Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

The two gaff sails and the topsail of the mainmast bulged slightly in the wind, pushing the Flying Tiger to plow a white wave on the sea surface. Its unbelievable speed surprised all the Ming Zheng fleet encountered on the way. So dumbfounded that the sailors would never be able to tell from the outside that it was actually just an experimental ship with a mixture of Chinese and Western.

However, the structure of the double bottom and the watertight cabin still brought a lot of negative impact on the Feihu, the most important of which was to reduce the number of artillery pieces from the [-] on both sides of the Feitian of the same size in order to compensate for the drop in payload. The doors were reduced to eight doors on both sides --- although the caliber was all enlarged to four inches, the drop in firepower density is an indisputable fact --- in order to make up for the loss of combat capability, the Flying Tiger also experimentally used pulley blocks and Block the hardwood to form a recoil device, hoping to increase the speed of the gun so as to achieve the ultimate goal of not reducing the weight of projectiles projected within a certain period of time.

After leaving the relatively busy route from Dongning to Ryukyu, the Flying Tiger began to turn due north. It will do a cruise between Zhoushan and Danshui to calculate an approximate time for Zheng Kezang's future plans.

"This boat is really good." Although He Qi, the grandson of He Yi, the former general of Zuohuwei Battalion, is also a Jiayin student, but because he entered the camp at a young age, he was delayed for two periods before being transferred to the main army. However, his qualifications are old enough. He also worked as a team leader in the boy camp for two periods, so he was promoted to the squad leader not long after he was placed in the sailor battalion, and now he has even achieved the position of the first officer of the Flying Tiger. "Chang Tianyuan is probably so jealous that his eyeballs have fallen off." Speaking of this, He Qi couldn't help laughing. "It was finally his turn to get the boat, but he just got an old boat."

"Who made him waste time in the Taijiang team?" Chen Yi, who was transferred from the captain of the Knight to the Feihu, said lightly. "However, with his qualifications, once a new boat is obtained in the future, he must be the first to replace it. Du Hu will suffer. Taijiang team leader? Rowing in the bathhouse, it doesn't matter."

"You can't say that." He Qi didn't think so. "There are still Gong Tian and the team leaders of the Ryukyu battalion blocking the way ahead. It is not so easy for first mates like Yu and Du Hu to get a boat. It is worthwhile for him to go to the Taijiang team for two years. As long as the title goes up, are you afraid that you won't be able to be the captain in the future?"

"That's true." Chen Yi understood. It turned out that he was a rich man who didn't know how hungry he was. As a captain, he had a different vision of judging the same matter from those of his peers who hadn't had a chance to take the boat yet, so he Smiled and broke the news. "I heard that Shisun asked Ma Yuan and the others to lead a team of craftsmen to start work at the same time. It was agreed that four new ships would be built within this year, two of which were brigantines like the Feitian, and the other The two are the same top-sailed schooners as the Flying Tiger, but without the double bottom and watertight hull, I guess many people are gearing up this time."

"Four boats at a time?" He Qi suddenly exclaimed. "Hey, this is a big fight, but it's a pity that no matter how redundant it is, it won't be the turn." He Qi sighed for a while, and suddenly came back to his senses. "No, there are so many Nei-Australians in the shipyard that can build ships?"

"It's not all built in the Boy Scout Shipyard," Chen Yi explained. "Besides, didn't the Boy Scout Shipyard dig another big Nei'ao a few years ago, saying that as long as the keel can be solved, a large ship of [-] materials can be built in the future."

As soon as he mentioned the big boat, He Qi thought of the indulgent Frang machine boat: "I really want to have such a big boat now. Think about the last time, that aggrieved."

Chen Yi obviously felt the same way: "Who's to say otherwise, but the Tartars in the west are eyeing them fiercely, and the traitor Shi Lang is planning to come to Dongning with all his heart, maybe at the end of this year or the beginning of next year, a big war is imminent. "

"The captain means that the Qing army will attack Penghu and Dongning within the year?" Everyone in Taiwan is worried about Shi Lang's army. Boy scouts are not insulators, and they will naturally be affected by family members and neighbors. "That's right, when the north wind blows, it is indeed possible for the northern captives to ride the wind."

As He Qi said, he couldn't help putting more force on his hand, so under the action of the wheel rudder, the Flying Tiger drew an arc, and the deck also showed a certain inclination.Seeing this situation, He Qi immediately turned the rudder, and the hull immediately stabilized.Since most of the crew members of the Flying Tiger had experienced in the Taijiang Team, the Ryukyu Camp and the Yuanhang Camp in turn, the unexpected situation just now did not cause any adverse effects, and there was not even an exclamation.

He Qi himself didn't care much about this, he just turned the rudder back on and asked the serious Chen Yi: "Captain, tell me, will we be the first team?"

"It's not good to say." Chen Yi responded. "At that time, hundreds of warships from both sides will fight. Even if we add four new ships, we will only have ten ships, which is not even a fraction. There are so many senior generals in the army, how can we let us fight for this jackpot. "

He Qi nodded. He is also a general, so he naturally understands the rules in the army. The things that are easy to shine and easy to get credit are usually distributed to those who are old enough to let the military leaders, big and small, calm down. .

"The captain is right. In addition, the coach must be Wu Pingbo. It is basically impossible for our descendants to share some credit for it." But even though he knew what was going to happen, He Qi still couldn't restrain his heart disappointment. "I'm really not reconciled, such a good ship, so many guns"

"What a pity," Chen Yi comforted. "If Uncle Wu Ping stops the Tartars and traitors, there will be no shortage of our boats. If he can't stop us, then we will be the last reliance of our descendants. Besides, Uncle Wu Ping is now over 50. Ten years, 20 Years later, you still have to watch ours.”

Dongning’s envoy arrived in Nagasaki at the end of February. For more than three months, there was no movement from the Japanese side. Regarding this, Cai Hanxiang, the second son of Cai Zheng who represented Dongning, sat firmly on the Diaoyutai and only sent people every day. I went to the Nagasaki Enforcement Office for a routine inquiry, and then I read and painted in the post house, and my life was very comfortable.

However, he was very happy in Nagasaki, but the senior Tokugawa shogunate in Edo had great disagreements on whether to receive him. He once argued that Tokugawa Tsunayoshi could succeed the fifth shogun Furukawa Masatoshi Hotta, the feudal lord, resolutely opposed letting Cai Hanxiang come to Edo to hand over the so-called kingdom.

"In the Ming Dynasty, there is only one domain in Taiwan, and the stone height is only 50. How can it be the opponent of the Qing Dynasty, which has hundreds of countries? If Japan blindly supports the Ming Dynasty, then the Qing Dynasty will definitely retaliate against Japan in the future. It is impossible to imitate the Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty to conquer across the sea, but if raw silk cannot be imported, Japan's prosperity will definitely be shattered."

"Is Mr. Horita worrying too much?" Masaki Inaba, the old middle school, was full of jealousy towards this big man who climbed to the highest position in the shogunate because of a single sentence. In his opinion, the other party was nothing more than a speculator. Naturally, you have to sing against him everywhere. "The Qing Dynasty advocated the sea ban. It has not been many years since a ship of goods arrived in Nagasaki. However, the Ming Dynasty, hehe, that is, Zheng Fan, has always built a country based on maritime trade. It will be good for Japan if they get the ruling power of Tangtu."

"Tango Mamoru is right." Another veteran, Abe Masaobu, was the lord of the Musashi Kunin (castle) vassal. He served as a shogunate temple priest, and recommended Confucian scholars such as Kinoshita Sadagan to Tsunayoshi. He was deeply loved by the exiled Japanese. The influence of Zhu Zhiyu (Note: Zhu Shunshui) has a good impression on Mingshi. "Zheng Fan upholds righteousness and insists on the title of his homeland. He is a loyal person. Japan should associate with these loyal people instead of going to the Qing Dynasty for petty gains."

"Ridiculous." Masatoshi Horita is also an upright person, otherwise he would not have stood up to the dismounted General Tadaki Sakai when he was in power for a while. "If Japan is a loyal person, it should be commended, but there are only interests between countries. I don't see any benefits for Japan by supporting the remnants of the Ming Dynasty."

"Why is there no benefit? The Tang ships that have come to Nagasaki in the past few years have all come from Zheng Fan. If Zheng Fan is angry because he refuses to see the envoy, he will not come to the ship for trade. Who will supply the raw silk in this country? The rich merchants from all over the country Don't you want to jump?"

"Shaosuke Bingbu means that wealthy merchants can already interfere with the authority of the shogunate?"

"Brother Hotta, don't misinterpret what I'm saying." The 30 koku lord of the Hikone domain and the shogunate Waken Yosai Naoki frowned. "What I mean is that Japan is still not able to do what it wants from others. Once Zheng Fan cuts off the supply to Japan and the Qing Dynasty continues to ban the sea, it will inevitably affect the livelihood of the Japanese people."

"Mingbu Shaosuke, don't worry, Zheng Fan doesn't have the guts." Masatoshi Hotta said confidently. "Of course Japan needs Zheng Fan to import raw silk and other items, but Zheng Fan also needs Japan's sulfur, gold, silver, red copper, and swords, so they dare not interrupt each other easily."

"It's really nerve-wracking." When the meeting ended unhappily, several middle-aged elders and Ruo Nianjiu looked at each other. "Master Hotta will definitely use the power of the big boss to refuse to communicate with the envoys of the Ming Dynasty. If there is a war, Japan has not experienced war for more than 60 years."

"Yeah, yeah, Zheng Fan didn't dare to call. If tomorrow's trade is really interrupted, how can the wealthy merchants in Osaka and Edo appease you? Master Hotta insists on going his own way, but if something happens, we have to bear it together." .”

"May I ask Mr. Liu Ze to find out what Mr. General thinks?"

The so-called Lord Yanagisawa refers to Tsunayoshi's close friend Yanagisawa Yoshiho. He has the power to convey the general's orders to the old middleman and the old middleman's report to the general. But as far as the level of trust is concerned, General Tsunayoshi is even more favored, and he is the best candidate for veterans to fight Masatoshi Hotta.

"It's the only way to do it now"