Chapter 249: The Single-Barreled Machine Cannon is Born

When Lin Yizhe heard Shen Baozhen's question, he couldn't help sighing, took out Lin Xunshu's letter, and presented it to Shen Baozhen. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Shen Baozhen took the letter and opened it after only a few glances, and his face changed color.

"How could he talk like that! If you read more books, will it be great to be a Hanlin? Shen Baozhen said angrily, "In the past, Jingfeng Gong (referring to Lin Yizhe and Lin Yushu's father Lin Ruzhou) was also a Hanlin, and he was extremely friendly to his brothers and relatives, how could he be so domineering? ”

"The so-called eldest brother is the father, what the eldest brother says, the nephew should have listened to it, but what is said above is really chilling, it is a matter of foreign reputation, and the nephew has to respond to it in order to set the record straight." Lin Yizhe said.

"Alas! Say a thousand things and ten thousand, or for this foreign business! Shen Baozhen sighed and returned the letter to Lin Yizhe, "There is something I didn't plan to tell you, I was afraid that you would be blocked when you come back, but now it seems that I should talk to you!" ”

"Uncle, please tell me, what happened?" Lin Yizhe probably guessed what Shen Baozhen was going to tell him about Shen Yuqing, so he pretended not to know and asked.

"When you went abroad, Yu'er also spoke so loudly to your aunt, asking your aunt to persuade you to return to the right path, so angry that your aunt vomited blood. I was so angry that I hit Yu'er hard. Shen Baozhen remembered what happened that day, and he was still angry.

Lin Yizhe knows that although the marriage between Shen Baozhen and Lin Puqing is an arranged marriage, it has a deep emotional foundation. They are childhood playmates, they are real "childhood sweethearts, two little guesses", and Lin Pujing has been obsessed with this cousin since childhood. After the two got married, their relationship was very good, and they were old and strong. That day, Shen Yuqing said bad things about himself in front of his mother, if it wasn't for the seriously ill mother who vomited blood, Shen Baozhen would not have been so angry that he knocked out Shen Yuqing's teeth.

"Don't let your aunt know what this letter says." Shen Baozhen said, "Your aunt knows, she will be heartbroken, Jing Fenggong and her brother and sister have a very strong relationship, in the past, I and your aunt's family affairs were handled by Jing Fenggong, every time she thinks of the deceased Jing Fenggong, she will be sad and cry, knowing that your eldest brother is so kind to you, she will be even more sad, you must not let her know." ”

"Uncle rest assured, my nephew will never reveal anything to my aunt." Lin Yizhe said.

After Lin Yizhe crossed over, he learned by chance that in 1832, when Lin Zexu was serving as governor of Jiangsu, his eldest son, Lin Ruzhou, the father of "Lin Yizhe", returned to Fuzhou from Jiangsu to take the exam and lived in the Shen family. Lin Zexu couldn't get away because he was busy with official business, so he took this opportunity to order Lin Ruzhou to preside over the engagement ceremony between Lin Puqing and Shen Baozhen on behalf of the woman's parents. At the beginning of 1839, Lin Zexu's wife Zheng Shuqing and Lin Ruzhou sent Lin Puqing back to Fuzhou to marry Shen Baozhen. It can be seen that Lin Puqing and her brother Lin Ruzhou have a very good relationship. This is actually the reason why Lin Puqing loves herself as herself.

"Your eldest brother, how are you going to reply? Or is it as non-comical as Zeng Gong did to Zuo? Shen Baozhen asked.

"No, if you don't reply, it seems that he is taking advantage. In the future, it will be rumored to go out, but I am afraid that no one will dare to handle foreign affairs again. Lin Yizhe said, "This letter must be replied to." ”

"If you reply to the letter, you will blame your brother for your brother, I am afraid it will be contrary to filial piety!" Shen Baozhen sighed.

"If the brother is not a friend, the brother does not have to be respectful!" Lin Yizhe said categorically, "For the establishment of foreign affairs without the hindrance of this generation, this letter must be returned!" ”

Hearing that what Lin Yizhe said was reasonable and had made up his mind, Shen Baozhen no longer dissuaded him, but talked to him about marrying Eya as soon as possible. After settling the matter, Lin Yizhe went to visit Lin Puqing, and after saying goodbye to Shen Baozhen, he went straight to the shipmaster's gunhouse.

When he disembarked, Wu Zhongxiang told him that the shipmaster's gun station had successfully developed a 2-pounder (40 mm) single-barreled machine gun under the auspices of Hatch Cash.

As soon as Lin Yizhe arrived at the shipmaster's gun station, he heard a roar from the direction of the test site.

When a director saw Lin Yizhe coming, he knew that the governor had come to see the new artillery test, so he took Lin Yizhe directly to the artillery test site.

At this time, the artillery test was still continuing, and Lin Yizhe did not disturb Hatch Kais, who was presiding over the test, but carefully observed the artillery test.

At this time, the target in the center of the field had been completely smashed, and Hatch Kaith did not notice the arrival of Lin Yizhe, but was engrossed in the test of the new single-barreled machine gun. At his command, several Chinese workers pushed a small sampan on a flatbed cart and placed it in the center of the field.

After the target was re-arranged, the workers seemed to be afraid of the power of the cannon and all walked away quickly. Hatch Kaith then ordered the trial to begin. Lin Yizhe quickly stopped, covered his ears with his hands, and opened his mouth wide. And the few who came with him also did the same as him.

Lin Yizhe saw two gunners step forward, aimed a single-barreled machine gun on a fixed iron frame, aimed at the small sampan, and fired a shot.

I saw a dark red flame erupt from the slender barrel, followed by a loud bang, and the middle of the small sampan placed in the center of the field as a target suddenly exploded, and the violent explosion actually blew the small sampan into two in an instant!

Seeing the little sampan being smashed in two, Hatch Chase looked satisfied, and he excitedly took off his earbuds and stepped forward with several Chinese technicians to check the scars of the broken target and do a damage assessment.

Lin Yizhe looked at this scene, he couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart, he ran over quickly, and couldn't help but hug Hatchkais.

"Haha, you're just in time, dear Lin. I think you've seen that just now. Hutchichase smiled and said to Lin Yizhe, "An epoch-making artillery has been born in this ancient land of China. ”

"Yes, Mr. Hatch Cash." "As its inventor, your name will forever be recorded in history. ”

That night, Lin Yizhe wrote the following words in his diary: "...... The success of the single-barreled machine gun is a sharp weapon in close combat, which is unprecedented in the world, and is unique to China today, and Yu is excited about it. It has been ordered to produce at a rapid pace and equip the existing ships...... Now the Ryukyus have been swallowed up by Japan, and Japan wants to dominate East Asia for a long time, and in the past one or two years, it will not attack Taiwan in the south, but also in the north of Goryeo. At present, China has only a few such ships, and if it does not strengthen its armament and defend against it, it will suffer from it when it is confronted by the enemy......"

Tokyo, Japan.

In the hall of this distinctly French-style building, a middle-aged man in his thirties, dressed in a Western-style tuxedo and wearing a medal, is walking back and forth anxiously.

This person is not tall, a rectangular face is very thin, he has a back head, it seems that the originally big head is more prominent, and it gives people a strange feeling at a glance.

He is Shigenobu Okuma, President of the Ministry of Finance, Senator and Secretary of the Ministry of Finance.

The place where he lived was the richest and poorest place in Japan, the Ministry of Finance.

The earliest history of the Japanese Ministry of Finance can be traced back to the eight provinces of the ancient Japanese Ritsuryo system, which was mainly in charge of most of the financial system of the Japanese imperial court, including coins, gold and silver, tribute, weights and measures, and the balance of the price of private goods, etc., but the tax system was managed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. In 1869 (Meiji 2), Japan began the system of two bureaucrats and six provinces, and in order to strengthen the management of civil affairs and finances, the Ministry of Civil Affairs was merged into the newly established Ministry of Finance. As a result, the Ministry of Finance has become an important organ of the Japanese government, and the post of Secretary of Finance has become doubly important.

Shigenobu Okuma, the current secretary of state of finance, was born on March 11, 1838. Infant name Yataro. His father was Nobuho Okuma, a priest of the Saga domain, and his mother, Mitsuko Sugimoto, was the daughter of Shota Sugimoto, a priest of the Saga domain. Because Nobuho Okuma learned the famous "Ogino Stream Artillery Technique", he was hired by the Nabeshima family, the lord of the Saga Domain, as the head of the Ishihuoya. The Saga Domain was a famous and powerful feudal domain in Japan at that time. It was the first in Japan to import and imitate Western-style weapons. Successive feudal lords of the Saga Domain attached great importance to Rangaku, or Western science. There is even a "Lan Xueliao" that specializes in teaching Western science. In addition, it was different from other feudal domains in terms of armament. More attention was paid to Western weapons such as muskets and cannons. As a result, Nobuho Okuma, who was a gunner, was very much used in the domain, and was a high-ranking samurai with a stone height of 300 and a real amount of 120. As the eldest boy in the family, Shigenobu Okuma was greatly influenced by his parents in his future trajectory. Since Okuma's father was a gunner, he was constantly exposed to the aspects of orchid (i.e., Western science). So Okuma has been interested in orchidology since he was a child. Later, when he entered the domain school as an adult, he transferred to the Rangakukan, and later became a reformist in Saga. Shigenobu Okuma is now in an important position, and his childhood experience can be said to be not unrelated.

"Haven't you heard from Yanagihara-kun yet?" Okuma asked with a heavy sigh.

"Nope." Hirobumi Ito, who was beside Shigenobu Okuma, shook his head and sighed, "According to the telegram sent by the consul in Fuzhou, Lin Yizhe, the governor of Fujian in the Qing Dynasty, specially sent a steam gunboat to escort Yanagihara-kun and his party to Tianjin, but the news was lost after the warship departed......"

"Could it be that they met pirates at sea?" Okuma Shigenobu asked worriedly.

"Probably not." Ito Hirobumi said, "Although there are many pirates in the coastal areas of Qing Kingdom, he is riding a steam warship after all, although the firepower is not very strong, but it should be more than enough to deal with pirates, and such misfortune will not happen." ”

"I heard that the combat effectiveness of the Qing navy is very low, and their steam warships should have no problem dealing with wooden sailing ships, but once they encounter pirates who are also equipped with steam ships, I am afraid that they will be finished." Okuma said disapprovingly.