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Chapter 184 Mercenaries

The two missionaries who could build ships began to tell His Majesty the Eastern Emperor about the Western warship construction technology in detail.

"That is to say, in general, a fleet should have one or several large warships as the main battleship, and then deploy a few or some relatively small warships as supplementary firepower, and some smaller warships to assist the large warships. , medium-sized warships?" Yang Reform originally knew very little about the combat methods of this ancient warship, mainly from movies, TV, novels, and games.For example, in Pirates of the Caribbean, the scene where two ships approach each other and bombard each other with cannons.

"Exactly, Your Majesty the Emperor, large warships alone cannot complete combat missions, and the assistance of medium and small warships is also necessary. For example, some places where the water is relatively shallow cannot be approached by large warships, which requires small warships." In the past, and, this large battleship has powerful firepower and strong resistance to blows, and can be used to suppress the enemy's warships head-on. All these require the cooperation of various warships..."

Yang Reform couldn't stop nodding when he heard it, and thought it made sense: "Sun Aiqing, tell me, how did the navy of our dynasty fight at sea?" Yang Reform was going to compare the warships of the Western and Ming Dynasty The way of fighting is to determine what kind of warship you want to build.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have never experienced naval battles, and I don't really understand how to fight at sea. However, I have read some works of our dynasty. For example, what Qi Shuai said: 'The lucky boat is as tall as a city, and it is not human-powered. It can be driven, relying entirely on the wind. Japanese boats are always as small as my small Cang boat, so the lucky boat is pressed down by the wind, like a cart crushing a praying mantis. The strength of the boat is not the human force. It can be seen that the lucky boat in my dynasty is tall, Relying on wind power, crushing the Japanese boats like crushing insects relies on the strength of the boats. Therefore, I believe that the sea battle between our court and the Japanese depends on the size of the boat to suppress the small boat. It relies on the power of the collision. strength..." Although Sun Yuanhua had never experienced a naval battle, he still quoted scriptures and spoke clearly and logically.

"...Furthermore, I observed in the "Wu Bei Zhi" that 'Using firearms and the wave between the ups and downs may not be able to hit the thief. Even if it is hit, it is not much, but it can be used to frighten the enemy's heart and ears. There are two things to rely on: launch a Francophone. If you don’t hit the target, there will be no ships without powder. One thing. Fireballs are thrown at the bow of the ship. When they meet, they are thrown from a height. Second, it can be seen that naval battles rely firstly on large and strong ships that can ram enemy ships, secondly rely on sharp artillery to bombard enemy ships from across the sea, and finally rely on fire and other means of burning enemy ships. According to what I saw In general, these three types of methods are more effective in fighting at sea." Sun Yuanhua still tried his best to explain to the emperor how to fight at sea.

Yang Reform is really a novice on how to fight at sea. He has only played games like "The Era of Great Voyage IV", watched some movies, and read some novels. The farther the guns fired, the greater the attack power. Once the ship approached, they relied on sailors to board the ship and fight. Now, after listening to Sun Yuanhua, I have a more reliable understanding of the battle methods of this ancient sailing warship.

"Then my navy, what kind of ship do you usually use for combat? How big is it? How many artillery pieces do you usually have? Personnel?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I am facing battleships, which are as big as three-masted gunboats. Downward, there are big ships like Fuchuan. Further down, the smaller ones are Haicang ships and Cangshan ships. Fighting, giant ships A boat can carry hundreds of people, a lucky boat can carry one or two hundred people, and a small boat can carry dozens to a hundred people... As for the cannons and the three-masted gunboats, the cannons range from dozens to a hundred , equipped with other firearms, or bows and arrows, large ships such as Fuchuan generally have more than a dozen cannons, equipped with other firearms, bows and arrows and other weapons... As for the treasure ship, it has disappeared so far, and I don’t know how to assemble it What, as far as I know, most of the warships used by Qi Shuai and Pingwo in my dynasty in recent years are Fuchuan, and each ship can accommodate about a hundred people..." Sun Yuanhua also seemed to explain the various warships to the emperor.

After hearing this introduction, Yang Reform felt that the current warships of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be very weak!Compared with the configuration of the "Sea Monarch" in the west, it's not at the same level!It seems that the treasure ship can be compared with the Western "Sea King". However, the technical data of the current treasure ship has been destroyed, and it is still unknown whether it can be built. Qi Jiguang's anti-Japanese war is only used to hold a hundred people Fu Chuan, it seems that the decline of the Ming Dynasty Navy is true. I may have been too optimistic about the Ming Dynasty Navy before.This is to fight for the supremacy of the Seven Seas, to find a piece of land for the people of the Ming Dynasty to grow, and to take into account the pressure that warships like the "Sea King" put on themselves!Yang Reform fell into deep thought.

"Uh! That missionary called... Andor just now..."

"Your Majesty the Emperor, I am waiting for your inquiry." The missionary named Ando immediately agreed.

"I heard you say, are you a Spaniard? In order to build a more powerful warship than the English? For revenge?" Yang Reform asked.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, indeed, I am a Spaniard. The English defeated our Spanish Armada and have been suppressing my motherland. I want to come to the East to find a stronger force to defeat the English. I really want revenge , Your Majesty, Your Majesty can build a super battleship for Your Majesty, such as the "Sea King", Your Majesty, I hope that one day, Your Majesty's fleet will appear in the Mediterranean Sea, defeat the English, and let the ugly English taste the taste of failure! "The missionary named Andor talked about the destruction of the Armada, with a look of bitterness and hatred, and anger burst out of both eyes.

Yang Reform looked at this foreigner very interestingly, he would do anything to hit the British!Armada?For this, Yang Reform still has a little understanding.Already destroyed?Looking at this An Duo again, it seems that he came to the east to find a more powerful force just to seek revenge. If this is the case, it can save a lot of trouble...

Yang Reform's head turned quickly, and he began to think.After thinking for a while, he said: "Missionary Anduo, I do intend to build large warships. As for your wish, I will talk about it later. Let's talk about reality first. I need someone who can build Western warships for me." I don’t know if you can handle the construction of the ‘Sea Monarch’, for example.” Yang Reform thought for a long time, and decided to let this foreigner try. Presumably, these foreigners have some real skills after being recommended by Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua. If you don't have the skills, you don't dare to come here to lie to yourself.

Hearing that the "Sea Monarch" was going to be built, Ando's eyes sparkled with excitement, and he immediately said, "I obey, Your Majesty, I am willing to serve you."

"Well, very good, then, you first produce the design drawings, demonstrate, make models, and train a group of craftsmen who can help you. I don't want to see that you can't build a ship in 100 years by yourself, understand? ?” What Yang Reform thought was to learn this technique first.

Ando didn't feel that there was anything wrong at all, and said happily: "As you wish, my lord." He happily agreed to the emperor's request.

Another missionary who knew how to build ships was in a hurry. Ando got the job of building the "Sea King", but he didn't get anything, so he said immediately: "Your Majesty, what about me? I can also build warships." of."

Yang Reform remembered that there was another person who could build ships, so he said: "You can accept the leadership of Ando and build warships with him. Of course, if you think your talent is much better than Anduo, you can ask me Apply for a separate shipbuilding." Yang Reformzhi remembered this person named Anduo, and had a good impression of this person, so he decided to let this person lead the shipbuilding. Anduo arranged for a competitor to ask Anduo to work hard, otherwise, someone would catch up.

This person has mixed feelings. He is happy that he has a decent job given by the Eastern Emperor, but he is sad that he has to help his companions.

"Big companion, take these two people down, arrange them well, and give them the treatment of a guest. Don't treat them badly. Let them draw the design first, produce the blueprint, and produce the model. For this fee, let's give 1000 taels first, and it will be less in the future. , plus." Yang Reform is not stupid, he is going to see the real talents of these two first, if he can't even draw the blueprints, he can save a little loss, 1000 taels is nothing, and he can still afford it.

Seeing that these two companions have been reused by His Majesty the Eastern Emperor, the others immediately turned red and became uneasy, looking at the companions who went out, salivating.In the Snappers, there are only those who can cast cannons, train soldiers, and be mercenaries.

After talking about the boat for a long time, Yang Reform already had a general understanding in his heart, and he also had a preliminary plan for dealing with the remaining batch of foreigners.According to the feeling of summoning these foreigners today, there is still something between these foreigners and the Ming Dynasty.I have always been very decisive and fast in doing things, but today, it seems that I can't be too hasty.It's better for me to find someone who knows the inside story and ask, so that I can avoid making mistakes in judgment.

"You guys are all very good, how about this, you first register your own names, experiences, specialties, and qualifications for those jobs with my servants, and then I will arrange for you, so that's it...Brother, let these people go Register, and then send someone to resettle them, and don’t let them go far.” Yang Reform felt that there was an inside story between the foreigner and the Ming Dynasty, which was a bit different from the plan he had originally considered, so he planned to ask the insider, and then Decided how to use these Westerners.I got an important news today. Many of these plans have been affected and may need to be changed.Yang Reform had to suppress the arrangement of these missionaries.

"I obey, Your Majesty." Wang Chengen didn't like these Frangji people at all, and after agreeing to the emperor, he left with these Frangji people.The treatment of this group of foreigners was completely different from that of the previous group. Immediately there was a bustling call, but after another look, the guards around them were obviously not plain, so they could only shrink their necks and go out, following His Majesty's wishes.

"Sun Aiqing stay here, I have something to ask you." Seeing that Sun Yuanhua was about to go with the group of foreigners, Yang Huai hurriedly stopped him.This Sun Yuanhua must be an insider, and he was the one I was going to ask.

Sun Yuanhua immediately said respectfully: "Report to Your Majesty, I don't know what's going on with Your Majesty, please ask Your Majesty for more information."

Seeing that the group of people had almost left, Yang Reform asked, "Sun Aiqing, I heard that in the Ming Dynasty, we hired Westerners as mercenaries? Is there such a thing?" Yang Reform couldn't wait to ask about it. , if this matter is true, then it is very different from my original plan. I originally planned to hire these people as my guest ministers, but now I suddenly heard that they are willing to be mercenaries. If so, That would be much simpler, and the relationship would no longer be complicated. The status of Keqing can be regarded as relatively high, and it can be regarded as having a certain political status. If there are too many people, it will be more troublesome. To cause trouble for himself, if it is just an employment relationship, Yang Reform doesn't mind hiring many foreigners to work for him.

Sun Yuanhua listened to the emperor's words, thought for a while, and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, there is this matter, that is, a few years ago, when Liaodong was in crisis, the imperial court did hire a group of Portuguese artillery masters, this matter , or Xu Guangqi, Weichen's teacher, urged him to make it."

Xu Guangqi did this?Yang Reform thinks it is very interesting. It seems that his master Xu is not only insightful in internal affairs, but also in military affairs!

"Then what is the main purpose of hiring these people? What happened afterwards? What are the results? This relationship is just hiring?" Yang Reform wanted to know the details.

Sun Yuanhua thought for a while, and said: "Your Majesty, I have heard some of these things from Master Xu. I only know that these Portuguese people seem to specialize in training gunners. I don't know the specifics. I just know some superficial information. If your Majesty wants to inquire more carefully, I am afraid you will have to ask Master Xu." Sun Yuanhua is also not clear about the ins and outs of this matter.He said that he had to ask Xu Guangqi to find out.

"Oh? That's it..." It seems that Xu Guangqi has to ask about this matter!Yang Reform is really interested in the fact that Ming Dynasty people can use mercenaries. If they can hire Western mercenaries, he can even pay for a group of mercenaries to directly exterminate the Japanese in the Ryukyu Kingdom. You don't have to wait for your own ship to be built, and the sailors can start a war after training, and help your navy train by the way. In this way, it may be much better than relying on the retraining of the navy within the Ming Dynasty, because the Ming Dynasty's navy They have already degenerated very badly, but these foreigners are different. To be able to travel across the ocean from the west to the east, presumably, the navigation technology and combat technology have all been honed. This practical experience must be very rich. As the Eastern Empire The emperor, presumably, as long as he hooks his fingers, there will be foreigners lined up as mercenaries for him. In this way, his navy can grow rapidly and shorten the time to form an army. What he lacks is time , This ship has not been designed yet. A warship built in a year is only a concept, and it may not be built. Even if it is built, adaptive training must be done, and the performance of the warship must be tested. It will take longer for those landlubbers to become real sailors, and I want to go to North Korea to fight this year. It seems that this mercenary has a lot to do. I really need to talk to Xu Guangqi immediately about this matter!
Yang Reform figured it out and couldn't wait.

"Big companion, go to Master Xu's house immediately, I have something important to do." Yang Reform said to Wang Chengen who just came back from outside.

Wang Chengen was still about to close the door, but when he heard the emperor's words, he immediately closed the door again, looked at the sky outside, and said worriedly: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's getting late."

"No, let's go right away, buddy, speed!" Thinking of the excitement, Yang Reform doesn't care about the time or not. Back then, playing games all night was normal!

"Obey, Your Majesty." Wang Chengen stopped persuading the emperor, and immediately prepared items for the emperor to leave the palace.

……

A group of people went straight to Xu Guangqi's home.

Xu Guangqi was recovering gradually and was recuperating at home when he suddenly heard the steward report that the emperor was coming, so he came out to greet him immediately, but as soon as he came out, he ran into the hurried emperor head on and saluted immediately.

"My minister Xu Guangqi kowtows to my emperor, long live long live long live long live!"

"Master Xu, don't be too polite, please hurry up, I have something important to discuss with Master Xu." Yang Reform almost rushed into Xu Guangqi's house at a sprint speed, panting, which surprised Xu Guangqi. , What the hell happened to make His Majesty be in such a hurry.Is there a coup somewhere?The emperor intends to flee?It's not like that either!No sound was heard in the capital, Xu Guangqi frightened himself, and even his hairs stood on end.

"Your Majesty, why is there such a hurry?" Xu Guangqi didn't care so much, and hurriedly asked what was going on.If someone really rebels, Xu Guangqi intends to fight him to the death and resolutely defend His Majesty the Emperor.

"Ahem...Master Sun, I want to ask you, do you know about the mercenaries of Fulang Jiren? I heard from Sun Yuanhua that this matter was urged by you? Tell me quickly." Yang Reform really I want to know the ins and outs of this matter, my plan, and there are still big loopholes. I am too impatient to attack North Korea and use my own warships and fleets. This is only a few months away, and I will definitely not be able to create new ones. For warships, you can only use old Ming Dynasty navy warships or lease or buy merchant ships to transport troops and train recruits, which is too risky.If you can have experienced foreigners as instructors, your fleet will be formed several times faster, and your combat skills will be improved and matured quickly. This will definitely buy you a lot of time. What you lack is time.

This year, the peasant rebellion will break out on a large scale. The relocation of the peasants to the sea must be carried out immediately, the sooner the better, otherwise, the power of this rebellion will one day overthrow itself to the ground.The wild boar skin will enter the customs next year. If he can't drag the wild boar skin to North Korea before next year, he will have to fight the wild boar skin in the customs. It's better to find a rope and hang yourself earlier. Although Yang Reform has made a lot of preparations, even preparing Yuan Chonghuan to copy the old nest of wild boar skin regardless of his own danger, but his confidence in winning is only between five and five. Dragging the wild boar skin to North Korea as much as possible will free up a lot of time for training and raising wages. The longer the time, the greater the chance of winning the decisive battle with the wild boar skin.

(End of this chapter)