extinct sword in the sailor's hand.

The sailor turned his eyes to ask Lin Wenbing for instructions.Lin Wenbing signaled him to hand over the knife to Sultan.The sailor hastily turned the knife around, with the back of the knife facing the Sudan, the blade facing outwards, and handed it to the Sudan with both hands raised.

Sudan took the Juehu Dao made of Iron Steel, carefully looked at it in his hand, and then jumped into the field and danced a knife flower, which felt quite smooth. His action aroused bursts of excitement from both sides present. Applause.

"What is the price of this knife?"

"As I said just now, it doesn't matter whether we win or lose. It's just a joke. As long as His Majesty sees it, give it all to His Majesty."

Sudan likes the Juehu Dao in his hand very much, although there is no decoration, it is just a wooden sheath.A handle usually decorated with brass.But it looks majestic.Compared with the previous round moon scimitar.The scimitar seemed a little too fancy.

"Okay! Guest from the East, tell me! What goods did you bring, are they all the same as this precious sword?"

"This time I brought four eight-pound guns, eight six-pound guns, and twenty large and small Franglers. There are also a thousand such high-quality helmets, three thousand swords, and guns made of high-quality wrought iron. 1 heads. Five thousand armors."

"In addition, there are two thousand arquebus guns, each with twenty rounds of sub-powder. Five thousand barrels of gunpowder."

"I don't know such a thing, is your army interested in the Sultan?"

At this time, the Shahi Dynasty was in the midst of frequent battles. It is unknown how many weapons, knives, armor, gunpowder and other items would be consumed every year. However, the output in the Telugu region could not meet such a large consumption. Lin Wenbing’s goods , For Shahi Sultan, it is no less than sending charcoal in the snow.

"Most distinguished guest! Please tell me! How much do you need for these goods? Or, what do I need to exchange with you?" Sultan took Lin Wenbing's hand and pulled him to the throne, patting him. The soft Bengal tiger skin mattress beckoned Lin Wenbing to sit down and talk.

Lin Wenbing couldn't help cursing in his heart, isn't this the same as tea, making tea, and making good tea?In the blink of an eye, I changed from a guest to the most honored guest!

"How many treasured swords like this have you brought?" Sudan went straight in, twisting the blade of the Juehu Dao with his fingers, and couldn't stop admiring him, his eyes shining with anticipation.

Lin Wenbing silently calculated in his heart that in the entire caravan, at most forty razor-sharp knives made of iron and steel could be assembled, and the rest of the bulk were made of nine-turn steel.

Hearing that there were only forty such treasured swords, Sultan was a little disappointed, but soon returned to normal. After all, good things are always scarce!If there were as many as ants, then the horse would be worthless.

"However, we have a thousand helmets made of such high-quality steel, and the protection effect is excellent."

"My most honorable friend, tell me, how much of my treasure do I need to pay to get your friendship?"

Lin Wenbing pursed his lips, thought for a while, and pointed at the warrior standing dejectedly, "How much did His Majesty cost for the precious sword he just used? Not counting the decorations on it, only the price of the sword."

The scabbard head and scabbard mouth of the Tawa scimitar are made of precious metals such as gold and silver, and the handle and scabbard are inlaid with many treasures such as red coral, turquoise, red sapphire and so on. There are Qur'an proverbs in the chisel with gold and silver. Although Lin Wenbing has no experience in appreciating weapons, he can know from the decorations that the knife itself is expensive.

Sudan pondered for a while. To be honest, he didn't know how much the knife cost.Instead, an attendant beside him whispered something in a low voice in his ear.

"When I bought this knife from a knife maker in Hyderabad, it cost me a thousand gold coins! My most honored friend, I don't know if you can buy the precious knife in your hand at such a price?" Blinking slightly yellow eyes, Sudan asked Lin Wenbing.

His actions made the warriors next to him very puzzled, what did he do with so many words?Like these treasures, find a reason, just kill these merchants, all the goods will enter the Sultan's treasury, and we can also get a share of it.It's not like this kind of thing has never been done before, why is it so hesitant today?

This is the benefit of Lin Wenbing demonstrating the artillery to Sudan at the beginning!The Sudan used the good sound transmission system in his castle to give Lin Wenbing a bad impression, and Lin Wenbing showed off his strength calmly by showing the power of the artillery.As a result, the Sultan had to think about it.Once they intend to use strong and despicable means to detain the caravan, kill people and steal the goods, will it succeed? How much will it cost? Moreover, after these weapons are obtained by robbers, will there be any merchants coming to sell them in the future?

If they kill themselves and sell goods, some of these businessmen escape, and in order to retaliate, they turn to sell weapons to the Mughal family.Then the Shahi family can't bear it!

A thousand gold coins!Buying a razor-sharp knife made of iron and steel? !Lin Wenbing thought there was something wrong with his ears?Or is the sultan in front of him confused by the sun?Starting to talk nonsense?

"Your Majesty. This kind of steel knife will be handled according to His Majesty's will. We will sell you forty blades at the price of one thousand gold coins each. Don't you see our weapons made of other materials?" Lin Wenbing's voice full of temptation.

After seeing those swords that were slightly worse than the treasured sword that cut off his Tawa scimitar, as well as the spear heads of those spears made of the same material, as well as those black and thick matchlock guns and armor.Shahi Sultan felt.Your choice is correct.Once you choose to use force.Absolutely not worth the candle.

"My treasury is open for you." Shahi Sultan's face was full of sincerity, "As long as you are willing to keep these weapons of yours to equip my vigorous fighters!"

"So, let's discuss the price of the goods and the method of payment?!"

A Sangmen gun head made of nine-turn steel.The price is ten gold coins; a bucket of gunpowder is priced at one gold coin; a Juehu knife made of nine-turn steel is priced at ten gold coins.A helmet made of iron and steel was priced at [-] gold coins. The reason is very simple. We all know that this helmet is made of the same steel as the precious knife that cut off Sultan Tawa's scimitar. Such a material Can the protection ability of the helmet made be worse?It would be very cost-effective to buy one more and go back, find a skilled knife maker, and ask him to make a good knife for yourself!

The price of a matchlock gun is one hundred gold coins, the reason is very simple. "If you explode before twenty rounds of ammunition are fired, we will pay you ten times the damage!"

Before Lin Wenbing and others could offer the price of the cannon and armor, His Majesty Sultan Shahi frowned. In front of C, "my friend, please don't interrupt me before I give you the price. In order to show my sincerity and respect to you, I have decided to use these to pay for your artillery and armor." .”

Behind him, ten maids of honor came out with a gold plate each, and the plate was covered with some kind of textile, and it was raised high.

"Look!"

A servant lifted the cover covering the gold plate, and immediately, a plate of colorful gemstones appeared in front of everyone. Under the bright sunlight, the light of the gemstones shone and caught people's eyes.

"These gems, exchange for these goods of yours!"

His Majesty the Sultan seemed too lazy to bargain with these merchants here. He directly ordered people to remove ten plates of gems from the treasure house. According to his experience, these gems should be enough to pay for the weapons and equipment.

It took Lin Wenbing a lot of concentration to divert his attention from the gold plates held in the hands of the ten slender maids. He walked up to the Sultan and gestured to His Majesty the Sultan for the ten plates. Gently pressed one of the two hands, "Your Majesty, although your treasury is full of gems and gold coins like this, there are more places where you need them in the war between you and your enemies." More, we can consider other things to pay the other half of the price."

Hearing that the interpreter said that other items can be used to pay for these weapons, everyone from Sultan Shahi to the warriors present was delighted. None of them would like their treasure house to be emptied by others, would they?

The Sudan himself even grabbed Lin Wenbing's hand, "My friend, you are the messenger of Allah sent to me! Tell me! What do you want? Pepper? Pepper? Cinnamon? Jute? Gold coins? Horses? Or Something else?"

"We heard that your rule is rich in cotton, and Hyderabad is the cotton distribution center in the inland area. We have two requests for you. First, all the cotton produced here will be sold to us in the future. We can use such Weapons and equipment to pay for; second, please and your nobles at all levels urge the farmers to plant the cotton seeds we provide!"

Regarding the request made by Lin Wenbing, His Majesty Sultan Shahi was taken aback for a moment. He originally thought that these merchants from far away would propose to use those precious spices to make up the payment, but he did not expect that they would propose to use the spices grown by those humble and inferior people. Cotton to pay for the demand!

Such a request made him instinctively feel that there must be a major conspiracy in it.

"If His Majesty the Sultan can approve, then we can ask my proprietor that the weapons and armor we bring in the future will no longer be mainly made of this kind of steel," Lin Wenbing pointed to the nine-turn Spearheads and long knives made of steel, "I will ask my proprietor to use such steel as the main material for the weapons that will be gradually exported to you in the future." He knocked on the sheath of the rare knife on Sultan's waist.

Tong Shi was also very wicked. He loudly translated every word Lin Wenbing said, and made sure that everyone present could hear it.

All the warriors present cast their expectant eyes on His Majesty the Sultan, expecting him to respond quickly.

Such treasured swords, such spears, such armor, such artillery guns and gunpowder, it is said that the Mughal family's attack on the Deccan area will be repulsed, and we will counterattack to the Delhi area, and even kill them. It is not impossible to rush back to Afghanistan and drive the Marathas into the sea across the plateau!

"This is a big matter. I want to have a good discussion with my ministers. I ask my friend to stay in Hyderabad for a few days. We will inform you when we have a result."

"Alright! Your Majesty, please send someone to check and put these items into the warehouse first. We will hand over the artillery and gunpowder to Your Majesty first. After your Majesty finishes discussing with the ministers, we will deliver the other parts."

Lin Wenbing ordered someone to hold up the five plates of gems, trying to control the almost crazy joy in his heart, Shi Shiran walked out of the Golconda castle.

"Mr. Lin, do you think this Sudan can accept our offer?" Lin Shi, who accompanied him, grinned and smirked on the horse, and asked Lin Wenbing, asking the Sudan to hand over all the cotton to the Han Yuan Company for exclusive use. Acquisition, and at the same time promote the cotton seeds provided by the Hanyuan firm in the jurisdiction, is such a request too much? (To be continued..)

ps: Seeing that everyone's monthly pass sent me to be juxtaposed with many familiar names, I suddenly felt a little apprehensive.However, for my own little vanity, I continue to ask for monthly tickets and subscriptions.