Under the watchful eyes of the crowd of onlookers who were like ants on the pier, several British Galen ships docked on the outer pier slowly set sail and sailed towards the open sea.

Dressed in the camel hair I had brought from the Indian Ocean, Qi Dudu stood on the bow deck of the flagship, feeling the strong wind blowing in his face, and thoughtfully.

Today, the sea temperature is not high, the wind speed is very fast, and the wind pressure is strong when the ship is sailing rapidly, and if you don't bow your head slightly, you will feel that you can't breathe.

I was worried that Qi Dudu would not be able to stand it, so I suggested softly: "Dudu, let's go to the captain's room." It's higher and the view is better. ”

Qi Dudu shook his head with a smile, he walked to the edge of the deck, gently touched the sturdy cable, turned back to me and asked, "Qilan, you just said that you want me to see the firepower of this ship?" What do you think? ”

Seeing that this old man was so stubborn, I really laughed angrily on the spot: "Yes! Yes! You're coming this way! ”

With that, I invited him to the side of the boat on the other side of the deck, and gave Hua Mei a look, she immediately moved, stepped forward, and said softly: "Dudu, everything on this ship is good, but the sound of artillery is too loud, and I still can't get used to it after listening to it for a long time." By the way, I have extra earplugs, you can wear a pair of them too! ”

Who knew that the stubborn old man snorted, and his disdainful expression overflowed: "The old man has been a horse all his life, and he has been good at transforming and using firearms since he was a child, but you are worried about the old man?" Don't talk nonsense, just shoot! ”

Hua Mei and I looked at each other helplessly, this stubborn old man! There was no choice but to do it.

In order to test firepower, naturally I couldn't simply fire at the air, so I asked Jiugui Zhengxiao to send someone to use a medium-sized transport ship bought from Guangzhou as a target ship to drive it to a nautical mile away.

For this kind of medium-sized transport ship, Qi Dudu knows it very well. When he was in Guangzhou, due to the heavy rain in the south, the roads were muddy and difficult to navigate during the rainy season, and the daily military transportation relied on such transport ships.

This type of ship is not considered the main force in the fleet, but it is durable, has a large capacity, medium to high seaworthiness, and has a good speed, which basically represents the average level of defense of warships in the Far East.

Seeing that the target ship was stopped, Qi Dudu propped his hands on the side of the ship, his eyes unblinking, waiting for the start of the fire show.

I estimate that for such a target ship, only the firepower of a single ship's guns is enough, after all, I am riding the most advanced ship on the planet today, and the most advanced artillery is also used after the modification by myself.

I did this in order to give Qi Dudu the most intuitive shock and impression, after all, in previous naval battles, the firepower of a single ship was an indisputable fact, and only a group of ships could be powerful.

Nine ghosts Masataka as the commander, after an order, the artillery on the flagship where we are is fired in unison! Scorching shells tear through the autumn sea and hit the target ship with a scorching breath!

In the fierce shelling, Qi Dudu was like a statue, and his body did not even shake in the slightest! And the cannonball hit the transport ship, like a beast of prey biting a weak animal, leaving an indelible wound on it in an instant!

In just thirty seconds, the main mast of the transport ship was broken and collapsed on the broken deck!

In fifty seconds, the left side of the target ship was torn to pieces, and a raging fire broke out inside the cabin!

In just one minute, due to the belly of the ship exposed on the side, the keel of the target ship was hit by a continuous shell and broke from the middle!

The whole ship was like a bamboo that had been plucked out of the middle, its belly was raised high, but the bow and stern began to sink first!

A minute and a half later, the entire ship sank without a trace, leaving only the huge blisters that had "goo-goo-goo" from the previous location, still telling the onlookers about what had just happened!

Such an effect is insignificant in the eyes of those of us who are familiar with artillery warfare, after all, in the torrential rain in the English Channel, we have almost all the shells we carry, and we have a deeper understanding of the performance of this artillery than anyone else.

But for Qi Dudu and his young son Qi Xingguo, who came with him, he couldn't believe what was happening in front of him! In their cognition, artillery is always the foil of naval warfare, and the real decisive victory depends on the white-knuckle battle of the side.

This is also very similar to what the Spaniards have always known, the only difference being that Spain has better options next to the country with the fastest naval reform. However, the Ming Dynasty favored the Far East, but it was unheard of for such a large firearm, let alone the use and selection!

Qi Dudu's father and son looked at the small whirlpool brought up by the sunken target ship in amazement, and did not speak for a long time. Suddenly, the old man turned to me and asked in an almost trembling voice, "Qilan, how many such ships, including artillery, are there in the Western Ocean?" ”

I couldn't bear to lie to him, and I didn't want to exaggerate, so I said truthfully: "This new type of ship is currently only owned by the British, and it is an internal equipment. Because I had done so much for the British, I was able to equip two fleets under license. ”

As I spoke, I waved my finger at the Adikon fleet behind me, and then pointed to the fleet that did not regret it: "At present, the main force in the Western Ocean is still the old warship, but this kind of new warship is also increasing. On average, it takes about three months to build one shipyard in each shipyard, or four ships a year. And how many dockyards are there in Britain? It's terrible to go on like this! ”

Qi Dudu was speechless and asked again: "How much is such a ship worth?" ”

I smiled bitterly: "The governor asked the most critical question, this ship is not cheap, the price of a single ship is about 300,000 gold coins in the Western Ocean, which is equivalent to nearly one million taels of silver dollars in the Ming Dynasty!" If you count the artillery, the price has nearly doubled! Of course, the artillery that the British had was not my own, and theirs was not so powerful. ”

Hearing me say this, Qi Dudu Fang breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, this ship cannot be mass-produced, otherwise it will be mass-produced in the Western ......."

Saying that, his body shook, and he frowned tightly and said, "Where is there still a way to live in the Ming Dynasty?"

I nodded, "Exactly!" So I came back this time, except to visit the governor, but it was for this purpose! ”

Qi Dudu was silent in the face of the fierce sea breeze, and for a long time, he stared into the distance and said in a hoarse voice: "The battle of national fortunes is like sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat." Qilan let me see that there is such a powerful thing in the world, which made me sigh in my heart why not be born thirty years later! ”

I hurriedly spoke: "The governor is in the prime of life, if you want to go to sea, it is also the right time, why not go to the West with me to take a look and show your majesty again?"

Qi Dudu pursed his lips and smiled, and tapped me with his hand: "It's your mouth!" But I know my own affairs, so you don't have to coax me! ”

As he spoke, he looked back at his youngest son Qi Xingguo, and said affectionately: "Among my five sons, I love this young son the most." He is about the same age as you, far less intelligent and wise, but he is more upright than you, and most like when I was younger. ”

I immediately understood, "Is the governor going to let Xingguo go out to have a look on your behalf?"

Qi Dudu nodded, his eyes solemn: "When I go back later, I will immediately go to the Jingshi and report the urgent situation to today's first assistant!" Qilan, if you have the heart to convince those old people, you will have to take the risk of going to Beijing once, and you will have to face Chen Secret! ”

Hearing this, I couldn't help laughing aloud: "Dudu, if I want to hide, I just need to stay in the West and watch coldly, why come back thousands of miles to find this bad luck?"

Qi Dudu couldn't help but laugh dumbly when he heard my words: "I know that you are full of loyalty, but you are just lamenting your misfortune and being angry with it. Today's little emperor in the court is alone and moody, you need to leave a few more hands to keep everything safe! ”

I immediately bowed my hand and nodded: "What the Governor said is very true!" When I go to Beijing, I will plan properly and prevent accidents. ”

Seeing that I had a plan in my heart, Qi Dudu nodded reassuringly, looked at the sinking ship again, and sighed softly: "If the emperor can wake up because of this, work hard, revitalize the dynasty, and have Qilan by his side, then with the great land of the Ming Dynasty, its achievements are by no means comparable to small Western countries!"

I was silent, Qi Dudu thought for a moment, and suddenly asked me: "Qilan, you said, how sure are you going to persuade the little emperor?"

"Fifty percent" thought for a moment before I replied.

Qi Dudu frowned vigorously: "So low? Why is Qilan so pessimistic? ”

I said abruptly: "Judging purely from the threat of future maritime wars, there is no reason why the authorities should not wake up, be indignant, and go all out to strengthen the navy. This is the trend of the future development of the world, and it will certainly change the national fortunes and future of all countries. If the navy is strong, the country will be strong; If the navy declines, the country declines. This is the inevitable development of the world, so I am fifty percent sure that I will convince the waste emperor if he still has a shred of sanity and wisdom. ”

Although I was very disrespectful to the emperor in my words, Qi Dudu did not express much. Stupidity and incompetence have become synonymous with Zhu Yijun of Mingshenzong, and he abolished the reforms promoted by his second uncle, causing the national strength to retreat instead of advancing. And the lack of going to court in recent years has made the country decline day by day.

Dongying dared to attack the seemingly powerful vassal states of the Ming Dynasty before they were unified, which is not difficult to show that the Ming Dynasty was strong in the outside world. So I don't have a lot of confidence in my heart, because you can never wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep.

However, when I explained to Qi Dudu, I still said it more objectively: "The Ming Dynasty sits on the world and is rich in territorial waters, and when the Supreme is weak and incompetent, it really does not have sufficient motivation to strengthen the navy and make the country stronger." ”

"Everything is there, everything is there, and the interior is relatively stable, even if there is a little civil unrest, in the eyes of the little emperor, it is just a small problem of scabies. If there is an invasion from the outside, it is a big deal to move to the mainland, and he can continue not to go to the court, even if the Ming Dynasty becomes the Southern Song Dynasty, what is the loss of his royal family? So the remaining half, I am not optimistic about it anyway, because among the emperors of the Zhu family, who is clear-minded? ”

When I say these words, it is already a great disrespect in contemporary times, and it can already be punished as a rule. But Qi Dudu has been through ups and downs for so many years, and now he is retired at home, and he knows that his limit is approaching, how can he have so many scruples?

As for me, hehe, I'm leaving, can the little emperor of the Zhu family stop me? If I want to come, how can I ask for the consent of this faint monarch who has not been in court for thirty or forty years in history?

Qi Dudu was silent, staring fixedly at the sea in the distance. If you want the Ming Dynasty to revive its prestige and rejuvenate the navy, whether it is feasible or a spring dream, it is really unknown, it is not known!

A strong sadness suddenly rose in my heart, the old man in his last years was still worried about the rise and fall of the country, and the little emperor who was high above the temple had ever had this tenth of his diligence and conscientiousness?

Suddenly, a poem turned up in my heart, and when I thought about it deeply, it was like it was tailor-made, it was Zhang Tingyu's famous pen, and I couldn't help but recite it in a deep voice:

South to north to west to east, life is in it, the sky is empty, the land is empty, how many protagonists have changed;

Ye Jing listened to the three watch drums, turned over and didn't feel the five watch bells, and thought carefully from the beginning, it was Nan Ke in a dream;

A hard work is empty, and after death, it returns to the soil, and the body returns to the earth with the wind, and a naughty stink;

In the body of ten thousand tilted fields, after death only three steps to the ground, bury bones why mulberry ground, life everywhere green mountains;

The Great Wall of China is empty, the heroes of the century dream of the century, the light sail on the side of the sunken boat, and the spring of ten thousand trees in front of the sick tree!

In the final analysis, it is just a small wave in history.