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……

"What General Wang said is extremely true, we must take into account the variable of Amakusa Shiro, who do you think is better to send to contact Amakusa Shiro?" Yan Siqi asked.

"I'll go, I've fought with Amakusa Shiro before, and only if I go can I make Amakusa Shiro believe. I can sneak into Shimabara at night from the area controlled by the Satsuma Domain's army to meet Amakusa Shiro. Zheng Zhilong stood up and said.

"This trip is very dangerous, you have to be careful." Yan Siqi said. Yan Siqi has no children, and Zheng Zhilong is Yan Siqi's son-in-law, and he is also very popular, and he is very likely to succeed as the leader of the group.

"I'll be careful, it's just that we have an agreed time so that we can act in unison." Zheng Zhilong said.

"At the beginning of February, when the second son was the second son, they attacked Matsudaira Nobutsuna's army together, and after breaking through Matsudaira Nobutsuna's army, I immediately raised troops and took Kumamoto Castle." Yan Siqi said.

……

And Zhu Youxiao was taking Sun Chengzong, Qin Liangyu and other important ministers of the imperial court to visit the Manufacturing Bureau at this moment.

"This is the cotton wool invented by His Majesty." Wang Zheng said.

"Your Majesty invented this?" Sun Chengzong and the others asked suspiciously.

"It was indeed made by His Majesty at his suggestion." Wang Zheng said.

"I didn't find out by accident, too." Zhu Youxiao smiled and said. Zhu Youxiao once watched the process of the Swiss chemist Schöne accidentally discovering the cotton wool, and he also remembered it by chance. Although it is not difficult to make cotton wool, how to obtain the most powerful and stable cotton wool is the key.

"What does the cotton do?" Sun Chengzong asked.

"Cotton wool can replace gunpowder, the advantage of cotton wool relative to gunpowder, cotton produces less residue after burning, and the power is much greater than gunpowder, if you can replace gunpowder with cotton wool, Xia Guan guessed that the range of ordinary flintlock pistols can reach the range of the Apocalypse gun." Wang Zheng explained.

"Is there any flaw in not being able to put it into practice if it has so much power?" Qin Liangyu asked.

"There is indeed a big flaw, the cotton is extremely unstable and extremely easy to explode, and several people here in Xiaguan who are engaged in the production of cotton wool have been injured by the explosion, and they still have no clue." Wang Zheng said.

"Don't worry, what I have is time, this is only one direction to improve the weapons of the Empire, and how to mass-produce the Apocalypse Gun cannot be abandoned. Even if the cotton can't be put into practical use, it will be the same if the Apocalypse Gun can be made on a large scale. Zhu Youxiao said.

"Chen understands that the key to the mass production of the Apocalypse Gun is in the production of the barrel, and the minister already has some clues." Wang Zheng said.

"If we can solve the problem of mass production of Apocalypse Gun or Fire Cotton, I don't mind rewarding it, and I can even make a marquis directly." Zhu Youxiao said.

"The manufacturing bureau will definitely work hard, and will come up with a way to mass-produce the Apocalypse Gun as soon as possible." Wang Zheng said.

"As Your Majesty said, if the Apocalypse Gun can be mass-produced, the role of infantry in war will be greatly enhanced, and in field battles, when facing cavalry, the odds of victory will be higher." Sun Chengzong said.

"Once the Apocalypse Gun can be mass-produced, the White Pole Soldiers, Wolf Soldiers and other types of troops can be abolished." Qin Liangyu said.

"The wolf soldiers are going to be transformed into real mountain soldiers, an army formed specifically for the needs of mountain warfare. Sooner or later, I will have to make a move against Annan, whose military strength is stronger than that of Donghu, and mountain soldiers will be an indispensable branch of the army. Each prefecture can also form mountain troops as needed. Zhu Youxiao said.

"No."

"How's the manned hot air balloon going?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"What is a manned hot air balloon?" Sun Chengzong asked.

"The manned hot air balloon is very close to the principle of the Kong Ming lantern, it can be said to be a giant Kong Ming lantern, which can carry people into the sky." Zhu Youxiao said.

"Can you take someone to the sky? It's a miraculous thing. Sun Chengzong asked in surprise.

"It is being made and tested, and as soon as it is feasible, His Majesty will be informed." Wang Zheng said.

"Hmm." Zhu Youxiao nodded.

……

After taking a look at the Manufacturing Bureau, Sun Chengzong and the others felt that this trip was not in vain, and they saw many novel things, and many items in the Manufacturing Bureau in the past may be regarded as strange tricks, but under the influence of Zhu Youxiao, there are now fewer and fewer people in the empire who regard these as strange tricks and tricks.

But the most regrettable thing for Zhu Youxiao is that there has been no progress in the steam engine, and Zhu Youxiao understands that the improvement of the steam engine involves many aspects of knowledge such as physics and chemistry, as well as the use of new materials, etc., which is not in a hurry.

In Dongying, Zheng Zhilong has quietly infiltrated Shimabara.

"Your Highness Tiantong, we just caught a spy." The reason why Amakusa Shiro is called "Tendo" is that twenty-five years ago, when he was forced to leave Japan, a priest predicted: "Twenty-five years later, when there is a tendo who is reincarnated as a god, who is proficient in doctrine and magic, he will definitely save you." ”

"I'm not a spy, I'm a Catholic, my name is Nikolai, and I have something important to inform His Highness Tiantong, which is related to the success or failure of this battle of Shimabara." Zheng Zhilong said loudly.

"Bring people in." Hearing Zheng Zhilong's shout, Amakusa Shiro said.

Zheng Zhilong was immediately brought in, and Amakusa Shiro asked, "What do you have to do?" ”

"I want to meet His Highness alone, this matter is very important, and we must not leak half a point, otherwise, even if Your Highness wants your life, I will not leak half a word." Zheng Zhilong said.

Amakusa Shiro glanced at the people around him, and then motioned for the others to leave, leaving him and two extremely trusting subordinates on the scene, "Say, what's the matter?" ”

Zheng Zhilong didn't speak immediately, but first wiped the dirt off his face. Amakusa Shiro glanced at Zheng Zhilong carefully, and only felt a little familiar, but he couldn't remember seeing it there, "It's Zhilong, the general under the daimyo of the Satsuma Domain." ”

"It's you, what are you going to do?" Hearing Zheng Zhilong's words, Amakusa Shiro immediately remembered.

"I'm in danger alone, just to discuss with His Highness to join forces to defeat Matsudaira Nobutsuna's army." Zheng Zhilong said.

"How do you make me trust you? You Satsuma clan are only accomplices of the shogunate. Amakusa Shiro said coldly.

"Most of the people in my Satsuma Domain are Catholics, and the Shogunate has been brutalizing the Shogunate, and my Satsuma Domain has long been dissatisfied with the rule of the Shogunate, but it has been suffering from no chance, and now His Highness is fighting against the Shogunate in Shimabara, and the Satsuma Domain has always wanted to cooperate with His Highness to overthrow the rule of the Shogunate. What's more, now that Matsudaira Nobutsuna has arranged heavy troops outside the city to surround Shimabara, Shimabara should be short of food, and His Royal Highness will not be able to hold out for a few days. Now only by working with us can we defeat Nobutsuna Matsudaira. Zheng Zhilong persuaded.

(End of chapter)