In fact, for the sake of secrecy, Kong Tai did not take out the 8 most powerful 32-pounder Cullen naval guns on the ship, but only showed the 18-pounder Hongyi cannon. Moreover, the Hongyi cannons are all painted with gold paint, which looks like copper cannons.

This was specifically requested by Marin - not to show the Cullen guns to their European counterparts, lest they be imitated. As for the Hongyi cannon, it was also painted with gold paint and pretended to be a copper cannon.

Then, on the battleships of the North Sea State, the 12-pounder Napoleonic guns were nothing more than the most ordinary firepower, generally arranged on the upper deck. This luxurious firepower configuration made Da Gama extremely envious. However, he also knew that with the supply of saltpeter in Portugal, it would be difficult to afford so many heavy artillery. Unless...... can force the Ming Kingdom to give in and agree to sell them saltpeter in large quantities......

But Da Gama underestimated the degree of the Ming Dynasty's toughness, and although the coastal provinces of Guangdong and Hujian were turned upside down by the Portuguese, the Ming court was not thinking about peace, but about how to defeat the opponent, no matter how much it cost.

This is the difference between the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, until the late Ming Dynasty, when the Ming army's combat effectiveness deteriorated, but the Ming court never thought of compromising with the outside world, but tried its best to resist to the end. For example, the plague of the Japanese invaders on the southeast coast, the Ming court never compromised with the pirate group. In the face of the rise of Houjin, despite the unfavorable war, he never compromised. It's just that later, the peasant rebel army and the Manchu Qing Dynasty attacked inside and outside, and finally it was over. Moreover, it was mainly broken from the inside by the peasant army, and not by the external enemy.

In the last years of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, whoever came to surrender was special. Belgium, which has a big fart, dares to come to rip off the bamboo. The century-old humiliation of the country began in the midst of various sums. Therefore, Ma Lin very much does not understand why there are still people in later generations who miss the Qing Dynasty. If it was full, it would be fine, after all, it was the era when they were masters. The Han people also miss ...... It's just sick......

Compared with the two dynasties of the Ming and Qing dynasties, there is nothing comparable in the early stage, they are all strong. However, in the later period of the two dynasties, the gap was too great. In the late Ming Dynasty, chaos was mainly in the northern and northeastern borders, mainly in drought-stricken areas. At that time, the Jiangnan area was still prosperous, which was the envy of foreign missionaries. In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, even the rich south was not able to make a living.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty was destined to not be too strong because of the poor fiscal and taxation system left by Zhu Yuanzhang. It can only be said that when it was worse than the Qing Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty won. Among them, the Ming Dynasty was stronger than the Qing Dynasty in that the situation at the end of the Ming Dynasty was much better than that at the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Moreover, it is not the end of the Ming Dynasty at present, the Ming Dynasty is still in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and its strength is still quite strong. Moreover, the current emperor, Emperor Zhengde, is still a warlike emperor. Therefore, whether it is Marin or Kong Tai, a Huaxia expert, they all know very well that the Portuguese will definitely not get their wish in this matter.

However, Conté would not have reminded the Portuguese that he would have loved to see such a celebrity as da Gama hit a wall......

Seeing Da Gama's astonished eyes, Contai added fire and ordered:

"Come, fire a few shots to open the eyes of Lord Da Gama......"

Then, a rumbling cannon sounded, and the ship began to sway due to recoil......

Seeing the powder kegs piled up in the cabin, Da Gama said with envy on his face:

"Governor Contai, let's not mention the maintenance of the warship. But can you sell us a batch of gunpowder? We have come from afar, and the reserves of gunpowder may not be very sufficient. ”

Kong Tai shook his head repeatedly:

"This is not okay, it violates the principle of 'neutrality in wartime'. If our Grand Duke knows about it, he will remove me from my position. ”

"I'll double the price!" Da Gama was also ruthless. Anyway, he grabbed a lot of money in the fleet along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong.

Kong Tai still shook his head, he didn't dare to offend the Ming Dynasty. Da Gama also wanted to persuade him, but Kong Tai directly ignored it. Before da Gama left, Conté gave Da Gama some gifts as "personal gifts". However, they are all luxuries. As for the gunpowder that da Gama wanted most and the timber to repair the ship, Conteti did not mention it......

Looking at the 10 tall warships waiting in Tamsui Harbor, Da Gama shook his head and could only leave regretfully. After all, although the Portuguese warships were more numerous, their firepower could not be compared with others. The most important thing is that once the ship is damaged, even the dock where the ship can be repaired cannot be found. And the 10 battleships of Kong Tai can be returned to the dock for repair at any time. After a long time, it will definitely be the ten warships of the Beihai Kingdom that will win.

It's just that he didn't know that these ten battleships were specially strengthened keels and thickened sides, and they were not afraid of the Portuguese small-caliber guns at all. Moreover, the side side and waterline are also wrapped with nickel-iron sheets, which not only have high strength, but also resist corrosion. However, the nickel-iron sheet on the side was covered by thin planks, and Da Gama did not see it. The nickel iron sheet under the waterline is also painted with black paint, and it is impossible to see that it is a metal skin.

With regret, da Gama left Tamsui Port and returned to his ship, the Prince Enrique. He decided to grab another wave, and then go back to the base of Deep Water Bay on Xiangjiang Island to repair first. In particular, the three injured ships need to be repaired before they can be used again.

But Da Gama didn't know that his base on Xiangjiang Island had long been targeted by Wang Hong, the deputy envoy of the Liangguang Sea Road......

During the period when Da Gama led his fleet to attack the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong, Wang Hong had already sent spies to the north shore of Xiangjiang Island, established a temporary base, and built a hidden wharf on the north shore of Xiangjiang Island that was conducive to landing.

After learning that the fleet of the Francophiles was not at home, Wang Feng did not immediately order the capture of the Portuguese temporary base in Deep Water Bay, but first held back and did not move, and then sent people to monitor the temporary base of the Portuguese, preparing to do it later.

Wang Hong believes that even if this base is captured, there are no warships of the Francoman, and there is no point. The Franc machine attacked and harassed the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong, relying on warships, not this temporary base. Therefore, if you want to eliminate banditry, the most important thing is to destroy the enemy's warships, not destroy the opponent's temporary base.

Therefore, Wang Feng did not take advantage of the enemy's absence to send troops to attack this base, but sent secret agents to monitor it day and night. At the same time, the family is also actively training shipbuilders to prepare to scuttle through the enemy's warships in the coming days.

……

Just when Wang Feng was actively preparing for the war, outside the Nantou Water Village, a middle-aged Xiucai who claimed to be a study tour suddenly came, asked to meet, and said that he wanted to offer a plan.

The scholars of the Ming Dynasty were noble, even if it was Wang Hong, a member of the fourth grade, he would not be easily offended. Because, who knows when this scholar will become a jinshi and then become an important bureaucrat. If you snub the other party, the other party will hold a grudge, and it will be equivalent to making a political enemy in the future. What's more, this showman claims to be here to offer advice, which is even more worthy of his attention.

However, Wang Feng didn't know that this Xiucai who came to offer advice was actually specially arranged by Kong Tai under the instructions of Ma Lin......

Xiucai's name is Lu Feng, and he was originally a down-and-out Xiucai in Hu Jianxinghua's mansion. Lu Feng was 23 years old and was admitted to show talent, and he was proud of the spring breeze. However, for the next 20 years, he tried again and again. When people are middle-aged, they are still a showman. Then, he began to doubt himself, and gave up the examiner, and instead taught in the countryside social school, barely making ends meet. Social studies is equivalent to the local primary schools in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, which teach children under the age of 15 to be enlightened, and are generally taught by ordinary Xiucai (high-level Xiucai generally continues to study in the government school or county school, and concentrates on preparing for the examination. Only poor talents who have little hope for the examiner, or have family difficulties, and hope to serve as a teacher to collect some "restraints" to subsidize the family, will go to work as a social studies teacher).

After Kong Tai became the governor of Dongfan Island, he sent people to recruit talents. It just so happened that Lu Feng's father was seriously ill and needed a lot of money for treatment. And his salary as a social studies teacher is simply not enough. Then, Kong Tai used a few big silver ingots to poach Lu Feng. Of course, Lu Feng went to Dongfan Island in the name of "study tour". Now two years have passed, and Lu Feng is still on a "study tour". It just so happened that Kong Tai needed someone to help him give advice to the chief officer of the Guangdong Water Division, and he couldn't expose himself. So, he simply sent Lu Feng to do this......