"This is the vessel I can find in the Far East, which best meets your requirements for 'offshore operations'. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 The info is 19 rooms and 3 feet (about 35 meters) long, 6 rooms and 1 foot (about 11 meters) wide, and has a draft of 2 rooms and 2 feet (about 4 meters), and drains 53,000 kan (about 200 tons), which requires at least 30 sailors to operate. Not...... In the custom of the Fuso shipbuilders, it was about 1,100 koku for a ship. This kind of ship is flexible in operation, convenient for the use of sail power, regardless of the wind and headwind, can quickly sail and turn, but the disadvantage is that it is not resistant to too much wind and waves, so the merchants of the country are used for offshore trade and escort. As a rule of thumb, it was on the coast of Fuso and could carry 600 stone cargo, or 150 soldiers and their armed supplies, as well as no more than 20 artillery pieces for combat. ”

Listening to Raphael's introduction, Hirata Hirata stared intently at the sailboat moored in the harbor, and occasionally nodded.

In front of him is a new merchant ship purchased by this Portuguese merchant, which also doubles as a sample for display.

The retainers who accompanied him may not have realized how much difference these "Southern Barbarian" sailing ships were from Japanese ships, but Honhide was well aware of the place of this means of transport in human history.

Later scholars will refer to the historical process from the 15th to the 17th century as the "Age of Discovery", and the name alone should understand the importance of ocean-going sailing ships. After throwing this ship, it seems that you can see the development of astronomy, geography, mechanics, machinery, casting and many other disciplines behind it, as well as the rising trend of capitalism, colonialism, and nation-states.

So he lost his mind for a while.

This is the port on the west side of Kishiwada Castle.

Out of the port, the Seto Inland Sea is the essence of Fuso.

Regardless of the situation in Kyoto, Hirate Hoshu can only return to Izumi for the time being. He has recently used his influence in Asai's affairs, and there is no room for political affairs. What's more, he didn't have much say on the Ise front.

However, the good news from Portuguese businessman Rafael Castello diluted the previous fears.

Huge curved hull, protruding bow and stern, triangular mainsails fluttering in the wind, auxiliary sails on the front and rear masts...... There is also a more striking one, with a row of square gun ports on each side, but they are all empty.

In this regard, Fan Xiu immediately spoke: "Thanks to your kindness, I have already seen the sample of the ship. But until it's armed, it can't be called a 'battleship'. Please also introduce the situation of naval guns. ”

"About this ......" Raphael blinked and smiled charmingly, "You also know that advanced weapons are always precious, and Fuso is too far away from the country, so the cost of artillery needs to be calculated separately. ”

"No problem." Fan Xiu cursed in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged, "In that case, let's talk about the price first." ”

Hearing this, Raphael smiled unabashedly and replied: "Then the contemptible man will say bluntly, if you buy directly the brand-new ships built by the Portuguese shipbuilders and craftsmen themselves, each one will be seven thousand taels of silver. I must admit that this figure is much higher than the normal selling price, but please understand that it is very risky to transport goods of this magnitude, and it takes a lot of money to bribe the Far Eastern officials of the country, and my profit is not as much as it seems. ”

Tieshou couldn't help frowning and didn't answer. It is true that he is richer than other daimyo of the same level, but what he can use at hand is only more than 20,000 yuan, and it is less than 30,000 taels of silver, and spending money is not such a flower.

Raphael waited for a moment, saw that the customer was not satisfied, and continued: "Of course, you can also consider hiring experts to come and set up a shipyard in your territory. In this way, the cost is estimated to be reduced to less than 3,000 taels of silver, but this requires a lot of upfront investment and some adaptation time. ”

Fan Xiu still shook his head and said nothing. Throw away at least tens of thousands of dollars, and wait a long time for the results? Now there is obviously not so much spare power.

And judging from the other party's words and deeds, it is obvious that there is still something to be said.

Sure enough, Raphael added: "In addition, there is a special temporary route. As you know, this kind of ship has a limited ability to withstand wind and waves, so some admirals in the country are considering upgrading and using a newer type of large ship as a warship. If you are willing to receive a batch of old ships, the price of goods like this is between 1,000 taels and 2,000 taels. ”

Hearing this, Pingshou Fanxiu understood that the previous words were all foreshadowing, and this batch of old ships was the main topic. It seems that this Portuguese businessman has been messing around in the East for a long time, and his style of doing things is still a little tactful.

In this era when information is extremely unsmooth and the trade route is heavy, it is impossible to expect to buy cheap "foreign goods", and the flat hand does not have any bargaining power, after all, the European Chamber of Commerce that is willing to come to Fuso, the total is just that, half of Thailand is in Kyushu, and there are long-term partners for fixed cooperation.

He roughly estimated it, and felt that the figure offered by Raphael was still roughly reasonable, at least the premium was not so high that it was unacceptable.

However, Fan Xiu is more concerned about-

"I beg your pardon. But with the current situation in Fuso, I'm afraid I can't find a professional in this area to identify the quality of second-hand ships, and if there is a deviation in the future, who will be responsible? ”

"That's a great question." Raphael seemed to have anticipated this question, and immediately replied, "How about using my property in your territory as collateral?" If there is any abnormal loss of the vessel in the future, I will be responsible for compensation. Of course, what constitutes an 'abnormal loss' requires a rigorous written assessment. ”

Fan Xiu was a little interested when she heard this, and said: "This sounds like the practice of the insurance industry. Seems to solve the problem between us. ”

Raphael was surprised for a moment, and then nodded happily: "It seems that you have also heard about the insurance industry in Italy and the Netherlands, so it is much easier to communicate." ”

He is interested in promoting the development of the insurance industry, but this is clearly not the time to talk about it. He thought about it for a while, and finally decided: "If the old ship is of good quality, of course it is acceptable." For the time being, with 12,000 taels as the budget ceiling, can eight warships of similar size be? ”

"No problem. Please trust me to do my best to help you pick the best within my authority. ”

"But your own shipyard is also needed, at least with the ability to maintain it yourself. If you invest 5,000 kan at once, can you let the craftsmen of Fuso repair it themselves within half a year? ”

"I need to ask the relevant people, and if I only ask for it to be repaired and not built, it is estimated that it will not be too far behind."

"What about the instructor's problem? You must have a solution too, right? ”

"Yes. An annual salary of one hundred taels of silver can be used to recruit the captain of a frigate in a caravan, and an annual salary of two hundred taels of silver can be used to recruit a former naval officer who leaves the team for some reason. If you are willing to pay more than 500 taels...... I am confident in persuading good officers who are retired or even active to serve you. ”

"Then let's decide on the figure of five hundred taels. But I would like this to be included in the scope of insurance. If you have a fraudulent background or insufficient level of training......"

"Okay. How many people do they have? ”

"My hope is a total of twenty to thirty instructors, including five active or retired Navy members. How is it? ”

"Your demands are not low, and I can't guarantee that you will be able to do so. What about the others? Shipbuilders, craftsmen, and even translators? ”

"This is uncertain for the time being, it needs to be calculated, and the commissioners will give you the final result."

In a few words, the matter of the ship was roughly determined, and then Fan Xiu couldn't wait to ask: "So, can we talk about the issue of artillery?" ”

"Yes, yes." Raphael smiled and made a friendly expression, "It seems that no such person has done this kind of business in Fusang, but the military of the Ming Dynasty has already purchased two types of artillery. We don't care about the name of the place of origin, but in the Far East, these two cannons are called 'Buddha cannons' and 'Hongyi cannons'. ”

Fan Xiu nodded and replied, "I have also heard of this, the Buddha Cannon is a light rear-loading artillery with a fast rate of fire, but the range and power are insufficient. The Hongyi Cannon is a heavy front-loading gun, which is very powerful and has a long firing range, but it takes a lot of effort to reload. ”

"As you say." Raphael said, "Due to the mountainous nature of Fuso, I recommend that you use the Buddha Cannon, which can be disassembled and used on land. If it is a red cannon, it is difficult to move it to undulating ground. ”

Regarding the kindness of the Portuguese merchants, Fan Xiu decisively shook his head and refused, saying: "The range of the wounded enemy of the Buddha cannon is generally only five towns (545 meters), which is not enough to distance itself from the Ataka ship. To achieve the tactics I envisioned, it was necessary to use the Red Artillery. Its practical name is your one, it should be said that Kou Feilin is a long-term cannon, right? ”

“…… Well, your understanding of our 'Nanban' is always surprising. Raphael shrugged, "Anyway, it's you who pays the money, of course you have the final say." The largest artillery I have access to so far is about two guns (3.6 m) long, weighing 480 pounds (1,800 kg), caliber 4 inches (120 mm), and weighing 12 kg (7.2 kg), with a range of more than 20 towns (2,182 m). The cost of casting this cannon is two hundred taels of silver, and if I ship it out and sell it to you, it will be less than six hundred taels, and I will lose money. And you can only get ...... at most at one time Six gates. ”

Judging from the fact that he said many parameters in one bite, it was obvious that he had prepared in advance. Fan Xiu didn't say much nonsense, and immediately finalized: "Then there are six gates, which is enough to arm the three largest ships." In addition, slightly smaller guns can be supplied in bulk, right? ”

"In my own fleet, there are also a small number of ships armed with naval guns. It is about two feet (2.4 meters) long, weighs 240 guan (900 kilograms), has a caliber of 3 inches (90 millimeters), and weighs 5 catties and 5 taels (3.2 kilograms). I can supply more than fifty doors at a time, and I'll give you the price of two hundred and forty taels. ”

"Fifty gates...... So in total, the scale of the business we are talking about today has exceeded 30,000 taels of silver! This money really made it difficult for me to raise it for a while, and I think that about 30% of the credit is allowed, and of course there will be interest. ”

"No problem. From your policies in Izumi Province, I can see that you are a lord who cares about long-term business development, and will not do such a thing as settling debts. But correspondingly, I would like to ......"

"Then go further, there's ......"

"In this case, there is a problem that cannot be ignored......

"No problem, but ......"

……

After setting the overall direction, the following affairs can be handed over to the subordinates. After seeing off the Portuguese merchants, he still did not return to the city, still standing in the port town, admiring the sample of the ship.

Compared with the "castle in the water" of Fuso's Ataku boat, the design of the ocean-going sailing ship undoubtedly has a unique beauty.

He was surrounded by a group of retainers with question marks written all over their faces.

These people looked at each other for a long time, and finally tied Xiuyi relied on their kinship and asked boldly: "Uncle, after you pacified Hequan, you obtained some warships from the people, and now the main hall has transferred the Nine Ghost Family to do the three good things and force for attacking." Why don't you expand on this basis, but instead invest a lot of money to build a naval army organized entirely according to the customs of the Southern Barbarians? ”

"That's a good question......" When Fan Xiu heard this, he chuckled, turned around, glanced at it meaningfully, but did not answer, but asked rhetorically: "What do you think?" Shinjiu (Kawada Nagakin), Yahachi (Honda Masanobu), are you also like Keiji, don't you understand at all? ”

Seeing that he was named, Kawada gave a salute and replied, "Returning to my lordship, I think you are skeptical about the reliability of these naval forces, or you want to improve the traditional methods of water warfare. ”

He is indeed a keen man, and he has seen the aspect of the way of fighting. But what exactly the naval warfare method based on artillery bombardment was like, that was not something he could imagine.

Not to mention Fuso, even the European navies of this era still regarded broadside warfare as an important means. The tie is also because of the limited resources in his hands, so he made a strange move.

And Honda Masanobu waited until he finished speaking before adding: "My subordinates feel that there are also personnel and organizational reasons." The Fuso Navy was formed by families, serving as soldiers in wartime, fishermen and even pirates in peacetime, which ran counter to the lord's idea of 'separating the soldiers and farmers'. ”

According to the impression, Honda should be a more powerful person than Kawada, but only from a political point of view. He rarely speaks on other aspects, and I don't know if he is not interested or talented.

Hirata Xiuyi also made a look of hard thinking, and finally said: "The two adults have a point, I think my uncle should have synthesized these considerations!" "I don't know if he's really thinking about it, or if he's just talking nonsense.

Fan Xiu didn't care, nodded at everyone, and concluded: "It's all three. This is the difference between my navy and other naval forces. ”

His accent was placed on the words "My Navy".