"Mr. Raphael, long time no see! Judging from Sanshiro's introduction, your business is also going very well. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info”

"Heisama, the word 'also' in your words reveals the true meaning. Although my trade has improved slightly, it is far from being as good as your Excellency. ”

"Haha, it seems that you have a deeper understanding of the language habits of the Orientals."

Hirata smiled and greeted him while looking up and down.

After seven years, Rafael Castro has shown a clear atmosphere of maturity or aging. He had a golden beard, cascading wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and a few more frosts on his face.

And his companion, the strong and mighty Clauude Di, still seems to be the same, without any more traces of time. Or should it be said that there were already many traces of time on his body seven years ago?

Before the meeting, Hayasu had already heard from Tamakoshi Sanshiro that the Portuguese businessman had been focusing on running the line after opening his door through the connections of the Oda family, and had become a well-known arms dealer. However, in recent years, Nobunaga's power has expanded too rapidly, his horizons have become more and more wide, and there have been more channels to contact the Nanbanians, so Raphael's presence has greatly declined.

Unable to discern the change in fortune from his clothes and sword, he noticed the cross on Raphael's chest.

It was a delicate and large instrument, twenty centimeters high, carved from a rich purple-red wood, carved into a statue of the Crucifixion of Christ.

With his extremely limited knowledge of later religions, he vaguely remembered that Raphael's Protestant beliefs did not advocate the use of such instruments.

So he asked curiously:

"Mr. Raphael, have you converted to Catholicism again?"

The other party didn't show surprise, and didn't ask how Fan Xiu saw it, but replied in a somewhat low mood:

"Yes. I had joined a new sect of my own accord in order to oppose the Kingdom of Spain, but this led to a collective boycott from other seafarers. At first, my business was too small to be noticed, but in the past two years, the suppression in all aspects has been very strong, and if I don't convert, maybe I will go bankrupt immediately. ”

"That's really embarrassing for you. It's crazy that the distinction of faith leads to secular conflict. "The tie is half comforting, half saying what he really thinks.

"It's a pity that there are too few wise lords like you. The monks and daimyo of Europe are in a state of madness, and it may not be long before a large-scale war breaks out in the name of religion. ”

Raphael sighed lightly, a little disappointed, but quickly adjusted himself and said, "No matter what, life and business still have to go on." God is above! What I'm bringing to you this time is a technology that can make you rich. ”

"I've heard that it's rifling?" Fan Xiu asked, "Please forgive me for taking the liberty of being presumptuous, first of all, I want to know the general situation of this technology, and secondly, please explain, why did you find me to do this plan, and how do you define the rights and responsibilities of both parties in your imagination?" ”

Normally, as a politician, Hirata would not have spoken to his peers with such a blunt attitude in Fuso. But the European businessman Raphael, apparently adapted to the straightforward style of language, immediately replied one by one:

"Is it 'rifling'? Is this a new word you invented? As you said, this is a technique that processes rifling by means of machinery. In the past, each iron cannon required more than half a month of work by a skilled craftsman to carve out usable rifling. The same goes for the item I sold you last time. The new technology, on the other hand, relied on machinery and was able to do rifling at a rate of two cigarettes per day, and the need for artisan skills was reduced, but the quality was greatly improved. ”

Speaking of this, Raphael paused for a moment, took a sip of water, pointed to Claudiu beside him and added: "He is in charge of the specific technical details, you can learn more about them afterwards." As for why I found you...... First of all, you should know that although the rifled iron cannon has increased in accuracy, the reloading speed has decreased, and it can only be used in certain situations, and its demand is limited. ”

Tie Tsuyo nodded in agreement.

In the original history, rifling was not widely used as soon as it appeared, there was no afterloading technology, there were no Minne bullets, and the superiority of rifled guns was only laboratory data that remained on paper.

It is now 1567, and it is not uncommon to see hundreds of iron cannons used intensively in the joint battles in Fuso. After reaching this scale, the advantage of the accuracy of the rifling belt is far less important than the frequency of firing.

So rifled guns are not very popular and can only come in handy when sniping is needed.

Without the Minie bullet, the draw can still think of a way to see if he can come up with a similar replacement. But the technology of rear-loading guns, this is not at all possible in the 16th century.

Raphael went on to say:

"This technology has only been around in Europe for a few years, but this limited market has been carved up by others, and even the production technology has been patented. In the East, most of the seafaring merchants did not master the technology of making rifling, and the market was still blank. ”

Fan Xiu had already roughly understood when he heard this, and took over the conversation and said: "A blank market means that there are no competitors, but at the same time, there are no ready-made customers. ”

"Yes." Raphael nodded, "Not everyone is like you, and you can see the effect of rifling at a glance. I was struggling with this until I heard about your auction in Izumi Province some time ago...... That's a remarkable feat that has built an overwhelming art trading channel in just two months. The person who masters the channel is always far better than the person who only controls the product. ”

"You mean, you want to make a name for yourself at the auction?" Fan Xiu frowned, "Maybe you can barely achieve your goal, but I'm afraid the effect won't be too good." ”

"That's better than nothing!" Raphael shook his head helplessly, "To be honest, in recent years, everyone has known that it is very profitable to carry iron cannons to the East in exchange for silver, and the business competition has become more and more fierce, and I have to find my own advantageous projects." Of course, I'll definitely make you happy with the revenue split. ”

Raphael has always been a person who does business with righteousness, and since he said that he will satisfy the other party, he will definitely be able to do it.

So Fanxiu asked:

"So what exactly is your plan, Mr. Raphael—"

"Going to make it public in Europe is going to get you in trouble. So I want to put the Workshop in your territory. I regularly ship in the raw materials and process them locally before selling them. For every special iron cannon sold, you get a revenue share of 12 pieces. What you need to do is first to open up the market, and the second is to send troops to protect the craftsmen and tools from leaking. Of course I will guarantee to give priority to you and your allies, and never to deal with your enemies. ”

Fan Xiu secretly calculated to himself and felt that this business still had some prospects. If done properly, there may be three to five thousand dollars of income per year.

Raphael, of course, did not lose money, for this businessman, profit is secondary, the key is to rely on new goods to reach more contacts, make a name, and then use the strategy of bundling to compete for the market.

But Fan Xiu vaguely felt that there could be a better way to deal with this matter. I just didn't think it through for a while.

He nodded, then asked as he pondered:

"Excuse me, what exactly is this rifling technology?"

As soon as these words came out, Raphael knew that Fan Xiu had roughly agreed, his expression calmed down, and explained: "Dear Lord Pingshou, this technique requires a special knife edge, as well as a lever and a corresponding bed...... Well, there is no overly complicated principle involved, but there are certain requirements for the metallurgical and mechanical level, and it may be difficult to imitate it under the domestic conditions of Fuso. Let Claudiu show you how. ”

With that, Raphael turned his head and said a few words in Portuguese to his companion. Then the sturdy man beside him took out a few tools from the big baggage behind his back and began to show the effect to the flat hand.

The guy first pulled out a sharp hook-shaped blade, then attached it to a straight metal rod. Then he put the metal rod with the knife into the barrel of the gun, and in his left hand the rod he pulled, and in his right hand the barrel rotated at a constant speed.

Fan Xiu immediately nodded, indicating that he understood the principle of cutting.

Immediately afterwards, Claudius used some wooden shelves to build a prototype of a simple wooden broaching machine. The barrel was fixed in a wooden clip, which rotated at a constant speed as the lever moved.

This is a typical broaching machine! He didn't expect to see it in the 16th century. At this time, he basically believed that the other party did have advanced technology.

The commercial feasibility is high, the political risk is minimal, and there is no reason to disagree.

After thinking about it for a while, he said:

"I need to see the workshop in action and see the actual performance of the samples. If it's really accurate enough, then I might have a better way to promote it and sell it for a higher price. ”

Raphael was stunned for a moment, and then immediately became excited:

"If that's the case, all the profits generated by the premium are yours!"

"No, no, no......" Fan Xiu smiled and shook his head, "It's still half a half." But I want you to do me a little favor. ”

"Please, if I can do it."

"It won't be difficult for you. I hope that with your help, an offshore navy will be created. ”

"Navy? I appreciate your trust in our country, but with all due respect, our navy and Fuso are based on completely different ideas and may not be what you expect......"

"You don't have to worry about that. I know the difference between the two. I was also sure that I needed a real navy, not infantry standing on a boat. ”

"In that case...... If you can bring a market to my new goods, I will do my best to fulfill your wishes. Raphael finally nodded decisively.