Section 148 Trip to Foshan (14)

"Yes, I think this is a good opportunity for the Jesuits to serve the court. I am also a veteran, having fought in Europe for more than ten years, never made a cannon, and always let go of a cannon. The fundamentals of the cannon are also known - can help you. ”

"Great, and the gunsmith's problem? No one here knows how to cast a Western run. ”

"The Portuguese won't give you a gunsmith, and it's useless for you to ask for an adult." "If you want to get someone from Goa, you'll have to wait until next year." ”

"What can I do?" Li Luoyou thought that he thought that relying on the Jesuits, the matter of hiring Portuguese gunsmiths was handy, but he didn't expect to find no one at all. His gaze turned to the British.

"Don't look at me." Quark raised his hands, "The gunsmiths of the East India Company are also in India, where is there here?" He took out a pipe, filled it with tobacco, and puffed it up, "But I have an idea." ”

"What's the idea?"

"Borrow a gun!" "Let the Jesuits come forward and borrow a few cannons from the Portuguese, let the craftsmen measure them on the spot, and then cast them to the measurements." I don't think there's anything more elaborate in the world than the craftsmanship of Chinese craftsmen, you show them, they can always make it. ”

This is a feasible solution, but borrowing guns from the Portuguese is a big deal, and it is necessary to obtain permission from the government, and it is necessary to move a lot. Li Luoyou was sure of this, he had already said the next family matter for his nephew, and the other party was a praise painting in the Wangzun shogunate. It won't be too much of a problem to move through his way to make and borrow cannons.

"Borrowing cannons, but also with the consent of the Macau City Council. The Jesuits could not command the municipal council of Macau. ”

"I don't think it matters, as long as the governor of Liangguang, Wang Zun, gives a warrant, the municipal council will not dare not borrow it."

"But what kind of cannon is it better to borrow?" Although Li Luoyou is very keen on this matter, he is still a layman after all.

"I think the 12-pounder naval gun from last time is very suitable." Quark said, "I heard that the squadron used it to kill the king of Tatars. ”

"It's just a barbarian chieftain. What kind of prince is it! ”

"If you just want to blindly defend, this large-caliber cannon is naturally the most suitable. But it can't be used in the field. Ma Yangchun said, "When the infantry needs fire support, this kind of cannon is too heavy." 3-pound and 6-pound guns had to be cast...... "He was a veteran of the war, and he had more experience in the use of artillery than the average person.

"Light artillery, the imperial army has ......"

"I've seen the artillery that the squadron uses to support the infantry. They were maneuvered by carts, the guns were too light, and they were not made according to scientific norms. It's not easy to use. Ma Yangchun shook his head. It was necessary to build horse-drawn two-wheeled artillery carriages, so that they could effectively support the infantry in battle and resist the charge of the cavalry. ”

Li Luoyou shook his head again and again, not that he disagreed with him, but he knew too much about the situation of the Ming army. Not to mention that there are not so many horses at all, but if there are, aren't soldiers cheaper than horses? A soldier's monthly salary is only one or two taels, and a horse costs dozens of taels of silver, and the artillery battalion must be equipped like the red-hair-man, and seven or eight horses must be served by one cannon alone, and no one can afford to use it.

"Father, the imperial court is in great demand for heavy artillery right now. Besides, the court lacks horses. ”

"Not only are there a shortage of horses, but even horses that pull carts are not qualified." Ma Yangchun knows that in China, apart from the government, the army, and a few wealthy people, you can hardly see horses anywhere else. And most of the horses here were short in stature - at first he thought that the Chinese were accustomed to servitude. It was only later that I found out that this was not the case.

"It looks like we can only cast heavy cannons." Ma Yangchun thought for a while, "But the largest of the Portuguese batteries in Macao is only an 18-pounder cannon......"

"That's pretty much it, it took a lot of effort to transport 12-pounder naval guns during the Apocalypse."

Zuihou decided to borrow an 18-pounder cannon, a 12-pounder cannon, and a 6-pounder cannon from the Macau City Council. The gun carriage gun carriage was also borrowed with the gun and copied. Li Luoyou still has a glimmer of hope -- with Xu Guangqi's attainments, he should not fail to see the importance of light artillery, right?

Li Luoyou took out his abacus and hastily calculated the various expenses of this transaction to determine the basis for the quotation when he contracted the production of cannons in the future.

"With the foundry, I will spread the gospel to the workers first. And through them, the Gospel of God will be disseminated...... "Ma Yangchun has returned from a veteran to a priest, "and there is good news recently. ”

"What's the good news? Father. ”

"The flock of God is enlarged. Do you remember the Lu Ruohua brothers? ”

"Of course, he and the Portuguese escorted the artillery into the Beijing Division."

"It's not this one, this is Lu Ruohan." Ma Yangchun shook his head, "I said that this is Father Lu Ruohua, who went to Qiongzhou to spread the gospel last year. ”

Li Luoyou vaguely remembered such a person: "John's gospel preaching has gained a lot? ”

"No, not John."

John was the son of the famous Ming Dynasty Catholic Wang Hongzhi, and his baptism name was John. Wang Hongzhi and Xu Guangqi have always been the main hopes of the Jesuit mission in Daming.

Ma Yangchun held a rosary in his hand and looked at the sky with his eyes: "What a miracle!" Thank God! I originally thought that a miracle would happen in Ding'an City on Hainan Island, but it happened in Lingao City. The will of God is mysterious. ”

Saying that, he greatly publicized Lu Ruohua's missionary achievements in Lingao: baptizing hundreds of believers, and setting up churches and monasteries. He praised the Australians of the island as a devout lamb of God. Spare no effort in the cause of evangelism.

"Lingao? Australian? Li Luo's face turned from a solemn complexion. The reputation of Australian goods has been thunderous in Guangdong for a year. The Australians drove iron ships, landed in Lingao to build a city, and took their own forts, doing what the Portuguese settled in Xiangshan Australia back then, Li Luoyou also heard about it. However, after this group landed in Lingao, they were also honest, except for sending ships to Guangzhou to trade, sell all kinds of rare goods, and purchase materials, they did not do anything out of the ordinary.

"Yes, it is the Australians who are now in Lingao, and I heard that they have built a castle there, called Bairen." Ma Yangchun knows more about Lingao's situation because of Lu Ruohua's relationship.

"They want to learn the same old tricks of the Portuguese." Quark said, "Honestly, I'd love to see these strange people."

"I heard that among them are your compatriots." Ma Yangchun said with a smile, "Brother Lu said that he had seen several English-speaking women. ”

"Aussies like English women?" "I really want to go once, I haven't tasted a female compatriot for a long time." ”

Ma Yangchun smiled and said, "Maybe they like the British very much." "In his letter, Fr. Lu said that some of them knew many European languages, but almost all of them knew English. ”

"It's a strange thing." Quark's curiosity was piqued, "I can't think of any use for someone outside England to learn English?" ”

In this era, intellectuals used Latin, and the common people, each in their own language, did not even speak French to the poor countryside of France, and there was such a group of people in the East who could speak a few words of English no matter what they did, and this strange thing that violated the laws of society was incomprehensible to everyone.

"God forbid, they are all believers in God and have not fallen into heresy......" Ma Yangchun drew a cross on his chest, and then looked at Quark sincerely, "Mr. Quark, God's door is always open for the Lost Lamb ......"

"Father Priest—" Quark knew he was going to lobby for re-baptism, renunciation of the state religion, and conversion to Catholicism. It didn't matter to this Englishman whether he believed or not, as he once said drunk, he could believe in any religion at any time if he wanted, or he could not believe it at any time - this Englishman did not believe in the existence of gods at all, he was a complete "no king" and "no god" money worshipper, he only believed in the glittering gold.

"Alright, let's stop talking about that." Li Luoyou pulled the topic away, "Australians' things are extremely exquisite, and some of them seem to be European products, but they are even better. Don't know what their craftsmanship looks like? I'd love to check it out too. ”

"I'd love to see it too." Quark Poor said, "Do business directly with them." Look at the rumored iron ships. It's just that the Ming court didn't allow us to go deep into the prefectures and counties. The seas are not very peaceful. ”

Li Luoyou said, "Mr. Quark, if you want, we can go to Lingao together next month." With my boat. ”

"Okay, I'll go." Quark Poor originally wanted to find a new trade opportunity, and now he gladly accepted it.

The three of them chatted until late at night. When he got up early the next morning, Li Luoyou first took someone to the Lin family to congratulate him with a birthday gift, and reached a tacit understanding with Lin Ming. Ma Yangchun began to give doctrinal lessons to a few of the local semicolon buddies. Li Luoyou felt that it was a good thing to let his subordinates believe in religion, at least there would be spiritual sustenance, so as not to think cranky-confused.

At dinner, Yang Shiyi came to visit, and the two of them talked in the study for a long time behind closed doors after dinner, and finalized the deal. Yang Shiyi's mouth was about to laugh crooked-the red ginseng he got from Li Luoyou was one pound of sixty taels of silver, and it was one hundred taels when he changed hands and gave it out. As for Zuihou sold to customers, the retail sales were as high as nearly 221 catties. He sold both in retail and wholesale, earning money at both ends.

Quark was poor because of his appearance, so he had to live in the font size. Li Luo is very perfunctory at red-hair-merchant, serving him with good food and drink every day, and from time to time he also sends him a woman to enjoy, Quark is far less picky than a traverser, and he laughs at it. In addition to eating, drinking, and having fun, another thing he does is to choose the style that Europe likes according to the samples that Cheng gets from various stores every day. Sometimes, he would personally draw some patterns and patterns and ask for customization.