It was not difficult to obtain the Hongyi cannon from the maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty, after all, Li Dan still had a very iron relationship with the Dutch, otherwise he would not have acted as a mediator between the Ming and the Netherlands in history. But Hidebo's desires are far from being satisfied by a few Hongyi cannons, these so-called siege weapons can be used to fool the Ming Dynasty and Japan, but they can't confuse the eyes of Hideho, a modern person.

The Hongyi cannon was introduced to China in the late Ming Dynasty and is also known as the red-coated cannon. The so-called "Hongyi" is mainly the name of the Dutch, so many people think that the Hongyi cannon is imported from the Netherlands, in fact, at that time, the Ming Dynasty called all the front-loading smoothbore cannons imported from the West as the Hongyi cannon, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty often covered these cannons with red cloth, so they were falsely called "red clothes".

According to research, only a small amount of Hongyi cannons imported by the Ming Dynasty at that time were imported from the Dutch East India Company, and later became hostile to the Dutch because of the Taiwan issue, most of which were traded with the Portuguese in Macao, and the Ming Dynasty was in huge demand at that time, and the Portuguese also sold British shipborne cannons to China as middlemen.

The most prominent advantage of the Hongyi cannon is its range, which is an important part of the performance of heavy artillery, even today. The maximum range of the Ming Dynasty's homemade iron fire gun did not exceed three li, and it was at the risk of exploding; The general 3,000-pound Hongyi cannon can easily hit seven or eight miles away, and the historical records record that it can reach as far as ten miles, that is, five kilometers, but modern historians believe that the general range is less than two kilometers. The long-range Hongyi cannon combined with the flowering shell became the strongest weapon against the Houjin siege at the end of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the tactics were: lure the cavalry of Houjin into the range of the Hongyi cannon at the head of the city, and then use the flowering shells to concentrate the fire, and the effect was remarkable.

For example, the fortress guns in Ningyuan Castle were salvaged from British cruisers that ran aground in a storm off the coast of Macao, and there were only two places in China at this time (20 in Beijing and 10 in Ningyuan).

During the Battle of Songjin, both sides used Hongyi artillery, the Ming army stepped up the construction of artillery in the pass, and the Qing army used Hongyi artillery for large-scale field battles and fortifications. In the battle of Songshan alone, the Qing army transported 10,000 artillery shells, 37 Hongyi cannons, and 10,000 catties of explosives to the front of the battle for backup. Before the Songjin War, the Qing army was often regarded as a daunting way due to the limited amount of artillery and the poor quality of the artillery, and when attacking the city, it was often regarded as a daunting way, so the strategy of besieging the city and sending reinforcements was adopted.

As soon as Songjin fell, the Qing army attacked the city again, often blowing up the city wall for nearly 100 meters, which was unprecedented in the history of the previous Ming and Qing wars (in fact, it was to obtain the cannons and craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty). The Ming army was very surprised by the great progress of the Qing army's artillery, and the Ming general Fan Chenggong reported: "The thieves will attack Songshan for two days, and more than 600 cannons have been found in the city, all weighing more than 10 catties, and 37 Hongyi cannons are installed on the south wall at present."

After the Songjin War, most of the artillery outside the Ming army fell into the hands of the Qing army, only the Wu Sangui Department stationed in Ningyuan, there were still more than ten Hongyi cannons, and at this time, the Qing army in Jinzhou had nearly 100 Hongyi cannons. The Qing people once threatened: "If you put a hundred cannons as a faction, how can it afford to attack it in three or four days?" At that time, the famous Western missionary and munitions expert John Tang, who was still serving the Ming Dynasty, exclaimed: "The people of the Qing army are strong and strong, and they have defeated me many times, and the firearms are comparable to mine recently?" Whoever wants my miraculous skills is the other. At present, firearms are expensive in Western milling, and the enemy not only exists, but now it is widely available. This passage reflects John Tong's shock, and also illustrates a harsh truth that is difficult to reverse.

Of course, these are all later words, which is enough to show the important position of the Hongyi cannon at that time, but its power is only for East Asia, in Europe, not to mention the eighteen-pounder cannon, even the twenty-four-pounder and thirty-two-pounder guns have become the most common artillery on the battleship, and the Spanish Armada is equipped with a considerable number of sixty-pounder guns! In this way, you can see what Hideho is thinking in his head.

However, there is another question in front of him, that is, even if these huge cannons are obtained, will the Japanese kind of Ataka ship or Seki ship be equipped? The answer is "Are you kidding?", even the tortoiseshell ship that Yi Sunsin was proud of, it was only equipped with the equivalent of a twelve-pound cannon "Ye Gong Shen Gong" (that is, the "heaven", "earth", and "Xuan" characters mentioned in the Korean history books), which was 33 meters long and 4 meters wide, and was a giant ship of the same level as the "fortune boat" of the Ming Dynasty.

On the other hand, although the Japanese Ataka ship is comparable to the tortoiseshell ship in size (the Zhenghan Ataka ship is basically 32 meters long and 11 meters wide), the ship has poor seaworthiness, and most of them are manpower oars, unlike the tortoiseshell ship, which has foldable sails and poor maneuverability; Secondly, the ship building is high and there is no iron armor protection, so it can easily become a target for artillery and a target at sea; In the end, due to structural problems, it was impossible to equip large artillery (recoil problem), and could only be equipped with firearms such as large iron cannons, which had a short range and low power, which created Yi Sunsin's magical battles (the most exaggerated Battle of Mingliang, in which Yi Sunsin defeated more than 300 warships of Fujido Taka with thirteen banya ships).

Therefore, in order to eliminate the Korean naval army, it was necessary not only to introduce huge cannons, but also to buy warships, but due to Hideyoshi's restrictions on the Spanish mission, the relationship between the two countries was not harmonious, and it was even more difficult to obtain strong ships and artillery.

Hideho stayed in Nagafu Castle for five days, not to covet the puffer fish or the beautiful scenery, but to wait for someone, someone who could control the entire battle.

"My lord, Master Li has arrived." Gao Hu introduced Li Dan and Li Guozhu into the main hall, and because of the resurgence of the Li family, the governor of Fujian also pushed the boat down the river, and asked for the official title of Quanzhou general soldier for Li Dan, so he was also a "red-top businessman".

The arrival of Li Dan's father and son made Xiubao feel a lot more comfortable, thinking of the Spanish galleon that was about to arrive, Xiubao greeted him quite respectfully: "I am really sorry to come to Brother Li in a hurry." ”

"Where is Your Highness, you have the grace of rebuilding my Li family, don't be so polite." Li Dan and Li Guozhu gave a deep salute and sat down on the side seats.

"In that case, then I'll get straight to the point," Xiubao said with great interest, "I came to Brother Li this time to ask you to buy some things for me." ”

"Oh, what is it that His Highness has personally summoned you?" Li Dan asked curiously.

"Actually, it's nothing, it's just some firearms and boats." Hideho said casually.

"That's right," Li Dan thought for a moment and asked, "Does Your Highness want to introduce some stone fire arrows and banwu boats?" ”

Xiubao shook his head decisively and sneered: "Brother Li is too underestimated, although I don't have many of these things in my hands, they are definitely enough." ”

"Could it be the Hongyi cannon and the lucky boat?" Li Dan asked with a little hesitation.

"No," Hideho asked kindly, "Brother Lee has heard of the galleon?" I just want a few of these ships, and of course the corresponding ship-based guns. ”

"Your Highness is really joking!" Li Danhuo suddenly got up, looked at Xiubao in disbelief, and said in a panic.

Li Dan's performance was also expected by Xiubao, what he wanted was not an ordinary object after all. "I'm sorry, but I don't like to joke about it." Hideho clarified with a serious face.

"Let's ask Your Highness to take back your order," Li Dan said tentatively, "I have some twenty-four-pounder guns and three Clark galleons in my hands, which were supposed to be transferred to the British caravan, and now they are handed over to Your Highness." ”

"Clarke's sailboat?" Xiubao sneered, "If it had been a hundred years ago, I would have really been grateful to Brother Li, but now, hmph, I would still be able to make a living as a merchant ship." ”

"But it's definitely enough to deal with the North Korean navy." Li Dan had the courage to argue.

"Shut up!" Xiubao glared angrily, pointed at Li Dan and his son fiercely with a folding fan, and scolded: "Don't think I don't know, aren't you still afraid that I will use these Western ships against the Ming Kingdom?!" ”

Li Dan had never seen Xiu Baosheng so angry, and Li Guozhu was even more frightened and fell to the ground, kowtowing again and again to beg Xiu Bao for forgiveness.

"Yes, since His Highness knows, he will be blunt in Xia," Li Dan forcibly endured his fear and calmly retorted: "It is not wrong to be a private businessman in Xia, and it is not wrong to be a royal merchant of His Highness, but in Xia is even more a Chinese, even if there is a gold tael in front of him, he will never do anything to harm the interests of our country, and I implore His Highness to understand the hardships of Xia, so as not to break the net." ”

"The fish is dead?" Xiubao sneered and asked leisurely, "Are you worthy?" ”

(Today's vote is not strong.,Let's give me some encouragement.,Although it's written less.,But it's always insisted.,After all, it's a student.,It's exam month.,There's no way to do it.,It's still cheeky to ask everyone for votes.。 ）