As early as May, the soft sails of the four fortune ships of Li Tu had already been replaced. The operation of the soft sails of the pen, fun and pavilion www.biquge.info is very complex, and each boat requires more than 20 boatmen to manage. The boatmen practiced for two months under the guidance of the Manila soft sailers before they learned. Li Tu recruited more than 100 crew members to serve as reserve crew members of the two new-style Fu ships under construction, and practiced soft sails on the old Fu ships with the old crew.

Under the threat of Li Tu, five Manila shipbuilders showed their real skills to communicate with the shipwrights in Zhangpu County and build ships together. By July, the two new Daifuku ships were nearing completion, and Li Tu was impressed by the dense ribs and thick hull. The soft sailers are also basically proficient. Li Tu took four lucky boats and set sail for Macao.

In Manila, Li Tu heard that there was a cannon foundry in Macau, and many of the artillery produced there were sold to various countries, and he also sold cannons to the Ming Dynasty many times, so Li Tu decided to try his luck.

The new sails worked very well, urging the four unloaded ships to sail quickly. It took seven days for Li Tu to arrive in Macau. Li Tu's party was not armed, and after some investigation, the port of Macau allowed Li Tu's fleet to sail into the dock. Residents of Macau watched the four fortune-style ships with Western-style soft sails enter the port, and they all ran to the pier to watch the excitement.

As soon as Li Tu stepped off the ship, several port officials came up and said in Portuguese, "What are you here for?" ”

The Tongshi translated the Portuguese into the official language of the Ming Dynasty, and Li Tu replied loudly: "I'm here to buy cannons!" ”

The official nodded, and said, "The Bugarao Cannon Foundry is at the foot of the Guia Mountains, so in any case, you should go and discuss with Mr. Bugarao first." ”

Li Tu nodded, took ten people off the ship, and walked towards the Bugarao Cannon Foundry.

When I arrived at the foot of the Guia Mountains, I saw a row of tall brick buildings, and several towering blast furnaces in the middle, which I thought was a cannon foundry. There were two Francophone soldiers standing at the gate of the gun factory, Li Tu walked up with the general to explain his intentions, and a private walked in to report. In the middle of the ring, an old Portuguese man with gray hair and a slender figure dressed in dirty gray clothes walked out with the soldier.

After wiping his hand on his clothes, the old man shook hands with Li Tu and said, "I am Andrei Bugarao, the manager of the Cannon Foundry, and they all call me Little Bugarao, and welcome you to the Bugalao Foundry." ”

"I'm Li Tu, a maritime merchant from Zhangzhou, Daming, and I'm here to buy artillery. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bougalao Jr. ”

"Anyway, please come into the office and sit down."

Bugarao brought Li Tu and his party into the office, sat down the guests, and then asked, "Mr. Li Tu, what kind of cannon do you want to buy?" ”

"I'm going to buy guns to equip on ships, I'm building two big ships, each ship is ready to be equipped with ten cannons, so twenty cannons are needed."

"Twenty is not a small number, it takes a lot of money, Mr. Litu."

"I'm going to buy more in the future, and if I can, I think I'll buy more than forty doors with you every year in the future."

Hearing Li Tu's words, Bu Jialao grinded his palms excitedly, and said with a smile: "You are a big customer, Mr. Li Tu, what kind of cannon do you want to buy?" ”

"Naval guns with a long range."

Hearing Li Tu's words, Bugarao slapped the table and said loudly: "We have thirty standard cannons in our warehouse, this kind of cannon has an effective range of 1,700 yards, a maximum range of 7,000 yards, and weighs 4,800 pounds. ”

Li Tu nodded and asked lightly, "Is there anything else?" ”

"We also have twelve Passa Plante guns, weighing three thousand pounds, using six-pound shells, with a maximum range of four thousand five hundred yards and an effective range of one thousand yards. If you need more quantity, we accept customized. ”

Li Tu still nodded and did not speak.

"We still have eight half-length cannons in our warehouse, Mr. Litu. The gun weighed four thousand pounds, had a maximum range of two thousand five hundred yards, and an effective range of five hundred yards, using thirty-two pound shells. Similarly, if the stock is insufficient, it can be ordered. ”

"Can I see what the artillery looks like?"

"Of course!"

Little Bugarao took Li Tu into the warehouse and saw samples of artillery. There were all kinds of artillery in the warehouse, long and short, bronze and iron. Pointing to the iron cannon in the corner of the warehouse, Bugarao said, "I am responsible for casting the bronze cannon. The iron cannon is the work of Chinese craftsmen, and the price is lower. ”

The caliber of the standard cannon was 5.2 inches, and the length of the cannon was 11 feet. Li Tu stood next to a standard cannon and thought for a moment, and asked, "Can an eighteen-pound cannonball penetrate the Fu ship?" ”

"The hull of the Fubune is very thin, and it has no armor, and it cannot withstand the blows of an eighteen-pounder gun, and a single cannon can make a big hole, Mr. Litu," said with certainty. Even the Dutchman's Galen ship, the eighteen-pounder cannon could do no small damage. ”

Li Tu thought for a moment and said loudly: "Then I'll buy a standard cannon." ”

Bugarao smiled and said, "Clever choice, Mr. Litu, this cannon is the right size and is very suitable for use on ships. The price of this cannon to the Ming people was 1,500 taels of silver per piece. If you want to buy twenty doors, it is thirty thousand taels of silver. That's a lot of money, Mr. Litu, are you sure you want to buy it? ”

Hearing Bugarao's words, Li Tu nodded and said, "Little Mr. Bugarao, I'm sure I want to buy these twenty standard cannons. ”

Bu Jialao took a breath and said with a smile: "This is the largest order of the cannon foundry this year, Mr. Li Tu, in April of the previous year, your emperor of the Ming people bought twenty-two half-length cannons from me, which impressed me deeply. But in any case, you are a Ming, not a Portuguese, and you have to get permission from the Macau Council to buy guns. I don't know if they'll agree. Come with me to the council when it's convenient for you. ”

Li Tu stood up and said, "Then go now." ”

Bu Garao agreed, left the office and changed into clean clothes, and then led Li Tu and his party into the city of Macau, and walked to the largest stone building in the center of the city. There were many large pillars in front of the building, and four guards with long axes stood in the doorway, which looked quite majestic. Bugarao led Li Tu in, let Li Tu wait in the marble floor, ornately decorated hall, and went up to the second floor himself.

After a while, Bugarao walked down the stairs, pointed upstairs with his thumb, tilted his head, and said, "Mr. Litu, follow me!" The Chairman of the Council and the Standing Committee would like to see you now. ”