When the second year of Hongxing in the Ming Dynasty was approaching the end of the year, Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, was a prosperous and lively time.

This autumn's harvest is not bad, and the places are calm, except for the small war going on around Sichuan, and there is not much war on the local side of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, after the autumn harvest, the price of rice in Nanjing, which has always been high, has dropped significantly, and the price of brown rice has fallen to about one tael per stone, and white rice has fallen to about one tael per stone.

The drop in food prices has also given the common people, military dependents, and low-ranking officials living in Nanjing a little more money on hand. Therefore, approaching the end of the year, the streets on both sides of the Qinhuai River are all overcrowded, and there are citizens everywhere who buy New Year's goods, people are crowded, and they are very lively.

Caballero and his entourage, who came out of West Chang'an Avenue and crossed Tongjimen Street and the moat of the Imperial City, plunged headlong into the sea of people in Nanjing.

The carriage they were riding in was slowly moving forward on the most crowded streets and alleys on the north bank of the Qinhuai River, with pedestrians, carriages and horses in front and behind. The storefronts on both sides of the street are full of customers. There are also many female actors who live on the Qinhuai River to welcome and send them to, the flowers are red and willow green, and they are very good-looking.

Sure enough, it is a huge country with a population of 100 million! Caballero looked at the sea of people in front of him and sighed in his heart.

The population of a single city of Nanjing is probably equivalent to the entire Kingdom of Portugal!

Such a vast country, with a large population, and not a weak military force, would undoubtedly break the existing world order if it rushed to the sea.

With only a native population of more than 5.2 million and a population of less than 10 million overseas colonies, how could Philip IV dare to be called the "king of the world" in front of the Ming Emperor, who had a population of more than 100 million?

What is the difference between such a "king of the world" and those arrogant and uninformed monarchs of the East?

Caballero thought of the man he had just met, Zhu Cihong, a man who was not at all the same species as the princely chieftains he had met in the South Seas (claiming to be kings, sultans, or whatever), nor was he the legendary self-righteous king of the Oriental Celestial Empire.

This guy is kind of like, Fan. Dimmen ...... Caballero actually thought of the Dutch profiteer who provoked Spain against the Ming Dynasty - he certainly knew that Fan. Diemen was sowing discord, but Caballero also knew that Van Van. The "Ming threat theory" that Dimon said is right!

If the Ming Emperor wanted to find enough food for his 100 million people, the only way out was to go to the ocean!

And the Ming Dynasty, which is going to the ocean, will sooner or later become the hegemon of the Pacific Ocean by virtue of its geographical advantages in the western Pacific Ocean and its large population...... With the Pacific Ocean, the Ming Dynasty will definitely aim at the rich New World!

So the Spanish Empire must do everything possible to stop the Ming from going to the deep sea!

Caballero exhaled, and his attention turned back to the bustling and crowded streets of Nanjing. Westerners can sometimes be seen on the streets, the number is not comparable to that of Shanghai, and they are also more local, most of them wear gorgeous Chinese clothes, and some wear Chinese scholars' gauze hats.

"There are Westerners here too?" Caballero asked.

"There are some," replied John Tong, "about a thousand people." ”

John Tang was accompanying Caballero back to a state guesthouse managed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Commerce, which was originally the residence of a certain Nanjing noble, just outside the Dinghuai Gate in the outer city of Nanjing. It was not necessary to pass through the Qinhuai River from the imperial city, but John Tang wanted to let the Spanish guests know more about the prosperity of the Ming capital, so he took a detour.

"Who are they?" Caballero asked.

"Mainly mercenaries and engineers," John Tang said with a smile, "the Ming are at war with the Qing state of the Tatars in the north and the state of Shun established by the rebels in the west, so it is necessary to introduce Western military technology." Therefore, in the past three or four years, the Ming court has successively employed thousands of people through the Dutch East India Company and the Macao Council. There were instructors, senior officers, sailors, and engineers in metallurgy, casting, shipbuilding, and construction, most of whom lived in Nanjing.

There are also some teachers, hired through the Jesuits, who are teachers of the Gezhijing School, and there are hundreds of them.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty had just abolished the road guidance system and allowed people to move freely. Westerners in China can also enjoy the same treatment, and merchants in Shanghai can now enter and leave Nanjing freely.

The current Ming Dynasty, even compared with European countries, is very open. ”

He is very satisfied with the development of the Ming Dynasty - an open country also means that he can preach more freely!

Although Emperor Zhu was wary of Catholicism, his country still needed Jesuit missionaries to introduce Western scientific knowledge, so he turned a blind eye to their incidental missionaries......

"yes...... A European country of more than 100 million people! Caballero mused, "What a great thing! ”

The carriage moved slowly and finally arrived at Dinghuaimen Street. Dinghuai Gate is a city gate on the outer outline of Nanjing, just on the east bank of the lower reaches of the Qinhuai River. The river channel in the lower reaches of the Qinhuai River is the natural moat of this section of the city wall. However, now the Dinghuai Gate is still there, but the large sections of the city wall on the left and right have been demolished. Along the banks of the Qinhuai River, many iron workshops using hydraulic hammers were built, although it is now a recent season, but these iron workshops are still very busy, the chimneys are filled with black smoke, the tall water wheels creak and turn, and the sound of hydraulic hammers clanging can be heard on Dinghuaimen Street.

"What are these factories producing?" Caballero asked.

"To produce Spanish light arquebuses," replied John Tong, "His Majesty the Emperor has a huge army of hundreds of thousands to arm, and even if the arsenals in Shanghai, Nanking, Quanzhou, and Canton were all at full capacity, it would be a long time to be busy. ”

"Hundreds of thousands?" Caballero took a breath, "Armed with arquebuses?" ”

"And plate armor, spears, and 3-pounder guns." Tang Ruowang smiled, "But this army is not aimed at Spain, that's for sure!" ”

The only thing that is certain is the ambition of the Ming Dynasty! Caballero became even more convinced of the "Ming threat theory".

Hundreds of thousands of Ming troops armed with Western-style weapons and tactics are a threat to everyone!

"So...... What about their navy? Caballero inquired, "The Chinese will also build Galen ships, right?" ”

"Yes, but they're not very manipulative." John Tong replied, "Their favorite type of ship is still the bird boat. The vessel has hard sails, is easy to manoeuvre, does not require too many sailors, and is able to adapt to the complex and changing wind conditions of the offshore waters. Recently, the large shipyards in Nanjing and the five major commercial ports have received orders for the design of the 'Ten Thousand Stone Bird Ship' issued by the Ming Dynasty. ”

"Ten Thousand Stone Bird Ship?"

"It's a large bird ship that can carry 10,000 koku of cargo!" "10,000 stone is about 12,300 bushels, which is almost as good as a Spanish galleon," he explained.

But they were not warships, they could only be armed with a small number of guns, and they were slow, and they could only sail between China, Annam, Chenla, and Siam. ”

The 10,000-stone big bird ship was used to transport immigrants and food, and 10,000 stone was almost 600 tons. The light displacement of a sailing ship capable of carrying 600 tons of cargo at a time was about 800 tons, which was similar to that of the Jain, which later sailed around the world.

Because it is driven by a hard sail, it can be driven by only about 40 sailors, and although it cannot be used for warfare, it is very economical. It is the best tool for Nanyang colonization and food import - and once the Nanyang colonization and food import form a scale, then the Ming Dynasty will gradually have a strong maritime power!

"This is a huge step forward!" Caballero thought to himself, "You can also go to the Philippines...... It seems that the country is already impatient to go to the sea!

And the conflict between Spain and the Ming Dynasty can only be postponed and inevitable! ”

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